At their last meeting of the year, members of Boston University Student Government approved a revision of the SG Constitution that adds a House of Representatives consisting of members of on-campus student groups in response to proposals passed by the Senate April 22.
“By the creation of this House of Representatives, we’re hoping we can better connect with student groups across campus,” said Aditya Rudra, SG president and School of Management junior. “We wanted to work out some of the logistical governance details, and so we passed those [Constitutional amendments].”
The revised edition of the Constitution also makes the Senate Chair, the Speaker of the House, the President of the Overarching Executive Council for Residence Hall Associations and the Chair of the College Government Presidents’ Council a part of the executive board, in addition to existing members.
SG elected current Assistant Director of Advocacy Avi Levy to serve as next year’s Senate Chair, Rudra said.
“Basically, I want to create more of an experience for senators and students involved with Student Government and who want to present their initiatives to Student Government,” Levy, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, said.
Levy said he aims to hold orientation for new senators during the 2013–14 academic year and to hold one-on-one meetings with senators to evaluate their performances and ask for feedback. He also said he hopes to meet with outside groups presenting to Senate before they do so.
“I want to make Senate more transparent for outside groups and help people to enjoy Senate as much as possible,” he said. “There’s a lot of potential for Senate, and I want us to be able to reach that potential.”
SG Executive Vice President Lauren LaVelle said she approves of Levy as next year’s Senate chair.
“It will be interesting to see how the position [Senate chair] develops,” LaVelle, an SMG junior, said. “Avi Levy is a great candidate for the position and will work smoothly with the incoming e-board.”
SG also approved a letter of support for students of Boston College in light of a recent conflict between BC Students for Sexual Health and the college officials due to the distribution of contraceptives at certain locations on BC’s campus.
“Essentially, we are expressing the idea that the students of Boston University support the continued existence of this system at Boston College for their students to have access to the sexual health resources that we take for granted,” Rudra said.
SG drafted the letter after BC Students for Sexual Health representative Evan Goldstein, a freshman at BC, visited senate April 8 to ask BU students for their support.
Goldstein said BC administrators had threatened to punish members of the group if they continued the operation of “Safe Sites,” or locations on BC’s campus where students could receive condoms and information regarding sexual health, which the administration said did not uphold BC’s Jesuit values.
The letter of support states BC’s administration does not have adequate reason to threaten BC Students for Sexual Health with disciplinary action because the group receives no funding from the university. It also states the administration should not ignore students being sexually active.
“You’re more likely to have students that make the right choices about their own sexual health and their own sexual activity if they have access to information and if they have access to different contraceptives than if that information and those materials are withheld from them,” Rudra said.
Rudra said information and education is crucial to proper decision-making.
“It’s important to students,” he said. “I’ve always believed that readily available information is how students can make the best choices.”
The ceremonial passing of the gavel is set for an unspecified future date.
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