STAFF EDIT: A well-qualified appointment

The Student Union’s executive board got much stronger last night. Union President Ethan Clay appointed former 10 Buick St. Senator Mike Bodek to the vacated vice president of financial affairs position. Bodek will add both a passion for student government and a smart financial mind to the e-board. The Union would have been hard pressed to find a more qualified candidate.

Bodek’s appointment came after former Executive Vice President Vanessa Tebescheff’s early-November resignation. Former Vice President of Financial Affairs Joe Rollin filled Tebescheff’s spot, leaving the VP of financial affairs position open. Clay said he and Rollin received five applications for the slot. Bodek ran for VP of financial affairs with ‘The Student Voice’ slate in last April’s e-board elections against the slate he will now join. He has also spent this year serving on the Financial Review Board in the Senate, making him a logical choice for the position that chairs the board.

Bodek’s has made his commitment to student government obvious with his recent résumé. After losing in last year’s e-board elections, he was the only member of a losing e-board slate to run for this year’s Senate, a move e-board losers seldom make. During his senate term, Bodek has been one of the most active and outspoken students in the body, bringing his financial knowledge for input on even the most mundane of funding requests. In addition to his work in the Senate, he is president of the SMG Student Government, one of the most active and successful governments on campus. His passion for helping make student government more effective, along with the financial know-how he has displayed throughout the year thus far, will be a welcome addition to an already solid e-board.

Clay deserves credit for appointing Bodek to the slot, despite his role on ‘The Student Voice’ slate last year. Though e-board campaigns can get fairly competitive, Clay showed he is more committed to making the strongest slate possible than picking people who have always supported his slate.

But there is one small problem with Bodek’s appointment. Because the Student Activities Office does not officially recognize SMG Student Government, Bodek has been able to both hold his position in the school’s student government and participate in the Senate. Senators and e-board members cannot hold board positions in officially sanctioned SAO student groups. Despite SMG Student Government’s lack of official sanction, holding slots on both the SMG Student Government e-board and the Union e-board, which often funds college government projects, is a conflict of interest. Bodek must resign from whichever position is less important to him.

Bodek’s addition to the e-board last night further solidifies an already strong slate. He should make a large impact on the e-board for the academic year’s remaining five months and help the ‘True’ slate further improve make the Union’s image in the collective mind of BU’s student body.