PLATFORM | tulegacy

Our student organizations are the backbone of this university. We want to empower student organizations to achieve their goals and inspire them to be limitless in their aspirations. We hope to transform the relationship between student organizations and the SGA in the following ways:

Make student fees more accessible for student organizations
- Currently, there are many pointless restrictions in the SGA's Financial Policy that hinder student organizations and dictate how they can spend their money. We want to remove these restrictions so that student organizations can realize their full potential.
Reform the Tiger Stripes Program to be beneficial, rather than just a hurdle for student organizations
- The Tiger Stripes Program currently contains many obstacles to student organization success. Many student organizations fall to the wayside because of these obstacles. We want to break down these obstacles and create a Tiger Stripes Program that is reflective of student organization needs and not what the SGA wants.
Ease the budgeting process for student organizations
- If you have ever been involved with the SGA budgeting process, then you know that it can be a headache. It should not be difficult for student organizations to access their student fees. We should be helping student organizations, rather than making them jump through hoops to get money that belongs to the students.
Allocate a “welcome package” to newly formed student organizations to allow them startup money to grow
- Newly formed student organizations need more resources to truly grow their organization. By allocating money to startup groups, we will further enhance the student organization experience and increase student involvement on campus.
Establish a "Tiger Hours" Program
- We want to incentivize student organizations to collaborate more often and get more involved in the campus community. To do this, we will implement "Tiger Hours." These will be weaved into our Tiger Stripes Program and will be awarded to student organizations who complete certain on-campus activities.

WHAT DO WE STAND FOR?

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OUR PLATFORM

This is your Towson. This is your Legacy. Vote Legacy.

If we truly want to become a respected powerhouse institution, we need to make some changes at Towson University. The services provided to our students should be second to none when it comes to effectiveness and efficiency. We have listened to our fellow students' concerns and these are our solutions:

Enhance Shuttle Services
- It is no secret that there can be improvements made to our shuttle system. We want to institute the following simple reforms that can go a long way in bringing about a better overall system for students:
  - It is time for a 24/7 shuttle route
  - We will work with Parking and Transportation to improve the accuracy of the app and make sure that it is working effectively.
  - Let's get a Drunk Bus. It is our duty to provide safe and reliable transportation for our students and we will get this done.
Do Something About Parking
- We want to make the following reforms within the current system to improve parking services for our students:
  - Work with Parking and Transportation and other departments to fund parking guidance systems for parking garages. These systems would display the amount of spots available on each floor so students do not have to drive around hopelessly looking for an open spot.
  - We want to institute a tiered system for parking permits so that students do not have to pay hundreds of dollars to park in overflow.
  - Decrease the amount of faculty spots in garages where they are not utilized frequently. Many faculty spots in garages like West Village sit empty all day. Let's give these spots back to our students.
Demand that Towson University not buy materials made by prison labor
- Under no circumstances should Towson University benefit off of materials made by prison labor. We should not be contributing to a prison system that is steeped in racial injustices. It is time for the SGA to take a stand against this and demand the same from our Administration.
Advocate to amend Towson’s policies relating to Marijuana and drug paraphernalia to reflect the decriminalization of the drug in the state
- Possessing 1 gram of Marijuana in the State of Maryland lands you a simple fine. At Towson University however, possessing 1 gram of Marijuana or any drug paraphernalia can get you kicked out of your housing, suspended, and possibly even expelled. Why are Towson students treated like criminals for something that has been decriminalized? Our policies should protect the rights of students and we will fight for this.
Partner with SafeBars to train Uptown bartenders in bystander intervention
- Let's spread the culture of consent into the bars uptown and get bartenders trained in bystander intervention. We need to think bigger than Towson if we truly want to change the culture surrounding sexual violence.
Reimagine the student experience at sporting events
- Let's create a university that we can all take pride in! We are sick and tired of being disrespected in relation to UMD and other schools. How do we do this?
  - Reform tailgate policies to reflect the student experience and not what the Administration wants
  - Sell alcohol at sporting events
  - Extend the hours students are allowed to tailgate
Create a better academic environment for students
- Decrease the price of textbooks for Towson students and join the Open Textbook Alliance
  - opentextbookalliance.org
- Partner with the Provost in his campaign to require every professor to post their syllabus on Blackboard, at a minimum
- Institutionalize reading day
- Excuse absences for election day
- Increase opportunities for 24/7 study areas on campus
Create a more sustainable campus
- Push the university to build more solar panels
- Get more motion-censored lighting in buildings
- Bring Farmer's Markets to campus
- Partner with off-campus housing complexes to encourage recycling and make sure that recycling options are available
- Ensure that items that we place in recycling bins actually get recycled and not thrown in with the trash

EMPOWERING STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

Towson University is very good at pointing to their demographic breakdown and claiming diversity. When you get onto campus, though, this university is not as inclusive as it should be. We think the SGA should play a more active role in creating a campus environment that is inclusive of all individuals, all backgrounds, and all identities.

Extend #NotatTU into the local community
- NotatTU is an anti-hate campaign that stands up against hatred and discrimination on Towson’s campus. We want to partner with local businesses and faith centers to expand the campaign into the greater Towson community. Let’s make it our mission to ensure that hate does not thrive in the community where we live and go to school.
Work with the newly hired Vice President of Institutional Inclusion and Equity to institute permanent protections for minority students
- Specifically institute protections for DACA students, Muslim students, and Transgender students so that no matter what happens over the next 4 years (and beyond), these students will be protected and accepted.
Provide international students with more resources to better acquaint them with US and Maryland laws and rights
- We want to create a truly welcoming and inclusive environment for our international students that sets them up for success and proves that their SGA is behind them.
Provide more resources and support for transfer students
- Towson University is home to a large population for transfer students. We will make the Transfer Student Organization a Sponsored Organization through the SGA so that they have appropriate resources every year to make transfer students feel at home.
Treat and respect mental health absences the same as physical health absences
- It is time for Towson to put mental health on the same level as physical health. Mental health absences should be treated the same as absences for physical health and we will fight to ensure this happens.
Implement an online cultural competency course for incoming Freshman students
- This course will focus on the topics of race, class, gender, etc. and how these things will impact life at Towson University. The goal of this course is to change the culture surrounding these topics on campus.
Advocate for more TSEM classes taught on the topics of race, class, and gender
- We want to ensure that students are getting valuable learning experiences out of TSEM classes rather than it just being a waste of a class that all Freshman have to take.
Partner with the Center for Student Diversity to host a "Hard Talks" series
- This would be a series of campus conversations held throughout the year focusing on some of the most pressing issues facing our society. We believe that our university needs to have more conversations in order to understand each other better.

CREATING AN INCLUSIVE CAMPUS

We don’t just believe in transparency, we expect it. The student body has the right to a transparent and effective student government. If elected, our administration will implement the following policies to create a student government that is accountable to our students:

No more material benefits for SGA members
No more spending student fee money on unnecessary retreats
Elevate the Attorney General position so that they are able to effectively hold SGA members accountable
Overhaul the SGA website to provide more resources and transparency our student body
Establish a better connection between SGA and the student body

REFORMING SGA

TRANSFORMING TOWSON

We need to perform more outreach to Baltimore City and become more connected with our community. We are committed to creating a culture where our students are involved in directly helping our neighbors and bettering our community.

Create a Director of Baltimore Outreach
- This position will serve the sole purpose of establishing lasting connections between Towson SGA and the Baltimore community. Right now, we have few (if any) significant connections to Baltimore. Let’s form partnerships with organizations that are already on the ground and figure out how we can be a resource to them.
Establish a Community Service Collective
- This collective would be made up of teachers, students, faculty, and staff who are passionate about community service. The collective would be responsible for completing one service activity per month in Baltimore City and working with organizations already on the ground in Baltimore to better the community.
Establish a program where not sold/leftover clothes at the UStore get donated to shelters in Baltimore
Require Student Organizations to complete a percentage of their community service hours directly in Baltimore City
- Through the Student Organization Tiger Stripes Program, student organizations are required to do community service. We would require student organizations to do service directly in Baltimore City to establish better relationships between our university and the city.
Host a SGA Gala for Baltimore Schools
- We want to sponsor a night of fundraising for Baltimore City Public Schools. We believe it is our duty as an institution of higher education to do whatever we can to ensure every child in our community has a fair education.
Expand the Baltimore Collegetown Network
- The Baltimore Collegetown Network is a consortium of universities in the Baltimore area. We want to expand this network to include mentorship and community service opportunities in Baltimore. There is no telling what the combined resources of our universities can accomplish.

EMBRACING BALTIMORE

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