Dear all,

I’ve had a few heartfelt emails and real-time conversations with folks over the past couple of days that reveal some possible misunderstandings and/or anxieties about the GSA nomination and elections process.  Please allow me to clarify a couple of key points to allay any or all of these feelings.

First of all, you can and should nominate yourself for any number of positions within the GSA.  In fact, I would encourage you to put your hat in the ring for a few positions, for reasons that I’ll get into below.

Secondly, I think we should substitute the verb “nominate” for the more accurate “volunteer.”  Stepping up to a leadership role in the GSA is a great service to our community, and if you step up it’s likely that you’ll have a position.  While the GSA does need an executive committee composed of one president, one vp, one secretary, and one treasurer in order to meet the requirements of BU’s Student Activities Office (and thus maintain our official status and access to our now-sorta-flush bank account), we’ve had more than one person on many jobs this year, and I don’t see why that couldn’t or shouldn’t continue.

Thirdly: more than a few people have expressed concerns about nominating themselves for fear of being in competition for or edging people out of positions.  This is a really, really good problem for us to have as a community, because it demonstrates the level of good will and respect that we have toward one another.  That’s where the multiple nomination/volunteering thing is key: once I’ve got a bunch of names, I’ll ask nominees which positions they want to run for–and if you need to know whether others are in the running, I’ll be glad to tell you.  Then, you can opt out for that position, but keep yourself on for another.

I hope this clarifies the terms of the process and encourages everyone to, in the words of the immortal Tracy Flick, “Sign up for tomorrow today!”

Best,

Casey