If President-elect James Sappenfield and Vision for BU want to make resolving the internal problems of the Boston University Student Union a priority, then Monday’s General Assembly meeting was a step in the wrong direction.
On Sappenfield’s part, it was unwise to propose such sweeping changes in his first appearance before the GA as president-elect, when, judging from the April 21 cabinet meeting minutes, there was serious opposition from committee chairs. It does not seem likely that the GA members would approve making drastic changes to the Union constitution at the very last GA meeting of the year.’ He obviously wants to hit the ground running next year, but trying to change too much, too quickly, can have negative effects.
The conduct of the GA in response to Sappenfield’s proposed amendments was equally unproductive and sets a bad precedent for next year. The GA should not, by any means, be rubber-stamping Sappenfield’s proposals, but the staunch opposition to an important part of the president-elect’s agenda is a troubling sign. It is extremely inappropriate for GA members to be giving an enthusiastic ovation when their president-elect fails.’
If the Union wants to devote itself to advocating on behalf of students, then the executive board needs to be on the same page as the GA in order to prevent future embarrassment. Sappenfield’s proposals to reform Union are important, and every amendment deserves careful consideration. But the GA must not get hung up on fixing internal issues, and dramatizing them in this way prevents the Union from focusing on the more important causes that are relevant to the entire student body.’
This is exactly the type of behavior that Union needs to be avoiding and is what caused the Union to be so ineffective this year. If this kind of infighting and petty politics is any indication as to what is in store for Union next year, then it will be next to impossible for Sappenfield to accomplish any part of his ambitious agenda.
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