Student Union: Who’s YOUR Candidate?

It’s that time of year—Student Union elections are upon us, and this year, there is heat in the competition. For those of you who do not know, the Student Union is the undergraduate student government at Boston University. Any full-time student that’s in good academic and judicial standing is a member of the BU Student Union. These elections are held on a yearly basis every April, and it is very important for the student body to learn the issues and get involved.

This year two official slates are running, along with a third unofficial, “Greek” slate. Here is a summary of the slates:

Renew BU:

Arthur Emma: President

Daniel Ellis: Vice President

Ben Noble: Treasurer

NO SECRETARY

Summary of platform:

• Better BU BUS service

• Increase print quota based on class need and lower printing cost

• Start a football team at BU

As well as other issues

You can follow them by visiting their website or joining their facebook event page.

BUnited:

Taylor Riley: President

James Boggie: Vice President

Joe Nangle: Treasurer

Jenna Kryeche: Secretary

Summary of platform:

• Unity within the student body

• A transparent and accountable student government and administration

• Reconnecting students with their student government (the Student Union)

You can follow them by joining their facebook fan page or event page.

Greek:

Julian Jensen: President

Stephen Tanico: Vice President

Alex Vaccarino: Secretary

Marisa Feehan: Treasurer

Summary of platform:

• Make sure student issues are brought to university executives

• Promote student involvement in forming clubs and organizing events

• Encourage students to take leadership roles

You can follow them by visiting their website or joining their facebook group.

Although the people on these slates run together, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will be elected together. Voting goes by individual people, not by slate. Therefore, the treasurer of one slate could end up winning with the president of another slate.

This year is the first time in two years that the Student Union has been competitive. Last year’s slate ran unopposed. Hopefully, with all the attention the elections have brought, more people will become involved/active in the Student Union and the issues it’s been working to fix.

Both official slates have also violated student election campaign code and have been deducted a considerable amount of points this campaign season.

The Student Union Candidate Debate will take place on Thursday, April 15 from 7-8:30pm in the GSU Backcourt.

Voting will take place from Noon on Monday, April 19 until Noon on Monday April 26. You can cast your vote on the Student Link. Because the Greek group did not make the deadline set by the Student Elections Commission, their names are not on the ballot and need to be physically typed in.

Stay tuned for an interview with members from each slate.

I would like to give a special thank you to Adam Korn for helping with this article.