Protest On Nickerson

Mr. Westling, I have had enough. I moved off campus two years ago, as soon as I could to get away from the restrictive Guest Policy, and now you are monopolizing my school’s student paper with them, as well. I have a proposal to help you end this controversy and bad karma relating to the Guest Policy that I am sure will keep you up at night.

Saturday, April 6, I propose an assembly of students for the purpose of expressing support for changing the Guest Policy. All students in favor of change for more leniency and flexibility, come to Nickerson Field and be counted. Nickerson is roughly 100 yards long and 50 yards wide. With a person for every square yard, that is 5,000 individuals. Twenty volunteers space themselves every five yards along the sideline to direct arriving students into rows of 50 people. Each volunteer will be responsible for five rows. There will be 10 people per row. Volunteers (ROTC?) arrive at 10 a.m., freshmen at 10:30 a.m., sophomores at 11:45 a.m., juniors at 12:30 a.m. They will sit down and maybe even study. I would expect you would have the field filled by 12:30, but anyone over the 5,000 can sit in the stands and form analogous rows. Individuals should bring water and a snack. Volunteers then pass forms down the rows taking attendance: name, BU ID, year and place of residence. We know how to do this, trust me. You can double-check it if you want. This form will be an endorsement of more lenient guidelines for the Guest Policy, etc. The form can be written by the Student Union, BU Free or whomever.

In recognition of the fact that 5,000 is not everyone, I have a simple solution to your sexual problems. Let the students decide if they would like to live in a restricted access or open dorm. You could even be room-specific, much like matching roommates with similar desires, since sign-ins and extended hours are ID-specific. I will put $100 down now that you will only have to allocate one West Campus dorm, if that much, to satisfy this strata of the student body.

Are you game? If you have objections on the basis of security, let me sit down so I can laugh. I have bypassed security five times in the last year, three times without even showing my BU ID. The notion of security as you would have it is much better implemented by student awareness of what is suspicious, unusual behavior or persons, than a restrictive bureaucracy. When you have students feeling comfortable with signing in strangers to dorms because they sympathize with those hampered by your Guest Policy, you are simply shooting yourself in the foot with your logic. Let these legal adults make their own decisions. In the same vein, since parents pay the bills, I’m sure you would like to cater to their desire for safety. Let them make the decision of living arrangements with their children, and be aware of their choices. Part of growing up is having your parents help you make decisions, not make decisions for you.

Students: Westling’s Achilles heel is public opinion via the board of trustees. You will win your changes by making him look bad and yourselves good. A peaceful and orderly assembly is a show of maturity, responsibility and hope that your support will be taken into consideration. A disorganized, frenzied or aggressive riot will serve Silber’s purposes rather than yours. The media that will be in attendance needs you to give them a picture of a peaceful and controlled student body. Only then can they show students are being denied a viable and safe proposal supported by the majority of the student body and community.

Remember that pre-action, based on hope and planning, is more productive than violent and disorganized reaction. The pre-knowledge of the media of this action makes it hard for the administration to deny you access to the field. There is no reason to prevent this assembly, unless they want to stifle the expression of student opinion.

If the student body responds, please do the right thing and give me back the diverse letter content in my student paper.