Our platform is broken down into five major areas: Inclusivity, Transparency, Continuity, Quality-of-Life Issues, and Improving Student Group Experiences. Each is broken down below into Basics, Some Details, and How We Have Worked On It Already. We have also added a sixth section, comprised of suggestions we have received from our peers during elections.

 

 

Inclusivity

 

The Basics:

• Listen to the student body and incorporate your ideas into our agenda

• Affected student groups invited to participate in Student Government initiatives

• Create a database of student talent accessible by all BU students

• You can vote on the projects you want to see done

 

Some Details:

 

We will be the first ones to admit that there is work to be done in terms of the outreach and inclusivity of Student Government. We are ready to put in that work. Our vision is to make Student Government a true representation of the student body, a real advocate for student needs to administration, and a worthwhile resource to all individuals and organizations on this campus. That starts with making it a more welcoming, inclusive, community environment that people want to be a part of.

 

A more welcoming environment and open culture starts with the Executive Board. We plan to spend the summer and the beginning of the academic year focusing on outreach to student groups and individuals through personal conversations, town halls, and mass emails with Google forms where you can express your opinion on what Student Government should prioritize.

 

Through the year, we want to include people outside of the Student Government “bubble” in Student Government work by asking relevant student organizations or special interest groups to collaborate with us on initiatives in which they may be interested.

 

We want to set up a keyword-searchable “human capital network” on the Student Government website. In other words, this would be a database of student talent, a resources that fosters mutually beneficial partnerships where a student group or individual in need of a certain service could look within the BU population first, and the student or student group who matches their need could have the opportunity to get some experience in their field. For example, if a student group needs a DJ for an event, they would be able to go online and keyword search DJ to find student DJs at BU.

 

How We Have Worked On This Already:

 

As VP of Student Government, Richa Kaul, our Presidential candidate, is currently overseeing a proposal to get classes canceled on Veterans Day to properly honor the significance of the day. Student Government has reached out to ROTC to work on this initiative since their expertise and passion can help drive it forward.

 

 

Transparency

 

The Basics:

• Tuition transparency as the first step to a tuition freeze

• Monthly progress emails to entire student body

• Push for transparency in BU administrative decisions​

 

Some Details:

 

Transparency within Student Government is something we are invested in improving, but we see that as something within our control that is a given change if we are given the opportunity to take office next year. What we would really like to make a push for is greater transparency at Boston University in general- especially with our tuition dollars. With greater transparency, we have a much greater ability to participate in conversations about where our money is going and how we want to allocate the dollars that we are putting in to our school.

 

Our biggest goal under this umbrella initiative is greater transparency with our tuition. We believe that with this, comes the ability to speak intelligently and knowledgeably when making the case to freeze or lower tuition. This is simply a first step in tackling the issue of tuition in general.

 

Also important to us is transparency within Student Government. We promise to post the minutes of all Student Government meetings next year on our website. We will also send out monthly emails to the entire student body directly from the Executive Board to update everyone on what we have accomplished as well as what is in the works. We will also request ad time on the new GSU TVs to share what we are working on.

 

Zooming out again, we are going to make a push for greater transparency in the “why” of administrative decisions. If we are for some reason denied a vote or voice in certain decisions on campus, we as students should be able to get information on why that decision was made and why other choices were rejected. We see this as a potential way to improve our relationship with administration because if we are given the information to understand their thought process, maybe we can get behind a controversial final decision.

 

How We Have Worked On This Already:

 

Our Presidential candidate Richa Kaul has been involved in conversations with administrators from the Student Enrollment office to learn about tuition transparency. Visit our Why Vote For Us? tab and scroll all the way down to the first footnote to learn more. She also changed the way that Student Government newsletters go out this semester. Rather than only talking about accomplishments, they now include what initiatives Student Government is presently working on, increasing transparency.

 

 

Continuity

 

The Basics:

• Use our experience to get things done

• Current VP as Presidential candidate

• Only Freshman running in this year's election as our VP Finance

 

Some Details:

 

With every election and every new year, Student Government shouldn’t have to start from scratch each time. We should have institutional memory and in general, better continuity between Executive Boards and within the Student Government departments. This allows us to accomplish large-scale, long-term goals such as addressing our rising tuition, having a say in renovations and construction on campus, and actively participating in other decisions that have previously been administration-only conversations.

 

As an Executive Board, there are a number of steps we can take to ensure a smoother transition between E-Boards. Consequently, this means a more effective Student Government in the long term. We plan to start an online library of successful and failed Student Gov initiatives, meeting minutes, and collaborations with student groups. Currently, the information is historically intermittent and whatever is there is piled into file cabinets in the Student Government office. By making it keyword searchable, we hope to make the information more usable so that future EBoards can learn from past EBoards.

 

In order to ensure that new Executive Board members are transitioned into their roles in a way that allows fluidity between EBoards, we will propose to amend the Constitution to extend the Executive Boards’ timeline by a summer, during which they would act as “consultants” or mentors. Formalizing this in black and white will make it an annual expectation and will help to achieve continuity.

 

How We Have Worked On This Already:

 

The curren VP of Student Government, Richa Kaul, is our Presidential candidate. Our candidate for Vice President of Finance, Joshua Mosby, is currently a freshman and the only freshman running. We believe that it is very important to have a rising sophomore on the Executive Board in some capacity, because that person will be present at BU for a couple years after his term and can offer guidance and information to future EBoards.

 

 

Quality-of-Life Issues

 

The Basics:

• Weekend daytime hours for the BUS

• Late night BUS stops at 1019 and St. Mary's Street

• Better career/internship resources for international students

• Shaw's Student Rewards Program

• More options for break housing

• Android version of BU Mobile app

• Ability to see housing options disappear as they are chosen

• More student meeting space​

 

Some Details:

 

We have experience in accomplishing tangible changes when it comes to quality-of-life issues that affect students on an everyday basis. This includes changes to the BUS, housing, dining, international student resources, etc. Addressing quality-of-life issues on campus is a goal that is important to us because these tangible changes are ones that we as students interact with the most. By taking input from you on what you want to see changed on campus and constantly evaluating the needs we see, we are confident in our ability to deliver on these initiatives.

 

We know that the BUS is a hot topic when it comes to quality-of-life changes on campus. Next year, we want to work for BUS weekend daytime hours. We also see safety value in adding two late-night stops, one at the daytime St. Mary’s stop, and one at 1019 Commonwealth Avenue.

 

We believe that more needs to be done to service the international student population that BU boasts so frequently. We would like to focus on more options for break housing, particularly the break between semesters. We would also like to continue current efforts in Student Government to create career/internship resources for international students who have a difficult time finding employers who will sponsor their work visas.

 

We also want to revamp the housing selection process. We want to get all housing floorplans online on the Student Link. We also want to work with the IT department to make it possible view online the housing choices available and have this live-update during housing selection, so that you know exactly what is still available when you walk into your housing meeting.

 

We have already worked on changes with the BU Mobile app, but there are a few more we want to tackle. Primarily, we want to persuade BU to invest in an Android version of the BU Mobile app.

 

In terms of dining, we see and appreciate how responsive BU Dining Services is to student feedback. Expanding from BU Dining, we want to start a relationship with local grocery stores such as Shaw’s to create a Rewards program for BU Students. To many students on and off campus, they are a part of our community too.

 

 

How We Have Worked On This Already:

 

Our Presidential candidate Richa Kaul oversaw the initiative to add an additional double-BUS into the daily rotation. There were previously 2 double BUSes and 4 single; there are now 3 and 3.She has also worked to get a confirmed coming-soon Emergency Icon on our current BU Mobile app. This addition will have direct call features to BUPD, SHS, SARP, and other resources.

 

 

Improving Student Group Experiences

 

The Basics:

• Increased accountability for SAO

• Make SAO easier to understand

• Rollover accounts for Allocations Board, Residence Hall Associations, College Govs, and Student Government

 

Some Details:

 

Maybe BU students may not have the most typical school spirit, but when it comes to being passionate about the organizations and movements we are involved in on campus, we have high expectations for ourselves, and the resources available to us. Recognizing this, we want to work on improving the efficiency and accountability of SAO. We also want to make SAO more accessible and easier to understand. Our candidates for President and VP Internal Affairs, Richa Kaul and Jamie Ellis, are currently working on these initiatives. We as a slate promise to pursue these changes if elected. We also want to work on giving student groups more of a voice when it comes to Student Government decisions and setting our agenda for the year.

 

We want to work with SAO to streamline some of their processes so that student leaders are doing less back-and-forth with paperwork and have more time to focus on the execution of their event. We also want to make SAO easier to understand for student leaders who are new to their processes.

 

With the renovations being done around campus, particularly the Law School building, many of our previously vacant classrooms and student meeting spaces are being used to house the people whose offices and classes are in construction zones. With that comes less space for students. We plan to think outside the box and explore spaces on our campus that can become multi-purpose spaces to accommodate the shortage of student meeting space. For example, the rooms on the upper floors of 100 BSR are currently vacant after normal business hours and could be put to use for student groups.

 

Administrative student organizations include organizations such as Student Government, College Governments, the Residence Hall Associations (RHA), and Allocations Board (AB). We want to make a push for these organizations to have rollover accounts so that any excess money left over at the end of the year stays with the organization rather than it being wiped at the end of each year. Currently, the money allocated to these groups is used for enhancing student life through College Government and RHA events, Student Government projects, and of course AB’s funding of all other student groups. It is allocated directly from our tuition- from students, to students. At the end of each year, any money that is not used should stay with the students.

 

 

How We Have Worked On This Already:

 

Our candidate for VP of Internal Affairs, Jamie Ellis, is working on an online “SAO quiz” which essentially asks the user a series of questions about the event they want to hold and then, based on their answers, spits back the links of all the forms they need to fill out in order to successfully plan their event by SAO protocol.Our candidate for President, Richa Kaul, is working with the current Executive Board of Student Government and administrators in SAO to evaluate SAO’s inefficiencies. After that is completed, the next step will of course be to start working on them.

 

 

Evolving Platform

 

Throughout this campaign, we have taken input from our peers on what is important to them and we have included it as part of our own agenda:

 

• "Make the Financial Aid process more personal." - Matthew Farmer, President of Umoja

• "Cut the BU bureaucracy to ensure students are served first." - Mara Mellstrom, President of College Republicans

• "Reassess our investments to make informed divestments." - Michelle Abou-Raad

• "More collaboration between Student Athletes and Student Government." - Chelsea Glincman, President of Student Athlete Advisory Council

• "Transparency and student voice in university food purchasing." - Laura Kakalecz, BU Real Food Challenge

• "Senate seats for student organizations" - Becca Fleischer, President of Hillel Student Board

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What do you want to see changed on campus? Email us at BUsPushToStart@gmail.com or message us on Facebook. We're here to listen.