Have you ever wondered who conveys your interests as a student at the University of Texas to the state Legislature? Invest in Texas is a student-led, nonpartisan advocacy effort dedicated to advocating for the University and students across the state.

Invest in Texas, which is a joint effort led by the Senate of College Councils, Student Government and the Graduate Student Assembly, and supported by various organizations around campus, has fought in the past to make the University affordable, competitive and safe. It is critical to have our voices heard at the Capitol, so this year, the co-directors and operational committee of Invest in Texas are working hard to represent the voice of students on important higher education matters. 

The campaign is currently under the direction of Taylor Guerrero from the Senate of College Councils, John Brown from Student Government and Ryan Muetzel from the Graduate Student Assembly. The co-directors receive assistance from the operational committee that is split up into three teams/sub-committees: communications, outreach and policy oversight. This is where students of the University are heavily encouraged to participate. Students are needed to form each subcommittee to ensure Invest in Texas has a successful semester. 

In addition to a consistent advocacy effort, Invest in Texas sponsors the Legislative Day March to the Capitol each year. In the past, hundreds of students have participated in the march and sat in on hearings and committee meetings. On this day, Invest in Texas holds a press conference in which student leaders and key legislators speak about key issues that affect our University. In previous years we have been successful in keeping students represented on the Board of Regents and have been successful in allowing UT to determine its own “guns-on-campus” policy. 

This year, the platform for the advocacy campaign has not yet been finalized, but the operational committee is open to suggestions and opinions of the student body. While the platform has yet to be set in stone, the main objective of the campaign is to keep the University affordable and safe in addition to ensuring the student body is well represented on governing boards. The operational committee hopes that participation in subcommittees and in the March to the Capitol will grow tremendously. 

The operational committee hopes that participation in subcommittees and in the March to the Capitol will grow tremendously. For more information, please like the Invest in Texas Facebook page or send an email to [email protected]. In addition, feel free to stop by the Senate/SG or the GSA offices in SAC 2.102 and SAC 3.102 respectively. We look forward to working with you and representing the student body at the 84th Legislature.

Guerrero is a history and government senior from Van Vleck.