The candidates for the next Student Body president have something to say about block tuition.
Student Senate President Ben Meyers, a member of the Unite Party, and Progress Party President Dave Schneider formally announced Tuesday that they will be running for Student Body president.
Both candidates said their platforms will focus heavily on the opposition of block tuition, which would charge students a flat-rate tuition no matter the number of credit hours they were taking.
The Progress Party officially merged with the Student Alliance party Tuesday.
“We’re looking forward to having [the Student Alliance party members] as a part of this new, unified Progress Party,” Schneider said.
Meyers, who has been seriously considering running for the office for a while, said he wants to gain more exposure to campus-wide issues.
He was previously chairman of the Senate Allocations Committee and a senator for the sophomore class and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
“This campus has serious problems, and it needs serious people to fix it,” he said.
Schneider, a student activist and an organizer for Students for a Democratic Society, said he decided to run for election because of the issues facing UF concerning relations with the University Police Department and the Florida legislature.
“[UF] needs students to become more active in Student Government and take control of this thing, and it needs strong activist leadership,” Schneider said.
Both candidates said their parties will release the complete executive tickets early next week.
The deadline to register a political party for the spring election is Thursday at noon.
If candidates wish to run independently, they should register during the qualifying period.
Qualifying for positions with the parties will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Monday and Tuesday in Room 284 of the Reitz Union.
Students should remember to bring a photo ID.
Student Senate President Ben Meyers formally announces his candidacy for Student Body president to a crowd of Unite Party members Jan 25, 2011 at the Reitz Union Colonnade.
