We call on our government to provide transparency and candidates of every election cycle to prove they can deliver it. Though by definition transparency is the idea of government “openness,” therefore allowing for public oversight, there is room for interpretation of its exact execution.

This concept has become a desired – and oftentimes craved – characteristic of government today, which is reflected in the dedication to transparent operations federal- and state-level legislators claim they posses.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s March 2013 launch of www.open.ny.gov, which allows citizens to access government data as a part of a nationwide push for increased government transparency, demonstrates this.

But transparency is not only expected in Washington, D.C., or Albany, N.Y., it is also expected here at Syracuse University by our own Student Association.

It is a concept promoted in annual SA presidential elections, and was also a reason for discussion during the governing body’s meeting last Monday when Comptroller Stephen DeSalvo presented the Finance Board’s point system bill for assembly confirmation.

The legislation, passed unanimously, allows registered student organizations to apply for movement into a higher tier of increased event and operations funding. The higher the tier the organization is in, the more money that group can apply for. Applications must include a letter of recommendation from a student organization campus advisor, a justification for moving up in the tier system as well as several other elements.

In order for an organization to move from tier one to tier two, its application must be awarded at least 79 percent of points from the total collection the Finance Board can grant each application. Organizations need 84 percent of possible points to move from tier two to three and 90 percent to move from tier three to four.

Though the Finance Board approved the final number of points that can be given to each element on an organization’s application and Office of Student Affairs consultants have been a part of the bill’s editing process, only DeSalvo and the OSA director will have a physical copy of the exact numbers.

When a group applies to move up in the tier system, the Finance Board will decide the percentage of points allotted to each component of the application. DeSalvo then, from referencing the document, will assign the exact number of points that correlate to the board’s designated percentage. If an application reaches the necessary percentage, the group will be awarded the advancement.

DeSalvo argues that if the official numbers were released to the students, RSO members might be inclined to tailor their tier-movement applications to mirror exactly what the Finance Board is looking for. This might create biased applications that are not true representations of a group’s ability to handle more funding.

The document detailing the exact number of points cannot be given to the assembly or Finance Board because members are often also involved with organizations and other RSOs.

Colin Crowley, director of the Public Relations Committee and former columnist for The Daily Orange, questioned whether the organization could pass a bill without seeing the final numbers, which developed into a conversation about the bill’s level of transparency. The fact that only two people have a copy of the numbers may be perceived by some as a severe lack of student government openness. But this is, in fact, not the case.

DeSalvo wanted to create a decisive system for tier system movement, but a balance must be achieved between giving students the best opportunity for gaining more funding and not weakening the integrity of the student fee account.

Before this effective system was enacted, tier system movement was decided solely by the comptroller. Now, the power to move a group has been diversified into the proceedings of the Finance Board, which enhances transparency further.

SA has been charged with deciding where to draw the line between complete openness in government and curtailing it because it puts its constituency at risk financially.

Is there such a case of too much transparency? SA members may argue there is. But because the legislation was not approved without questioning the bill’s integrity, it can be confirmed transparent operations is a concern of our student leaders.

Rachael Barillari is the editorial editor and a junior political science and Middle Eastern studies major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at rebarill@syr.edu and followed on Twitter at @R_Barillari.

Published on March 25, 2013 at 2:09 am