University of Wisconsin students are encouraged to attend a
forum Monday to discuss the changes in segregated fee policies — a fee included
in all students' tuition.

The forum will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. in 1111
Humanities and was set up through the Offices of the Dean of Students.

In August, University of Wisconsin Board of Regents President
Mark Bradley appointed a committee to review segregated fee polices due to "the
increasing number of instances where it appeared that organizations were trying
to use these funds inappropriately," said UW System spokesperson David Giroux.

The Segregated Fee System Committee has already met three
times this semester and will meet once again Tuesday after the revised
segregated fee policies are reviewed at each UW System campus.

Although student groups have expressed concern over the
revised policies, Giroux said with the new policies, "students will have the
same authority that they have always had."

"The guidelines for making those allocable funding decisions
will be clarified as to what constitutes a student-run organization and what
doesn't and what kind of guidelines are in place when there is not space on the
campus and we have to look elsewhere for the space," Giroux said.

UW Student Rights Campaign chair Rachel Butler said students
should be concerned about the segregated fee policy changes, as they are the
ones providing the funding.

"Students should and
do care about this because we, as students, determine which services we need on
this campus and we pay for them with our segregated fees," Butler said. "It’s
our money and our campus experience, and we need to be the ones making these
decisions."

Butler also said she
was worried that the proposed segregated fee policies could potentially take
segregated fee decisions from the students and into "the hands of the
chancellor."

"This new policy
draft, if passed as is, will have effects that reach not only UW-Madison, but
campuses across the UW System," Butler said. "These decisions should be left up
to students at the campus level to ensure that each campus can serve the needs
of its students as the students deem necessary."

After Tuesday's meeting, the Segregated Fee System Committee's
policy change recommendations will be forwarded to UW System President Kevin
Reilly.

"The president will analyze those recommendations and then
share with the [Board of Regents] at the December meeting his decisions,"
Giroux said.

This year, students paid $429.08 in segregated fees, which funds
various student organizations throughout campus, as well as such programs as the
ASM Bus Pass and University Health Services.