Boston University Student Government heard updates from Boston Intercollegiate Government and a presentation on a spreadsheet to record project proposals for senators to take on in a meeting Monday night.
The first item on the agenda was to discuss updates from BIG, which had been postponed from last week.
Alex Theon, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences and a BIG representative, said the organization is developing a proposal calling for colleges in Boston to designate three Mental Health Care Days.
“We found research that shows that from last year, during the height of the pandemic, to now, mental health has not been getting any better for students,” he said. “That’s something that needs to be addressed.”
Theon said BIG representatives met with the Intercollegiate Affairs Director, a BU Mental Health co-chair and interested students to receive feedback the committee plans to include as they move forward in implementing the initiative.
He added BIG also recently began work on forming a group to train BIG representatives in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and a Free Menstrual Product Initiative to provide period products in public spaces at BIG member institutions.
One senator said a previously successful 2018 StuGov initiative that aimed to distribute free menstrual products at several locations on BU’s campus could serve as the framework for BIG’s current project.
The senator noted they could share relevant paperwork and Theon accepted the offer, adding the documents could be “very helpful” for BIG members working on the proposal.
Next on the agenda was a presentation of a spreadsheet called the Project Progress Tracker 2021-22 listing different StuGov initiatives and projects currently in the works given by Chief of Staff Neha Shabeer, a junior in CAS.
The spreadsheet provides information including a given project’s description, current status, what collaborators are seeking assistance on and the point person’s contact information.
Shabeer said the spreadsheet aims to increase “transparency, communication and accountability” between StuGov branches.
“I know a lot of times Student Government can feel a little bit disjointed in terms of not knowing what other things are going on beyond your own … space,” she said.
Shabeer said senators could use the spreadsheet to find initiatives to work on, adding that while the spreadsheet is currently only for internal StuGov use, it could potentially be made accessible to the overall student population at a later date.
“I think that if we took out some of the nitty-gritty details, we could make it something that’s accessible on the government website,” Shabeer said. “It would be cool for it to be more transparent for people, and they can literally see what the government is actively working on.”
Totally agree that the spreadsheet in a more basic form would be great for students to access. They may want to join some of the initiatives. They could list the StuGov initiatives, a description of the initiative, their typical meeting days, location, and the point person to contact.
Good Work Press