[Phoenix]

cue "rocky theme song"

[deadpool]

Ian, don't sink to that level.

[lorend]

For once, I agree with Rohan (!!!!).

You're better than that.

[Alex McColl]

I guess this is another example of sarcasm being lost in text.

Although I do find the idea of a "Resume Off" quite funny (and I'd probably do it for shits and giggles if Ian took the idea seriously and entered into such a game), I was being sarcastic. That's why I started the next paragraph with "In all seriousness..."

It's good to see that Ian does have a MacInsiders Account. Perhaps he'll use this as an opportunity to provide some of the transparency he promised in his letter.

In the comments of the Facebook Version of this letter Mr. Finlay wrote the following response:

"1) “to ensure that wages of the Executive reflect the changes in the cost of living.” is the reason for the policy not the increase... how about a lesson in writting policy, not to explain what was done, but how things should be done....

2) the quotes alex used are half sentances, taking them out of context.

3) finally it would be beneficial if you found out what the financial situation under my direction is... seeing as it is quite healthy, I feel as though most of these statements innacurate. " - Ian Finlay

Any attempt to get him to elaborate on this has been met with him deleting posts. In fact, this is the 3rd version of his response. The other two were deleted when various people pointed out inaccuracies in his statements. Their posts were also deleted.

So Ian, if you'd care to actually provide us with the transparency you promised please do so here and now.

1) Silly me to think that a formal policy that was being adopted, which clearly states its justification, would actually have anything to do with itself. Not to mention that in the minutes of the SRA meeting where this raise was given Mr. Pett (the person bringing the motion) clearly stated, “The large reason for the increase in remuneration is that the Board of Directors’ wages have not had a CPI increase in over five years. The wages are currently outdated.” Surely even if, for reasons that have yet to be adequately explained, the increased pay also reflected an increase in hours then the increase would still be too large if the people who calculated it had overestimated by an entire year. The simplest way to put all this controversy to rest would be to release the math behind the increase! As of yet, we have seen no math. When Rohan tried to show the math in response to my demands, he could not reproduce the increase while taking hours of work and CPI into account. Show us the Math. The argument that this all happened in an open meeting carries far less weight when you consider that the SRA meeting which approved this document occurred in the middle of June. Saying the Executives removed themselves from the discussion does not remove the CFO of responsibility. The CFO of a corporation is liable for the budgetary items he signs off on. Mr. Finlay should be able to show us the math, yet he doesn’t, I wonder why.

2) If the quotes are only half sentences, then they are rather damning half sentences. Perhaps Mr. Finlay can put us at ease by finishing the sentences and explaining his meaning and context. It seems like my sarcasm was lost, perhaps his meaning was equally lost. For example, what do you suppose he meant by, “That’s last year’s board that didn’t deserve the raise.” ??

3) Does Mr. Finlay realize the hypocrisy of asking me to take a closer look at the MSU’s finances, when he consistently refuses to make them public? How are we to properly gauge the MSU’s financial situation when that information is kept hidden under lock and key? We do know what the auditors have made public. We know that the Executives decided to throw in the towel in regards to Quarters. That under Mr. Finlay’s direction Quarters has outright cancelled its club nights on Saturdays and has lost nearly Half a Million Dollars! This, combined with the thousands of dollars spent on equipment for Quarters this year, is clearly something that should be explained.

So, will we have transparency after all, or should I prepare myself to shrug off more poorly written jabs at my character?

[Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Alex McColl

We know that the Executives decided to throw in the towel in regards to Quarters. That under Mr. Finlay’s direction Quarters has outright cancelled its club nights on Saturdays and has lost nearly Half a Million Dollars! This, combined with the thousands of dollars spent on equipment for Quarters this year, is clearly something that should be explained.

I'm not on the Executive board or anything, but just going to GA and from what I've heard this makes no sense. I may not be 100% accurate but well heres my opinion. Q's lost money from LAST YEAR before Mr. Finlay took office, so therefore your second sentence is false.

We got new speakers that were approved? What's your beef with that, from what I have seen they are really good speakers and either way, new speakers were going to be put in there cuz in my opinion Q's really needed it.

I don't have a direct quote, but just saying that at GA, Mr. Finlay said that due to the loss, and the fact that Saturday's were not producing enough cash, they closed it down for that reason. That's not necessarily throwing in the towel on Quarters, when events such as Whiteout took place with such tremendous success.

As much as I want to stay out of this little battle between you and Ian, I feel that had you attended GA and LISTENED to his report, half these little questions you have would have been answered.

[deadpool]

Dear Mr. McColl,

Were you not at your high paying job, I am sure that you would have been at MSU GA where Mr. Finlay DID release the MSU Finances as of December 31st, 2008.

I choose to go no further with this, because your view is now irrelevant. I am going to let you attempt to do the research into numbers you have no right to see. Let me explain that. You are not an MSU member, you have not paid the MSU fees for this year, and you are not entitled to anything by Mr. Finlay.

The general full-time undergraduate students who do attend McMaster, and have paid these fees, are entitled to the finances. Mr. Finlay has provided these to them.

If any of you feel as if he has not, Mr. Finlay is more than happy to share these details with actual members of the student populace. If you do not believe me, ask Mr. Andrew Caterine, another member of these boards who is also very involved in the issues surrounding the MSU finances, or Mr. James Steeles, another MSU member who has sought to wade through all the random accusations and defences to look at the numbers.

Mr. McColl, end this stupid pissing contest of yours. You lost it the exact moment Ian presented his financial statements to everyone. Your assertion that he has lost half a million dollars is actual libel, as he has made it very clear to the student body that under Mr. Kasmani's administration, Quarters is faring better than it did last year.

You are not a student here, as I have already said, you have no entitlement to any information within the MSU. Mr. Finlay has no need to say or do anything more.

But as a concession, here is the link to the MSU Website, perhaps you can scour the news for some news. Just so you know, new stuff happens every day, perhaps you need to check it more closely.

http://www.msumcmaster.ca/

It has been fun, thank you for the hours of misinformation, and pandering about issues that you clearly have no idea about.

P.S. 22.4% increase in aggregate wage, plus new Blackberries and BlackBerry plan for this board. $15,000 less expenditure as of Dec 31, 2008 in comparison to executive expenditure at Dec 31, 2007. Make sense of that.

[fullsmash26]

Originally Posted by deadpool

Dear Mr. McColl,

Were you not at your high paying job, I am sure that you would have been at MSU GA where Mr. Finlay DID release the MSU Finances as of December 31st, 2008.

I choose to go no further with this, because your view is now irrelevant. I am going to let you attempt to do the research into numbers you have no right to see. Let me explain that. You are not an MSU member, you have not paid the MSU fees for this year, and you are not entitled to anything by Mr. Finlay.

The general full-time undergraduate students who do attend McMaster, and have paid these fees, are entitled to the finances. Mr. Finlay has provided these to them.

If any of you feel as if he has not, as Mr. Andrew Caterine can attest to, Mr. Finlay is more than happy to share these details with actual members of the student populace.

Mr. McColl, end this stupid pissing contest of yours. You lost it the exact moment Ian presented his financial statements to everyone. Your assertion that he has lost half a million dollars is actual libel, as he has made it very clear to the student body that under Mr. Kasmani's administration, Quarters is faring better than it did last year.

You are not a student here, as I have already said, you have no entitlement to any information within the MSU. Mr. Finlay has no need to say or do anything more.

But as a concession, here is the link to the MSU Website, perhaps you can scour the news for some news. Just so you know, new stuff happens every day, perhaps you need to check it more closely.

http://www.msumcmaster.ca/

It has been fun, thank you for the hours of misinformation, and pandering about issues that you clearly have no idea about.

P.S. 22.4% increase in aggregate wage, plus new Blackberries and BlackBerry plan for this board. $15,000 less expenditure as of Dec 31, 2008 in comparison to executive expenditure at Dec 31, 2007. Make sense of that.

Why hasn't the actual financial raw data been provided to the student newspaper for analysis?

Further, how much money has been spent on all the "conferences" the executive have attended in the past year. How much did the Bark Lake party cost students?

Lots of questions; no answers.

The MSU can play smoke and mirrors, but at the end of the day, the real questions haven't been answered.

[deadpool]

Oh,

For posterity's sake: the speakers were not bought by Quarters. Rather: Christina Burns, the director of Campus Events requested this purchase because it would actually cost less in the long run when Campus Events would not have to rent a comparable sound system for concerts - including the outdoor ones at Welcome Week. Look out for lowered Campus Events spending after next year's Welcome Week.

[deadpool]

Originally Posted by fullsmash26

Why hasn't the actual financial raw data been provided to the student newspaper for analysis?

As far as I know, Mr. Finlay has a stack of hard copies of the financial raw data sitting on his desk for concerned students and Presidential candidates. Perhaps the Silhouette just needs to send someone upstairs to grab a copy?

You would need to ask Adam Owen this.

[DannyV]

Originally Posted by deadpool

As far as I know, Mr. Finlay has a stack of hard copies of the financial raw data sitting on his desk for concerned students and Presidential candidates. Perhaps the Silhouette just needs to send someone upstairs to grab a copy?

You would need to ask Adam Owen this.

Why put them on paper? Why not put them online for all to access? Surely the calculations were not done by hand.

[deadpool]

Originally Posted by DannyV

Why put them on paper? Why not put them online for all to access? Surely the calculations were not done by hand.

[email protected] r.ca

I'm in agreement. I told him to put up pdf copies.

[temara.brown]

What was presented at the GA is put up on the front page of the MSU website with the report attached. Check that out. For a thorough package of all the year-to-dates, that's what you should email Ian for.

And as good as it is to just post the ytds, there is a lot more than just the numbers to understand, which is why it'd probably be best to speak to Ian.

[deadpool]

Originally Posted by temara.brown

And as good as it is to just post the ytds, there is a lot more than just the numbers to understand, which is why it'd probably be best to speak to Ian.

I respectfully disagree. While there are many people who do not know how to read the Year-to-Dates, we are a community of students who endeavour to help each other out. When there are students with questions on what the numbers mean, I am more than confident that other students will rise up to help them. Hopefully this means that someone can explain why I still have a hangover at 6pm?

[DannyV]

Originally Posted by deadpool

Hopefully this means that someone can explain why I still have a hangover at 6pm?

Hitting the "spirit" too hard, Rohan?

Yes I did just make THAT pun