At this week?s meetings, the Student Services Finance Committee made two unprecedented decisions ? it deemed two student groups that received segregated fee funding this fiscal year ineligible for funds next year. Thursday, MEChA, a Chicano student group on campus, was deemed ineligible to receive funds due to several factors, including what SSFC called discriminatory practices.

Sunday, the Diversity Education Specialists group was denied funding for violating student government bylaws (turning its forms in late), overlapping services with other student groups and failing to spend its entire advertising budget.

Both organizations were also accused of violating several university policies regarding the proper allocation of segregated fees. Based on the amounts the two groups received last year — $41,138 for MECHA and $435,000 for DES — students will save a combined $476,138 in tuition dollars this semester.

After years of harping on SSFC to be more fiscally responsible, we are glad to finally see it being serious about reducing the amount of money students pay in seg fees and holding student groups accountable for their services (or lack thereof). Under a literal interpretation of ASM bylaws, SSFC should not have heard DES? case last night because the group turned its forms in late. But then again, Safe Nightime Services? funding application was turned in late too, and their funding was upheld. Clearly, SSFC had broader motivations for their decisions to cut MEChA and DES than mere semantics.

Both of these student groups say they will appeal the decisions. Just as SSFC?s rulings are unprecedented, Student Judiciary?s hearings and decisions on this matter will be breaking new ground in how student groups are deemed eligible for students? dollars. Judiciary needs to verify that SSFC followed correct procedure when determining these groups ineligible. If rules were broken, the Student Judiciary should ensure fairness and due process, but they need to be careful not to overstep their bounds and further politicize a courageous judgment call made by SSFC.

For the past several funding cycles, allocated seg fee dollars have soared steadily off the charts. Last year, it seemed SSFC could not care less about the increases on students? tuition bills nor the decreasing accountability of the services in question. We applaud this year?s SSFC for proving early in the process that it is committed to holding student groups accountable and it is willing to make difficult decisions to radically alter the status quo.

These allocable segregated fees are tacked on to students? tuition bill to funnel money to student services