Boston University Student Government heard presentations on potentially introducing salaries to StuGov leadership, marginalized group representation and passed a bill endorsing the 100% Clean Act.
Representation Oversight Committee chair Adam Shamsi, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, introduced solutions to make StuGov more accessible for lower-income students — offering stipends, tuition waivers or covering the cost of housing and a meal plan for members in leadership positions.
95% of Stugov members reported that “compensation would likely increase the amount of time, or quality of work pertaining to student government work,” according to a survey Shamsi conducted.
“To fill any of the offices of leadership positions in Student Government requires a lot of time commitment, potentially 12 or more hours a week, and that makes it exclusive,” Shamsi said.
Shamsi compared BU to other universities compensating their student government leaders through full tuition, salaries or meal and housing plans. Of the 18 universities surveyed, 16 had some form of compensation for members in leadership positions.
“[A stipend] would never come directly from Student Government’s money. It would have to come from the University because Student Government can’t pay itself,” Shamsi said.
Shamsi said he was also planning to meet with administration to propose this plan.
The meeting continued with a senate resolution to endorse the Massachusetts 100% Clean Act.
The 100% Clean Act is a Massachusetts state bill that sets concrete goals for the state’s transition to completely clean energy — 100% clean electricity by 2035, 100% clean heating and transportation by 2045 and a fair transition for fossil fuel workers.
The bill is currently being discussed in committee by Massachusetts legislators, and will be pushed to a final decision in July.
The 100% Clean Act has already been endorsed by over 60 organizations, including Mass. Peace Action, Sustainable Wellesley and Environment Massachusetts.
Majority Party leader Ricky Nieto, a CAS junior, and Senator Senthil Meyyappan, a CAS freshman, urged StuGov to endorse the 100% Clean Act, noting their backing of the bill would give it “institutional legitimacy.”
“The Massachusetts Student Public Interest Research Group reached out to us asking for our endorsement, so that should tell us how important we seem to them,” Meyyappan said. “It’s only appropriate to make use of the respect they’re giving us as an institution over other Boston area schools and really get on this movement.”
The resolution to endorse the bill markets the ability for students to write letters to the Mass. state government in support of the 100% Clean Act.
The resolution passed with 36 votes.
The meeting then continued with a presentation from the Majority Party on the Intersection of Marginalized Peoples and Community Task-Force (I.M.P.A.C.T.).
Members from the party said the task force’s purpose is to “amplify the voices of marginalized communities of the undergraduate Boston University population.”
I.M.P.A.C.T would bring different groups representing marginalized groups on campus together to conduct roundtables and collaborate with, and advocate, for marginalized groups on campus.
Senator Dhruv Kapadia, a CAS sophomore, said he thought that having so many different groups involved in I.M.P.A.C.T. could potentially block cohesive action because of each group’s different and varied needs.
“Economic justice, religious justice, in themselves are so dense and nuanced and to group it together, in my mind, could hinder the effectiveness of a committee,” Kapadia said.
In response to Kapadia, Senator Derek Ewers, a sophomore in CAS, said taking intersectionality into account would increase the overall effectiveness of the group.
“I think it’s quite the opposite,” Ewers said. “I think by dividing it, you’re not attacking the issue because to say that race does not have to do with class is insane.
I.M.P.A.C.T. has confirmed collaborations with Alianza Latina, BU Queer Activist Collective, the National Society of Black Engineers and the Bangladeshi Student Association among others.
