LETTER: The Union responds

After reading your editorial (‘Union speechless,’ Nov. 18, p. 6), I want to clear up some misconceptions.

First, the Student Union has not been stalled on this issue nor has it been a pressing concern for the last six semesters. While it has perhaps been mentioned or floated around as an idea for some time, it was not until last spring that the issue finally started getting traction on a large scale. This period was spent by various groups in conducting the first steps toward a policy, including preliminary research.

This fall, there is no comparison in terms of scale with what has been done before. While some information was collected and surveys done in the past, we have gone much further. To say that work has been stalled or that the Union is ‘speechless’ is inaccurate. The petition of signatures, which has gone over 2,100, was only started three weeks ago and it has been through the tireless efforts of Union members spending hours a day that such an impressive number has been achieved.

To the BU community, let me say that your Union has taken up the challenge to clean up problems of the past while focusing on present concerns. The information regarding the survey of students, the petition, the resolution and contacts for all involved on this project are on our website for download. I urge anyone interested in this topic to examine all that Union’s online resources have to offer and contact your representatives with any questions.

Creating such massive change at BU cannot happen in a day. Rather, it takes an extraordinary amount of work and commitment to see a project through. It took years for the Guest Policy to change and months to have the shuttle hours extended. I know that BU students realize an immediate fix is not always possible, but just because something is tough and takes time doesn’t mean it isn’t worth the fight. ‘

I believe the opposite. It is times like these, when the issues are tough and the solution difficult, that we must prepare ourselves to do the work that is necessary.

Your Union will continue to work hard because I know the reason we put in hours a day, the reason we speak out to students to inform them of issues and the reason we keep going even when the job seems hardest’ – and even thankless – is because of two simple words that I hope every student remembers about your Union representatives, who are out there fighting on your behalf every day: We care.

Matt Seidel

Student Union President