Larry Bowden and Mario Henderson were sworn in as the new members of the 43rd student senate Monday.
After being sworn in, they took their senate seats and began to make decisions for organizations, allocating funds and passing bills.
Bowden and Henderson scored the highest of the applicants and were elected by 22 of their peers in the election and appointment committee.
“I want to see more resolutions passed and actual legislation, not just special allocations,” said Bowden, a senior political science and pre-law student from Lake City, Fla.
Even though Bowden lost election for senator his freshman year, he was still involved with student government and the electoral commission.
Gregory George, a senior political science student from Miami and student senate pro tempore, knows Bowden personally.
“[I] know his passion,” George said. “He is driven to serve his students.”
Bowden will be actively involved with the election and appointment committee this semester.
Henderson, a graduate student in the master of applied social science with a concentration in political science from Daytona Beach, gave alternative solutions to organizations that were allocating funds.
“I want to give everyone a fair hearing at the end of the day,” Henderson said. “It’s student money. And if you come up with the proper paperwork and everything, I believe we can be able to get into the pot, but at the end of the day, [it’s] such a limited amount of money.”
Henderson said he would be active with the organization finance committee.
“The pot of money we have to deal with is getting smaller and smaller, and the student body is getting larger and we need to be efficient,” Henderson said.
Henderson has experience with SGA as being an aide under Ramon Alexander, director of student lobbying under Philip Agnew and attorney general under Andrew Collins.
“I have a long history with student government,” Henderson said. “I feel like this would be a great opportunity to come back in and serve the university with knowledge of previous years and this year’s SGA.”
Ryan Kornegay, election and appointment committee chairperson and second-year food science student from Greenville, Fla., was impressed with Henderson’s experience in SGA and the positions he held as an undergraduate.
“I already knew he was a passionate person,” Kornegay said. “He has a lot of ideas and a mindset for student leadership. We need vocal people in the senate, and definitely Mario [Henderson] will be a great addition.”
George said Henderson and Bowden made the best candidates for scoring the highest on communication skills, the knowledge of the student government documents and their ability on how it’s run.
George said they look for senators who are willing to give up their Monday nights and willing to work in a committee.
“We look for students that are passionate of the student government that want to serve the student,” George said.