The election kickoff for the Undergraduate Government of Boston College presidential race took place Monday night, where the two remaining presidential teams disclosed their official platforms.
Taylor Jackson, MCAS ’21, and her running mate Alejandro Perez, MCAS ’21, will go up against Michael Osaghae, MCAS ’20, and his running mate Tiffany Brooks, MCAS ‘21.
The third team running for office, Reid Aguilar, MCAS ’22, and David Crowley, CSOM ’22, dropped out of the race prior to Monday’s event. The elections committee said that the team dropped out to gain more experience and understanding of the landscape surrounding campus issues.
In their official platform, now available online, Jackson and Perez expanded on their previously established slogan of “community, commitment, and collaboration,” proposing specific initiatives for each category. To strengthen the BC community, they intend to provide additional opportunities for students to forge connections and have engaged conversations with one another.
These initiatives would be enacted in collaboration with “alumni, other student governments, and co-sponsored efforts on campus” through methods that adhere to the candidates’ campaign commitments to “continually create spaces for change,” operate with transparency, and be persistent when talking with the administration.
Jackson and Perez plan to engage with student input in order to specifically address issues of diversity, inclusivity, mental health, and environmental impact at BC. Their hope to tackle these issues in conversation with the student body aligns with their unequivocal support for “endowment transparency [and] divestment from fossil fuels” as well as their endorsement of a yes vote on the referendum concerning whether BC should cease investing in fossil fuels.
The duo concluded their platform with a call to action for students, encouraging them to participate in “uncomfortable conversations” and work directly with administration to create change.
Osaghae and Brooks, running with the slogan “Connecting U with UGBC,” also elaborated on their initial platform, contextualizing their proposed initiatives within their goal that UGBC be truly representative of the student body. The platform embodies intentional, innovative, and intersectional leadership, with proposals relating both to the University at large and to the student body specifically.
With respect to their broader vision for the University, Osaghae and Brooks hope to create a faculty senate composed of democratically elected faculty members in attempt to “discuss the changes they would like to see.” Furthermore, in order to achieve greater transparency within the administration, Osaghae and Brooks aim to add a student representative to the board of trustees. The duo also announced its support of divestment from fossil fuels, endorsing a “yes” vote on the upcoming referendum.
Relating specifically to student life, Osaghae and Brooks envision creating a more intersectional experience. Some initiatives that would help facilitate this are tangible progress toward a student center, improvements to DiversityEdu, increased faculty and counselor diversity, and the installment of an LGBTQ+ resource center.
The candidates will have a chance to further their stances in front of the BC community at the Diversity and Inclusion Debate scheduled for Wednesday night in The Heights Room at 7 p.m.
Featured Image by Celine Lim / Heights Editor
