Five weeks after the Student Government, Inc. budget for the 2012/13 school year was voted on and approved in a public floor meeting, the Torch is still waiting to see it.

SGI has repeated its vague promise that the numbers will be released withint the next “couple weeks” and that there will be full transparency then.

We are not holding our breath. The longer the budget is withheld from
the the student boday, the longer they are operating without any checks and balances. In fact, they’re just writing checks.

And no, a “financial report,” if and when it comes out, is not the same as a real budget. Anything less than a full budget release implies that SGI has something to hide – if not, why not release it?

Mitt Romney has come under fire for failing to disclose the finer details of his tax plan. SGI’s lack of transparency is far worse – the e-board has already been elected and voted on the budget! It’s a truly absurd situation, and whoever is responsible for the secrecy surrounding SGI’s finances is truly doing St. John’s students a disservice.