Opinion

Don’t pass the buck

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Related stories:

• Score one for state credibility (October 30, 2007)
• Passing on the bus pass (December 6, 2001)
• Memo to Bascom (November 26, 2002)
• Hunting regulations shoot to kill (November 25, 2008)

Also by Badger Herald Editorial Board:

• The Invisible Man Award: Wyndham Manning (May 7, 2009)
• The People's Choice Award: Jacqueline Hitchon et. al (May 7, 2009)
• The Lifetime Achievement Award: ASM (May 7, 2009)
• Honest representation (May 5, 2009)
• Junger for ASM Chair (May 5, 2009)

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Time and again we have pointed out the hypocrisy of student government leaders protesting tuition hikes by day and jacking up seg fees by night.

Fortunately, Chancellor Wiley shares our concerns and requested that ASM trim $140,000 from next year’s allocable seg-fee budget.

While the trim is miniscule in comparison to the $2.8 million budget rubber-stamped by ASM (an 84 percent increase over last year), we appreciate the chancellor’s action. Its unprecedented nature — this is the first budget ever to be sent back — confirms ASM’s lack of responsibility in allocating student money.

Now it is up to ASM to determine where these cuts will be allocated. Early indications are that ASM will impose an across-the-board cut to all GSSF groups, based on their percentage of the seg-fee budget.

While such a cut may be politically expedient, it would be a mistake. Not all groups were irresponsible when submitting their budgets last fall — the Rape Crisis Center, LGBT Campus Center, Polygon Engineering Council, CALS, Campus Women’s Center and GUTS come to mind when we think of responsible student organizations. It is unfair to put these groups in the same boat as those groups who requested and received massive increases, most of them unwarranted.

Instead, ASM should reexamine the budgets of the 17 groups that received budget increases and pay special attention to the four groups whose budgets were increased more than 150 percent. A good place to start would be office space. In the time since these budgets were passed, Chancellor Wiley approved the new Student Activity Center. To invest in new office space now is simply a waste of money.

While students are still getting fleeced by ASM, Chancellor Wiley has at least relieved some of the pressure on students’ wallets and admitted ASM was out of line. We encourage ASM to take this opportunity to further affirm their commitment to lower student tuition by lowering their portion of student bills beyond the levels imposed by Chancellor Wiley. At the very least, ASM should not dump the fruits of their irresponsibility on those groups who were responsible last fall.