It’s another election for Ben Meyers’ lucky shorts. They are the same khaki, gator-embroidered pair he wore in the last three elections. The only other time he has worn them was during a financial accounting exam; he scored an 88.
Yes, the shorts are washed, he assured. On Wednesday, he’ll be wearing them again.
Friends, fellow senators and even current Student Body President Ashton Charles say when Meyers is president, he’ll be one of the best the university has seen.
Meyers, when asked if he agreed, knocked on a wooden desk in his office and replied.
“If I become president.”
He won’t take any chances. The historic advantage of his party won’t sway him, either. It’s a mix of his humble nature and superstitious ways. Hence, the lucky shorts.
But it’s more than luck with Meyers. It’s experience most 20-year-olds can’t match.
At 17, he attended Boys State, a program sponsored by the American Legion, the largest Veterans Service organization in the country. In spring 2009, he was elected senator for the sophomore class at age 18. At 19, his fellow senators voted him to be the chairman of the Allocations Committee.
At 20, he is the current Student Senate President. And a month before he turns 21, he could be Student Body President.
He remembered the first time he spoke in front of Senate. As a nervous freshman, he could feel his voice shake and stammer. The confidence and conviction came three meetings later.
But the work he is most proud of is helping to finance emerging student organizations in Allocations.
As Senate President, he worked on transparency issues and worked largely on extending transportation through RTS with the Later Gator and other services.
Meyers’ rise to the ranks is no surprise to those who know him. Charles said Meyers always has gone the extra mile. She remembers the many late nights during the first few weeks after block tuition was announced when she’d stay up late researching with Meyers at her side.
“That’s not part of his job description,” she said. “But he did it.”
As his Senate mom, an endearing alternative title to mentor, Charles has seen him grow from a motivated freshman campaigning for his party, even when he wasn’t running, to someone who has had a “profound impact across campus” at such a young age.
Maybe it’s with a sense of confidence that he didn’t run again for his seat in senate. Maybe it’s the public servant in him.
Meyers is a self-described “all-American family man.” Born and raised in Florida, the fourth-generation Gator is the son of two lawyers who met during their law school days at UF.
“I literally would not exist if it wasn’t for UF,” he said.
With all the university has given him, he hopes to continue to give back and let the students of UF be heard. If elected President, he said he will keep fighting for student rights. The first thing to tackle is taking block tuition off the table forever. Next would be platform issues such as the soft closing of bars, meaning bars would stop serving drinks and food at 2 a.m. but would remain open until 3 a.m., and getting campus-wide free printing.
Read about Meyers opponent, Dave Schneider.
