Money matters

MSA investigates possible wrongdoing

Last week's meeting of the Michigan Student Assembly unleashed yet another controversy surrounding the assembly's internal workings. This time, the debate centers around the appearance of the statement "Run with the Defend Affirmative Action Party in the Michigan Student Assembly Elections - November" in an issue of the Activist Newsletter, a publication printed by the Summer Student Assembly.

DAAP members have since apologized for printing the statement. MSA is debating whether or not to form an committee to investigate any possible breach of ethics by the DAAP. The assembly must make an effort to seek out and deal with any possible wrongdoing, because such activities ultimately go against what MSA should stand for.

In itself, the cause of supporting affirmative action is a worthy one. A diverse student body is essential in making the University a place where students learn not only in classrooms, but from their peers. In California, where proposition 209 removed affirmative action from consideration in admissions, the populations of minority students showed dramatic declines in following years.

Attacks launched against the University's admissions policies in the last two years make it clear that affirmative action is a cause that needs the support of students, faculty and administrators alike. The DAAP's commitment to diversity is admirable, but the statement appearing in the Activist Newsletter did not merely express support for affirmative action; rather, it was a campaign slogan.

Regardless of the cause, campaign literature is not an ethical use of MSA's funds. Members of MSA are elected to represent the student body; much of the assembly's funding comes from fees paid by each student as part of their tuition. For any part of the assembly to use MSA's - and therefore the students' - money to finance campaign resources constitutes a breach of ethics. After all, MSA representatives should use MSA's money to serve the interests of the students who elected them, not to serve any one party or organization.

In addition, not only has the cause of affirmative action been extremely controversial, but many of the particular statements and positions of the DAAP are not supported by considerable numbers of MSA's constituents, even those who favor affirmative action.

The alleged misconduct of the DAAP demonstrates a possible low level of integrity that should not be tolerated at the college level. The rightness of the DAAP's cause should not mitigate the consequences of its actions if the investigation yields evidence of wrongdoing. Student government representatives must hold to certain standards; no politician should use funding from their constituents to finance a campaign. And even though the retention of affirmative action is an important cause, using MSA's resources as a soapbox for a specific party platform is a misguided, unethical action.

09-21-99