When the new Guest Policy proposed by Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore clears its final hurdles (“Elmore presents liberal Guest Policy,” Mar. 1, p. 1) many on-campus residents will be proclaiming the words of our most famous alumnus: “Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”

The revisions to the guest policy represent the fact that change at Boston University can and will happen — but not overnight. We all know the system is bureaucratic, but it’s important to note that we as students can make a difference in this community.

Two years ago, a large number of committed individuals and I sat down in multiple meetings and took on the arduous task of rewriting the Guest Policy. We listened to all points of view and put together a document that stressed freedom for mature adults, while valuing safety and personal responsibility.

A few of us met with President Robert Brown and Elmore, and I even lobbied the president from thousands of miles away when he visited the BU London Program last spring. We’d been promised change, but it seemed like it would never come.

While it may not be perfect, I am happy to report that the new Guest Policy far exceeds our initial desires. Not only does the new Guest Policy signify a glasnost-type reform in the post-Silber era, it also demonstrates that student advocacy matters. This ought to be a lesson to those nay-sayers of the Student Union: The body can and does serve as an effective vehicle for change.

As a senior on campus, I am glad to see that the setting sun of my years at BU is yielding new horizons for the next generation. We owe immense gratitude to the Union for leading in advocacy, to Brown for his willingness to sit down and talk about issues important to us and to Elmore for being our number one supporter within the administration. Thank you.

Cory Kalanick

Former Co-Chair, Guest Policy Committee

CAS ’07