For four hours Sunday, Charlie Rash sat alone waiting for someone to sign up with his Student Government party.
“Seeing a steady stream of people for Impact didn’t really faze me,” said Rash, the vice president for the newly formed Progress Party. “We’re kind of the David to their Goliath.”
Sunday was the first day students registered to run as Student Senate candidates for Spring elections. About 45 students qualified, all running with Impact Party, wrote UF Supervisor of Elections Eric Hobbs in an email.
In Spring 2016, 289 students registered with Impact, 61 registered with Access Party and five registered as independent, according to Alligator archives.
Senators are elected in Spring based on their college and year at UF. Hobbs said starting Sunday gave busy students the opportunity to sign up.
Audra Weeks, 18, said she registered as a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Impact senator because her friends, who are Impact senators, said she should.
“They seem to be making an impact on campus,” said the UF agricultural education and communication junior.
Within the last 15 minutes of registration, one person approached the Progress table, interested in running as a freshman or business senator, Rash said.
“It was a breath of fresh air to have him show up at the last minute,” the 18-year-old UF finance freshman said, adding that the student hasn’t officially registered.
Interviewing continues today from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Reitz Union Student Activities and Involvement Office.
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