Student Government leadership changed hands Wednesday with a ceremony beneath Memorial Tower and an official swearing in during SG Senate.J Hudson and Dani Borel were inaugurated as SG president and vice president after several weeks of controversy surrounding accounting issues during the campaigns.Hudson said during his speech he will fight as SG president to be the voice of students and to have them use their own voices to solve the University’s problems.”I have learned that students want to express their opinions on matters affecting the University but do not know how to,” Hudson said.Hudson and Borel are currently reviewing applications for next year’s executive staff, and Hudson said next year is promising.Once the executive staff is chosen and approved by the SG Senate, Hudson said he will start working on the initiatives the StudentsFIRST ticket promised throughout the campaign.Hudson said he will start working on those initiatives this summer, including a commuter lot for Tiger Band members and covered bus stops.He said there will also be an SG presence at the Louisiana State Legislature this summer as student officials continue developing bills and budgets impacting higher education.”I was able to speak last year [at the Legislature], and it was one of the best things I’ve ever done,” Hudson said.Borel pledged to increase SG funding from corporate sponsorship for carrying out its initiatives.”We intend on making our faces and the faces of representatives from colleges all over Louisiana a common sight at the State Capitol while we advocate against cuts to higher education and for a reformation of our governing documents,” Borel said.She made the familiar promise of increasing student involvement in SG and promised to change the image of SG to reflect the ideals and principles upon which it was founded.Former SG President Stuart Watkins welcomed Hudson and Borel to their new offices and wished them his support.”They have a great year ahead of them,” Watkins said. “Most importantly, they get to represent Louisiana’s finest — the students that attend Louisiana’s flagship institution.”Chancellor Michael Martin spoke about the importance of the inauguration.”We face some very serious times ahead,” Martin said. “There’s no doubt the economy will continue to stress this institution. The role student leadership plays in us managing our way through that is absolutely critical.”Martin commended Watkins and former Vice President Martina Scheuermann for a good year.”These two represented the students well,” Martin said. “They have demonstrated to me and their colleagues that they will go on to be leaders in other walks of life.”Scheuermann said she’s excited about what’s to come for Hudson and Borel.”J and Dani have a very full year ahead of them,” Scheuermann said. “I think they’re going to raise the bar.”Melissa Guidry, former SG director of student involvement, welcomed attendees and said Hudson and Borel fared well in the recent Trial Court and University Court cases.”I hope that’s a sign of next year to come,” Guidry said.Hudson and Borel’s parents attended the ceremony. Tim Borel said his daughter contemplates what she wants to achieve and then does it.”It’s pretty exciting. She’s always wanted to come to LSU and run the place,” Tim Borel said. “She doesn’t know how to fail.”University Court Chief Justice Sean Horridge read the invocation, but the official swearing-in was during the Senate meeting at 6:30 p.m.Hudson and Borel are accepting applications for executive staff positions until 4:30 p.m. today. Applications for executive staff, judicial staff and committees are available on the SG Web site. –Contact Catherine Threlkeld at [email protected]