Ampersand

Student employees at two different universities have attempted to form unions to advocate for better pay and treatment within their schools within a month of each other. At New York University, administrators agreed to listen to the concerns of graduate teaching assistants to unionize last month, making it the first time that such an agreement has occurred at a private American university. Just this week, Resident Assistants at University of Massachusetts at Amherst approached school administrators about forming a union to fight for collective bargaining.

Those students have the right idea. Why don’t other groups on campus unionize too? They could form a mobilizing unit to demand for their rights as members of the Boston University community and a way to make the administration recognize student groups as powerful negotiating entities.

In fact, the Student Union should unionize because they dedicate so much of their time to … Uuum, right.

Well, uh, the athletes could unionize to fight for a field to play on. They should stage walkouts during practices and important games to show that they mean business.

And the Beanpot mascots — Baldwin the Eagle, Husky and our very own Rhett the Terrier — should form a union and let their voices be heard … literally. Instead of flailing their arms and hands around and doing silly dances to express themselves, they should come together and organize for the right to speak every once in a while.

The students who work in the Late Nite Cafes all over campus should unionize for better working conditions and better food. And for that matter, the rats at The Daily Free Press should form a union for better couches to hide in. They seem to be discontented with their current environment.

Hey, maybe the ‘ol Free Press should unionize to maintain our autonomy by guaranteeing that our rats can’t rise up against and completely take over the newsroom. Oh, squeak!