“What the hell is Pizza Party?” Being a new political party, we are accustomed to hearing this… However, instead of discouraging us, it only reinforces our belief that Pizza Party is exactly what this campus needs!
We, the pizza politicians, decided to step up to the plate and create this party because we saw a distinct lack of fun in the current political environment here on campus.
Rather than looking to hunt down the parties opposing us, ripping their heads off, putting them on a spike and parading them around campus — declaring our victory — we want to work with other political parties to make student government an inviting and enjoyable space where legislation can be smoothly proposed and implemented to improve our lovely university.
Another circle stone of Pizza Party and something near and dear to our artichoke hearts is effectively engaging with and representing the Student Body. We plan on going about this by surveying students to understand what changes to campus they are looking for and regularly communicating the steps we are pursuing to enact those changes with them.
This is why one of our pizza policy goals is to survey the student population on which guest speakers they want to come to campus. While the primary benefit of this is engaging the student population, a side benefit is that it would help to clear up the controversy surrounding the ACCENT program and the accusations leveled at it claiming SG is wasting money on certain speakers.
We also know the current club funding system has its flaws. Proof of that was seen when funding for Fall ran out in under three minutes. How is this possible when thousands of dollars in extra club funding roll over each year?
The answer can be traced to the fact that clubs only have one opportunity to request funding per semester. This leads to them requesting as much money as they possibly can without always knowing exactly what they will use it for, this in turn blocks other clubs from receiving the funding they desperately need.
Pizza Party’s solution? Allow clubs to request funding at two points during each semester. By implementing this change, guesswork on the club’s end will be reduced, and they will have a clearer picture of exactly how much funding they need.
This isn't all Pizza Party has up its crust! How would you do it if you were going to make a new student government party at UF? Most people have no idea! Pizza Party believes this knowledge should be more widespread. Furthermore, being made up completely of people who have never been involved with SG, we know creating a new party is no easy task. We want to change this by reducing the requirements to develop political parties and streamlining the process.
If you're reading this column while walking to class, close your eyes and picture this… it's 95 degrees Fahrenheit outside. Not only are you sweating your butt off, but your stress level is rising because you have an exam in 30 minutes. As you're about to pass out, you notice a SG representative handing out free ice cream. This isn't a mirage, it’s the future Pizza Party is fighting for — free ice cream when it's over 95 degrees outside.
If we’ve convinced you voting for Pizza Party is the right way to go this election, and you want to take the extra step by swearing fealty to us through a red sauce oath, we politely ask you to refrain from that and instead just follow our Instagram @pizzaparty_uf, spread the word and most importantly... vote for our senate candidates.
Being newer to the election process, we are undeniably a bit yellow around the edges, but that doesn't mean you should count us out of this election cycle.
Ben “Pizza” Belin is a UF marketing sophomore and Pizza Party President and Co-founder.
