Student Events held a community forum last Wednesday to try to reverse the sentiment-held by both students and administrators-that the group is not transparent enough in its workings. However, fewer than 10 students attended.Along with the forum, SE has also initiated a series of online surveys to measure student preferences. We are pleased with these endeavors and hope they continue, and that SE follows through with its promises.
For a group that receives over $200,000 each year, the largest amount of any student group, we need to see more than one semester of careful spending to be sure that SE has changed.

Last week's forum was the first of many, as SE has pledged to follow its constitution, which has always mandated a forum each semester. SE is certainly partly to blame for the pathetic turnout: It could have alerted the campus with fliers, but did not hang any, instead relying on two large posters and e-mail announcements. However, the turnout is also the fault of the students who-though ready to complain-did not care to attend.

SE has made admirable moves to conserve money this semester, especially in areas in which the whole student body doesn't benefit, such as food for SE staff. This fall's SE budget allocates $4,500 for staff development and fees for a national conference, though we are happy to hear that only $3,000 of this was actually spent.

Leftover funds have gone toward increased cosponsorship. SE funded half of Welcome Week, as well as part of Rosenball and other events, and will cosponsor a Winter Festival. But events such as ModFest should also fall under the realm of SE, as it is their charge to improve campus social life, and not the Union's. Student Events Director Helen Pekker '06 said that SE may possibly cosponsor the event in the future, and we expect this to happen as it is odd that our biggest party is sponsored by our government.

SE does still have a way to go as far as transparency is concerned. When the group was close to announcing controversial artist Beanie Man-who has had a number of concerts canceled because of anti-homosexual lyrics-as a special guest for its fall concert, SE gave contradictory accounts in the aftermath of its reconsideration of Beanie Man. It is discouraging that the group was unable to be completely forward.

Even the day after that public relations gaffe, when SE aired a slideshow recounting expenditure for past concerts, the slide show made no mention of the Spring 2004 John Mayer concert that made SE temporarily go into debt.

We are wary of trusting SE entirely given the irresponsible spending we saw at times in the past, but the semester's efforts are a good start. For now, we need to believe SE and help them out by answering their surveys and expressing our concerns.