{"id":129056,"date":"2026-01-19T14:07:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T14:07:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/129056\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T14:07:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T14:07:06","slug":"uh-to-relaunch-student-government-association-ahead-of-2026-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/129056\/","title":{"rendered":"UH to relaunch Student Government Association ahead of 2026 elections"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

Jose Gonzalez-Campelo\/The Cougar<\/p>\n

UH is moving forward with its plans to re-establish the Student Government Association<\/a>, outlining constitutional reforms, new oversight and changes to the February 2026 elections.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the spring of 2025, SGA did not pass a new constitution required for the election process after a series of proposed structural changes<\/a> stalled approval. <\/p>\n

As a result, the SGA disbanded and the University is currently working<\/a> with student leaders to restore the association. Elections for the 62nd SGA are expected to begin January 2026 with plans for a new government body to be finalized by April 1, 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudent leaders have been heavily involved throughout the process in drafting, reviewing and approving these governing documents, ensuring the new constitution reflects the needs and values of our students,\u201d a University spokesperson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The revised constitution, bylaws and election code were expected to be finalized by Jan. 16.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to a University spokesperson, the new constitution and bylaws for the SGA were created to eliminate conflicts, maintain effective checks and balances and align national standards and practices in student governance.<\/p>\n

Student representation has continued throughout the process, with students appointed to University advisory committees<\/a> made by a student-led work group in summer 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Several changes will shape the reformation of SGA for 2026:<\/p>\n

No campaign parties: Candidates may run as either an individual or as president and vice president\/speaker of the Senate ticket. Candidates will focus on their platform and ideas rather than associating with a specific party.
\nVice President serves as speaker of the senate: Intended to consolidate communication between the executive and legislative branches
\nCollege-based senate representation: Removes at-large seats and guarantees representation across academic units
\nNo negative campaigning: All materials for campaigning will be reviewed by the\u00a0 election commissioner
\nTransparent endorsement and appeals processes: Includes student-led reviews of any election violations during the rebuilding period.<\/p>\n

\u00a0According to UH officials, a new advising structure will also accompany the changes. Dedicated advisers will work with each SGA branch in bi-weekly meetings to ensure \u201ccoordination, support and accountability.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

This training and developmental program will begin before the start of each administration and continue throughout the year, focusing on governance fundamentals, ethical leadership, University policies and effective student advocacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As SGA prepares to relaunch for 2026, students can expect the following key dates as part of the election and transition process:<\/p>\n

Candidate recruitment was expected to start Jan. 14
\nSGA presidential and vice president Town Hall debate: Feb. 23.
\nVoting period: March 2-5
\nResults announced March 6-13
\nNew SGA formed April 1<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d like to thank our student community for their patience as UH engaged and worked with a variety of student leaders and external stakeholders to collectively revise core governance documents and re-establish a functional SGA,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cUH is looking forward to restoring a student government that is credible, functional and trusted.\u201d<\/p>\n

news@thedailycougar.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jose Gonzalez-Campelo\/The Cougar UH is moving forward with its plans to re-establish the Student Government Association, outlining constitutional…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129057,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[55450,56,58,57,55451,55452],"class_list":["post-129056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-2026-student-elections","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-student-elections","tag-student-government-assocation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}