Luis Rios, a sophomore majoring in marketing with a minor in digital storytelling and content creation, is running for president of the Student Government Association at St. Edward’s University. A San Antonio native, Rios has ties to Ballet Folklórico he hopes to contribute to campus.
Rios is a College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) scholar, and the CAMP advisor helped him to become connected to Ballet Folklórico at St. Edward’s. Working with the advisor for the club on the Munday Library exhibit opened his eyes to the rich history of Ballet Folklórico on campus.
“So, Folklórico back in the day used to go on competitions, they used to tour in Mexico, they used to tour in the east coast and they used to perform a lot on campus,” Rios said. “They haven’t had many performances on campus,”
Post pandemic, Folklórico hasn’t had the opportunity to thrive on campus as it did in the past. Now, as Vice President of Ballet Folklórico, Rios is working on bringing showcases back to St. Edward’s for students to enjoy.
Rios was an SGA senator his freshman year. Being involved with SGA and Ballet Folklórico brought a sense of community for him to campus. However, he notices that there’s a disconnect between student organizations and the student body.
“My main reason for running is kind of being a voice and a representative of the students,” Rios said. “You know, I want to represent the backgrounds that I’m from as well as other backgrounds. You know, St. Edwards is a rich, diverse culture, and making sure that everyone feels represented and welcome at St. Edward’s is important.”
One of Rios’ major concerns as a candidate is having safe, representative spaces for students on campus. When Jo’s transitioned to Starbucks, the pride flags hung in the rafters were taken down and neglected to be replaced. Rios plans on fixing that.
”It’s a symbol of representation, and I think that’s important for people to see,” he said. “So, including more symbols of representation of people from diverse backgrounds, is one of the things I really want to include here on campus, making sure that there’s more spaces for people of different backgrounds. And making sure everyone feels included and represented and seen.”
As a senator, Rios sponsored initiatives to increase security cameras on campus. Those initiatives introduced a plan to install more cameras in places where they are missing, and to add some to residence hall laundry rooms to properly protect students’ property.
Another concern Rios hopes to address is getting students, especially incoming students, aware of resources available on campus. Rios also wants to be a resource for anyone on campus to voice their concerns, issues or feelings.
“I want to be a leader here on campus that you feel comfortable talking to, at any time, being able to come up to me and be like, ‘Hey, I have a problem,’ and us figuring out how we can better help you in any situation,” Rios said.