Miller elected Student Senate president

Christopher Miller (left) and Corrie Watt (right), the FAMU Student Senate's next President and President Pro-Tempore
Photos Courtesy of Cristopher Miller and Corrie Watt

The Student Senate at Florida A&M University on Monday elected its next president and president pro-tempore: Christopher Miller and Corrie Watt.

Senator Miller had a clean win, securing the presidency with the support of 63 percent of the senate’s members.

Anyone looking for a big reaction after his victory was announced would be left wanting. Miller showed little more than a momentary look of shock followed by a brief smile.

“I was really surprised,” Miller, a public relations major, said. “I was stressing and I did not think that I was going to win … It just made me think of my other responsibilities and everything I will now be in charge of.”

The race for president pro-tempore was much more complicated.

The initial vote ended in a runoff with Senator Courtlyn Patrick winning exactly 50 percent of the vote: 1 vote short of a legitimate win. The resulting runoff between Patrick and Watt ended in a perfect tie, leaving outgoing Senate President Rochard Moricette to break the tie.

Watt said he was “grateful” to be hand-selected by the current senate president and former pro-tempore.

“I just feel as if he saw something in me,” Watt said, “(and) that he knew that I was capable of following in his footsteps.”

During his presentation, Watt made the bold choice of serving the senate members with “subpoenas,” theoretically suing them for a number of inefficiencies before breaking down exactly how he plans to improve them.

Although he worried about how his theatrics would be received, he said he wasn’t nervous about the result of the election. He said he found contentment through a simple prayer: “In God’s name, if it’s for me, let it be. If not, let it be. Amen.”

Looking forward, Watt is ready to emphasize the senate’s inclusivity and relatability on campus.

“I want the student body to know that the Student Senate is here,” Watt said. “I just want students to feel as if they can come to me for anything … There’s resources that we (students) can go to but most people don’t know where to go, and I just want to be that bridge for the student body.”

Similarly, Miller has a mission for the 49th senate which includes “exceeding student expectations by increasing organization, visibility, accessibility and providing them with quality representation.”