Student Union slates announced for spring 2012 elections

The Boston University Student Elections Commission released candidates Saturday for Student Union elections, according to the website.

SEC announced BeUnleashed’s candidacy for the spring 2012 election, according the organization’s website. BeUnleashed was set to run unopposed, until another slate, Be United, announced its candidacy as a write-in slate.

BeUnleashed includes College of Fine Arts sophomore Dexter McCoy as president, School of Management sophomore Aditya Rudra as executive vice president, College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Sophia Wodya as vice president of internal affairs and SMG freshman D.A. Whatley as vice president of financial affairs.

BeUnleashed is running on a platform of community building and activism, Wodya said in an email interview.

“We have experienced the organization’s potential to become a community of inspiration, mentorship and of family,” she said. “Our goal is to further establish Union as a central location for the student voice and to increase its visibility as a valuable resource for students, administration, faculty, staff and alumni alike.”

Wodya said BeUnleashed hopes to pass gender-neutral housing, create 24-hour study spaces and include student input in the allocation of tuition.

College of Engineering sophomore Greg Jones, campaign manager for Be United, announced the candidates for the slate in an email. Be United includes College of Communication junior Rosemary Corleon as president, CAS junior Tony Zela-West as vice president, College of General Studies sophomore JR Newport as treasurer and CAS sophomore Kevon Fingesten as secretary.

“Be United wants to create a better sense of community, focusing less on the issues of Boston University students and more on the issues that affect the Boston community as a whole,” Jones stated.

Amanda Peterson, head of SEC, confirmed Be United is not running as a registered slate. Unregistered slates, however, have appeared in previous elections.

If Be United won the election, Peterson said the slate would face election code violations for running without registering with the SEC.

Jones said Corleon is an advocate for women’s rights and is well known within her community as a leader.

The winning slate would serve in office through December as part of the proposed change to the election timeline that passed in late February. The timeline change sets elections for the end of the fall semester so yearlong terms can take begin in January.

The Union campaign period is expected to begin Monday and run through April 16. Voting, which is done electronically, will begin on that day and continue through April 24. The results should be announced shortly after.

SEC organizes the Union elections, as well as the college government elections. Any undergraduate student in good academic and judicial standing can run for office in Student Union.