OU must allow access to Budget Planning Council
After years of letting the budget deteriorate in private, the least Ohio University could do is open Budget Planning Council to the public.
Closed meetings are not uncommon at OU. Yesterday, the OU Board of Trustees went into an executive session to discuss “property issues.” An executive session is scheduled after every committee meeting just in case the board feels the need to go into one.
Just a few weeks ago, OU’s Student Senate went into an executive session to decide whether to accept former Off-Campus Life Senator Matthew Wallace’s resignation to allow the Conduct and Discipline Committee’s report to be presented, possibly leading to sanctions against him. It was the second such meeting this year.
Then there is Budget Planning Council. It is essentially one big executive session as each meeting is closed. BPC continues to shroud itself in secrecy, posting meeting minutes a week or two after the fact.
With the university’s budget in shambles, Budget Planning Council needs to be open. Transparency is a must right now. Every member of this university should know what the council suggests to President Roderick McDavis. That information is pertinent and necessary.
During his campaign, Student Senate President Jesse Neader was for opening the advisory council’s meetings. Now, as a member of BPC, Neader has changed his stance. “I can understand why there’s hesitation to have people in BPC meetings because we don’t know what we’re doing, and people make offhand comments,” he said.
It is rather perplexing that the council does not know what it is doing before hand. As the most important advisory body at OU, there is no excuse for not having a plan. And in regards to offhand comments, people should be able to sort through the hearsay and impertinent information.
This very topic will be at the center of this weekend’s Sunshine Summit. The Ohio Sunshine Summit is a one-day journalism conference bringing together student journalists and professionals from Ohio and beyond to discuss the latest press freedom issues confronting student journalists today, according to its website.
Under Ohio “Sunshine” laws, government meetings and records are open to anyone who desires access. Budget Planning Council should be open, unequivocally.
Editorials represent the majority view of The Post's executive editors.
