In a senate meeting on Monday night, Boston University’s Student Union decided that while it will not take a side in the Occupy Boston protests, Union members will plan on holding an open forum discussing the movement on Friday.
Union members said they hope to fulfill the role of mediator for talks between police and students.
“If they are looking for a forum to be heard, where we have resources to assist them, we’d be happy to facilitate them. We want to make sure both sides have the opportunity to speak,” said Howard Male, Union president and a senior in School of Hospitality Administration and School of Management.
“We don’t want the government saying how things are going to be without the input of students to speak,” Male added. “As the Student Union, we want to make sure that the conversation does happen, and we would use all the resources we have to facilitate that conversation to the best of our abilities.”
Alex Staikos, a junior in the School of Management and Union’s vice president, said students have asked Union to take a stance but they would rather “open up a forum.”
“. . .We’re giving students a place where they can voice concerns and not sit outside,” Staikos said. “Hopefully students can say what they need to say.”
Union members are planning the open forum for this Friday, at a time and place yet to be determined. Members of Union’s city committee are hoping to get Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, representatives from the police department, members of BU Occupies Boston and members of Boston’s financial community to participate.
Other members of the Union executive board echoed Male’s plan for conversation without endorsement.
“The Student Union supports the rights of students to safely and lawfully protest. The Student Union doesn’t have a formal position of for or against the protest,” Staikos said. “Since the Union represents 17,000 students, we feel it’s not a good use of our time to develop a specific position, rather try to encompass everyone.”
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Luke Rebecchi, a member of BU Occupies Boston, did not advocate that Union stand behind the protest, but urged Union leaders to encourage political activism and debate.
“We aren’t looking to the Student Union for an endorsement, but we want the Union to take an active role in political issues on campus,” Rebecchi said.
At the meeting, Union members debated the size of Union’s role as mediator, particularly in advertising and framing Friday’s discussion, for much of the meeting. Some members said they wanted simply to announce the discussion, while others said they wanted to provide students with a fact sheet of both sides’ views.
School of Education sophomore Haley Jensen said she thinks Union should take a large role in explaining Occupy Boston.
“I feel like it’s almost our duty to inform students about what’s going on. If we don’t do that, we’re not doing our job,” Jensen said.
Other students, such as Sean Gunning, a freshman in CAS, argued for a smaller role in the debate.
“I think we should just announce the forum as opposed to providing information about both sides and what they believe, because no matter how we frame it, people will look for a slant and the reflects on the Student Union,” Gunning said.
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