The World of Sam Reynolds

On February 10^th a group of students attended the SFPIRG’s Annual General Meeting in order to voice their concerns in regards to the grievous and downright arrogant contempt for transparency and the democratic process that the group is notorious for. Ironically a group that promotes the rhetoric of environmental and social justice, which claims to be non partisan, resorted to ad-hominem attacks and threats of violence when it became clear that the interests of their non elected board were challenged.

I would like to iterate, and deeply emphasize one point: I support your right to exist. While my political views are my own, I support political discourse and groups of like minded individuals to promote their agenda and further their causes. I strongly believe that the group which came to the AGM, which should be noted was an ideological motley crew, would echo my point. I would never engage in some pseudo-McCarthyist tactics to ostracize those who hold differing opinions; I might attack your beliefs but I would never attack you for having them.

That being said, what united this group that came to the SFPIRG’s AGM was the strong belief that something was rotten in our fair university. The SFPIRG is funded by the public purse, as such they are expected to abide by a set of standards that will ensure that there are no misappropriations of funds and the group is actually delivering on its mandate. The financial statement that was presented at the AGM would prove otherwise.

According to the financial documents presented at the AGM, the SFPIRG spent $130,233 in 2009 on salaries and benefits and $19,735 on “Office and Administration”. Despite this enormous expenditure, SFPIRG administrators could only give a ballpark figure of the number of students that actually use the services. Consider that many SFU programs are currently suffering financially in the current economic climate, and Department Student Unions, which thousands of students are currently involved in, get only $600 each semester in funding. The SFPIRG received $196,802 in student fees in 2009, $149,965 of which they spent on “Salaries and Benefits” and “Office and Administration”, which leaves a grand total of $46,387 to spend on the resources for students—of course, after subtracting the $11,313 they donate to social justice organizations completely unaffiliated with SFU, which leaves us with $35,524.

It is important to note that the SFPIRG attached a statement to their financial records stating that “We have not performed an audit or a review engagement in respect of these financial statements and, accordingly, we express no assurance thereon. Readers are cautioned that these statements may not be appropriate for their purposes.” SFPIRG states that this (along with an appointed as opposed to elected board of directors) is commonplace for “non-profit organizations”, apparently forgetting that the vast majority of non-profit organizations secure their funds through donation, not through student levies.

The SFPIRG often compares themselves to The Peak in terms of operational structure. However,  The Peak Publications Society undergoes a yearly audit to ensure that funds are not being fraudulently mismanaged or misappropriated.

At other AGMs (such as The Peak’s), Roberts Rules of Order are employed to ensure the meeting proceeds fairly and democratically. These rules are employed so the meetings have structure and are not run at the whims of the board and chair under the guise of “consensus”.

We’ve tried talking to you SFPIRG, as we are concerned about what you do with our money. However you don’t return our calls, and you answer our emails ambiguously. You hold board meetings, yet refuse to turn over the minutes (any other group on campus will do that upon request). And when we show up to your board meetings you engage in ad-hominem attacks and threaten us with violence. In fact, one of your supports went as far as to follow a student from the meeting to the bus stop and threatened with assault.

So what we want is, as you might put it, social change. Stop the dishonesty, and  conduct a forensic audit. Fire your overpaid staff members and replace them with students paid by a modest stipend. Promote social and environmental justice, and not the interests of your staff and non elected board members.

Just act honestly.

Regards,

Sam Reynolds