If there has been one thing that has shaken up the university the last half of the semester, it would definitely have to be the accusations against President Tessa Martinez-Pollack and her choices.

Last month, students held a protest in the mall area, led by Student Government President, Doug Mercado, to announce their opinions in regards to Pollack’s presidency. Students chanted, “We demand change,” and held up signs which such slogans as “Do you even care?” Halfway through the protest students were asked to move from the mall area to UWAC lawn.

Once on the front lawn, students discussed amongst themselves issues that bothered them about the university. Issues ranged from money matters to Pollack’s interaction with students, which could be described as non-existent.

However, it can be said that perhaps voices that were raised were one sided, since President Pollack did not make an appearance at the protest to defend herself. In the aftermath of the protest, Pollack sent out a mass email to students that had been originally addressed to SGA President Doug Mercado. The email was an attempt to answer questions that were distributed at the protest.

Senior, Susana Zambrano, said, “I felt that the protest should have had more student participation and I do wish that President Pollack would have come out to the mall area, and answered our questions in person.” Zambrano continued to say, “I also felt that the protest should have had a bit more accurate information and statistics to inform the student body.”

In regards to the overall protest, President Pollack said, “I was disappointed that students did not publish accurate information. Stating facts is essential to leading a responsible protest that does not misinform others inside or outside of the University.”

On the topic of the ever-rising tuition at Our Lady of the Lake, Pollack said, “Most colleges and universities increase tuition costs every year to meet inflationary and operational cost increases. Our goal is to keep our costs as low as possible to students as has been our pattern when compared with other local colleges and universities.”

Not too long ago, the university created a new slogan known, as “Maximum Aptitude, Cultural Attitude,” the new marketing movement was optimistic.

However, the protest discussed how this new movement is simply an attempt to make the university a premier Hispanic university. The new slogan has prompted a wide marketing campaign that has included billboards across San Antonio, advertisements on the side of buses and television commercials.

On the counterpart, President Pollack feels that the new branding and marketing has been successful to the Lake. Pollack said, “The excellent feedback that we are getting from the community, as well as several award-winning citations on our publications is evidence of its success.”

With the academic year coming to an end, and new student government representatives taking the reigns, the relationship between President Pollack and the student body may take a different lead. Perhaps better attempts to smoothen the gap of communication will come in the next school year.