Student Group Opposes Bill to Change how Student Rep. Is Picked for Board of Governors

The student activist group, Florida Alliance for Student Action, is planning a statewide campus protest for March 1 aimed at recent appointments to the state Board of Governors.

Besides expressing concerns about Gov. Rick Scott appointing businessmen and developers -- rather than educators -- to the board, the group opposes bills now in the state Legislature that would replace how the student representative to the board is selected.

The only student seat, held by Michael Long from New College, is under attack by a bill introduced by Rep. Matt Gaetz which would turn his seat into a governor-appointed seat, the Florida Alliance for Student Action release stated.

Students and higher education in Florida can expect further attacks from this board, which has already voted to increase tuition at Florida universities despite an economic downturn, cuts to Bright Futures and cuts from federal aid programs, making it more and more difficult for hard-working students to be able to afford college in the Sunshine State.

Sen. Bill Montford, D-Apalachicola, and Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, have introduced companion bills, SB 1508 and HB 931, which would allow Gov. Rick Scott to appoint the student representative, rather than the Florida Student Association selecting a student body president from among the state universities.

Legislators have criticized the current method of appointment for the student representative as exclusionary to those not in the association.