University of Florida student Gavin Baker is running for Senate. I interviewed him via e-mail over the weekend about the inclusion of the Equitable Access License in his campaign strategy.

Please tell us a little about your tech platform. For what portion of the student body do you believe technology issues will be a primary voting issue?

Gavin: I think technology issues are a real concern to a lot students at UF. We depend on tech services for our classes, research, social and professional development. But we’ve been lacking leadership in a strong advocate for students’ concerns in these issues.

Tech will be a primary voting issue for a few students, but most just want to hear candidates talk about issues. They want to hear honest discussion of what separates parties and candidates, rather than old platitudes. They want to know who will make Student Government relevant and accessible, and who will be an effective advocate in the community. By talking about my area of expertise, I think I bring passion to an election where many students simply don’t care.

As for my platform, I have four areas of focus: student representation in tech decisions, using technology to promote openness and access to Student Government and the university, promoting sustainable technology, and fulfilling our commitment to the community. I believe working on these issues will not only give students a voice but also make UF a world leader among universities.

How do you believe your platform’s free culture principles will benefit the student body?

Gavin: Free culture’s benefits are both immediate and long-term.

An immediate benefit would be student freedom of choice. By relying on closed, proprietary software, file formats, and communications protocols, UF really limits students’ choice of software on their own computer. Using Linux or even Mac OS as one’s operating system is often an impractical choice. A commitment to open standards would improve students’ freedom of choice.

Other immediate benefits could be improved accessibility and reduced costs. Referring to software purchasing, expanding the use of free and open source software would allow us to re-allocate funds from licensing fees for Redmond to creating tech jobs here in Gainesville.

The long-term benefits are sustainability and investing in a free and vibrant information infrastructure. Our reliance on proprietary file formats means our data is held hostage at the whims of software vendors. Even prominent, widely-deployed software such as Microsoft Word often has trouble handling file formats from earlier versions of the software. Relying on closed formats not only creates vendor lock-in, leaving us unable to switch to competing software, it creates long-term dangers of accessibility — the possibility of having your data stored in a format you can no longer access. On the other hand, investing in a free information infrastructure by targeting more resources to developing F/OSS helps build a future where everyone has more software freedom.

Your technology platform mentions UAEM’s Equitable Access License (EAL). Do you believe Senate advocacy will lend political momentum to EAL adoption at UF?

Gavin: Absolutely. The Student Senate speaks with the voice of 48,000 students. When it talks, people listen.

The Senate can pass a resolution advocating for the EAL. A resolution would be a non-binding but powerful statement to the university administration that students care about the issue of access to essential medicines. UAEM-UF has been working to pass a resolution through the Student Senate, an effort I would throw my weight behind as a Senator.

Besides a resolution, the Senate has other options to advocate for the EAL. Student Government can use the “bully pulpit” to focus attention on the issue, and can target funding for related student programs and activities. Additionally, Student Government appoints student representatives to university committees and the Faculty Senate; the Student Body President sits on the university Board of Trustees. We can use these avenues to push for the EAL. Finally, Student government pays for lobbying efforts at the state level — we can make this an issue in the state Board of Governors or the Florida Legislature.

What have the barriers to EAL adoption or other forms of socially responsible licensing been at UF in the past?

Gavin: Inertia, lack of interest, and lack of knowledge. The first task of UAEM-UF is to get people informed; then, if we build it, they will come.

What is your perception of current student Senators’ positions on technology transfer and IT-related issues more broadly?

Gavin: UAEM-UF president Ashley Wills has written a bit about this on our blog, which you can find here.

There are some Senators who have misgivings about making statements of “social policy”. To me, this is misguided: representing students means more than funding free gym wipes. Most Senators simply want to see public support and a serious, broad effort.

How do you plan to change the student Senate and administrative landscape to favor EAL adoption? Would you favor working closely with UAEM and other groups close to Free Culture.org, like Science Commons?

I’m proud to have helped developed UAEM-UF’s strategy to build support for the EAL. As a Senator, I could help advance that strategy by
bringing attention to the issue and advocating for the Senate to take actions such as I described above. But ultimately, it will be the coalition of student groups, community organizations, and faculty who ensure that the fruits of UF’s research benefit everyone.

Do you have any advice for other students mainstreaming technology transfer and IT policies into campus politics?

Gavin: Be patient and respectful. People want to talk about their concerns, not yours. I’m lucky to be running with a great political party that provides a broad platform on many issues. But on top of that, I’ve built my own “mini-platform”. I get a balance between the issues most important to me and the danger of looking like a one-trick pony.

Integrate your concerns into a broader platform; don’t be a one-issue candidate. If you don’t get to talk about the issue as much as you’d like during the campaign, you can always talk about it after you win.

Campus politics can be tricky business, but I hope more students will bring issues like the EAL and university responsibility into the halls of their Student Governments around the world. If we don’t talk about these issues, who will?