Seeff and Wolkenfeld Want Transparency, Student Involvement
News, UCF SGA — By Peter Porebski on February 17, 2010 at 2:30 am TweetLate Monday night, SGA presidential candidates Daniel Seeff and Kevin Wolkenfield released their official campaign Web site, www.danielandkevin.com.
On the Web site, the pair has created an outline of their goals, their personal bios and a way for students to tag their Facebook profile pictures with their campaign logo.
Most notably, they posted a video on the home page talking about some of their main platform goals revolving around the idea of making SGA totally transparent. The two expressed concern about SGA’s spending of around $15 million behind closed doors while students were home for winter break. For this reason, they have proclaimed that all important SGA meetings will be streamed and recorded online for playback; they want total SGA transparency.
They have also promised to post agendas, bills and resolutions of all SGA meetings before they occur, so students who wish to voice an opinion about a certain issue can come and be a part of the discussion.
KnightNews.com had a chance to catch up with Daniel Seeff to get a few words on his platform goals for this race. “Our campaign is about getting the student voice; we want to be available. We are going to have more polls online, more chances for students to have their voice heard,” said Seeff.
Seeff and Wolkenfeld have declared on their Web site, as well as in interviews, that they believe accessibility is key to a more efficient and helpful SGA. Seeff and Wolkenfield are putting a great deal of stress on getting input from students on how their tuition money should be spent.
The pair has stated that, in addition to the previous goals, they want to set up a computer in the SGA office with all SGA emails readily accessible so that students can view how their money is being spent.
“We want SGA to be for the students,” added Seeff, “we haven’t been in SGA for years and years, we are just like the rest of the student body and we want them to be part of the solution to issues we are facing.”
The two have openly expressed a desire to have the students be part of SGA from the very beginning of their campaign. “We want students to be a part of this, starting now. If there is something they think we should include as a platform goal, we want them to tell us about it,” Seeff stated. “We want it to be simple. Basically if you’ve never been in SGA before and you want to register to try and run for SGA president next year, we want to make it so that you can easily go online and figure out how to do it.”
The Web site includes a phone number where students can text their ideas to their campaign, as well as the ability to email them or contact them on Facebook.
Among other campaign promises, Seeff and Wolkenfeld have said stated that they want to traditions they wish to strengthen tailgate rights and increase overall game day presence, partner with student organizations to create lasting traditions and events, and to establish a student run FM radio station on campus.
As far as improving sustainability, they will be installing bike-sharing kiosks all over campus, converting SGA offices to being as paperless as possible, building an incentive-based carpooling system to help with parking, and offering better access to vegan, organic, Kosher and Halal meals on campus.
In the realm of building the community, they have expressed desire to create a local business and restaurant discount program for all students. Additionally, they plan on offering shuttles to and from the airport and other destinations during holidays and breaks, and to develop an online portal of campus events, scholarships, internships and more.
Finally, for academics they have said they will start a 24-hour study space on campus, which will be open year-round. They will also push for a fair student conduct process to assess student rights, and to work at the state level to protect Bright Futures and the quality of the UCF education.
Over the next few days, Seeff and Wolkenfeld will be releasing more goals of their campaign. KnightNews.com will keep you updated as their campaign progresses.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE KILBRIDE/LOCHRANE PLATFORM
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20 Comments
Obviously KnightNews is completely biased, as Andrew Stein, (owner of KnightNews) was on the “Greek Ticket” last year and thus supporting the unexperienced “Greek Ticket” this year.
Knights for Kilbride & Lochrane
I AM THE DIFFERENCE.
Yeah… they have established relationships with administrators alright.
Doesn’t President Hitt pay Kilbride to be his ambassador on PLC?
Does Kilbride get to go in President Hitt’s luxury tailgate box, feast on carved roast beef and drink whatever he wants from the open bar?
Do you really think Kilbride will stand up to Hitt when he wants to cut the common folk students tailgate times against next year? Or charge alumni more to do it early?
Give us a break. He’s a lapdog for the administration! WE WANT CHANGE! AND YOU WILL SEE THE REGULAR STUDENT TAKE BACK SGA NEXT WEEK!
Wow…
So lets say for some odd reason Seef/Wolkenfield win and they take their 1 platform point of making SGA TRANSPARENT (which is a very cool/big word for them, and a lame “new” idea) by adding a computer in the SGA office for students to read their SGA leaders’ emails.
Think logically, who in their right mind is going to say, “Oh! Let me head over to the SGA office to grab my scantron 5 minutes earlier than I originally planned, so I can make sure to have enough time to read the SGA presidents emails real quick!” Oh and don’t forget, they will probably have to hire another business strategist and pay him a couple bucs to be the guy who copy pastes every SGA members email into a word document and sets it on the desktop of the computer so every UCF student can make sure to stop by the office to take a looksy.
Think logically, the only person who is going to utlize this NEW AND TRANSPARENT IDEA is the sketchy dude who wants to write a sketchy story on sketchy Knightnews. It saddens me that Knightnews could have turned out to be very entertaining and useful tool for UCF students and it is now becoming more and more of a diary of a bitter SGA presidential candidate of last year. Stein, honestly you should probably just write a book titled Diary of a bitter college campus loser.. that way you can possibly make a few bucs off of it, cause lord knows you haven’t made anything off of Knightnews due to a big lack of support from potential sponsors… OH wait, El Coral gives you free dinner rolls now right? Now your job is well worth the “effort”.
Also, the “secret” A&SF budget meeting is not a “hoorah” event that SGA needs to post around campus for a month leading up to it and offer free pizza to any student that comes. Think logically, this meeting is a very long, strenuous week where a committee of STUDENTS decide, based on a very fair application process, what area of campus will get how much money based on their reversion rates, assessment of past spending, among many other factors. What student wants to sit there and watch someone say “I move to add this amount from this line to this line and the original line will now read this and the new line reads this, whereas the RWC will now have the proper funding to fix their broken canoes, whereas the Union has less funds for building maintenance, whereas organization blank will now receive blank for fiscal year 2010-2011.”??? I’m sure its a bit different than that lol but still who is going to sit through that if you aren’t forced to? Oh, I know… the sketchy dude, who wants to write a sketchy story, on sketchy knightnews.
Seef/Wolkenfield = They are nice kids, but they wouldn’t know the first step to take once they entered the SGA office. (this will be proven at the presidential debate, pleeeeeeeease watch lol)
Kilbride/Lochrane = Have plenty of established relationships with administrators and community partnerships and will utilize these resources to enhance the student experience at UCF.
Its so simple when you think logically… SERIOUSLY.
“Among other campaign promises, Seeff and Wolkenfeld have said stated that they want to traditions they wish to strengthen tailgate rights and increase overall game day presence, partner with student organizations to create lasting traditions and events, and to establish a student run FM radio station on campus.”
Nice editing knightnews
These meetings last ALL DAY FOR A FULL WEEK. Do you expect these meetings to be held during the regular semester? Let’s have them take a week off of classes to get this done.
Think before you become a sheep among ignorant wolves.
Andrew isnt Greek. Idk how they were the “Greek” ticket – considering Andrick Lewis (who I voted for) was Greek too.
Further, as the comments below me say, its just absurd that these meetings occur AFTER the dorms close.
I’m really disappointed with this ticket. All of the transparency they promise is already present–you just have to request the records from SGA. Sure, live webcasting and a computer in the office to read e-mails is new, but that’s simply promising a different method of achieving the same level of transparency, that honestly, won’t bring a lot of change.
I think we all know where Knightnews stands in this election. As Knightnews is run by Andrew Stein (of the Andrew & Chace “greek ticket” last year), and Seeff and Wolkenfeld being this year’s “greek ticket,” I really can’t trust Knightnews to be unbiased in this election.
That’s weird that you’re pissed. You know you could have taken it upon yourself to walk into SGA and check the list of events posted at any point… or do you only care when the guy you want to win the SGA presidential election says you should?
This is a total non-issue. They couldn’t find anything that actually is a secret so they chose the A&SF budget committee… which is quite amazing, because as a senator, Kevin Wolkenfeld should know that -all- of these events are public as are the consequences, voting records, etc. This is an irresponsibly misleading video in that it takes something minor and tries to turn it into something scandalous on the part of SGA. A lot like this stupid tailgating issue! I suspect they are from the same source… don’t worry Knightnews, everybody knows who you root for…
If you actually care about the A&SF budget, you’d also know that you have the ability to show up any Friday morning and watch the committee. Because the budget is still being worked on, yes, in school hours, on school days… why did Seeff and Wolkenfeld leave that part out? Aren’t they trying to encourage students to become active and knowledgeable? Aren’t they all about transparency? Or do they just not know themselves?
They OBVIOUSLY know about it because they just spent nearly the entire video talking about it. The whole point is they are saying the AVERAGE STUDENT doesnt know about it – which is true, I didnt, and Im pissed.
A&SF meetings are posted OUTSIDE of SGA.
Obviously Seeff and Wolkenfeld don’t even know this, because I haven’t heard of them attending one of the meetings over break or the meetings they have every Friday.
Yeah it is supposed to be like that, unless its a coincidence that its exactly the same as the Apple video.
They never said the meeting wasnt public from what I gather in the video. The thing that pissed me off is that the meeting is held AFTER the dorms close – so most freshman/sophomores cant go. What am i supposed to do, get a hotel to go to this meeting?
Also as a nerd – im pretty sure its meant to be a nod to a commercial apple did for their tablet. They didnt look in the camera in that one either. I cant find it on the apple website though.
Last year, Senate meetings were streamed live on KnightCast student-run radio. It was advertised, nobody listened. KnightCast then changed the programming to get listeners. (KnightCast is streamed online – don’t let them make you think this idea is new)
If Wolkenfield wanted to make things public – he could, no way to get impeached for that. And he could have done it last year when he had that do-nothing position as “business strategist”.
On another note, the ASF meeting is posted. It takes way too many hours from too many people to do it while class is in session. And the meetings are public, just like every other SGA meeting – they are also all required to be posted with the correct location beforehand. You can find these posted online, or on the wall right beside the main doors of SGA.
Don’t let their video fool you. Clearly it was scripted, they didn’t look at the camera (you) for even 10 seconds the entire time. Good thing they have some good writers working for them or their fake-ness would be showing…
Its not that easy to change the date. THE A&SF committee works hard and spends a lot of time. They meet from 9-5 for over a week. Its long, hard work. They look over hundreds of applications from all the different rsos, agencies, etc. I know a lot of them are very dedicated students who work hard and give up a portion of their winter break but i do think that this event should be more advertised and i completely agree with streaming it online. Transparancy hold people in power accountable. if they do a good job then ppl will see that and they will get recognition
Im not in student govt or anything like that, but this kind of grinds my gears. cant they just move the date this meeting is held? is there a rule against that? i always get stupid invites to things that have pizza but how come they didnt invite me to this. seems very sketchy. i think who ever wins should change this.
Nothing that Wolkenfeld said was innaccurate. Its the truth, A&SF Committee meets the first week of Winter Break and thats where they come up with the budget for the next academic year.
Any student can go to that meeting, unfortuantely during the time msot have gone home for break. It’s a great idea to post important meetings, ones that deal with so much of Student’s money online for everyone to see. It brings transparency and accountability.
Im in SGA too, and I wasnt letting students know about it either because the SGA bullies wouldve found some way to impeach/remove me. I like how Kevin is standing up for the regular student and sgaer.
Wolkenfeld should be ashamed of himself for saying what he said about SGA in that video… after all, isnt he part of SGA? Why wasnt he letting students know about this at the time?
I really like their ideas for having an incentive for carpooling, parking on campus is a real pain.