Student Activities Office officials yesterday forced Student Union Election Commission officials to extend the deadline for spring election candidates, after only one slate filed to run for Union executive board elections.
The deadline extension applies to both the e-board and college government elections.
SUEC commissioner Jeanette Jankiewicz said the deadline will be extended to Friday late in the afternoon, though she could not specify a time.
Vice president of Public Relations Frances Cosico said the lack of another slate will defeat the purpose of Union elections.
‘If no one else turns in a packet by Friday, that slate will automatically be declared the winner,’ she said.
While Cosico described an election without any competition as ‘lame,’ Jankiewicz said other slates are needed for an actual election to take place.
‘I hope other slates run so that there are elections,’ she said.
The only slate turning in paperwork to participate in the election by yesterday’s original 5 p.m. deadline will be running under the name of ‘True,’ the same name the Union’s current e-board slate ran under last year.
But this year’s ‘True’ slate is running with a different president. Current president Ethan Clay has decided not to run again and has been replaced on the ‘True’ slate by current VP of Student Affairs Carl Woog.
Woog’s slate consists of nine members with at least a year of experience, including four current e-board members. Current VP of Academic Affairs Dave Bresler will run in the same position, while current executive vice president Joe Rollin will run as VP of Financial Affairs and current VP of Safety Services Remie Ferreira will run for executive vice president.
Other slate members include Giovanna Loiotile, running for VP of Public Relations, current Union senator Erik Dawson, running for VP of Student Affairs, Lauren Rodwell, running for VP of Multicultural Affairs, and Mike Myers, running for VP of Residence Life.
Clay said he will not be running again because he feels he has served his time in student politics at BU.
‘I’ve never believed in career politics and a quarter of my career so far has been with the Union and I feel it’s time to pass it onto someone else,’ Clay said.
Clay said the decision was based upon both personal goals and a desire to study abroad before graduating next spring.
‘I’m planning to study abroad next semester,’ he said. ‘It was a goal from the start and I had to put that goal on hold for a year.’
Despite the extended deadline, Clay said he would not change his decision to run next year.
‘This is something I’ve decided,’ he said. ‘It’s a significant amount of time and I really need to focus on some of my personal goals in life that extend beyond the university.’
Clay said his decision does not affect his outlook toward his current role as president.
‘I will continue to work my hardest throughout the end of my term,’ he said. ‘I’m very committed to my current goals to the Union and will continue to work my hardest to achieve the ‘True’ slates’ goals. I don’t want to be a lame duck president.’
While Clay will not be running next year, he said he will still maintain his current position on the Presidential Search Committee, though he said he will leave the final decision on the matter up to the Board of Trustees, who allowed him on the committee during the fall.
‘I will continue to serve on it the rest of my time here,’ he said.
However, Woog said the position on the committee is a role he expects to fill if elected president.
‘If the ‘True’ slate is victorious in this campaign, I hope to take the current president’s position on the search committee,’ he said.
This is not the first time the filing deadline has been postponed in election history. In 1997, the deadline was pushed back twice, with the later entry ending up victorious.