Student Body President-elect Cooper Brown, Student Body Vice President-elect Faith Maniti and Student Body President Trevor Pope wrote in emails that Senate president Franco Luis’ letter and opinions are not representative of SG’s viewpoints as a whole.
Student Government Productions, an SG-funded agency that pays entertainers to perform at UF, hosted its first socially distanced concert Friday featuring indie rock bands Mt. Joy and flipturn.
Accent Speakers Bureau, a UF Student Government agency, hosted Haddish and Brown on Wednesday in two free events for UF students and faculty over Zoom. During the shows, the women discussed topics ranging from their careers in media to the importance of self-care.
There will be 375 tickets available for the movie watch party, and students will sit in spread out pairs, Accent Chair Steven Wolf said. Students will also be required to scan a QR code once seated for contact tracing purposes. The Zoom webinar will allow for 3,000 attendees, he said.
On Zoom Tuesday night, Senate elected former Judiciary Chair Franco Luis (Gator, District B) and former Majority Party Leader Blake Robinson (Gator, Sophomore) to be the next Senate President and Senate President Pro-Tempore, respectively. Senate also unanimously ratified the Spring election results.
There were 6,650 total ballots cast, Supervisor of Elections Haley Price announced on a live stream Wednesday evening. Student Body President-elect Cooper Brown and Student Body Vice President-elect Faith Maniti won with 4,629 votes, or 69.78% of the vote. Student Body Treasurer-elect Giovanna Mompremier won with 4,515 votes, or 68.85%.
Miami Heat player Udonis Haslem and former Gators football players Kyle Trask and Kyle Pitts endorsed the Change Party's Student Body presidential candidate Wynton White along with other UF athletes. Kansas City Chiefs punter Tommy Townsend showed support for the Gator Party candidate Cooper Brown.
The first day of voting for the UF Student Government Spring Election included some technical difficulties, short lines and about an 80% decrease in voter turnout from last Spring's election.
Gator, Change and Keg Party have candidates running for Student Body president, vice president and treasurer positions.
Students can vote at the Reitz Union Computer Lab, the Social Lounge at Southwest Recreation Center, the Broward Hall Recreation Room, the Murphree Area Office Conference Room, the Springs Office Conference Room or the Cypress Meeting Room.
In a two-case hearing, the SG Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the claim of bias against applicants for Senate positions not affiliated with the majority party, currently the Gator Party. It also determined that future cases of discrimination can be heard by the court.
Three parties’ executive ticket candidates discussed topics such as UF COVID-19 guidelines, UF’s contract with food service provider Aramark and challenges in cabinet.
The Gator Party and the Change Party released platforms highlighting stances on traffic safety, sustainability, racism and student diversity. Students will vote for 50 UF Senate seats and the Student Body president, vice president and treasurer on Feb. 23 and 24.
Students who are not living in Gainesville or don’t feel comfortable voting in person can request an absentee ballot to be sent by mail by filling out a request form through the SG website.
Accent Speakers Bureau hosted the trio in a free event to UF students and faculty over Zoom. During the show, they spoke about their experience with YouTube and what is to come in their futures.
With the merging of the two minority parties on the last day of slating, there will be two candidates running for each executive position. Both Gator and Change announced their executive ticket candidates in the last week.
UF Accent Speakers Bureau will pay Youtube celebrities Cody Ko, Noel Miller and David Dobrik $120,000 total in student fees to speak virtually on Wednesday, according to event contracts.
Change is the second party to announce its candidates, following Gator Party's announcement on Wednesday. Union Party’s plans are still unclear.
YouTube personalities Cody Ko, Noel Miller and David Dobrik will speak Feb. 3 at 6 and 8 p.m. in a virtual event for UF students. Accent Speakers Bureau, a student-run organization funded by UF Student Government, announced its first Spring event Friday.
Senate unanimously passed three resolutions on traffic safety Tuesday, and Senator Zachery Utt (Murphree, Inspire) announced an update on his traffic safety course project. Student Body President Trevor Pope also said he plans to work with the Executive Branch to advocate for traffic safety.
Solutions by The State News
