Armando Sanchez, a student and graduate instructional assistant in the Department of Political Science, was recently appointed to the Graduate House of Representatives as the Political Science representative for the College of Liberal Arts. The House, or the Graduate House of Representatives, is a body of student government that represents graduate students at Texas State, consisting of two representatives from each academic college. Representatives are nominated by the Dean of each college.
Representatives strive “to serve as the primary student government advocate for all graduate students at Texas State University by listening and acting transparently as a liaison between the students, the university, and surrounding communities.” Initiatives spurred by Grad House representative have ranged from increasing lighting on parts of campus to passing Title IX legislation. Moreover, representatives take on leadership roles in a variety of recurring initiatives, including Graduate Student Appreciation Week and the annual Lunch With the Deans.
The Graduate House gives those involved first-hand experience of the legislative process and “functions as a sort of rational arbitrator” to the Senate. Representative Sanchez is filling the seat previously held by another Political Science major, Ethan Van Gorkom. Representative Gorkom assumed the role of Parliamentarian, as well as Chair of the Equity and Inclusion Committee. Responsibilities included knowing “the student government constitution and the student government code of laws, to ensure the meetings flowed properly.”
For recent Representative Sanchez, “the legislature is the branch where change happens.” During the duration of his appointment, Sanchez hopes “to push legislation that better correlates with what graduate students want” and “bring more diversity and inclusion when it comes to people of color.”
More information on the Graduate House of Representatives can be viewed here.
