College of Fine Arts looks to recruit more senators to StuGov

The Boston University Student Government is working to recruit more College of Fine Arts students as there is currently only one senator from the college.

The current senator from CFA, Daniel Perkins, said though it is “an honor” to help the student body, he also feels overworked in representing CFA by himself. 

“It’s also very frustrating in a way because there’s a certain amount that one person is able to do,” Perkins said. “I do feel that a fair and appropriate representation is that each seat should be filled by an independent person who is able to make a decision independent of what I think.”

In StuGov’s mission statement, they say the legislative branch “is the only body to act as the direct student voice,” with representatives from all colleges present.

Perkins expressed his appreciation for the senate leadership helping him navigate being the only CFA senator and helping get the word out about recruiting more. 

“What happened was the College of Fine Arts failed to form a government, essentially,” Perkins said. “But … it makes me feel better knowing that we have so much support.”

Isabel Wheat, a senior at CFA who used to be a senator representing CFA, said she was unhappy with the leadership of the senate when it came to the lack of CFA representation. 

“If there were real leaders in BU Senate, someone would have to talk to a living breathing student in CFA and realize where this discrepancy of failing to fulfill their own mission statement, ” Wheat said. “Since the interaction hasn’t happened with leadership, no one can pinpoint whether students in the fine arts in general are interested or not with student advocacy and politics, or whether it’s because we can’t afford the time or energy.” 

Wheat said workload is one major cause for CFA students not participating in StuGov. 

“In general CFA is like an anomaly when it comes to college education, because you’re not taking four, four credit classes,” she said. “You’re taking up to seven, one or two, or three credit classes.”

Rafaele DiMaggio, a sophomore in Questrom and chair of the senate finance committee, said that Perkins is doing a strong job representing CFA in the senate despite being the only CFA senator. 

“[Perkins] is doing a great job of making his voice heard in the senate,” DiMaggio said. “I think he just has to just hold out for someone else to join in from CFA. I wish there were more ways that he could get representation besides himself.”

DiMaggio said he believes a big reason is a lack of awareness about positions in StuGov, which he also said extends beyond just CFA. 

“I didn’t hear about the senate position except through a friend that was already a senator,” DiMaggio said. “It’s the awareness.”

While other colleges have their own StuGov’s, Perkins said CFA was unable to form their own government and that three senators from CFA is an ideal number. 

“CFA has the School of Theater, the School of Music, and the School of Visual Arts,” Perkins said. “That’s also three. So it provides the opportunity to have one from each school.”

Wheat said CFA students who consider applying to be a senator should also make sure to advocate for themselves. 

“Make sure that you really understand the role and advocate for yourself,” Wheat said. “Being a senator is for everyone. It’s not just confined to people who are interested in pursuing government later in life … As long as you have passion or interest to try to better your colleagues in CFA or nearby, that’s all you really need to be senator.”

Interested CFA students are invited to apply for this position.

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Isabel Wheat’s major.