Chancellor John Wiley, in an unprecedented move, released his decision to overturn the Associated Students of Madison ruling that El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan should be denied funding. The ruling makes it possible for MEChA to receive funding that was originally denied by the Segregated Student Finance Committee.
In the ruling, released to MEChA chair Gladys Reyes and ASM chair Brian Gadow, Wiley said his decision was based mainly on “no” votes cast by ASM on eligibility question number eight. This question asks, “Has the organization/program been free from knowingly, willfully or intentionally violating the ASM financial policies or UW System financial policies within the last fiscal year.”
As pertaining to this question, MEChA’s recruitment practices were specifically in question. A provision called GAP 15 prohibits using seg fees for things like recruitment, which was a regulation that the council feared MEChA had violated.
Wiley wrote, “University officials opined that any recruitment or retention efforts initiated by MEChA did not violate GAP 15.” He continued, “I do not believe that it was within the purview of the ASM Student Council to disregard that opinion and deny eligibility.”
Wiley concluded his letter with, “It is for this reason that I am declaring MEChA eligible to receive segregated fee funding, and returning the matter to the SSFC for additional consideration.”
Darell Balderama, of MEChA, was quick to express his happiness with the ruling. “I’m overwhelmed. I’m completely surprised and excited,” he said. “We’ve been waiting for this decision forever.”
“I’m glad he overlooked the petty politics,” Balderama added about Wiley.
MEChA spokesperson Galdys Reyes agreed, saying, “This is one less hoop we have to jump through. This is a big victory for our organization.”
Reyes said that she believed the original ASM hearing was conducted fairly and accordingly. “Brian Gadow did an excellent job,” she said. “He was very objective.”
However, she said the group’s first decision at the SSFC meeting was not. “Roman Patzner did a lousy job, as far as the facilitation of the meeting. He allowed for a violation of viewpoint neutrality to occur.” Reyes went on to call the SSFC chair, “Roman ‘Incompetence’ Patzner”.
Some students have questioned whether the real issue behind MEChA’s original denial was a poem they published in their newsletter which said, “F–ck the white boy.”
“People were reacting to the title,” said Balderama. “I can’t speak on how the writer was feeling, but I think this poem was about how this campus makes him feel. We have several majority students in our organization. We’ve never closed our doors to anyone. But nobody’s bothered to come talk to us about it.”
These issues, according to Patzner, are irrelevant. “Wiley reversed a council decision, not the SSFC. If you’re going to file an appeal, don’t bring me emotional reasons for it.
On Reyes, Patzner said, “She may be a little biased in her assertations. She tried to vote on the organization that she works for,” (referring to the original SSFC meeting), “which is illegal.”
Patzner remained more concerned with Wiley’s reasoning behind his decision. “He’s basically saying that student government is not capable of handling seg fees. Maybe he should work towards not having a seg fee system if he feels that way,” he said.
“All students should be told that our chancellor raised our seg fee taxes without consulting student representatives,” Patzner added.
ASM representative Charlie Sieve agreed, saying, “We tried to meet with Mr. Wiley, but he wouldn’t meet with any students on it. He’s undermining the student council’s authority.”
Sieve reiterated that his feelings on voting against the MEChA group were largely impersonal. “They made it clear that everyone could join it. They are a very open group.”
The poem, and issues of racism, were discounted by Sieve. “I didn’t take that into account when I voted,” he said.
“I think most students should be unhappy with the chancellor’s decision,” Sieve said. “They should really be concerned about how he’s using his power.”
