If four city councilor-at-large candidates come to Boston University and no one is around to hear them, do they make a sound?
Fewer than 25 students came to the Jacob Sleeper Auditorium on Monday to hear from City Councilor-At-Large candidates Ayanna Pressley, Doug Bennett, Tito Jackson and Andrew Kenneally at a talk hosted by the BU Student Union.
‘I was a little disappointed,’ Union City Affairs Director James Boggie said regarding the low turnout.
Boggie, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, said candidate Felix Arroyo was not in attendance because his campaign manger felt the talk ‘wasn’t worth it.’ Incumbent City Councilors-At-Large John Connolly and Stephen Murphy could not attend because of a city council meeting.
CAS freshman Demarius Walker thought the talk went well, but described student attendance as ‘undoubtedly very sad.’
‘It speaks to the apathy students have in general to politics,’ he said.
Though billed by the Union as a debate, there was no face-off among the candidates because some could only stay for a few minutes before heading to other commitments. Instead, candidates introduced themselves to the audience before taking questions.
A former student of the College of General Studies and former resident of the self-described ‘vermin vista’ at 1298 Commonwealth Avenue, Pressley said she felt right at home on her ‘old stomping ground.’
Pressley said she was not an alumna of BU, however, dropping out when her mother lost her job.
‘I know what it’s like to be marginalized,’ Pressley said.
Pressley also said she wanted to change the perception that city council elections are not important.
‘We often regard municipal government as the bottom rung of power and that’s a mistake,’ she said. ‘Municipal government is closest to the community so it’s the most important.’
She identified safety, transportation and housing as issues that are most important to students, promising to go after ‘slum lords’ who convert affordable housing into student housing.
Pressley also supported the MBTA’s Night Owl service, which ran nine bus routes until 2:30 a.m. on weekends before being cut in 2005.
‘Transportation is a social issue,’ Pressley said, arguing that working families getting off of a graveyard shift would benefit from’ Night Owl.
Bennett, wearing black Nike sneakers with his suit, shook everyone’s hands in the auditorium while giving his opening speech.
Bennett listed job creation, lower property taxes, cleaner streets and lower crime and violence as his main issues. He urged students not to depend on conventional methods when looking for a job after graduation.
‘You need to go on the street and develop a degree in the school of hard knocks,’ he said.
Bennett reassured students that they play a crucial role in elections, even if their numbers are small.
‘ ‘I won election in Nantucket by 17 votes,’ he said. ‘Elections can be decided by one vote.’
Jackson, after saying he was not the famous brother of Michael Jackson, highlighted educational issues.
‘The problem with Boston right now is that we are not educating our young people to go to schools like Boston University,’ he said.
Jackson said he thinks students need to feel connected to Boston.
‘You guys are an economic vehicle for our city and we should embrace you with open arms,’ he said.
Kenneally confirmed that he supported City Council President Mike Ross’s ‘No More Than Four’ initiative, which prohibits more than four students from living together off campus.
In response to a student who said ‘No More Than Four’ was discrimination against students, Kenneally said it was about ‘trying to find that compromise’ between student and neighborhood interests.
‘I don’t think I’m like, ‘God I hate students,” he said.
When it comes to enforcing the ‘No More Than Four’ legislation, Kenneally did not have an answer.
‘Enforcement boggles my mind,’ he said.
After the forum, Walker said he was especially impressed with Pressley and Jackson.
‘If they were one candidate, they would be unstoppable,’ he said.
Boggie said more time may have been needed in order to bring the municipal election to the attention of students.
‘Hopefully there will be more interest in the Senate election,’ he said.
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