Sixty-one percent of the nearly 10,000 students who cast a ballot in this week's Student Government elections voted in favor of withholding funding from facilities that require biometric data, such as a hand scan, for entry.
The passed initiative is binding and will be incorporated into the Student Body statutes.
Its implementation would affect Rec Sports, since the organization receives most of its funding from students' Activity and Service Fees, which make up SG's nearly $13 million budget.
UF Rec Sports director David Bowles said he was sure he could work out a solution with SG leaders and would not comment further.
A similar question appeared on fall's SG ballot.
But though 84 percent of students voted against requiring hand scans to gain entrance to UF recreational facilities, little resulted since the question was a referendum and was therefore nonbinding.
Orange and Blue Party Sen. Ben Cavataro presented legislation during a fall Senate meeting which, if passed, would have required hand scans be optional for entry in order for funding to be given. The majority of senators voted against the legislation.
As a result, several senators from the Orange and Blue Party worked on collecting 1,300 signatures to have the question appear as an initiative on spring's ballot, according to Orange and Blue Party Sen. Jonathan Ossip, who authored the question.
"We're lucky voters have more sense than the Senate did," Cavataro said, adding since the initiative passed, it will be made into law during Tuesday's Senate meeting.
"It becomes a law just as if it was passed by the Senate," he said.
Senate President Jordan Johnson said the hand-scan initiative is a classic example of an elections tactic used by the Orange and Blue Party to rally support, adding he will be happy when SG puts the issue to rest.
Ossip disagreed and said Johnson's claim was ridiculous.
"It's something the students actually want," he said.
