The Hope Party will make its debut in this week’s Student Government elections, replacing the previous Change and Watch Parties as Vision Party’s competitors.
Students will vote to elect 50 senators to on- and off-campus seats Sept. 29 and 30. Vision, which ran unopposed last Fall, has candidates running for all seats, and only nine seats are contested.
SG has two elections per academic year, with one hosted each Fall and Spring. While the Fall cycle elects senators to represent student housing areas, which include districts both on and off campus, the Spring election selects others to serve UF’s colleges.
The SG executive office is also voted in during the Spring, including the president, vice president and treasurer. All three seats are currently held by Vision members.
This Fall, 13 seats will be dedicated to on-campus housing, and 37 will represent off-campus positions.
Mikaela Peasron, a 21-year-old UF marine sciences senior, said she hopes SG shows greater support for student organizations uplifting minority voices, such as the Black Student Union, this upcoming cycle.
“I think my vote would be pretty open going to whoever’s the most passionate about seeing an increase in student [organization] funding,” she said.
Vision’s platform
Founded in 2023, Vision is focusing its efforts on upgrading campus facilities and improving transportation opportunities. The party also wants to create more student resources, improve campus health and safety and enhance existing facilities, according to the party’s Instagram.
Matthew Bravo, the Vision-affiliated SG president, said he’s looking forward to the election.
“Seeing the candidates put forward their ideas to the student body is always an exciting time for our campus,” he said.
While Vision's on-campus platform will focus on upgrades to common and study areas, its off-campus platform aims to improve scooter parking, create enhanced digital maps with transportation information and push for a database detailing off-campus study locations.
The party is looking to upgrade areas of the Reitz Union, add a meditation space, improve legal resources for student renters and increase exam preparation opportunities.
To improve campus recreation, Vision hopes to start a student pickleball tournament with a food donation required for entry to help stock the Field and Fork food pantry, which is run by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
But for Valery Cohn, a 21-year-old UF economics and business administration senior, Vision’s platform seems disingenuous. She said she’s seen Vision prioritize UF’s fraternity and sorority organizations, which have historically staffed and voted for Vision, over the wider student body.
“I would really like to see a larger diversity of voices,” Cohn said, “just in general, people who aren’t bending over backwards for the frats.”
Hope’s counter
Founded by Lane O’Rourke, a 20-year-old biochemistry junior, Hope’s overarching mission is to challenge the current one-party system. He said the party’s platform is built on aiding immigrant and international students, improving campus affordability and increasing transparency.
O’Rourke, who serves as Hope’s president and communications director, said he felt underrepresented by Vision. Vision’s lack of transparency affected his trust in SG, he added, and it fostered unawareness of senate operations.
“We want legitimacy in our government because it's currently representing a constituency of a tiny percentage of the student population at this point, and we want students' voices to be heard,” O’Rourke said.
To support immigrant and international students, O’Rouke said Hope wants to expand legal services, advocate for UFPD to end its agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and push for pay raises for students working on campus.
The party also looks to increase funding for the Gainesville Regional Transit System, which lost four routes after its budget dropped 28%, expand UF’s childcare program and protest increases to tuition and student fees.
Hope is confident its push for changing the status quo will work, O’Rouke said, even if it takes time.
“We are building a movement here,” he said.
Tyler Sklar, a 21-year-old UF English senior and the party’s ethics and accountability chair, said winning senate seats isn’t the only way to influence campus decisions. Change can come from outside, too, he said.
“I think what people should take away from this is that just because the campaign season might end, that doesn’t mean the battle is over,” he said.
How to vote
There are eight polling locations on UF’s campus:
- Honors Village Small Meeting Room #115 (1512 Museum Road)
- Southwest Recreation Center Lobby (3150 Hull Road)
- Health Science Center Library (1249 Center Drive)
- Institute of Black Culture Classroom (1510 W. University Ave.)
- Heavener Hall (1325 W. University Ave.)
- Reitz Union Print Lab, Lower Level (655 Reitz Union Drive)
- Norman Education Library (618 SW 12th St.)
- Keys Complex (2191 Stadium Road)
Students must show up to one of the polling stations in person on Sept. 29 or 30. They can check in with polling staff with a valid ID and cast their votes on UF’s digital voting platform by logging in with their UF GatorLink.
Contact Sofia Garcia at sofiagarcia@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @sconsuelogarcia.
Sofia Garcia is a first-year journalism and political science double major at UF and serving as the student government reporter for Fall 2026. This is her first semester at The Alligator. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music, playing video games, or connecting with her friends and family back home in Miami.
