EDITORIAL: Violated Trust

In their botched attempt toIn their botched attempt tohold Sunday's meeting behindIn their botched attempt tohold Sunday's meeting behindclosed dolors, many UA membersIn their botched attempt tohold Sunday's meeting behindclosed dolors, many UA membersnot only disregarded their In their botched attempt tohold Sunday's meeting behindclosed dolors, many UA membersnot only disregarded their constitution, but also abandonedIn their botched attempt tohold Sunday's meeting behindclosed dolors, many UA membersnot only disregarded their constitution, but also abandonedtheir responsibility to thoseIn their botched attempt tohold Sunday's meeting behindclosed dolors, many UA membersnot only disregarded their constitution, but also abandonedtheir responsibility to thosewho put them in power - studentsIn their botched attempt tohold Sunday's meeting behindclosed dolors, many UA membersnot only disregarded their constitution, but also abandonedtheir responsibility to thosewho put them in power - students__________________________________ In their botched attempt tohold Sunday's meeting behindclosed dolors, many UA membersnot only disregarded their constitution, but also abandonedtheir responsibility to thosewho put them in power - students__________________________________In their botched attempt to hold Sunday's meeting behind closed doors, many UA members not only disregarded their constitution, but also abandoned their responsibility to those who put them in power -- students. Last Sunday, UA Chairperson Dan Debicella took it upon himself to ignore the constitution -- UA members attempted to meet secretly to discuss his "Project 2000" idea, a comprehensive plan to address student concerns over five years. Not only are we appalled that a UA chair would so blatantly disregard the rulebook, we are saddened to see that certain UA members miss a fundamental point. Whatever power they might have stems from the students and it is their responsibility to be accountable to their constituents -- this means having open meetings everyone can attend. Debicella said the meeting was merely an attempt "to take a step back to get our house in order" and iron out disagreements over Project 2000. First of all, at the end of every UA meeting, all non-UA members are summarily kicked out for a closed portion known as "communications," in which members can air out their differences and correct misunderstandings. This in itself is bad enough, but the idea of these same members wanting to have a full closed meeting (presumably because they weren't able to come to terms during "communications") is beyond the pale. Second, having disagreements within a governing body is neither bad nor shameful -- it's healthy, as long as people speak their mind. But in this case, certain members obviously felt that the University community should not be made privy to their thoughts and that their disagreements were best worked out privately. Well, that's not the way it works. There's a reason why they are supposedly public (as opposed to private) officials. Constituents have a right to know what their representatives think and why they disagree. Keeping this a secret violates the trust voters place with those they elect. UA advisor Fran Walker also seems to have trouble understanding this concept. She contends that the meeting was just "like a retreat", much like the one the UA held last month, and that closed-door "retreats" are commonplace. If they're so commonplace, why are they explicitly banned in the constitution and why did some UA members make such a fuss about them? If Debicella and his supporters feel the need to have closed meetings they should try to change the constitution. All they have to do is get "an absolute majority of those undergraduates voting in a referendum in which at least 20% of the current undergraduates enrolled shall participate." Until then, they should follow their own rules. We applaud those UA members who came forward and stopped this nonsense by blowing the whistle on the closed door meeting and talking Debicella out of his plan. As for the rest of the UA, we hope they've learned something about respect for their constituents and their own constitution.