The exterior of the Florida State Capital Complex in Tallahassee, Fla. (Adam McCullough / Adobe Stock)
As students prepare to vote for a new governor in the Nov. 3 General election, Florida A&M University students are asking for a leader who will invest in them and their future.
In speaking with fellow students, consistent requests arose: more money for campus infrastructure, more financial support for students and a governor who will fight for the state’s historically Black colleges and universities.
Many students raised questions about how buildings and facilities are better maintained at Florida State University, a predominantly white institution that’s also a part of the State University System.
“Comparing our facilities to FSU, which is right across the street, we don’t get as many resources as far as technology and books in that regard,” said Miracle Wiggins, a first-year pre-pharmacy scholar from Lakeland, Fla.
Democratic nominee for governor, David Jolly, has supported diversity, equity and inclusion programs and called for FAMU to become a state flagship institution.
“FAMU is going to be a priority. There is a bill that is due to this campus, and I hope to be the governor that signs it,” Jolly said at a recent town hall held on campus.
His opponent, Republican nominee Byron Donalds, also claims to support HBCUs, citing his time at FAMU as a foundation for his perspective.
Donalds says that he wants to hold FAMU to the same standard as the other state universities while increasing funding.
“We want the goals to be consistent across the board. I’m not going to require FAMU to do one thing that I’m not going to require the other nine universities to do differently,” Donalds said.
Students are also asking for a leader who will prioritize financial support for the university, such as scholarships and grants that help cover the cost of attending college.
“I would appreciate if the next governor gave funding so that students can graduate college without large amounts of debt and the stress that it brings,” Taraya Nickerson, a fourth-year animal science student, said.
The issue of adequate funding was the basis of a 2022 lawsuit filed by several FAMU students.
They claim that the state has systematically underfunded FAMU by nearly $2 billion over the past three decades.
According to court documents, students claim that Florida’s statewide university administrators have underfunded Florida A&M in comparison to the state’s historically white institutions.
Additionally, they claim there is a chronic failure to match the federal land-grant funds with those of Florida’s other land-grant school, the University of Florida. The lawsuit is still pending review.
This disparity is not unique to Florida. In 2023, the Biden administration wrote to 16 governors, prompting them to close the funding gap.
At that time, they reported that the funding gap between HBCUs and PWIs was about $12.6 billion over the past 30 years.
Beyond funding for schools, students are also asking for policies that will uplift working families and help everyday Americans.
“I think they should make more community-focused policies that would actually help regular working-class people and students,” said fourth-year physical therapy scholar Armani Moring.
The governor of Florida can affect higher education by signing or vetoing spending bills and appointing members to the Board of Governors, which manages the SUS.
All students said they planned on voting in this critical election. According to a study done in 2024, over 80% of students on HBCU campuses are registered to vote, but only 25% of those students choose to exercise their right to vote.
Both candidates made stops on campus. Donalds held a town hall at FAMU on Sept. 29, and Jolly held one on Oct. 12.