Boston University President Melissa Gilliam addressed BU Student Government at its fifth meeting of the semester yesterday. Gilliam discussed the administration’s relationship with StuGov, communication between the two groups, changes at the University and both StuGov’s role and her own as president at the University.
Gilliam said to students at the meeting that one of her goals as president is to provide a “transformational student experience,” which involves students drawing from their own backgrounds while branching out and connecting with others.
“I want you to come in as you are, as your families and communities have raised you, but also really to leave you with new possibilities, new horizons, new folks,” Gilliam said.
Following the address, StuGov unanimously voted to give Gilliam 10 additional minutes to answer questions from students.
Students’ questions addressed various initiatives Gilliam has announced, such as the Living Our Values Project, programs to better support international students and plans to remove “barriers” between the Charles River Campus and the Medical Campus.
“You are the closest to the issues and problems, and your insights can be the things that drive the changes in the way that we function,” Gilliam said to students at the meeting.
Gilliam also reaffirmed BU’s commitment to create pipelines between the University and Boston Public Schools.
She touched on the importance of increasing green spaces across campus and said many buildings on campus are difficult to maintain and not cost efficient or sustainable.
StuGov voted again to extend discussion time for another 10 minutes.
Gilliam concluded by giving recommendations to the IMPACT Committee, a StuGov group aimed at amplifying diverse communities, about connecting schools with underserved communities. She also outlined the next steps of the Presidential Advisory Council on the Arts, which include two new committees and hopes for a performance space.
StuGov also approved two funding requests and denied a pending funding request tabled last week.
The first funding came from the Islamic Society of Boston University, a group founded to support Muslim students and share information about Islam. The group requested $1,960 to accommodate 112 meals for students not on meal plans during their observation of Ramadan.
Hassan Zahid, who presented on behalf of ISBU, said this funding will make it easier for students without meal plans to partake in mandatory religious obligations in a communal setting.
“There’s been a large increase in the number of non-meal plan attendees who have been coming to our Iftars, highlighting how this is clearly an issue that must be addressed,” Zahid said while presenting.
After an amendment was made to the bill, decreasing the number of meals from 112 to 80 and the funding from $1,960 to $1,400, the resolution passed with 38 votes.
The BU Center for Gender Sexuality and Activism also requested $600 in funding for cleaning supplies and menstrual care products.
The resolution successfully passed the Senate with 29 votes in support.
Verge Dance Company, BU’s first Chinese dance group, also returned to the Senate meeting after having its funding proposal tabled last week.
Multiple senators suggested alternative forms of funding for the group, such as working with Innovate@BU, collaborating with other organizations to split funding evenly and looking for other spaces to perform the showcase across campus.
Both representatives for Verge said Tsai Performance Center would be the ideal venue for their showcase due to the value it offers for the.
After deliberation, the resolution received 24 votes against funding for Verge, and did not pass.
