STAFF EDIT: Union proposal misguided

The Boston University Student Union’s General Assembly meeting on Monday should have been held two weeks ago. Because of Union President Matt Seidel’s decision to hold a meeting during the Beanpot Tournament final, the Union was forced to vote on proposals that it had already voted on, but without a quorum, and many saw these votes as illegitimate. It was revealed in yesterday’s meeting that Seidel’s disregard for his own constitution and failure to reschedule had consequences involving a now pointless class registration proposal. Regardless of whether or not this is a policy that should have been implemented by the Union, it just goes to show how the procedural error was more than a simple inconvenience.

It didn’t have to be this way. The BU Allocations Board, which has equally important responsibilities to the BU community, had the foresight to reschedule their Monday night meeting a month in advance, knowing that many usual attendees would not want to miss the Beanpot. The Union should have taken note, and followed the AB’s lead.

Clearly, the attendance issue of the GA members has to be addressed. The Union is going to continue to have difficulty reaching quorum, and it isn’t fair for many BU students to have no representation in the Union. Campus Safety Chairman Leo Gameng’s Voter Cleanup Plan, however, is a flawed proposal.

Something similar to the Voter Cleanup Act may be necessary in the future to ensure that GA members are attending GA meetings, but it would not be fair to members to change the rules in the middle of the game by putting the names of GA members who are in violation of his proposal online. It is important to keep in mind that some GA members may not have been fully committed because certain groups, such as residence halls, are required to have representatives ‘-‘- whether someone shows an interest in Union or not. Participants shouldn’t have to have their name published online as being ‘in gross misconduct’ of a Union policy, where future employers might be able to find it and judge them unfairly. Furthermore, the Voter Protection Act, also proposed by Gameng, is unfair in the respect that some members would be exceptions to the rules, while the rest are kicked out. Nobody should be above the law.

What is being overlooked in this mess is that the Union has already given itself the right to expel GA members who aren’t showing up to meetings. In Article I, Section III, the Union constitution states that ‘two unexcused absences to Student Union meetings or meetings respective to constituencies by a GA member will be considered a resignation.’ If the Union had been following through on this rule from the beginning, there would be no need to publicly call out members who miss meetings.

Ultimately, the Union must find a way to attract GA members who want to be there, not just those who feel obligated to attend. This new attitude will ensure that attendance problems do not prevent the Union from being an effective advocate for’ its students.