In the Spring of 2012, Alex Cornillie, Jesse Schmitt and Carly Wilson teamed up for the Students Party executive ticket in the Student Government elections.
Cornillie, the Student Body president candidate, was a UF Cicerone. Wilson, the candidate for Student Body treasurer, was the founder of the Students Party, a party created to rival the powerhouse Unite Party.
But wielding the most influence was Schmitt, a walk-on fullback for the Gators football team, who ran as the Student Body vice presidential candidate. It landed the Students Party an endorsement from Gators head football coach Will Muschamp — an unprecedented endorsement.
For the first time, the minority party believed it had a fighting chance.
Come the final election day, Feb. 22, 2012, a total of 10,644 ballots had been cast — the highest voter turnout since 1983. Both parties marched to the outside of the Reitz Union’s Orange & Brew chanting party songs, energized, anxiously awaiting the results.
"As it got closer to the final night, I thought we were gonna win," Cornillie said.
The Unite Party erupted. Its executive ticket of Tj Villamil and Sabine Justilien narrowly escaped defeat by 114 votes; a margin of 1.07 percent. The Students Party walked away with 19 Student Senate seats versus Unite Party’s 31.
"It went from extreme excitement to extreme disappointment," said Ford Dwyer, then-Students Party president.
The following Spring, the Unite Party folded. Instead, a new party emerged: the Swamp Party. With only 600 votes fewer than the previous year’s high turnout, Swamp Party candidates Christina Bonarrigo, the former Unite Party spokeswoman, and Joselyn Rivas won as Student Body president and vice president by a margin of 3,180 votes, or 31 percent. This time, Students Party suffered a more crushing defeat, only winning 13 Senate seats.
Months later, in the Fall 2013 elections, Students Party would only claim two Senate seats.
The decline of the Students Party was just beginning.
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The Swamp Party is unopposed on the Fall 2014 ballot for the first time in recent UF history.
The ideas and passion that once fueled the Students Party are gone. In fact, the party ceases to exist; it was not registered as a party for this semester’s SG elections, which begin Tuesday, according to UF Supervisor of Elections Hans Rojas.
That tight Spring 2012 election was the peak of the party, said Sen. Michael Christ, the sole minority party voice in the Senate.
"That was definitely the crescendo of the Students Party," he said. "Students seemed to wake up and see that one-party rule is not conducive in government."
Jenna Goldman, a former Students Party president and 2013 Student Body vice presidential candidate, wanted to keep up the momentum the Students Party had gained in Spring of 2012 with the following Fall election, but it was difficult.
"After that election I think a lot of the people really lost faith," she said.
Goldman joined Wilson to create the Students Party in Fall 2011 after both senators disagreed with how the Unite Party ran SG.
"We founded it because we thought that what was going on in SG wasn’t in the best interest of the students," Wilson said. Now a third-year UF law student, Wilson is no longer active in campus politics.
"I stopped having the time for SG, and it’s disappointing that there aren’t people who find the time as undergraduates, but people make choices," she said. "It’s very disappointing to me that there’s not an opposition to the majority."
In the two-year span of 2012 to 2014, Students Party membership dwindled. Dwyer said the campaign had 50 active volunteers with about 30 core members in 2012. By the end of 2014, past Students Party president Daniella Saetta said only 15 members were active.
"It’s very difficult to go into an election knowing that all the odds are stacked against you," she said.
On top of members constantly rotating out of the party when they graduate, a losing party doesn’t attract new members, Christ said.
"When you’re not taking over SG because you’re not winning, there’s no real incentive for people to join a party where you have to work your tail off 24/7 to make marginal gains," he said.
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In two weeks, the Students Party will be a ghost in the Senate chambers, too.
After a yearlong run as Murphree area senator, Christ won’t be the opposing voice in the chambers anymore. He’s decided to not run for re-election. He now lives off-campus in District A.
"I ran to represent the Murphree area," he said. "I can’t really see myself representing anyone else."
He’s found solace serving as the vice chairman on the Reitz Union Board of Managers, a position where he says he can effect real change.
Christ said the Students Party won’t be back unless someone decides to engage again.
"Being the last one is a sad statement to democracy."
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 9/26/2014]
Students Party presidential candidate Johnny Castillo, center right, reacts to the results of the Student Government elections at the Reitz Union on Feb. 20, 2013. The Swamp Party won by 3,180 votes.
