With a cheer policy that alienated hockey fans, construction that kept students dodging traffic and Guest Policy changes stalled in bureaucracy, the Student Union had plenty to do this semester.
Too bad it didn’t.
When students feel alienated by the massive bureaucratic administration, they should be able to count on the Union to speak in their interest. But these days, few students see the use of the Union.
Rather, the Union has gotten so bogged down in internal procedure that it was unable to address most student concerns. When it wasn’t debating it’s own membership, Union President Brooke Feldman filled meetings with vague and empty calls for student leadership.
And this semester, the Union lacked the leadership Feldman called for.
When former-president Jon Marker left office last spring, The Daily Free Press editorial board predicted losing the larger-than-life Marker would leave a leadership void, which the board hoped the Union could fill.
This has not happened, and in four short months, Feldman not only dropped the ball on important issues facing students, but abandoned her original platform altogether.
On the campaign trail, Feldman called for an alcohol amnesty policy, expansion of convenience points and reduced-fare student T passes, none of which were delivered. And while none of these goals are easily attained, Feldman’s Union didn’t even come close.
At last night’s meeting, Transportation Committee Chair Leo Gameng said the Union failed to address safety concerns and construction around the Commonwealth Avenue Beautification Project. Instead they dwelled on the BU Shuttle service and T pass costs. The Union had the ability to gather, express and channel these grievances to administrators and Feldman should have been the go-to-girl for students, but she never addressed the issue directly.
When students voiced uproar over the ban on profanity during hockey games, where was Feldman?
Dog Pound leaders took the initiative, talking to Dean Elmore and helping to form the new policy. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, Feldman and the Union should have gauged student sentiment and advocated for the right to cheer dirty.
Also, when the College Republicans’ whites-only scholarship drew national attention to BU, the Union — our elected governmental body, complete with a Public Relations cabinet member — remained silent.
Perhaps the greatest disappointment during the beginning of the Feldman administration was the abandoned push to change the current Guest Policy.
And while it is not Feldman’s fault there was no progress on the guest policy issue — Dean Elmore has not brought the issue to the University Council yet — it is unacceptable that she let it fall by the wayside.
Now it seems as though Feldman either had no intention of advocating for change on campus or just didn’t know what she was in for.
She drew record attendance to the first Union meeting, but squandered the momentum by holding unstructured meetings and not holding committees accountable. She alienated new students who, with proper leadership, could have rose to meaningfully represent the student body.
After two months of debate, the Union finally voted to add new representatives last night, but the vote does not affect the student body in any discernable way. Now students have more representation in a Union that doesn’t do anything for them anyway.
Much of Feldman’s weakness as a leader is her lack of initiative. When no one calls on her to act, she does not hunt down issues concerning students.
The truth is the Union is supposed to be the most influential student group on campus, championing for causes that affect all students like transportation, dining hall food and the Guest Policy.
The Union is better equipped than any other group of students to affect change. It has a budget, its own office space and most importantly, direct access to administrators.
Even with these resources, the Union has done nothing.
The Union fights a losing battle when dealing with the administration. But even when the Union is stonewalled by bureaucracy, it is its job to keep applying pressure until something budges.
Feldman and the Union decided to play “politics as usual” this semester with cheerleading stunts instead of helping to foster any real change. As Feldman herself admitted last night, the Union must seriously consider returning to its roots next semester and work toward becoming an advocacy organization with its pulse on student concerns.