Team BU slate announces campaign for SG executive board

Four students announced Sunday at an announcement gathering that they will run for positions on the Boston University Student Government Executive Board for the 2015-16 academic year.

Austin Kruger, Student Athletic Advisory Council senator, Gabi Medeiros, Matt Sgrignari and Tim Geraghty, a member of Residence Housing Association, will run under the slate name Team BU. Kruger will run for executive president, Sgrignari for executive vice president, Mederios for vice president of finance and Geraghty for vice president of internal affairs.

Kruger said he wants to improve school spirit and make BU more of a community, which he said is different than what he has observed Student Government doing in the past.

“I have seen the downside of people in power who forget about their fellow Terriers,” said Kruger, a junior in the School of Management. “What happens when the same people run over and over again without any new ideas? What happens when those currently in charge do nothing to tackle the underlying problems of our university, like the lack of community?”

Approximately 50 students attended the announcement held in the Eilberg Lounge in West Campus.

“I feel that student life is a key in solving the election. I believe that SG is one of the best organizations to resolve the issues through various initiatives,” said Geraghty, a junior in the College of Engineering.

Medeiros said the slate will self-fund its campaign.

“As fellow students, we understand how expensive it is not only to attend the school, but also to be a part of the activities that we love,” said Medeiros, a junior in SMG. “We have no intention of standing up here and talking about how we want to make things better for students financially while asking you all for campaign contributions.”

Following the announcement, several members of the slate said the gathering was a success and that they look forward to see what the campaign will bring.

Sgrignari said the group will work on making Student Government open to the entire community.

“We want to make Student Government something that everyone can benefit from, not just those who are familiar with the process and are familiar with the people that work with it,” said Sgrignari, a sophomore in SMG. “Our biggest challenge is that we have very ambitious goals. I don’t foresee anything that’s a big roadblock in our way, but when you aim high, you have a lot to overcome. Challenges will come from the nature of what we want to get done here.”

Kruger said he is the first athlete to run for SG president and elements of teamwork and support can be beneficial for Student Government.

“I didn’t really learn what it was to be a true leader until I became a team captain of the swimming and diving team here,” he told The Daily Free Press following the announcement. “That’s helped me really understand what it means to help people to achieve their goals and not just your own, so bringing that idea to Student Government will definitely help all of us achieve our goals.”

Several students in attendance said they look forward to seeing what Team BU will bring to BU.

Bridget Behmke, a junior in SMG on the crew team, said she has experienced BU’s lack of community and school spirit and is glad that those running for Executive Board look to address that.

“He [Kruger] says he wants to liven that up, and the fact that he has people on his ticket that are from all different sides of campus, it really speaks to the message that they’re trying to get across with strengthening BU as a community,” she said.

Emily Huber, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences also on the crew team, said she likes the slate’s main goals, but does not know if community is as much of a concern for the student body.

“It was a really cool message that they displayed about having this run on school spirit, and I think they’re right. That doesn’t really exist as now,” she said. “Getting people to be active in helping them to get support and kind of keep relaying that message to their friends and getting it our there I think is going to be difficult, because it’s something that a lot of people want but don’t really act on right now.”

Behmke said increasing awareness about what SG can do for the student body is important to get students to participate.

“Awareness is going be tough. Last year, it was really close [and] also getting the people to participate, the people who, like me, didn’t vote last year,” she said. “This year, I think it’s going be hard transferring those non-voters into voters and getting everyone aware.”