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beyond this post i can’t find a single mention (on the sa website or elsewhere) that this meeting even happened.

so lemme get this strait they held a secret meeting to discuss transparency? how perfectly sa of them. can I have my vote back now please?

Regarding Fred’s comment… if you don’t post any sort of information about where meetings are held, what’s done, etc., you have a 100% guarantee that people will be disengaged and as a result disenfranchised. By making a pro-active effort to provide transparency within the organization, that number can only improve.

I’ll grant you that the vast majority of campus is so fed up with the whole thing that they checked out a long time ago, fine, but if we can imagine for a second, a student that cares, how can their CCAS/ESIA/SOB/Whatever senator represent them if they don’t know what the issues are, let alone have the opportunity to weigh in?

P.S. I’m going to ask a dumb question here, but I assume this conference call “discuss[ing] ideas for transparency” will be open to the public?

As a member of the Rules committee, I can tell you that almost any mention of “transparency” in the SA is BS as of right now. People are lazy, Senators take themselves too seriously, and transparency is not a priority (which is odd, because it’s not like we have that many other priorities).

But my question is this Fred: how would you like to be informed? We can’t use the SA website yet because the senate-elect is not yet the SA. In the next year, I’ll be pushing for publishing meeting times on the website.

And Ben: Don’t hold your breath. The logistics of making a conference call public are expensive and a major hassle. If ANYONE is interested in the dealings of the Rules Committee, please feel free to e-mail me at logan.dobson@gmail.com.

- Logan Dobson, CCAS-U

Logan,

Just to make a quick clarification- you, and any member of the SA (current or elect), are welcome to use the SA website. I think it would be great to announce meetings or initiatives on the website, as it’s one of he SA’s best means of communication with the student body. This year’s VPs and Committee Chairs were given log-ins to the website, and I’m guessing that a similar system will be implemented for next year. During the transition phase though, I’m happy to assist any SA-elect member post things to the website, just ask!

Jamie
VPPA 07-08

It’s a moot point; the rules committee isn’t meeting again before next year.

For all the work I put into the SA, working with both the executive and my fellow legislative members, I must admit it is rather a shame to see the SA falling back into a pattern of bickering and infighting which I had hope we broke in 2007-2008.

You’re letting me down 2008-2009 SA. It’s a shame all our hard work of the past year is going to waste and that soon students will forget that for a few months, we had credibility and the faith of the student body.

Logan,

There are numerous websites that offer free conference call services. All you have to do is sign up on the website. They allow you to schedule the date and time of your conference call and then provide you with a code that you enter to gain access to the call. As far as I know they do not limit the number of people who can access the call. If you or anyone else is really interested in having a public conference call it wouldnt be difficult to provide the access code to people who wanted to listen in or give their point of view. It is not expensive nor is it a major hassle. You could post the code on facebook, on the SA website, a blast email to GW students, etc. Its really very easy.

I’m not organizing the meetings. Send your concerns to Nick Polk, the chair of the Rules Committee.