The election process for Clark Undergraduate Student Council (CUSC) has started, with campaigning beginning on 3/22 at 7:00 p.m.

The CUSC debate is on Monday, 3/27 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in Tilton Hall. Candidates will be asked to respond to a series of questions, some of which will be submitted by the Scarlet.

Campaigning ends on March 29 at 11:59 a.m., and voting begins on Wednesday, March 29  at 12:00 p.m. Voting will be open for exactly 24 hours, and will be facilitated through Clark Engage. Clark University students will receive an email when voting begins.

CUSC is an opportunity for undergraduate Clark University students to serve their constituents and coordinate activities and effect change within their university. Student council members can charter, fund, and coordinate student clubs and organizations.

Clark student council also represents the student body through “binding and non-binding legislature, resolutions, and formal correspondence with the administration” (Clark Engage).

They also allocate the Student Activities Fee among clubs and organizations. The official budget for these activities is determined by the Trustees of Clark University.

Clark student council also represents the student body through binding and non-binding legislature, resolutions and formal correspondence with university administration.

CUSC is divided into the Executive Board, the Representative Council, and the Appointed Council. The Representative Council consists of Hall, Class, Commuter, Transfer, Equity & Inclusion, and International Representatives. The Appointed Council is selected by the Elections Committee, the CUSC President, and a super-majority vote of the CUSC. It consists of Judiciary Committee and Grant Committee members.

Candidates on the ballot for the upcoming election run on a ticket with four members, all of whom are running for the Executive Board: a president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. Voters will select individual candidates, meaning that a ticket may not be chosen to serve in office together.

So, who are the candidates on the ticket, and what do they stand for? The Scarlet reached out to B.E.T and The DREAM Team, the two main tickets on the ballot, and researched each campaign to find out.

B.E.T: @votebet_cusc

Team B.E.T is led by Ethan Wellington, who is running for CUSC President. The other members on the ticket are Bianca Binns running for Vice President and Tapuwa Kabaira running for Secretary.

Ethan Wellington is a junior majoring in Political Science and minoring in Marketing. He is the Black Student Union (BSU) co-president, a student representative for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and a member of the Belonging Committee for Clark University Athletics. He is also the Liaison for the Caribbean-African Student Association and a member of the Clark University Pre-Law Society.

“My goal as CUSC President is to build Clark’s sense of community and get rid of isolation and division,” Ethan wrote in a 3/27 Instagram post. “I mainly want to provide a diverse perspective to the student council.”

Ethan wrote that as CUSC President, he would create events on campus that “the student body want[s] to attend,” bolster mental health recourses on campus with a focus on BIPOC students, improve food insecurity on campus by writing a “concrete proposal,” allocate funding equitably to student clubs and organizations, and “provide clarity to all students on the initiatives of the student council.”

Biana Binns is a junior majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, with a minor in Management. Bianca has been a judiciary member of CUSC, is the Co-President of All Kinds of Growth (AKOG), the President of Women in Stem, and an EMT working for Clark University Rapid Response (CURR). She has been a Peer Mentor for three years at Clark University and does publicity for the African Diaspora Dance Association (ADDA). She is also on the Center for Counseling and Personal Growth (CPG) student advisory board.

“Our collective goal as B.E.T. is to bridge the gap between Student Council and the Clark Community,” Bianca wrote in a 3/27 Instagram post. “In all our positions as Clark student leaders we work strongly with administration such as SLP (Student Leadership and Programming) to lead, provide stability, and a strong foundation for those who will take our position after we leave.”

Bianca wrote that her main goals as Vice President of CUSC are to “increase mental health awareness,” raise the affordability of attending Clark by increasing financial aid and “providing outside resources,” and working with staff members to clean Clark University’s campus. Bianca also noted that she wanted to increase affinity housing for the LGBTQ+ community.

Tapuwa, B.E.T’s secretarial candidate, is a Computer Science Major and a Mathematics and Data Science minor. She is a Resident Advisor in Dana Hall, the co-director of the African Diaspora Dance Association, and the secretary for the Caribbean and African Students Association.

“Throughout our campaign one of the first questions we have asked our fellow Clark students is ‘do you really know what student council does?’” Tapuwa wrote in a statement to the Scarlet. “And the resounding answer has been no… [this] response did not sit well with us as a ticket.”

“In our effort to bridge the gap between CUSC and the student body we want to mend the disconnect that exists between the two,” Tapuwa continued. “We want to promote more transparency and echo the voice of our student body.”

Tapuwa noted that, between her three team members, B.E.T. is involved in over 15 clubs and organizations at Clark University; each member is also involved in club leadership.

Tapuwa said that in previous years leadership has often passed between CUSC members. She said that she wants to see more students immersed in “student life” holding high leadership positions on student council. She added that they are the first all-Black ticket running for student council leadership in Clark University’s history.

According to Tapuwa’s statement, an issue that looms large in their campaign is the creation of “safe spaces for all the groups on campus.”

B.E.T.’s campaign runs on the motto “BET on us—a new wave in CUSC” and follows a playing card theme, with their 2/24 Instagram campaign video featuring images of the ace of spades.

“The first letters of our names spell out B.E.T, and although we may not be a part of student council currently, we are all extremely eager and ready to step into these roles,” Tapuwa said. “The school motto is not ‘challenge convention’ for nothing.”

The Scarlet reached out to Ethan and Bianca to comment on their platform further, and but have not received a response.

The DREAM Team: @dreamforcusc

The DREAM Team is led by CUSC presidential candidate Sammi Bosque. Also on the ticket is Dahlia Mella-Goris running for Vice President, Ashley Valois running for Secretary, and Najia Lloyd running for Treasurer. According to a 3/22 Instagram post, the DREAM Team is running on a platform of accessibility on campus and creating affinity spaces. Their motto is “together, we can make your dreams a reality.”

The DREAM Team’s platform is led by a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiative containing three policies: to work with the Dean of Students to develop a better DEI training program, to include DEI committees in more academic departments, and to “create more spaces for Afro-Latinx and Black Diaspora students.”

The DREAM Team also noted that they take Title IX very seriously. “All of our campaign’s members are committed to holding…people…accountable for inappropriate behavior,” they said in a statement. They aim to meet with the Title IX Coordinator, Brittany Brickman, regularly to discuss “resources and changes in federal law…and provide feedback from students.”

Sammi Bosque is a junior studying Psychology and Game Design with a self-designed track in Studio Art. They have three years of experience at CUSC as the Bullock Hall representative, Hughes Hall representative, and as Treasurer. Sammi is also involved in LASO (Latin American Student Organization) and GALA 2023.

According to Sammi, each member of the DREAM Team was focused on a different area of concern before uniting under a common platform, “We all want to share each other’s projects and initiatives, so the work and effort put into them becomes stronger,” she said.

Sammi noted in a statement that their primary focus is on accessibility and ableism in social and classroom settings, and she and Najia have collaborated on the issue by examining the accessibility of Clark University’s campus.

“I constantly struggle in the classroom and hope to work with students to advocate for improved communication and understanding from professors,” Sammi said. “We intend to address the lack of elevators in dorm halls and certain buildings without wheelchair access.”

While Sammi noted that gathering the funding for such a project is currently impossible, they plan to create an outline to help incoming students select a dormitory that suits their needs and to be aware of which buildings are accessible. Sammi and Najia have already met with President David Fithian to discuss making such a project a reality.

“Clark became my one and only home on June 1, 2022, after the passing of my mom and the selling of our house,” Sammi said in a statement to the Scarlet. “I moved up to Worcester this past summer and was incredibly grateful for all the love and guidance people have given to me. I want to provide that ‘welcome home’ feeling to every student on campus.”

Dahlia Mella-Goris is a junior studying English with a self-designed track in Gender, Race, and Sexuality. They are minoring in Women and Gender Studies. Dahlia has been on CUSC for two years as an Equity and Inclusion Representative and a Student Life chair. She helped to organize both Winterfest and the Spring Masquerade at Clark. They were also the Community Liaison in LASO and performed in Gala 2023.

“Our ticket is devoted to advocating for a mentally and physically well campus,” Dahlia said. “We need to serve every student equitably.”

Dahlia noted that many Black male students in the Clark community have discussed a need for having Black male therapists as part of the Center for Counseling and Personal Growth (CPG).

This year, Dahlia worked on the inclement weather resolution, which proposed a change to Clark’s inclement weather policy to hold classes online in the event of a governmental weather warning. The policy was voted affirmatively through student council, and is currently being reviewed by human resources at Clark University.

Dahlia’s platform also includes space for expanding “community bonding events” such as Halloweekend, GALA, and WinterFest.

“Community bonding isn’t just talking to people,” they concluded, “It is also dancing, laughing, and sharing food and good stories with those around you.”

Ashley Valois is a sophomore studying Political Science. She works as a Program Assistant at Clark University’s Center for Gender, Race, and Area Studies. Ashley has been an Equity and Inclusion Representative at CUSC for two years. She is also the Co-President and former Secretary for the ASU (Asian Student Union) and a member of the Clark University Pre-Law Society.

Ashley hopes to foster more collaboration between multicultural clubs at Clark, such as ASU and LASO, and affinity groups on campus.

“I call Hawai’i home, and back home, community is a huge part in the way we interact with each other,” she said. “We call it the ‘aloha spirit,’ and the easiest way to put it is [that] the way you interact with people should be filled with love…our ticket wants to ensure that Clark is a better place so people can move, live, and breathe with love.”

Najia Lloyd, a sophomore studying Political Science and Women and Gender Studies, is running for treasurer on behalf of the Dream ticket. She currently serves on student council’s finance committee, and is also the Treasurer for the Democrats of Clark University.

Najia emphasized the importance of traditions and student programming on campus. She was a part of organizing Halloweekend with the rest of CUSC and hopes to host more events such as Winterfest, which was new in the 2022-2023 school year.

Najia hopes to tackle accessibility on campus alongside presidential candidate Sammi Bosque, as well as promoting better financial transparency between CUSC and the student body.

Student council elections are on Wednesday, March 29 beginning at 12:00 p.m.