Yesterday’s video shows Student Government for what it is and always will be: bullshit

There’s currently an uproar in the heart of the Gator Nation. A UF senior who says she was involved in the creation of the Impact Party – the more conservative of UF’s two dominating campus political parties – has made a video exposing the inner evils of campus politics. You can watch it here.

Basically, she explained how deep rooted nepotism and favoritism have gotten students their offices in Student Government for decades. She received offices because of her roles in Greek organizations and took the place of potentially more qualified students because they didn’t have the same networks as her. She spoke about how minority, gay, and non-Greek students were often left out of campus politics because they didn’t know the right people. Well, when I heard this I had to think about what she was saying. She said campus politics right?

Politics.

Have you ever heard someone talk about how a situation was unfair so they blamed it on “politics,” figuratively? Well now we’re talking about literal politics. Whether it be UF campus politics or United States politics, there is always a system. I’m not saying that systems have never been dismantled, but these systems have been in place for decades.

I don’t know if she thinks that she’s starting some type of revolution on campus, but things like this have been done before to no avail. In 2010, people tried to expose Unite Party (Pre-Swamp, Pre-Impact) audio files about how strictly campus voting was enforced in Greek life and claim how the system is rigged. Any type of politics has a system, and you’re either in it or you’re not – UF is no different.

Politics is all about image. Impact Party, just like its predecessor, Swamp, has a reputation of being overwhelmingly white, Greek, and moderately conservative. So is the fact the Impact VP Candidate is black a coincidence?

Now, by no means am I saying that BJ isn’t fit to be VP. Nor am I saying that he’s just being used. But you can’t avoid the fact that he helps Impact’s image. Just like in campus politics, state politics, US politics, and virtually every other political system in the world, there are the haves and the have-nots and usually the needs of the latter are ignored.

The most important difference between a politician and an activist is the willfulness to work within the system. Unless you’ve been living under a rock since you got to UF, you should be pretty aware of the system. None of the “secrets” in the video should actually be secrets. Activism is the result of a group of people being marginalized within a political system. Now, do you want to be a politician who exists within the system or an activist who fights to change it? It is your choice.

The intentions were honorable, but I can tell you that the system is not going to change. It’s great to want the voice of every Gator out in the open. It’s great to want campus unity. And hopefully, you still think it’s great to be a Florida Gator.