Sections

If you’re wondering why The Hoot did not cover the first meeting of the Constitutional Review Committee last Saturday, we are too. Though The Hoot strives to make the student government process as transparent as possible for students, we have been unable to perform that duty when it comes to the Constitutional Review because all sessions of the committee are held in secret.

While we are opposed to any secretive meetings of Student Union officials, the secretive nature of the Constitutional Review Committee is dumbfounding. Of all the committees and meetings of the Student Union, the Constitutional Review Committee ought to be the most open, forthcoming and inclusive. Not only are meetings closed to the public and the press, members of the committee are also prohibited from discussing the proceedings of the meetings with non-committee members.

How are students supposed to be effectively represented if their representatives are not even allowed to speak with them? How are representatives supposed to receive feedback from their constituents if they are not allowed to inform their peers about what is being discussed in the meetings?

The Constitutional review process is vital to assuring that student government runs effectively. This in mind, the committee must reverse its decision to meet in executive session and open its meetings to the general public and the student press. Members of the committee will find that only then will the entire student body be both interested and engaged in the process of bettering the Union.