Transparency will be one of the top items on the list of things to accomplish in 2011 for Eastern Michigan University officials.
President Susan Martin said transparency is something that will be ongoing at EMU.
“We’re going to continue that,” she said. “When something happens on campus, we respond. … I’m eager to continue communicating.”
Donald Simmons, a senior, said open communication between students and officials is one of the most important things a university can do.
“We need to know what’s going on,” Simmons said. “They owe us that. I’ve been here when that wasn’t always practiced and I saw the damage it can do, but I don’t think that’s the case now.”
Geoff Larcom, executive director of media relations, said the university understands transparency builds trust.
“Whenever issues arrive the general goal of the university is to address those issues, expect it to continue and flourish,” Larcom said. “Our goal is for people to be safe.”
Simmons said he hopes to see more open forums this semester.
“The open forums have really helped us to know what’s going on,” he said.
During the fall semester, the administration held several open forums ranging from ones with Martin to ones discussing EMU’s budget with Chief Financial Officer John Lumm.
Martin said open forums will be a continued practice.
EMU student Victoria Randolph said she’s tried to attend as many of the forums as she could.
“Whenever they announced one was going to take place, I tried to go,” she said. “It’s important to know who these people are. I mean they decide how much I pay for classes and where my money will be used. I think everyone should demand transparency.”
Martin said she has a list of things she plans to tackle for the new year.
“We are going to have to re-evaluate how we use dollars,” she said.
Student Demetria Stuart said she wants to see more money go toward education and less toward sports.
“Sports is not what we’re known for,” Stuart said. “We’re known for our nursing program and our education program. So why are we spending so much on sports?”
Sophomore Jerry Williamson said EMU should continue to focus on sports as well as education for 2011.
“I’m a big sports person so I understand how it works,” he said. “Most people don’t understand that schools get a lot of money from their sports teams, including EMU. It sucks they don’t win like most students want them to, but they do bring money in. It’s not as much as they would get if they were winning, but if EMU were to stop funding them, we definitely would feel the loss of that money coming in.”
Williamson said if officials balance where money is allocated, no one should complain.
“I feel like as long as they fund everything equally, there should be no complaints,” he said. “Whatever they decide to do, I’m cool with it as long as they let us know.”
