Today marks the new term for incoming Student Government members other than those in the SG Supreme Court, as those qualify as “life” positions. The 2023-24 Student Body President Emory Cavin will begin his term solo as he has yet to advance through the process of finding a new vice president. 

On March 2, students and student government candidates gathered at The Boardwalk to hear the announcement of this year’s student body president and vice president, the term for which starts today. 

Vice President-Elect Miniya McNair has since decided to step down from the position. Actions to be taken forward concerning this vacant position are up to the Student Government Supreme Court and President Cavin. The Supreme Court has already released a statement of unanimous advice which President Cavin can refer to while continuing his search. This statement is public record and can be found on the Student Government Eagle Link page.

When President Cavin heard his name announced at the Boardwalk, he was surrounded by friends who supported him throughout his campaign. 

“It felt amazing. I mean, it was incredibly exciting. I remember the moment when I was waiting for him to read off the name and I was so nervous. But then when he read it off, I was incredibly happy and excited,” President Cavin said. 

He has been involved in Student Government in previous years, and most recently served as Supervisor of Election in the 2022 Student Government elections. 

“I don’t think that there was a specific moment that I can point to and say that that’s when I decided that I wanted to run,” Cavin said. “But I think it was kind of a culmination of different things that have happened to me throughout my time here at FGCU.” 

A few years ago, students held a protest across campus and into a student body senate meeting due to posts made by a previous member of Student Government. Cavin attended this protest and found inspiration in the students around him to make a change. 

“One of the things that they were talking about was how there needs to be more representation from people of color in Student Government. And it really inspired me to see that because these were students who were going out there protesting and making their voices heard,” Cavin said. “And they were so passionate and so caring, and honestly brave. And that just really inspired me to try to help make that change that they were that they were asking for.”

Cavin and McNair supported their campaign on three main pillars: giving student workers a voice, increasing BIPOC representation and drowning hateful rhetoric. They spoke openly in the candidate forum which took place on Feb. 23 on increasing the diversity in Student Government and ensuring students feel safe when walking around on campus. 

“One of the things I want to do is to create a kind of DEI oversight committee over Student Government. It would most likely be an executive committee, basically, where students could advise us on ways that Student Government could be more inclusive, more equal,” Cavin said. 

Having worked in Student Government in the past, he has an understanding on how the three branches are run and how collaborative they need to be to run an effective Student Government. 

“Something that’s very important to me in these first few months is creating strong relationships with the other branches. I really want everything we do to be a collaborative effort throughout Student Government,” Cavin said. “And so I completely plan on meeting with the senators, the justices, getting to know them as people and also getting to know what their values are, what kinds of things they’d like to see from Student Government, and hopefully bring them all together so that we can be one united student government and we can have a stronger voice and be able to accomplish things more effectively through that.”

In an email which was sent to all FGCU students, Former Student Body President Grace Brannigan said, “Emory is intelligent, kind, and has lots of good ideas for his time in the role. I hope you all welcome him with the same kindness that you greeted me with, and I am wishing him all of the best.”