Barnes: I’m passionate about UNF

He has been active with student governments since he was in eighth grade, and his efforts to serve student bodies. in particular, has not ceased.

John Barnes, UNF student body president, credits his father for getting him into politics.

“He’s a political junkie,” said Barnes, senior political science major. “I remember watching ‘Meet the Press’ with him on the weekends.”

Barnes graduated from The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach after serving as class president his freshman and sophomore year and taking the position as student council president his senior year.

He recognized the sour political background of his hometown area, recalling the role Florida played in the controversial 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore.

“We were the ones who screwed up the election,” Barnes said.

But those political shortcomings developed a strong desire in Barnes to represent the voice of students, he said. Acting as an advocate, he is the go-between person administrators seek when making decisions that will affect the student body.

“This is what I’m passionate about,” Barnes said as he retraced the steps from his childhood in South Florida to his current position at UNF. “I love it,” he said.

That love and passion to serve the students he represents drives him daily to maintain the best interest of the student body on the agenda of UNF administrative and governing bodies, he said. Barnes routinely works closely with people like Provost Mark Workman and Shari Shuman, vice president of Administrative Affairs, who both report directly to President John Delaney.

Barnes, who attributes his closeness with the student body to his growth at UNF, said communication between himself and the students he represents has been a top priority since day one.

As a freshman, he made a lot of friends while living on campus and became active with Sigma Alpha Epsilon, eventually becoming president. As a sophomore, Barnes became active with Resolution Campus Ministry and learned the fundamentals and importance of student-led organizations, he said.

But to him, it’s not just his experience that qualifies him to represent the student body; it’s his exhausting work ethic that makes things happen for students, giving them the types of amenities they expressed desires for like the skate park, a car wash and hopefully an on campus full treatment spa,
he said.

Day in and day out, meeting after meeting, Barnes exercises his authority and concern for the student body, advocating for students at UNF about critical and relevant issues that affect everyone on
campus, he said.

Barnes describes his job as a 24/7 operation.

“I’ve developed some gray hairs, [and] I don’t eat or sleep like I should, but it’s a humbling experience,” Barnes said.

In a recent meeting with Betty Garris, Student Government business manager, the Student Union building and upcoming fee assessment was discussed as Barnes updated Garris on the needs of SG’s scholarship fund.

“SG leadership is everything,” Garris said. “If you’re not informed and looking at everything, it can be disastrous.”

In the process of erecting the Student Union building, Barnes and Student Body Vice President Michael Saathoff have tested the facilities to ensure the furniture and fixtures are of the highest quality for students, Barnes said.

Barnes said the two have been inspecting equipment and have gone as far as to spill drinks and test the durability of building
amenities.

Barnes also served as vice chair for what Shuman described as one of the hardest working committees on campus. It was dedicated to make parking accessible to the 15,000 students who attend UNF.

Barnes, who served on the UNF Parking Advisory Council in the 2007-2008 school year, continues to push for rights and amenities of deserving students who struggle to commute to campus and make it to classes on time, he said.

“The focus of meetings comes from SG leadership, while guidance and direction comes from the student body,” said Associate Vice President and Parking Advisory Council Chair Everett Malcolm about his meetings with Barnes.

In the council meetings, where faculty and staff sometimes have the upper hand, Barnes and his staff make sure the students’ needs are addressed, Everett said.

E-mail Jonathan Morales at news@unfspinnaker.com.