SGA president-elect talks first priorities, campaign promises

News – The Daily Cougar By Marialuisa Rincon March 9, 2017

Spirit RED won the election with 50.8 percent of the vote, avoiding a runoff.  | Courtesy of Winni Zhang
On March 31, Winni Zhang will take office as the president of the 54th administration of the Student Government Association, following a contentious election season called on Friday.
After the mudslinging subsided and complaints to the election commission were settled, Zhang and her running mate, Adrian Hernandez, emerged victorious. The pair won the election with just over 50 percent of the vote, and Spirit RED swept the Senate, securing 24 seats for its members.
The Cougar sat down with Zhang to learn what her first actions and priorities as student body president will be.
The Cougar: You said in the presidential debate that your first priority is outreach. What is the first step toward doing that and who do you want to reach?
Winni Zhang: Once I finally get my team, (my first step is) to go to different classes, introduce SGA. A lot of students don’t know what SGA does, so really giving them a rundown of what it does and what it’s in control of so they can hold us accountable to change we want to make this year. So they know there’s an avenue for their voice to be heard, there’s a channel for student voices so they don’t feel like they’re going up against the administration and have no one to hear them out — that they’re just one student — but that there’s an actual group that unifies all student voices and targets problems that students face on campus.
TC: Now that UH is part of the Open Textbook Network, how is your administration in a position to expand on that success?
WZ: The open source textbooks, right now, are only at 20 professors and it’s a trial period. The Provost ...


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