Upon taking office as Student Union president, Howard Male said he would challenge every student at Boston University to make a difference in his or her community every day – a feat the School of Management and School of Hospitality Administration senior said he believes the entire student body could accomplish.
“It’s not hard to positively affect your community every day, but if everyone does it, it creates a different atmosphere. And BU is capable of achieving it,” Male said.
Male’s challenge, which he issued to freshmen in his Matriculation address Sept. 4, reflects his own goal to serve as a well-rounded figure for the BU community.
“Sometimes we fall into silos: ‘I’m a theater person’ or ‘I’m a biker on Marsh Plaza’ or ‘I’m in Greek life’ or ‘I’m in an a cappella group,’” Male said. “We forget to remember we are a big community, which doesn’t just mean we’re a BU community. We’re a Boston community and one community of citizens in the U.S.”
Male, who grew up in various parts of northern California, has a history of leadership, working in student government and as the school newspaper’s business manager during high school. Now, as Union president, Male said he focuses on “community-based leadership.”
His role as Union president, he said, is an integral part of his identity, rather than a responsibility separate from his personal life.
“Being Student Union president is part of how I identify myself as member of this community,” Male said. “If someone has something to tell me in between classes, I do want to hear from them.
“I would never want to say to somebody, ‘Sorry, come back during business hours,’” he added. “It’s not that kind of job, and I’m way too passionate about it to want to separate my personal life from my work at the Student Union.”
Union secretary Sophie Miller, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, said she has seen Male demonstrate a “hard-working attitude” in many facets of his on-campus work.
“Howard knows the inner workings of BU, which allows him to serve the student body so efficiently,” Miller said. “We’re able to develop our ideas for Student Union together and I always value his opinion.”
Male said his decision to run for Union president stemmed from his desire to offer his skills to the community, as well as his dedication to several projects, which he wants to see further pursued at BU.
“I was looking for different ways to get involved. I actually don’t remember Student Union at Splash. Instead I got involved at my [Residence Hall Association],” Male said. “I wanted to help affect my living community in West Campus, and I found that experience to be a really interesting hybrid. I got to represent West in student-wide forums, but also connect more with the entire university.”
With the administration planning to implement new initiatives, Male said he sees a potential to expand beyond last year’s projects.
“Last year’s leadership did a great job making sure avenues exist,” he said. “This year we want to be more proactively going out to students, asking them, ‘What do you want from the BU experience and how do we get there?’”
Miller said Howard’s experiences at BU should make any student feel comfortable approaching him.
“The union’s job, and my job, isn’t to improve Union,” Howard said. “Union’s job is to make sure student life is the best it can be and we partner with various people we need to in order to affect change and continue to make BU a world-class institution.”
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