Longtime friends Elliot Higgins and Brittany Caplin will finally get their chance to lead after serving for four years as University of Iowa Student Government senators.

Come this morning, former UISG President John Rigby will leave his "messy desk" for Higgins and Caplin to clean up.

During Sunday’s inauguration in the Kinnick Stadium press box, the pair of UI juniors said they are "excited and honored at the opportunity to serve the student body."

"The bar is set very high because of [Rigby] and Erica [Hayes]," Higgins said after the ceremony. "They ran a fantastic administration."

Even though Higgins and Caplin were the lone contenders in this year’s election, the two said it did not prevent them from plotting a serious platform.

"There was no competition, but that doesn’t mean we put any less work into it," Caplin said.

Higgins and Caplin said they hope to expand late-night transportation, work with downtown businesses to allow students to charge items to their U-bills, and create a website that would allow students to rate their landlords. Caplin also said they will work to make their organization more transparent and present.

"When we hear comments such as ‘student government doesn’t do anything, we don’t know who student government is, we don’t know what its purpose is on campus,’ we take it personally," Caplin said. "It affects us."

Caplin and Higgins said they performed an "extensive amount" of research when preparing their platform to make sure their goals were attainable.

"You won’t be hearing those comments this year at all," Caplin said in her speech.

Come summer, the two said they will sort through night-transportation options — which could include buying another Nite Ride vehicle or working with taxi and bus companies.

Higgins and Caplin said they also plan to reach out to students by conducting several presentations during freshman Orientation about the government’s role on campus and working with "On Iowa" to welcome students to campus in Fall.

Both Rigby and Hayes described the transfer of power as "bittersweet."

"It’s a relief to have a large workload off your shoulders … but it’s very emotional to finish," Rigby said. "Especially with an organization I’ve been a part of for two years."

But Rigby said he has no doubts Higgins and Caplin are fit for the job.

"I think they’ll do great. Their experience is really going to help them out," he said. "I think the executive team they brought on will be a great team to work with."