Opinion
ASM gets it right (!)
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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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Take a deep breath and steady yourself against the nearest stable firmament.
Commendably, the Associated Students of Madison gave students a break on segregated fees last night.
In a move that was unexpected just 48 hours ago, members of the Student Services Finance Committee found it prudent to take the $775,000 in segregated-fee reserves student groups have failed to spend for the past several years (no one is quite sure which groups and how many years) and return the money to students. The funds had been left unallocated because, for lack of more precise explanation, ASM forgot in which account they’d stashed the extra cash.
Rather than the ideal situation that would put the misplaced money directly in the hands of the students that paid the fees, ASM has elected to use the money to offset next year’s fee budgets. This means current seniors are caught on the short end of student government’s snafu, having excessively paid into a system for which they’ll receive no additional benefit. In a perfect world, students would get a refund check, paltry as the amount might be per capita. Such an act would send a clear message to the students that SSFC squandered the money: “we goofed, we’re sorry, here’s what we lost, we won’t do it again.”
To be frank, fair and realistic, though, the process of issuing a refund would present a logistical nightmare, and we’re less than confident in ASM’s ability to pull off any such complex accounting tricks. It’d probably lose the money again.
Students should be glad that, for the first time in the institutional memory of this board, SSFC has taken a measured and significant step toward keeping student fees out of the wasteful hands of greedy interest groups.
If nothing else, the situation brings a serious problem with student-fee structures into almost comical relief: SSFC is doling out student money faster than student groups can spend it. SSFC must keep in mind the “surplus” they created for next year’s budget process is indeed no such thing; budget allotments should not increase accordingly. Rather, we see this trend borne out of a mistake — one well worth repeating.
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I'm just waiting to see how the neo-cons posting on here frequently will criticize this move....I really do want to know. And if the students don't do it, the neo-con alumni are bound to.
I think its interesting to point out that ASM didn't really lose the money, or misplace it, but that the administration was hiding it and not telling students how it was used. And, it has been used to offset fee increases for the last few years, so seniors aren't getting that raw of a deal, it just hasn't been publicized so heavily in past years due to secrecy by Bascom
OK, I don't think I'm a neo-con (and I don't even know what that means other than it's a label that everyone attaches an evil meaning to), but I have a few issues with what ASM did here.
This editorial explained part of the problem with this. I've already had my money taken from me, and I'm a graduating senior.
ASM ought to have some process that allows graduating seniors to get their portion back. I would suggest sending a check in the mail with my diploma. I don't know which would make me happier- receiving my diploma or finally getting some of my money back from ASM.
Also, in years past SSFC did not control the reserve money. All of it was automatically rolled over to offset fees for the following year, and ASM had nothing to say in the matter. So this year, students actually come out worse since a portion of it did not get rolled over.
One way of preventing so much excess fees is to make an SSFC rule preventing any group from receiving over $100,000, or better yet, $50,000. And I support that for all of them- WisPIRG, CFACT, DEP, and especially MCSC.
What the **** is a "neo-con"? It used to mean a Rockefeller Republican; that is, fiscally conservative and socially liberal. I get the feeling that is no longer what it means in Madison.
Enough throwing around the neo-con label. It's not just an insult to slap on whoever you disagree with. It's an actual political school of thought that, while I disagree with it, is embraced by many who don't consider it a political slur. I've even seen people respond by blasting neo-libs, which definitely do not exist. My point is, not everything conservative can fairly be labeled neo-con.
a neo-con?
Neo-Conservative.
Re-arrange the letters and you get "one con"
WOW - is that a pig flying?
The Cardinal writes a more conservative editorial on ASM and seg fee craziness than the Herald...
No wonder The Mendota Beacon came into being.
I don't see how the Cardinal writing about how ASM gave 12 percent back to itself and left graduating students out in the cold is a particularly "conservative" editorial...
I think both papers offered well-thought out opinions today. Critiquing ASM isn't something that only one side of the political spectrum can do.
The Cardinal is just mad that ASM didn't give the money to MCSC.
I'm still puzzled why they didn't give it to student print. Oh wait, Bob's Copy Shop owns the arms/legs/souls of pretty much every engineering student on campus. Why make it hard with competition?
You know why they did it? Because believe it or not, people like Emily McWilliams actually listen to students.