Resident Student Association (RSA), Student Government Association (SGA) and Council for University Programs (CUP) are groups that exist solely to serve students. RSA and SGA operate as the link between “students and the administration” according to their respective websites. CUP’s website boasts, “We are run for students, by students.” Officers of these groups need to understand their responsibility to students 0and to fulfill these responsibilities efficiently.
On Dec. 2, The News reported a problem with the SGA website. Members of SGA failed to post updated Student Activity Fee (SAF) allocation summaries for students to view. SGA has since updated the site to include meeting minutes.
The Resident Activities Fee (RAF) is a $32 term payment that every on-campus resident makes as part of his or her tuition. The money is split between RSA General Council and residence halls to be used for various programs and trips throughout the year. The Student Activities Business Office has oversight of this fund, and when a reporter from The News this week requested an account of where this money is going, he was denied this information.
Transparency issues are nothing new at Northeastern, but RSA has the ability to make this information available to the students. And while the group usually has no problem revealing any records to students who may request it, the information is not readily available online.
Financial disclosure is not the only concern within these groups. Students need full disclosure. The CUP website informs students when meetings are taking place, but does not post what happens during this time. Just because a student is not a member of CUP does not mean they don’t deserve to know what the group has been doing.
The point is not how many students access this information every week, it’s that the information is there – paving the way for an ongoing, open dialogue between student groups and those they represent.
On Nov. 4, The News reported SGA created a Facebook page in order to obtain further feedback from students. Our society is marked by excessive technology and social networking, and this simple step will provide students who would otherwise not have shown up at meetings, the opportunity to have a say.
Groups should take every step possible to keep students involved and engaged. Northeastern is a large university, and it is easy for anyone to get lost in the shuffle.
These groups need to help change this, whether that means advertising all year like they do during the first week of class, updating their websites, or using social networking to connect with students.
Correction: A previous version of this editorial stated that the Resident Activity Fee was paid by every student. That is incorrect; only on-campus students must pay the fee.
