James Miller
Opinions Editor
Student Government Association (SGA) incumbents will run unopposed during April elections unless new student candidates register before deadline.
At the March 7 SGA bi-weekly meeting, SGA President Erick De Luna reminded the body of the forthcoming Student Government Association elections, scheduled for April 3 through 6.
SGA Vice President Mary Walker voiced concerns and dismay with lack of student awareness surrounding the coming elections.
She presented the body with three flyer variations, under review by University Communications, aimed at increasing student awareness and participation in the coming elections.
“Everyone needs to run…We haven’t advertised at all,” Walker said.
Elections begin 7 a.m. April 3, with polling ending at 7 p.m. April 6. Students vote through their JagSync accounts during the open polling period.
Students will vote for SGA president and vice president, and senators representing each of the university’s colleges; positions which have historically seen candidates run uncontested.
According to De Luna, there are six senatorial seats open for this election cycle.
Should the need for a run-off election arise, voting will be held through JagSync at an undetermined date.
Campaigning will begin March 28.
Students interested in running for office have less than two weeks to register, and can do so by contacting SGA for additional information at 210-784-1329.
Also addressed was an update on the upcoming mayoral forum. The event was moved to April 6 to resolve a schedule conflict with Mayor Ivy Taylor.
De Luna confirmed participation from mayoral candidates Mayor Taylor, Bexar County Democratic Party Chairman Manuel Medina, and District 8 Councilman Ron Nirenberg.
The SGA plans to use the publicity of the mayoral forum to drive turnout for a voter registration as many of the SGA leaders are licensed voter registrars. The timing would be ideal for last minute registrations, as the official registration cut-off for the mayoral election is April 6.
Prior to adjourning the meeting, two candidate senators were approved for vacant seats.
Clifford Crews and Danielle Bitner presented testimony detailing why they wanted to be SGA senators.
Crews, a retired 22 year veteran of the United States Air Force, and kinesiology junior at Texas A&M-San Antonio, said he wanted to serve as senator for the College of Education.
“I’ve learned from my time in the military that the number one thing is that you have to be involved if you want to see things change, develop, and grow,” Crews said. “I chose Texas A&M-San Antonio to be on the ground level of something that I know is going to be extremely exciting as the school continues to grow. I hemmed and hawed about this, and decided that I just had to jump in with both feet.”
Bitner, a psychology sophomore, sought the vacant position as senator for the sophomore class.
“I want to work with kids with special needs one day, and I feel that the SGA is the perfect opportunity to grow my ability, and bring people closer together,” Bitner said. “By being a member of this group, I would have a greater opportunity to branch out and bridge the gap between the SGA and Sophomore students.”
Following the testimonies, De Luna called a vote, which passed unanimously for both candidates.
The two newest senators were sworn into office, and their seats will not be included in the April elections.
Vice President Walker recapped the recent SGA leadership forum which was held in College Station. The forum focused on leadership, inclusivity, organization and retention training, in addition to providing networking opportunities with the numerous representatives of other student government associations.
Each of the Texas A&M campuses were represented at the event including representatives from Texas A&M University at Qatar, a branch of Texas A&M University located in Education City, Al Rayyan, Qatar.
