Response to "Secrecy in the SGA"

Dear Editor:

The Lyndon State College Student Government Association Executive Board is pleased to announce the passing of the 2011-2012 school year budget with a vote of 42-4, in favor of the budget. The approach we took this year and the results it yielded is a great reflection of the teamwork and innovation our SGA is capable of. The LSC SGA is an open and transparent organization, as after the budget was approved the executive board decided to release the vote total and the "magic number," though when the number was revealed is an important factor.  The "magic number" each year is kept undisclosed so that representatives of the finance committee do not make cuts just to reach that number, but instead focus their time on doing what is best for each club at Lyndon State College.  After the budget was approved, the number was deemed appropriate for public access.

We believe that a recent article, "Secrecy in the SGA," is an unfair depiction of the progress and thoughtful  work that a group of about 50 students  have put in for this college over the past school year, and school years prior. This article puts under scrutiny solely past procedures, only alluding to the positive improvements in a sentence or two at the end of the article. One paragraph refers to a system implemented at Johnson State College, another Vermont State College. The article says, "Johnson State College has a different approach…allowing students to know exactly the overall budget for clubs." We believe that this statement is completely misleading, since the article continues to illustrate the fact that there is essentially no budgeting process, only continuous funding requests for clubs to obtain money. The way budgeting is conducted in the LSC SGA is not only responsible, but gives clubs the opportunity to have a say-so in their budgets for the next fiscal year. Budgeting meetings were and are open to the entire student body, and the final budget was released with the minutes from the meeting two days before the article was printed, available at www.lyndonsga.com.

Many concerns have arisen from this article. The writer states that "the SGA at Lyndon is also notorious for keeping secret ballot results from the students it represents." The use of the word "notorious" to describe the balloting procedures is the equivalent of describing such procedure as "dishonorable," "tarnished," and "infamous." Using a description as such is utter opinion (and an untrue depiction) and unprofessional to be published on the front page of The Critic. The writer also wishes "Good luck" to students wanting to know what the "overall budget for clubs" is, highlighted in the first paragraph. Said writer attended all finance committee meetings and budgeting meetings, and was never once restricted in taking notes, recording statements, etc., at said meetings. 

The LSC SGA is always open to constructive ideas and suggestions and not simple criticism that offers no real solutions.  If you have a question or a concern, please don't hesitate to find the list of representatives on www.lyndonsga.com or on our Facebook page.

Respectfully,

John Kleinhans, President

Rachel Keller, Executive Vice President

David Daly, Administrative Vice President

Nicholas Russo, Financial Controller

Shannon Healy, SGA Adviser