UTSA Student Government leads effort to unite area student governments

By Jesus Chavez
Public Affairs Specialist

(Dec. 17, 2014) -- It began as an idea that then-Business Affairs Committee Chair Zack Dunn had during his sophomore-year run for president of The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Student Government Association (SGA). The goal was to unite as many student government leaders from as many local private and public universities and colleges as possible under a single umbrella -- a formal assembly that would give a voice to higher education students across San Antonio.

"The UTSA Student Government Association believed that an assembly of student body leaders could help advance engagement of higher education students in civic and governmental matters," said Dunn, who has served as UTSA SGA president since spring 2013.

According to Dunn, the assembly would be a nonpartisan body that represents the best interests of all students living and learning in San Antonio. It would speak only for itself and not for any specific institution, and it would be composed of two representatives from each institution. One would be the student body president (or student government president) and the other a representative appointed by their institution's president.

The assembly was slow to catch on at first. Dunn said that the UTSA SGA cold-called student government presidents from every university and college in the city. At the first meeting of the San Antonio Higher Education Representative Assembly (SAHERA), held last July, representatives from four universities attended. The representatives shared their thoughts on what the assembly should stand for, traded advice on productive and honest leadership, and spoke about their own experiences.

Since then, SAHERA's attendance has doubled. Eight local schools, with more currently being courted, meet regularly throughout each semester. At the meetings, assembly members share their thoughts on civic matters, trade advice, collaborate on a variety of issues and brainstorm ways to educate student populations about civic and governmental matters that affect them.

SAHERA has written a formal constitution that nearly all of the assembly schools' student governments have ratified. Dunn serves as the SAHERA chairman with other student government representatives also serving on the assembly's leading council.

"Through the San Antonio Higher Education Representative Assembly, San Antonio student governments are taking the initial steps to ensure that students' voices are heard by local governmental authorities," said Christian Kenney, vice president of the UTSA SGA.

The assembly hopes to begin conversations with the San Antonio City Council about the possibility of receiving regular representation and attendance within city government, according to Dunn. SAHERA also is in the midst of developing a proposal that would include the creation of a student council district within San Antonio. If internal assembly members approve the proposal, SAHERA would campaign to create a City Council district in San Antonio that would represent the interests of university students.

"It's a dream right now," Dunn said. "However, the SAHERA mission is to find as many ways to represent the voices of higher education students as possible, and if this is an avenue that we feel is worth exploring because it will directly and positively impact student life in San Antonio, we will."

The UTSA Student Government Association is a university-sponsored student organization that serves as the official advocate and voice of students. The SGA has weekly meetings among its general assembly every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the H-E-B University Center Harris Room (1.214) on the Main Campus. The SGA office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday.

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For more information, email sgautsa@gmail.com, call 210-458-4597 or visit the UTSA Student Government Association website.

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