This year, I've heard from juniors who worry that they won't be able to support next year's incoming class because they had trouble engaging with their classmates this year. I've heard from seniors who resent the UNT administration's lack of compassion for our situation. We need change now, and we need leadership that can bring it about.
• Establish a standing committee to address student grievances. If a student has an issue with anything at UNT, the Senate needs the power to fix that issue as soon as possible.
• Directly petition the UNT administration on matters that impact TAMS, so that we don't get left out when UNT finally reopens.
• Create sessions for the Senate and the student body at large to question executives from UNT and the Student Government Association (like Prime Minister's Questions in the United Kingdom), so that our leaders can be directly answerable to our communities.
• Communicate every major decision that the UNT and TAMS administrations make, so that we can be well-informed and ready to respond if need be.
• Fight to increase two-way communication between UNT, TAMS admin, TAMS parents, and TAMS students.
• Push for the UNT administration to create a form for students to anonymously submit their concerns and complaints, both now and after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
• Pass a comprehensive framework for mental health reform. COVID-19 devastated the mental health of many at TAMS, and we need to ensure that everyone can succeed.
• Work to get more TAMS students appointed to the Senate by existing means, so that we can increase our representation as soon as possible.
• Allow students to temporarily fill empty Senate seats without requiring a petition. Again, this would allow more TAMS students to participate in the Student Senate, allowing us to participate more in our student government.
• Work within the Senate to reduce the stigma that TAMS students face at UNT, so that we can take advantage of all the opportunities that being a university student has to offer.
• Present a plan to ensure that every college at UNT, including TAMS, has at least three seats in the Student Senate.
• Direct the Election Board to adopt instant run-off voting for every single SGA election. Doing so would make our elections more representative of the student body.
• Use existing means to get TAMS students into the Student Senate, such as those in Section 5 of the SGA By-Laws.
• Work with organizations like TAMS Ballot to promote a culture of civic engagement, so that the progress we achieve this year can last for years to come.
• Look into creating an advisory council of TAMS students, so that my decisions can be informed by the will of the student body.
• Work with activist organizations at TAMS to ensure that students of all socioeconomic backgrounds have their interests represented.
• Help interested TAMS students join the SGA Election Board so that our elections can be more accessible to our community.