Hey Gator Nation!
It’s hard to believe we are already in the last week of Summer A! In just a few short weeks, Summer B classes will begin, and the Class of 2020 will officially begin their journey. With that said, it has been full steam ahead for my administration over the past six weeks.
We have successfully advocated for the Student Body in so many different ways. Our efforts through the External Affairs agency of Student Government to lobby the state legislature for Summer Bright Futures have led to Gov. Rick Scott’s “Finish in Four, Save More” challenge, which encourages students to pursue the completion of their degree programs in four years. The challenge addresses the need for financial support by supporting the implementation of Summer Bright Futures for those students taking courses, especially toward the completion of the nine credits that are state-mandated.
Student leaders at our institution as well as from institutions across our state have been urging the leaders of our state to implement these measures for years, but I am so proud to be a part of an administration that has finally made the prospect of financial support during the Summer semester a true possibility. There is much more we hope to accomplish in Tallahassee this year, and I look forward to updating you all as the year continues.
Another important development concerns study space. If you have not already heard, Library West, come the Fall semester, will officially be a 24/7 study space. Surveys from UF libraries made it very clear that students prefer Library West as a dedicated study space with overnight hours, and I made sure those overnight hours could be extended into the weekends as well.
Most importantly, the switch back to Library West is indicative of what my administration hopes to accomplish: listening to you. By listening to the opinions of the Student Body, I know we can continue to build a positive relationship between students and their SG.
In May, SG and Business Services finally confirmed the development of Chick-Fil-A Breakfast. Similar to a dedicated 24/7 study space, Chick-Fil-A Breakfast has been asked for by the Student Body almost as long as Chick-Fil-A has been a food service partner with our campus — over a decade! Construction will begin in the Hub in May 2017, and the renovated Chick-Fil-A, complete with the full breakfast menu, will be available Fall 2017.
Impactful developments for student life like these are central to the platform that Brendon Jonassaint, Kishan Patel and I ran on in the Spring. Like I said during the debate, our platform is a binding contract to the Student Body. These are promises we will follow through on by the end of our term.
With that said, we felt it was very necessary to be as transparent as possible about the accomplishment of our platform, which is why Action SG, an agency of the Executive Branch, has created the Platform Tracker Video Series, which are released shortly after we have finished any of our platform points, whether from the Spring or Fall.
I highly encourage anybody looking to gain more insights into the amount of work that went into making initiatives like Chick-Fil-A Breakfast happen to check out our Facebook (UF Student Government) and our Instagram (@ufsg).
I also encourage interested students to come learn more about their SG by meeting their officials. It is always such a treat to talk to interested students about how we can work together to make our campus a better place. We are on the third floor of the Reitz Union!
If you have any comments or concerns, feel free to visit our website or email us. My email is
president@sg.ufl.edu.
Here’s to an exciting 2016-2017 year, and, as always, Go Gators!
Susan Webster is the UF Student Body president. Her column appears monthly.
