Unopposed Student Union presidential candidate Brooke Feldman promises to continue current Union efforts, as well as institute a plan to increase student leadership, if elected in the upcoming Union Executive Board elections April 18.

Current Union President Jon Marker, who sat down with Feldman and approximately five others earlier in the year to discuss the elections, said it is important for the election candidates to have their own vision for the future of the university.

“I think it’s important for each e-board member to show the student body where the e-board wants to take the school,” the College of Arts and Sciences junior said. “She just needs to make sure that her vision is her vision.”

Feldman recently aligned her campaign with vice-presidential candidate Mark DiCristofaro.

According to DiCristofaro, Feldman differs from Marker in the decision making process. DiCristofaro said Feldman would like to engage more students in the decision-making process instead of having the president be the sole liaison to the administration.

DiCristofaro said he and Feldman could bring teamwork to the Union e-board if elected.

“Brooke and I have a unique relationship,” the College of General Studies sophomore said. “In the context of BU, we have been highly successful coworkers.”

Feldman and DiCristofaro share the same platform, which calls attention to current Union initiatives, including the guest policy, technology expansion, alcohol amnesty policy and academic advising.

However, Feldman said her platform differs from current Union initiatives because it discusses more ways to increase student leadership.

“I think that I have my own unique take on the current take of the Student Union,” the School of Education sophomore said. “I agree with a lot of what’s been done in the past, but I’d like to see more changes in the future. I also have more emphasis on student involvement in leadership, not that that’s been absent, but I think it can be greater, much greater, in the future, and that’s something that I’m looking to work toward.”

Feldman said she would increase the amount of student leaders on campus by creating programs specifically geared toward training student them.

“For me, it’s really important to have leadership training programs,” she said. “To have our already strong leaders learn more, because this kind of thing isn’t stagnant. A leader should always be changing, always looking to improve, enhance or improve his or her decision making ability.”

Feldman said she wants to implement student leadership programs at BU because she thinks it would improve campus life for undergraduates.

“I think that by fostering leadership, we can improve the quality of life here at BU,” she said.

In the Union election debates Monday night, Feldman said strong leadership is a way to combat student apathy on campus.

However, vice-presidential candidate Tyler Ramaker said although the Union should combat student apathy, there is no fast remedy.

“I think that if there was a very clear, effective way to alleviate student apathy, someone would have done it already,” the CAS junior said. “It’s just a hard thing to ask, because I think it’s very unrealistic to promise anything, and I think it’s unrealistic to expect a major, major turn around.

“And on one hand, you’re up there and you’re under a microscope and other people are promising things,” he continued. “It just puts you under a lot of pressure, and it’s hard to be realistic about that. And I don’t think the student body can really expect a huge change, but we can move in the right direction.”

Feldman said she would continue current Union efforts in regards to the guest policy.

“I support what’s going on right now,” she said.

Feldman has served on the Union as the representative from SED for the past year. She is the Academic Affairs committee chairwoman.

Aside from the Student Union, Feldman is involved in SED student government and Sigma Delta Tau. She is an SED Dean’s Host, Students Admissions Representative and she took part in the First-Year Student Outreach Program.

Without a challenger, Feldman is expected to coast to a victory when the voting begins on Tuesday.