OPINION & EDITORIAL
The myths and realities of an opt-out seg fee system
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Also by Matt Modell:
- Taking responsibility for your decisions (April 24, 2003)
- An honorable and just battle (November 20, 2003)
- Fixing the problems of ASM (November 25, 2003)
- The key word is 'illegal' (December 4, 2003)
- A fond farewell to UW (December 11, 2003)
Related Stories:
- ASM: Vote early, vote often (April 5, 2006)
- ASM: Vote early, vote often (April 6, 2006)
- A critical first step (March 25, 2003)
- ASM shows freshmen its inner self (October 22, 2003)
- Cut them no SLAC (October 13, 2005)
by Matt Modell
Thursday, April 3, 2003
Next week, we will all have the opportunity to vote in the ASM elections. While usually these elections are meaningless, this year the elections are important because a group of students, primarily with the Badger Party, have collected approximately 4,000 student signatures to place an important referendum on the ballot.
The referendum will ask students whether the allocable portion of seg-fees should be required or optional.
A lot of myths have been floating around about this referendum question, so I thought it would be appropriate to address some of them here.
Myth #1: An opt-out system is in violation of the U.S. Supreme Court decision Southworth v. UW Board of Regents.
UW System President Katherine Lyall even said she believed this myth was true.
But it is simply false. Other universities, including the University of Minnesota, have an opt-out system, and they have yet to be sued for violating the Supreme Court’s decision. No one has sued these other universities because in the Southworth decision, the Supreme Court explicitly held, “If a university decided that its students’ First Amendment interests were better protected by some type of optional or refund system it would be free to do so.”
As students are responsible for the funding decisions of seg-fees, it is now students who will decide next week whether their First Amendment interests will be better protected with an opt-out system.
Myth #2: Everyone would opt-out and these organizations would be ruined
This is also false. Studies of other opt-out schools have found only about 30 percent of students opt-out from paying this fee. Some organizations receive hundreds of thousands of dollars, so if they lose even 30 percent of their funding, they will still have plenty of money to provide their “services.”
Each student would be allowed to see how much they would be paying for a student organization and then determine whether that group is offering a service to the campus. This forces funded organizations to truly be held accountable. If they are getting their service and message out to campus, students will be appreciative and will continue paying for that service. If they are not providing a service to students, then the group can only blame itself for not keeping its promise to students.
Myth #3: The Union, UHS, Rec Sports, Bus Pass, Distinguished Lecture Series and all the smaller organizations will lose their funding
This is utterly false. The Union, UHS, Rec Sports and bus pass are part of the non-allocable portion of seg-fees, meaning their funding will not be affected in any way. And the Distinguished Lecture Series falls within the Union budget, so we will still be able to go listen to all those moderately famous speakers who come to campus each year.
All the small organizations that receive operations, event and travel grants from the ASM Finance Committee are also not affected. This opt-out system would only affect 23 student organizations that receive approximately $3 million dollars out of the $3.4 million or so ASM distributes in total. Yes, 23 organizations receive $3 million of your money.
*****
The seg-fee system has been broken since ASM’s founding nine years ago. ASM has had those nine years to work on the system, change the system and make the system more accountable. ASM has failed. They have made some adjustments that unquestionably improve the system from its original form, but they have not come close to true reform.
The money wasted by some of these 23 organizations each year is simply egregious. Organizations have taken needless trips around the country, including going to resorts in Wisconsin to spend time with fellow UW-Madison students. Organizations have spent our money on thousands of dollars worth of T-shirts and have “double dipped” on hourly timesheets. Students have even used our money to purchase pornographic videos, swordfish dinners in New Orleans and personal long-distance phone calls.
These are only some of the abuses some organizations have committed. With the exception of one of the examples I have named, no punishment or action has been taken with regard to such abuse.
Productive student organizations are being put into a group with a few expensive bad apples. Those organizations will not be effected greatly though, because we as students will recognize the value of these organizations and will continue to give them our money.
Tuition is going up and college is getting more expensive. But every dollar counts, and there is nothing “marginal” about more than $75 a year per student. Seg-fees have been rising each year by astonishing rates. In 1995-96, we were talking about only $12 per student; now it is more than six times that amount. If they chose to do so, students here for four years could easily save over $300.
I am not advocating that all groups should be de-funded. We must simply force these 23 organizations that ask for tens of thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars to be accountable to the student body they allegedly “serve.” Most of them will likely rise to the challenge. Better services mean a more valuable education and experience while at UW-Madison.
Vote yes to an opt-out system in next week’s ASM elections.
Matt Modell (mmodell@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in journalism and political science. He sits on the CFACT regional Board of Directors. CFACT is one of the 23 organizations that receive allocable seg-fees.
