Opinion
Last stop on the gravy train?
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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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There is no better example of campuswide inefficiency, fiscal irresponsibility and administrative confusion than the University of Wisconsin's segregated fee system. The introduction of unspecific vague systemwide regulations and the "shared governance" state statute in the 1970s created a fatally flawed foundation.
Since former UW student Scott Southworth challenged the legality of the fee, this imperfect system has devolved into a bloated and costly burden — more than $700 per capita last year — on the student body. Viewpoint neutrality, a legal necessity following Southworth, has become an all-purpose exchangeable ticket for the never-ending gravy train. With a group's funding determined by its stated needs, organizations are able to drive their funding upward, with no cap in sight.
However, after years of frustration, rising costs and a barrage of editorials, change may finally be within sight. The Board of Regents, after rejecting the Associated Students of Madison appeal to fund student organization's off-campus rent, ordered the formation of a systemwide shared governance committee. The stated goal of the committee is to "review the segregated fee policy and propose revisions to the Board of Regents." It is our sincere hope that this committee will weigh the benefits of drastic reforms, perhaps even abolition, of the segregated fee system.
While Although we hope ASM is equally genuine in its attempt to overhaul the fees, its first steps are hardly encouraging. ASM gave interested parties only four days to apply for a student position on the committee , and sent the notice out only to the shared governance e-mail list. As this issue is one that affects every UW student's wallet, we wonder why the e-mail was not sent to the entire student body. We can only hope whoever ASM appoints to this committee will be a strong voice for fiscal responsibility.
Although the committee plans to focus on off-campus rent, the opportunity for reform should not be limited to such a minute issue. Segregated fees suffer from vague and overlapping documents on the same policy, a state statute that has misled ASM into thinking they control allocable fees and funding criteria that make most organization budgets unchallengeable. A serious attempt to clarify segregated fee policy could end the yearly debacle of lawsuits and funding free-for-alls we have come to expect. The time for wishful thinking is over. This year, students should demand nothing less than definitive reform.
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I wish this editorial board knew what it was thinking when it began writing this article. If you all had have a brain put together, you would have done some real digging and found FACTS that point the other direction on nearly all of your points and arguments. So sad you all are idiots!
Interesting commentary.
Misinformed at best. I would say that perhaps the door into the realm of segregated fee funding has been too wide in the past, but that 1) does not mean that many of the services that are paid for by segregated fees do not positively affect the campus community, 2) that if the services were to be cut (which they never will be) by this system committee, they would not still be requested by the students and end up costing more by being administered by the monster which is the University Administration, and 3) that View-Point Neutrality is to blame for the growth in groups. What is to blame is that students who have a general concern about the process, rather than getting involved, decide to go on rants in the campus papers. Shared Governance is the only thing that any of you have to remedy problems with this system. If you are set on changing this system for the better, stop complaining.
Also as an interesting side note on fiscal responsibility. The portion of student administered seg fees increased by about 1/100 of a percentage point from last year (about $3000). The administration-controlled portion increased about 22% or $ 5 million. Hmmmm.....
The time for wishful thinking is indeed over. Last year, I wished the Badger Herald would hire a new editorial staff dedicated to actual research and facts. "Students should demand nothing less than definitve reform" of their otherwise utterly dislocated student newspaper.
In the future, please contact ASM before writing about issues that reach far beyond your own personal "fiscal conservative" stance.
Your ignorance can only be tolerated for so long.
I've been reading about ASM wasting my money on crap for two years now, and now instead of arguing with the board with facts, they just say its misinformed to say seg fees are a ridiculous way to give away student money without specifying how, then criticize them for being journalists and not campus politicians.
They're journalists!! its their job to be on your ass, and your job to make laws. get used to it!!
Come on, do you know how stupid you sound right now, asm??