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SSFC approves 6, denies 1 for eligibility
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Thursday, September 18, 2003
Members of the Associated Students of Madison Student Services Finance Committee voted to approve eligibility for the Child Care Tuition Assistance Program, Polygon, Rape Crisis Center, University of Wisconsin Roman Catholic Foundation, Jewish Cultural Collective, and Multicultural Student Coalition’s requests for funding eligibility Tuesday.
Preceded by much debate, the decision to fund the UW Roman Catholics’ organization passed by a narrow margin of 4-3, with five members abstaining. Before passing the motion, the board discussed issues regarding the group’s successful fulfillment of SSFC funding-eligibility regulations.
The committee’s legal advisor informed the board that funding the UW Roman Catholics and Jewish Cultural Collective would not violate separation of church and state laws as currently interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Jewish Cultural Collective was also deemed eligible to receive funding by the Committee, by a 6-4, with two abstentions, following a second debate regarding SSFC funding eligibility regulations.
Many topics were debated before both the UW Roman Catholics’ and the Jewish Cultural Collective’s votes were tallied. These included: regulations stating that new student organizations seeking to provide student services already in existence are not eligible, the educational value provided by both organizations and whether or not the organization adds to the “free-flowing marketplace of ideas” as cited by the SSFC regulations.
Though several committee members contested each group’s educational benefit to UW students, spokespeople from both religious organizations added to the committee’s debate. In both cases, organization representatives described group-sponsored events and activities that benefited students in the past.
Jewish Cultural Coalition representatives discussed the JCC Cinema, the JCC Theater and the publication The Voice. Coalition representatives said that each of its cultural-outreach programs educated UW students about Jewish culture.
The UW Roman Catholics representatives said the services offered by their organization were unique among Catholic groups in the area, allowing students educational opportunities not otherwise made available by local organizations or university religious-studies courses.
The SSFC also voted to approve the continuation of funding for the Multicultural Student Coalition, following testimony from several MCSC members and an in-depth debate.
Testimony included that of one MCSC member who said that without the support of the group, she would no longer be attending UW. She also said that the MCSC had made her feel Madison was home, a difficult task since she was raised in Milwaukee.
Further debate centered on an article published in The Madison Observer, an MCSC-funded publication, at the end of the 2002-03 school year. The article labeled several SSFC board members “a reckless mob of white students” and singled out one member individually to protest his actions while on the board. This action made MCSC an unwelcoming organization to a portion of UW’s student body, thereby violating SSFC funding-eligibility regulations, several representatives members said.
The committee also voted to approve funding eligibility for the MCSC, 8-2 with 2 abstentions.
WORKproject was the only group denied funding eligibility by a vote of 0-8 with two abstentions, as they failed to meet SSFC criteria for providing a service to all students.
Several members of the committee took time throughout the meeting to remind their peers of the governing rules concerning viewpoint-neutrality and the obligation of the organization to remain a neutral body.
