Photo Courtesy: Loryn May and Dakari Williams
A new student body president and vice president were elected last week to represent upward of 9,000 Rattlers in the upcoming academic year. The duo has already begun outlining their plans to enhance the university experience for all students.
Loryn May, the new student body president and FAMU Board of Trustees member, is a 20-year-old junior from Pensacola majoring in mathematics education. Known for her strong leadership skills and dedication to students, May ran on the theme “Everything Is FAMU.”
Their platform focuses on advocacy, transparency, community, and improving campus safety efforts. She has a resume filled with campus involvement and professional experience — including serving as the Senate president.
“I am elated that the student body has elected me as the SGA president-elect. I look forward to finishing my responsibilities as Senate president and transitioning my efforts into the executive branch,” May said.
The new student body vice president, Dakarai Williams, is a 20-year-old junior from Macon, Ga., studying psychology. Williams brings a unique perspective to the leadership team with his background in student leadership and involvement with entertainment.
Part of Williams’ platform is advocating for increased funds to enhance the homecoming experience.
Taykevia Smith, a senior biology and pre-medicine major, is hopeful the new student leaders will be successful.
“Although they weren’t who I was supporting, I hope they can accomplish a good amount of their platform points. We’ve seen many people shoot for the same goals and haven’t seen a lot of change. Homecoming is important, but that’s one week outside of an entire year. There are still things we as students need from our student leaders beyond a homecoming,” Smith said.
Williams said students can look forward to more than a more robust homecoming. “The main thing the students can look forward to when it comes to our administration is really our transparency and advocacy; at the end of the day, this position is about servant leadership, and my main goal is to serve the student body in whatever capacity they need me to. I’ll go to war for them, fight for what they love, and I really think students can look forward to constantly sharing anything with our administration so we can make the steps to change what needs to be changed,” Williams said.
May and Williams expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to serve their fellow students and address the issues that matter most to the university community.
“I appreciate you more than you know for trusting Loryn and me with these positions,” Williams said. “I’m very confident we’ll be able to make the impact we set out to make and will always strive for greater for ourselves and the school. We’re going to give this year everything we have because Everything is FAMU.”