Students tell Student Government parties they want vegan options, representation for African Americans

On the third day of generating platforms, UF Student Government political parties spoke to students who were interested in learning more before the election.

Khalid El-Koalli said he approached the Inspire Party table on Turlington Plaza on Wednesday to become more informed on Student Government issues. With the Spring election on Feb. 20 and Feb. 21, candidates and volunteers for three parties have appeared on Turlington and near the Reitz Union in an effort to ask students about their ideas to improve the university.

For El-Koalli, he said hasn’t felt motivated to know more about Student Government until the formation of Inspire Party.

“I just want more independendent involvement,” the UF philosophy junior said.

In between classes, Ajay Patel, 18, approached both Inspire’s and Impact’s tables on Turlington because he wanted an unbiased perspective on the parties. He asked members from each party about their policies.

“For the most part, it seemed that both were very proactive for the Student Body,” Patel said.

The UF zoology freshman said he believes both parties should advocate for the African American population in the university, who are lacking in representation.

“They all seem like they’re kind of segregated from the rest of us,” he said. “I don’t like that. We’re about inclusion here.”

Sine becoming a vegan about a month ago, Hannah Terzi said she would like to see more options on campus that fit her dietary restriction.

The 19-year-old said she’s been going to Au Bon Pain, one of the few on-campus places she has options.

“I’ve just become more aware of the fact that there is not that many vegan options on campus,” the UF behavioral and cognitive sciences sophomore said.

Paige Painter, 19, said renaming the Stephen O’Connell Center is not something she thought about until she went up to Challenge Party’s table in the Reitz Union.

“It’s important to bring attention to things like that to people who might not think about those issues,” the UF English freshman said.

Contact Christina Morales at cmorales@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter at @Christina_M18.