Members of the 2005-06 Student Union General Assembly formed seven new committees to discuss Boston University student concerns and issues at a Union meeting last weekend held in the Sargent Activities Center.
Student Union President Jon Marker emphasized the need to narrow down the Union’s agenda for the academic year.
“We have to decide here, now, which issues we’re most passionate about,” the College of Arts and Sciences junior said. “We can handle about six to 10 committees this semester.”
Student Union Vice President Jonah Goldberg reminded the Assembly members that the committees should be formed based on university-wide complaints, instead of personal dislikes.
“Remember to not think about what you want,” the College of Communication junior said. “Think about what the students want. We’re here representing 16,000.”
The new Communication and Technology Committee will focus on issues including the campus computer labs and wireless internet access. It will also work with the Student Activities Office to better promote events to the BU community, Marker said.
“I think we’re a great middle person between average Joe and SAO,” he said. “We can tell them where to go.”
Although Union members voiced their desire to use convenience and dining points at more areas throughout the city, Marker said it is not as feasible with other colleges in the Boston area at this point.
“Unlike Northeastern [University] and Boston College, we have six dining halls on campus,” Marker said. “When you increase the amount of places where people can eat off campus, the dining halls lose money, so they can’t provide all the options if people are eating elsewhere.”
Instead, the new Dining Committee will work on getting dining halls to stay open later and push to use convenience points at one or two more places on the university campus.
Elena Quattrone, the Union representative from 575 Commonwealth Ave., called attention to academic advising.
“The offices relay you,” the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences sophomore said. “You have to go through a lot of people to get one thing done.”
The Academic College Committee was formed in hopes of improving the academic advising system. It will also focus on teaching assistant selection and breaking down college stereotypes.
Along with the Academic College Committee, the Union conceived a separate academic committee to work more with the faculty and the administration. The Academic Provost Committee will work on getting class materials online and grade deflation, according to Marker.
“Grade deflation is not a university policy,” he said. “It differs with each department. Since it’s not a university policy, it’s going to require a lot more hands-on work.”
There will also be a committee dedicated to enhancing the freshman experience. The How to Be You Committee will be a guide to help freshmen get more involved in university programs.
“[We’re going to] work on not dropping freshmen after Splash,” Marker said. “We need to make a lifeline there. Create a freshman experience.”
The Union also formed two other committees, which will focus on the Guest Policy and an Environmental/Recycling Committee, two issues that the Union worked on last academic term.
Marker expressed a desire to prioritize these issues and “then move on,” so the Union can work on different issues during the second semester.
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