Same old, same old?

By Jessica Newman

My colleague, Travis Pillow, recently posted a response to a letter written to the Alligator by Josh Niederreiter, which referred to the Unite Party already having its executive slate filled before it started taking interviews for the position.

Travis’ response: “He’s referring, of course, to a system of succession that predates the Unite Party, in which students from Greek houses and various campus groups are rewarded based on loyalty, receiving everything from student money for their groups to leadership positions in SG.”

We see this every year – the ‘indie party’ tries to differentiate itself from the ‘established party’ merely for the sake of differentiating itself.

The two parties tend to have similar platforms. That’s not to say there aren’t differences; the establishment party is always “safer.” But the average student, who rarely finds a reason to pay attention, will have a hard time telling them apart. Everyone wants a more sustainable campus. Everyone wants to limit the economic burden on students. Everyone makes vague promises about making UF a better place.

Naturally that state of affairs makes things hard on the opposition. But they tend to get caught up in the politics of it all, and next thing you know, they’re spouting off at the mouth just for the sake of differentiating themselves. Inane arguments and childish stunts, like Niederreiter’s letter, inevitable ensue.

Take the Reitz Union Expansion Fee. It’s a hot issue right and something that very well could bring a record number of students out to the polls. And the truth is, that building is in dire need of repairs. But is charging the students a fee the best way to go about making those repairs?

All you see in The Alligator about the issue is pitting Graduate Assistants United and the Student Alliance against the Unite Party. GAU says underpaid grad assistants can’t afford a fee (they’re most certainly right about that), and the Student Alliance has unquestioningly embraced their position.

Now the two sides are talking past each other. There’s no doubt that the Reitz needs some serious work and that it’s been expanding beyond its capacity for years. There’s also no doubt that graduate assistants need to be paid better. Rather than trying to find an alternative way to secure the repairs, Student Alliance automatically rejects the student fee because it’s something that Unite supports. In the Town Hall Meeting sponsored by the Alligator and SG, Ben Cavataro applauded any criticism of President Jordan Johnson and his plans. Is this really getting us anywhere?

There’s a real possibility here for SG to work together and make the repairs happen in a way that exploits students the least and also makes the Reitz Union a place we can all enjoy. Denying that we need to fix the problem isn’t going to help us. Which party will step up to the plate? I’m of the opinion that if they don’t get over their petty opposition politics, then neither will. But I hope I’m proved wrong.