As suggested by the colorful promotions around campus and social media, the student council elections started today, Wednesday April 8th. Before you go mindlessly deleting emails with candidates’ proposals or voting como un loco take a second to read about what does the student council really do. What is the student council’s job?
As the current president of the General Student Council, Jesiel Díaz Colón stated:
“The student council’s influence over important decisions depends on a lot of different factors like the vision and willingness of the administration, but it also falls greatly on how effective and strategic the current student council is.
On my years as part of the council I have witnessed the power and influence we have over decisions that affect us, the students. I’ve seen how the administration considers our opinions greatly and been able to presence breakthroughs that wouldn’t have been possible three years ago.”
Half of your Facebook friends are posting and sharing possible candidates, but you don’t even know the difference between un concejal y un senador. If that’s your case keep reading to learn what the different positions entail and how the council is organized.
Concejales
These are the students who receive all of the concerns and opinions of their fellow faculty/department colleagues, which in turn they take to the general student council.
Senadores
The selected students are our voice before the academic senate; they also participate in university politics and different committees.
Junta Universitaria
This committee is composed by a representative from each of UPR’s 11 campuses; they are responsible for the creation of policies that affect the whole institution. Our representative will voice the visions of out campus.
Junta Administrativa
The student elected will be our voice in administrative matters but the position is filled only after the new student council is elected, because they are the ones who choose the person for the job.
Consejo General de Estudiantes
Once elected, a number of concejales and senadores get selected to be part of the General Student Council, which is the official organization that attends to the student body’s necessities according to regulations. The council is called to defend student rights, ensure our best interest and look for ways to improve the quality of student life at UPRM.
Giving you a sense of the significance of the council inn our student life, we invite you to vote thoughtfully and responsibly.