UF Student Body President John Brinkman was elected as chairman and president of the Florida Student Association (FSA) for the 2024-2025 term, according to a May 29 FSA news release.
The FSA, composed of student body presidents from Florida’s 12 public universities, advocates for students within the State University System of Florida by lobbying state lawmakers and through Rally in Tally, an annual event where students from the 12 universities travel to Tallahassee to bring up student issues with state politicians.
Brinkman, as chairman and president of the FSA, will sit on the Florida Board of Governors, a 17-member board that presides over the State University System.
He will be joined by three other student leaders from Florida A&M and New College of Florida to form FSA’s leadership.
“The newly selected leadership team is committed to representing the diverse interests and needs of Florida's student population,” the news release said.
Brinkman helped create Vision Party last Fall, which has held the Senate Majority for the past two semesters. In January, Brinkman was elected as Senate president under Vision Party. In February, he was elected student body president and serves as an ex-officio member on UF’s Board of Trustees.
He began his tenure as a Gator Party sophomore senator in February 2021. He would become the majority party leader in October 2021.
In July 2021, Brinkman became an undergraduate representative on the University Curriculum Committee and the Faculty Senate.
He was elected as a senator representing the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in February 2022. As a senator, Brinkman chaired the Judiciary Committee. Sen. Oscar Santiago Perez filed a censure investigation against Brinkman July 2022 that charged him with abuse of power, malfeasance and nonfeasance after the Judiciary Committee blocked Santiago Perez's bill the same day from reaching the Senate floor. He was exonerated from all charges by the Senate Rules & Ethics Committee.
Brinkman joined the leadership honor society Florida Blue Key during the 2022 Spring semester. He has held the position of Vice President of External Affairs and Centennial Vice-Chairman.
In May 2022, he was elected junior class president and became an undergraduate representative on the ONE.UF Steering Committee. In July 2022, he also became a member of the Land Use and Facilities Planning Committee.
During the 2023 Summer semester, Brinkman was a District B Replacement senator and was the Budget & Appropriations Committee Vice-Chairman.
Contact Timothy Wang at twang@alligator.org. Follow him on X @timothyw_g.
Timothy Wang is a junior journalism student and the Fall 2024 Santa Fe College Reporter. He was the University Administration reporter for Summer 2024. His hobbies include gaming or reading manga.
