OPINION & EDITORIAL
Opt-out system worth a second look
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Also by Badger Herald Editorial Board:
- Dear Dave: Post this near your desk (April 17, 2003)
- Politicking destroyed opt-out's proponents (April 14, 2003)
- Madison's annual hip-hop conference falters (April 14, 2003)
- Redirecting control (April 23, 2003)
- Don't Cut Historical Society Funds (April 29, 2003)
Related Stories:
- Opportunities squandered (February 17, 2003)
- Four thousand voices silenced? (April 3, 2003)
- ASM Must Put Rhetoric Into Action to Impact Students (January 17, 2003)
- Oops (April 17, 2002)
- Minimum wage with maximum ease (October 23, 2003)
by Badger Herald Editorial Board
Thursday, March 6, 2003
It didn’t make headlines, but for the second meeting in a row, ASM’s student council failed to put a segregated fee opt-out referendum on the ballot this spring. While the idea to give students a choice in the matter had the support of a majority of council members, the bill fell short of the two-thirds majority necessary for passage.
Unfortunately for students, a few representatives were able to prevent a spring debate over seg-fee reform. Some argued that the proposal would be a logistical nightmare for event organizers to determine what students have paid their dues and which students are free-riding while participating in seg-fee funded events. Given that thousands of non-student local residents already ride free on events conducted on the student dime, this argument hardly seems genuine.
Even if the argument were genuine, it is the sort of argument that students should be able to decide for themselves through a referendum. Students don’t need a paternalistic student government to make their decisions for them, especially when that student government has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.
Fortunately, the opt-out referendum can still make the ballot if supporters can gather 4,000 signatures by Friday, March 14. Reformers are already attempting to gather the necessary signatures, but would anyone on campus even know this?
While their intentions seem sincere, it will take much more than good intentions to achieve seg-fee reform on this campus. It is not easy to get signatures of 10 percent of the student body, considering it is rare to get 10 percent of students to even vote in ASM elections.
We wonder whether supporters understand how difficult a challenge this is, considering the low profile of the campaign thus far. All students are busy this time of year, but it is time for reformers to get busy and get signatures before students leave for spring break.
Student government has made it clear this year that reform is impossible from within. After half a decade of Southworth lawsuits and two years of phony viewpoint-neutrality, the only chance students have for reform is from the outside. The task is daunting, the subject matter often boring, but if supporters can get in gear, the stars may just align for true democracy.
