by Bryan Gibel
Daily Lobo
The Student Fee Review Board's deliberation process does not conform to the state's open meetings act, according to a report by a national organization.
The report by the Center for Campus Free Speech was requested by NMPIRG and Joseph Garcia, the president of GPSA, after the board went into a closed session in February and denied funding to form a campus chapter of PIRG, a consumer and environmental advocacy group.
"The closed-session format of the meeting seems to be in violation of at least the spirit of the New Mexico open meetings law, if not the letter," according to the report.
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The board makes recommendations to the Board of Regents for how about $8 million in student fees should be allocated to nonacademic departments, such as athletics or the Student Health Center.
The board is composed of three graduate students and four undergraduate students, including ASUNM President Brittany Jaeger.
Jaeger, chairwoman of the board, said the deliberation meetings are open to the public, but their dates and times are not publicized.
"Deliberations are not closed. So, somebody could come to them if they wanted to," she said. "We don't necessarily publicize when the final deliberations are, but not because we're trying to keep it closed or anything. So, anyone can come, and I'm more than willing to share why any decision was made by the board."
According to the open meetings act, the formation of public policy shall not be conducted in closed meetings, and anyone who wants to attend and listen to the deliberations and proceedings must be allowed to do so.
Public bodies are allowed to go into closed session under certain circumstances, such as to discuss personnel issues or pending lawsuits, but not if they are making policy decisions.
The Board of Regents is subject to the open meetings act, and its meetings are held publicly.
According to the report, the Student Fee Review Board makes recommendations that are traditionally approved or rejected without amendment. As such, it limits the funding requests that the regents consider, so the student board is also required to follow the open meetings act, the report stated.
Melanie Baise, a lawyer for the University, declined to comment on the report Friday.
Megan Fitzgerald, program director for the Center for Campus Free Speech, said the board needs to open its deliberations to the public because it influences the allocation of mandatory fees paid by all students.
"If you're dealing with student life on campus and students' money, you want to have a decision where all students are able to figure out what was motivating that decision," she said.
Cheo Torres, vice president of Student Affairs, said the first step toward reform should begin with ASUNM and GPSA.
"I suggest that this issue be brought up before the student government. I can understand why the Center for Campus Free Speech is asking for more openness," he said. "Student money should be student administered. The students should decide the best approach."
Garcia, who will be the chairman of the Student Fee Review Board next year, plans to make the board's meetings as open as possible, he said.
"I plan to publicize when and where the meetings will be held, so that administrators, students, staff and anybody who wants to can attend," he said. "The meetings should be open to the public and should allow for as much public participation as possible."
Jaeger said the board's meetings should be more open to the student body.
"I think that the SFRB is a very misconstrued board," she said. "We should figure out more ways to get more students involved, because we're dealing with students' money."
Mandatory Student Fees for the Spring '07 Semester
Undergraduate Residents and Nonresidents: $430.25
Graduate Residents and Nonresidents: $446.25
Source: Bursar's Web site
2006-07 SFRB
Funding Allocation
Recommendations
Student Health Center: $3.6 million
Student Union: $1.3 million
Athletics: $1.25 million
Recreational Services: $385,400
Child Care Center: $187,100
Library: $181,700
CAPS: $160,200
Student Government Accounting Office: $157,500
Popejoy Hall: $84,000
African-American Student Services: $42,000
Women's Resource Center: $32,249
American-Indian Student Services: $30,000
Source: Debbie Morris, ASUNM adviser
