Feb. 12, 2020—When people hear the word “elections,” many think of Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, Elizabeth Warren, etc. But it is just as important to think about the elections closer to home. Last week, the Undergraduate Student Government Election Committee was called into session, meaning that election season has officially hit our little peninsula. The Mass Media had the opportunity to sit down with five senators running for reelection and hear what they have to say.
Maura Driscoll
This senator is a world-traveling, moped-riding, fettuccine alfredo-eating vegetarian. Senator Maura Driscoll is a political science major who was appointed Senator in Fall of 2019. She is a member of Campus and Community Affairs, or CCA, and has done her fair share of work with them.
“In my time as senator, I’ve worked really closely with a lot of my fellow senators in my committee,” she told The Mass Media. “We’ve worked on a lot of Legislation, specifically the MBTA survey, and tried to draft that up so we can pass it on to administration.”
In addition to her work with CCA, she also really believes in supporting women on campus. “The thing that I would like to focus on is an issue like Women on Campus and about trying to establish something kind of like what Macie is doing, encouraging women in politics,” she said. “That is something that I feel like a lot of women are afraid to dip their toes into, but we need to see a lot more representation amongst women.”
Some legislation she is helping pass is CSA-2020S-001, “a legislation on requiring at least one bathroom in every building to have pads or tampons so people with periods have a resource because not every bathroom has the availability of those.” This legislation is currently being reviewed and revised by CCA.
As to why she is seeking reelection, Senator Driscoll said “I’m seeking reelection because I really enjoyed my time this past semester being a senator, so I’d love to continue the work that we’ve done and see what more we can do.” Maura is also a part of the Cheerleading club here on campus.
Tyler Ruzich
He is a deft debater, a Kansas City Chiefs-lover, and an out-of-state student. Senator Tyler Ruzich is here to represent all out-of-state students on campus. Senator Ruzich joined USG in special elections in Fall 2019. He is a member of Budget and Finance, which funds clubs all over campus.
“Really, what B and F tries to do is, with the money that we have, expand the opportunities that clubs and organizations on campus have,” he said. “Because not everybody has just an infinite amount of money to spend. We have to budget. But we want to do whatever we can, in our capacity, to make sure that clubs and organizations can do the most that they can to reach their goals and do what they want to do as a club; make as many things as we can possible.”
Currently, Senator Ruzich is working to help fix the parking issues brought up last semester. “One piece of legislation that I’d like to examine would be, and I’m still trying to figure out with the transportation office, has been ZipCar on campus. I think ZipCar is very important; it is a great tool and resource for students to use, but we have to sort of understand that a lot of the parking spots where ZipCar is being placed are key real estate and could be used for accessible parking. Recently, we had the big controversy about the reserved parking at the dorms, and those ZipCars are right there.”
Senator Ruzich is a first-year political science student. In addition to USG, Senator Ruzich also takes part in the OSLCE office through Leadership Foundations, and will occasionally pop into a College Democrats meeting.