The University of North Florida’s Student Government Senate met on Friday to confirm two appointed senators and hold an election for Budget and Allocation Committee chair.
UNF’s student Senate confirmed two new senators, Serenity Miller and Ethan Byrne-Callan, and elected Hazel Joseph as chair of the B&A Committee, filling vacant positions and preparing the Senate to continue its scheduled committee work.
New SG Senators Approved by the Senate
During the meeting, the Senate confirmed two senatorial appointees.
The Rules and Oversight Committee appointed Serenity Miller, a student athlete on a pre-law track, during an emergency meeting held half an hour before the Senate meeting.
Ethan Byrne-Callan, a political science major, was approved in last week’s R&O meeting.
Student Body President Amelia Dyal read a letter of recommendation for both Miller and Byrne-Callan. Both appointees gave their own speeches before the Senate voted.
In Miller’s speech, she expressed that she was enthusiastic about the opportunity to be an SG senator to strengthen the relationship between SG and student athletes in particular.
“I’m interested in being a senator to better the student experience as well as bridge the gap between the students and the athletes,” said Miller.
In his speech, Byrne-Callan shared that in his previous attempt to run for senator during the Spring elections, he lost by 11 votes.
“I feel like I was pretty close and I’ll be able to put the same amount of effort [now] to make it count,” said Byrne-Callan.
The student Senate unanimously approved Miller and Byrne-Callan.
Fall 2025 uncontested senatorial election update
While the Office of Elections did not provide a comment on the recent uncontested election during the meeting, Senate President Audrey McGrath addressed SG’s initiative to appoint senators directly in order to fill vacant seats.
“I’m not appointing people to fulfill any sort of agenda…if we don’t appoint enough people, we cannot conduct business,” said McGrath.
Under the UNF SG Constitution, the Student Body President may appoint someone to fill a vacant Senate seat, subject to confirmation by the Senate, to serve the remainder of the term.
The unofficial winners of the recent uncontested election will be confirmed during the Senate meeting on Nov. 14. The meeting will be held at noon in the Senate Chambers, located in the Student Union (Building 58E, Room 3200).
Senate Elects Joseph for B&A Committee Chair
At the last SG Senate meeting on Oct. 12, Sen. Hazel Joseph and Sen. Winter Slaughter accepted nominations for the vacant position of the B&A Committee chair.
The chair of the B&A Committee is primarily tasked with overseeing all special requests and travel requests, as well as assisting the Student Body Treasurer in creating an annual budget report of $5 million, according to the SG website.
During this meeting, each B&A candidate delivered a speech and responded to questions from the Senate.
Sen. Hazel Joseph, briefly serving as interim B&A chair, gave a brief presentation expressing her plans to encourage transparent communication with other organizations if elected.
“I would like to maintain a collaborative environment…What I’d like to improve on going forth is communication with our RSOs,” said Joseph. RSOs are Recognized Student Organizations on campus that can request funding from SG.
Following her opponent’s presentation, Sen. Winter Slaughter, vice chair of the R&O committee, stressed the importance of the B&A committee and the fair role of a chairperson.
“When we allocate wisely, we invest in our community, the clubs that build friendships, the events that bring us together, and the initiatives that make campus life better for everyone,” said Slaughter.
Senate President McGrath conducted the election for B&A chair, and Sen. Joseph received 15 votes, securing the B&A seat.
At the end of the meeting, Chief Justice Jacob Gordon swore-in Joseph, Byrne-Callan and Miller to their respective positions.
Up Next
Student Government’s Committees will hold meetings on Friday, Oct 31. Meeting times and locations are below.
- The Rules and Oversight Committee will meet at 10 a.m. in the Senate Chambers (Bldg. 58E, Room 3200).
- The Budget and Allocations Committee will meet at noon in the Senate Chambers.
- The University and Student Affairs Committee will meet at 2 p.m. in the John E. Sapp Conference Room (Bldg. 58E, Room 3206).
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