Student Government held its first two senate meetings of the fall semester Sept. 2 and 16 and its first fall committee meeting Sept. 9, addressing budget cuts of up to $18,000, fall elections and several new initiatives. These include a basic needs survey, a student organization partnership program and the relaunch of the Shelf Stars food insecurity fundraiser.
Neuroscience junior David Baker, SG’s vice president, said the organization’s budget was cut by $15,000-$18,000 over the summer, prompting stricter spending requirements for events. The change was tied to a decrease in international and graduate enrollment, which led to a 5.3% budget cut across multiple UTD departments. SG has had to reallocate budgets for all ongoing plans and initiatives.
“Previously SG was pretty hands off with budgets — we’d just get an annual report from our [administrative assistant], Jackie [Reynolds],” Baker said. “But this year, since we have a tighter budget, we’re being much more hands-on to make sure every dollar is tracked.”
A cut to the SG projects budget impacts the main funding for SG, which organizes events and resources like Final Scream or Lavender Graduation. SG is also no longer able to provide food for visitors and senators at meetings.
Baker also said that recent changes in Texas law will impact upcoming SG events. Following Senate Bill 2972, UTD updated its speech policy, UTDSP5001, to require that any third-party organizations tabling on campus be sponsored and accompanied by a student group. The rule was in effect for National Voter Registration Day on Sept. 16 at the Plinth, where SG partnered with local organizations and the Richardson City Council to register 104 new voters.
The Office of Undergraduate Education and former Office of Campus Resources and Support previously ran a Basic Needs Survey, which was finalized in spring 2024; SG is working to refine the questions before re-administering it in fall 2026. The survey aims to measure student well-being, food and housing insecurity, tuition challenges and mental health, and the refinement is to help better determine the student body’s most critical needs so SG can take initiatives toward addressing them.
The Shelf Stars program was relaunched, a competitive fundraiser in partnership with the Comet Cupboard to combat food insecurity. Groups including SG and student organizations will compete to collect what the Comet Cupboard needs most that month. Sociology senior Caden Brenner, SG’s Diversity, Equity and Belonging chair, said September’s competition is dedicated to collecting household and personal care items, with the winning group receiving recognition as a “shelf star.”
“Even though the cupboard often gets large volumes of pantry staples,” Brenner said, “there are lots of specialty items that are super high impact but come in very low quantities.”
Other major initiatives underway this semester include preparations for the Comet Gala — which SG hopes will involve a partnership with Fraternity and Sorority Life — and National Coming Out Day on Oct. 9. In addition, SG is developing a student organization partnership program where senate committees will be paired with student organizations to serve as liaisons and promote collaboration, with 122 student groups already signed up.
Healthcare studies senior Abbad Hoda, SG’s Residential Affairs chair, said SG will continue restocking menstrual product dispensers in residence halls and is preparing to implement a Narcan initiative to provide overdose prevention resources on campus. The project is a partnership with University Emergency Medical Response and University Housing.
“We do have the Narcan supplies on campus,” Hoda said. “The next steps as a committee are about how we want to start this implementation process.”
The Sports Ad Hoc Committee, led by criminology junior Jasmine Kouhestani, is working to improve communication between athletics and students after track and field and cross-country programs were temporarily cut over the summer. The committee is collaborating with the Student Athletics Advisory Committee and university officials to support both NCAA and club sports.
International political economics junior Oliver Wroten, student representative on the Committee on Education Policy, said the Faculty Senate is currently inactive after SB 37 took effect. Senators elected neuroscience junior Abhinav Kumarakururaj as Graduate and International Affairs chair and elected political science and philosophy junior Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez to serve on the Committee on Student Media. Twenty-five students, mostly freshmen, have filed to run in the fall 2025 election to fill vacant senator spots for seven of UTD’s eight schools.
The meetings concluded with SG set to continue its fall initiatives and reconvene on Tuesday, Sept. 23.