http://digital.lib.buffalo.edu/upimage/RG9-9-00-3_39_33_1988_p1.pdf

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Part of BSU Unhappy with SA Services, November 14, 1988

Text

BSU Unhappy
With SA Services
MELISSA SERVEY
Spectrum StaffReporter

The Black Student Union
members will support the con­
tinuance of the mandatory stu­
dent fee during the referendum
vote this week, but they are not
fully satisfied with the services
the Student Association is of­
fering, according to Oswaldo
Mestre, president of BSU.
Mestre said BSU is a very
large organization, with a
membership of 400 to 500 stu­
dents on a good year. Over 100
members attend their meetings,
and they provide services to a
very large constituency.
"What affects BSU affects
many people," Mestre ex­
plained. "We have a larger
constituency and we get a larger
budget because of the services
we provide."
However, Mestre believes that
many of his members are "dis­
gruntled", and that this dissatis­
faction is justified.
He used the metaphor of a
mother-child relationship to
explain the situation.
"SA could be considered the
'mother' organization, and BSU
is then one of her 'children',"
Mestre explained. "A mother
has to feed all of her children,
and we do not feel that SA is
'feeding' us."
Some examples that Mestre
used were Fall Fest, and the

"A mother has to feed all
of her children, and we
do not feel that SA is
feeding us.·

Oswaldo Mestre
BSU President

Homecoming 'Tm a Lumber­
jack and I'm OK" party.
"My members were not
pleased with the bands at Fall
Fest," he said. "There wasn't
any music geared toward us,
although the fest included a
variety of bands."
The Homecoming event did
not appeal to BSU members
either, and Mestre thinks some
open communication could
solve some of his concerns.
He believes that SA should
work with BSU, and ask them
what they would like to see
offered through SA. He also
said he offered his services for
Fall Fest, but no one ever ap­
proached him.
"They're (SA) a direct agent
of the mandatory student fee ,
and we are a large group of
people who need to be sup­
ported," Mestre said.
"BSU is going to support the
continuance of the mandatory
studentfee whole-heartedly, but
there should be some changes
made," Mestre explained. "We
just want to let them know that
we're not fully satisfied."