With the Committee to Review Allocable Segregated Fee Policies finalizing their recommended changes to segregated fee polices Tuesday, students across the University of Wisconsin campus are expressing their opinions about the decisions.

After issues were raised during the 2006-07 school year about what student segregated fees could be spent on — specifically paying for off-campus office space and employment on non-UW employees — the committee was formed in August with the goal of solving segregated fee discrepancies. 

Their recommendations have been forwarded to UW System president Kevin Reilly and he will announce his decision at the December Board of Regents meeting.

Jeff Rolling, chair for Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group — an organization that receives segregated fees — said in an e-mail that the recommended changes will ultimately affect the future of student services at UW campuses.

"The changes in the seg fee policy only serve to restrict what campuses can do with their own money," Rolling said. "This, in turn, directly affects the amount of seg fee groups Madison can fund and lowers the quality of the services the groups provide to the campus by capping their potential."

Rollins added he was most surprised by the UW Dean of Students Lori Berquam’s "lack of leadership on the issue."

"As dean of students, her job is to advocate for students," Rolling said. "She feels the policy changes will only serve to set minimum standards for all UW schools, but what she really is doing is cutting the head off student organizations and then helping them to grow — which is something that will be fatal to the great environment and opportunities that Madison offers to its students."

Rolling also questioned why the Committee to Review Allocable Segregated Fee Policies never sought out an independent legal opinion and "ignored the ones brought to them by concerned students both on and off the committee."

Aaron McKean, chair of the Wisconsin Union Directorate's Distinguished Lecture Series — whose entire budget comes from segregated fees — said in an e-mail to The Badger Herald that he was "not against making policy changes," but said it was important to make the changes with the needs of students in mind.

"Looking at the policy changes themselves, the overarching theme of the changes says that the Board of Regents have deemed the students unfit to handle segregated fees," McKean said. "They couch it in language that says that students don’t want to follow state laws and regulations when distributing segregated fees."

McKean also said the policy changes are in violation of a state law "regarding shared governance among students and administrators, as well as a severe ethical violation."

McKean added policy changes affecting student fees "ought to be dynamic and responsive to the changes on campuses in the UW System."

"Critically examining these policies is imperative to adequately responding to the needs of students and administrators," McKean said. "However, the policy changes which are being proposed are unnecessary. They serve no purpose but to usurp student power and bolster the control of the Board of Regents over student money."

Student Rights Committee Chair Rachel Butler said the segregated fee policy changes were unnecessary and that there was "nothing wrong … with the existing segregated fee policies."

"This new draft still takes decisions out of the hands of students and puts them off-limits or in the hands of the chancellor and the administration," Butler said. "The campus benefits immensely from segregated fees and student control over these fees — they exist to provide services to the student body."

WISPIRG member Tony Uhl agreed, adding UW student government has "been delegating our segregated fees for something like 20 years without incident."

"The main argument is whether or not segregated fees are legally defined as state dollars which would require state oversight," Uhl said. "Lori Berquam … even admitted that they are still waiting for a conclusive independent opinion on this. Pat Brady, who is a lawyer for UW, decided to break precedent and reinterpret our segregated fee system."

UW System spokesperson David Giroux said he understood the various opinions on the policy changes, but said the changes will, in fact, help "preserve a very good system of shared governance between students and administrators."

The committee, like UW Stevens Point Chancellor and committee chair Linda Bunnell, "has been very, very good about listening to many voices through this process, including the voices of the students who have spoken up on this issues," Giroux said.

Giroux said UW System president Kevin Reilly will take both the committee recommendations and student feedback — including feedback gathered at the Nov. 26 segregated fee forum — before making his final decisions about the policy changes.