Leadership Institute workshop yields another student government victory
A student in the University of Houston College of Nursing, recently secured a senate seat after participating in a Campus Election Workshop hosted by the Leadership Institute.
The platform of her party, Re-elect For the Students, emphasizes safety, including through collaborations with campus police to deliver 'trainings for first-aid, CPR, and active shooter.'
Risa Lizcano, a student in the University of Houston (UH) College of Nursing, recently secured a senate seat to represent her college after participating in a Leadership Institute workshop on Feb. 20.
Amidst a crime spike on college campuses and colleges’ home cities–a trend that goes overlooked by those who want to abolish campus police–Lizcano belongs to a coalition that emphasizes students’ safety.
At UH, where students run for office under political parties, the newly-elected members of the Student Government Association (SGA) are divided between Students Unite and Re-elect For the Students (Re-elect), according to a Mar. 25 article in the student newspaper, The Cougar.
[RELATED: Leadership Institute grad triumphs in UConn SGA elections]
Connecting students to job opportunities before graduation, providing affordable copies of textbooks, and preventing crime–especially sexual violence–are all part of the platform of Lizcano’s party, Re-elect.
The party’s Instagram page explains its campus safety plan. SGA, the page says, has collaborated with campus police to deliver “trainings for first-aid, CPR, and active shooter.” A university news release shared SGA leaders’ efforts in Walk in the Dark, an event that helps students, faculty, and campus police identify places on campus that need better lighting.
To address sexual assault, Re-elect advocates for “free test my drink cards,” strips that determine whether a drink has been spiked with ketamine or one of the other “Date Rape Drugs.” Re-elect members also want to see a sexual assault hotline on the back of every student ID.
The Cougar reported the platform for the other party, Students Unite, which featured raising the minimum wage for student workers and increasing pay for university counselors. Bamboo straws also made their way into the platform as one suggestion for Students Unite’s focus on the environment.
Lizcano, who declined to comment, and other Re-elect members participated in a Campus Election Workshop hosted by the Leadership Institute, the parent organization of Campus Reform. The workshop “teaches [students] how to run for–and win–student government elections.”
Interested students can request a Campus Election Workshop here.
