Guest Post from Student Body Treasurer, Jayce Victor

My good friend, running mate, and current Student Body Treasurer, Jayce Victor, has a ton of updates to share with the student body.  Here is his guest post for today:

Many wonder what the Student Body Treasurer has been up to, well here is a great opportunity to check out his current accomplishments and get a sneak peak of his upcoming goals as well:

April/May 2013

·         During the early summer, Student Body Treasurer Victor, along with the budget committee, heard requests from hundreds of student government funded organizations for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. Following student organizational hearings, during the summer, Treasurer Victor had the opportunity to revise the 2012-2013 A&S fee budget and reallocate available funds to student organizations funded by SG. In addition, Treasurer Victor worked with the SG Finance team to increase the efficiency of Docutraq which is the official way of processing goods and services for student groups who are funded by SG. The 3.0 Docutraq system features many improvements and student groups find it easier to navigate. One of the benefits of the new Docutraq system is that it reflects the encumbered and unencumbered balances so student groups know where they stand financially.

June/July 2013

·         Later in the summer months, Treasurer Victor prepared the Student Government budget for fiscal year 2014-2015 and presented the budget before the budget committee. Although he faced challenges with the 5% budget cut, he was able to find a middle ground and reduce spending in unnecessary areas, while still representing the needs of the students. In addition to the Student Government budget, Treasurer Victor worked along with the budget committee held hearings for the rest of the big four organizations (Recreational Sports, Reitz Union, and Student Activity & Involvement). On July 23^rd the Senate passed the final budget of 17,798,535 million dollars for the 2014-2015 fiscal year. One of the challenges that the big four will face this year is a 5% reduction in the budget across the board. This change will affect students, but Treasurer Victor believes in a way this will empower us all to work together and become more inclusive in the things we do.

August/September

·         During the months of August and September, Treasurer Victor trained hundreds of student organizations in order to prepare new officers for the upcoming fiscal year. His goal for training was to find an innovative way to keep students engaged while simultaneously allowing them to retain the useful information that will play a vital role in keeping student organizations fiscally responsible. In addition to training, Treasurer Victor, along with the Reitz Union and Classic Fare, presented a town hall forum called “Know Your Reitz.” This was a great opportunity for students to come out and hear from Reitz Union Director Eddie Daniels and Classic Fare staff about the impact that the Reitz Union renovations will have on their finances.

Treasure Victor continues to manage a 18.9 million dollar budget, where he is responsible for signing off on all expenditures, overseeing student organizations' budgets by processing all SARs and TARs, and frequent training of new officers and new funded groups. In the future, Treasurer Victor also plans to conduct philanthropy through SG finance for groups to donate non-perishable food items and have the opportunity to win a stipend that goes towards their food budget for this fiscal year.  

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Jayce Victor at treasurer@sg.ufl.edu or drop by his office on the third floor in the Reitz Union. 

Fitz and Tantrums come to Gainesville

On November 11th at 7 p.m. the rising sextet Fitz and Tantrums and the alternative dance duo Capital Cities will be performing a free concert at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. This is another concert being put on the hardworking people at Student Government Productions.

Two tickets may be issued per person with one present UFID. Seating for the show will be general admission on a first-come, first-serve basis. The student tickets will be distributed at the Phillips Center Box Office from noon until 6 p.m. on the day of the show until supplies last.

To learn more about Fitz and Tantrums, visit their website at http://www.fitzandthetantrums.com. A few of their most popular songs include "More Than Just a Dream," and "Out of My League." To get more information about the talented dance team Capital Cities, check out their website at http://capitalcitiesmusic.com.

Thank you to SGP for constantly striving to provide us with talented performers and succeeding again with this show! Get your tickets as early as you can on the 11th
, because supplies won't last long. Enjoy the show, Gators!!

Guest post from Senate President Cory Yeffet

Today's post is a guest blog from the newly elected Senate President, Cory Yeffet.  I served with Cory during my time in Senate and am fortunate to call him a good friend.  After only a few weeks, Cory is already making a big impact as he leads Student Government's legislative branch.

• Hello Gators!

  My name is Cory Yeffet and I am the President of Student Senate here at the University of Florida. I’m excited to share with you all some updates from the legislative branch of our Student Government!

  Two weeks ago, as the fall elections came to a close, we ushered in a new group of fifty, eager Student Senators! As of last night’s meeting, their Orientation Series is complete and they are fully ready to take on the responsibility of representing the 50,000 students that make up the Gator Nation.

  Some new initiatives that the Senate is working on this semester deal with improving student safety through increased technology and lighting all around campus, as well expanding student services such as bike repair and free printing. In addition, we hope to effectively reach out to all of our constituents through Town Hall Meetings that will be taking place across campus. 

  Furthermore, this semester I hope to lead Student Senate toward making a greater impact on our community. As leaders on campus, we understand it is important not only to represent the students, but also to give back to our surrounding environment. Student Senate will be partaking in community service events throughout the semester, even spearheading some of our own. To start, we will have a fundraising team taking part in Gators March For Babies, taking place this coming November. I encourage all of you to come out and support a great cause as well! 

  If you have any questions, suggestions, concerns, or would like to meet, please feel free to contact me at senatepresident@sg.ufl.edu

  Have a great day, and Go Gators! 

  
  

  Cory Yeffet

  

  Chief Justice Marcus Powers (left) swearing in Cory Yeffet (right) as Senate President

  
  

Startup Week UF

This week Gator Innovators is hosting Startup Week UF, a week of programming for students that have entrepreneurial ambitions.  The first event was last night in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom.  Events continue through this week and culminate with the "Startup Crawl Through Downtown".  You can find a list of events on the Gator Innovators flyer  below:

GO GATORS: Beat Mizzou!

Good afternoon Gators! This weekend our team will travel to Missouri to play the Tigers in a situation very different than what most of us here in Gator Nation hoped for. When the season started, most fans probably looked at this game as and instantly marked it up as a W in their heads. However, that is far from the truth. The Gators, ranked 22 in the country, will head to Missouri as the underdogs when they play the 14th ranked Tigers.

The Gators are coming off of a tough loss at the hands of LSU last weekend, while the Tigers are coming off arguably one of their program's biggest wins in the recent years when they beat the Georgia Bulldogs last weekend in Athens. It was a victory that shocked the football world. While the Gators held their own against one of the best teams in the nation, their offense implanted many doubts into our fans' heads. The Gators were unable to score even a single touchdown during the loss in Death Valley, although Tyler Murphy proved once again that he was relatively poised and calm for a player with as little game experience as he has.

The bright side is that Florida was able to move the ball up and down the field against one of the better SEC defenses, but problems arose when they got into the red zone all day. The last drive at the end of the game where our offense failed to score any points after getting inside the 20 yard line was hard to watch. Something else that will help us is that Mizzou will be playing without their star quarterback James Franklin, who is the leader and anchor of their offense. If the Gators can protect Tyler Murphy better than they did last week and can actually make some explosive plays on offense, then we could walk away from Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Missouri as victors.

The Tigers are favored by 3.5 points going into the game, so it should be a close battle. The game is set to start at 12:21 eastern standard time, and will be aired on SEC TV. Hopefully our beloved Gators will prove to the nation that they are still contenders in the SEC East and are a force to be reckoned with. This would be a huge bounce-back win for our program. Make sure to tune in and watch Saturday. Go Gators!!

Bring Uber to Jacksonville

Last week, the Alligator published my guest column encouraging the Jacksonville City Council to vote in favor of student safety and pass ordinance 554.  Bill 554 would revise existing municipal laws and allow for alternative transportation options like the popular mobile app, Uber.  This service connects riders with drivers of classy sedans or SUVs, and would provide a reliable alternative transportation option to Jacksonville's current taxi infrastructure.  Please sign the petition and join me in supporting Bring Uber to Jacksonville: http://www.change.org/petitions/bring-uber-to-jacksonville-support-bill-554

Here is my article that ran in the Alligator on October 7:

Every Fall we take our annual pilgrimage to Jacksonville to witness the “War for the Oar,” also known as Florida-Georgia. Each year, Gators get to experience and enjoy the city of Jacksonville but are usually confronted with difficulty getting around one of the nation’s largest cities by land area.

One of the main planks in my platform as student body president is to increase safety for students. After several years of partaking in the Florida-Georgia tradition, I have noticed that safe and reliable transportation is a major issue for students. Jacksonville’s current taxi system becomes easily overwhelmed, which often leaves students wandering through downtown Jacksonville, searching for a way home from EverBank Field or The Jacksonville Landing. Worse, a lack of alternative transportation options could lead to an increase in intoxicated drivers on the roads.

These Jacksonville transportation options could be dramatically improved as soon as next week, as the city council debates allowing the entrance of new ride technologies like Uber to Jacksonville.

Some of you may be familiar with Uber, which is a smartphone app that links riders to on-demand private rides, usually in classy black sedans or SUVs. I have personally traveled to several cities that feature Uber and can vouch for the ease of use, reliability and safety improvements over traditional transportation options. With Uber, the cars go to the riders, not the riders to the cars. No more roaming around downtown Jacksonville desperate for an open taxi.

Uber trips are backed by GPS to ensure fair billing, are linked to your credit card and allow passengers to split fares evenly among themselves. Want to let your friends know what time you’re going to arrive at the game? Use the Uber “Share Your ETA” option so they know exactly how long they will have to wait.

If the Jacksonville City Council is able to pass Ordinance 554 promptly, Uber’s services and others like them could potentially be available for public use in time for this year’s game. If you would like to see Uber and other rider apps available in Jacksonville for Florida-Georgia, I encourage you to email City Council President Bill Gulliford atGulliford@coj.net.

Hope to see you soon in Jacksonville rolling around in safe and classy rides. Go Gators!

OneRepublic Coming to UF!

Thanks to Student Government Productions, one of the many on campus organizations doing great things here at the University of Florida, OneRepublic will be putting on a concert in Gainesville tomorrow night, October 10th at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.

This concert is part of OneRepublic's truthLIVE concert tour, which is sponsored by The Truth, an anti-smoking campaign. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and opening performer TeamMate will play at 7:30. SGP sold out of the 5,560 tickets that were given out for the concert in under seven hours.

To get involved or learn more about SGP and how they bring professional musical talent to our university, visit the Student Government website at www.sg.ufl.edu. To everyone attending Thursday's show, enjoy!

Florida Lottery Ice Cream Social

Photo Credit: William A. England, Alligator

Last Thursday, representatives from the Florida Lottery came to UF to host an ice cream social on the Plaza of the Americas.  I made some brief remarks thanking Florida Lottery Secretary Cynthia O'Connell for her dedication to education in the state of Florida.  Here is a transcript of my speech:

Thank you all for being here today.  I'm sure the reason why most of you are here is for the free ice cream, but I would like to draw your attention to one of Florida's strongest partnerships: education and the Florida Lottery.

Most people view education as the backbone of the American Dream.  Knowledge is empowerment and education is the best way to enable ordinary people to do extraordinary things.  

In higher education policy, accessibility and affordability are the major issues that students face.  Under Secretary O'Connell's leadership, the Florida Lottery is making a college degree more accessible and more affordable.

Across the state of Florida, 96% of in-state freshmen receive Bright Futures Scholarships. Because of this, our best and brightest to stay in this great state and get a degree from one of the country’s top universities, UF of course being the best University to attend. All joking aside, many students sitting here today were afforded the opportunity thanks to Secretary O’Connell, to fulfill their dream of going to College and becoming a Gator.

On behalf of the entire student body, thank you to the Florida Lottery and especially Secretary O'Connell for her dedication to the students at the University of Florida and students across Florida.

Go Gators!

GO GATORS: Beat Arkansas!

Tomorrow, nighttime football returns to the Swamp for the first time since the Gators hosted Florida State back in November of 2011! We are all very excited here in the Gator Nation to watch our Florida Gators battle an SEC opponent under the bright lights of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field. I cannot decide if I am happier that kickoff is at seven p.m. because the crowd will be more energized than it has been in the recent past, or just solely because all of us who will be inside the stadium on Saturday night won't be sweltering in the vicious Florida sun.

The Gators are coming off of an impressive 24-7 win over the Kentucky Wildcats last Saturday, which was quarterback Tyler Murphy's first career start. He went 14-15 on completions, threw one touchdown pass and ran for another. Besides his one interception, it is safe to say that Murphy impressed people around the country last week. He seems more poised and mobile that Jeff Driscoll was, which seems to be just what our offense needed.

Although things seem bright in Gator Nation, Arkansas is a legitimate opponent. They played exceptionally well against Texas A&M last Saturday, putting up 33 points against one of the nation's best football teams. They will want nothing more than to come to the Swamp and up end a Florida team that is seemingly on the rise.

However, they will be entering one of the nation's toughest stadiums to play in as an opponent, and the Swamp will be electric on Saturday night, especially because the game starts at seven. We can all expect a rowdier Gator crowd than we have seen in a long time this weekend. The Gators are favored by eleven points, and with our defense, it will be hard for the Razorbacks to score a lot of points. If we can get our offense going early in the first half, then I believe that this game can be blown wide open.

Stay safe this weekend, and Go Gators!!

Online Course Syllabi

Today I would like to share a resource with you that many students don't know about. The University of Florida provides one website that centralizes every course syllabus, so that it is easy for students to find all the information they need for their various classes.

This is just one of the many ways that UF is simplifying school for our students. Instead of having to navigate Sakai to each individual class's individual syllabus to find out important information such as due dates and assignments requirements, students can find all syllabi at one location.

syllabus.ufl.edu is the website that provides this luxury for all students. Each class is organized by the college that it is taught under, further simplifying students' ability to find their course. This is also a great way to help students plan their future schedules, by giving them an opportunity to see what a class entails before they enroll in it. Along with that, it can also be a back up for those who have misplaced a syllabus. I encourage all students to use this useful resource to their advantage!