At its meeting on Monday, Student Union touched on upcoming elections and the possibility of gender-neutral housing.
Gender-neutral housing is an issue which Advocacy Chair Amy Mahler, a senior in the College of Communication, has worked on for several years.
“We finally have really gotten together research from other groups…basically, we’re trying to find as many groups as possible who are interested in gender neutral housing,” Mahler said. “I think if we make a real proposal that the university would like, they could start a test for the year after the immediate year, and they could start working on it on an institutional level.”
Union also passed a proposal by the Panhellenic Council, which represents BU’s sororities and fraternities, to set aside venues on campus particularly for the use of Greek life.
Other issues that were touched on include advocating for grade forgiveness, a program that would allow students to retake a course and not have the original grades figured into their grade point average.
Mahler admitted that policies often took very long to get improved.
“The change in the guest policy took five years,” she said, referring to a policy approved in 2007 that drastically improved access to residence halls for guests. “Any fight that is worth having takes time because you are changing institutions and the way people think.”
In order for changes to be made, members said that the Union would need new and committed members who can carry on the legacy of their predecessors.
“One of the biggest things I’ve tried to do is for every major issue to have underclassmen who are learning and can carry on each subject into the next Union e-board cycle,” Mahler said. “If I can have members of my committee who become experts on the subject matter so that they can carry it on into the next year and train more people, then I don’t have to worry that they will be overburdened or eventually burned out.”
Students interested in becoming involved with the Union can run for office after spring break. The campaigning period begins April 11 and lasts two weeks.
“Anyone who has experience being involved on campus, anyone who has issues and wants their voice to be heard should run. The most important thing is that we want active people who will enact the change that other people aren’t going to,” said Student Union Commissioner Amanda Peterson, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Peterson also encouraged students to come to Union meetings and see how they are run.
“It just shows that you have a voice that you want to be heard, and that’s really great, and honestly, I’m sure for that one person there are 10 or 20 other people who wish they could do the same thing,” she said.
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