SGA ushers in new leaders

SGA president-elect Jeremy Klutts was sworn in first, after saying the traditional words “So help me God,” which marked the end of his oath. He then proceeded to swear in the officers of the executive and legislative branches.

By the end of the meeting on April 23, all the new Student Government Association members for the 2012-2013 school year had been sworn into office.

Voting had been open to all students from April 11-13. 164 students voted, which was an increase from the fall elections, where only about 60 students had voted.

Next year’s executive branch will include senior Jeremy Kutts, president; junior Ryle Scribner, vice president; junior Kelsey Engel, public relations director; senior Shelby Hooper, chaplain; senior Judy Rosa, secretary; and sophomore Bill Luo, treasurer.

“My position involves coordinating the rest of the executives, and the executives then coordinate their own respective committees,” Klutts said. “The executives

coordinate the rest of the body by giving them a path to go on, and then the rest is carried on by the legislative body.”

There are a few requirements that executive branch candidates must meet in order to be placed on the ballot to run for office. For instance, the vice president has to be at least a sophomore and has to have been participating in SGA for at least one semester. Similarly, the SGA bylays require the president to be at least a junior and has to have been participating in SGA for at least two semesters. The other positions in the executive branch are open to anybody who wants to run. All of the executives, however, must be able to sign Houston Baptist University Preamble to the Bylaws, which contains allegiance to Christian doctrine.

As of last fall, the legislative branch does not have to sign the preamble, which allows SGA to have members with voting rights who are not Christian. Members of this branch participate in committees that are headed by members of the executive branch.

The legislative branch for the upcoming year will be comprised of:

Senior Vincent Meyers, senator

Senior Alex Solorio, senator

Junior Jade Penick, senator

Junior Fritz Markos, senator

Sophomore Arsalan Rehman, senator

Sophomore Monet Hebb, senator

Senior Shannon Saganti, Honors College representative

Junior Tung Ho, School of Nursing and Allied Health representative

Senior Katie Kerbow, School of Nursing and Allied Health representative

Senior Taymour Khan, College of Science and Mathematics representative

Junior Marina Tony, College of Science and Mathematics representative

Senior Monique Pham, School of Business representative

Junior Nishita Rojani, School of Business representative

Senior Laura Strack, School of Business representative

Senior Jovani Diaz, College of Arts and Humanities representative

 

Meyers, who presided over SGA during the 2011-2012 school year, decided to step down for the upcoming year in order to give another member the opportunity to experience the leadership role.

“My experience was very engaging and rewarding, and I am very happy to have had the opportunity to serve as president,” Meyers said.

As the year comes to a close, the recently-elected members of SGA have started brainstorming to come up with goals and plans for the future. One of the main goals discussed during the meeting was to promote SGA more in the future.

“My main goal for the next year is to continue the process of making SGA known to the student body, to let them know that we’re here for them,” Klutts said.

A major part of the task will fall on Engel, who will be the public relations director and head the publicity committee. She accepted the role this year, after the previous member holding the spot left SGA, and Engel will continue to hold her position this upcoming academic year.

“The upside of this position is that I am able to interact with the students,” Engel said. “The downside is that it’s a lot of work because everything has to be planned out in advance, but I love it.”