If there ever were a time for Boston University students to take to the streets, it is now. There is no degree that can be earned at this business-like institution that is worth $50,000 a year.

Unfortunately, the elected students who are charged with representing our voice are sitting quietly on the issue of tuition and costs, like they have for years. Why is the Student Union so willing to let the administration walk over the student body year after year, taking advantage of the fact that there’s no legitimate representation vouching for us?

Union members have told me Adil Yunis (he’s the supposed president) has no plans to create a stir about rising costs. In an interview with me, Adil said he’s going to “look into” it. He said he isn’t prepared to take a stance on the tuition hike. Our Union president is not ready to publicly state that $50,000 for a year at BU is too much.

I’m in Washington, D.C., for the semester, and I feel like I have a better feel for the BU student body than its own president does. Forcing parents to have serious discussions about whether their kids should stay at BU or transfer to a more affordable school – that’s something you’re going to look into? How about something you’re going to try to prevent, or condemn? When I was editor of The Daily Free Press last year, we did more than “look into” things. There is no reason to hold Adil to the same, if not higher, standard.

I dare you, Adil, to prove to us there was a reason we elected you. Gather 10,000 signatures from students who are demanding President Brown and the Board of Trustees to stop taking advantage of their students — who are, they seem to have forgotten, the reason this school exists in the first place. I’ll be the first to sign it.

Stand on Marsh Plaza for five days straight if you have to. Hold up a banner that reads, “Your elected president thinks $50K a year is too much. Sign here if you agree.” Skip class if you must – show that you care more about your constituents than your resume.

Along with the majority of BU students, I don’t care about the Union’s “initiatives” to bring air mattresses to dorms, or some bicycle-sharing network that no one will use. The No. 1 issue facing BU students is the astronomical cost to attend a school that tricks us (and high school seniors) into thinking it’s worth it. The journalism classes I’ve taken have been valuable, but I don’t know if they’re worth 50 grand.

If you’re not going to vouch for us, Union, at least tell us why. Is it because you are getting scholarships, or posh spots in elite student housing? Is it because you don’t want to hurt the administration’s feelings or risk losing your front-row seat at Dean Elmore’s Coffee ‘ Conversation? We didn’t elect them to be friends with faceless administrators in cushy offices.

An administration like that of BU will do anything to avoid bad press, which is why its public relations department is so clever at spinning this tuition story. The school’s PR publication, BU Today, ran quotes from Provost David Campbell claiming the university justifies the tuition hike by improving the “quality of education and the lives of students.” In Brown’s letter to parents explaining the increase, he cites trying to increase the “value” of a BU education.

Campbell even says, “We are trying hard to minimize the burden on parents.” Administrators are quick to point to rising energy and health care costs as justification for effectively raising the school’s price tag to more than $50,000. It’s certainly easy for them to shrug off what can be another simple payment for them.

Tax forms from 2006 show President Brown made $677,800 that fiscal year, along with his free housing in the gated mini-mansion near West Campus. The provost earned $405,623 that year. As far as other top officials are concerned:

Aram Chobanian, former president and now a professor: $732,480 (and free housing). Chobanian made $808,886 when he was the interim president.

Joseph Mercurio, executive vice president: $577,166.

Karen Antman, Medical Campus provost: $568,420.

Kenneth Condon, vice president: $489,382.

The university also paid John Silber, the former president and chancellor, more than $1.25 million as part of his “leave benefit,” which includes free housing in the chancellor’s house.

So don’t tell me, BU, that you’re cutting back where you can and trying to make it easier for everyone. I don’t buy it. But here, the only thing worse than being lied to is watching our Union president believe it.

Matt Negrin, a junior in the College of Communication, was the editor-in-chief of The Daily Free Press in the spring and fall of 2007.