Student for State Rep: Sarah Sullivan Takes on Allston-Brighton

Critics often see students as possessed by the Saturday night loud-drinking-disrespectful syndrome, but Boston University’s Sarah Sullivan (CAS ’11) is running for Massachusetts State Representative in Allston-Brighton to prove those critics wrong.

Sullivan, a senior at BU majoring in sociology and history, is hoping to take current representative Kevin G. Honan’s place as the voice of the 17th Suffolk District in the Allston-Brighton area. Students constitute an enormous portion of Allston-Brighton and all of Boston proper. According to Sullivan, 150,000 out of the 600,000 residents living in the city are students. And if her campaign proves successful, Sullivan will tackle the ambitious task of finally addressing the tension in between college residents and long-term community members in Allston-Brighton.

“At the community level, I hope to address this issue by working toward unifying long-time and student residents in the neighborhood.”  Sullivan said.

Inspired to forge a more cohesive community in such a polarized town, Sullivan began her campaign as a sticker candidate in the Democratic primary of the representative race last spring. And, as no Republican has registered to take the seat, it is likely that the nominated candidate will stroll unopposed to victory.

To become more visible to Allston-Brighton citizens, Sullivan has coordinated with local community service organizations to allow college students to engage with the neighborhood. Such organizations include the Allston-Brighton Community Development Corporation (CDC), Goodwill, Allston-Brighton Green Space Advocates and Cradles to Crayons.

In addition to closing the gap between students and longtime residents, Sullivan, also wants to get young people to participate more in the political sphere. Originally from outside Tampa, Florida, Sullivan said she loves Allston-Brighton because of “the energy of the neighborhood and interesting mix of students, young professionals and longtime residents.”

And she wants to keep those students living there after graduation.

“More could be done to help keep the students here,” she said, referencing her stance on student retention, “it could help service all of us.”

21 year-old Sullivan believes she would be the right choice for Massachusetts State Representative because she effectively bridges the gap between the collegiate and political worlds, which she noticed were incredibly disparate during her internship for Senate President Therese Murray.

“How great would it be if we had a student perspective?” she prompted.

Certainly not a newcomer to taking on ambitious projects, Sullivan helped to start BU’s Women’s Resource Center (WRC) during her freshman and sophomore year of college. This year is Sullivan’s second as co-director of the WRC. Though one may believe that juggling her many academic and recreational activities to be nearly impossible–her other interests include a life-long devotion to modern dance–Sullivan said she has done it by ”building a smart and supportive team.”

“I get energy by standing up for the things I really believe in,” she said.

Sullivan, whose website can be visited at StickerSullivan.com, is running as a sticker candidate. A sticker candidate is a candidate that provides stickers containing his or her name, which voters must bring with them to the polls and affix to the ballot. The primaries will take place on the 14^th from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and there are a number of different voting locations in Allston-Brighton, including the Jackson Mann School and the Allston library. Check out your local voting site here, and don’t forget to make your voice heard.