Students pack the Senate meeting on Monday, April 29.  |  Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar

The Student Government Association passed resolutions that called for the divestment of UH funds from companies that provide arms and support to Israel in their war in Palestine and condemned the Texas governor’s executive order.  

Around 70 students attended the meeting and expressed their support for the resolutions coordinated by Students for Justice in Palestine HTX. The Senate unanimously passed both bills.

“The events of this past week underscore the importance of these bills,” said biochemistry senior Gabi Lansagnan, referring to the clashes between students and administrators at the University of Texas at Austin and Columbia University. “We would like for everyone in this room to remember that despite the heightened repression, students have been showing up in masses with the full intention of speaking out for Gaza and Palestine.”

The Divest from Death resolution requested the Board of Regents hear and vote on a proposal to divest the University endowment fund from companies that provide material support to Israel. The Board of Regents will meet on May 15.

The other resolution, Condemning Executive Order No. GA-44, called upon the University administration to refuse to comply with the governor’s executive order and implored the University to draft a statement condemning it.

After the Senate passed the resolutions, the crowd of students who supported the bills erupted in cheers and chanted “Free Free Palestine.”

Calls for the divestment of UH funds from such companies are not new for the SGA. Previous administrations also created legislation advocating for the same issues.

Support for these two resolutions comes not only from the Senate but from the executive cabinet, with President Diego Arriaga expressing his admiration for the students who supported the bills.

“It gives me joy and pride to see all the student body here tonight in support of these resolutions,” Arriaga said. 

Arriaga drafted his own executive order that condemns Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order and urges the Board of Regents to consider divestment from companies that support Israel.

The administration also held a fundraiser event a few weeks ago for the benefit of Doctors Without Borders, a charity that provides medical care for civilians in Palestine. The administration raised over $400 in support for the charity, said Chief of Staff Daniela Gonzalez.

The Senate and executive refrained from singing the University Alma Mater, a staple in SGA meetings. The Senate said their refusal to partake in the tradition expressed their frustration with the University’s support for Israel through its endowment fund.

“I appreciate my colleagues in the Senate for sitting down with me and protesting the Alma Mater,” said Sen. Jesus Nieto. “I decided not to recite the Alma Mater because I believe it is not just to be showing pride at this moment when this university is investing in war.”

The meeting also saw the first reading of another resolution that would recognize the SGA Muslim Caucus, a body of senators who would advocate for Muslim students and create legislation that would address their concerns.

“I’m just really happy to be represented,” said nursing senator Salma Zeidat, who is of Palestinian descent. “These bills were way overdue. It makes me so emotional to see the student body ask for such a change.”

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“Pro-Palestine students pack SGA Senate meeting” was originally posted on The Cougar

“I respect the decision of the Court to exonerate me, however, I am shocked by the comments made by certain Supreme Court justices regarding my character and integrity,” Garcia said. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar

In a unanimous decision, the Student Government Association Supreme Court has accepted senior associate justice Ansel Garcia’s resignation from the court bench after her impeachment trial.

The decision referenced the first special session of the 61st administration when Garcia announced her resignation after hearing corruption allegations from public policy sophomore Kadon Miller. According to the Court, the impeachment trial held last week has been rendered null and void due to Garcia’s resignation, and Garcia’s impeachment nomination was invalid.

“The Senate does not have the power to impeach a student that is not an official or not holding office within the UH Student Government Association,” the decision said. “Her resignation, which was accepted by the UH Student Government Association, means that Ms. Garcia was no longer holding office at the time of the first phase of the impeachment process.”

The decision came after an impeachment trial against Garcia, which raised corruption allegations in court. The decision itself had little to do with the arguments that Garcia and Miller exchanged during last week’s impeachment trial. However, in his written opinion, Justice Christian Medrano wrote that he agrees with all claims of violation against Garcia.

“I lastly want to express my utmost disgust with the actions of Garcia,” Medrano said in his opinion. “If Ms. Garcia had not resigned immediately, and if there were no procedural errors in the upbringing of these charges, I would not hesitate to impeach her and pass the charges on to the Senate.”

Medrano was not alone in condemning Garcia, as Justice Chinwe Nwaeze stated her own opinion about the abuse of power allegations. 

“The evidence presented overwhelmingly demonstrates that the defendant engaged in conduct that constitutes malfeasance,” Nwaeze said in her written opinion. Malfeasance, or the improper or unlawful conduct by an official according to the SGA bylaws, was one of the allegations Miller had levied against Garcia during the trial.

Despite the little overlap between the trial arguments and the decision’s rationale, Medrano and other justices corrected some of the prominent arguments made by both parties.

Both Medrano and Nwaeze rejected Miller’s distinction between an impeachment trial and a case. This distinction was Miller’s response to Garcia’s claim that the statute of limitations clause within the SGA bylaws prevents an impeachment trial.

“I don’t agree with the decision,” Miller said after the Court released its opinion. “Stating that the statute of limitations applies to impeachment trains is practically an expansion of judicial power and breaks the constitution for the court to just throw out cases.”

Medrano also took issue with Garcia’s argument that the allegations against her were meritless due to her ineligibility to run for office, which he called “paradoxical” in his written opinion as she expressed her intention to run for president while holding the office of Supreme Court justice. 

“Despite making the contention that she was not eligible for candidacy because of her position on the Court, she was still willing to violate the separation of powers and abandon that duty to make a run in one of the other two branches,” Medrano said.

Garcia will no longer hold her position as justice at the SGA Supreme Court, and since Chief Justice Carlos Hernandez is resigning, there will be two vacancies in the court at the end of the semester.

“I respect the decision of the Court to exonerate me, however, I am shocked by the comments made by certain Supreme Court justices regarding my character and integrity,” Garcia said.

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“Senior associate justice resigns from Supreme Court to prevent probable impeachment” was originally posted on The Cougar

Jose Gonzalez-Campelo/The Cougar

The Student Government Association Supreme Court held a heated trial on Tuesday for Supreme Court Associate Justice Ansel Garcia, who the senate impeached during last week’s meeting on allegations of corruption and abuse of office.

Despite plaintiff Kadon Miller’s intentions, the trial consisted mostly of debate on the procedure for impeachment. Garcia and her counsel, former SGA senator Michael Abel, said that the case went beyond the statute of limitations and that the Senate failed to collect enough sponsors.

For Abel, this procedural failure nullifies the impeachment case.

“I am not touching most of the substance of these allegations,” Abel said. “I believe that this entire process has been marred by numerous procedural errors that will prevent the court from getting to the merits of this case.”

The crux of the defense’s argument for dismissal rests in a clause of the SGA bylaws that says that “no case will be heard by the Supreme Court more than 60 calendar days after the alleged act, or evidence thereof.” Miller argued that since it is an impeachment trial, it does not fall into the category of “case” as mentioned in the bylaws.

Another issue Abel pointed out was the lack of Senate sponsors for the impeachment nomination. According to bylaws, Miller needed one-third of the Senate to co-sponsor the bill for a trial to occur, which Abel claims he did not obtain. In response, Miller presented the signatures of the senators who co-sponsored the bill during last week’s meeting.

The accusation Abel and Garcia focused on in their defense was the allegation of Garcia’s intention to run for president, as seen in Miller’s presentation to the Senate. 

“Ansel is essentially being charged with running some sort of conspiracy to make herself president, but to my understanding, she was never a candidate nor declared for anything,” Abel said. “People shoot the shit with their friends sometimes.”

Throughout the trial, Miller attempted to redirect the conversation back to the other allegations he made during last week’s meeting but failed to do so until the very end during concluding arguments. 

The defense’s arguments were not exclusively limited to procedural criticisms. Garcia and Abel also called into question Miller’s intentions of bringing these allegations to light and his reasoning for wanting Chief Justice Carlos Hernandez to recuse himself from the case, alleging racial bias. 

During last week’s meeting, Miller urged Hernandez to recuse himself from the case due to his affiliation with SOMOS, a Latino student organization led by Garcia.

Miller reacted strongly to this and was swept to tears Miller defended against this accusation by referring to his past work in advocacy.

“The fact that somebody who is caught with corruption charges is trying to frame this as some sort of some sort of ethnic retaliation has left me beside myself,” Miller said. “I’ve spent semesters defending and getting work visas for people. So to even sit here and say that this is some sort of ethnic retaliation is just beyond me.”

In the middle of the trial, Miller also alleged corruption within the current SGA administration under President Diego Arriaga. He claimed that Arriaga’s “sexual relations” with the former election commissioner had damaged his integrity as president.

During her closing statement, Garcia claimed that the Senate, by impeaching her, was corrupt and had abused its powers to oppress her. She appealed to her fellow justices to dismiss the case.

“I stand before you not just as an individual seeking exoneration but as a beacon of integrity and ethical governance,” Garcia said. “You’re all the last line of defense to the atrocities committed against me by the Senate.”

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“Student government supreme court justice tried on allegations of corruption” was originally posted on The Cougar

The Keeland Building is one of the last remaining student-designated maker spaces on campus after closing the maker space in the engineering building. However, because it lacks a sustainable revenue stream, it may be forced to charge students a $50 fee to use the lab.| Raphael Fernandez/ The Cougar

Last week, the College of Architecture and Design Student Council members hosted a town hall meeting in the Gerald D. Hines building to address the financial challenges plaguing the Keeland Design Lab in recent years.

The Keeland Building is one of the last remaining student-designated maker spaces on campus after closing the maker space in the engineering building. However, because it lacks a sustainable revenue stream, it may be forced to charge students a $50 fee to use the lab.

“We’re trying to keep this fee as low as possible. This is just us testing what the fee would need to be for the lab to be sustainable,” said the director of the Keeland Design Lab Jason Logan who started his tenure last semester. “But honestly, $50 is probably not enough.”

The lack of funding for Keeland comes from years of relying on a savings fund due to reduced usage during the COVID-19 pandemic, Logan said. The building has not received the support from the university since.  

This “rainy day fund” was the only source of revenue outside of students paying to use certain machinery and is almost completely depleted. Logan said that the loss of funding comes from paying for repairs of expensive machinery like laser cutters, fabrication tools and metalworking machines, which students within the college use for their projects.

According to the student council, these financial struggles also came after budget cuts to the College of Architecture, which according to Logan, hindered the college’s ability to pay for the building.

While some student council members and other students understand the need for implementing a fee, they would prefer access to Keeland paid for by tuition and believe that implementing a fee should not be the only solution. 

“It should already be in my tuition. I shouldn’t have to pay for anything except materials,” said Keeland student worker Hannah Pevelka. “Putting in a fee is not the best solution, but it is a solution.”

Architecture sophomore Emmelia Ward believes that implementing a student fee will not solve the underlying causes of Keeland’s financial difficulties. Ward has become frustrated with the administration’s lack of support for the College of Architecture and the lack of communication from the administration to address this issue.  

“We’re not trying to find the root issues here,” Ward said. “We should be trying to go higher on the University level to see who makes these decisions and make our case for why we need more funds for this building.”

Logan agrees with Ward and hopes to have further conversations with the University administration about the funding for the Keeland building. The student council also agrees that the University has not been communicative, especially since they weren’t informed about the issue until the beginning of this semester.

“We didn’t hear about the funding issue until it was almost too late,” said Student Government Association architecture senator and student council member Tavagoh Cockrell. 

According to Logan, charging students a $50 fee to use the design lab is only a proposal that has not been finalized and he is open to other possibilities for the Keeland building to be funded.

“This is part of an open conversation with our students and faculty, and nothing has been implemented yet,” Logan said. “We’re very open to other possibilities for how to sustain the lab. If anyone is interested in talking to me about how we can help support the Keeland, I would love to talk to people.”

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“Keeland Design Lab under financial stress, proposes charging students for use” was originally posted on The Cougar

Members and students fill the SGA Senate Chamber during Wednesday’s April 3, meeting.  |Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar

Heated disagreements plagued the 61st Student Government Association’s inaugural meeting, with senators and students calling questioning the administration’s transparency and accountability. 

The first meeting of SGA President Diego Arriaga’s tenure was supposed to consist of the appointment of the Speaker of the Senate and the executive cabinet. However, issues regarding the meeting’s agenda and the lack of executive application materials for senators made this plan difficult.

“I stand before you as a senator who, as of right now, has lost trust and faith in our executive branch given the current dynamic they have created already,” said Sen. Mohib Awan. “Manyof the promises regarding open transparency and open communication amongst the executive and legislative branch have completely dissolved.”

The first issue students and senators raised was the lack of transparency regarding executive appointments. Some senators did not have access to the recorded interviews of applicants, and senators did not get nominations despite being promised one by Arriaga, according to biology sophomore Aihanuwa Ale-Opinion and other senators.

“Most of the interviews were not made available to senators, and the few that were were recorded yesterday,” Ale-Opinion said. “Some applicants with extensive resumes were promised nominations after interviewing, only for the nominations to completely change without their knowledge.” 

The Senate decided to table all executive cabinet appointments slated for the meeting because of these issues. In its place was the first reading of a vast slate of new legislation. One resolution introduced, titled Recognition of Senate Sovereignty, affirms the ability of the Senate to deny any appointments to the executive cabinet.

Another point of contention between the Senate and the president was how they would vote on the Speaker of the Senate. Many senators took issue with how the speaker vote was initially scheduled to be the last item on the meeting agenda — something that they claimed violates the SGA by-laws.

“Electing the speaker first during the meeting is in the SGA bylaws,” said Senator Jesus Nieto before the meeting. “The Senate is certain about motioning to have the speaker elected before anything gets done.”

According to the SGA bylaws, the Senate will “proceed to the election of the Speaker” at the first meeting of an administration. However, Nieto said that the clause regarding the speaker election is up to interpretation.

Arriaga and Craig eventually conceded to the Senators’ demands after hearing their remarks at the beginning of the meeting and allowed the vote for the new speaker to take place immediately. The Senate unanimously elected Senator Sebastian Ballesteros.

“I love hearing people’s opinions and hearing their voices,” Arriaga said. “I am here for the senators coming forward and voicing their concerns and questions.” | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar

According to Arriaga, the Speaker vote was scheduled as the last item to “end on a high note,” but he changed his plans after hearing from Ballesteros and other senators.

Senators also quarreled with Arriaga on former SGA President Joshua Martin’s involvement with his administration — specifically on Martin’s advisory role and his presence during interviews for cabinet applications. Arriaga claimed he has consulted with both Martin and previous SGA President Benjamin Rizk but strictly for input and advice, and that two are not directly influencing his administration. 

“I am hesitant to give Arriaga the benefit of the doubt because he promised that certain characters would not be involved in this new executive branch, but they are advising Arriaga,” Nieto said. 

Despite the initial drama and change of plans, Arriaga remains optimistic about the future of his administration and apologizes for the confusion regarding executive appointments.

“I love hearing people’s opinions and hearing their voices,” Arriaga said. “I am here for the senators coming forward and voicing their concerns and questions.”

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“First meeting of new SGA administration hampered by procedural issues” was originally posted on The Cougar

After weeks of delays and work, the Student Government Association and students have passed the New SGA Act, a bill that would overhaul the current SGA constitution. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar

After weeks of delays and work, the Student Government Association and students have passed the New SGA Act, a bill that makes sweeping overhauls to the current SGA constitution.

The process for Senators to vote for the Best SGA Act was complicated. Due to miscommunications and missing materials, last Wednesday’s SGA meeting was fraught with recesses and intermissions.

Voting for the Best SGA Act was supposed to occur during Wednesday night’s meeting but was tabled because senators did not have access to materials relating to the bill. Recesses also occurred during the meeting as committee appointee materials and other bills’ texts were not submitted to voting senators promptly. 

“I asked for the bill to be tabled because I was under the impression that no one has had the chance to read it thoroughly,” said Speaker of the Senate Sophia Wilson. “Part of why this is happening is because there’s not good coordination between President Benjamin RIzk and I.” 

According to Wilson, Senators were not actually able to read the bill until close to an hour prior to voting. She said Rizk is solely responsible for uploading the bill’s text for the senators to read.

Senators almost unanimously voted in favor of passing the Best SGA Act this March 24, and students voted on its implementation in a referendum held on GetInvolved last week.

The constitutional changes will be active when President-elect Diego Arriaga steps into office.

This result came after many long nights of calls between Rizk and economics junior and co-author of the Best SGA Act Micah Erfan to elaborate their ideas for a revamped SGA Constitution. The two previously faced off in a court dispute that resulted in an initial draft of the proposed constitutional reforms being struck down over procedural concerns. 

“We started going through the old constitution and listing all the things we wanted to change, and we thought that we should change them,” Erfan said. “We joined on a call together and kept doing that every night until 3 a.m. for the past three weeks.”

According to Rizk, counsel from former members of SGA, such as former SGA Presidents Charles Haston and Cameron Barrett, was also integral to the creation of the new constitution.

Members of both major parties of SGA have also come out to support the adoption of the new constitution, with both Students Unite and the For All Cougars party expressing their support through Instagram.

“Arriaga and Vice President Austin Craig’s input into the constitution was necessary, and they were happy to promote it,” Rizk said. “It also makes the efficiency of the SGA as an organization a lot better.”

According to Rizk, his intentions to consult with SGA matters with Erfan will not end with his presidency and may continue into the next semester.

“There’s a lot we want to do even after I leave office,” Rizk said. “The beauty of no longer being the president is that I can focus on initiatives that I am very passionate about.”

Rizk contributed to drafting the new changes after their conflict in the Supreme Court, and according to Erfan, the constitution will lead to less division and vacancies and more accountability.

“I think that out of SGA we’ve been getting outcomes that are subpar,” Erfan said. “We’ve gotten tons of divisions, tons of vacancies, and not a lot of university bills, which is the stuff that matters. And if we want to fix that, we’re gonna have to start changing the fundamental institutions from the foundations for everybody’s incentive.

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“Students, Senate vote in favor of constitutional amendments despite setbacks” was originally posted on The Cougar

“We did increase our voter turnout,” Astraquillo said. “This could be for a variety of reasons, but it was partially because we did our job.”| Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar

During the final Student Government Association meeting of the 6oth administration, the Senate refused to pass a bill removing Cessabella Astraquillo from her duties as election commissioner. 

The bill, which called for the removal of both Astraquillo and Associate Election Commissioner Omar Castanon, was introduced last week and comes after months of struggle between Astraquillo and SGA President Benjamin Rizk. Voting for the bill was evenly split, with six senators voting in favor and six senators voting against it. Two senators abstained from voting.

The bill, drafted by Rizk, claims that Astraquillo did not adequately perform her duties as election commissioner and failed to market the elections.

Before the meeting began, Astraquillo addressed the senate to provide her defense.

“We did increase our voter turnout,” Astraquillo said. “This could be for a variety of reasons, but it was partially because we did our job,”

Astraquillo also claimed that they made extensive efforts to raise awareness regarding the election — something that the bill alleged Astraquillo neglected. She said that she did not have access to the revised election code until the day of the candidate seminar, which Rizk criticized both in the bill and during the last senate meeting.

Astraquillo also presented various text messages showing how Rizk violated the SGA election code by frequently corresponding with the election commissioner via text message instead of email.

Ortega also commended Astraquillo for presenting her defense to the Senate, which she said provided more context to the bill. Ortega and five other senators voted against the bill. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar

The Senate took a 20-minute recess after Astraquillo addressed the Senate to confer their thoughts.

Before voting began, Rizk made his own address to the Senate, and he doubled down his arguments from the previous week’s meeting — specifically his claims that Astraquillo and Castanon targeted his campaign. He claimed that drafting the bill just days before the end of Astraquillo and Castanon’s tenure was necessary.

“At the end of the day, the vote is yours,” Rizk said. “I would not have not anything to make a fool out of myself unless I thought it was on the principle of what is right and just.”

Rizk’s brother and current senator, Alexander Rizk, interrupted Rizk’s address to voice his own complaints of Astraquillo’s performance.

“She never addressed why she never showed up to any of our Senate meetings. She says that she bought some t-shirts and flyers, but I think that is the bare minimum. She says she added to the student involvement. That is baloney,” Alexander said.

Sen. Anahi Ortega, the bill’s most prominent opponent, questioned its rushed nature and the little context Rizk provided within it. To Anahi, Rizk’s bill did not tell a full story of what transpired between him and Astraquillo.

“If he had gathered the full evidence and was able to put it in the bill, then I would have supported it,” Ortega said. “If the bill is half-done and pushed through, then I don’t think it’s right to go through with a formal removal. In a way, he didn’t do his job with the bill.”

Ortega also commended Astraquillo for presenting her defense to the Senate, which she said provided more context to the bill. Ortega and five other senators voted against the bill.

“I would say I was very caught off guard by some of the senators who voted no and abstained on the removal,” Rizk said. 

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“SGA senate declines to remove election commissioner, opposition cites lack of evidence” was originally posted on The Cougar

The 61st administration’s President-elect Diego Arriaga (left) and Vice President-elect Austin Craig (right) begin their tenure on April 1.| Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar

Despite their tenure not beginning until April 1, Student Government Association President-elect Diego Arriaga and Vice President-elect Austin Craig are already planning their first actions as SGA executives. 

On top of attending meetings with UH department heads and administrators, some of Arriaga’s and Craig’s early duties include planning their administration’s first 100 days in office, selecting candidates for their executive cabinet, and meeting with elected SGA senators. For the president-elect, having meetings with senators is crucial to having a stable transition between presidents. 

“Other than meeting with the vice presidents of all the departments, we’ve also been getting to know our senators a little more,” Arriaga said. “We’re trying to get to know each other and have a little friendly competition, but building unity beforehand.”

The importance of meeting with the newly elected senators is compounded by the party split within the 61st administration senate.

Unlike the 60th administration, the composition of the Senate is split, with Arriaga’s opposing party, Students Unite, occupying a majority of available seats. To Arriaga and Craig, this split in the senate does not arouse much concern and hopes that senators of all parties will forgo initial party loyalties in favor of mobilized action in SGA.

“Other than meeting with the vice president of all the departments, we’ve also been getting to know our senators a little more,” said President-elect Diego Arriaga. “We’re trying to get to know each other and have a little friendly competition, but building unity beforehand.”| Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar

“We’ve already been in contact with senators from Students Unite, and we preached to them that this is no longer about party loyalties,” Arriaga said. “Right now, we’re working together for the student body.”

Arriaga also encouraged senators of all parties to cooperate with each other to create more legislation under his administration. 

Students Unite senator-elect and Speaker of the Senate-hopeful Sebastian Ballesteros foresees some conflict with the president-elect’s party, specifically regarding executive appointments and Arriaga’s executive agenda. However, he hopes that meeting with Arriaga and Craig frequently will prevent a clash between SGA members during the first SGA meeting of the 61st administration.

“The split in the Senate is important because we ran on our agenda, and our agenda is better and more precise,” said Ballesteros. “There’s been talk between the party of making sure that we’re unified as a party, but also making sure that we talk to the other side as well.”

In addition to meeting with future senators, meeting with administrators allowed Arriaga and Craig to clarify plans for their first 100 days in office, which so far include events for Sexual Assault Awareness Month and working with UH Parking and Transportation Services to lower student parking permits.

However, changing their approach to implementing major campaign promises, such as increased UHPD presence, became a priority after attending a meeting with the department, according to Arriaga and Craig. To the president-elect and vice president-elect, increasing safety awareness on campus will be a more efficient way to improve safety for students rather than increasing UHPD operations.

“We realized it’s less about increasing security but about improving it,” Arriaga said. “We’ve learned that there’s quite a lot of security at the University and that it’s more about improving it and teaching the students how to increase security themselves.”

Other concerns for the upcoming administration include attention to the Student Fees Advisory Committee, specifically their selection process for potential candidates.

“We want someone who can toe the line,” Arriaga said. “We don’t want someone who doesn’t have a backbone and goes along with everything the administration wants, but we also don’t want people who are gonna fight the administration on everything.” 

The 61st administration also claims to promote SGA involvement in activism by helping the current administration create a new University committee to better serve student workers on campus.

According to both Arraiga and current SGA President Benjamin Rizk, the transition between the two administrations has been running smoothly, and they hope that speaking with each other about SGA will create a tradition of easy transitions for future SGA presidents.

“It’s been a great transition, probably the best transition in the last four or five years, even though I wanted their opponents to win,” Rizk said. 

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“SGA’s 61st admin executives prepare for first days in office, expect smooth transition” was originally posted on The Cougar

Interspersed throughout Rizk’s rant were interjections by Speaker of the Senate Sophia Wilson to prevent emotionally charged language. Rizk also pounded his fist in anger on the executive table throughout his rant. | Jordan Navarijo/The Cougar

During last night’s Student Government Association meeting, President Benjamin Rizk erupted in rage while introducing legislation that would remove the SGA chief election commissioner and associate election commissioner.

The first reading of the bill, titled Removal of Cessabella Astraquillo and Omar Castanon as Chief and Associate Election Commission, will be voted on during the next SGA senate meeting — a half-week before their tenure ends as commissioner and associate commissioner.

“I am getting emotional because it is not my job to hold the election commissioner accountable,” Rizk said. “I did that because I did not want this year’s election to end up like last year’s.”

Among many complaints, Rizk accused Astraquillo, who was appointed under his administration, of neglecting her duties as SGA election commissioner by not being familiar with the Election Code, insisting on using a first-past-the-post voting system and not being active with other SGA members. Rizk also claimed that Astraquillo did not properly spend any money in the election commission’s budget to advertise or promote the election . 

“The previous election commissioner made banners, booked a room for the vice presidential debates, and ordered election items to go out,” Rizk said. “In the four months of election preparations, Astraquillo hadn’t done any of that.”   

Rizk questioned if the Senate believed that Astraquillo accurately presented information within the Election Code during the candidate seminar. Of the senators present in the meeting, approximately five raised their hands.

“I was correcting her half the time during the meeting,” Rizk said. “She got spending caps wrong, she got times people were allowed to campaign wrong and she had four months to look through the election code and specify its rules.”

Another point of frustration Rizk addressed was Astraquillo and Castanon’s insistence on preventing Rizk from campaigning for the Students Unite party during the election. 

“Castanon blatantly lied to me about what I’m allowed and not allowed to do,” Rizk claimed. “Both Cessabella and Castanon specifically targeted me throughout the campaign by trying to tell me that I was not allowed to campaign. I know that this is false.”

Interspersed throughout Rizk’s rant were interjections by Speaker of the Senate Sophia Wilson to prevent emotionally charged language. Rizk also pounded his fist in anger on the executive table throughout his rant.

While introducing another piece of legislation entitled Corrective Action for SGA Election Commission Advisor, Rizk also criticized Katy Kaesebier, director of the Center for Student Involvement and the SGA Election Commission’s advisor, for not communicating the rules within the Election Code to Astraquillo and Castanon. 

“Katy was no better than Cessabella or Omar. I don’t want to use charged language, but she did not do a good job being an advisor,” Rizk said.

Prior to the meeting, Rizk also called Astraquillo “the worst election commissioner in the last ten years” and claimed that the election commission was “compromised.”

The bill that requested the removal of both the assistant and primary election commissioner had it’s first read last night and will be voted on during the senate meeting next week.

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“Fire and fury: SGA president delivers heated speech, calls for removal of election commissioner” was originally posted on The Cougar

“My favorite part about campaigning has been being able to hang out with our team more,” Tabbara said. “They are some cool people, and it’s been great to be able to build my community of passionate people.” | Anh Le/ The Cougar

With elections beginning for the 61st administration of the Student Government Association, candidates from each party had time to adopt and employ their differing campaigning styles.

This year’s presidential race is between the incumbent Students Unite party, headed by political science sophomores Cody Szell and Mohammed Tabbara, against the new For All Cougars party, led by biochemistry sophomore Diego Arriaga and sports administration junior Austin Craig. While both parties in this election frequently interact with students on campus and during events, they have distinct goals and methods of fostering communication with students. 

“We’re mainly just trying to focus on our consistent outreach efforts. I’m always out and around campus,” Szell said. “Overall, I’m visiting a lot of organization meetings and speaking with many organizational leaders.”

For both parties, using count-me-in cards is a prominent campaigning strategy. Count-me-in cards are forms that parties give to students for them to give their information. When voting begins, the parties will notify the student about the process and urge them to vote for their party. 

For All Cougars have distinguished their campaign by hosting tabling events around campus and asking students about their overall University experience.

“We set up a table with a board that says, ‘We want to hear your voice,’” Craig said. “We ask students how they feel about parking, and we open the door for them to talk with us.”

According to Arriaga and Craig, this approach allows them to interact with students on a more personable basis.

“Meeting new people is my favorite part of campaigning,” Arriaga said. “I’ve met so many different people, and they come to us with an issue, and we’ll talk with them. I just enjoy meeting new people.”

According to Szell, Students Unite’s campaign strategy is less centralized and emphasizes approaching students directly to talk with them about their party platform. 

While the parties have distinct approaches, one commonality among them is the struggle to consistently campaign throughout the three-week election period. However, for both parties, the benefits of engaging with students outweigh the struggles. 

 “Going to sleep sometimes at 2 a.m. and then waking up early to carry a big box to the library and campaigning can be difficult at times,” Szell said. “But getting a bag full of count-me-in cards at the end of the day always makes it worth it.”

Another critical part of campaigning for SGA elections is obtaining endorsements from other student organizations. However, the types of student organizations that endorse the parties differ.

According to Arriaga and Craig, the organizations that endorse the For All Cougars party primarily consist of campus fraternities. Students Unite, however, has obtained endorsements from a more diverse range of organizations, including the UH Economics Society, the College of Architecture student council, and Cougar Closet.

“Getting endorsements from student organizations is important to our campaign,” Szell said. “It shows the party’s resolve about solving specific issues that students and organizations experience.”

Both parties claim to have accomplished their goals for the campaign period. However, each one has different goals for their campaigns, whether it is through passing out flyers to students or just interacting with them.

“We had our goals for getting people to fill out our supporter forms just to see that people are rallying behind our cause. And we hit our goals for the most part,” Arriaga said. “But we’re not worried about numbers. We just want those quality connections.”

Voting has begun for the next administration of SGA and will continue until Wednesday, Feb. 28.

“My favorite part about campaigning has been being able to hang out with our team more,” Tabbara said. “They are some cool people, and it’s been great to be able to build my community of passionate people.”

news@thedailycougar.com

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“Winning an election 101: SGA parties discuss campaign strategies” was originally posted on The Cougar