As a high school student, Amanda Meyers watched her big brother, Ben Meyers, get sworn in as UF Student Body president in 2011.
Now, as the new District E Senator, another Meyers is in the UF Student Senate.
The UF criminology junior saw an empty seat in her district and applied. Meyers lives in Newberry, although the Senate qualified her as far enough outside of the campus to represent students living outside Alachua County. She was sworn in Oct. 28.
“I really wanted to get involved with senate,” the 20-year-old said. “Seeing my brother do it, it kinda made me excited.”
Meyers said she’s not sure what party she plans on slating with but said it would probably be the Swamp Party.
“I think it’s hard to get representation for District E because we are so far away,” she said.
UF Senate President Joseph Michaels said Meyers’ involvement as vice president of UF’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Student Council made her a strong candidate for District E.
“Additionally, she expressed the desire to be a strong voice for District E students and an enthusiasm to address concerns of students in District E, most of who commute to and from campus regularly,” Michaels wrote in an email.
Meyers said a major issue for students in her district is feeling safe while waiting for buses and walking through the commuter lot. She said she plans on working to add more blue lights to make students feel safer.
Nicole Outler, 20, echoed Meyers’ concerns about the blue lights.
“She’s really passionate about this (blue lights) and really wants to do a good job,” the UF anthropology junior said.
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 11/17/2014]
