Some UF Student Government members have made it a point to submit legislation in solidarity with students who may be affected by the new Florida laws.
The SG legislation mentions some of the state laws affecting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs, public-employee unions and the first amendment.
In Spring 2022, Senators from the Gator and Change party sponsored the Resolution Condemning the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill.
Former Senate President Elizabeth Hartzog signed the resolution.
Sen. Anghelo Gangano (Change-Graduate) wrote two pieces of legislation recently passed in the Senate Chambers. He authored them after new state laws went into effect July 1.
One bill is the Resolution Condemning Florida House Bill 1069 and the Censorship, Restriction, and Removal of Educational Resources from Florida Schools.
The resolution aims to show students the Senate condemns actions and legislation that would censor, restrict or remove educational resources from any academic institution, and denounces the environment of fear and intimidation such policies create.
Gangano believes Florida is at the center of book bans in the past few years. Countless novels have been restricted or outright removed from school districts and libraries throughout the state, often at the request of only a few individuals, creating environments where a single parent can police the reading of entire grades, he said.
“I believe knowledge should be free to all students. These book bans are anti-education, and do not have a place in our school systems,” Gangano wrote. “These bans are shown to disproportionately attack authors of color or who belong to the LGBTQ+ community, unfortunately yet another example of systemic suppression of certain voices.”
The second bill is the Resolution Condemning Florida Senate Bill 256/House Bill 1445 (2023) and their Attacks on public-employee unions. Minority Party Leader Bronson Allemand (Gator-District A) also sponsored the bill.
SB256 is a blatant act of union busting and an attack on labor forces throughout the state of Florida, including the professors and graduate assistants at UF, Gangano said.
“At a time when graduate students are already struggling with the housing crisis, inflation and attaining living wages, the last thing we need is for our union to dissolve,” Gangano wrote.
Senate President Oscar Santiago Perez (Change-District D) said the courses of action after a resolution passes may vary depending on the author.
Some resolutions pass as an expression of sentiment, while others might lead to action on behalf of the entity that receives it, Santiago Perez said.
Majority Party Leader Simone Liang (Change-CLAS) helped co-author a resolution condemning Senate Bill 266. The resolution urged Student Body President Olivia Green and UF President Ben Sasse to publicly state their support for DEI initiatives at UF.
Liang found it important for the co-authors of SSB 2023-1051 and her to issue a critical statement about their unwavering support for DEI initiatives at UF following the threatening language of SB266, which was signed into law by DeSantis, she wrote.
According to Liang, she does not believe Green has issued a public statement following the passing of SSB 2023-1051 — though, throughout the Spring 2023 election cycle, the Gator Party executive branch nominees mentioned DEI initiatives during their campaigns.
“We’re already working on these DEI initiatives, and instead of talking about what we’re doing wrong, which is clearly nothing, you need to be talking about how you’re going to work for these DEI initiatives and how you’re going to work for these students,” Green said during the SG Debate.
Green issued an executive order recognizing Pride Month and supporting LGBTQ students at a June 13 Senate meeting. The order states Student Government officials will continue the development of programs and initiatives that support LGBTQ individuals on and off UF’s campus.
Nearing the end of the July 25 Senate meeting, Santiago Perez signed two bills.
One of the bills included the Resolution Condemning Florida Board of Governors’ Decision to Ban Asian Social Media Platforms at Public Universities, authored by Budget and Appropriations Committee Clerk Michael Lim and Sen. Laurie Wang (Gator-Freshman).
Per the bill’s proviso, a copy will be sent to DeSantis.
Santiago Perez said when they ran for Senate president they made a promise to advocate and protect existing DEI initiatives.
Santiago Perez is proud of the legislation that has come out through the Senate Chambers to support these initiatives and to oppose state legislative action which hinders free speech, they said.
“I hope that we continue to see the Senate continue to be proactive in these initiatives and also continue to be advocates through legislation, but also advocates through their own rights as senators.” Santiago Perez said.
Contact Vivienne at vserret@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @vivienneserret.
Vivienne Serret is a UF journalism and criminology senior, reporting for The Alligator's university desk as the student government reporter and managing editor for The Florida Political Review. She loves debating, lifting at the gym and singing.
