Reed Piercey, MCAS ’19, and Ignacio Fletcher, MCAS ’20, were inaugurated Wednesday night as Undergraduate Government of Boston College president and executive vice president.
The event began with a farewell address by outgoing UGBC president and executive vice president Akosua Achampong and Tt King, both MCAS ’18. They reflected on their year in office and shared their hopes for Piercey and Fletcher.
“The relationships that we’ve honored and strengthened over the past twelve months have been critical to everything that we’ve been able to achieve with everyone here,” King said. “We know that this tradition will be upheld and protected by Reed and Ignacio.”
Except for the vice president of student organizations and the chair of the Council for Students with Disabilities, Piercey and Fletcher have largely set their Cabinet for next year. Taraun Frontis, CSOM ’19, will serve as vice president for diversity and inclusion; Annika Li, CSOM ’19, will serve as vice president for financial affairs; Cilla Bay, MCAS ’19, will serve as vice president of student initiatives; Subraiz Ahmed, MCAS ’20, will serve as vice president of communications.
Drew Boland, CSOM ’19, and Tiffany Oluoch, MCAS ’19, will direct the UGBC Leadership Academy, and Natalee Deaette, LSOE ’19, will serve as UGBC chief of staff. Michael Osaghae, MCAS ’20, will chair the AHANA+ Leadership Council; Chris Ramirez, MCAS ’19, and Symone Varnado, MCAS ’19, will co-chair the GLBTQ+ Leadership Council; and Amaka Nnaeto, MCAS ’20, will serve as the Diversity & Inclusion Programming manager.
Though Achampong and King are leaving office, Piercey and Fletcher will continue their efforts starting in the fall. A campus-wide survey will be debuting next semester as a result of collaboration between UGBC and BC administrators, gathering feedback on student experiences with safe spaces and overall comfort on campus. The survey will uncover the needs of all student demographics and include direct input from members of UGBC.
“It’s not something that would have been done unless you all asked for it,” Achampong said. “It’s not something that would have been done unless you all pushed for it, and put your time and effort, and your thoughts and your feelings into it.”
Piercey and Fletcher, whose campaign stressed the three pillars of advocacy, reliability, and engagement, followed Achampong and King’s farewell address with their plans for the upcoming academic year.
“We want you to think of every year in UGBC as a continuation of the past in some aspects, but also as an opportunity to change the way we traditionally do things in order to become more efficient,” Fletcher said.
Piercey stated that “action” would be the main theme dominating their time in office in the upcoming year. He defined the most important items on their agenda, including improving the diversity of the Student Assembly, enhancing the accessibility of campus for disabled students, and the creation of an inclusive environment for Muslim students and for students of color. He stressed that cooperation with BC administration would also be imperative to the success of their goals and initiatives.
“Nothing meaningful happens on this campus without the collaboration of our administrative leaders,” Piercey said.
He went on to thank those who supported both him and Fletcher during their presidential campaign. He also expressed his gratitude in being elected to the highest position in the Boston College student government and conveyed the dedication he and Fletcher planned to give to their constituents.
“The job of leading UGBC is a massive privilege,” Piercey siad. “It will be our honor to use that privilege in whatever ways we can to push our community forward.”
Featured Image by Kaitlin Meeks / Photo Editor
