The Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) president- and vice president-elect Chris Denice, CSOM '09, and Alejandro Montenegro, A&S '09, began accepting applications for the next academic year yesterday. The application process is open to all undergraduates interested in becoming involved in the UGBC.
"We definitely want to get as many different people involved as possible," Denice said. He said that a demonstrated interest and passion for the area in which an applicant would be working within the UGBC is a primary concern. "We want to get as many people involved and address as many different issues as possible," he said.
Denice said that no previous UGBC experience is necessary to apply. He encouraged freshmen to apply even if they are not currently active in the student government. "It's really important to have freshman applicants," he said.
Denice said that there are approximately 70 spots open for applicants. Descriptions of the available positions, from positions in the communications department to director of off-campus relations, are available online with the application. Information sessions will be held on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night, at which Denice and Montenegro will outline the positions available and the responsibilities involved. All applications are due online by Tuesday, March 25.
Interviews for some positions will run from March 27 through March 30. Other positions will require interviews between April 3 and 11. Denice said that he and Montenegro will conduct interviews for some department heads, while others will be carried out by the directors themselves. All appointments are slated to be finalized by April 13.
Denice said that the application process this year will look for passion and leadership skills foremost. Denice said that a good applicant is "someones who's demonstrated an ability to lead … we want to have a diverse group of people apply." He said that passion for the area in which an applicant would work is a foremost concern, especially in important issues such as environmental policy, an area that many students have strong feelings about. The application asks for students to rate what they consider to be the most pressing issues on campus.
Denice said that an emphasis on efficiency and improved communication will be primary concerns for the UGBC in the coming year. For the most part, the number of positions will remain the same as under the current Castillo-Sievers administration, which aimed to improve UGBC bureaucracy by slimming down the organization and eliminating redundant and superfluous positions.
Denice said that under his leadership, the UGBC will aim to maintain the level of efficiency attained in the past year, as well as continue and improve the ways in which the UGBC communicates with the student body. "We are taking more of a focus on how we reach out to people," he said.
The first information session will be held tonight at 8 p.m. in Gasson 305. All application materials are available online at www.ugbc.org.
2008 Woodie Awards
