Andrew Hubbard, business administration freshman and SGA president, listens to students Monday during the SGA meeting. Monica Lamadrid
By Terra Hupfer
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
Andrew Hubbard, elected in May, led his first Student Government Association meeting as president with 27 students in attendance Monday in the craft room of Loftin Student Center.
“We are all equal members because we are all students,” he said to open the meeting. “The fact that we are all enrolled in this school means that we have a voice. It means that we have an opinion.”
Parking was one of three major issues discussed, although there were more questions than answers.
“Parking is not a new issue; it has been an issue for decades,” Hubbard said leading into a heated discussion about the parking lots, parking garage, parking permit fees and Tobin Lofts housing.
Students now pay $25 for a parking permit or a VIA bus pass, totaling $50 per year.
What the SGA wanted to figure out is where students are supposed to park and what can be done about the shortage of parking spaces.
A question raised by a number of the SGA members was why students have lost two floors of parking in the main garage.
Another question SGA is working on getting answered is how a new $1 charge in the garage is going to be done. SGA expects to have these answers at the next SGA meeting.
Hubbard said a major question he asked students during Welcome Back Week was, “Do you know who your adviser is?”
He said 123 students said yes to knowing who their advisers were while 137 were unsure.
“Those aren’t good numbers because as all of us know, advisers are key into getting us connected and succeeding in college,” Hubbard said before asking for solutions.
One of the major suggestions discussed was having a list with students’ assigned advisers on ACES.
Nursing sophomore Edric Filpo suggested having a hold placed on student accounts before they can register for courses. The hold would be removed after an advising session.
SGA members said this type of solution could help reduce the amount of time and confusion a student spends taking unnecessary courses.
Hubbard also covered what was happening on campus by letting the SGA know that Phi Theta Kappa is creating a program called Today’s Freshman, Tomorrow’s Graduate.
He explained this as a group of students past their first year who are willing to help incoming freshman or transfer students transition into college and learn about this college.
Phi Theta Kappa will have a matching system to help decide who will be pairings.
SGA meets at noon on Mondays in the craft room of Loftin and meetings are open to the public.
