OPINION & EDITORIAL
Vote “yes” on “opt-out” referendum
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Also by Badger Herald Editorial Board:
- A security fee-for-all (December 11, 2007)
- Farewell, Chancellor (December 10, 2007)
- $$FC (December 6, 2007)
- In a bind (December 5, 2007)
- Entitlement Town (December 4, 2007)
Related Stories:
- Cut them no SLAC (October 13, 2005)
- Questions on referendum remain (October 25, 2005)
- In Wiley we trust (November 14, 2006)
- Vote no on living wage referendum (March 23, 2006)
- Justice is served (November 3, 2005)
by Badger Herald Editorial Board
Monday, April 7, 2003
ASM elections typically correlate with increased sidewalk chalk and increased apathy amongst students. This year’s election should be different.
Thanks to the hard work of opt-out activists and the signatures of over 4,000 students, this year’s ballot gives students the chance to amend ASM’s constitution and allows students to opt out of paying segregated fees to specific organizations.
The referendum would protect services like the SERF and the Union, as well as the smaller budgets of hundreds of student organizations. The organizations that could no longer coerce students into giving them money are less than two dozen larger special-interest groups. These groups have unapologetically taken advantage of the seemingly limitless funds allocated to them by ASM.
The groups targeted by the opt-out referendum are responsible for more than a tripling of allocable seg fees since ASM’s inception in 1994. The skyrocketing budgets have caught the eyes of concerned students. Year after year of increases that outpace inflation leave one conclusion: ASM’s governing structure is incapable of controlling spending by student groups.
But an opt-out system is about more than saving you money; it is about holding student services accountable to the students who pay for them. If you feel WisPIRG doesn’t serve you when its members stick a petition in front of you as you enter Pop’s club, don’t give them your support. If CFACT hasn’t served you as they work to calm your fears about global warming, don’t send them your money.
Groups who want to continue receiving financial support from tuition checks will be forced to make their services accessible and valuable.
A tough road lies ahead for the opt-out system. Even if students vote for reform, university administrators will have to cooperate with students to implement the reforms. The courts have declared that ASM’s partisan bickering and political games constitute a “viewpoint-neutral” system, and administrators have indicated reluctance to implement reforms not mandated by the country’s judiciary.
A record turnout supporting seg-fee reform and freedom of choice would send a clear message to administrators. The demand for reform need not come from the courts; it can also come from the students, who are the lifeblood of the university.
For these reasons, students who have never voted in an ASM election should give it a try this week and vote “yes” to the opt-out referendum.
Anonymous (December 11, 2004 @ 5:52am):
Beware. Students tried to remove NYPIRG(NY chapter of WIsPIRG) from automatically getting student fees. Even though the election was against them they got the president to override it. Lot of shady stuff happens when FREE money is involved.
