Student Government President Kiera Dixon and Vice President Jaden Watt spoke about their accomplishments and hopes for the rest of the year in a sit-down interview with the Texan on Monday.
The pair has served as SG Executive Alliance since April, and their campaign focused on transparency between representatives and the student body. They emphasized the first-year elections, which they said had record-breaking voter turnout, and new policies that they have implemented throughout the semester.
“The biggest thing that Jaden and I are hoping for after our term ends is to really create a new precedent for Student Government and have this larger environment of buy-in and legitimacy and have students engage … with their leaders,” said Dixon, a government senior.
Dixon and Watt worked with administrators to advise on changes at UT, such as the revised core curriculum. Dixon said they helped communicate student voices to University personnel amid these changes.
The University will likely implement a new pass/fail policy in fall 2027, Dixon said, and the Alliance has been working on it throughout its term. Dixon said the new policy will let students pass/fail one class before the minimum hour requirement or within their degree catalog to encourage them to take challenging classes.
UT students cannot currently choose to pass/fail a class if they have fewer than 30 credit hours or if the class counts for their major or core requirements, and they can elect to pass/fail two classes per semester.
“It’s really timely as we have this new really rigorous core being rolled out,” Dixon said. “ Let’s help support our students … in their learning experience, help support their exploration and also let them grow and adjust to their time at UT.”
The alliance will also hold periodic town hall meetings for students to present issues and ideas to representatives in a less formal setting than their regular assembly. Dixon said they will host the first town hall before Thanksgiving Break.
“We want to give them a platform to come speak and engage with their elected leadership, so that they can see we’re willing to answer to you … and give you tangible follow-up on how we’ll follow up with administration,” said Watt, also a government senior.
Dixon and Watt presented an appropriations transparency bill to the assembly in September that would require SG to post club appropriations to their website within a specific time frame. Dixon said a revised version of the bill, which has stalled in the assembly over the last two months, should be voted on soon, but she does not know when.
Dixon and Watt said they are working with UT Outpost to hold a dine-in Dollar donation drive in December, and they hope to increase voter turnout for the University-wide elections in the spring. They also said they hope to get student feedback on how to improve campus buildings and continue collaborating with SG members and other student organizations.
“What we saw a little bit of last year was the executive and assembly … working against each other, and that really gets in the way of the things that either one of us can accomplish,” Dixon said. “(A) collaborative mindset has really been able to push … all of Student Government forward in real and meaningful ways.”
