College Station City Council Member Julie Schultz attended Wednesday night’s Student Senate meeting to field questions from the senators and offer advice on how Texas A&M’s student body can play a more significant role in local politics.
As she nears the end of her 6-years of service on the council, Schultz said she remains grateful for the Student Government Association’s current participation in city government and hopes to see even more student involvement in the future.
“Students are the economic driver of the city,” Schultz said. “The students were here before the city was here.”
SGA could hold a particularly strong influence in city elections by assessing and endorsing specific candidates for local office, according to Schultz.
“Every single person in local politics that I’ve ever talked to said ‘if the student body ever mobilized, they could control the entire city,’ which is the truth,” Schultz said.
Additionally, the Senate swore in a host of student representatives who will serve on the University Committees. According to Sarah Swiney, nutrition sophomore and Vice President of University Committees, the positions cover a broad range of areas from athletics to libraries and offer students the chance to influence areas of the university they are passionate and knowledgeable about.
“I know each of these students is super excited to get involved with their respective committee,” Swiney said. “I’m confident in each of their ability to represent the student body and A&M as a whole.”
Swiney said that while most positions on University Committees were previously held by students within SGA, this year’s application process was open to the student body at large in accordance with the vision of Student Body President and economics senior Bobby Brooks.
“We received over 400 University Committees applications which got executive cabinet super fired up about the willingness of Aggies to serve in this manner,” Swiney said.
A resolution recognizing National Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 was passed unanimously by the Senate. Senator Luis Moreno, industrial engineering senior, said the bill was the first of its kind to pass through the senate, and was written to express gratitude to hispanic former students and show support for hispanic organizations on campus.
“This resolution will serve as an encouraging gesture to all these students who do come from different parts of Texas and different parts of the country to come to A&M to get a good education and impact the world in a better way,” Moreno said.
Additionally, members of the Senate’s operations committee were sworn in and appropriations for fiscal year 2018 were approved unanimously.