As the new semester begins, so does the Student Government Association’s new term. The SGA looks to follow up the fall semester success with new projects, new initiatives, and a new president.
“We have some big goals,” said SGA President Brandon Tower about the approaching semester.
The president’s biggest goal is the SGA’s Affordability and Accessibility Initiative. Tower said the initiative is the SGA’s plan to use money controlled by the student government and use it “to enact policies that will simply make college more affordable for the students we represent.”
“This initiative is about putting money back into students’ pockets,” Said Tower. According to Tower, the SGA does not intend to lower fees, but rather utilize the SGA’s Ways and Means Committee’s $2 million budget to the best of the senate’s abilities.
The 22-year-old political science major also outlined the “withdrawal option” which would allow students that have enough undergraduate credits to drop a class at any time before final exams with “no questions asked.”
In addition, Tower said the senate is attempting to get more students on-campus jobs as well as launching an online textbook swap between students. He said there is a “very real possibility a student could get a textbook absolutely free. And it’s something we’re really excited about.”
As a senior, Tower will not be eligible to run for re-election this spring.
“Until Apr. 1, I’m still the President,” said Tower, “and I will still be working around the clock to push the Affordability and Accessibility Initiative, finalize the Code of Student Conduct recommendations and implement the withdrawal option policy.”
“The window of opportunity is closing rapidly. The last two months fly by, especially with elections approaching, so we’re working as fast as we can until we’re out of office to complete what we’ve set out to do,” he continued.
Although he will not campaign, Tower said the “next President is really going to have to rebuild relations with the Town of Amherst and work to reform some of the unreasonable town alcohol by-laws … I think this will be a pivotal issue in the spring ’11 election.”
President Tower isn’t the only SGA member with plans for the spring.
“For this upcoming semester, I will vigorously defend my motion to establish the office of the SGA vice president,” said freshman Zac Broughton, a central area senator in an e-mail interview with the Collegian about a motion he co-authored last semester that was deferred until the spring.
Broughton called the position of vice president a “vital position” and a “paramount and beneficial role” that will be in a “strong and passable bill that will be introduced in the 2011 spring semester.”
Student Trustee Mike Fox also spoke of his plans for the new semester.
“My goals are to return the right to criminally defend to Student Legal Services Office,” he said. “I also hope to ensure a strong student voice in Thursday’s deliberations, present a reformed Code of Student Conduct to the Board, and create a structure within the SGA that will hope empower individual students to advocate their elected representatives for more support for UMass.”
Sam Hayes can be reached at sdhayes.student.umass.edu
