(Source: via Flickr)
The following is a short story to illustrate the policy change process that leaders must complete to steward the University and to move both it and its community ultimately towards a just society.
Molly, an undergraduate student at UT-Tyler, has a passion for conservation. She wants to know UT-Tyler’s approach to sorting the trash that it collects on-campus. So naturally, if she wants to know the University’s position on anything, then she first looks for information in the University’s Handbook of Operating Procedures (HOP).
In HOP, she finds The Department of Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) is responsible for trash pickup on-campus. So she visits EH&S’s university website for more information.
There, on the EH&S university website, Molly finds useful information that answers general questions about EH&S’s approach to waste management. As a conservationist, Molly knows she will return to this website in the future to learn more about the department’s practices.
However, for today, she is just looking for an answer to how EH&S sorts campus trash.
So while Molly could take the long road and look through EH&S’s departmental handbook for the answer to her question herself through a Texas Public Information Act (TPIA) request—a very helpful investigative tool!—instead she decides her question is simple enough to just ask the department directly. So Molly finds the department email on EH&S’s website (safety@uttlyer.edu) and sends her question.
Pretty soon, EH&S responds! Molly learns the department does not currently separate red-colored trash from blue-colored trash in its on-campus collection. However, as a conservationist, Molly believes such a practice is very important, so she decides to approach the EH&S director about making red-blue trash separation an official departmental policy.
Molly meets with EH&S Director John Smith and presents her case, but unfortunately, Smith declines to adopt her policy. “EH&S has other priorities right now,” he says. “Hopefully, we may be able to implement red-blue trash separation in the future.”
Undeterred, Molly turns to student government for help. She seeks for The Student Government Association (SGA)—the most powerful lobbying group on-campus—to take-up her cause with university administration. Molly shares the importance of separating red trash from blue trash with SGA (what she calls “R&B Conservationism”) and obtains a sponsor from among SGA’s members. This sponsor also obtains co-sponsors. With Molly’s help, they pass legislation that calls on the University to separate red trash from blue trash in its garbage collection. Hooray for Molly and for “R&B Conservationism”!
Given the special status SGA has with The University of Texas Board of Regents (the governing board), all ratified SGA legislation comes before the Board for its review. In this case, the Board reads The “R&B Legislation” and as a result, directs the university president to implement the new policy. (The university president is the Board’s representative at the local level.)
So then, the president instructs the EH&S director and then the EH&S director—now under the president’s direction—implements the policy change. The University now has a new approach to trash collection.
Molly is thrilled! Not only will the University no longer partake in the harm of mixing red- and blue-colored trash together, but now Molly also has a new accomplishment to boast of on her resume and a newfound appreciation for student government’s ability to advocate for students to the administration.
Her work complete, Molly decides to focus on her studies for the rest of her undergraduate career, but if the opportunity opens, she will consider a seat on EH&S’s student advisory council as a graduate student. For now, Molly will always be proud of the impact she made on her alma mater while she was there.
Feature Image: Via Flickr. (Source unknown!)
Comments
Post a Comment