TEXANNEWS.NET
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December 5, 2019
Life as college newlyweds
BY ARIEL SANCHEZ Guest Writer
Getting married is one of the biggest decisions that most people will ever make. Some people make that decision before they graduate college, and while it’s not as familiar, some get married before they start college. This is the case of 18-year-olds Mayah and Oscar Solorzano, who went into their freshman year at Tarleton as newlyweds. Mayah and Oscar Sol-
orzano have known each other their entire lives. “It was the typical love story of the girl next door, where our parents were friends and had us around the same time and we fell in love,” Oscar Solorzano said. The couple grew up together and he proposed to her at their high school graduation. She said yes, and both of their parents helped plan their wedding. “After he proposed, we got married the summer before college start-
ed. We were so nervous about starting this new experience as a married couple,” Mayah Solorzano said. “I was afraid we wouldn’t make friends or people would think we were weird.” The couple lives offcampus and are full-time students. Mayah Solorzano is a nursing major, and Oscar Solorzano is a kinesiology major. “It’s a different lifestyle than what my friends are living, but I would not change it for the world,” Mayah Sol-
orzano said. Mayah Solorzano says it is important to join student organizations, clubs and Greek Life because they connect students to the Tarleton community. Mayah and Oscar Solorzano’s goals are to be well-rounded individuals with the college experience they have always wanted and will not let being married stop them from doing so. “We love Tarleton…It is different from the traditional college student,
Mayah and Oscar Solorzano in the summer before attending Tarleton State University. Photo Courtesy of Solorzano
and marriage does not mean you can’t achieve your degree,” Oscar Solorzano said. “I don’t feel like I’m missing any experience
that I want,” Mayah Solorzano said. “We enjoy this lifestyle we have and want other married couples to know it can work.”
SGA recap and a look into to next semester BY HALEY BARNETT Associate Producer
As the semester is wrapping up so are activities on campus. The Student Government Association’s (SGA) calendar is slowly coming to a close after a busy semester. SGA is broken down into four different parts, the Freshman Representative Council, Congress, the Judiciary Branch and the Executive Board. All four parts work to reach out to students and be a voice for them. “Our main goal on campus is to be the students’ voice,” said Tyler Schuster, the president of SGA. “If students have concerns, we want them to know SGA is the place to come to talk about it.” SGA helps put on events around all of the Tarleton campuses. Another important role of
SGA is to pass legislation. This semester, SGA put legislation into action that was passed in the spring. The legislation moved to move the flagpole that was previously in front of the EJ Howell Education Building to Alumni Island. “Now the new flagpole that is at Alumni Island, where it was previously hidden…but now it can be seen,” Schuster said. This semester, SGA passed legislation regarding students’ safety and supporting expansion at Tarleton. Schuster said, “We’ve had some legislation passed concerning the safety of students and promoting growth of Tarleton.” All students are invited to attend SGA meetings and events. Attending these meetings gives students the opportunity
to have their voice heard and to meet the students representing them. “I think it is important for students to know about SGA because we are truly the student voice,” Schuster said. SGA meetings occur every Wednesday at 5:15 p.m. The students who serve in SGA serve in other committees around campus as well. These committees often make decisions that directly impact students. It is important that students use the opportunity of speaking with SGA members to make their opinions known. “SGA members sit on committees on campus that decide things. If students have questions, comments, or concerns, they can always email SGA or myself,” Schuster said. SGA will kick things off in the spring semester on Jan. 22, when they host Coffee with
These committees often make decisions that directly affect students. It is important that students use the opportunity of speaking with SGA members to make their opinions known. Photo courtesy SGA
Congress from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. SGA encourages students to come and meet the people who are some of the leaders on campus. “Come grab some coffee and donuts, tell us your problems, get to know us and see who represents you,” Schuster said. Another upcoming event in the spring is
elections. Students have the option to run and possibly be elected to a position in SGA. SGA is striving to make an impact on campus and get to know more students. They want to bridge the gap and understand how students are feeling. “Students have to really understand that we’re all really here be-
cause we care for them,” Schuster said. “It’s important for us to get to represent them and so we want them to be involved and come and meet us because they matter to us.” For more information about SGA you can email them at SGA@ go.tarleton.edu or follow them on social media.
Motorized scooters could be coming to Tarleton BY MACKENZI LINCOLN university program,” Guest Writer Lynch said.
As of this year, Tarleton State University meets the requirements to implement motorized scooters on campus and a possible partnership with Bird, a company dedicated to providing environmentally friendly alternative transportation, especially in an oncampus setting. Jeremy Lynch, who oversees university partnerships for Bird, said that Tarleton does in fact meet the size requirements set by the company when considering a university. “I would say we do have a few requirements, but none are really that rigid, except the size of the school. Tarleton State would qualify in that regard,” Lynch said. Bird would consider partnering with Tarleton. “I have not approached the administration in the past but would be interested in speaking with them if they wanted to learn more about our
Breana Blue, a sophomore at Tarleton, expressed interest in having scooters on campus. “Tarleton should definitely add them. The campus is growing and there’s definitely more people, so it’s going to get more congested so we will be forced to expand,” Blue said. “It would be beneficial to already have Birds here by the time campus does start expanding in order to help us get across campus quicker.” Sami Shaffer, a senior at Tarleton, says it could benefit students to have scooters. Shaffer also expressed concern about the effects the scooters could have on Stephenville residents. “I think it would be helpful for students because of the parking situation,” Shaffer said. “I know in Lubbock, they’re all over, not even necessarily on campus. So, I’m not sure how Stephenville residents would feel about it, but I know the college stu-
dents would love it.” Since Tarleton is a member of the Texas A&M University System, the rules and regulations set in place by the system would need to be upheld on campus. Currently, there is no system-wide policy on the use of motorized scooters on campus; it is handled at the campus level. Kent Styron, the director of risk management and compliance at Tarleton, explained the procedure in order to have a company like Bird on campus. “Just like any other service provided on Texas A&M University System institution or agency property, a vendor must meet certain standards, (including) insurance requirements, agreement terms, other state and local regulations…in order to provide that service,” Styron said. “Any proposed service would need to be evaluated to consider the impact to the institution and existing processes in order to provide ap-
propriate oversight.” Several universities across Texas have also partnered with Bird to provide their students with more efficient means of travel on campus. These universities include the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Texas at San Antonio and Southern Methodist University. There are several benefits to partnering with a company like Bird. They offer faster transportation around campus since they are powered by electricity. Bird’s product is also durable; studies show that their highest-performing scooters can last for 18 months on the road. Bird scooters also help reduce pollution and improve air quality. For every Bird on the road, there are 1,500 pounds of avoided carbon emissions each year. Bird has an easily navigable app that keeps the walkways clear by offering rewards to those who park in designated areas, away from busy
Bird is a company dedicated to providing environmentally friendly alternative transportation. Photo Courtesy AP News
pathways. The app also allows for tracking where Birds are located, easy transactions for processing payments on a secure platform and Community Mode, which makes it easy for anyone to send a complaint directly to their team. Bird Access also
allows students to pay with cash and unlock vehicles via SMS. For more information about Bird and its programs, go to www.bird. co/. To learn more about their university programs, contact Jeremy Lynch at jlynch@bird. co.