In room T-161 on the Terrace Level of the Cesar Chavez Student Center, members of the center’s Governing Board sit in their headquarters where they facilitate the operations of the building.

The Student Center Governing Board, according to their Web site, “are responsible for all facets of the Cesar Chavez Student Center: its facilities, services, and programs. From approving new murals on the building, to working on vendor leases, to deciding which services the Student Center provides…”

“We are a board that oversees functions, set forth policy and a vision for the Student Center,” said board member Chris Jackson.

The SCGB is a non-profit that is made up of students, five of which are elected by the general student population every two years and the three other students are appointed by Associated Students Inc. The rest of the board consists of SF State faculty, administration and alumni.

The SCGB breaks down into six smaller sub committees that take a more in depth look into the different aspects that constitute the Student Center. The committees are Community Relations, Finance, Human Resources, Master Plan, Rules and Vendor Services, according to the SCGB Web site.

The board holds meetings the first Thursday of every month and are always open to the public. Meeting times and their agendas are posted near the Center’s business offices in the lower conference level.

“We invite any students or persons related to the university to come to the meetings,” said Amrah Salomon Johnson, 28, the finance chair of the Governing Board. “Any person can bring something in writing to the meetings and it will be handed over to the Chair for review,” she added.

In the past weeks the SCGB has come under some scrutiny for their decision to close the Student Center on May 1 in recognition of the economic boycott in support of the country’s immigrant population. In their May 4 meeting, some students accused the board of wasting student money and violating IRS requirements that state that a non-profit organization cannot close their facilities due to political reasons.

Members of Concerned Students for Reform, a bi-partisan group that formed in response to the closure, hope to find the governing board accountable. Leigh Wolf, 21, president of the group, said that they will continue to follow up on the IRS statements.

Members of the board said that the SCGB decided to close the Student Center as an educational service to the campus community. They said that the action that they took on May 1 was an effective way to let as many students as possible conscious of the events of that day.

“That was an educational endeavor,” said Jackson. “We all stand by our decision,” added the 23-year-old speech and communication studies major.

Carl Clark, 21, president of the College Republicans, called their reasoning “ridiculous,” and said that they wouldn’t have objected to the closing if there had been an educational forum on immigration.

Johnson said she thought it was a human rights question not a political one and that it was “the duty of the Student Center to make students aware of the immigration issue.”

As for the accusation of wasting thousands of dollars in students’ money both Jackson and Johnson explained that not all the money for the Student Center is gathered from student fees.

The Student Center receives 63 percent of its revenue from student fees, 34 percent comes operating revenue and 3 percent comes from interest from the two stock investment plans the center holds, according to financial information provided by the SCGB.

Students pay a fee $62 every semester that goes to the student center.