SGA prepares for new semester

The Student Government Association (SGA) covered a lot of ground on Jan. 20 in its first meeting of the 2012 spring semester at the Highland Business Center.

For students who wonder what Austin Community College's student government does, SGA President Dylan Pera provided insight into the importance of student government at ACC.

"Student government is responsible for making sure students are aware of their rights and to help protect those rights whenever possible.

Also, we have an obligation to make students aware of matters that affect them." One of those issues is the consequence of violating the campus smoking ban. Currently, campus police are not issuing citations due to the negative impact that demerits may have on students transferring to four-year institutions.

As a result, there is a debate on whether to penalize students with demerits or to continue asking those caught smoking to simply move off campus.

ACC President Richard Rhodes has been waiting for a response from the student government on this issue before making a decision.

SGA voted against any decision that would cause a demerit on a students' record for violating the smoking ban.

SGA also looked into concerns regarding Capitol Metro Transit Authority's service at the Rio Grande Campus (RGC). Students have reported that the number three Burnet-Manchaca route that once stopped directly in front of the main building now follows an alternate route.

The closest stop is now roughly four blocks from the campus, causing safety concerns for students that use that particular route.

SGA voted to investigate this issue more thoroughly. Rio Grande student senator James Juarez volunteered to head up the effort, stating that he would tackle any problem involving his constituents at RGC.

This is also the time of year that SGA begins preparing for next year's elections. According to Pera, the more involved students are in running for office or voting, the more efficient SGA will be at its job of protecting student rights. The process of becoming more aware of their voice and how to use it enriches students.

"And the more involvement in school, the better chance students have of succeeding," Pera said.

This semester SGA has a number of new officers. Bretton Johnson is the new vice president and Mike Wade is parliamentarian.

There are also two new senators — Luisa Parodi for the Cypress Creek Campus and Stacy Moreno for the Eastview Campus.

"Meet the Candidate" events are being planned so students can meet those that are running for next year's SGA.