In an eventful meeting Monday night, the Student Services Finance Committee denied funding to Collegians for a Constructive Tomorrow and approved funding for Supporting Peers in Laidback Listening.
During the open forum, CFACT members and supporters flooded the hearing room with signs and expressed the benefits of the organization.
Amidst all the support for CFACT, SSFC denied funding 0-6-2. According to SSFC Chair Brandon Williams, the reason for denial of CFACT was twofold.
“Some committee members felt that the violation that had occurred with the Student Activity Center Governing Board was intentional, which violates our criteria,” Williams said. “The other reason was that some committee members felt that some of [CFACT’s] programs that they had advertised as direct services were not direct services, those being stewardship, networking and campaigning.”
“I’ll be sad to see all the benefits of the program go to waste just because we don’t have the funding to support it,” CFACT member Jenna Lazlo said.
According to Lazlo, CFACT was a great way not only to express what you believe in but also learn a lot about the law and what can be done to make a difference.
According to Lauren Vollrath, chair of the SACGB, CFACT was cited for three violations over the past year. The first, Vollrath said, regarded the maintenance staff finding empty beer cans in the recycling bin of the CFACT office on May 5. CFACT was placed on probation following this discovery, as it violates policies of SACGB.
On Sept. 23, SAC staff reported they had found common-area furniture in the CFACT office after a meeting had taken place. The Student Activity facility use policy states that no group can remove furniture from the common areas of the SAC and put it in an office.
The CFACT members were informed about this infringement on the facility-use policy, yet they violated the same policy again during their next meeting on Sept. 29.
“If it was just the furniture, we probably would’ve asked for a letter of apology at the most. But it was the fact that they were on probation already and had been previously warned. It was an intentional violation,” Vollrath said.
CFACT went before the SACGB yesterday in light of their recent violations. Their probation has been extended through the end of the academic year.
CFACT was also denied funding from SSFC last year, due to application requirements not being met and because many committee members questioned the group’s direct services. CFACT appealed the decision to the Student Judicary and Chancellor’s Office to no avail and followed up by filing a lawsuit in August against the University of Wisconsin on the grounds the group was denied funding because of its conservative viewpoint, violating SSFC’s viewpoint neutrality code. The lawsuit still remains open.
In contrast, the decision of Spill’s eligibility provided little debate. SSFC members all agreed that the organization met all general requirements and provided a direct service accessible to all UW students. Funding was granted 8-0-0.
The Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group also presented its case to SSFC. The final decision regarding WISPIRG’s contract status will be made at a meeting Thursday night.
