TCU Daily Skiff Orientation Issue 2004
Frog Fountain
Student Govt. makes campus life worthwhile

By Shawn Finer
Staff Writer


Every Tuesday and Wednesday starting at 5 p.m. the voice of the entire student body can be heard. The Student Government Association comes together as a student-led, adviser-guided organization to hear and discuss issues and events as well as encourage active university participation.

The House of Student Representatives sanctions the voice of the students to establish a constant exchange of ideas.

“We go through each officer,” said Jay Zeidman. “They give a brief report, discuss legislation, followed by announcements.”

Zeidman said SGA hosts a guest speaker every meeting, such as Chancellor Victor Boschini and Don Mills, vice chancellor for student affairs.

“Students ask questions, voice their opinions and present campus issues at House meetings,” Zeidman said.

The House of Student Representatives oversees about $112,000 to support student projects and make improvements on campus. Several projects are created at the beginning of each semester and are followed through until they can be finalized at the end of the semester.

The House meetings are open to all students.

Laura Taylor, a junior history major, said she has never attended a House meeting but feels SGA works hard to make life on campus enjoyable.

“Student Government allows for all TCU students to participate in legislation and also allow concerns to be heard,” Taylor said.

The Programming Council plans campus events, reviews and represents programming needs for the TCU Community. These promoted events are entertaining as well as educational for students.

The Council works to plan TCU traditions such as Family Weekend, Howdy Week and Homecoming. Concerts, festivals, programs and speakers are also sponsored by the Council throughout the year.

Roughly $140,000 a year is managed by the Programming Council to improve campus life at TCU.

The Programming Council meets every Wednesday at 5 p.m. and is also open to all students.

Along with dealing with campus affairs, SGA’s stability must be maintained. A misunderstanding of the campaign codes caused four candidates for president, including Zeidman, to be reviewed and the codes to be questioned. SGA took this opportunity to edit the codes to reduce loopholes, Zeidman said.

The student body did not allow the stability of SGA to be hindered as nearly one-third of students voted this year, he said.

“It was great to see that 30 percent of our campus came out to vote, which is unheard of in other college elections,” Zeidman said. “I will say that everybody involved turned out to be great friends and we have put the past behind us.”

Zeidman said he joined SGA and ran for president because he wanted to make a difference on campus and encourage all students to become involved in some of the hundreds of programs TCU offers.

Larry Merkley, SGA adviser, said one of the biggest strengths of SGA is its diversity. Having such diversity has created a good cross-section of campus to get feedback, he said.

All students can come to the House of Student Representative meetings which meet in the Student Center, Room 222 and Programming Council meetings in the Student Center, Room 211. Students can also visit the Web site — http://www.sga.tcu.edu — or get in touch with SGA recruitment chairs: Trevor Smith and Jennifer Noy.
 
 
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