The Executive Board of Boston University’s Student Government has been making headway on its platform promises after taking office May 18.
In their campaign as slate OneBU, the four members centered on three pillars: community, health and professional development. The group had laid out several plans for implementation upon taking office.
These included increased office hours and accessibility to E-Board and StuGov, a health blog, self-care Wednesdays, an underrepresented-students week and a gala to showcase student talent and fundraise for charity.
Another aim, which the group has begun discussions for, was to collaborate with the BuildLab, the Center for Career Development and alumni to prepare networking opportunities.
Despite the upheaval of COVID-19, StuGov President Oliver Pour said his slate is committed to fulfilling platform plans and thinks it is possible to do so remotely. He said the team will develop working plans for remote and in-person events.
“This is not going to be a typical year where we could just hold events of 300, 400, 500 people, even 25 people,” said Pour, a rising junior in the College of Communication and former College of General Studies student. “This is the year that things are going to change and we’re going to have to do a lot of things virtually, and it’s going to be a lot of initiative-based ideas rather than big event-based ideas.”
The group recently partnered with UMOJA: The Black Student Union — and later, more than 150 other student organizations — to organize a GoFundMe fundraiser aiding organizations that combat racism and police brutality in the U.S.
Vice President of Finance Megan de Armas said that in addition to raising money for a cause important to the student body, the fundraiser also sparked connections between StuGov and other campus organizations. Increasing communication and cooperation with student groups had already been a goal, she said, but it came to fruition before the semester began.
“Now we have relationships with over 150 different organizations and leaders within those organizations,” said de Armas, a rising junior in the Questrom School of Business, “that will later be able to continue conversations and continue relationships.”
Executive Vice President David Joseph, a rising junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, added that as part of its initiative to build unity on campus, OneBU plans to help connect organizations that share similar goals but may not have been on each other’s radar.
“We want everyone to come to a table, talk about what they’re doing in this club, what discussions they’re having, topics that they’re concerned about,” Joseph said, “so we can hear each other’s voices and get to know each other in a different manner.”
Joseph said he believes introducing new people to one another in this way will promote the prevalence of diverse narratives everywhere.
“You’re bringing cultures together, different religions, brand new relationships,” Joseph said. “And I think that to make ‘one BU,’ to make this a unified campus, there’s no other way to do it.”
Vice President of Internal Affairs Nyah Jordan, a rising junior in COM and former CGS student, said StuGov hopes to gain student input when updating its goals to ensure needs are being met.
“Now more than ever, it’s really important to hear what the student body wants to do and what they’re looking for from us,” Jordan said. “We’re trying our best to bring everyone together, and it’s going to be especially difficult now that we literally have to be socially distant.”
The E-Board has also begun working with other members of StuGov to redesign the website to be more interactive, Pour said. The new site should launch in August.
As it stands, all four E-Board members said StuGov is underutilized and they hope to make it more accessible to all students, whether within or outside the organization.
Pour said StuGov aims to use its position of power to reach out to the average student and be a resource for everyone.
“The Student Government is not here to reinvent the wheel,” Pour said. “We’re just here to make sure the wheels are running. And that’s extremely important. We’re here to be a safe house for people.”
Joseph said he hopes all students will feel comfortable saying “hi” to him when they see him on Commonwealth Avenue, a sentiment Jordan echoed.
It is easy to get lost in the flow at a school as large as BU, Jordan said, but students should know they are not alone.
“We’re just students ourselves and I think it’s important that people see that and we don’t think we’re better than everybody else because we were elected by the student body,” Jordan said. “We’re human, too, and we’re going to make mistakes. But we have a lot of power in our voices and so do you.”
Nyah Jordan was an Associate Campus Editor for Fall 2019. She is no longer involved in The Daily Free Press.
