In an interview with The Daily Free Press, Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore addressed his job, student concerns, the Guest Policy and cable among other issues.
Every Friday afternoon at 2:30, Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore can be found in the Terrace Lounge – a small, inconspicuous room at the back of the George Sherman Union – talking to students with issues ranging from frustrations with the Guest Policy to difficulties with programming paperwork.
Follow him back to his office and you will find Elmore with folders upon folders laying about his office with headings such as “Cable,” “Thezone” and “Dance Marathon.” While the folders may seem unorganized, there is a method to his madness: Each folder is an issue; each issue has come across Elmore’s desk and has been given careful consideration.
Another glance around the office yields scores of other folders. While it’s hard to believe there are enough student concerns to warrant the plethora of folders, another look reveals topics such as “India Club” or “Student Union reorganization.”
With just one full school year under his belt, Elmore has directly touched the lives of many BU students with his open-door atmosphere and helpful demeanor. Many students, usually frustrated with a lack of interaction with BU administrators, have found a new dean of students who lives up to the title of his job.
“Students here do things well,” Elmore said, sitting in the comfort of his GSU office. “Our people are precise … assertive, which I like. Our people are rugged individuals. I appreciate the level of thinking that our students have.”
With a student-first attitude, much of the changes in programming and student life have been touched, if not coordinated, by Elmore. The showing of Miracle in the GSU, which was attended by almost 1,400 students, was made possible by a broadening of horizons which Elmore sees as the key to future student-oriented programming.
“It’s going to be an exciting time next year,” he said. “We were able to work with a lot of corporate organizations to provide things like Miracle in its second week of running. We were able to do that because we needed to be creative.
“For instance, with Miracle, we went to the Motion Picture Association of America and said, ‘You’re concerned about college students file-sharing. Why don’t you give us something so you don’t seem like the bad guy all the time – give us Miracle free of charge so we can show it to our students,” Elmore continued. “It took some wrangling back and forth, but finally they said, ‘Here’s the movie.'”
Elmore has taken pride in his achievements at BU, but he has a bevy of ideas for the future of programming, he said.
“I think there’s a real need for late-night events every single week on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, every week,” he said. “I hope students will see that the GSU Back Court will have a more club atmosphere every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night where we can get DJs in there.”
Elmore’s accomplishments have been sizeable, considering the difficulties associated with BU programming. And while programming for students will continue to be a primary objective for him, Elmore hopes to further programming organized by students especially.
“Student organizations are the backbone of programming on campus, and I’m gong to continue to push for collaboration between student organizations, more efficient funding for student organizations and also to push forth some creativity,” he said. “Just because you’ve been doing the same thing year in, year out doesn’t mean you can’t try something new – nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
Although student programming has found an ally with the new dean of students, Elmore is still striving to make the groups into efficient “consortiums” which would operate in groups of similar interest, he said.
“We have a lot of good programming and [we are] trying to decrease overlap,” he said. “There’s lots of weekends where there’s lots of cool stuff going on all at the same time. It’s hard to sustain a person’s interest when they always have to pick and choose.”
But while programming has been an important issue to Elmore this year, the reorganization of the Student Union and the student attempt to bring cable to BU dormitories have both also been major focuses, he said.
Cable has been a major issue for Elmore, who formed a committee of students to review the issue. Throughout the process, Elmore has made sure students will have a say in how cable is brought to BU, he said.
“I think right now, we’re in a phase where we are trying to determine what cable means for students – for people who will be involved in it,” he said. “For some people, cable means very good reception and that’s all they’re looking for. For some people, cable means a broadcast channel, which will include a broadcast channel that the university runs. For other people, cable is the way most people experience cable in America, and that is just a direct connection with an outside provider and you make your own arrangements.”
Elmore also tried to innovate with alcohol at BU campus events this year.
“Let me just be up front: I’d much prefer that students, who are of legal drinking age, are drinking alcohol on campus at an event on campus than at some house party out there where there’s no entertainment,” Elmore said. “You’re packed into somebody’s dingy basement, the beer is awful, they’re probably overcharging you for it – I just don’t see what’s fun about that, and I’ve seen these parties when I was an undergrad.”
On-campus drinking is a taboo that Elmore does not feel should be frowned upon, he said. While alcohol is always going to be associated with risks, BU students are more than responsible enough to handle themselves around alcohol, he said.
“I say, ‘Look, let’s move the game here. I’ll give you better space. We can provide some entertainment. We’ll give you better alcohol to drink and my guess is you won’t go to an event like that to drink for the sake of drinking to excess,'” Elmore said. “You’re going ’cause you’re going with your friends and if you happen to be 21, I see no problems with you being the adult that you’re supposed to be and drinking a beer or having a glass of wine. I have no qualms with that.”
By increasing student-oriented programming and adding the ability for large-scale events with the opening of Agganis Arena, Elmore said he feels students can expect the future of student life at BU to be very bright.
“I think we’re positioning ourselves for people to say, ‘Well, at BU, because they have that arena, they always have cool stuff going on,'” Elmore said. “I think we’re going to be the envy of college students in the city of Boston.”
While programming and restructuring will make student life more enjoyable and student programming easier, Elmore said he feels it is BU students that hold the key to bettering BU as a whole.
“I’ve had a chance to contrast BU students to other students,” Elmore said. “Our students have a level of sophistication I admire. [They] have a good blend of where they want to go and what they want to do and [they] forge their way to make that happen.
“Our students dream big,” he said.
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