Jenniffer Castillo, A&S '08, and Daniel Sievers, A&S '08, have served as president and vice president of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) since their winning campaign last spring. Though their term doesn't come to a close until April 30, the UGBC elections for next year are officially underway. This year, the race promises to be competitive, with nine teams vying for the positions, compared to the three teams Castillo and Sievers ran against during their campaign last year.
"It looks like it's going to be a big field this year," Sievers said. "It's great. It shows a lot of people are taking their time here at BC seriously."
Castillo and Sievers have three months left as leaders of the undergraduate student body, and while they're proud of what they've accomplished to date, the duo has plenty left on their agenda before the end of their run.
"The bigger issues take more than a year to accomplish," said Castillo, referencing their work with the administration on the establishment of an endowment for service trips, a project that past UGBC administrations have been pushing for over four years now. This year's candidates will have to figure these ongoing issues into their personal agendas to ensure they can manage their time on different projects effectively.
The major issue for this year's can didates will most likely be BC's new Master Plan.
Castillo noted that the administration attended two separate meetings with the UGBC last semester to present the ideas of the Master Plan to the student-body government and ask for student input. The winners of this year's election may work with the administration concerning student needs for the new Stolks Commons, Castillo said, which will act as a temporary student center until the Master Plan project can be fully complete.
Both Castillo and Sievers noted that off-campus problems will likely be a major topic at the debates this year, due to the many concerns expressed by students, who are specifically upset about student relationships with the BC Police Department.
"There are lots of creative ideas they could try," Sievers said about the off-campus topic. "And I'm interested in seeing what [this year's candidates] come up with."
While there's no way of knowing what lies ahead for the potential new leaders of the UGBC, after nine months in office, Castillo and Sievers have plenty of advice to offer to the emerging candidates.
"Before you explain why people should vote for you, explain why they should vote," Sievers said.
Castillo agreed that BC's undergraduate voter turnout has been low in past years, and it would be a great accomplishment if these teams were able to turn the trend around with creative and attention-grabbing campaigns.
Sievers suggested candidates show undergraduates what influence their government has at BC before they list any specific agenda items and research the changes made by past administrations to get an idea of what they will be capable of as student-body leaders.
Castillo offered her advice to the candidates: "Stay committed, communicate, and take some time for themselves." She emphasized the importance of sticking to the platforms candidates established during the campaign season once they are in office in order to prevent any negative responses from students who may feel they have been duped.
Communication, Castillo explained, was also essential to accomplishing agenda items faster.
Castillo said that she and Sievers made conscious efforts to remain in close contact with both student newspapers and the administration to keep their message alive and also to reinforce the importance of their agenda to the administration, who, she said, have a tendency to "forget" about the UGBC and their needs if the president and vice president are not constantly discussing with them.
Regarding her advice for candidates to fit a little personal time into their schedules, Castillo admitted the job can be exhausting and daunting, though highly rewarding.
"It's overwhelming. It's fun. It's hard work and it will pay off. You have a unique privilege - a bird's eye view of all the issues the University is going through, which is really amazing, but requires a lot of responsibility," she said.
The candidates for the 2008 race will be officially announced today.
The UGBC will hold a meet-and-greet tonight at 7 p.m. in Higgins 263 for those students interested in joining a campaign team or just meeting the prospective candidates.
"This is an invaluable experience," Sievers said. "I wish the candidates the best of luck."
Be the first to comment on this article!