There is an election going on for Student Union and we need you to vote.
The stakes are particularly high this year. Initially, there were three teams running: BuildBU, the Rhett Offensive and Rhettvolution. Two days ago, the Rhett Offensive decided to drop from the race and officially and “strongly” endorse BuildBU. What I’d like to tell you is why you should be voting and why you should vote for BuildBU.
Last year, my team ran on the slate Renew BU, promising to rebuild the damaged state the Student Union was in. We won in a landslide (2200-700-600) and hopes were high for the year. Though I usually reserve judgment, I think we’ve done a pretty good job. At the final meeting last year, there was something like 10 percent attendance. This year, we have routinely had over 80 percent.
We built from the ground up a bus texting service that has helped over 4,500 individual students find where the BUS is at any time (4-FIND-BU-BUS). We more than quadrupled our budget and we successfully fought for earlier 24/7 study periods in Mugar Memorial Library, a battle that has been unsuccessful for years. We talked face to face with over 2,000 students to get a statistical representation of what students care most about and threw the biggest event at BU in the past decade, the GSU Takeover. We also started an incoming class banner signing tradition…which Rhettvolution supporters defaced.
And now, just as we have managed to repair the relationships that the last administration destroyed in their temper tantrums, another group of kids have come around and decided that want to tear it all down. Their cries resemble that of an angsty teen. They claim they will stand up to “the administration” – all the while, their supporters vandalize our office and degrade fellow students’ hard work.
Last week at the Union debates, the Rhettvolution managed to anger and disrespect groups of the student body (calling Greeks “not real students,” for example). They are trying to take a page out of our campaign book but what they have added, frankly, scares me. They have added a hatred and vitriol with no real target.
The other day, others and myself witnessed members of Rhettvolution on the street with a Doberman. They were red-faced and screaming of revolution. I truly felt a sickness in my stomach. Is this the energy we want to promote on campus? Is there any other way to interpret the vandalism, Che Guevara symbolism and Dobermans than a campaign of violent intent? If so, they’re doing a poor job at conveying it.
I for one, think it’s unnecessary. While people on the street were giving uneasy looks to the infantile revolutionaries, our campaign said jokingly, “More love on campus!” We received smiles and thumbs-up that sent nice, cheesy vibrations into my heart.
After the debate ended and the revolutionaries left, there was a strange calm in the room. The Rhett Offensive and BuildBU supporters hung around and had an amicable discussion. It was lighthearted, constructive and completely refreshing to the antagonism the room had experienced only moments earlier. Then, someone mentioned the idea of merging the two slates.
The merger would be unprecedented and the thought rekindled in me an excitement for the future that I hadn’t experienced in a long time. The thought of what it would mean for the upcoming year excited me. It would be a level of connection in the student body like never before.
BuildBU is made up of Howard Male, Alex Staikos, Sophie Miller and Jen DePiero, who have all worked in the Union for the past year. Howard is the most hard-working, professional guy you will ever meet. He’s known for working more than three jobs (I’ve lost count) and last year, he was in the executive office until after midnight helping me on numerous occasions. This was long before we chose him to join the executive board. Alex is the most mature freshman I have ever met. If you didn’t know him, you’d think he was a junior. Sophie and Jen both led the task force that was responsible for the earlier 24/7-study period this year and are the nicest girls you will ever meet.
You have the chance to have these people spending their every waking moment thinking about how to improve your life on campus. Please, go to the student link as soon as you can and vote BuildBU for Student Union Executive Board. It only takes a few seconds and is the easiest thing you will ever do to get change on campus. I am graduating this year and there’s only one team I feel confident can carry the torch of progress: BuildBU.
-Daniel Ellis, senior at the College of Arts and Sciences and Student Union Executive Vice President