Members of the three slates running in the Boston University Student Government Executive Board election gathered Monday for a meet and greet with the BU community in the George Sherman Union Link.
The running slates — BU Recharged, Clean Slate and NewBU — interacted and passed out fliers to passersby and listened to students’ concerns during the Student Elections Commission-hosted “Slate Meet and Greet” that began at 11 a.m. A number of tables were set up with refreshments and drinks for students while they talked to the slate members.
SEC Vice Chair of Events Kate Ryan said recent attempts to reform the SG Constitution have not affected the election process.
“[The SEC] is running [elections] as we usually do,” Ryan, a junior in the College of Engineering, said. “The only difference this year are the slates who are running. We are excited for the election season this year.”
All slates announced their candidacy Monday around midnight and marked the beginning of their weeklong campaigns before continuing on to the voting period beginning March 28, The Daily Free Press reported Monday.
At the gathering, several candidates explained their main points and expressed their hopes for this election cycle.
Justin Flynn, the BU Recharged candidate for Vice President of Finance, said his slate brings diversity and experience to the table. Its knowledge and experiences will help the student body if its members are elected, Flynn argued.
“Everyone [on BU Recharged] brings a strong history of experience, history of being accountable [and] history of success in various student groups,” said Flynn, a junior in the Questrom School of Business. “What sets [BU Recharged] apart is that we may not be the current heads of student government, but we all have experience from different fields on campus and different interests.”
The Clean Slate candidate for VP of Internal Affairs, Jane Dimnwaobi, said one of E-board’s responsibilities is to assure transparency in the administration. Dimnwaobi argued that her slate has the ability to bring transparency and bridge the gaps between SG and student body.
“We are trying to get students reinvigorated [and involved with SG],” said Dimnwaobi, a sophomore in
the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies. “Controversy shouldn’t be the reason students are becoming involved with SG. There’s so much we can do to get students involved with SG. That’s what we are really pushing for.”
Petar Ojdrovic, NewBU’s candidate for Executive VP, said his slate is already working with the administration and other BU groups to allow students to voice their opinions more easily at BU. Ojdrovic explained that his slate concentrates on making open forums and discussions between all student groups available.
“We are hoping to open up forums for everyone,” said Ojdrovic, a sophomore in the College of Engineering. “It’s very difficult for students to actively voice their opinions to remedy an issue and how they would like things to get done. We will make it easier for students to create committees and sub-committees that are attacking [issues students see on campus].”
Several students who passed by the meet and greet expressed their support for different slates running in the election.
Daniel Medina, a sophomore in CAS, said even though he didn’t vote last year, he is now interested in learning about the slates this year.
“[I’m interested] to see if changes can be made to benefit students,” Medina said. “I haven’t learned too much about [the different slates], but I’ll look into them.”
Zachary Prescott, a freshman in Questrom, said leaders need to be able to listen to what their constituents want, and he plans to vote for BU Recharged because he knows Flynn from other activities at BU.
“[A leader] needs to be able to voice your opinions very easily,” Prescott said. “[Leaders] need to not focus on what they want, necessarily, but what the people they are representing want.”
Diana Abbas, a sophomore in CAS, said she wants to vote for Clean Slate this year because of the work Clean Slate members have done in the Constitution Reform Committee.
“I only vote if I really support something,” Abbas said. “[Clean Slate] has really proven themselves this year as part of reforming student government. They are really dedicated to the student body, and they will be able to accomplish a lot next year.”
