While University of Texas students have in the past been notoriously ignored by members of the Austin City Council, the time has come - fellow Greeks and Longhorns alike - to step up and get more involved in city council affairs.
Elections this November mark the first time that city council spots in Austin will be decided by voters from 10 separate districts rather than by citywide vote on each spot. UT's place in District 9 - which encompasses the West area of campus, the areas North, West and South of it, downtown, and parts of the East Riverside and South Austin areas - gives the burnt orange community a chance to have a real voice on the council, even if it is just one voice out of 10.
When you think about a few of the things that have changed recently because of Austin City Council votes, the need for a Longhorn voice becomes apparent. It is because of city council voting that there are new rules further restricting the number of unrelated persons that can live in a single-family dwelling, that we can’t get plastic bags from most West Campus stores and that soon and why texting while driving will soon be illegal in the city of Austin.
It’s clear that while the Longhorn community may not have had much of an impact on the Austin City Council in the past, the council has had a tremendous impact on the Longhorn community. There is, most likely, not a student at UT who hasn't either personally experienced the difficulty of finding a parking spot on the 40 Acres or witnessed someone else doing so.
Project Connect, an Austin City Council initiative to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for a city rail system that would run through campus, downtown and the East Riverside area, could be vital to the future of getting around for members of the UT community. It’s through initiatives like Project Connect that the city council plays a vital role in planning for the future of the UT community. The UT community should obviously have as big a voice in that as possible.
As the city council decides the fate of UT in many ways, the opportunity for the Longhorn community to entrench itself in the city council's affairs shouldn't be overlooked.
With the implementation of these districts, I urge members of the UT community to be more active in the Austin City Council elections. The candidates for District 9 are incumbents Chris Riley and Kathy Tovo, along with newcomer Erin McGann. Explore their platforms, find out what they are about and vote - knowing fully well that it could have long-lasting implications on life at UT.
