Boston University Student Union representatives will submit a Guest Policy revision proposal to administrators within the next two weeks as the first part of a larger University Perspectives Project, according to Union President Zachary Coseglia.
The proposal will be 100-200 pages and will include three to four different recommendations for changes in the current policy, Coseglia said. The report will also include a large body of survey statistics compiled over the past three weeks in a Union joint effort with student group BU Free, according to Coseglia. Research methods and goals will also be included in the report.
“A large chunk of the report is essentially a research project showing what students are saying and allowing the student voice to be heard,” Coseglia said. “In the past, administrators have always looked at it as a bunch of whiny students. We’re getting these statistics together to show that the Guest Policy really is an important part of our experience at BU.”
Research for the proposal included compiling between 1,000 and 1,500 surveys and student perspectives regarding the Guest Policy, according to Coseglia. All survey and perspective responses will be included in the formal report, including those in favor of current policies, Coseglia said.
“We’re not picking information out of the research because we want to make our argument stronger,” he said. “The report will be very honest — everything’s there and we’re not hiding anything.”
Project representatives are also currently in the process of surveying parents to compare their answers to a 1988 parent survey compiled by then-BU President John Silber. That survey said parents support the Guest Policy 30-1, according to Coseglia.
“Silber’s parent statistic was rather bogus, and we want to get a survey together to find out what they feel about the policy,” Coseglia said.
Discussions with the Faculty Student Life Task Force, the BU Police Department and current dorm security guards will also be included in the report, according to Coseglia.
Project representatives will present the research and recommendations to the faculty task force at a meeting on March 11 in an effort to gain their support for the project, Coseglia said.
“They’re a key part of the coalition to make change,” Coseglia said. “I’d say this is the most important student-life issue, and we’re going to do everything we can to get them to support us.”
Project representatives plan to get advice on the security implications of their proposals from the BUPD, according to Coseglia. He said they will also try to solicit recommendations from the BUPD on how to make their proposals better.
“We live in a very safe place, and we want it to continue to be safe, but we also want it to be less restrictive to students,” Coseglia said.
Coseglia said security guards told project representatives that they are unable to comment on guest policies but said they would enforce any policy set forth by administrators.
Most students said they support Union efforts to change the current Guest Policy.
“It feels like the University doesn’t trust us, and it’s good that the Union is taking a stand on that,” said Manasi Chitre, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. “A majority of the student body is against the policy, and it’s good that [the Union is] in tune with that.”
Several students shared specific complaints regarding the current policy.
“The policy is clearly outdated as far as trying to get guests of the opposite sex into buildings and letting other BU students in,” said Zee Vassos, a CAS junior. “If anyone can sign in during the day, why is the policy so strict at night? There has to be something in place for security, but within the school, it’s ridiculous.”
Jody Dykstra, a sophomore in the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, said she most objects to having to sign in guests at least a day in advance of their stay. She also said she thinks guests should be able to stay longer than just three days, as the current policy dictates.
“Sometimes people come last minute,” she said. “I’m from Wisconsin, so when people come, they usually stay for longer than just the three days. I know they are trying to keep students safe, but we’re in college and I think we’re responsible enough.”
“We’re college kids — we should be able to do what we want,” said CAS sophomore Dan Colantonio. “We should be able to sign people of the opposite sex in and people shouldn’t have to leave by 2:30 a.m. [on weekends].”
Colantonio and several other students shared Guest Policy stories that they said prove the policy needs to be changed.
Colantonio said his neighbor ran into trouble when he tried to sign his brother in after not filling out the requisite paperwork.
“He had to try to sneak in and got caught,” he said. “It’s ridiculous, especially because it was his brother. It shows just how strict the Guest Policy is.”
Chitre said the policy is more just an annoyance and an inconvenience when she has guests stay with her.
“Whenever my friends from home try to visit me here, they don’t understand why we have the policy,” she said. “It’s ridiculous that in some of the bigger dorms, students are treated like children.”
However, Colantonio said he does recognize the need for some sort of Guest Policy for security reasons.
“The policy is a pain in the ass, but it does make you feel safe,” he said.
“They should have a happy medium between making the students happy and making the students safe,” Chitre said. “That’ll make everyone happier.”
Vassos said the Guest Policy proposal should improve the Union’s image because the policy is such a central issue to students.
“It’s good that they’re doing something for the student body as a whole instead of just a select group of people,” Vassos said. “If they can make waves with this issue, they could really get some attention. As it is, I don’t think they get a lot of attention, at least in my circle of friends.”
Coseglia said the project has been mostly done by six to seven core students, including Union Vice President of Residence Life Chip Weiskotten, Vice President of Public Relations Laurie Steinberg, Senate Vice Chairman Sean Dixon and BU Free President Ethan Clay.
The full University Perspectives Project will also include a push for more representative minority enrollment, Coseglia said. He said Union Vice President of Multicultural Affairs Onaje Crawford is currently working on a proposal for a minority orientation weekend as a preliminary step in the second phase of the project.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
