The Student Government was busy, busy, busy Sunday as they unanimously passed a bill about AUTO oversight in response to allegations of misuse by AUTO Commissioner Zack Schwartz. Not that we know exactly what happened, because the Undergraduate Senate decided to hold most of the session behind closed doors, barring anyone - including SG President Seth Cutter and any Eagle reporter - from listening in.
We often disagree with the Undergraduate Senate, and often these small disagreements become overblown as the conflicting egos of both Eagle staffers and members of the SG clash. The senate's decision to hold their session behind closed doors is not a small disagreement over policy minutia, but an attack on the already tenuous connection between the student body and their senate representatives.
There is no excuse for an organization, led by students and for students, to ever close their doors to outside scrutiny. As public figures, the SG members are subject to public criticism. If someone messed up badly, or if someone did something illegal, then that person deserves to be exposed publicly and held accountable for his or her actions. There is no legal reason - as some SG members have insinuated - to hold a closed-door session. If a crime has been committed, then talk about it openly. If a crime may have been committed and is still under investigation, then what is there to be said anyway?
The bill eventually passed by the Undergraduate Senate added increased oversight to the AUTO program in an attempt to ensure that no one takes unauthorized joyrides. Adding oversight to any SG department is not only a good idea, but also a necessary action. However, in perhaps the most palpable irony ever, the senate was discussing oversight issues while holding a meeting without any oversight of its own - truly a priceless exercise in hypocrisy. The bill that the SG passed is one that The Eagle - and anyone interested in more culpability within the SG - would support. Why did it need to be discussed behind closed doors?
Transparency is an SG buzzword every election season and now we see what that has meant. When the Undergraduate Senate says that they want more "transparency," what they really mean is "We want to be able to let you know everything you want to know, right after we carefully groom our message to obfuscate any possible problems or controversy."
Our message to the Undergraduate Senate is this: Nothing that you are in charge of is large enough or important enough to warrant closed doors. President Obama recently decided to release Justice Department memos regarding interrogation tactics. How is a bill regarding oversight of AUTO any more "sensitive" than those memos? The senate is not the U.S. government; they are not protecting national secrets or American citizens held hostage by pirates. The SG is elected to manage a relatively small amount of money and to delegate a relatively small amount of power. Open the doors, let everyone in, and maybe then the SG will become relevant once again.
