One UF student was tired of relying on the data UF and Student Government gave to him.
Nathan Morse, a 21-year-old UF statistics and political science senior, created the Student Research Institute, a new student organization, this Fall to serve as a watchdog for SG and UF officials.
After using random sample surveys representative of UF’s population to gather student opinions, the data will hopefully inform decision making, said Morse, a former UF Student Senate minority party leader.
Despite Morse’s assertion, UF spokesperson Steve Orlando wrote in an email that the data the university used is objective.
“Any data we collect about the university for use in policy-making decisions is objective and nonpartisan,” Orlando said. “I can’t recall a time when a decision about keeping the university open or closing it was ever based on student opinion.”
The student-run think tank has grown to 30 members and has started several projects, including surveying students from different colleges to get a picture of cultural and mental health needs, studying gentrification in Gainesville and conducting general surveys on campus issues, Morse said.
Organization members won’t accept money from SG, Morse said. What little funding the institute needs will come from member donations.
In the future, Morse wants the organization to be a source of unbiased data analyses and campus investigations.
Such investigations could include cases like when white nationalist Richard Spencer came to speak at UF in October 2017. Morse believes students should have been polled for opinions on campus safety and whether or not classes should have been canceled.
“We could’ve caused some real change since it was such a sensitive topic,” he said.
The organization will have a peer review board of students and professors that will overlook the research to ensure accuracy and fairness. Morse said the data will be unaffected by personal party affiliations.
“Most data analyses now are highly politicized,” Morse said. “The people analyzing the data usually have a stake in it.”
Student member Ash Vyas, a 19-year-old UF computer engineering sophomore who has no party affiliation, said he sees the benefit of collecting independent data to incite change.
“We’re helping add credibility to our data and findings by being nonpartisan,” Vyas said. “Both parties should be in support of this because it can help all platforms and shed some light on things both parties are trying to advance.”
