[1317] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
Re: Fwd: [ASA] Need FEEDBACK: Outside Bank Accounts
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Richard Tibbetts)
Fri May 3 12:18:12 2002
Mail-Followup-To: asa-exec@mit.edu, mit-talk@mit.edu, "Jennifer S. Yoon"
<jennyoon@MIT.EDU>
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Message-ID: <20020503153627.GE23096@innocuous.mit.edu>
Date: Fri, 3 May 2002 11:36:27 -0400
From: Richard Tibbetts <tibbetts@MIT.EDU>
To: MIT-Talk@MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: <5.0.2.1.2.20020503015916.00a35b90@hesiod>
Please, grow a spine and say no. Tell them you won't give up outside
bank accounts this fiscal year, that if they want that to be the state
of the world, they will need to negotiate and that negotiations will
take at least 6 months.
Even if there are instances of fraud, this kind of change, this kind
of trampling of student needs in favor of administrative decision by
fiat, cannot go on.
You are in a fine position to bargain. What can they do to you, shut
down all student activities? Get the tech to front you one years
budget if you have to.
Please, someone in student government needs to stand up to the
administration.
Richard Tibbetts
On Fri, May 03, 2002 at 01:59:29AM -0400, Jennifer S. Yoon wrote:
> >To: jennyoon@MIT.EDU
> >Subject: [ASA] Need FEEDBACK: Outside Bank Accounts
> >From: asa-exec@MIT.EDU
> >Date: Fri, 03 May 2002 01:06:03 -0400
> >Sender: alvarso@MIT.EDU
> >
> >
> >Dear Student Officers,
> >
> >As you may have heard, the MIT Treasurer has decided that all outside bank
> >accounts of student groups, including all ASA Activities, must be closed
> >by the
> >end of the fiscal year (June 30th, 2002). This will directly affect any
> >groups
> >that currently have outside accounts, or which were planning to open new
> >outside
> >accounts. This decision came after the Office of the Treasurer, which
> >oversees
> >all of MIT finances, discovered illegitimate activities occurring through
> >outside
> >accounts of several student groups; these included both embezzlement and
> >fraud
> >charges currently undergoing criminal investigations.
> >
> >Until one week ago, the ASA Officers had no knowledge of this situation
> >and the
> >decision was made without consulting any part of Student Government,
> >including
> >the ASA. One week ago, we were informed of the decision, and asked to
> >start
> >working on the best way to minimize the damages that this decision may
> >have on
> >student groups.
> >
> >The ASA officers see two main issues on hand:
> >
> >First, we must work even harder to ensure that the administration consults
> >the
> >Student Government when issues such as these arise. If the ASA had been
> >involved in the processes from the beginning, there is a good chance that
> >alternative solutions could have been found; we will work so that in the
> >future
> >such abrupt and extreme decisions do not happen.
> >
> >Second, we need to develop a full set of financial services that MIT's
> >system
> >will need to offer in order to replace the flexibility of outside bank
> >accounts. We have begun working on this, and the Treasurer's Office and
> >the
> >Students Finances Office of the Residential Life and Student Life Programs
> >Office (RLSLP) are aware of the following services:
> >
> >- Improved online account access: web based
> >- Improved monthly statements: bank-like
> >- Possibility of a Debit Card for Student Activities
> >- Potential of earning interest on internal accounts
> >- Advance checks and petty cash availability
> >- Extended business hours, possible Saturday hours, and off-hour deposits
> >- Investigate locations
> >- Cashier's Office: extend hours of operations
> >- Make small bills and coin deposits more convenient
> >- Quicker turn around time for check requests
> >- Quicker turn around time for financial signatories list
> >- Mailing reimbursement checks on-campus and off-campus
> >- Simplify paperwork required for reimbursement
> >- Establish an annual contract signed by both the group and RLSLP detailing
> > services provided and responsibilities
> >- Monthly training workshops
> >- Potential electronic transfer of reimbursements
> >- Enhance the utilization of MIT's tax exempt certificates
> >
> >Further ideas among the ASA Executive Board, which will be presented to the
> >Treasurer's Office in the near future, include:
> >
> >- Allowing student groups to obtain their own tax-id numbers with which
> > to open outside bank accounts, similarly to what other universitites
> >have done
> >- How to manage Certificates of Deposit / Endowments within the MIT system
> >- Insured funds within internal accounts
> >- Privacy/security of internal accounts
> >
> >The ASA and rest of the Student Government will meet again with the
> >Treasurer's
> >Office and RLSLP, and we need your input!
> >
> >Please send us any comments and suggestions on how to better improve the
> >financial services that MIT offers to Student Activities via e-mail to
> ><asa-exec@mit.edu> (feel free to send anonymous e-mails), or in paper form
> >by
> >submitting letters to the ASA Mailbox in W20-401.
> >
> >Your ASA Executive Board.
> >
> >
> >*****************************************************************************
> >*****************************************************************************
> >This email was sent by the ASA Executive Board to the officers of all MIT
> >Student Activities. The ASA Executive Board moderates these mailings.
> >If you have questions about its contents please contact <asa-exec@mit.edu>.
> >
> >You received this e-mail because you were listed as an officer of an MIT
> >Student Activity. The recipients are generated automatically from
> >the Officer Email List of each student group, as stored in each group's
> >ASA_Info file. To update the name of this list and other information
> >about a group, an officer of the student group can type 'setup asa' from
> >an Athena prompt. To update individual members of a list the list
> >administrator must use 'blanche' or 'listmaint' in Athena, or access
> > http://web.mit.edu/moira
> >with MIT certificates. The ASA does not have direct control over the
> >individual memberships of officer's mailing lists.
> >
> >The table below indicates which lists your username is in. If you received
> >this e-mail in error please contact the current officers of the groups
> >listed.
> >
> >Username Officer's List Group Name
> >---------------|--------------------|-------------------------------------------
> >jennyoon asa-exec Association of Student Activities
> >jennyoon kendo_officers Kendo Club, MIT
>
>
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