Disillusioned with a UF Student Government dominated by a single majority party, one student plans to create his own.
Hansberry Pierre, a UF freshman with no previous experience with SG, said he doesn’t feel represented by the current representatives, most of which are affiliated with Impact Party.
In the past two elections, Impact has claimed 97 of 100 Student Senate seats. Pierre created a Facebook page in February to gather others who are frustrated with SG and gauge their interest in creating a party.
He began posting on Feb. 24, after learning of Impact’s dominance in the Spring elections.
“I want there to be a Student Government that is representative of the entire, diverse Student Body,” the 20-year-old UF biology and sociology freshman said.
As of Wednesday, his page had 168 likes. He said SG hasn’t been transparent, especially because of the lack of advertising about the Spring election and explanation of amendments.
Pierre didn’t vote in the past election and said he only knew about it after an Impact Party member approached him.
“Once there’s a one-party election, that causes many people to be voiceless,” he said. “I did not feel that I had a choice.”
Right now, Pierre said he’s still making initial plans to form a party by reaching out to those involved in SG to learn about its rules and regulations. Vrushank Desai, 18, was one of the first people to like the Facebook page.
The UF mechanical engineering freshman said there should be a second party to represent non-Greek students.
“I definitely hope there’s enough buzz generated by that page to form a strong opposition to implement online voting,” he said. “I’m hoping to see something like Access (Party) return.”
@paigexfry
pfry@alligator.org
