He plays flag football, hopes to serve as Laredo’s City Manager, and sits on the A&M System’s Chancellor’s Student Advisory Board. Now, as part of The Bridge’s series of sit-downs with your Student Government representatives, COAS Senator Juan Sebastian Mendive talks textbook prices and offers advice for non-traditional students.
Herrera: Let’s start with student life. I was just asking your buddy, Matt Hall, and Luis Stagg from [Campus Activities Board], who both just raved about student involvement-not just the organizations, but so-called inactive students-in helping hurricane evacuees from Corpus Christi and Kingsville. And I couple this with what I’ve seen academically and what administrators and people in student support have told me. They see students reading. They see students with it. Luis Stagg called it a change in the culture. Do you think that’s happening?Mendive: I’ve seen more people are into doing their readings. I see more students involved. I think we can give Student Government some credit for that. I also give credit to other organizations that are active on campus, as well as CAB. We’ve really put ourselves out there. We were part of Dusty Camp, which helped students know how to get active on campus. Students are realizing the importance of contributing to your community. You can trace it back to TAMIU’s involvement in the high schools with recruitment. They’re having seminars for teachers to train them. Maybe the high school teachers are better preparing the students because of that. Herrera: What’s your specific legislative agenda as a Senator for Arts and Sciences? Mendive: Our College is the most diverse. It’s also the largest. I’m a social scientist myself, but I feel there tends to be a lot of preference in the College of Arts and Sciences towards the social sciences with deans. For example, the Associate Dean, Dr. Peter Haruna, is a social scientist.Herrera: What do you mean by preference? Mendive: I guess there’s more emphasis, and it’s good for the social sciences, but our college is so diverse there needs to be greater emphasis elsewhere. We [SG Senators] have to meet with our deans once a month, but since a lot of administrators in the college come from the social sciences, I’d like to meet with the chairs; I’d like to talk to people from the fine arts, literature. I just see a lot of emphasis on the social sciences and not-Herrera: By emphasis, do you funding? Is it-Mendive: No, I mean if you look at, for example, the Sanchez Lecture Series, they tend to revolve around the social sciences. I think we need more diversity there. Herrera: I see. Speaking of the College, by next semester, we’re looking at adding up to thirteen more sections of freshman composition. That’s a lot of students-many of them not COAS majors, but they’re all going to have to shell out close to two hundred and fifty dollars for a new textbook packet. Students are hurting financially, as you know. They try to borrow books and such. But because one of the composition texts-the course reader-changed substantially, the students need to buy the entire packet. The books aren’t sold separately. What’s SG’s place in that?Mendive: Yes, when I took English composition one, I had to buy the packet. I was concurrently enrolled back then. When I took 1302, I had to buy the packet again. That presented a financial hardship. Herrera: How long ago was this? Mendive: Fall of 2006. Herrera: It was just changed again. So if there is a pattern here, what can SG do about it?Mendive: We do have a role. We can lobby the bookstore to sell the books separately. The Chancellor’s Student Advisory Board plans to go to Austin to lobby in favor of tax-free textbooks. We’re supporting the bill co-sponsored by Senator Judith Zaffirini. The A&M System, the UT system-everyone’s behind it. I myself have had to spend four hundred dollars on textbooks; that includes about a hundred and twenty-three dollars in tax. It makes a difference. Tax-free textbooks are a start. And again, this goes back to Student Government keeping in contact with not only the deans but also the department chairs, so we can bring these issues up with them. In reference to the English composition packet, we need to talk with the chairs also, so they understand the financial hardships brought [about by] the change of the packet. Student government has five senators for the College of Arts of Sciences. Herrera: It seems at every SG meeting we’ve got new senators installed. Are you no longer elected by the students? I thought there was a provision in the student body constitution allowing for special elections in the case of vacancies. Is just quicker to install people?Mendive: It’s quicker to install people. I mean, I ran for vice president. I lost, so I applied to be a senator. You know, the election process is a little bit more complicated ’cause you have to work with the One Card system. Setting up the ballot and then waiting for the elections and a week of campaigning takes time away from having a complete SG during the year, so it is more convenient to appoint students.
The Senator pointed out that SG vets appointees through an application and interview process open to all interested students; the process helps reduce turnover. By comparison, the current Senate is comprised of an experienced crop, consisting of two and three-term senators (once a rarity) and a former SG President. The most recent Student Government bylaws posted on the Office of Student Activities’ website no longer lists an elections committee as in previousyears. Mendive mentions that changes to the constitution and bylaws are currently under review. Who drafted See MENDIVE, page 13the latest version? According to the Senator, none other than former Bridge editor, Peter Villanueva.
Herrera: You’re married.Mendive: (smiles, turns to his wife, Rachel, sitting next to him)Herrera: I guess that makes you a non-traditional student. We’ve got a lot of those at TAMIU. What do you say to them as they struggle to finish their education? Mendive: Time management. Marriage has actually been more of a motivator for me. I don’t have time to procrastinate any more. If I don’t do it now, it probably won’t get done, so in that sense, marriage can be a motivator to keep you on schedule. [My wife] helps me study; sometimes she corrects my grammar on papers. So the most important thing is be with someone who understands you, who understands that, as a student, you may not have the time to dedicate to married life.Herrera: TAMIU at one point had on-campus daycare. It closed down. Do you think non-traditionals need childcare on campus? Mendive: The cost of a lot of daycares is really high. Along with the cost of education, some parents have trouble making it to class. I think there is a need here, but it would help most if some sort of funding were available to keep the costs down for students who are also parents.
The conversation then turned to a disagreement at the open Senate meeting of Sept. 10. Matthew Hall, currently occupying the rotating speakership, criticized President James Cortez and Vice President Eliezar Castañeda for committing Student Government to assisting non-profit Food for Thought with a canned food drive. Hall objected to the executives’ decision because they neglected to put the matter through the Senate first. The display continued ex cathedra as Hall drew three circles on a piece of paper and held them up to explain to the executives the basics of tripartite government. To provide scope for the issue, Mendive reiterates that the issue centered not on the canned food drive but simple miscommunication. As a matter of fact, Senator Hall seconded the motion, bringing the issue before the Senate formally. The Senate overwhelming passed the resolution to back Food for Thought. Mendive clarified his motives for addressing the issue so candidly with The Bridge.
Mendive: If I could quote President James Cortez, he said, “If a freshman comes into our meeting and sees a senator talking to the executive like that, you know that freshman doesn’t know that we all later go bowling together.” Herrera: All they see is the fight.Mendive: Exactly. They don’t know that the Senate apologized to the executive branch for the display at the meeting. Herrera: The drawing of the three circles? Mendive: Yes, that’s what we apologized for. Herrera: Did Mathew Hall apologize?Mendive: He did. We wanted to make it clear to President Cortez and Vice President Castañeda that no disrespect was meant. We just feel like the executive and legislative branches need to communicate with each other. Herrera: Right. Now, there’s a trend that some universities are offering a fall break, like the spring break. Is it true you’re pushing for that here?Mendive: Not exactly. We’re pushing for a dead week. Students are used to having Reading Day right before finals, but we’d like to extend that to an entire dead week. Other campuses in the system are doing that. Let’s say we don’t get the dead week, okay? Maybe we could provide coffee for students during finals. Herrera: Maybe Starbucks can donate.Mendive: (laughs) Herrera: But you guys need to study too. Everything you do, we can’t have SG burn out on us. Mendive: (laughs, shakes his head).
Senator Matt Hall weighs in on SG meeting
The following is a response from Matthew Hall, Student Government Senator at Large, to an issue addressed in Mike Herrera’s interview with Senator Juan Sebastian Mendive.
“The issue over the Executive Order had been brought up by a number of Senators, and I had agreed to serve as the voice of our collective concern during the next meeting. The actual debating in the meeting lasted a bit less than two minutes; we actually have a rather cool understanding to drop any issue that becomes polarizing during a Senate meeting. We have to keep to the meeting agenda, after all.In the end, both parties came to an amicable conclusion, and the Senate moved to approve the project, Senator Mendive making the motion and I seconding it. Debates are, indeed, a part of the democratic process. Such discussions are normal in any legislature, from the SG Senate to the United States Congress. The important thing is for debating parties to be able to come together under mutual respect and reach a fair resolution in good time.”