Transparency

After the Bush administration, transparency and public records have become very important to the people and our new administration.


As stated in President Obama's Jan. 21, 2009 Freedom of Information Act memo…

“A democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency.”

And..

“In the face of doubt, openness prevails. The Government should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears. Nondisclosure should never be based on an effort to protect the personal interests of Government officials at the expense of those they are supposed to serve.”

The full memo can be seen at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/FreedomofInformationAct/


President Obama's memo, if implemented as stated, ends the unlawful period of the Ashcroft memo from our previous administration and hopefully transparency prevails.


I want to make it clear that I fully support transparency and accountability of all levels of government. I not only take this stance, but also want to see it implemented to its fullest degree within our student government. It is one thing to state you are an advocate for something, and another to hold yourself accountable.

I have seen this buzz word, transparency, thrown around recently but there seems to be a lack of detail to what this actually means to our student government. Have those who already hold position in the ASUA been advancing transparency already? If not, why? Is it suddenly important because it's a significant part of their platform during election time? Maybe, maybe not. These are questions we should be asking ourselves.

I would like to share a few things in which I consider relates to transparency.
The ASUA has a strong voice and is well respected among the UA administration. I fully believe in the power of our ASUA to positively influence the lives and educations of our students. I do feel that more information distributed about the ASUA, the better.

We can better understand our student government and may surprisingly feel more connected if we simply knew what helps makes the ASUA tick. That answer essentially comes down to money.

Where does the ASUA get funding?

Well, the majority of the ASUA's funding comes from its relationship with the Bookstore. This means that in much the same way people pay taxes to our state and federal government, we students are essentially paying taxes through our use of the Bookstore.

There are some key points here:

It's in the interest of the ASUA for the Bookstore to be financially successful.
The students' money is essentially funding the ASUA.
This means that most students have a bigger influence to their student government than they may know.

This also means that by essentially funding the ASUA, students are helping to fund our clubs, organizations, and ASUA sponsored events.
Students have the right to know where their money is going, how it is spent, and should have the voice to express objections if they are not satisfied.

It will be my goal to present an accurate, yet simple quarterly report stating ASUA funding activities. It will be apparent how much is coming in, how much is going out, and to where and how much money is being spent. These are public records, and we will make the initiative to make them public. Additionally, I will promote open meetings with full compliance of Arizona law.

There are some key points here:

The students will be better aware of the activities their student government
Students will better recognize ASUA’s importance on our campus
This will offer further promotion of openness for students to voice themselves to the ASUA and feel more comfortable getting involved with their student government.

Here is a start to further transparency and accountability within your ASUA. As president, it will only become easier for all of us who believe in the importance of transparency to implement it within your student government.