I seriously question the Student Union executive board’s decision to nominate Mikhail Makalski to be the vice president. I hope the executive board carefully reviewed his qualifications, and did not simply nominate him because he played an important role in their election. Based on my experience working with him in the Union, I do not believe Mikhail will make an effective vice president.
Let me start first and foremost by saying that Mikhail is a friend and by no means do I doubt his passion for Boston University. Having served with him in the General Assembly for several years, I know that he is deeply interested in improving student life. However, I am not sure that is enough to be a good vice president.
?The vice president, among other things, is responsible for convening and presiding over General Assembly meetings. Whether or not you agreed with the decisions they made, past vice presidents, including Mark DiCristofaro, John Dallas Grant and Paula Griffin, have been respectful, courteous and professional during meetings. However, I cannot say the same for Mikhail. I have witnessed several occasions when he would make rude comments and/or interrupt members of the General Assembly. At other times, he would bog the debate down with rules and procedures, rather than fostering a substantive discussion on important issues. While it is certainly important that the Union constitution is adhered to, a discussion about rules and procedures should by no means dominate a discussion.
?The Student Union has repeatedly been criticized for failing to make any real progress. Well, with a vice president that lacks professionalism and worries more about procedures than progress, I doubt the Union’s ability to make any real progress this year.
?Whether or not they agree with my comments, I hope members of the General Assembly will cast their vote for Mikhail after a careful analysis of his qualifications and a thorough question-and-answer session.
Hersh Parekh
SMG ’09 / CAS ’09
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
Hersh, I understand where you are coming from… I actually didn’t think of those reasons before, but my only reason for Mike not being the best possible VP was that he is doing to many other things already, and he seems to have dropped several of his previous clubs and commitments, such as being RHA rep of HoJo. BUT I think you are being a bit extreme saying that just because of Mike’s (sometimes comic relief) random comments during meetings are going to actually COMPLETELY prevent the Union from making progress is complete and utter BULLSHIT. It sounds like you just don’t like Mike. ALSO, btw, as per your last paragraph, idk when u wrote your letter, but the FreeP editors must not have realized that the vote has already taken place.