Smith says the board usually votes on political issues in order to determine the official stance of the BSA on a topic.

But Smith said the president does have discretion to speak out.

Smith cites Moore’s public statements in the media this fall on affirmative action—which he made after simply informing the board of his stance.

The board, however, is just another link between the full membership and the president—and the membership’s opinions matter most, according to many members.

Several BSA members acknowledge the importance of the president’s ability to step away from his or her personal beliefs in the role.

Hawkins says strong personal views have to get “pushed aside.”

“I would never push my own personal agenda over the community’s interest...I would speak to the board because the board was chosen to represent the community,” Okunseinde says.

Toussaint G. Losier ’04, the outgoing political action chair, says the breadth and diversity of the BSA membership has made it hard for the president to take a politically activist role in the past few years.

“If you spend too much time walking on egg shells there’s less of a possibility that you’re going to get a lot of stuff done, especially when it comes to something like politics,” Losier says. Losier says despite the group’s more than thirty year history, some members worry about the possibility of a contentious issue dividing the group.

“It kind of comes out of concern that if you end up with people on both sides of a specific issue that will tear people apart and cause some sort of irreparable harm,” Losier says.

But Losier says a single issue has not undone the community yet—and he would like to see the president taking stronger stances on political issues.

Smith says, however, that the election of Rachel S. Bolden-Kramer ’06 as the new political chair may mean an increase in political activity for the BSA in the coming year.

In her position paper, Bolden-Kramer writes that she thinks the BSA should be more involved in addressing issues relating to employment rights, access to education, incarceration, poverty, heterosexism and war.

“My primary concern is the lack of participation of black students in regards to major social justice initiatives that are happening on campus,” she writes in her paper.

Smith says her election indicates a consensus of the membership to delve farther into these issues.

“I hope she uses [the consensus],” Smith says.