Senate approves resolution for African American Studies program

Student senators showed their support for UF’s African American Studies program Tuesday night.

Senate approved a resolution supporting the program’s request to become a department. Student Government Executive Secretary Octavious Buiey said the change would help combat declining enrollment of black students at UF and bring more African-American faculty members to the university.

“As a school that’s striving for preeminence, this is going to be something that’s very important for us to reach that step,” Buiey, the resolution’s co-author, told senators.

Sen. Wallace Mazon (Impact, District E), who also co-authored the resolution, said every Florida university except the University of North Florida has an African-American studies department. When Mazon heard about the program’s request, he gathered a group of students to encourage UF to turn it into a department.

“There wasn’t any good reason why it shouldn’t be a department,” Mazon said. “Next time when they try to apply for departmental status, there won’t be any reason to say no. I just want some sort of accountability.”

Sharon Austin, the director of the African American Studies program since 2011, said the program has been at UF since 1969. After meeting with the dean of UF’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for a change in status, the program’s request was denied, but Austin plans to request again by Spring.

“We really do think we have gained the credibility as an academic unit,” she said. “The support we’re getting from the students prove that they have respect for us.”

During Senate, Zachariah Chou (Independent, Infinity) opposed Kelly Hooper’s appointment as a replacement freshman senator. Chou, who beat Hooper for the Infinity seat, said she committed campaign violations and was not qualified for the seat.

Hooper outlined her goals that she ran on during the campaign, including creating safety lights at roundabouts for scooters.

Several Impact Party senators passionately defended Hooper’s appointment.

Chou abstained from voting, and Hooper was elected with no objections and applause from senators.

Editor’s note: Zachariah Chou formerly worked as a paid photographer for the Alligator.