UGBC fills exec. board

The Undergraduate Government of Boston College president-elect Jenniffer Castillo, A&S '08, and vice president-elect Daniel Sievers, A&S '08, are taking over the student government like a pair of CEOs resuscitating an often-criticized company: They have consolidated an organization of 98 members down to 78 by cutting 20 positions, and they also plan to modernize a campus by replacing fliers with plasma screens.

"There were people in positions that there were no point in having," said Chris Denice, chief of staff-elect and CSOM '09. Of the 130 students who applied for positions in the government, Denice was one of 78 who made the final cut, and he said his primary concerns were reforming BC's athletic ticket policy and solidifying the infrastructure of the UGBC.

"Everyone thinks UGBC only does a spring concert. That may be the way it works this year - they [UGBC] kind of stopped having meetings - but I want everyone in UGBC to know what's going on," said Denice.

This discipline was evident when Castillo explained her governing style in an e-mail. "We focus on micromanaging," said Castillo. "Instead of simply forming a department with a broad title and only five positions that all work in whatever issues arise, our style is to create a department in which each individual has very specific goals and expectations working towards a particular issue."

Denice, who also wants to start pep rallies and organize student trips to Maryland and Notre Dame, said he would drive between Rhode Island and Boston this summer to meet with athletic directors as part of a committee that is exploring alternatives to BC's current lottery system for ticket allocation.

Castillo said she liked the idea of a point-based system. Seniors would start with the most points but those with excellent attendance records would gain more; thus, the system would award age and patronage. "The goal is to have something new by next season," said Castillo.

Castillo said the new administration will make a proposal June 4 to the Student Life Committee to equip BC with plasma screens. The Student Life Committee is part of the board of trustees. "There would be three to five central locations to advertise BC events and all student club events," said Castillo. "The screens would run through PowerPoint slides, so instead of making a flyer, you'd just make a slide and submit it to UGBC."

Julia Toepfer, the forthcoming director of university speakers and A&S '08, said she disagrees with the current speaker policy and that there needs to be more dialogue between students and the UGBC. "My strategy is going to be to try to get as much feedback from the student body as possible, so I can get an idea of who people would like to see," said Toepfer, adding that she was disappointed in the recent lull in exciting speakers, especially after Maya Angelou, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, and Howard Dean came her freshman year.

"I would love to bring more unique people who aren't mainstream," she said, pointing to Sheryl Swoopes as an example. "She's a gay woman basketball player, and you don't see that that often," she said, especially at a school with a "restrictive" speaker policy that "limits discussion to a certain ideology."

Theresa Hamilton, A&S '09, also wants to increase dialogue, but among service groups. She said this would increase funding efficiency, much like what Castillo and Sievers have done with the UGBC in general.

Hamilton will be on the executive staff next year but said she has not picked a specific project to head yet "because I really want to put some thought into it over the summer."

In her e-mail, Castillo said, "Everyone we accepted has a clear set of very specific goals and tasks that they are expected to work on. We feel that not only our reduction in number of members will make a difference in our efficiency, but also our consistent and goal-oriented guidance."

Although streamlining the UGBC required many staff cuts, Castillo and Sievers did create a director of budgets that Castillo said will "help out the assistant director of finance … and serve as another set of eyes that will overlook the maintenance of budgets for each department."