UGBC Senate leadership struck down a limited initiative calling on UGBC to release a statement condemning Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) presence near campus.
“Senate leadership met on Friday, and we sent to public commenters who introduced the limited initiative to us that we believe our post was sufficient with UGBC’s mission in terms of getting resources out there and reiterating support for students,” said Reagan Marino, UGBC vice president and MCAS ’26.
On Oct. 22, Quinten Dragstedt, MCAS ’28, presented a limited initiative urging UGBC to issue a statement expressing solidarity with those affected by the ICE sighting near campus and condemning its presence. The petition exceeded the required 250 student signatures to be brought before the Senate and passed by a vote of 23–3 last week.
The leadership team consists of Marino, along with Cristina Gregory, academic affairs committee chair and MCAS ’26, Addie Weiss, student life committee chair and MCAS ’27, and Will Rafti, intersectionality committee chair and MCAS ’27.
Marino and Gregory said they recommended that the public commenters continue to attend Senate meetings to address the situation regarding ICE and suggest ways to improve the student experience at Boston College.
“We really value them coming and giving their input,” Gregory said. “We gave them a few options of how we can communicate with them and work with them throughout the semester and into the future.”
Despite this decision, Timothy Wright, MCAS ’29, made a public comment reiterating the importance of student senators speaking out about ICE’s presence near campus through a statement.
“There are as many opinions on this as there are people in the room—it’s a hard thing to discuss,” Wright said. “But I also really feel compelled to say that I think in this case, a statement on ICE’s presence near campus would not just be a political one, but something that is almost certainly necessary.”
Wright encouraged the Senate to be transparent with the student body so students understand what further action they can take.
“Even saying that you do not condemn ICE’s presence might be better than being silent about your official stance on ICE, because that at least would be transparent with the student body, and that would allow us to know what recourse we could seek,” Wright said.
Jonah Paulus, student senator and MCAS ’29, voiced support for Wright’s request for a UGBC statement.
“I think it is very telling that despite the leadership saying that the current statements, action plans, posts, words, or whatever language they want to use is sufficient that we ourselves have all seen constituents come here and say it’s not,” Paulus said.
Marino assured Wright that the Senate leadership’s decision to reject the statement does not mean the conversation is over.
“I would recommend you and others to join in on the Circle Up discussions surrounding free speech and our political climate,” Marino said.
Anika Obrecht, student senator and MCAS ’26, agreed with Wright about how important it is for UGBC to be clear with the student body about its stance on ICE’s presence near campus.
“I really appreciate you bringing this back to our attention because I think this is a really real issue affecting people’s lives,” Obrecht said. “We welcome you to come back to public comment and give us—besides the initiative—any ideas you have regarding resources.”
Earlier in the meeting, Ashley Varacalli, student senator and MCAS ’28, recapped a recent meeting with Ethan Sullivan, senior associate dean for undergraduate programs in the Carroll School of Management (CSOM), about potentially changing the process for students in other BC schools to transfer into CSOM.
“Around 2012, the internal process opened up and there was an application essay, letters of recommendation—all merit-based applications,” Varacalli said. “But, Dean Sullivan explained that no one was trained as an admissions council. So there’s a lot of bias, and it was hard to judge people’s GPAs as freshmen.”
CSOM currently accepts no more than 10 internal transfer students each year via a lottery process. Applicants must meet a list of requirements, including maintaining a 3.4 GPA and taking Principles of Economics.
Varacalli explained that the lottery process is conducted using an Excel random generator. She also emphasized the benefits of a business-related minor for students unable to transfer into CSOM through the lottery process.
“Dean Sullivan also clarified that a CSOM minor is equivalent to a concentration in CSOM without the CSOM core,” Varacalli said.