The core of Associated Students of Madison and the Student Services Finance Committee is to provide funding for groups clearly making a difference on campus with segregated fees (currently $609 a year, which comes from each student’s tuition). While many elected ASM and SSFC members may base their funding decisions and discourse on political preference or groups lobbying them, members should be basing their votes and discussion on objective data (for instance, how many people the organization serves) and how the organization’s activities and research benefit and engage students, along with the outside community.
Stewardship should be the core principle of ASM and student organizations because they have been entrusted by the students to use their tuition dollars wisely. The practice of stewardship is especially critical with the increases in tuition and the limited financial resources of the student body. With this underlying principle in mind, healthy debate can occur on the details and specifics of the budgets on campus.
I stand for stewardship, and thus I will make it a goal of mine that every tuition dollar you pay in segregated fees goes to groups and organizations that make it their main objective to serve the students and community around them with the resources allotted. While partisanship and ideology may run rampant on this campus and in our student government, our ultimate goal should be to serve students efficiently and effectively.
If you vote Tim Schulz for SSFC, hopefully progress and change in ASM can occur as I work for you, the students, not special interests or ideology.
Tim Schulz
