In the Spring of 2014, The Independent Florida Alligator endorsed the Swamp Party for the Student Government executive elections. We expressed reservations about the potential for one-party rule in SG but determined that Swamp’s qualified slate of candidates and effective campaigning made them worthy of a formal endorsement.
During the Fall 2014 SG Senate campaign, the steady march toward one-party rule has continued, now that Swamp is the only party fielding candidates for the elections.
Ordinarily, we would encourage all UF students to exercise their right to vote for and elect senators to represent them in SG. But with the exception of the independent candidates running in the Hume and District B races, such votes would be rendered meaningless by the Swamp Party’s dominance of the ballot.
The Swamp Party has produced a number of platform points that are worthy of support. The party’s plans to improve safety by expanding nighttime transportation options and widening the off-campus reach of UF Alerts are encouraging.
Swamp also plans to increase the transparency of course costs by listing textbook and access code fees during course registration. UF students have a right to know the full financial cost of their education, so this is a step in the right direction.
Despite the strength of its platform, the Swamp Party’s sketchy past and shady campaign tactics cannot be ignored. Swamp may very well have the best interests of UF students at heart, but the party’s laudable ends do not justify the questionable means it has used to gain and consolidate its power.
SG’s inexorable decline into one-party dominance is not solely the fault of the Swamp Party. Leaders of opposing groups — in particular the Students Party — failed to capitalize on students’ discontent with SG representation and the UF population’s desire for substantive change.
Through the highs and lows of the various opposition parties, Swamp’s relentless, well-oiled campaign machine has continued to operate at its usual high level.
Swamp leaders have pledged to consider alternative points of view even after they take full control of the Senate. However, the groupthink and solidarity that has characterized the Swamp Party in previous years make such statements dubious at best.
We encourage UF students to support the independent candidates running to represent them. We believe that they will bring important, diverse viewpoints and priorities to SG.
For the rest of UF, an endorsement of the Swamp Party would be wholly irrelevant. Regardless of how many students vote in this week’s elections, Swamp will claim dominance over the Senate once the results have been tallied.
We encourage all UF students to consider the threat that one-party rule poses to responsive and democratic representation at our school. Despite the fact that Swamp is running mostly unopposed, the right to vote is powerful, and all students should exercise that right at the polls today and Wednesday. UF deserves a diverse and vibrant SG, but only if its constituents make it so.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 9/30/2014]
