Student Elections

New University Legislation Raises Controversy at UFSC's Student Elections

The Brazilian Constitution guarantees that a minimum of 27 percent of the national budget must go towards education. New legislation has changed the process of how public universities receive this money.

Before the reform, public universities were given money for specific needs. Congress now pays the bills for specific needs directly, instead of giving the university a set amount of money.

The government now has more control of where money is being spent within the universities.

The staff workers at Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) went on strike last year because they wanted salary increases and an end to unfair hiring practices.

For two months, the students could not use the library and couldn't eat at the campus restaurants.

To counter these conditions, the students invaded the university administration building and locked in some administrators for four hours to end the strike.

Mixed opinions concerning the invasion and the new university legislation split the students into two political parties that ran for the students' Central Directory (DCE).

The strikes caused an extra-shortened semester during summer break to make up for the lost school days.

“I have been at this school for four years but have had only two summer breaks, because of all the strikes,” said Luiz Villa, an engineering student.

Villa voted for the Student Movement (or "red") party because he believed that the university legislation needed changes.

Congress can now deny paying certain bills. The "red" party believed that the new legislation will cause unbalanced spending in different departments of the university.

The other student group, the "yellow" party, which won the student elections for the DCE, was in favor of the new changes in the university legislation. They believe that Congress can efficiently manage the university budget.

“There are a lot of political questions to be raised, but we must applaud the changes that we think are good and criticize the bad parts [in the university legislation]” said Gustavo Chraim, the newly elected president of the Central Directory of the Students.

Both parties agree that contradiction in the new legislation remains. For example, national private capital can now own up to 30 percent of the university assets. The students do not want to allow any private ownership.

“The law is not a way for Congress to get money. It gives us the ability to spend money where we think is best,” Chraim said.

“Philosophy majors are just hippies with their head up in the sky, they won’t make the same contributions to society as the engineers,” said Diogo Figueiredo, a law student who voted for the yellow party. He believes that it is fair to give more money to different departments.

At first glance most of the parties campaigning promised the same things such as, expanding the campus dorms which hold 153 rooms when there are over 30,000 students attending UFSC; enlarging the overcrowded University Restaurant; and providing free health care from University Hospital for the students.

“I didn’t vote because [the parties] are both the same,” said senior Daniel Pereira. Lack of student involvement makes change more difficult.

“The red was more radical,” said Elani Almeida, a journalism student. The red party ran the Student Central Directory last year , but this year they wanted to make more changes within the new university legislation.

MUDE, the Democratic Movement (yellow) won with 2,835 votes. The Student Movement (red) came in second place with 2,310 votes. The other two parties received less than 300 votes combined.

What is your opinion about current Education Legislation?

To learn more about Brazil Universtiy Reformation go to: http://portal.mec.gov.br/

Related article: New DCE will prioritize quarrels on the University Reformation

More articles: DCE Archives

For more information about UFSC visit http://www.ufsc.br

Education Legislation is the United States: Department of Education