In a decision made Monday, the Associated Students of Madison Student Judiciary upheld the Student Services Finance Committee’s denial of funding to Wunk Sheek.
The court dismissed all three counts Wunk Sheek brought against SSFC in its hearing Friday.
Wunk Sheek stated in its first complaint against SSFC that they were unfamiliar with the application process for General Student Services Fund eligibility, which placed it at a distinct disadvantage, particularly during its eligibility hearing.
According to Associate Justice Noah Pearce, during a period of questioning, the court found the student organization to have plenty of opportunities and time to receive guidance on its application from SSFC. Since there was no “allegation of wrongdoing or citation of material law” Wunk Sheek could specifically allege with this claim, the court dismissed the complaint.
The second complaint Wunk Sheek filed said, “SSFC violated ASM Bylaw 2.032(3)(c)1 by considering the organization’s ‘history on campus.'”
“Testimony provided by respondents revealed Wunk Sheek had consistently mismanaged its GSSF funding during the course of the past three years,” Pearce stated.
According to the released decision, SSFC Rep. Carl Fergus knew more specifically about these instances of fiscal irresponsibility due to his tenure as an SSFC member since October 2007. Submitted financial documents, as part of the application for GSSF eligibility, were used to supplement his knowledge.
The court dismissed counts two and three against SSFC and Fergus on the basis that “in the course of Wunk Sheek’s eligibility hearing, a majority of SSFC members determined the organization had indeed failed to demonstrate the ability to responsibly dispense the funds it had received over the past year; [Wunk Sheek] admits to these past failures and does not allege any procedural violations in how SSFC members arrived at their decisions regarding the cited criterion.”
Fergus said in an e-mail to The Badger Herald he felt the decision was fair. SJ rightly determined that “history on campus” pertains to time a group has existed and not its past fiscal actions.
