Union Board holds elections

Starting today, students can cast their votes for 16 Union Board directors who will control about $360,000 in student fees.

The Union Board election is campus-wide, and all students are encouraged to run, said senior Rachael Tunick, Union Board’s vice president for membership.

Students can vote from 5 p.m. today until 5 p.m. Wednesday online at http://ub.indiana.edu.

The election chooses the top eight candidates. Eight more are chosen through interviews with Union Board executives, the student body president, the Residence Hall Association president and other campus organizations’ leaders and advisors.

Tunick said more people are running than in the past, with 31 candidates this year. Last year, she said, the number was in the low 20s.  

“Our goal is to be as representative of the student body as possible,” Tunick said.

She attributed the increase to the efforts of the Union Board this year to reach out to different student organizations.

The outreach director position was created at the beginning of the year to connect with campus organizations that don’t traditionally do a lot of programs with the Union Board, said the Union Board’s Outreach Director, and junior Jessica Englert.

Union Board President senior Liz Retana said she believes organizations don’t know they have the opportunity to work with the Union Board.

Englert also said the Union Board set out to eliminate misconceptions that Union Board doesn’t work a lot with other student organizations.

“We really don’t want to just give out money,” she said.

She said Union Board created programs and cited, as an example, efforts with La Casa to plan a graduate/undergraduate student mentorship event. The Union Board had the resources to schedule a room and advertise, Englert said.

“Reaching out to different populations opened those populations’ eyes,” Englert said.

Tunick said a good application for Union Board director has to have what students want and need at heart, not the applicant’s personal ambitions. She said as an example, bringing bands students want to see, not bands the Union Board members themselves enjoys.

They also need to stay organized and balance work and school well, she said. Tunick also said directors need to be open and honest with fellow directors, team members and others about their plans and ideas.

She said those applying genuinely have an interest in the Union Board. She said those she knows personally think the Union Board has a lot of potential.

Luke Fields, IU Student Association president, will help select eight of the Union Board directors. He said he will look for a director who understands that the Indiana Memorial Union is a place for students and by students.  

Englert said there is a mix between those with a strong history with the Union Board and new faces running in the election.  

She said it is good because there needs to be people who know how the Union Board works and people with different perspectives.

“I think every organization needs that,” she said.