"Bipartisanship" was the buzzword of choice during this past Senate term.
The harsh reality is that the leadership of both parties forced one another into a partisan gridlock that left many important issues, like hand scanners and food service reform, untouched. Ultimately, it was the students who lost out.
It's nothing short of a travesty that the Senate operates as a caricature of what it ought to be: an open forum allowing students to participate in the management of their school.
The brazen partisanship shown in the Senate, coupled with a severely bloated bureaucracy, has made Student Government inaccessible for most students.
The only party running in the spring election that pursues bipartisanship with both words and actions is the Progress Party.
Drawing from former members of the Gator Party and the Orange & Blue Party, Progress is building a unique team of highly motivated candidates and supporters who intend to reform Student Government so it functions chiefly for the students and by the students.
The Gator Party can don the proverbial emperor's new clothes and rename itself "The Unite Party," but it can only guarantee the same ineffectual Student Government that excludes mass student participation.
Progress' dramatic first step in selecting an executive ticket across party lines demonstrates its dedication to encouraging student involvement.