Finances

First on our list is the question of finances. As the effects of this disastrous economic season continue to ripple outward, the administration must now prepare for another round of painful budget cuts. We have, in these pages, previously commended the administration for its commitment to its students on financial aid. The “Opening Doors to the Future” challenge grant launched last September is a $150 million fund drive aimed at private individuals and corporations and is set to continue until 2014. Its explicit aim is to insure that Wash. U. can retain its commitment to economic diversity. We applaud the drive’s intentions though we wish it didn’t involve calling our parents at dinner time.

Safety

Following the recent assault of a graduate student off campus, multiple apartment robberies and a history of muggings in the area, the University has promised to install more blue light phones and to move laundry rooms out of off-campus apartment basements where possible. We urge the University and WUPD to be more proactive in protecting students, especially off campus.

We hope that students will work together with law enforcement in order to ensure that crime rates drop in the upcoming year.

Overprogramming

We applaud Student Union for resolving to address its scheduling issues. In the past, students wishing to attend many SU-sanctioned functions found themselves making painful choices on overloaded weekends. Thus, the announcement that SU is attempting to space things out this semester is a welcome one. This is an easy fix to make, and we hope that Student Union delivers on its promise.

WebSTAC improvements

Last semester, the editorial board was pleasantly surprised by the innovations to WebSTAC that were quietly implemented. The addition of a map to the student schedule pane was particularly useful. While we long to see a wholesale redesign of the system that unifies all of the portals that students use most frequently, we thank whoever is responsible for improving the moribund interface all the same. WebSTAC still remains cranky and archaic by modern standards, however; as such, we ask that you keep it up, whoever you are.

Sustainable operations

In a recent campus-wide e-mail, the chancellor also directed our attention to Sustainable Operations Leadership Council’s new Strategic Plan for Environmentally Sustainable Operations. This plan is long overdue and we are happy to see that it was finally released. The plan details how the school intends to square its rapidly expanding square-footage with its goals of sustainability. Their stated intention in making the plan public at this stage is to invite feedback from the student body. If you have an opinion about campus sustainability, we suggest you check it out.

Summary

We might sum up many of the above points by relating that one of the most impressive changes we perceived over the last semester was a sustained interest in student activism. From the Right Side of History’s controversial co-opting of the W.I.L.D. stage to the Mothers dress-code violation controversy, we were gratified to see so much of the campus wrapped up in the causes of the community. Above all else we’d like to see your enthusiasm continue unabated.

Exactly how the University receives and manages its endowment has remained largely out of view, prompting frustrated students to band together to form a new group called Washington University Students for Endowment Transparency (WUSET).  The group is collaborating with Student Union to bring the issue of responsible and honest endowment investing to the forefront.

In 2007, the University formed a separate investment company called the Washington University Investment Management Company that manages all the endowment investments and reports to the board of trustees. Chief Investment Officer Kim Walker is the head of the company.

WUSET’s mission is to hold the University accountable for its investments and make sure that the investments uphold the values of the student body. Members of the group say the first step in doing this is to have the University disclose its endowment activities to the public.

“Whether [the University] is investing in an organic farm or, say, Boeing, investment decisions carry the weight of intrinsically supporting their business practices, and it’s important to know whether those practices are ethical or not,” said Molly Gott, sophomore and WUSET member.

A source of concern for WUSET is that many members of the board of trustees, which establishes policies for and oversees endowment investments, are also high-ranking officials of large corporations such as Boeing, Bank of America, Monsanto, Arch Coal, Ameren and Peabody Coal.  Without endowment transparency, students have no way of knowing the extent to which the University is invested in the companies of the board members and any conflicts of interest that are present.

Additionally, WUSET hopes that endowment transparency will encourage the University to invest in companies that are committed to creating positive influences on society, such as renewable energy firms.

WUSET’s efforts have included several students attending a recent conference sponsored by the Responsible Endowments Coalition (REC) at the University of Pennsylvania to learn more about endowment transparency and socially responsible investing.  The group plans to meet with Chief Investment Officer Kim Walker and work with the University administration to reach its goals.

Ideally, WUSET would like to realize a future where students, faculty and alumni can access financial records of the University’s endowment investments online.  Some universities such as Columbia and Brown have already achieved such transparency through their Web sites.

A relatively young group, WUSET’s members hope to create a committee composed of students, faculty and school officials who would have institutionalized power and the ability to vote on matters pertaining to endowment investment. The committee would be responsible for investigating the various investments and making sure that they reflect the principles of the wider University community.

Members have attended an SU-sponsored town hall meeting with Chancellor Wrighton in which endowment investing was addressed.

“As a group of concerned students, we look forward to working with the administration in order to improve the global impact of our considerable investments, giving the University community yet another reason to be proud of our University,” Gott said.