Hi there! Are you interested in Student Government? I saw you staring at our board and have mentally given you half a second to flee. Yes? Fantastic!
I don’t know how I’m going to try explaining the equivalent of 20 student organizations in three minutes, but here goes.
SG is pretty rad, here at UF. We have three branches like the federal government and a $21 million budget. Yes, parent and student with the widening eyes, I said million. We actually just got an increase in our budget, so we can truthfully round the number up from $20.8 million, but don’t ask me why the tabling board says $25 million. Dream big and aim high, I suppose.
Here we have the executive branch, *points at Ian Green, David Enriquez, and Stefan Sanguyo.* These fine lads are elected, and everyone else is appointed so there are a lot of opportunities for you to get involved as a first year student. We have executive liaisons who are appointed every Spring to serve as experts in their subject area and report directly to Student Body President Ian Green to keep him updated.
We also have agencies, which are kind of like large organizations with a specific focus. Much of what the executive branch does can be summed up as programming and projects. You have Accent Speakers Bureau, which brings in speaking talent. You have Action SG, which focuses on communications through running our Facebook page and making promo videos. We have Chomp the Vote, which registers voters. We have External Affairs, which lobbies on our behalf. Look there’s a bunch, so I’ll take this moment to hand you a card with our website on it: sg.ufl.edu. You can find an actually good description of all the different agencies there.
There are also cabinets. Reporting to David, the Student Body vice president, they represent a specific aspect of student life. Generally smaller than agencies, cabinets put on programming relating to their subject area. They also co-program with or co-sponsor student organizations in order to make sure they have the resources to put on large-scale events. Check the website for more information on cabinets.
Every agency and every cabinet is kind of like its own organization, with their own head/chairs, vice-chairs/directors and staff. Staff is where you, first year student, come in. We don’t typically say no to free labor! Later in the Summer, applications will open up, so “like” us on Facebook (“UF Student Government” and “UF Student Government Senate”) to stay updated!
Now that I’ve already gotten you to like our Facebook page, it’s time for me to explain the legislative branch. There are 100 senators: 50 based off of where you live and 50 based off of your classification. In the Fall, 50 Student Senate seat are up for grabs, with one for each residence hall or area and then multiple in each ZIP code around UF with respect to each district’s population. In the Spring, 50 seats are up for grabs based off of your credits or college. If you have between zero and 30 credits, you can run for a freshman seat. If you have 30 to 60 credits, you can run for a sophomore seat. After 60 credits, it goes by college (and college population) with some seats for graduate students and professional schools. One committee in the Senate hashes together the $21 million budget, the full Senate votes on it and for the rest of the year, we engage in advocacy benefiting whoever we represent.
There’s also a judicial branch, but to be on the Supreme Court, you need to be a law student and fulfill a couple requirements (so maybe give it a couple of years if that’s your thing). We also have a Supervisor of Elections and Assistant Supervisors of Elections, so if it’s been your lifelong dream to be a Supervisor of Elections, then that’s the place for you.
That’s all folks! See? Easy, short and simple.
Questions, comments or concerns? Email me at zchou@ufl.edu
Zachariah Chou is a UF political science junior and Murphree Area senator. His column focuses on Student Government.
