An editorial headline told us that Wednesday's demonstration for transparency was pointless and that it "didn't accomplish much." As a member of Students for a Democratic Society and an organizer of the protest, I'd like to point out that we actually accomplished every one of our objectives for the day.
We kicked off our campaign in a visible and energetic way. We presented our demands to Bernie Machen's associates - did anyone really think the president would be there to greet us at the steps of Tigert Hall? Not really.
We got extensive local media coverage. We networked with other students searching for a meaningful way to work for change at UF. Perhaps most importantly, we did all of this a week before the next UF Board of Trustees meeting, where this issue will be discussed. With any luck, we were able to add urgency to an issue that has been on the board's back burner for many years now.
Also, the editorial pointed out that the UF Foundation is a private organization created to "support the university," but it failed to consider whether it even deserves to be considered as separate from the university and thus exempt from Florida's Government-in-the-Sunshine Law. Obviously, SDS does not think UF should get off so on such a technicality, as we believe all operations of a public institution, including the endowment investments of UF, should be open for public review.
