The last day of interviews for Student Senate positions brought a rush of last-minute applicants who hope to be on the ballot in next month's Student Government election.
More than 700 people visited the Reitz Union during the three days of interviews, with 465 applicants on Tuesday, said SG Supervisor of Elections Dan Siegel.
The Orange and Blue Party received about 30 applicants Tuesday. The Gator Party snagged about 400.
Orange and Blue registered a total of 80 students, while Gator registered about 775 students, according to the parties' respective presidents.
However, some students may have been drawn to register with the Gatory Party on Tuesday after a Facebook message from Indian Student Association treasurer Lisa Turtlee Patel. The message urged members to register with the Gator Party to influence the organization's funding, which SG provides.
"Go to room 284 and fill out the papers supporting GATOR PARTY and VISA!" the message stated. "This is EXTREMELY important because this is how ISA gets their funding….we REALLLLLY need this!"
Patel could not be reached for comment.
A retraction message was later issued assuring members that "by no means, are we trying to promote any political party in terms of giving us funding."
Student Body Treasurer Paul Drayton said political affiliations do not affect how much money an organization receives from SG, and messages like this are not encouraged.
"That is not OK," Drayton said. "I would actually consider that unethical, too."
Drayton said such actions are frowned upon but not technically illegal. Sam Miorelli, Orange and Blue Party president, disagrees.
"We don't believe that membership in a student organization should be tied to a certain student political party," Miorelli said.
Sen. Courtney Stephenson, Black Student Union president and Gator Party member, said it was a "little saddening" to see that an organization believes its members need to register with a certain party.
"It kind of goes against everything SG stands for," Stephenson said.
The decision to interview with a political party should be a personal one, he said.
"You have to choose the decision that will make you happy," Stephenson said. "If you go for it because someone told you to, you'll end up hating it, and you'll end up regretting it."
Gator Party President Luis Nobriga, who is also president of the Hispanic Student Association, said SG issues are left out of HSA - a non-partisan organization - which has members from both parties.
"We promote both parties or no party at all," he said.
A new party, the Student Party, also began interviewing prospective candidates Tuesday. By the end of the day, it had selected 20 of its candidate roster. Five students also registered to run as independents.
