Student Union President Zach Coseglia is confident Boston University President Jon Westling will thoroughly examine the Union’s proposed changes to BU’s Guest Policy, Coseglia said last night.
Speaking at the Union’s weekly Senate meeting, Coseglia discussed the talks he had with Westling and Dean of Students W. Norman Johnson last Thursday, at which time he presented the proposed changes outlined in the Guest Visitation Policy report. According to Coseglia, the meeting with Johnson went well.
“I went through the proposal with him page by page, told him of our successes and went through the statistics we have,” Coseglia said. “He told me our proposal seems very strong and said he was very excited.”
Coseglia said through his meeting with Johnson, he learned that Johnson didn’t understand the rules of the Guest Policy as well as one in such a position should.
“He thought that the policy had exceptions, such as if someone had an emergency or if someone was sick, that it was possible to make exceptions to the rules and all it would take was a call to the senior RA,” Coseglia said. “As our research shows, exceptions to the rules of the BU Guest Policy do not exist.”
Coseglia said his meeting with Johnson served many purposes, but it also helped to prepare him for his meeting with Westling. Coseglia said he was certain Westling would give due attention to the Guest Policy proposal.
“I am very confident that he will look over our proposal and I am confident that we have the ear of the president of the University,” Coseglia said. “It’s something to be cherished and something to be looked at as a success in its own right.”
Coseglia said the press coverage over the weekend would ensure the BU administration would hear the students’ demands.
“We clearly have the ear of the chancellor of the University; whether he’s listening or not is a completely separate issue,” Coseglia said. “We got incredible press coverage and that is huge. Those are things that really put pressure on the administration and show that we are really fighting this battle in the conference room.
“There was an outpouring of support from the students in regard to this policy. It showed them it wasn’t a loud minority of the student body who had a problem with the policy but a loud majority of the student body who had a problem with the policy.”
Coseglia said the next steps would include himself and BU Free President Ethan Clay talking with alumni, while Senator Sumit Mittal and Senate Vice Chair Sean Dixon are planning to meet with members of the Allston-Brighton community.
“We want to know if students are moving off campus, what is the impact it has on those communities?” Coseglia said. “I think this is the perfect time to get [the Allston-Brighton community] support when you have Chancellor Silber outright saying, ‘Hey, if you have a problem, move off campus.'”
Coseglia said he would also work with City Councilor Mike Ross (Back Bay, Fenway) in promoting the Guest Policy proposal.
“We are going to try to work with Mike Ross and work with City Hall on this issue,” Coseglia said. “I think we can get their support and get them to take on our issue in one way or another.”
Coseglia said if Westling denied the proposal outright, the Union would go back to the drawing board, but he said the committee remained optimistic.
“We’re going to think optimistically for now and think that’s not going to happen,” Coseglia said.
Tiffany Caufield, chairwoman of the Academic Advising Committee, said the Deans Luncheon last week was a success, and the Committee would focus on increasing test files, or records of students’ tests.
In other business, only one funding request came before the Union last night as students from the Union’s multicultural affairs committee asked for funds to refurbish the Common Ground Lounge in the basement of the George Sherman Union.
Before the funding, the internal account had approximately $1,759 and the external account contained $1,581. The multicultural affairs committee requested $600 from each account.
However, senators voted to allocate $1,000 from the Senate internal account. Another motion to allocate an additional $200 from the Senate external account failed.