President— Elisheva Ezor

As we met with the five presidential candidates, it was apparent that the field was very close and our decision was one that required much deliberation. In the end, however, it became clear that Elisheva Ezor should be the SA’s next president.

We found her goals in improving sexual assault training and resources to not only be relevant to students but something that could be very realistically accomplished given Ezor’s past experience working in the Violence, Abuse and Rape Crisis Center (VARCC) and her work to help improve 20:1. Beyond this, we greatly sympathize with how Ezor plans to use her role as president to be a strong advocate for student workers and financial equity on campus, and feel that she very clearly outlined her plans to communicate with University administration regarding these goals. Although Ezor does not have the most direct SA experience compared to other candidates, Ezor made clear the work she has already done with prominent SA members — like Nia Johnson and Daniel Croce — and we think her outside perspective will only give her agenda a further boost.

Anindya Debnath clearly demonstrated the most relevant experience for the position, serving as the current VPSS. We appreciated how he described the relationships that he already has within the University’s administration and with key student organizations on campus. However, we had trouble visualizing how he would be able to meet the promises of his platform as president. In particular, Debnath described rerouting and redistributing University funds to other endeavors — like the University Counseling Center (UCC) — however the SA simply does not possess the leverage to enact such a policy, and we can’t envision this changing with Debnath in office. Alongside this, some of his policies felt one-dimensional, such as his focus on publicizing information related to diversity, equity and inclusion without a clear goal for what to do with the information after its publication, and it was tough to parse some of his policy goals from his at-length descriptions of the issues he described.

Returning for his second year as a presidential candidate, we found Galileo Savage’s platform and goals to be more clearly defined compared to where he was at this same time last year. However, we did not feel that said policies were the most ideal for the position. Several of his policies, such as a top-three mixer and the reintroduction of Culture Thursdays, came across as initiatives that could be met without the influences and resources of the SA president. One of his main goals, the introduction of a meal swipe system on campus, also felt very unrealistic for an SA president to accomplish and would be too big of a shift in cost for students given rising inflation. Alongside this, we also wish Savage had given more details on his plans to communicate with administration to enact such a policy.

While he demonstrated relevant experiences, Benjamin So failed to distinguish his platform and goals from the crowded field he is in. Whereas most other candidates have expressed clear themes and larger issues they looked to tackle, we felt like most of So’s policies were mostly inside-of-the-box and lacked clear ambitions. We did like his idea for an activities fair during the spring semester, however.

Lastly, while well-intentioned, Logan Blakeslee could not produce a platform that felt realistic. While we understand his concerns with parking services, the concept of protesting such services as president came across as somewhat outlandish and potentially unproductive. Additionally, we felt his message of being an activist president while also looking to strengthen relations with Greek Life on campus to be somewhat contradictory.

EVP — Chance Fiorisi

Though he is another unopposed candidate, we believe Chance Fiorisi will make for a strong executive vice president (EVP). His main goal once elected for this position will be to modify the club chartering process to make it quicker and easier for clubs to be approved and receive funding. Fiorisi is confident in his ability to accomplish his goals in an efficient time span, and we look forward to seeing them happen.

Currently, Fiorisi holds the position of SA parliamentary and has already taken steps to streamline the chartering process. He authored a recent proposal titled “Resolution to Streamline the Chartering Process,” which allows clubs to apply for a full charter through the EVP instead of the International Affairs Committee (IA) once clubs operate for a full year with a provisional charter. Prior to this proposal, there have been backlog issues that significantly slowed the process of approving organizations to be chartered.

Fiorisi promises to significantly reduce the club chartering process, which he hopes will resolve the backlog issue that previous management policies have caused. He does not yet have specifics, however, and a concern that could arise from this policy is it could potentially oversaturate the chartering process, or lead to the approval of clubs without the proper regulations. If put into practice, we hope that there is a balance between streamlining the process and still ensuring that the clubs being accepted are qualified. With his experience and familiarity working in the SA — and seeing that he has already begun to address problems that will impact his position — we are confident in Fiorisi’s ability to make good on his goals and be a successful EVP.

VPF – Daniel Croce

Despite running unopposed, Daniel Croce is the clear choice for vice president for finance (VPF). He is the current VPF and his time in the position this past year speaks for itself. Croce has proven that he can make promises and follow through. He clearly has learned from his time in the SA and will be able to continue his work in the coming year.

Croce’s platform is clear and actionable. He has already laid the groundwork for his new digital payment plan and is ready to pilot it in the fall. He has clear ideas to improve treasurer training by making it an interactive and engaging process where people can learn how to manage their club’s finances. He clearly has already heard from students regarding the issues club members face. Reimbursements can mean students take on the financial burden of their clubs and may not see the money back in their account for weeks, so Croce is looking into streamlining the process of using the SA credit card.

The largest controversy Croce faced in the position this year was the repeated shutdowns of the Off Campus College Transport (OCCT) late night service. When Pipe Dream spoke to Croce about this topic he noted that it has been several months since the last shutdown. Croce was confident that his response to student misbehavior on late night buses was working. His plan of slowly reducing police presence at late night stops while maintaining student bodyguard staff onboard shows his commitment to both driver and passenger safety.

So far, Croce has shown that he is very capable in his position and Pipe Dream looks forward to seeing his continued work as VPF.

VPMA – Khalimah Choi

Picking from these three vice president for multicultural affairs (VPMA) candidates was no easy task. However, although all three candidates showed consensus on the biggest issues plaguing BU’s multicultural community, Khalimah Choi’s platform proposed the most organized and feasible solutions. Choi would be bringing a breadth of leadership and student council experience to the position. She is the president of the Rainbow Pride Union (RPU) and the head advising office director for the VPMA office, through which she has become familiar with the administrative work and grant writing that will be crucial to the position, and has also organized various multicultural events. However, she acknowledges the responsibility of VPMA and says that if elected, she will take a step back from her presidency at the RPU and become a senior advisor instead, as well as resign from another student organization. She promises to be a listening ear for multicultural organizations and to continue to work closely with the Q Center.

Choi’s platform focused on three C’s — community, communication and collaboration. Some goals we found most notable were the creation of events in apartment communities where many international students reside, and the creation of a VPMA alliance grant, which would provide funding for groups that have not collaborated in the past two years to hold an event with each other. As many multicultural groups on campus are isolated or keep to themselves, we believe this is of large importance.

Adejo Ibrahim and Krizia Yao, the other two candidates for VPMA, mirrored a lot of the issues Choi identified regarding a lack of communication between multicultural organizations, as well as a need for more promotion and community building. The fact that all three candidates are aligned confirms that these issues need addressing. While Ibrahim has much experience in the SA and multicultural organizations, we feel his call for promotional budgets is not enough to help multicultural organizations, and we were impressed by the specificity of Choi’s idea and her plans for funding the events themselves in a way that tackles the issues at hand. Similarly, Yao has clearly located a lot of the issues that need addressing regarding multicultural organizations at BU, and had an interesting idea to streamline communication between multicultural organizations via Discord, but we are skeptical that this is the most accessible platform to choose, and her platform lacked detailed solutions that Choi provided.

Choi explained that she has split her initiatives into three categories — small, medium and large — so that she can determine how to best approach them. The small initiatives are ones which she feels confident that she can complete herself over the course of the year, and the medium and large initiatives are ones that she will delegate teams to help her complete. This approach is well thought out and indicates that Choi sets realistic goals that she is serious about pursuing.

VPSS — Luca Cassidy

While Luca Cassidy is running for vice president of student success (VPSS) unopposed, Pipe Dream feels very confident in endorsing him for the position. For one, Cassidy currently serves as the chief of staff for the VPSS office, providing him with plenty of experience as he moves into the higher role. His role in other clubs, like College Democrats, and his participation with mentoring in the public service learning community, adds to his experience with the BU community and his readiness for this next step. Cassidy breaks his platform down into three main goals — accessibility, active learning and a fun time. His ideas and dedication to create a more accessible campus, including him spending five days mapping accessibility buttons, show a willingness to do the work the position requires, and his strong plans seem attainable during his year tenure.

Cassidy also expressed a focus toward encouraging students to engage in clubs and job opportunities, as well as moving students out of the classroom to get real experience. While at times these ideas seemed a little unclear or intangible, he expressed a knowledge of this fact and promised to learn and explore solutions during his time as VPSS to create systems that support student needs. Finally, he explained that students are successful when they are happy and offered plans to increase mental health resources, which are important ideas that strengthen his platform. Overall, Cassidy is a passionate and committed candidate that we feel will do a great job as VPSS.

VPP – Sydney Ferreira

Although being the only person running for the position, Pipe Dream feels Sydney Ferreira is worthy of an endorsement for vice president for programming (VPP). After serving as hospitality director for the SAPB for the last year and a half — working closely with the current VPP Jocelyn Phipps — Ferreira has shown she has the proper experience to be in the VPP position.

Pipe Dream has been pleased with SAPB in recent years because of their commitment to exciting events and connections to students. Ferreira plans to uphold these recent successes and the factors that made them a success by continuing the showcase of diverse acts throughout the year, and providing students with surveys on social media. She also plans to open up opportunities for different groups to table at SAPB events, such as their annual outdoor Spring Fling event. Her ideas to maintain an inclusive planning process with monthly tabling and collaborations with SA-chartered organizations are forthright and promising.

Along with inclusivity and collaboration, Ferreira emphasized accessibility through ideas such as testing venue accessibility, transportation assistance, visual light warnings and continued image descriptions on social media so anyone can attend these events regardless of disability or physical problems.

Sydney Ferreira’s enthusiasm about continuing the legacy of her predecessor, keeping an open communication with students and providing accessible events for everyone shows she has what it takes to be a strong VPP next year.

BU Council Representative — Victoria Barics

Being the liaison between the student body and administration is a tough job, but our E-Board believes Victoria Barics is more than ready for the role.

Barics is calling for accessible mental health resources, increased sexual assault education and greater accessibility — including through greater representation of multicultural organizations. As Barics noted during her interview, these goals are all accomplishable. Rather than just calling for new programs, Barics pointed out that existing resources in mental health and victim-assistance need to be made aware to students.

Her background is also particularly notable and stands out among other candidates. Barics has, as she described, already assisted students in every role of their undergraduate careers — having served as an orientation advisor, an RA and more. Advocacy has been a running theme in her work on campus, including through her work in Domestic and Oppressive Education (DOVE) and the Violence, Abuse and Rape Crisis Center (VARCC). Above all, she positions herself as an advocate for the students — but one with a strong understanding of the University — and we have no reason to doubt her. In addition, her call for a more sustainable campus is a nice touch, and sets her apart from other candidates.

The two other candidates — Nora Monasheri and Sophia Yazdi — were also strong, but still have some work to do. Monasheri clearly has relevant experience herself, including serving as a Road Map Intern, a student ambassador and president of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion club. Despite all this, we felt her pillars of advocacy, established committee and inclusivity could use some detail. Creating an established committee for BU Council Representatives was a unique and commendable goal, however, we would have liked to see advocacy as a stronger point of her platform.

Yazdi, though having presented promising goals, is largely inexperienced as a freshman. Yazdi argued her case well, asserting — for example — that she would bring a unique perspective as she would still be on campus as a sophomore, in contrast to other candidates. Her platform — to increase communication with administration, amplify student voices and expand collaboration with the SA — was noble, but the policies behind them were a little unclear when asked for details. Still, Yazdi has a strong future ahead of her. This is just the beginning.

For now, our Board is behind Barics, and we look forward to seeing her instate the policies she has promised.