When Conor Fox stopped by the Inspire Party table at the Reitz Union on Monday, he had one thing on his mind: online voting.
“It’s the most democratic way to vote,” the UF business management junior said. “I know a lot of students who can’t vote because they don’t come to campus because all of their classes are online.”
Two Student Government parties registered for Fall elections— Impact Party, which has 50 candidates on its ballot, and Inspire Party, which has 41 candidates on its ballot — set up tables Monday at the Reitz Union and on Turlington Plaza to learn about students’ concerns. Both parties will continue talking to students Tuesday at the same locations.
Each party’s goal is to develop a campaign platform that addresses students’ requests for the Fall elections. Both Kylie Werk, one of Impact’s campaign managers, and Ben Lima, Inspire’s president, said their parties will release platforms and begin campaigning Wednesday.
Fifty Student Senate seats are up for grabs during the upcoming elections, scheduled for Sept. 26 and Sept. 27. The Student Body will vote according to UF residential halls and off-campus zip codes.
Fox said he’s voted in every SG election since he enrolled at UF, and he likes to be informed about what SG does. He always stops at parties’ tables and gives his input while they’re developing their platforms, he said.
“It’s awesome that they do this,” the 21-year-old said. “They’re supposed to represent us, so it’s good they’re out here gauging our opinions.”
Werk said Impact candidates and volunteers started speaking to students at 10 a.m. Monday at the Reitz Union and on Turlington Plaza.
She said they were scheduled to start last week, but they postponed after Hurricane Irma hit Florida. The party also plans to release a Google Docs document for students who couldn’t attend the physical locations to add ideas, Werk said.
Some of the ideas Impact Party got from students Monday include adding recycling bins to residence halls, making libraries open 24/7 and adding parking on campus.
Werk said members of Impact Party are passionate about civic engagement and want to ensure students are as educated as possible before they cast their votes.
“We want to make sure students have absolutely every opportunity they can to meet us,” Werk said. “We want students hearing both sides. Even if that means that at the end of that conversation they decide they’re not voting for us.”
Henry Edmondson, a UF sustainability and the built environment junior, wrote down “affordable healthy food options” on Impact Party’s board Monday.
The 20-year-old said although he’s never lived on campus himself, he’s visited the dining halls with friends and believes they should offer healthier food options.
“I’m not sure what,” he said. “It’s not something for me to decide on.”
Edmonson said he also thinks UF should open healthier fast food restaurants.
“It can’t benefit us to have two Chick-fil-A’s so close together,” he said, pointing to the locations at the Broward Dining Center and the Hub.
Lima, who is also running for a seat in District D, said Inspire’s team started reaching out to students at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Reitz Union and on Turlington Plaza.
Some ideas Inspire Party got from students Monday included having libraries open 24/7, establishing online voting and adding more sheltered bike racks to protect them from the weather.
In addition to having students write down ideas on a whiteboard, Inspire Party is collecting students’ contact information. The party will send text messages during elections to remind students to vote.
“That’s a good technique, we think, to increase turnout,” Lima said. “Historically, voting turnout has been fairly low, and we want to change that.”
