Contrary to recent behavior by MSU's Board of Trustees, this is not a private institution. This university is designed as a public entity, one where the people of Michigan - whose tax money supports the school - deserve to be informed and involved.

On Friday, the board chose to have a closed-door discussion about the tight budget facing the university in the next year. Trustees claim they were simply given a "general lesson" on MSU's budget during the session.

But the decision brought criticism from Henry Silverman, president of the Lansing chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and an MSU history professor emeritus. Silverman said he was "outraged" over the board's decision to congregate behind closed doors, adding that important university meetings shrouded in secrecy only raise a lot of questions.

"Closed-door meetings make it seem like there's something to hide," he said.

Silverman is absolutely right. By holding a meeting in private - even if it happened to be "a general lesson" on the university's budget - the board appears to be hiding something from the people they are elected to represent.

Apparently the trustees decided those people couldn't have learned anything from that "lesson."

A 1999 Michigan Supreme Court ruling exempts Michigan's constitutionally-created universities - MSU, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University - from the state's Open Meetings Act, allowing their governing boards to hold closed-door meetings. But these boards, including MSU's board, should make themselves accountable to the people. They should keep their doors open, especially when dealing with budget issues.

It seems to be no coincidence that the closed-door meeting came days after Provost Lou Anna Simon asked the heads of each academic department to submit contingency plans for 3 to 7 percent cuts.

That is crucial, since a $1 billion to $1.5 billion state budget shortfall could result in no state appropriations increase for MSU - or worse, a decrease.

A budget conflict is an important issue the public needs to be informed about. Withholding information on the problem - and possible solutions - only makes the board appear to be secretive and deceitful. There is the possibility the board could be discussing or making decisions on budget cuts, faculty or staff layoffs or cuts to programs or departments without the public's knowledge.

That is unfair. MSU is a public university and should operate on the principles of government "by the people, for the people." Michigan citizens have a right to be involved with discussions about the future of MSU, including possible program cuts.

Important programs and departments within the university could be cut or eliminated without the public's input if the board continues to operate behind closed doors. That's not a wise decision since so much of MSU's funding comes from the state.

Closed-door sessions defeat the whole purpose of a government for the people. It excludes those people from participating in the decision-making process.

And in the end, making sure the public is informed about and supports any decision about the budget results in the best public policy.