As his term comes to an end, Student Body President Lavar Henderson takes a look back on his accomplishments and goals for the rest of his term.

Henderson was elected last spring. Over his time, he has worked with members of administration to improve student life on campus.

“I am most proud of being able to be a part and an outside voice in bringing the new president and the new chancellor to LSU and helping reshape the LSU system,” Henderson said. “I was a firm believer that when we were going through that process, that our main campus and our main campus students deserved a chancellor.”

The main goals Henderson emphasized focusing on in the end of his term are all in regards to more safety measures on campus for students. He is working on getting more cameras installed around campus and more officers patrolling campus at night. 

Another pressing issue Henderson is working on is the current accusations being made of students misusing AI and the backlog within Student Advocacy & Accountability. 

Currently, students’ work is being flagged as AI and automatically being reported to SAA. This has been an ongoing issue students have brought to the administration’s attention. 

With this, Henderson recently introduced an AI student taskforce. The AI Taskforce is made up of students to help address the ongoing changes in the education system regarding AI, with the hopes of bridging the gap between AI and education.

The taskforce is made up of members of the Student Senate, executive branch, as well as members of various technology clubs, such as Students for Alliance with AI.

Henderson also noted that he and his team were able to secure a space on the second floor of the Student Union to expand the Student Government free printing services. There will be a full computer lab printing space.

When discussing challenges he faced over his term, he noted having to navigate trying to appease as many people while also putting the student body first.

“You know, some groups and some individuals are going to have to be told no and you know, you got to make the best decision for the student body at large,” Henderson said.

Throughout the fall semester, there were some disagreements between Henderson and some members of the Student Senate. 

Alicia Cerquone, an active member of the Senate, had multiple pieces of legislation not signed nor vetoed by Henderson. Cerquone shared her perspective of Henderson’s lack of signing legislation.

Cerquone said much of her disappointment in the administration had to do with the fact that she felt Henderson was trying to be neutral in situations because of his role with the LSU Board of Supervisors. 

She noted how he was put in place there because of his position as student body president, and she felt it was “disingenuous,” to try to be neutral in both roles. 

Cerquone felt that Henderson’s lack of decision making on legislation when there were events taking place such as the Senate’s bill calling for there to be no discriminatory statues or memorials constructed on campus was upsetting as there was a lot going on in the world.

“I’d like to see something more in place that allows student voices to be heard and things aren’t on fire this semester, so there’s not anything happening, like, in that way yet,” Cerquone said.

Henderson worked closely with Abry Layrisson, his vice president, throughout his term. Layrisson spoke about how their mutual goal in achieving the full potential of the LSU student body made their partnership work well.

She said she appreciated Henderson’s tenacity to accomplish positive goals and to ensure resources, support and opportunities were made available to address everyday challenges in student life in a practical way. 

“It is my hope and belief that the legacy he leaves is his honest attempt to make LSU its best for students and his encouragement that every student be all in,” Layrisson said.

He said that he has considered this the biggest honor and success of his four years at LSU, to be able to serve such a large and diverse student body.

In regard to those wanting to get involved and serve the student body Henderson wanted to emphasize that, “it is much bigger than yourself.” He said the position should be about the student body, not personal beliefs. 

“It should be about making sure that every student — no matter who they are, what they believe, where they come from — feels that their student leadership is really listening to them and really representing them to the best of their ability,” Henderson said.