Union looks forward to new year

Boston University's Student Union delved deeper into its plans to unify the student body for the 2010-11 academic school year at its first meeting on Monday.

The executive board explained its role as an organization and the ways BU students could get involved to over 100 prospective senate and committee members in attendance.

Union President Arthur Emma and executive board members said that in order to establish a stronger on-campus influence during the 2010-11 academic year, they want to increase Union presence in terms of student networking, entertainment, events and collaboration with student groups and leadership development.

"The purpose of the Student Union is to advocate accurately and effectively for the students," Emma, a CAS senior, said. "We want to work to unify the student body by unifying and strengthening relationships."

Executive Vice President and CAS senior Dan Ellis said that emphasis should be placed on Union's overall mission instead of the quick turnover rate of leadership.

"We want something that will carry us into the future. . .What we're trying to do is develop some strong values that will last despite the short life of a Student Union," Ellis said. "In everything we do... we want to build the best organization possible."

One new method Union will implement this year is to guarantee 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. office hours in its new space on the second floor of the George Sherman Union. Union hopes the hours will boost campus interest in the organization and provide BU students a forum for feedback, concerns and ideas for possible initiatives.

The executive board also detailed its completed efforts, which includes a brand new website that will soon be operated with WordPress in order to streamline communication and multiple forms of social media.

Union also discussed the success of the GSU Takeover on Aug. 30. With over 4,500 students in attendance, it was the largest event the Union has ever held. Additionally, Union has already made headway in building a better BU Shuttle system by setting up a tracking feature on the BU Maps webpage, it said.

The executive board devoted most of the meeting to describing how the Union functions by detailing the representative structure and illustrating the many channels through which initiatives come to fruition. Several Union committees, including residence life, academic affairs, spirit and event planning are open for membership, as well as a new outreach committee, which will be focused on garnering student feedback.

"What we want to do this year is have a committee solely responsible for getting out there, getting to the students and finding out what most concerns them," Ellis said. "Without a mechanism to really hear what the students want to see happen, we can never really expect to accurately voice their opinions for them."

Emma and Ellis laid out plans for upcoming efforts as well. After being allocated $6,000 for the semester, the Union said it hopes to host a GSU Takeover "Part Two," as well as additional speeches by President Robert Brown and Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore.

Emma also announced an upcoming event called "Heads Versus Feds," during which the former editor-in-chief of High Times and a former Drug Enforcement Agency special agent will debate the legalization of marijuana.

CAS sophomore Mike Nitz said he was impressed by the meeting and saw potential in the Union's achievements this academic year.

"It seems like the Union is really on top of things and has a good idea of what they plan to do," Nitz said. "If they can have events set up every month, they're definitely on the right track. I really want to get involved with academic affairs. . .I'm really interested in that."

Attendee Safa Bhimdi, also a CAS sophomore, agreed.

"The whole meeting was well organized, and I can definitely see [Union] following through with what they're trying to plan," she said. "They've really made me feel like I can get involved and have an effect on BU."