The foundation of Student Government at our University occurred in 1902 following a mass meeting of the student body. Student leaders originally established this new organization for the purposes of consolidating the management of student publications and promoting school spirit. Today, Student Government is responsible for numerous important duties, including appropriating thousands of dollars to student organizations each year, appointing students to more than 175 positions across campus and the City of Austin, enhancing the quality and scope of the student experience and being the official voice of students to UT administration, the UT System Board of Regents, the City of Austin and the Texas Legislature.

With the start of the spring semester, campus-wide elections are less than two months away. On March 2 and 3, you will have the opportunity to elect your next round of student leaders. With 41 SG representative positions available and the Student Government president and vice president positions, there are several opportunities for you to get involved in our century-old organization. Below is a list of the number of representative spots available for each college and school along with the number of University-wide and at-large graduate positions available. You can file for one of these elective offices in the Student Activity Center room 2.102 beginning Jan. 19 at 9 am until Feb. 16 at noon.

Student Government President and Vice President – 1
Cockrell School of Engineering – 3
College of Education – 1
College of Fine Arts – 1
College of Liberal Arts – 4
College of Natural Sciences – 5
College of Pharmacy – 1
Graduate School – 4
Jackson School of Geosciences – 1
LBJ School of Public Affairs – 1
McCombs School of Business – 3
Moody College of Communication – 2
School of Architecture – 1
School of Law – 1
School of Nursing – 1
School of Social Work – 1
School of Undergraduate Studies – 1
Graduate (at-large) – 2
University Wide – 8

These past two years, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being a liberal arts representative and especially this past year serving as speaker of the 109th Student Government Assembly. If there were one thing I would change differently about my college experience, it would’ve been joining SG sooner. I could take this opportunity to rehash the tremendous accomplishments of SG over the years and why I think you should definitely consider running, but I’ll direct you to my previous column as to why you should “utilize SG as the resource that it is.” Not only have I seen how the University operates, but also I’ve made lasting friendships.

If you have an idea of ways to improve campus life or you passionately believe in an issue that affects students, please consider filing for Student Government. I think last year’s presidential and vice-presidential election is a testament that you don’t necessarily need experience to run: A simple idea and a willingness to act are more than enough to enact the change you want to see.

Long is a government senior.