Jack Bracher and Gianna Russi, both MCAS ’22, will be the next president and vice president, respectively, of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College. The team won 1,289 of 3,208 total votes, or 40 percent, in Tuesday’s election.
“I’ve always looked up to BC students,” Bracher said. “And now to be able to work with student leaders on campus in the highest office there is, is a great honor.”
Bracher and Russi beat out three other teams, winning by a margin of 303 votes. Urwa Hameed and Sarah Henao, both MCAS ’22, came in second place with 986 votes.
Kevork Atinizian, CSOM ’22, and Jordan Nakash, MCAS ’24, received third place with 669 votes. Spencer Sandusky, CSOM ’22, and Ryan Kruft, CSOM ’23, finished in fourth place with 186 votes.
The Election Committee (EC) deducted 75 total votes for campaign violations in this year’s election, and three total abstentions, meaning three people submitted a ballot without selecting a candidate.
Atinizian and Nakash lost a total of 50 votes from EC deductions for campaigning in the dining hall and littering sheets in academic buildings. Hameed and Henao lost 25 votes for unsolicited messaging, according to the EC.
In last year’s election, Czar Sepe, MCAS ’21, and Bracher lost the election due to a 65-vote deduction for campaign violations. Christian Guma, CSOM ’21, and Atinizian won the election by 18 votes.
“It’s redemption, but it’s also hope for the future,” Bracher said.
Bracher and Russi’s platform is based on 15 key policy areas, including LGBTQ+, AHANA+, mental health, and women and gender policies, among others. Guided by these principles, they said, UGBC will be able to make tangible progress.
“Our team is composed of students in and outside UGBC who love BC, but know we must do better,” the team wrote in a statement to The Heights. “This past year has only further amplified student needs on campus, and we are eager to be running as student leaders that will work to address these shortcomings at a time that demands interaction, compassion, growth, and collaboration.”
Bracher and Russi campaigned on creating a safer environment for AHANA+ students at BC, including by creating a forum for racial progress at BC, expanding the Multicultural Learning Experience floor to the Newton Campus, and increasing oversight of the BC Police Department.
“I’m feeling amazing, I’m feeling very honored,” Russi said. “I’m feeling humbled by this experience, and I’m feeling really grateful for just everyone involved.”
The team’s platform also contained environmental policies, including a plan for the University to divest from fossil fuels. Bracher and Russi said that they plan to use UGBC as a leverage point to push the administration to divest by connecting BC’s Ignatian ideals to the will of the student body.
Featured Image by Vikrum Singh / Heights Editor
