It’s officially campaign season, which means UF student government parties begin advertising their party platforms and offer students to slate with them.
Slating is a process where students are interviewed by representatives of a specific party to be involved with the campaign and possibly run for a seat.
Campaign initiatives become more specific as students run for Senate seats, stating what they hope to accomplish when the student body votes for them.
In the Fall, students elect district representatives senators who represent students per their dorm or off-campus district.
Students will get to vote for Change Party, Gator Party, Vision Party and Pizza Party in the upcoming election cycle.
Vision Party
Vision formally announced its creation on Instagram Sept. 6.
The party is a “coalition of former Change and Gator senators with a new #Vision for Student Government at UF,” according to its Instagram.
While no campaign platforms have officially been announced, students can anticipate policy points to be presented soon as official running candidates are announced.
Interested students can slate with Vision until Sept. 12 by bringing a resume, an optional idea sheet and a Gator 1 Card to the Student Engagement Portal on the second floor of the Reitz Union.
Change Party
Change Party’s campaign has previously centered around diversity, equity and inclusion programs. They also focus on issues such as restructuring funding for student organizations, expanding funding for mental health services and a permanent 24/7 library resource, combating issues like food insecurity and sexual assault and developing environmental sustainability initiatives.
Interested students can slate with Change until Sept. 12 by bringing a Gator 1 Card to the Student Engagement Portal on the second floor of the Reitz Union.
Students can also apply to be a Change Ambassador if they’re uncertain about joining the Senate by filling out a form on Change’s Linktree.
Gator Party
Gator Party’s previous campaign platforms focused on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts; improving the accessibility for on-campus academic, lifestyle and transportation resources and reforming the student organization funding model.
The Gator Party Instagram formally announced the party’s campaign Sept. 10. Slating information and locations have not been formally announced yet as of Sept. 10.
“Gator Party is back for its 9th semester,” they wrote. “Over the past 8 semesters, we have made so much progress for all gators, and we are excited to share what we have planned for Fall 2023!”
Pizza Party
This semester, students can also vote for Pizza Party.
President and co-founder Ben “Pizza” Belin, a 19-year-old UF marketing sophomore, started Pizza Party with his peers because he believes SG is lacking fun with the current political environment on campus.
“We believe that good policy and good fun can co-exist and that by bringing the two together we can introduce meaningful changes to our campus,” Belin wrote.
Pizza Party’s campaign platform includes fixing the funding dispersal and budget for clubs, surveying the campus population for requests on celebrity guest speakers, encouraging the creation of additional political parties by making it more accessible, increasing pay for the supervisor of elections, and giving free ice cream on any day over 95 degrees.
Interested students can slate with Pizza Party Sept. 10 from 9 a.m to noon, and Sept. 11 from 3 to 5 p.m on the second floor of the Reitz Union.
Students just need to bring their Gator 1 Card, a “good attitude” and pizza, according to their Instagram — resumes are also not required.
“Parties and pizzas, throughout human history these two words have gone hand in hand,” Belin wrote. “The only thing we have done is bring them together under a new light, that being the political one.”
Fall 2023 elections will be Oct. 3 and Oct. 4. Voting areas are to be announced.
Contact Vivienne at vserret@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @vivienneserret.
Vivienne Serret is a UF journalism and criminology senior, serving as the Fall 2024 race and equity reporter for The Alligator's Enterprise desk. She previously worked as a columnist and previously reported for The Alligator's university desk as the student government reporter. She loves karaoke and lifting at the gym.
