Members of the Boston University Student Government slate “Becoming United” embrace after learning the results of the election. MAYA DEVEREAUX/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Boston University students elected candidates from both The BU Ignition and Becoming United slates as the Student Government Executive Board for the 2013-14 academic year, Student Elections Commission officials announced Friday night.
From The BU Ignition, College of Communication junior Dexter McCoy was elected as SG president with 1161 votes. However, due to illegal campaigning activity, each candidate of The BU Ignition was deducted 1/14th of his or her votes, said SEC Co-Chair Kerry Ford.
Students also elected College of Arts and Sciences freshman Richa Kaul as executive vice president, School of Management sophomore Fiona Chen as vice president of finance and SMG junior Thatcher Hoyt as vice president of internal affairs. All three were from the Becoming United slate.
“It was great to see all of the competition between the candidates and to see everyone get so involved and have such a great voter turnout,” said SEC co-chair Kerry Ford, a School of Education sophomore. “We think that any of the candidates would have done a great job [if elected].”
With 3,153 students casting votes in the election, more than three times as many students voted in than in the fall 2012 election. Both competition amongst the three slates and events created by the SEC to attract student voters successfully increased turnout, Ford said.
“I think having competition among the slates definitely helped because they put themselves out there more,” she said. “It brought up a lot more student enthusiasm because they [students] had a choice this time.”
Kaul said the newly elected e-board will focus on student outreach.
“One of the primary things that I want to do and the three of us from the Becoming United slate will absolutely do is make sure that Student Government’s primary concern is understanding what the students want to see,” she said.
Kaul said she hopes to change the culture of SG by hosting open forums for students to voice their opinions and talking to students in the George Sherman Union Link on a regular basis.
“We want to make sure we reach out to students and know what they want,” she said. “That’s really big — bringing Student Government to the students.”
Chen said she was surprised but pleased by the increase in voter turnout.
“The amount of votes in general, more than 3,000 people voted — I am super happy for that,” she said. “… This general increase — that’s something I will definitely celebrate.”