Black Student Union uses closed voting system to make decisions for election

A picture of the Nyumburu Cultural Center, the meeting place for the Black Student Union and other Black affinity groups (Theodore Rose/ The Black Explosion).

The University of Maryland's Black Student Union began the election process for its 2024-2025 executive board but decided not to hold an open poll for students to vote. 

Julion Harris, the BSU’s speaker of the house, said BSU changed the election system due to concerns of it being reduced to a popularity contest. 

Harris said six people were picked from other Black organizations for the second-round committee. The six people included the presidents of Culture, the Black Alliance Network, the Pre-Law Student Association, the Stem Integrated Minority Scholars and the Black Student Ministries and the vice president of the Association for Aspiring Educators of Color.

Two rounds of interviews were held on April 25 and 26 for candidates. The first round of interviews were led by BSU’s speaker of the house and non-returning executive board members. The second round of interviews were by presidents and vice presidents of other Black student organizations on campus. 

David Oloye, a sophomore civil and environmental engineering major, said elections in general should always be public in some form.

“We don't get to choose who represents us anymore, and instead, it's up to the decision of a select few to decide who represents the voice of the Black student community,” Oloye said. “The executive board can have its place in the candidate selection process, but ultimately it should be the general Black students having the final say.” 

Oloye said an interview process consisting of two selection rounds is fair but expressed concerns for the rigor of the interviews being led by these student-selected committees.

William Nash, a sophomore theater and dance major, said this year’s election process was creative and different but could’ve also used the public's help in the final decision.

“It was smart to switch things up in an effort to make it not a popularity contest,” Nash said. “But they should've done some sort of public input because the public is ultimately affected by these decisions.”

There were 11 positions available for students to run for: president, vice president, speaker of the house, treasurer, historian, VP of administrative affairs, VP of student affairs, VP of public relations, VP of community outreach, VP of fundraising, and VP of programming.

The results for the candidates that won will be released later this week, according to Harris.