STAFF EDIT: A Half-Hearted Attempt

One of the most significant promises the Real slate made to its voters last Spring was to improve the current Boston University Guest Policy. Accomplishing a task of this size requires months of hard work and professionalism. The Student Union announced this week, two months before the end of its term, its plan to submit a 100-200 page proposal requesting a change in the Guest Policy, including student and parent surveys and information from the Boston University Police Department. All of this information has been compiled over the past three weeks and will be given to a currently unknown administrator by the end of Spring Break. While is it positive the Union is actually making good on one of its promises, the job is too rushed to be done right.

The Union has taken on a huge project way too late in its term. As a result, the proposal could conceivably sit unread by the Board of Trustees — if they are the ones to receive the report — for the next two months. By that time, if the Union’s suggestions are rejected, there would not be enough time to rebut and make amendments. The Union claims it will work closely with the administration on this cause. However, since it waited until this late in the game, it has lost valuable negotiating time with the administration.

There are problems with the survey itself, as well. Three weeks is not nearly enough time to put together a proposal comprehensive enough for such a sensitive issue as the Guest Policy. There is no doubt that the Union has worked hard in gathering its information, but it is impossible to accurately gauge public opinion in such a hasty manner. Had the Union begun this project earlier in its term, it would not only be able to compile student, parent and BUPD information, but also statistics and experience from comparable schools with varying guest policies.

The Guest Policy is regarded as a high priority by much of the BU student body. As representatives of that body, the Student Union must take it upon themselves to submit the most complete and accurate proposal possible to the Board of Trustees. However, not only is the information incomplete, but the Union has not named the recipients of its proposal. If it has been working with the BU administration since September, it should be obvious who needs to receive the report. Past unions have suffered defeats after handing proposals to administrators with no jurisdiction over their subject matter. For the current Union to go into a project such as this, it is vital to be informed and completely knowledgeable about the people they are working with.

This is a rare and important opportunity for the students of BU. The Student Union has the responsibility to avoid wasting its constituents’ and the Board of Trustees’ time. It would be a disappointment if the Union misses this chance to really make a change by submitting a half-hearted Guest Policy proposal. Although it may be too late, the Union must do all that it can to learn from past Unions’ mistakes and present administrators with something they can really consider.