Despite all the rhetoric that has been tossed around in the past few weeks, Ben Meyers and Dave Schneider share many of the same views when it comes to student rights.
The two candidates for student body president, along with the candidates for treasurer and vice president, dished it out Wednesday night as part of the 2011 UF Student Government Presidential Debate hosted by the Freshman Leadership Council.
They agreed on most issues but had very different plans for accomplishing their goals and standing up for students.
On the issues of block tuition, guns on campus and taxi cab fees, the candidates agreed they need to stand up for student rights.
Meyers, a member of the Unite Party, said that while many appreciate the rights protected by the Second Amendment, guns don’t belong on campus.
He mentioned that he co-authored a Student Senate resolution passed in opposition of State Senate Bill 234 that would allow guns on college campuses.
Schneider, a member of the Progress Party, was quick to point out during his rebuttal that while Meyers co-authored the resolution, he was quoted as saying he would carry a gun if the law passed.
“Guns on campus puts us on the wrong track,” Schneider said.
On the question of block tuition, Schneider credited his involvement with Students for a Democratic Society — not the actions of Student Body President Ashton Charles, a member of the Unite Party — as the reason the implementation of block tuition was deferred a year.
He also criticized Meyers and the Student Senate for not battling against block tuition as soon as it was proposed.
Schenider said he was happy the student body would be able to vote on the issue during the election because of his petition to get it on the ballot.
Block tuition will charge students a flat rate for 15 credit hours no matter the number of hours actually taken.
Meyers said the Unite Party didn’t oppose the issue from day one because no one knew immediately what the exact rate would be.
“It’s not a black and white issue,” he said. “There are different needs for different students.”
If a flat rate for 12 credit hours had been proposed, it might have been beneficial to students, he said. But he reinforced that the issue is still standing and that he will not stop working until it is taken off the table forever.
On the issue of taxis overcharging students, Schneider said that while it is wrong, he believes the issue is deeper, stemming from drivers’ need for money. He said SG cannot work on the wages of the drivers but can work with the Gainesville community to make improvements.
Meyers disagreed.
“Our job is not to advocate for cab drivers,” he said. “It’s our job to advocate for students.”
