Senate rocked to a new beat Tuesday night when new senators were sworn in and old senators said goodbye.
Progress Party Sen. Dave Schneider, who represented Rawlings Hall, left Senate with a bang. He grabbed a guitar and two musicians and sang a rendition of "Thank You for Letting Me Be Myself Again" by Sly and the Family Stone.
"Guys, as my last meeting, I figured that making a speech would be kind of another brick in the wall, dust in the wind," he said.
Schneider dedicated the song to his party members and the senators who voted in favor of the resolution asking Aramark, UF's food provider, to negotiate wage increases for Immokalee tomato growers.
Orange & Blue Party Sen. Ben Cavataro, who represented Hume Hall, said he did not want to see the band go.
"I wish they could stay for the rest of the night so that they could play people off the stage like the Oscars," Cavataro joked.
Cavataro offered advice to new senators, saying they should be proactive and find their niche in Senate.
"It may be frightening and unfamiliar now," Cavataro said. "It won't always be."
Supervisor of Elections Ariana Alfonso stopped by the meeting to go over results from last week's election. Senators approved them by unanimous consent.
Once old senators said their goodbyes, the newly-elected senators got down to business. Their first act was to elect new Senate leadership.
Unite Party Sen. Ashton Charles was elected Senate President and Unite Party Sen. Naadira Renfroe was elected as Senate President Pro-Tempore.
CLAS Sen. Andre Haughton, from the Unite Party, endorsed Renfroe, who represents the sophomore class.
Haughton said his reasons for supporting Renfroe extended beyond her resume and work ethic. He said Renfroe would prevent Senate from becoming isolated from the students it represents.
"I'm confident that Sen. Renfroe will embody this dream and keep it alive," he said.
Unite Party Sophomore Class Sen. Kara Olesky said she supported Charles, who represents District A, because she is a great role model and will work for students.
