“Political parties admirable, but possible complication”. This is a
response to that column and several of the points it makes.
In early 2010, the Student Government Council – Modesto A. Maidique Campus
Supreme Court held a case that fundamentally altered the manner in
which Student Government Association elections happened at Florida
International University. In this case, Mujica v Elections Board, the
court ruled that students are constitutionally guaranteed to endorse
each other, based on the right to freedom of expression. With this
ruling not only came a more fair and free process, but also the
possibility of political parties in the framework of our SGA.
Aware of the need to implement some fair rules to help in the process, last
year the SGC-MMC Senate enacted a new Elections Code, one with
provisions targeting party fundraising, campaigning and overall
involvement in elections. It now appears there is a push to “establish”
political parties. Again.
The fact of the matter is that parties already exist. The FIU Coalition of
Students for Reform already has established itself as the first
political party on campus, taking an active involvement with the April
2011 elections endorsing a significant amount of the winning candidates,
including President Patrick O’Keefe. Moving forward we must all be
aware that a debate on whether to have parties or not is pointless; they
cannot be prohibited.
It is important to state that parties are not meant to be a distraction
but a tool to address your SGA officials. With that in mind, any and all
regulations must be fair and allow students to fully exercise their
rights, not infringe upon them; rumors that students won’t be able to
have a Democratic or Republican Party are disconcerting; it is not SGA’s
or Campus Life’s job to determine how a party is called, or what it
stands for. That job is solely up to the students who wish to coalesce
around common ideas for our student government.
The process to reform the already enacted political party regulations must
be an open one. The Senate Student Advocacy committee, upon the filing
of a bill should hold public hearings to gather student input on the
regulations.
The idea, if correctly implemented, won’t represent the neglecting of
requirements or responsibilities; on the contrary, established, active
parties will serve as a check on an SGA that passes laws without anyone
noticing; particularly when it takes weeks for them to be posted online.
The ambition behind the concept, inevitable as it is, can be correctly
implemented with a student-led process that reflects the virtues and
characteristics of our university. We must not merely copy other
universities’ models which are often derided as inadequate; the
opportunity is there to establish a new type of system that is free,
open and accountable for everyone. The opportunity is there for our
elected SGA officials to take action in this matter and deliver. This
will be one small step towards the SGA that we all want and deserve, and
perhaps, a giant leap towards getting more of our student body involved
with its government.
-William-Jose Velez
Former SGC-MMC Senate Speaker
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