Members of B-trU, one of the two slates running in the Boston University Student Government Executive Board election, said they hope to utilize their diverse backgrounds, experiences and interests to cultivate an inclusive atmosphere and provide opportunities for student to engage with SG.
The B-trU slate includes Presidential candidate Hector Meneses, Executive Vice President candidate Elie Dwek, VP of Internal Affairs candidate Vaishnavi Kothapalli and VP of Finance candidate Michelle Megala, all of whom are sophomores.
The group is running on a platform that focuses on four major objectives: boosting student engagement with SG, maintaining transparency, introducing campus improvements and fostering inclusivity within SG, Kothapalli said.
“We want to make students feel like they’re at home at BU,” the College of General Studies sophomore said.
Kothapalli, who currently serves as SG’s director of outreach, said she thinks there is a lot more SG can do to engage with students, such as bringing in more guest speakers of interest and partnering with various student groups.
B-trU members said they want next year’s SG members to regularly be “tabling,” where they would set up a table at popular campus locations such as the George Sherman Union and engage with students. Representatives would be instructed to take note of students’ concerns with BU and SG and bring them to meetings.
Regarding transparency, the slate wants to make SG happenings more accessible to students by creating a regular newsletter with the latest information and updates from SG. They hope this will not only keep students up-to-date on the inner workings of their administration, but also spark interest in participating in SG meetings and activities, enabling all students to influence SG legislation.
In the realm of campus improvements, B-trU wants to improve the campus’ Wi-Fi, increase the BU Shuttle in frequency and hours of operation and make campus buildings more disability-friendly.
Dwek, a Hillel senator, said many of the slate’s ideas come from their own experiences.
For instance, Dwek, a sophomore in CGS, said he recently injured himself and was not able to use the elevators in CGS because they required pre-approved swipe access. B-trU wants to improve elevator access for students, particularly those with injuries and increase the number of ramp entrances to buildings.
Due to the amount of people walking to East Campus from Allston early on weekend mornings, the slate also wants to extend bus hours past 2 a.m., Dwek said.
Meneses, a Questrom School of Business senator, said the slate also wants to introduce late-night dining in West Campus.
“A lot of students live there, [and] they feel they miss going and having a late-night dining place where students can go to hang out and chat while getting a midnight meal,” Meneses said.
Dwek talked about past flare-ups and altercations on campus relating to political and identity issues. B-trU believes that fostering relationships between different ethnic, religious and racial groups on campus is the best way to solve this problem, he said.
To do this, they plan to host interfaith dinners, try to have all groups represented in SG and bring panels and speakers to introduce BU students to different perspectives, worldviews and ideologies.
“Our idea for diversity and inclusiveness is essentially to show people that this is a great melting pot, with people from various different countries, learn to coexist peacefully, in a way,” said Dwek, who is transferring to the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences next year. “We want to try and help fix the issues on this campus because, if you fix them here, you can fix them on a bigger scale.”
Megala, who serves as the treasurer of BU Stability, Empowerment and Rights in Africa, said the slate hopes to create a committee to help first-generation students adjust to campus.
“I don’t have my mom or dad to talk to about [the] college application process, scholarships or how to cope in college,” said Megala, who is a first-generation college student. “So having a committee that will help the first-generation students see the structure that’s in college.”
In accordance with their name, B-trU slate members said they hope voters will hear their message and grant them the chance to make a positive difference on campus.
“We all want to be true to the students, we want to listen to them, we want them to believe in us,” Kothapalli said.
Megala said the heterogeneous slate wants to use their collective drive to improve BU students’ overall college experience.
“In order to make all the students feel like BU is their campus, we have to target all of their needs, all of their backgrounds, and take into consideration the many different obstacles that different students face,” she said. “So we need to help them so that, at the end, they have the best experience they can have.”
