Geography bill passed
unanimously by SGA
SGA appoints
new advisor, director of finance; passes geography bill to create major
and minor in the field
By Audrey Warren
Daily Cougar Staff
With all impeachment proceedings aside,
the Student Government Association went straight into business at its meeting
Wednesday night, passing legislation for the creation of a geography major
and minor and appointing a director of finance and an SGA advisor.
Throughout the fall semester, SGA members
have circulated petitions to determine whether students want a geography
major and minor.
The SGA Academic Affairs committee, which
produced the bill, feared that without the opportunity to obtain a degree
in geography "many students leave or transfer elsewhere."
The geography bill, passed unanimously
by the SGA senate, proposes that the University create a major and minor
in the field to "provide the student body of the University of Houston
adequate spatial training and education."
The senate also approved the nomination
of sophomore MIS and finance major Temitope Ayoola to the position of director
of finance. Ayoola will handle the financial concerns of the SGA. Interim
Director of Campus Activities Zach Coapland was approved by the senate
as SGA advisor.
In other business, College of Architecture
senator Charles-Michael Berry reported the plans of the Transportation
Parking Advisory Committee, which met Wednesday morning.
One of the biggest complaints from students
at UH is about the parking situation, Berry said. Berry said TPAC is addressing
these concerns with plans to generate 2,187 more parking spots for students.
TPAC reported that additional parking will
be added to almost every lot around campus. Possible parking arrangements
also include removing basketball courts near the Quadrangle to allow for
more space.
The proposed parking plans are estimated
to cost about $5 million, Berry said.
"Many students have asked 'Why not go three-dimensional?'"
Berry said, referring to requests from his constituents for SGA to propose
legislation for parking garages.
However, garages may not be what students
want, he said.
TPAC estimates that to pay for security,
construction and other costs involved with building a parking garage on
campus, students would have to endure higher prices for decals. Berry said
students would have to pay anywhere from $350 to $400 for parking decals,
adding that many students already complain about high parking prices.
Former Honors College senator Bill Kelly
also addressed the senate Wednesday with an initiative to create UH United,
an organization that would work with SGA to address concerns of UH students.
SGA will not meet again until after the
holiday break; it will next convene Jan. 17.
