Spring semester for the Student Union has been marked by the resignation of two members of the tribunal and the appointment of one, some success by Senate committees and, as a major turning point of the Union, the introduction of an entirely new structure by Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore.
But though there were many changes over the course of the semester, the Union was not marked by the bickering and infighting that plagued the Union in the fall. Union President Carl Woog said he believes the Union learned from its problems first semester and created an improved body from those lessons learned.
“We learned a lot about each other and about working together for the better of students,” Woog said.
Senate Chairman Joel Fajardo, in an email Sunday, attributed much of the infighting to “an unhealthy political culture” in the Executive Board. Fajardo added that he believes many members of the E-Board were concerned with the interests of organizations they had participated in, and that created a power struggle among E-Board members.
Fajardo said he was unable to accomplish much of what he wanted because of the problems.
“If last year were my final year in the Union, I would have gone out on a very high note,” he said. “But due to the myriad of problems this year, I am simply leaving the Union on a neutral note … However, I had to focus most of my energy throughout the year in keeping the Senate together and making sure that things were operating sufficiently, as opposed to piloting new and novel ideas in the Union.”
Elmore said personal agendas played a larger role in the Union this year than figuring out what is important to students.
“There was no unity … in the Union,” he said. “There were about four or five bodies which are supposedly under this rubric of the Student Union – they don’t communicate with each other, they don’t pull together in any common fashion.”
Largely because of the infighting and the Senate’s refusal to impeach E-Board members, two tribunal members resigned this semester – Nayan Ranchhod and Jacob Cote. The resignations brought about the appointment of Tessa Pechenik. And because David Bresler graduated, Erik Dawson was appointed executive vice president of the Union at the beginning of the semester.
Despite the problems, many Senate committee initiatives were successful this year, Fajardo said.
“Clearly, things could have gone better this year, but that is not the fault of the Senate,” he said. “I am extremely pleased with all the success it has had this year despite working under difficult circumstances.”
Woog said launching the cable committee, reforming the system of government and opening a 24-hour study lounge in the 1019 Commonwealth Ave. residence hall were all successes. He attributed much of the success to “the hard work and dedication of fellow slate members” and an agenda that focused on providing students with a “more complete college life.”
Initiatives like lobbying for soap and dryers in student residences, multicultural events and an “innovative commitment to recycling” were what Fajardo cited as among the Union’s greatest successes.
Sen. Jon Marker (Warren Towers) said having a test phase of soap and hand dryers in residences is one accomplishment the Residence Life Committee is very proud of, adding that he hopes the initiative becomes permanent.
Marker said pushing the cable initiative and working on the Guest Policy – though he called it was not entirely perfect – are also among his committee’s major accomplishments.
“I think cable moved along further than anyone expected it to,” he said. “We took the same old things that everyone has said and we actually did it.”
Elmore also cited the successes of the Environment Initiatives and Multicultural Affairs committees as the Union’s biggest and said he was pleased with the Union Programming Council’s success.
“I think the major successes of the Union can be seen in Programming Council,” he said. “People forget that the Programming Council is … a part of the Student Union, although they tend to operate as though they are not.”
Elmore said events like Margaret Cho’s comedy show, movies on the Warren Alpert Mall, or the BU Beach, and “Putt, Putt and Pancakes” were some of their most successful ones.
“[The Programming Council has] managed, in a variety of different programs, to pull in a large number of students who have said ‘the program is cool,'” he said.
Elmore said he feels the new structure will solve many of the problems that plagued this year’s Union.
Marker, who sat on the committee that helped make recommendations to Elmore on the Union’s structure, said he is very pleased with the new system.
“Do I like it? Absolutely,” Marker said. “We were working with an old system that had problems from the beginning … I think the new structure will help alleviate a lot of these problems.”
Marker attributed current structure problems to an abundance of vice presidents and a lack of defined roles. The new system was needed to replace an outdated system, Elmore said.
“This Union structure is one that has been in place for about 20 years now. It’s been band-aided for fixes for about 20 years and I couldn’t stand it anymore, and said we’ve got to start over,” he said.
Both Fajardo and Woog agreed that they are pleased with the new system. Woog said the new system is a “phenomenal” improvement over the previous one.
“The new structure will resolve a great number of the problems within the Student Union by eliminating power struggles between branches,” Fajardo said. “But it would be foolish for us to assume that this new Student Union will not have its bad years. Surely it will, but those years will be fewer and far between.”
Fajardo said the new structure is “visibly more concise and efficient.” Elmore took the best aspects of the previous system and got rid of many of the problems with it, he said.
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