Florida Blue Key has worked hard to tap young leaders that will undoubtedly hold high office, everything from the the U.S. political circuit to lofty posts in the private sector. But why would FBK tap a secretary. Glenda isn't just any secretary, she's very good at what she does, and this blog will not question the virtual fact that Glenda is loved by numerous students and alums.
Still, the question stands: is Glenda playing favorites in Student Government? And if so, what remedy exists? When the top leader of the Independent community at UF publicly states that the SG Secretary is "destructive" this should be grounds for alarm across campus and certainly merits both our attention, as well as that of the UF Administration. I mean we're not talking some random nobody like Jimmy Carlssen, we're talking about the top Independent leader on campus, Sam Miorelli.
The Orange & Blue Party is really shaking up the status quo! From fighting for online voting, courageously bringing Articles of Impeachment against Student Body Treasurer Paul Drayton, to now (perhaps) taking on the all-to-often-ignored issue of Glenda Frederick and her direct role in the Student Senate.
Question to the readers from TheRadikal.com: "how exactly does Glenda's work in senate, differ from Kim Cruts work when she handled the PR for SG? Why are students expected to lead SG and balance the $13 million budget but it's [allegedly] apparent no student could match Glenda's minutes-taking ability.
I fear that the same System logic that keeps Glenda on year after year, is synonymous with the reasoning behind "intranet voting" and the legitimacy of the "Student Body Treasurers ruling by proxy."
19 comments:
Is Glenda really in Florida Blue Key?
Sam wouldn't have a problem with Glenda if he showed her respect and didn't routinely address her as "honey."
Umm, seriously, it's not that hard to be the "top independent leader on campus." Just stay dedicated to that futile pursuit longer than everyone else and you're bound to get there eventually. It's not as if there's really that many people to choose from.
I admit, Glenda does cross lines in SG, and at least to me, the entire office staff seems partisan to anyone that looks closely.
However, the suggestion that Glenda be fired is ridiculous. Glenda does invaluable work for SG as a whole, and as Frank has previously posted, her institutional memory is very important for the future of SG.
I do disagree with those that believe that students cannot take minutes with the same skill as Glenda. I know several students (not necessarily in SG) who can properly take minutes. In fact, I would also say that many of the current Senate minutes are improperly taken, not listing absentees in the roll call section and not listing individual votes in the event of a roll call vote.
I don't know why everyone is so afraid of having a student as Senate Secretary. Students can write minutes, and the main work of Glenda (SG office work) would still be done by her. If anyone can think of an adverse consequence of a student holding this office, chosen by the Senate itself, please post it here.
Glenda should keep her position in the SG office staff, but should not be Senate Secretary.
When did taking the minutes down become rocket science? It's time for a STUDENT Senate Secretary!!!
For the record no one that I know of is talking about having Glenda fired. However, there is no need for her to be Senate Secretary.
Glenda is not a student and the fact that every senator, every presiding officer, and every other staffer there (Sgt. at Arms, Parliamentarian) is a student, makes her presence all the more disturbing.
If Glenda cannot be removed with this report, then I believe she should be the last (constitutionally) administration secretary permitted office-duality.
Well there is no lack of students that can properly take minutes but to take them accurately is another story. One this student must show up week in and week out for a thankless job that does nothing for them. Then you have to remember this individual would be an appointed position, I.E. a political hack! Sorry I have little faith in the spoils system appointing someone that would be as fair as Ms. Glenda. Yes, Ms. Glenda has made mistakes in the minutes, everyone does, but I could just imagine history being rewritten by a Student minute taker.
Finally, all we need to do is point to committees and insitutions within student government that currently have their minutes taken by students. Have you seen the minutes from the committees? Up until the beginning of this summer they didn't even exist!!! I asked several committee chairs back in the fall for copies of their minutes; ironically only Ryland gave me a copy (sadly, they were piss poor). Look also at Election Commission, history is distorted each and every time one of their rulings is written down and turned it. The past two semesters, what was written did not match their rulings in the room.
We talked about moving forward and replacing Glenda and Sandy. For the reasons stated on both sides, I was on the fence (if we had ever come close enough to win)... Still, student government is clearly broken.
So if you're a reform minded person who wants to make changes that eliminate the patronage and back-room deals, then as a logical person you would hire new office staff that are less partisan, and more importantly, not entrenched in the current system and open to change.
20 years of institutional memory is great unless you want something different than what's taken place for the last 20.
This is a really tough issue.
I'm sorry, but I would doubt that even if the students wanted to fire Glenda and Sandy, the people who really run the third floor (the administrators of the OSA and the JWRU) would not let that happen. All it would take would be one transfer in Peoplesoft. People should realize that STUDENT government and all STUDENT organizations are managed by employees of the University of Florida. As far as Glenda and Sandy being "partisan," I really doubt whether or not they care if Theta Chi runs SGP or whether Tri-Delt keeps Museum Nights. If you think that, you might be taking this whole SG thing a bit too seriously. The employees of UF from PTI all the way down to the janitors in the union really see this whole thing differently than we do.
Ok. But why are they BOTH in Florida Blue Key?
Come to think of it, Frank also would refer to Glenda as "honey" and "sweetie." That's just downright unprofessional.
Anon 11:43PM, who are you because you must be on something. Ms. Glenda is Ms. Glenda. I have never called a lady "honey" or "sweetie", I find it rather disrespectful and derogatory.
Whether they care if Theta Chi has SGP is irrelevant. It's the idea that Glenda and Sandy see and know what goes on - that which should not be happening - and do nothing about it. The same goes for those above them (I'd prefer a transfer in peoplesoft too if anything).
It's tough, though. Frankly, I don't know if I'd have the guts to have done it if I had been elected and wanted to. But if you want real change, it takes... making changes?
Because the FBK kids appreciate the hard work that they do so they gave them the honorary taps as a show of gratitude for their time and effort. It is the same reason that we have Glenda day. The students want to show their support for what the administrators and office staff do and to be quite honest, none of them (especially Glenda and Sandy) deserve the kind of attacks they are getting on here. Geez Christian most every long time administrator at UF has an honorary tap. That doesn't mean that the administration goes to chapter meetings and sits on homecoming committees. You are taking this "secret system" thing a bit too far when you expand it to imply that the UF administration is somehow guilty of FBK groupthink.
Glenda Day was started by a GDI.
I don't care what distinctions you draw. The name of the game in SG (for students and alums alike) is System or Independent. I don't care in what capacity you hold membership, if you're in FBK you're part of the System.
And what proof can we (the Independents) gain? How can we determine whether or not Glenda goes to chapters meetings or is kept in the loop - or helps keep FBK in the loop? We don't, ah because that's "secret" and FBK is a "secret" leadership honorary.
The system people play games, they'll say she's just an honorary member, but seriously...both at their heyday JCB or Pedro Allende, do you honestly think either of the FBK Men knew more than Glenda Frederick?
C'mon, who's kidding who know?
I concur with Bruce Haupt in that removing Glenda would be just about the toughest thing any Independent president could do. I also respect senior alums like Ken Kerns (founder of Glenda Day) & Nick Capezza.
Glenda far outweighs Sandy & Stan. Glenda has become a permanent fixture of SG, she's to SG what the Alligator (the reptile, not the newspaper) is to UF and I could see how that might be a most-flattering assessment, but it's also a rather "destructive" one to quote Sam Miorelli.
I think you'll have more luck getting online voting off the ground or maybe even breaking lose the grips certain Greek houses have on top SG agencies (e.g. Accent, SGP) than curbing Glenda's reach. And you can forget about any illusions of firing her.
20yrs is a long time. Most of you have died off by now, but those few that are still reading - this is what puts TheRadikal.com in a class all its own. We discuss real issues here, issues that are not met with ideological uniformity on either side of the aisle. We've got senior leaders like Kerns/Capezza debating with Indie leaders like Sam Miorelli & others. You're talking GDI's with a half decade's worth of time between them and yet here we are discussing the same person, in the same job, with arguably far greater powers.
Just because she's supposed to be politically impartial doesn't mean that she has to like you as a person. Eric, Sam, etc are asses who talk to Glenda like she's their servant. And she's supposed to like them... why?
Massaging Glenda's shoulders or calling her "honey" is very inappropriate.
Who massages Glenda's shoulders?
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