Students see ‘Vision’ slate to election

The Boston University Student Union leadership officially has a new ‘Vision.’

President-elect James Sappenfield held off Panhellenic Council President Lauren Prince’s late write-in campaign to win the Union presidency 951 votes to 323. Write-in candidate Zachary Koenig earned 26 votes.

Sappenfield’s Vision for BU slate captured each executive board position. The student body elected Amy Mahler as vice president, Mary Gameng as treasurer and Julianne Corbin as secretary with 1,052, 1,058 and 1,064 votes respectively.

After the results announcement, Sappenfield was noticeably relieved.

‘I was incredibly excited, extremely, extremely jubilant,’ Sappenfield, a College of Arts and Sciences and School of Management junior, said of hearing the results. ‘I had confidence in myself and my team, but I was concerned.’

Sappenfield had reason to be worried after Prince recruited 459 students to express support for her via a Facebook event page. But the five-day unofficial campaign was not enough to get Prince elected.

‘I didn’t ever think that things would escalate to this point,’ Prince, a College of Communication junior, said after her defeat. ‘I didn’t think that it would actually be a serious run for anything because they had their name on the ballot from the very beginning.’

Vice President-elect Amy Mahler said she thinks the students’ decision will allow Union to run smoothly next year.

‘There’s going to be a more comfortable air in Union,’ Mahler, a COM sophomore, said. ‘We aren’t going to degrade into petty politics.’

Mahler was also pleased with the results for more personal reasons.

‘I don’t want to be second-in-command to somebody that I don’t know, and I don’t know her [Prince],’ Mahler said. ‘But with James, I would be comfortable telling him what’s on my mind. I am comfortable enough with him as a leader that I can be myself.’

Though Friday’s results may sit well with many current Union members, the low voter turnout could represent some level of student apathy toward the Union that Sappenfield and his team will need to address. Only 1,300 ballots were cast in the presidential race. Last year, about 2,900 students voted, Student Elections Commission Vice Chairwoman Rachel Katz said.

Katz attributed the weak turnout to the fact that the race was uncontested for so long, but she said, no matter the reason, the number is still disconcerting.

‘It’s a little upsetting that in a university of 16,000, we have only 1,300 voting,’ Katz said.

The full election results on Student Link state that 1,535 students voted. Other write-in candidates were current Union president Matt Seidel for all positions, presidential dog Bo Obama for all positions, Rhett the Terrier for all positions, men’s hockey co-captain Matt Gilroy for president and vice president and Bernard Madoff for treasurer.

Sappenfield said he was not shocked by the numbers because his campaign went uncontested for so long, but he recognizes the necessity of appealing to students.

‘There is a serious need for representation of the student body,’ Sappenfield said. ‘If there is any value I care about, it’s representing student issues.’

No one from the current Union executive board was present for the election results.

Now that she has lost, Prince may consider joining Sappenfield’s team. Sappenfield spoke with Prince after the results announcement about establishing a working relationship.

Sappenfield has discussed the possibility of creating a liaison position between Union and the BU administration, and he has said that Prince’s skills match the job specifications.

‘You don’t necessarily just run for president and then not do anything at all,’ Prince said after the results reception. ‘So I’m sure there will be something for next year that I will be doing.