We still want to attend the MSU Board of Trustees monthly closed-door dinners and discussions, but now we might have another person to get through.

MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon spoke about the MSU Board of Trustees having closed-door work sessions last week at a Residence Halls Association meeting.

But whose side is she on?

Simon said the meetings, which have been under scrutiny for closing out the public, are legal and necessary to build trust between board members.

But building trust between publicly elected board members and the students they work for should be more of a priority for Simon.

Having an "us against them" mentality will only create more strife for all parties involved.

But having an open dialogue could create an honest relationship between students and the board and thus strengthen our university.

Students have the right to know what decisions are being made for their university, as well as the discussions leading up to those decisions.

But the trustees' tendency to discuss important issues behind closed doors and then present a uniformed front at their monthly public meetings is leaving something very important out of the discussions — the voice of the students.

And now, with Simon backing the trustees' closed-door meetings, it might be even harder for students to express their opinions on university issues.

Simon is sending a dangerous message to the student population. She is supporting the trustees' lack of communication and helping build a wall between the board and those they should be representing — the students.

The leader of our institution is setting an example, and a bad one at that, of how communication, or lack thereof, should occur around campus.

Simon also said that nothing that goes on in the closed-door dinners is violating the state law.

We still don't know why we can't go.