This is the first in a series of stories examining the slates running for Student Government executive board for the 2013-14 academic year.
College of Arts and Sciences junior Luke Rebecchi , who is running for Student Government president with the Can’t B Without U slate, said his group will help SG become a central hub for students and student groups.
“We have to take what we have on campus — 500 student groups, all that passion, all those things that they’re doing — and find a way to better utilize what we have,” Rebecchi said.
Can’t B Without U began campaigning Friday for the 2013-14 SG executive board alongside Becoming United and The BU Ignition.
“The core of the platform for this slate is that we really can’t be without the students,” said Vice President of Finance candidate Noor Turaif, a CAS freshman. “The Student Government cannot function as a separate entity and say that it is governing the population at BU.”
Along with Turaif and Rebecchi, the slate also includes CAS junior Chris Addis, seeking the position of executive vice president, and School of Education sophomore Emily Talley, seeking the position of vice president of internal affairs.
The slate will focus on reaching out to student groups on campus. One of the members’ planned projects is to make faculty evaluations public, Talley said.
“We want to make faculty evaluations public to better help students prepare for their classes and match up their learning styles with their professors,” Talley said. “Also, to reinforce and show appreciation for the faculty that we have that are fabulous professors and extraordinary at their jobs.”
Turaif said it is important for the slate to establish transparency as far as how BU officials are spending university money.
“We need to find out and make public where our money goes, what it’s going toward and if the administration or any other entity at BU needs to make cuts,” she said.
Rebecchi said the slate supports instating gender-neutral housing at BU, although they are looking for new ways to work toward achieving it.
Rebecchi said controversies about the administration over the elimination of the wrestling team, the Allocations Board’s distribution of funding for philanthropic events and the halt of gender-neutral housing are alarming because students were not consulted before the decisions were made.
“That lack of communication is not okay on a very basic level, but we also have to realize that we can’t get bogged down in the cycle of fighting with administrators,” he said. “There’s a lot that we can do that we don’t need [Assistant Dean of Students] John Battaglino’s signature for.”
Students should place greater emphasis on finding a middle ground with the administration rather than simply voicing opposition, Addis said.
“We just have to make sure our voice is being heard with regards to that change,” he said.
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