Next year’s Student Union Executive Board has started planning and preparing ways to deal with major student issues, but it will work first on making a new Union constitution, followed by updating the Union website to make information more available to students, officials from the new E-Board said Monday.
“The constitution will be done probably by June,” President-elect Deon Provost said. “The second thing would be to have a rubric [of the constitution] at least sent out to people who have different special interests – everyone from certain candidates who weren’t elected this year who have a different perspective to people who were on the Union this year who just have a unique perspective to people who are planning on being in the Union next year.”
Provost said he hopes to have a provision in the constitution that will give administrators a venue to explain their stances on certain issues – such as the Guest Policy – to students.
He also said he hopes the new constitution will make it easier for students to participate in the Union, adding that it should grant autonomy to student groups and serve as a means for coordinating BU’s many student-run organizations.
“We want to make participating in the Student Union as easy as possible and as effective as possible,” Provost said. “Student voices and concerns should be heard in a medium that’s open and receptive to what they want to say.”
Provost also said updating the Union website to make it more informative and user-friendly is a major goal.
Vice President-elect Jon Marker said the E-Board will also focus its attention on less publicized student issues.
“I think first we need to look at some of the less controversial issues,” Marker said. “I hope to work on getting convenience points accepted up and down Commonwealth Ave. this summer while I am here working, as well as [creating] the student central website as a portal for the university.”
Treasurer-elect Marc Weber said wider use of convenience points is also one of his major priorities – he hopes to make them available as payments for cab rides and restaurants around the Boston University campus. He also said increasing funds for the Student Union Allocations Board is a top concern.
“Currently, SUAB has $250,000 which they can allocate to student groups throughout the entire year,” Weber said. “However, with the increased influx of student groups, SUAB funding does not change no matter what. Last year about $800,000 was required by student groups on campus. This year alone it is an excess of $1.5 million.”
Other E-Board members are in support of increasing SUAB funding, Weber said, but are hesitant to make any promises because the E-Board is not directly involved in the Allocations Board, though Weber, as treasurer, would have a seat on the body.
Marker said though the E-Board will tackle many different student issues, they will not lose sight of the initiatives that are already in progress.
“Following up on cable and the Guest Policy over this summer is also a goal of mine to make sure all the work done this year isn’t forgotten,” Marker said. “I plan to continue my work with recycling and switch the whole university to recycled paper by the time students return.”
Weber said he also hopes to continue working on issues like the Guest Policy, adding that he will push the College of Arts and Sciences to accept American Sign Language as a way to satisfy the school’s foreign language requirement.
As a result of changes made to the Union’s structure by Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore, this year was the first candidates for student government ran individually instead of as part of slates.
Secretary-elect Matt Bennett said he believes it was a positive change, and he is looking forward to working with the other members.
“It’s definitely a positive change because if one E-Board member is not fulfilling their duty, it won’t reflect on the rest of the E-Board,” Bennett said. “There aren’t any worries. I have confidence in Deon and Jon.
“We are students, just like every other student in this university, and our job is to advocate their voice and that’s it,” Weber added. “We’re not supposed to have power trips. We’re not supposed to play politics with each other. We don’t have time for that.”
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