It seems that the powers that be have lost their concern for the opinions of the UF student population. This year, we have been misrepresented and ignored by many of the different groups within our university.
First, there was the issue with the hand scanners. Director of Recreational Sports David Bowles seemed surprised to hear students felt he didn't communicate with them. Many students publicly opposed the hand scanners initially, and somehow he had already managed to drop $4,400 on two of them.
Bowles claimed he spoke with some of the 600 students who worked for him, as well as Student Government officials, and that most supported the measure. I'm surprised employees agreed that their boss's idea was a good one.
Bowles also established a system requiring students to pay for gym access while temporarily not taking classes. Even though students in their fourth and fifth years have already paid thousands of dollars to UF, they can't go to the gym for free if the classes they need are only offered in one summer session.
After implementing the fee, Bowles told the Alligator he didn't know what the revenue from this fee would go toward. Nice.
Mr. Bowles, did you ever stop to consider that some good ideas aren't necessarily preferred by the majority?
There is also our sustainability movement. We have soda cups sold for $2 a pop on campus and refills for $1.29 plus tax. Gee, what a deal! Twenty ounces of soda for $2 in a cup that you can't seal and put in your backpack is a ripoff in the name of environmentalism.
Next up, we have the University Athletic Association. My friends and I were dedicated to getting tickets for the UF-Georgia game this year because we all had success the past four years.
When we logged on, a few of us got through the line, frantically refreshed our pages and even searched www.ticketmaster.com. Apparently, we forgot one thing - luck. After two hours, we gave up and woke up the next day to see all tickets were sold out. What happened to the real first-come-first-serve system, known as a line?
Making our way down the list, we come upon the UF administration and its decision to strike down the Thanksgiving holiday travel day. Thanks for letting 10,000 students vote on this issue; at least you made 5 percent of them happy.
Lastly, I'd like to address the people who are supposed to represent us - ironically, they are also the most egregious offenders - Student Government.
When a petition signed by 5,000 students came to SG calling for a vote regarding online elections, they pulled out all the stops to make sure that wouldn't happen.
It's not the fact that the Gator Party wins every election that pisses students off - it's the fact that they pull crap like conspiring to freeze the opposing party out of important meetings and committees. The e-mails that surfaced in the Oct. 7 Alligator showed SG's utter disregard for UF students.
As politically manipulative as the Gator Party is, you have to respect its ability to get something done.
While President Kevin Reilly and former President Ryan Moseley have done better impressions of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney than Frank Caliendo, the Orange and Blue Party has been more impotent than our democratic Congress over the past two years.
Why do we allow all this to go on?
Why is it that the people we've put in power through democratic processes have turned dictatorial?
Maybe we need new representation, or maybe we need more checks and balances on the current powers that be. All I know is something has to change if students ever expect their voices to be heard.
Kevin Homrich-Micocci is an engineering senior.
