Former Student Union President Michael Moffo was voted to represent Ward 21 at the Massachusetts Democratic Convention later this year.
Boston University students joined Boston community members Saturday for two Democratic caucuses aimed at electing delegates to the Convention, to be held in Worcester May 31-June 2.
Moffo, a College of Communication senior, was successfully elected as a delegate in Ward 21 by receiving the second-highest number of votes.
“I think our presence was modest — it was not overwhelming, but it was head and shoulders above what we have done in the past,” Moffo said.
Democratic caucuses were held in each ward throughout the state on Saturday. The caucuses elected delegates to send to the democratic gubernatorial convention in the spring.
The BU campus was split into two wards, with the east side of campus belonging to Ward 5 and the west to Ward 21.
Members of BU’s College Democrats and the Student Union attended in support of both the democratic process and fellow students running to become delegates.
Amy Margolius, a COM junior and intern for gubernatorial candidate Steve Grossman, ran as a Ward 5 female alternate delegate, but came up 26 votes short. However, she said she believed she got her message across by running.
“I want to show how easy it is for youth to get up here and get involved in local politics,” Margolius said. “It is important for college students to get involved in open politics. [Politicians] make a lot of decisions for local colleges.”
“There are 30,000 students at BU — enough to fill a small town. There is no way we can’t get involved,” said Sean Dixon, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore and Student Union Senate vice chair.
Though students do not have to be from Massachusetts to participate in the elections, only about 20 students registered to vote.
“BU students live in their own world. Many don’t realize that there is a politically functioning community outside of campus,” said Manasee Desai, a Union senator and CAS freshman.
“For too long BU has neglected the unique ability to register to vote even though they are from somewhere else,” said University Professor’s Program sophomore Carl Woog, the Union vice president of financial affairs who ran for Ward 5 alternate delegate. “We seek to register students and participate in the politics of the great city of Boston.
“We want to let the most active members of the community know that students have an interest in local and city politics and can make a difference in this arena,” Woog said. “I believe that students are interested in their community and we are on our way.”
Those who ran and voted said they gained valuable experience and knowledge of the democratic process.
“I benefited the opportunity to learn more about the city which I am proud to be a part of,” Woog said.
“I got a lot of positive remarks from the ward. I was able to become a more active citizen of Boston and gained a lot of knowledge about the process and candidates,” Moffo said.
Participants said they hoped for larger student turnouts in the future.
“If we could have gotten more students, we could have turned the election in our favor, but I think through the Student Union, College Democrats and other organizations, we can get more people involved,” Dixon said.
“We want to let students know that the opportunity is out there,” Moffo said.
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