I was extremely surprised at Students Party minority leader Michael Christ for calling Taco Libre party “pathetic” and “insulting” in an article in the Alligator.
This much, everyone agrees on: The System’s corruption — which goes by the name of Swamp Party these days — is intolerable. But equally intolerable is the leader of a party with only a few seats in SG calling another party “pathetic” and “insulting.”
As one of the original members of the Students Party, it isn’t easy for me to admit there’s been a steep decline in the party’s outlook for the past two years. Ineffective campaigning, platforms and senators have exacerbated the situation. All I see nowadays are Students Party senators trying to be “professional” and befriend the senators from the System. Opposition senators, in a misguided attempt to create “bipartisanship,” have only made their positions weaker, much to the delight of the System.
In last year’s campaign, I tried my best to reverse this trend. Unfortunately, the egoism prevalent in the already weak Students Party has ruined any chances of tackling the corruption of the System.
That is why I left and have not returned. I was hoping either the party’s attitude changed or the party itself crumbled. I am not in the minority on this issue, either. The newly formed Taco Libre Party is composed of former Students senators and executive members. In fact, Taco Libre is being run and supported by some of the most loyal past party members who spent their blood, sweat and tears establishing the party and bringing it to its zenith.
Christ’s issue with the press was wholly improper, which is not surprising since the inability of Students Party to handle the press for the last two years is another contributing factor to the party’s decline.
It was clear Christ’s hating on Taco Libre was hugely embarrassing for the entire party when campaigners wrote a letter to the editor defending him in a last-ditch attempt for damage control.
There have been single-issue parties in the past such as the Keg Party and the Pants Party, whose slogan was “You’re Invited.” These parties increase interest in Student Government, which can benefit a minority in the long run. Students Party was successful in the past because we focused on single issues like unnecessary tuition hikes and preserving independent newspaper boxes. I say all of this as a friend. I say this as a wake-up call to the Students Party to actually start doing things effectively. And, yes, I am officially supporting the #TacoRebellion.
[Umair Asghar is a former College of Engineering senator for the Students Party. A version of this column ran on page 7 on 2/18/2014 under the headline "Students Party, it’s time to wake up"]
