A new student group, Students for Prosperity, wants to see for themselves where tuition dollars and other money given to MSU is being used.
The group’s goal is to require MSU administrators and trustees to put university spending online. The information would then be searchable by taxpayers and tuition payers.
Students for Prosperity president Ryan Skaggs said he was motivated by the recent elections to speak up on issues like university spending and how it is controlled.
“I wanted to do something to have a voice,” Skaggs said. “I wanted students to become more aware of the free market and how to stop it from being wasteful.”
Skaggs’ idea originated from the recent announcement that Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox would make his office’s expenditures accessible to the public online.
Fred Poston, vice president for finance and operations, said the university doesn’t have such a database available and doesn’t think it will become available anytime soon.
“Our accounting system is really outmoded right now, and they’re working on changing it,” Poston said.
Poston said the traffic on such a database also could cause a problem.
“There are probably hundreds of thousands of transactions that occur, and there’s so much data that it’d be difficult to tell much about it,” he said.
Skaggs has specific ideas for the group to put university transparency into action.
“We plan to talk to trustees and have meetings with them, as well as gain some signatures to put it into effect,” he said.
Kelly Steffen, an international relations junior, agrees with the student group’s goals.
“I think it’s a good idea,” said Steffen, who is not a member of the group. “It’s important we know where our money is going.”
Group members plan to send flyers to students to raise awareness.
“We want to find out where the money is coming from and how it’s being used,” said Rachel Funk, the group’s vice president. “It’s a good idea to eliminate inefficiency.”
Students for Prosperity is an affiliate of the national group, the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, which has chapters in 21 states, including Michigan.
“It’s very important to get citizens involved, especially students,” said Annie Patnaude, director of media relations for Americans for Prosperity.
“Individuals at that age are especially active in their communities, and it’s vital in getting people involved and educated,” she said.
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