THE DAILY COUGAR
T H E
O F F I C I A L
S T U D E N T
Issue 96, Volume 81
N E W S PA P E R
O F
T H E
U N I V E R S I T Y
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
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H O U S T O N
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ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM
Charles Haston was sworn into the 51st Student Government Association presidential seat Friday, along with running mate Erica Tat. Haston is coming to office with big plans for the University, including increasing SGA’s visibility. | Justin Tijerina/The Daily Cougar
Passing the torch
Bandoh leaves legacy of ‘service over self’
Haston promises change, commitment
Nora Olabi
Cara Smith
Assistant news editor
Contributing writer
It seems like any other day. Former Student Government Association President Cedric Bandoh sips his cup of black tea before juggling the demands of a full academic schedule, meetings with administrators and the weight of constituent commitments as an SGA leader. But today will be the second day since joining the Student Government Association that he won’t have to balance a packed schedule. From his humble beginnings as a freshman intern at SGA to chief of staff and, finally, his two-year tenure as the youngest president in
When Charles Haston graduated high school, he didn’t have any interest in coming to UH. “You’re really not supposed to say that as student body president, but I didn’t. When I got here my first year, I really wasn’t all that happy here. But by my sophomore year, this school … was a completely different school” Haston said. “There’s no other school in the country where students know what Tier One even is, let alone running around in T-shirts by the thousands with Tier One written across promoting
BANDOH continues on page 3
HASTON continues on page 2
Looking back on Bandoh’s biggest achievements
Improved UH initiative Established Rebuild Cullen Boulevard initiative Pushed plan for fixed tuition Advocated for increased student stipends Was on committee to design/establish New UC Helped start Pizza with Provost Pushed the Athletics Referendum
Haston’s focus as president On the continuity of leadership: “I really want to carry on what I did not only as a senator, but (through the Student Fees Advisory Committee). I think (the University) is going through growing pains. I think we’ve taken off and gone so far and gone so fast, and I think there are some things that we’re left kind of thinking, ‘Well, we left that behind.’” On Homecoming: “I think Frontier Fiesta and Homecoming are two of the biggest ones. … I want to reach for collaboration between E. Cullen, the Alumni Association and Athletics. I want to play a role in making Homecoming the event it should be.”