The UF Student Senate extended its regular meeting to say goodbye to departing senators and elect new leadership. In the first meeting after an unprecedented Student Government election, in which Vision Party ran as the sole major party, former Change Party members also attended to criticize the party during public comment.
The Senate unanimously approved Maya Idiculla and Matthew Bravo for the open president and president pro tempore positions, respectively, on Tuesday. Both candidates were unopposed.
Idiculla, a 21-year-old political science senior, previously served as the Senate majority leader for Vision Caucus and as the chair for the budget and appropriations committee. Idiculla is also a senior class representative and director of the Indian Students Association.
Bravo, a history and political science sophomore, said he plans to meet with incoming senators one-on-one to facilitate their transition into the “challenging” Senate. He previously served as the chair of the judiciary committee, and he said he often appointed vice-chairs during meetings to give them the experience of drafting legislation.
Idiculla succeeds Julia Seifer, an English senior, and Bravo follows Aaron Rubaii, an economics junior. While Seifer will no longer serve in the chamber, Rubaii will remain an off-campus senator for the new term.
The president directs the legislative processes of the chamber, maintains decorum and reinforces Senate order, according to Senate rules and procedures.
The president pro tempore assists and fills in for the president in the case of an absence. The pro tempore also chairs the Senate’s replacement and agenda committee and automatically becomes Senate president if the seat becomes vacant until a successor is chosen.
Idiculla plans to work with Senate snapshot, an Instagram series where senators explain legislation and initiatives they are working on, to have monthly Senate updates videos. She added she would establish a “Senate appreciation night” to recognize outstanding committee chairs, sponsors and first-time speakers.
Idiculla said she remains committed to inclusion. As the community director for Delta Gamma sorority, Idiculla said she will always put people first.
“I will treat everyone the way I treated my committee, with the utmost respect and love,” she said.
Bravo said he embraces oppositional viewpoints, and having a “devil’s advocate” is important in the legislative review process. He added he has never treated members of other UF political parties differently.
The Senate also approved Cole Bennett, a political science junior, and Zoe Metchick, a criminology major, as members at-large, making them voting members of the replacement and agenda committee.
Change Party gives public comment
During public comment, Nathaniel Pelton, a 21-year-old philosophy and political science senior and former Change Party senator, called on UF students who have felt ignored by SG to build a new political party rooted in progress, accountability and fundamental change. He pledged his support and said he will provide strategic and financial backing to make it happen.
“They’ve grown out of touch, they’ve lost their way, they are consumed by the pursuit of control rather than progress,” he said of Vision.
He asked senators to make the upcoming term about the “Gator Nation” and giving students a better future, and he reminded departing members they have the individual creativity to achieve their personal goals, despite their leadership’s confines.
Anamika Naidu, who ran for student body president last Spring with Change, spoke about Vision’s electoral sweep, saying the party only won because UF’s off-campus legislative districts were redrawn from four to a one-at-large district Fall 2024. Naidu said the change made it impossible for any minority party “to do anything.”
Vision won 49 seats in the Fall 2025 election Sept. 30 after campaigning nearly unopposed, with only three independent candidates running against it for seats.
Naidu asked senators to focus their efforts on issues like RTS bus routes and 24/7 study spaces. She said just because senators may not want to vote for something in the chamber does not mean they should not be advocating outside the Senate.
“Not only are we student legislators amongst ourselves, we also serve as a liaison between the student body and the administration,” she said.
Contact Maria Arruda at marruda@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @mariazalfarruda.
Maria is the Fall 2025 student government reporter for the Alligator. She's a sophomore journalism and political science major at UF and hopes to work as a political correspondent one day! Maria loves to read, hang out with her friends, see her family and go to the gym in her spare time.
