"Our reason for not endorsing Tompkins, who also has a solid resume, is his staunch support of phone registration, which we oppose for two reasons.1) We are not convinced phone registration really would be more convenient than UF's current registration system. most registration headaches come from drop add. The idea that phone registration will produce any less frustration probably is inaccurate: as much as you complain about drop-add lines now, you will complain of busy signals under a phone-in system.
2) And even if phone registration were proven to be more convenient, we do not think student money should be used to fund the program. . .
--The Ind. Fla. Alligator
"We endorse, part I" 09FEB93
"Although the Armageddon Party claimed Florida Blue Key had some involvement in persuading students in favor of the SUN party, officials denied it."This is the first I've heard of anything like that," said Blue Key President Ed Jennings Jr. "There was no unfair swaying of votes."
--Ind. Fla Alligator
February, 1994
"Unhealthy Organisations. . . have reliance on excessive formed rules and procedures, outsiders viewed as a threat, low tolerance for. . doing things a little bit different. . . centralised decision making. . . [and] a culture of control "
--A R T S A N D E E N, Vice President of Student Services,speaking about behaviour that Unhealthy Organisations exhibit.Spoken at a breakfast, 14 August 1998.
"I don't believe he has provided good leadership," said [State Rep. Robert] Casey, referring to FSA Executive Director Kevin Mayeux who helped draft the FSA model and ran against [Charles] Grapski in Spring 1995 in the same party as McGovern. "It seems to me they want to protect an elected student government official who's in the same position as McGovern. I don't think that's what the state universities want done."
-R O B E R T C A S E Y, State Representative, Gainesville & Marion CountiesThe exact article this quote is from is titled "Absent senatecauses delay in recall vote", by Reporter S. Colavecchio
"[National Blue Key] is evidently not a leadership honorary because no reputable student leaders have chosen to associate with it."
-Kevin Mayeaux
TKE, SG President 1995
As reported in the Ind. Fla. Alligator, 28APR95
"Kevin Mayeux, Impact's treasurer candidate, said the Women's Gym, located next to the Student Recreation and Fitness Center, is an "eyesore" to UF. . . "Basically, it's insulting," Mayeux said.
-Kevin Mayeaux
TKE, SG President 1995
As reported in the Ind. Fla. Alligator, 08FEB93
"After the election results were released, like any other concerned candidate, I was waiting in the Orange and Brew to hear the news. During this time, my friends and I were chatting with the Student Body President [then FBK member Kevin Mayeux] about past elections and he said something very interesting.
"He said that the student body is not intelligent enough to have voting rights, and even if fifty percent of the students showed up to vote his party would still win. Amazing. How someone so pathetic, so incompetent, and grossly egocentric could have this position is beyond any reasoning that my little brain can endure without exploding into itty-bitty morsels of goo."
--R A Y L O N G, Former Student Government Cabinet Director, '95-'96,in a letter to the Independent Voice, November 1995, Volume I Issue 2
"Alligator: A daily newspaper which is widely criticised across campus and around gainesville. . . This may be due to the fact that most alligator members. . . did not have the ability, competence, or discipline to undertake any serious projects."They are called the ‘Independent’ Florida Alligator because they were taken off-campus many years ago (UF did not want to be at risk for their kind of journalism). Although most people read the alligator, it is not universally respected. Being the only student daily newspaper, it is often read out of boredom but rarely taken seriously. No one doubts that it is great for cleaning windows, lining bird cages, or wrapping dead fish."
--M A R C M E I S E L, UF Alumnus and publisher of College Magazine,the publication Insite, and the famous Ladies of Florida swimsuit calendar '95-'96
". . . a little bit about the candidates we simply could not stomach. Angela Izzo-Peppe, Armageddon Party presidential candidate, deserves special mention for being the only one to carry a knife into the Alligator's endorsement interviews and rip off her shirt during the photo shoot. Her running mates' lofty goals of napping on the executive couches just couldn't win us over."The No. 1 priority for Focus party candidates Kevin Mayeux and Beth Voyik was increasing accessibility to SG for all students--a lofty goal, but not one we believe can be accomplished by the very group that dominates SG right now. . ."
--The Independent Florida Alligator, "SG Endorsements",for the Spring election of 1995, published 21 March 1995
"I remember when I was an independent student senator for the College of engineering in Fall of '94 and Spring of '95. From the moment I entered the chamber of SG for the first time, the corruption reeked to high holy heaven. I have seen it only get worse."
--T H O M A S C O S E N Z A, Collegeof Engineering (Independent)
"One respondent, who did not know the answers to any of the questions about SG, said she has voted in every election in her four years at UF because 'the sorority tells me when and who to vote for.'"
--The Independent Florida Alligator's "Survey" ofStudent Government, 20 March 1995
"For the second straight Spring student body general election, the Armageddon party is in the race to run SG. And for the second year in a row, its platform is the same--to destroy SG.
"If you can't beat them, blow them up," said Armageddon presidential candidate Angela Izzo-Peppe. "Armageddon is here because Student Government is so corrupt, the only way to clean it up is to blow it up."
--The Independent Florida Alligator, "Diverse SGcandidates seek 'big-time' jobs, 17 March 1995
"In last Tuesday's Alligator, I read about Kevin Mayeux running his mouth off about the Independent Student Coalition changing its party name. how interesting. First of all, the Independent Student Coalition joined forces with the. . . Alliance Party as stated in the article, forming the independent Majority.
"Secondly, he makes accusations that ISC changed its name out of fear. Let's not forget, he is a member of the party that changes its name every year. (Focus, Sun, Progress, Gator, Vision, Sun, etc.) Have any of you ever wondered what they're afraid of?"
-S H E R Y L K L E I N, 17 March 95, [then] DoctoralCandidate, in a published letter to the Alligator
"'I heard voices telling me to run,' said Russell Presgraves, the Armageddon Party's treasurer candidate. Presgraves. . . said the devil was his main inspiration for running again this year. He also wants to "fund a trip to Paris. . . previous student governments have gone to New York on our money, so why shouldn't we go to Paris?"
--The Independent Florida Alligator, "Diverse SGcandidates seek 'big-time' jobs, 17 March 1995
"'I first became interested when I learned that SG controlled $6.5 million. The amount of Spam that could be bought with that amount of money is mind-boggling.', he said. Among his plans are creating a huge statue of a Heinz ketchup bottle to go with the 'french fries" sculpture near Masrton Science library."
-The Independent Florida Alligator, 16 March 95, analysingMichael De la Pena, treasurer candidate of the "Florida Orange Key" party
"We want to abolish Student Government at UF. We'll take all sorts of freaks, weirdos, and disenchanted students."
--T R A C Y D R E I S P U L,campaign manager of the "armageddon" party, 28 FEB 1995
"I would like to congratulate Student Senate on a successful implementation of Affirmative Action. Their twist of Affirmative Action is different than the Affirmative Action we all know. On the UF campus, [greeks] are a minority, but we should all be happy; their rights are being watched over carefully by the student senate.
"As recently shown to us by the senate seat replacements, the student who. . . receive outstanding recommendations by their college councils. . . get turned down in favor of a less qualified student. It makes me wonder when are the rights of the majority going to be looked out for?"
--J E R E M Y R E I S, then a freshman in the College ofLiberal Arts & Sciences, in a published letter to theIndependent Florida Alligator on 17 February '95
"All government officials have a responsibility to perform their duties appropriately and be accountable to others, for without accountability, government will not be responsible to the needs of the people."
--K E V I N M A Y E U X, in a letter "Impeachment billnecessary, claims senate president", published in theFlorida Independent Alligator spring 1995
"To Kevin Mayeux, on behalf of the student body. . . we never supported you. You thanked 'the student body for their support in the Student Government election,' but approximately 34,500 students did not vote for you and the Focus Party.
"When you have an estimated turnout of 6,400 students (of which approximately 3,400 voted for you) in a university of approximately 38,00 students, the student body DID NOT support you.
The student body has spoken quite loudly in this election as well as in past elections. If you can't hear it, you're deaf. THE STUDENTS ARE NOT VOTING! You have to wonder why. Why does the student body want to partake in an SG that does nothing for them? Why does the student body feel excluded from their SG?
"Why is it that those in power exclude students who don't believe is THEIR system? Sure, you can talk all you want about making 'SG more open and accessible,' but does the student body believe you? Obviously not, or they would all have voted for you given you their 'support and confidence.'"
--M A Y I A C H A U M O N T, then a sophomore in the College ofLiberal Arts & Sciences, in a published letter to the IndependentFlorida Alligator after the March '95 election
"McGovern not worried: McGovern said he is confident the [casey SG] amendment will not get through this year's legislative session in any form."
--"SPECIAL REPORT: McGovern-Florida Blue Key Controversy--State legislators'amendment urges university student governments to remove 'unethical' leaders"The Ind. Fla. Alligator, May, 1998
"I serve as spokesperson for all students, the University of Florida Administration, the Board of Regents, the Florida Legislature, and the federal government."
--Kevin Mayeux, Brian Burgoon, and John McGovern,as described in the official (and ultra-arrogant) description of Student Body Presidents in theSG web site, located at http://grove.ufl.edu/~sg/
"That's strange. I've never seen anything like it."
President of the University of Florida,describing his first impression as the new universitypresident when told of the organisation known asFlorida Blue Key, and its relationship with the university.Spoken at an open lunch for students in May, 1998
"As long as SG follows its own rules we won't intervene. If it does that, we'll intervene."
President of the University of FloridaSpoken at an open lunch for students in May, 1998"All students should know that the third floor is open to them. SG wants as many students involved as possible"
Senator, ACTION, College of Fine ArtsSpring '98-Spring '99"John McGovern. . .is the one with the light on in his office until midnight trying to get the wording of a bill right. He shakes every hand, and brings all issues to the administrators. I can think of no one more dedicated to the office of Student Body President than John McGovern.
--V I C K I V O G TStudent Senator & FBK member
". . . Senate President Kevin Mayeux also stated that he did not think computers were a good way to get information out to students."
--S T E V E M O R G A NFormer Student Senator, Eng. (Ind.)In his account of the student Senate meeting of 2 Feb, 1995
"My sincere hope is that UF's Student Government is an experiment being conducted by the political science department. If so, the faculty deserves a rousing applause.
"They have managed to definitively prove that power corrupts, and that it does not take much power to do it. The latest decisions governing the fate of Student Body President John McGovern, by Laurel Moore, chancellor of the Honor Court, and the untenable decision regarding the off-campus status of Fraternity and Sorority rows have made up my mind.
"I will not be voting this fall, nor at any time in the foreseeable future, for if this university were a state, I would be rising up in arms against this corrupt government. Viva la revolution."
B E N S T I R KIn a letter written to the Ind. Fla. Alligator
"The only relationship that Florida Blue Key has with Student Government is that some of its members run for and frequently win the highest student body offices. The real issue lies elsewhere, with the dreaded 'Group System'."
President of Florida Blue Key, in his exposition,". . .I believe that the 'party system' disservices democracy by malappropriating power to a
party hierarchy that is seemingly unaccountable to the public. . ."
"Grapski was later confronted by Matthew A. Radlinsky, a fourth-year engineering student. 'John (McGovern) should remain as the president. I don't care if he put those (fliers) up or not,' Radlinsky said, addressing Grapski, who was sitting a few feet away."Chairman of the VISION party,manufacturer of the infamous McGovern fliers
"Maybe you're a freak. Maybe you deserve it."
--The Ind. Fla. Alligator, 23 SEP 98http://www.alligator.org/edit/issues/98-fall/980923/b06speak.htm
"I voted for myself, but ended up electing NO ONE. If you voted independent, then you elected NO ONE too. Thank God that NO ONE got into office! NO ONE is there to listen to out complaints or make legitimate legislation; NO ONE hears us and NO ONE stands up for our rights!"
-AnonymousSpoken after the infamous Fall '95 elections where 1/3 of thevotes went against the FBK-Focus party, the only party on the ballot
"It doesn't matter what those morons say
Our nation's leaders are a feeble crew
There's only twenty of them anyway
What is twenty next to [thousands] who
Are looking to you?"--TIM RICEFrom the operetta, "Evita"For the error bred in the bone
Of each woman and each man
Craves what it cannot have,
Not universal love
But to be loved alone.
--WH Auden