In a letter to the editor published yesterday, SG presidential candidate Alex Cornillie seriously misled readers in his diatribe against my stance on Florida House Joint Resolution 931 and Florida Senate Joint Resolution 1508.
I, along with the Student Body president at Florida State University, have been avidly fighting in support of this legislation for quite some time now. Contrary to what Cornillie would like students to believe, this initiative is designed to restore a fair and equitable process of representation on the Florida Board of Governors.
As it currently stands, there is one seat on the board reserved for a student. Per the Florida Constitution, this seat is reserved for the chairman of the Florida Student Association, an organization comprised of Student Body presidents from Florida's state universities. In order for Student Body presidents to become members of this exclusive organization, they are required to pay thousands of dollars in fees.
No, this money does not come from their personal finances — instead, Student Body presidents all over Florida use student fee money (yes, your money) to finance their membership in FSA. And while some money goes into legitimate purposes such as lobbying and advocating, much of it goes to finance lavish retreats and social networking opportunities.
As the Student Body president of UF, I cannot, in good conscience, spend student fee money on expenses that do not go to serving UF students. FSA should not be able to hold the fact that its chairman sits on the board as a stick for membership.
The needs of the more than 50,000 students at UF can be entirely different than students at other state universities, some of which have fewer than 1,000 students. It goes without saying that there are bound to be conflicts of interest, which has happened in the past. Why should I authorize the use of student money for an organization that sometimes lobbies against the best interests of UF students?
Cornillie fails to mention that as a result of my efforts in Tallahassee, along with the efforts of many other students both here at UF and FSU, emergency action was taken within FSA last week. Membership is now free, and all universities have an equal opportunity to run for chairmanship of the FSA. Thanks to the coordinated action and honorable leadership at UF and FSU, students are no longer footing the bill for a private club of some Student Body presidents around the state.
One of the most vocal complaints about my actions from other university SG organizations is that Florida House Joint Resolution 931 and Florida Senate Joint Resolution 1508 give UF and FSU too much power. As long as I represent more than 50,000 students at UF, I will not take shame in advocating on their behalf to the best of my ability.
God bless and go Gators!
Anthony E. Reynolds
Student Body president
