A week after the unofficial results of Florida Atlantic University Student Government’s legislative elections were announced, the Boca Raton House of Representatives met on Oct. 4 to induct new members into the positions of Speaker of the House, Speaker Pro-Tempore and Chair of the Campus Budget Committee.

Speaker of the House

Medgine Present, a senior who joined the House of Representatives in 2022, talked about her knowledge of parliamentary procedure and administrative tasks when asking her fellow representatives for their votes.

“My goal is to continue leading the house with professionalism and integrity while ensuring representatives are well versed in the internal structure and procedures of student government… I plan to host debate training sessions to strengthen our skills as representatives and increase our presence with more tabling events as well,” said Present. 

Present explained some of the skills that she learned from previously serving in this position, including leading the meetings, activities training, submitting events to Owl Central, managing food waivers and more.

She was re-elected as the Speaker shortly after her presentation, with no other candidates running against her.

Speaker Pro-Tempore

Alex Mojica, a junior who has been a member of the House of Representatives for five semesters, spoke to the House about his qualifications for the position. 

“I will help struggling representatives by listening to their needs and concerns,” Mojica said. “This will help representatives get back onto their feet and help make FAU a better place for students.”

Rep. Jack Nixon asked the candidate, “Are there any recurring issues that you notice throughout the student population, and if so, what are your plans to fix them?”

Mojica noted that food insecurity is the main recurring issue in the community. He stated that the “Campus Harvest” events hosted and planned by Speaker Present have helped address this issue.

“I believe one of the steps we can take in the correct direction is continuing these Campus Harvest events,” said Mojica.

Mojica added that parking is another issue on campus, and he plans to communicate with parking and transportation services.

He plans to patch up the potholes of parking lot 17, adjacent to the newly renovated Student Union parking lot, “in order to make parking easier and more satisfactory to the student body.” 

Mojica ran against Rep. K’Qmie McKnight, but the House elected Mojica, who got ten votes to four.

Campus Budget Committee Chair 

Katherine McMillan shared her experience as a master’s student and her strong understanding of financial management. She emphasized the importance of supporting both graduate and undergraduate students.

“I want to advocate for any student programs on our campus,” McMillan said. “I’m also very interested in hearing from all representatives, as well as our students, and to where they would best see our campus funds going towards.”

She was sworn to be Campus Budget Committee Chair, with no other candidates running against her.

The Boca House of Representatives meeting is held every Friday at 3:30 p.m. in the House Chambers of the Student Union building.

Michael Cook is the News Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email michael17cook@gmail.com.