::yawn::

in case you didn’t pick up the Alligator this morning but somehow read this blog before you pick up the Alligator this morning

• Meyers and Reynolds won. TJ won the treasurer position. Not really a big surprise.
• I don’t know anymore whether to believe  ”emmanuelgoldstein”, the commenter who claimed he had insider information that Progress would probably pull off the upset. He was probably a Progress propaganda troll just trying to hype up his party’s hopes (can’t blame him). And while you can tell he tries to talk big, I’ll let you decide whether what he said was really true or not (I personally think some of it is just “interesting”, from the people I talk to at least) 
• We also won’t know (although I certainly would like to know), if SigmaChiRobert claims to be who he is. Watch him be a pledge, that’d be something…(but more likely just another Progress propagandist).
• It’s really disheartening to hear that turnout was actually lower this time around, despite the first day being good. In fact, 1100 less people voted this time around.
• The Alligator notes that Progress won 11 seats compared to 1 in the Fall. The Alligator also forgot to mention that the opposition to Unite last semester was a joke (it still was this time around, but less of a joke).
• My friend and floormate from Freshman year, Michael Andrews, got the Engineering senate seat! A big congratulations to him and I am sure that he will fight for what’s right for both his college and for this University
• No, I’m not Pro-Unite, or even Pro-Progress.
• The Apple Store is down right now. THE APPLE STORE IS DOWN RIGHT NOW.

What did I learn today and yesterday?

So here’s a bunch of stuff I learned:

• My “readers” obviously care more about Justin Bieber cutting his hair than what’s going on in Student Government. Fair enough.
• Falafel ain’t bad, especially with Tzatziki sauce (thanks Jillian!). Kind of could make me go vegetarian to be quite honest with you. But do we really have a place here in Gainesville devoted to falafel? Interesting.
• Voter turnout was slightly higher on the first day compared to last year, but not considerably enough to warrant concern that there’s a possible shift in power.
• Progress is potentially more out in force compared to yesterday, but it’s still kind of paltry to be honest.
• The “bring out the dog” thing is so 2010, people.
• APPLE’S COMING OUT WITH THE iPAD 2 NEXT WEDNESDAY OMG OMG OMG.
• Apple’s also coming out with a MacBook Pro refresh. For those of you who just got MacBook Pros in the past month, I feel sorry for you.
• The Asians are definitely out in force to get their guy Anthony Reynolds into office. You can’t really go around campus without seeing an Asian person wearing a Unite shirt.
• President Obama has ordered the Justice Department to not defend the Defense of Marriage Act, basically potentially opening the door to gay marriages in the future. (sorta kinda, don’t quote me on that please).

::yawn:: I’m tired, nap time.

Bieber cut his hair, and other unintelligent news.

So Day 1 of elections is finally over, and that’s one more day for some particular people to find “I Voted” stickers to feign the appearance that they actually voted either to not be dogged upon by either party to go vote (even though I’m sure there are some unobservant idiots who still ask you to vote when you’re clearly wearing an “I Voted” sticker) or for other reasons. But it’s one more day for both parties to get those last minute votes…and it looks like Unite, even though it’s been the majority party for a while, wants to still do that while Progress….where are you?

Seriously, the ratio of Unite:Progress people in and around campus was about 7:1 (not including people wearing stickers…and there was only one person wearing a Progress sticker). I know Progress may not have the budget to make as many T-shirts, but stickers + red shirts would have helped? Outside the Reitz at 2PM, only Unite. At 3PM? One Progress person and 5 Unite people. (Hint: When you’re not the majority party and you change your party name/merge thrice in three semesters (Student Alliance –> Independent Coalition (bullsh**) –> Progress) you tend to confuse people a lot, including myself).

Other than that bit of unintelligent news, I really don’t have any other bits of unintelligent news…except…

OMG BIEBS CUT HIS HAIR. 2012 IS REALLY TRUE (I JUST SAW A WHOLE CONVOY OF “THE END IS NEAR” TRUCKS COMING INTO UF TODAY MEANING THE BIBLE GIVER-OUTERS ARE OUT IN FORCE PROBABLY TOMORROW. GREAT. WHY I’M TYPING IN CAPS IS BEYOND ME YAYYYYYYYYYYY).

Related Articles

• Justin Bieber cuts hair, Internet explodes (salon.com)
• Justin Bieber Chops Off His Hair (omg.yahoo.com)

2011 UF SG Elections – Whatever you do, go vote.

So, yes, I know, it’s the morning of elections, and you probably only care because that means there’s only one more day until you’re not bombarded with flyers anymore. Understandable. But take some time today to actually go out and vote. I don’t care who you vote for, I really don’t. But if you want a shot at bettering this campus (and I know some people do, there’s been a rallying cry for better parking on the east side of campus), go vote. I will take this time, however, to promote who I think you should think about for the next two days.

This has probably been a more interesting election than usual, just from simply gauging how the Alligator wants to actually somewhat sensationalize it this year (look at yesterday’s front page, the Meyers/Schneider mosaic should have probably demonstrated that to you). And, quite frankly, it serves to be a GOOD election for the most part. You have two very capable and prominent people of our student body going at it. Ben Meyers, Senate President and visible on pretty much every issue Unite has represented. He has served as their “working” spokesman, and one could argue that he’s done more positive work than Ashton has (although, in her defense, she hasn’t really done anything positive or negative…). Then you have Dave Schneider, who I’ve had the opportunity to be around a few times (we were judging the same debate competition late in the fall), and who I’ve known to be likable but more importantly passionate and aware. He has led many of the rallies against block tuition but also has shown his voice numerous times about other issues regarding UF and state, local and national affairs.

With that being said, here are my “endorsements”, although frankly I don’t think I can be called a pundit so therefore consider these “suggestions potentially worthy of thought”.

For Executive Branch, in general: Draw, with very slight edge to Progress

I really don’t mind either party taking the executive branch this year. Ben Meyers seems like the kind of guy who will actually get stuff done and listen to the people that have elected him to serve. Whether that be the entire student body or just a sliver of that student body remains to be seen, but to say he has no experience or to say that his personality isn’t right for the job would be mistaken. Dave also has experience, both inside SG and just, in general, being the voice of the masses. As the Alligator put it, you can just clearly imagine him with megaphone in hand, rallying for a cause. The best rabble-rousers don’t necessarily make the best leaders, but Dave’s also a mature and intelligent person (unlike Ben Cavataro), and I’m sure he doesn’t strut across 13th just waiting to be hit by a car. I only give a slight edge to Progress because I believe change is still needed, but I would not mind trusting Unite this time around.

Special Endorsement – Michael Andrews, College of Engineering, Unite Party

Have you ever met a guy and the moment you met him you knew that he was going to do great things? That’s Michael for you. I first met him freshman year up here; he lived only a few doors down from me at Hume (4th floor, far side, representtt), and is probably one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met up here at UF. Along with that knack for being personable comes his leadership experience; he is currently Vice President of the UF Chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He also is by all means a smart cookie; he’s currently a TA for a C++ class (translation: programming).

A friend put it to me pretty bluntly last semester: the Engineering seat is one of those rare seats that’s actually hard for Unite to get. Prime example is last semester, when my former classmate Melissa Devenbeck tried running for this same seat last year and did not get it, even though I thought she was more than qualified to receive the seat (didn’t know much about the other guy, but I don’t think it matters). Granted, I think it was maybe a disguised blessing because now she’s President of her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and she also helped get her team to New York City after winning a Nielsen case study contest here in Gainesville. But at the same time, I’d like to help Michael out as much as I helped Melissa, because I think he’d be a fine candidate for Senate (and possibly even President down the road), and he’d truly listen to the needs of all students, but especially those in his College.

Anyway, those are my suggestions and obviously they’re merely suggestions. Happy voting (for the next two days)!!

2011 SG Spring Elections – The Platforms

Quick rundown of each party’s platforms; just realized elections are rapidly approaching so it’s imperative that I get this post off.

Unite Party

Candidates: Ben Meyers, President; Anthony Reynolds, VP; TJ Villamil, Treasurer

Unite Party, or the Party with the blue shirts and the weird U that looks more like a curvy v (I’m not going to speculate innuendos). It’s undergone some name changes over the years, but their “popularity” hasn’t waned one bit. Their reputation and tactics haven’t changed much as well, but I will give them credit for recognizing a few people and allowing them to slate with the party this semester; I’ll talk about them later.

Let’s talk platform first:

Continue to Oppose Block Tuition. I actually agree with Ben Meyer’s defense of why Unite’s response was not the fastest in the world…when block tuition was first announced, noone really knew what it was going to be based on. Granted, after it was announced, I really didn’t hear from a few days from almost either party until Dave Schneider decided to start rallies (unrelated to Progress Party business) against block tuition, which came AFTER Ashton and Unite said they would oppose it. It’s really a moot point though, as both parties oppose it, and there’s no point in saying “he said when, she said then”.

Opposing Increases in Activity and Service Fees. Funny how things change…just the past year and year before service and activity free hikes were approved by the legislature. But this’d better happen, Bright Futures is shrinking by the minute (by the way, no mention of ensuring the future of Bright Futures from either party)

ATM availability. While I’d like more Bank of America ATMS around campus (since UF has a love for Wachovia apparently), I really don’t care that much, but it would be nice undoubtedly.

Bicycle safety. YES. Finally, more realistic platforms are coming to fruition.

Soft-closing of bars and nightlife establishments at 3AM. Good luck with that, we can’t even get the city to push back the over-21 amendment to past 10 PM (which I agree with everyone in this city that 9PM is ridiculous and it gives restaurants that turn into bars a 1-hr dead period).

Subsidize the price of graduate and professional school entrance examinations. I’m honestly too lazy to look up the %age of people graduating UF that actually pursue graduate school, but I’m sure it’s not a majority. Maybe a plurality, but not an over 50% majority. BUT (I just realized this), this may prove to be a good incentive for people to think about graduate school. I don’t know how it can be done to be honest, and it’s not like the companies overseeing these tests and their administration haven’t given stipends or reductions in fees to people who really need it. Good thought, but money could be appropriated in a better way.

Something about sustainability. Blah, blah blah. Yay for being green, but until Chick-Fil-A storms off campus Styrofoam cups will remain here forever.

Progress Party

Dave Schneider, President; Cassia Laham, VP; Amy Chaildin, Treasurer.

Reitz renovations. I don’t even know what to say anymore, I’m done with this issue after last semester. The amount of confusion that resulted is simply overwhelming.

Cut all executive perks/parking passes/etc. I don’t know how I feel about this one to be honest. I understand football tickets and possibly cell phone stipends (especially if those same cell phones are used for personal purposes as well, but I don’t know the extent of that), but I will say that I feel meal cards and parking passes are required because these people really are working a job and they deserve some compensation for their work.

Keep Library West open (only a floor) for 24 hours. I only highlight this because I wonder why only a floor. Why not two floors? Why not three? Why not all of them considering how elevators have to be used anyway? (unless you’re keeping just the first floor open in which you might as well just open up the Hub again, hint hint).

Replace Webmail with Google Apps/gMail. Oh my gosh we have Mail Forwarding and a new interface, just start forwarding stuff to your gMail like I do; it’s really not that hard. Or, at the very least, advocate bringing all Google services to campus like Calendar, etc.

Paper Recycling Bin increase in high-traffic campus areas. I don’t know about you, but to me this has already been done. I went from non-labeled cans to clearly-labeled cans all around campus already.

Campus Police Review Board. Kind of obvious, but I’m glad someone hasn’t forgotten about Kofi Adu-Brempong.

Tomorrow (or, technically today) I’ll give an idea of who I think you should vote for at the polls. All credit goes to the Alligator for providing a nice little PDF of each party’s platforms; I never got a chance to see flyers because I don’t go around Turlington/Hub anymore (thank God). And at least I won’t have to judge a party based on how less frequently each party shoves them in my face.

 

2011 SG Spring Elections – the Top 3 Qualms

Ah, yes, it’s finally election time, and I finally have time to squash (or praise) every one of each party’s points on their platforms. I’ll try to be more civil this time, but I can’t really guarantee it because some of these ideas are plain ridiculous.

I want to start out with three major points though that I think need to be settled…and they’re not about block tuition protesting or other macro-issues. My beef this year is with the claims of online voting, 24-hour/extended study hours and free printing.

You smell that? It’s nearing election season again.

So I looked back at my SG Election posts from about a year back and I realized that my tone of writing was absolutely immature back then. For that, I’d like to apologize to both parties because even though I thought I was divulging my thoughts in a fairly civilized manner, I realized I sounded more like Doc Rivers complaining about a call that was clearly the right call. Or, in other words, I still believe I’m right, but there are much more dignified and professional ways to express my views.

With that being said, I know when elections are coming around when I start seeing on my Site States on this blog people searching for ‘uf unite party’. And, as always, there’s that one person who creeps me out when they type in ‘sey hee unite’. I should point out that I am affiliated with no party whatsoever…I am simply a UF student who cares about the workings of government in admittedly a more paparazzi-style way of reporting it. I didn’t vote in the last election, frankly because I forgot to, and because I actually wasn’t asked by people to get the vote out. Lazy, right? This time I’ll pledge to vote only because I don’t have tests that week. And as for running for a position? I’ll save that until the future, thank you very much.

Regardless, I want to make some mea culpas…but also point out some things from one year ago.

• I kind of contended that Redbox would never come to a University campus. I obviously was wrong.
• I’ll give credit to the entire Student Government for ensuring that block tuition was delayed until Fall 2012. It, at the very least, gives more time to discussion about how to either squash the idea or come to some more pleasing compromise.
• Textbook rentals: done. Still not cheaper than Chegg, but I’ll take it.
• Graduate fee reductions and wage increases. I can’t quote when exactly this was done, but I’m fairly sure it was done…I vehemently said that neither party can act as if they were Unions and I was clearly wrong. Much props to them for doing so.

Where SG went totally wrong:

• “Modernize the bike shop and include scooter repairs”. I don’t even know what time it’s open now because the little sign that said what time it was open disappeared.
• Expand free printing to libraries and residence halls. I’ll get married before this happens.
• Work tirelessly to keep all-night study hours at Lib West and the Hub during finals. Yeah, good job Ashton Charles, you did exactly the opposite and moved it to the Reitz. It’s still an outlet desert whether it’s in the food court or study area. Then again, maybe we should actually use our laptops as intended (without keeping them plugged in all the time).
• Budget tracker. Mind showing me where it is? My little Asian eyes can’t find it.
• ^^OK, that was immature, sorry.

Also, congratulations to Ben Meyers and Dave Schneider for being the respective candidates for their parties for President of SG. Also, congratulations to Student Alliance/Independent Coalition/Irresponsible Confederation/whatever they’ve named themselves now for still not naming a candidate yet. OK, that was immature again…sorry people, trying to tone it down, but it’s hard. It’ll be interesting though to see who they choose and also to how Meyers and Schneider present their platforms in the up and coming weeks.

Anyway, sorry for no links, I felt like being in a political mood. Sort of. Not really.

Let me be blunt.

Vote Unite.

But not because they have a good platform or any nonsense like that, although admittedly if I actually had the full time to detail their platforms you’d see that they at least made a few (albeit very few) of their promises from Spring. The Alligator today in their editorial was even quick to point out that even though they prefer this “Independent Coalition” because of their drive to push out kickbacks, that Unite did well and are actually starting to moderate out in terms of certain stances. (But I do think some kickbacks such as food expenses and maybe cell phone expenses should be reduce or eliminated…parking I tend to disagree on). Granted, none of these parties seem to care about free printing across libraries anymore, but that’s for another day.

But don’t vote Unite because they had the majority again and were able to enact some of their policies. Vote Unite because, well, they’re sort of competent.

It’s sad, really. Student Alliance did very, very well during Spring elections and I was, admittedly, rooting for them all the way. But then I see this article some weeks ago about how they couldn’t run as a party because someone didn’t file the right paper or whatever and I laughed at myself. Not even silently, but loudly.

How the #@%! am I supposed to trust a party when they can’t even file the right papers? Like, seriously, how incompetent can you be? I don’t care if filing the right documentation is as convoluted and complicated as filing taxes, YOU’RE STILL SUPPOSED TO DO IT CORRECTLY. What if, for instance, we didn’t get proper funding for something because “Oh, I thought it was due one day later”, or whatever?

Not to mention, Student Alliance’s attempt to round everyone up into an Independent Coalition is one of the biggest sham jobs I’ve ever seen. Independent Coalition? Really? I can’t say anything about show of force because I don’t even go near Turlington/Reitz anymore or I somehow manage to skirt those areas pretty well, but judging from what I see in peoples’ hands, I don’t see any blue and green like I used to. All I see is Blue.

Really though, the forewarning for all of this came when Progress decided to come back into the game. Not that they’ll do anything good in this election, they’re just as useless as the IC (add one more letter and that spells ick). Progress didn’t really do anything in the semesters that they were around, and anyway they’ve generally been in line with Unite in some ways. But I’d watch for them to mount a more serious campaign next semester, I think they were just testing the waters for now.

I thought after last semester things would start to get real exciting around here in terms of Student Government. Instead this appears to be one of the most deflated elections ever, enough to where I’m not even going to take time out of my schedule this week to vote. Nope, I’m sidestepping my collegiate civic duty and instead focusing on my psychology test that I’ll probably end up failing anyway because I have only a little more than a 1.25 day turnaround from my physics test to that test.

Oy vey.

To see how Student Alliance’s platform was in Spring 2010, click here.

For Unite Party’s platform in Spring 2010, click here.

It’s that time of year again. Already.

I pick up today’s Alligator and I literally say “what the fuck”. Front headline: “Progress Party back in student government”. Yes it’s that time of year again…yet another round of student government elections, which include the following things:

• More Alligator bashing (both ways)
• More broken promises (I’ll get to this in a later post)
• More flyering around Turlington (hey at least no construction right? more on this too later)
• More s%@t-slinging
• More accusations of Greek-SG fraternizing.
• More Ben Cavataro….ugh.
• Yadda
• yadda
• …yadda.

But back to the Progress Party…let’s backtrack to when I was here even as early as Fall 2009 where there were three parties: Unite, Orange and Blue, and Progress. Orange and Blue was the prominent minority due to funding (and frankly, as superficial as this sounds, a better logo and marketing campaign) while Progress almost seemed like the wannabe bastard child of the two.

In the spring, however, there was a new wind in the air, a wind of possible change. No, Obama wasn’t being elected, it was the fact that Progress and Orange and Blue decided to merge and create the Student Alliance. Most people didn’t think that they’d muster a shot, even with this newfound Alliance, but muster a shot they did and they took a pretty decent chunk of Senate this past year.

So why the heck would anyone abandon a potentially winning formula? The answer: I honestly don’t know. It almost seems like S.A Senate leader Jon Ossip was caught off guard with this development; he said in the Alligator that he was worried about a fracture in the votes and that it might lead to a fuller Unite victory in the Fall. Obviously there was already some sort of infighting/debate of the overall direction of the Student Alliance, which I really didn’t expect at all. Dave Schneider, president of the once-again newly-founded Progress Party, said that Progress Party will have a presence in this upcoming election, which means that he has probably more followers than we think he does right now.

Regardless, this is not how Student Alliance wanted to start the year off at all.

But anyway, I don’t want to bore your lives too much with mundane detail about stuff that hasn’t even really picked up yet (even though Senate qualifying starts this week already). I just want to inform you that my current professor uses an iPad and a MacBook Pro in his lectures, so I obviously comprehend his lectures much more than the normal XP/7 wielding person.