Driving under the influence, battery, assault, public urination, marijuana possession and underage alcohol consumption.
Not exactly what comes to mind when you think of Student Government.
However, a criminal records search of UF SG members and candidates shows they've racked up a total of 37 criminal charges, one code enforcement violation for public urination, and a lawsuit for unpaid rent and damages-all in Alachua County.
One senator has at least six arrests for charges that include underage possession, assault, driving under the influence and battery while trying to illegally buy pain pills.
The charges fall unevenly across party lines, with Unite Party senators or candidates taking home the lion's share-17 charges, a code enforcement violation and one lawsuit.Cabinet officers appointed by the Unite Party tallied another 12 charges.
One Cabinet officer, William Stewart Sedgwick IV, resigned earlier this month after he was charged with driving under the influence.
Independent senators or candidates-or those with unknown affiliations-have seven charges against them in the county and at least one elsewhere in Florida.
The Gator Party had one charge. It stemmed from an arrest for underage drinking at The Swamp Restaurant last fall that also involved other Gator Party members, including one former senator.
Senators and candidates with the Progress, Orange & Blue and Keg parties have not been charged with any crimes in the county.
After being presented with information about the criminal activity in their party, Student Body President Jordan Johnson and Unite Party spokesman Jason Yoepp vowed to take a closer look at future candidates for Student Senate and Cabinet positions.
In an e-mailed , SG press secretary Eric Conrad said Johnson's administration currently does not investigate the criminal histories of its Cabinet appointments, but he said that will change.
"Charges like driving under the influence and battery conflict with the very strong stances the Johnson administration has taken against drunk driving and for increased public safety and will therefore be taken into account for possible appointments," he wrote.
In an e-mailed , Yoepp said it's also important to keep in mind that SG members are students, not seasoned politicians and should be allowed to make mistakes.
Ben Cavataro, Policy and Communications Director for the Orange and Blue Party, said the differences in criminal histories between parties is telling.
"Today's [revelations] confirm what we already knew: The Unite Party cannot provide honest and capable leadership for UF," a statement from Cavataro reads.
"While some mistakes by individuals may be unavoidable, a pattern of criminal activity is cause for alarm."
Dave Schneider, Progress Party president, said he wasn't surprised to learn his senators and candidates lacked criminal records in the county.
Comment could not be obtained from the Gator Party.
The SG member with the most extensive record is Joseph McCabe, a District B senator with no listed party affiliation, though he was a Gator Party senator in 2008.
McCabe's troubles with the law started with two underage alcohol possession arrests, one in 2006 and one in 2007.
Then, last September, he was arrested for driving under the influence after the UF-Miami football game.
The arresting officer stated McCabe was clocked going 50 mph in a 35 mph zone on West University Avenue when he began tailgating other cars and weaving from one side of the lane to the other, striking the curb multiple times and nearly striking several pedestrians.
He had trouble performing field sobriety exercises and also refused to take a breath test, according to the police report.
McCabe, 20 at the time, lost his license for six months, paid almost $1,000 in fines and court costs and was put on probation for a year. Under the terms of his probation, he was not allowed to consume alcohol or drugs.
Earlier this year, during spring break, McCabe was arrested again after a bar fight in Key West. He was charged with assault after punching the bar's bouncer repeatedly, according to a police report.
He admitted to drinking alcohol before the incident. As a result, McCabe was arrested again in April for violating his probation, received another fine and more community service.
He was also ordered to complete an anger management course and attend weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
Earlier this month, he was arrested once more after attacking a man inside M & M Upholstery on Northwest Sixth Street, according to a police report.
McCabe was invited into the business in the early morning hours to use the phone because he was intoxicated and staggering in the street, the report stated.
He asked the man who let him in if he could buy any pain pills from him, the report stated. The man said no and told him to call someone for a ride.
Then McCabe punched the man in the face, knocking him to the ground, according to the report. The man ran out to get help and when he returned, McCabe-who was hiding behind a door-tried to ram him with an entertainment stand.
The man stepped aside and McCabe broke through a wooden railing on the back deck, crushing the stand, the report stated.
After being read his rights, McCabe admitted to police he had been drinking and was in the area trying to buy pain pills because he has a habit. He denied hitting the man or trying to ram him with an entertainment stand, according to the report.
McCabe's term ends after this week's elections. He is not running for re-election. Neither McCabe nor his lawyer could be reached for comment.
The only other member of the Senate charged with a violent crime is Sam Lipshutz, of the Unite Party, who was arrested in March for striking a man in the face, according to police.
According to the report, his victim, who appears to be another UF student, suffered damage to a tooth and his bottom lip.
Lipshutz entered into a deferred prosecution agreement in May and was ordered to pay $1,900 in restitution to the victim. His term ends in the spring.
Another Unite Party senator, whose term ends this fall, was arrested in February for disorderly conduct and resisting an officer without violence. Like many of the others charged with crimes, he entered into a deferred prosecution agreement. The agreement ends in October.
He is one of four SG members currently on probation or in the middle of a deferred prosecution agreement.
Another senator was charged with using someone else's handicap parking permit earlier this month. According to the State Attorney's office, the senator thought he had a condition which justified the use of a permit. The judge dismissed the charges because he felt being towed and appearing in court were enough punishment.
Most of the other charges involve alcohol.
In all, 15 senators, Senate candidates or Cabinet members have been charged with underage alcohol possession 18 times, with three double offenders. In addition, three members were charged with open container violations and one with an open house party.
Jordan Johnson, Student Body president and Unite Party member, is among those with alcohol offenses. He was charged with holding an open house party with underage drinking in 2006 and, in another incident later that year, with an open container violation and underage alcohol possession.
"Everybody makes mistakes," Johnson wrote in an e-mailed statement, "but I think that these youthful indiscretions have helped me to see the consequences that can come with drinking. This is why some of my biggest policy initiatives have been focused on decreasing related offenses like DUIs and pushed for more personal responsibility when it comes to drinking."
In another case, Jillian Rogers, director of AAREST, an SG Cabinet, was charged in July with underage alcohol possession, an open container violation and resisting an officer without violence. She gave her sister's name and told the arresting officer she was 23, according to a police report. Her sister's ID was found in her purse.
She did not return a request for comment.
Of the current candidates running for office this week, three have criminal charges in the county. One was nabbed for underage alcohol possession, one for driving with an expired license, and another for three separate crimes.
In January, Unite Party candidate Kyle Allbright was found asleep at the wheel near P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School. His car was running and his headlights were on.
Nineteen at the time, he was found with a bottle of whiskey, a bag of marijuana and a multicolored pipe, according to a police report. He was charged with underage alcohol possession, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
He entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and charges were dismissed earlier this month.
He did not return a request for comment.
Though members of the Unite Party said they would check future candidates' criminal backgrounds, it's not clear how current senators and Cabinet officers can be removed from office if they are arrested or convicted of serious crimes while in office.
The Senate has an impeachment process and Cabinet members can be asked to leave, but there seems to be no formal way in which SG learns about arrests, which may explain why McCabe was able to stay in office.
Sandy Vernon, an office manager, said she has worked in SG since 1992 and cannot remember a senator being removed from office for criminal charges.
She said the office does not check the criminal histories of candidates because the rules don't mandate it.
However, she said candidates on conduct probation with UF are ineligible to run for office or serve.
Chris Loschiavo, director of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution, said his office is responsible for notifying SG if a member is on probation.
But, he said, if a student is arrested off campus, his office might never deal with it.
As a result, students arrested or convicted of crimes could continue to serve.
Loschiavo said it's up to SG to decide if it wants to monitor the criminal records of its members.
"If their leadership isn't representing them in a good way then they need to come up with a mechanism to find out about that," he said.
Editor's note: Due to space restrictions, the following information was left out of the article: There are 99 Unite Party senators or candidates and 3 executive office members, 45 Progress Party senators or candidates, 47 Orange & Blue Party senators or candidates and 15 senators or candidates who are independent or did not list their affiliation (one of whom is a current Keg Party member). There are also about 60 cabinet members.
