Though a total of six student organizations had their proposed segregated fee budgets returned to the Associated Students of Madison for reconsideration by University of Wisconsin Chancellor John Wiley last week, only one saw its entire proposal called into question.
The UW Roman Catholic Foundation, which had one of the most tumultuous paths to segregated-fee funding, has been under intense scrutiny since last September. ASM Student Council allocated $147,000 in segregated fee funding to UWRCF Feb. 15.
First denied eligibility for funding by ASM's Student Services Finance Committee Sept. 22 — in large part because representatives felt the foundation's religious affiliation prevented it from being "open to all students" — it took UWRCF nearly five months of appeals through various ASM committees to finally receive budget approval.
Now, with Wiley returning approved allocable budgets to ASM for only the second time in its 13-year history, ASM representative Eric Saar is saying it is "because of UWRCF alone."
However, Saar added, other segregated-fee issues are finally coming due to the UWRCF budget.
"In one sense, I'm glad some of these issues are being addressed," said Saar, a member of the ASM Conference Committee, which was formed to address the situation. "They've been lying in the weeds."
In a letter Wiley wrote to the committee co-chairs dated April 13, Wiley asks the committee to reconsider portions of the budgets for six student organizations — as well as UW Recreational Sports — for a number of reasons, including segregated-fee funding of utilities for off-campus buildings not partially leased by the university, and student organizations receiving "lump sum" payments.
Two of the "five points" Wiley raises in his letter were directed exclusively to UWRCF.
Citing UW System Financial and Administrative Policy F20, Wiley said UWRCF could not receive funding because it was not a registered student organization. Wiley also questioned whether three significant portions of the foundation's budget — activities, personnel and printing — could receive funding, because of the religious nature involved with those items, saying it was in violation per the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Though Wiley cites UW System policy to explain why these portions of the organizations' budgets cannot be funded with segregated fees, Conference Committee members questioned why these issues were being raised this year and not in years past.
When asked by the Conference Committee about the timing — why these issues were only coming out the year UWRCF's budget came under consideration — Conference Committee co-Chair Rachelle Stone could only say it was a "really good question."
"This is the year they decided to look at it," Stone said. "You can read into that how you want, but that's the answer I got."
Two of Wiley's points in particular were raised under what some ASM representatives considered "questionable" timing.
The first, drawn from an Oct. 15, 2004 UW legal services memorandum, states segregated fees should not be used to fund "improvements, maintenance and overhead expenses in non-university facilities."
The memo — which some representatives questioned as actual UW policy — was brought to the attention of SSFC members Nov. 17, 2005, when the committee heard UWRCF's budget proposal.
The second point in the letter states recipients of segregated-fee funding must be registered student organizations. UWRCF is not, the letter states, and therefore stands as a direct contradiction to ASM bylaws.
However, the contradiction has existed since 2003, when ASM changed its own bylaws to allow for groups to receive segregated-fee funding without actually being registered student organizations.
Wiley gave the Conference Committee until April 19 to consider his proposed changes, at which time the committee will have to decide whether to adopt them or reject them.
