Get to know your new UGBC President and EVP

After a four week extension, the presidential campaigns have concluded, leaving Russell Simons and Meredith McCaffrey as BC’s new president and executive vice president for the upcoming year.

The Tab caught up with the newest UGBC leaders to learn a little bit more about them.

What’s the single most important policy change BC should make to improve the lives of the students? 

We don’t feel that there is one single policy change that BC needs to prioritize over others. There are a number of issues on campus that the University should focus on as it enters its next phase of the strategic planning process, and we believe the best thing the administration can do throughout this process is seek input from a variety of student voices about the issues that are most pressing.

How will you go about advocating for your top policy goal? 

We’ve structured our platform to include realistic and necessary goals in the areas of Quality, Inclusivity, and Accessibility, so we don’t have one specific policy goal that we’ll prioritize over others. However, one of the ideas we believe we can accomplish fairly quickly by working with the Dean of Students Office is the creation of a Conduct Audit option on the Agora Portal.

What is your theory/philosophy on social change at BC?

Our theory of social change at BC is reflected in our mission statement: Strength in Unity. We believe that change happens when different parts of the student body can work together to advocate for improvements that impact everyone. This requires building strong relationships between UGBC leadership and other student leaders across campus.

Describe UGBC in one word.

Dedicated.

Describe the Boston College administration in one word.

Committed.

Describe the BC community in one word.

Passionate.

Would you change anything about the way BC is handling Eradicate?

In terms of Eradicate, we don’t feel the University really needs to “handle” them. They’re an advocacy group working to mitigate very serious issues on our campus, and while people may disagree about the methods used to deal with these issues, we feel the work Eradicate is doing to increase awareness about issues of race on campus is incredibly important.

Hillside or Chocolate Bar? 

Chocolate Bar.

Cityside or MA’s? 

Cityside.

Favorite Boston College tradition? 

Celebrating Marathon Monday.