Opinion

Regent accountability bill needed for students

Last Thursday, State Assembly Rep. Kitty Rhoades, R-Hudson, proposed legislation that will increase the accountability of the primary governing body of the UW System, the Board of Regents. Under her proposal, the board would be required to take all votes as roll-call votes. This means there will be a record of how each regent voted on any particular action. We applaud this action.

In light of state budget cuts to the UW System and the resulting hikes in tuition issued by the board, accountability should be that much more important to students. We find it fundamentally anti-democratic and appalling that under the current system, the decision-makers who set the agenda of the UW System are permitted to do so without an official record of how they individually vote — on a method referred to as “voice vote”

The importance of the regents’ decisions cannot be overstated. They govern some of the most important institutions for the future of Wisconsin and its current economy. This fact alone should justify this increased accountability.

This legislation, however, was no doubt introduced due to the regents’ recent decision to increase the pay scales for high-level officials within the UW System. They used a voice vote to approve this measure. Rhoades acknowledges this in her press release.

We, however, have additional reasons. As former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.” In the interest of increasing accountability, holding true to democratic principles and improving student knowledge of the issues, we endorse this legislation. The constituents directly affected by the decisions made by the Board of Regents do not have the ability to vote in new regents or stage a recall.

At the very least, the state’s future — its student citizens — deserves to know the truth about the Board of Regents’ judgments. Kitty Rhoades’ legislation will do just that.