NEWS
Council: Budget appeals on hold
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by Andriy Pazuniak
Thursday, January 19, 2006
The Student Council met Wednesday with the hopes of passing budget decisions for Collegians for a Constructive Tomorrow and the University of Wisconsin Roman Catholic Foundation, but could not reach a decision. Final budget approvals were tabled until the next meeting Feb. 1.
The budgets for CFACT and UWRCF have been highly contested and debated among various Associated Students of Madison committees since the Student Services Finance Committee made significant cuts to both last semester.
"[The Student Council] wanted to take more time and make a more informed decision," ASM Chair Eric Varney said after the council adjourned. "CFACT actually preferred us take more time and UWRCF had some legal issues."
In a ruling last December, the Student Judiciary reversed SSFC's decision to make more than $58,000 in cuts to UWRCF's proposed budget and reinstated the funds.
Since then, UWRCF representatives have threatened to file suit against UW in outside courts.
"We're looking at some issues between case law and student law," Varney said. "We want to make sure we're playing by the rules."
Varney said the Student Council would wait until all legal questions are resolved before making a final decision on UWRCF's budget.
The council also opted to delay their final decision on CFACT's budget, which SSFC originally minimally-funded last December.
The Student Judiciary later found SSFC guilty of viewpoint-neutrality violations, which gave CFACT another opportunity to present their case to the Student Council.
After their presentation, CFACT representatives said they were "optimistic" the council would rule in their favor.
"The presentation went well," CFACT Managing Director Lindsey Ourada said. "They asked good questions and hopefully we'll reach good compromises."
During his presentation, former CFACT Executive Director Peter McCabe was critical of recent developments within the student segregated fee system.
"The past three months have probably been the ugliest we've ever seen," McCabe told the Student Council. "It's been a three-month protracted battle of us just fighting each other."
McCabe added the original minimal-funding decision was a result of a "communication breakdown" between members of SSFC and CFACT, which allowed for false accusations to arise.
During the meeting, the Student Council also passed a $188 travel grant for Monkey Hoes — a socially oriented student organization at UW.
The Finance Committee had previously denied Monkey Hoes a grant, but the Student Judiciary reversed that decision last December, citing viewpoint-neutrality violations.
The Student Council, however, did not fund the full $280 Monkey Hoes requested.
In non-budgetary discussions, members of the Student Council said a potential agreement with UW transportation services might soon be reached to bring back SAFE nighttime services.
Last semester, a dispute between ASM and UW transportation services arose over how to fund the three SAFE nighttime services — SAFEwalk, SAFEbus and SAFEride cab — resulting in funding for SAFEride cab and SAFEwalk being cut.
Student Council representative Zach Frey said UW transportation services might be open to "continue to administer" SAFE nighttime services, though no decisions were finalized.
