Student Body President Jordan Johnson shows contempt for democracy. On Thursday morning, the lame-duck president asked the UF Board of Trustees to move forward with creating a new tuition fee to fund an unnecessary expansion of the Reitz Union, ignoring the will of the majority of students who voted against such a fee in last week’s election.
It seems Mr. Johnson and his Unite Party think that losing by “only” about 10 percent of the vote represents a “big win” for their pro-fee campaign (which, incidentally, was funded by a blatant misappropriation of public funds).
I have two questions for Mr. Johnson: Who do you think you are? What on Earth do you think gives you the right to simply ignore the more than 5,000 students who voted against this fee — the same students you supposedly represent?
As much as you might wish otherwise, Mr. Johnson, SG is still a democracy, and the students have spoken.
You might be used to wielding the iron fist of a single-party tyranny, but with the Student Alliance party’s unprecedented win of 20 Senate seats last week, the Unite Party’s years of unchecked hegemony are nearing an end. Continuing to pretend you’re some kind of Student Body dictator will only earn your party an even hastier demise.
