STAFF EDIT: Dough rising

The Boston University Student Union may not have had an action-packed fall semester, but Monday’s General Assembly meeting reminded students that their Union is loaded with something almost as valuable: cash. BU and many of its students are feeling the financial pinch during this time of economic crisis, but it is apparent that the Union has no such problems. The Union needs to take advantage of its huge balance and do more for the student body than just sit pretty atop its mountain of cash.

Since the last GA meeting on Dec. 8, the Union treasurer has estimated that less than $25 has been spent out of a $12, 477.61 budget. So much more could have been done with a budget of this size. Surely there are underfunded student groups, or at the very least, charities, that could do a lot of good with the Union’s assistance. Nobody is benefiting from money that isn’t being put to any use.

With this kind of money, the Union needs to aim higher than its current plan to simply provide funds for other student groups to use for printing fliers. There’s nothing wrong with this initiative, but it certainly does not require anywhere near $12,000. Also, the fact that it takes student groups so long to get the money they need in the first place may discourage them from even asking the Union for money if it is needed in a timely manner. Hopefully, the Union will follow through on its proposal to expedite the process.’

If Union members really have ‘so much money that [they] really don’t know what to do with it,’ then they need to get their act together. It doesn’t make sense for our cash-strapped university to be giving the Union an additional $1,000 this semester if it has no use for it. Other areas of BU could be using that money effectively right away.

For the Union, it is time to use it, or lose it. The Union has proven that it can save money, but now it must show it can spend wisely, too.