Peter Schorsch
Members of the University of Central Florida (UCF) Student Body Senate passed three bills this week aimed at increasing student representation on campus, encouraging civic participation and calling for transparency within the university’s $2.6 million in lobbying spending since 1998.
The bills align with the Youth Power Reforms students are attempting to pass on campus led by UCF’s Un-PAC, a nonpartisan group of students mobilizing to get big money out of politics.
Those reforms include expanding voter registration opportunities for new students; canceling classes on Election Day to promote voting; and requiring transparency and student input on political lobbying decisions.
Those supporting the reforms argue providing a day off of classes on Election Day would allow “thousands more students” to participate in democracy, noting student turnout was down this year as “students scrambled to make up time lost due to the recent hurricanes.”
Organizers and Un-PAC volunteers have tried to secure meetings with members of UCF’s administration, including President Alexander Cartwright and Vice President for Government and Community Relations Janet Owen, but have not received responses, according to the group.
Un-PAC is a national organization working to solve urgent problems by activating students and young people to demand democracy reform.
