Financial responsibility is a cornerstone of responsible governance at any level. After the recent scandal at McMaster University regarding the misallocation of student funds, Mohawk College is assuring students their money is accounted for.

Mohawk Student’s Association President Andy Hall says there is a strict policy in place where every monetary decision is reviewed.

“All of our financial statements are audited every year by an outside third-party company…anything that we do in terms of a financial decision has to go through the MSA executive committee which is comprised of myself, the VP of Finance, and a third member who is appointed by the President.”

Students pay a $125 activity fee to the MSA each year. This pays for health and dental benefits, bus passes, athletic fees, school trips, the Arnie, and much more.

This fee also goes to fund MCACES, the Mohawk Centre for Continuing Education. According to Karen Lavell, Manager of Continuing Education Student Activities, MCACES has even more checks and balances than the MSA.

“We have the college, who I report to on a monthly basis. My board of directors, which I report to monthly. And to the Ministry of Business for our corporation,” says Lavell.

Students may argue that their money is going to help fund services that they do not use. But according to VP of Student Services Wayne Poirier, the ancillary fees are structured for the benefit of everyone.

“All students pay all ancillary fees and from that, there’s a breadth of different kinds of activities available. The idea is that by all students paying the fees, it keeps them very low,” says Poirier.

There are times where the decision-making process could be questioned. For instance, the MSA recently spent $8300 on iPads. Hall said that sustainability initiatives and the decrease in printing costs justified the move.

The problem is that students are not participating in the democratic process. In MSA elections, voter turnout has dropped significantly and very few students ask questions of their elected officials. If students want accountability, they need to demand it.

(With files from Brady Livingston)