Kellie Sanders

What makes Madison such a unique place? I think that it has a lot to do with the amount of opportunities that students here are offered. Whatever you want to get involved in, whether it be diversity issues, environmental activism, or an internship with an organization, there is something out there for everyone.

The Student Service Finance Committee are the people who get to decide what services are important to students here on campus, and how much funding they should receive in order to better serve the students. Each year every student pays roughly $650 into the segregated fee system, which then gets allocated among different organizations and programs provided to students.

I am running for SSFC because I firmly believe in the system that we have, and want to make sure that committee is looking out for the students' interests. This is our money, and that money should represent what the students want to have available to them.

I will also do this in a fiscally responsible way. With the rising cost of tuition, it's important to ensure our money is being spent wisely. Many people will attribute the rise in tuition to the rise in segregated fees, but this is the one portion of our education that we have complete control over, so if you want to make sure your money is being spent in a responsible way and representing your needs, vote for me.

I have budgetary experience with student organizations here on campus, and I also serve on a committee that allocates money nationwide. If you want your money spent by an experienced, thoughtful and responsible person, then vote Kellie for SSFC.

David Lapidus

I believe in the platform of the Robin Hood Slate. If segregated fees are not being spent in the interest of the majority of students, then they shouldn't be taken from students in the first place. We are already hit hard enough by the cost of tuition; there is no reason why our own budget committee should hit us harder with costs that offer little of value to the vast majority of us.

Many in the Student Segregated Funds Committee and large student organizations, however, oppose this philosophy, and would love to spend our money with no consideration for the financial burden placed upon students. Sometimes it is because SSFC members want a $5,000 annual salary; sometimes it is because clubs with budgets in the hundreds of thousands of dollars want money to send their members on exclusive trips to Florida.

Those who abuse your money will say the amount concerned is small. They'll say that only 15 percent of the $22 million in segregated fees last year was controlled by the SSFC. What they will not mention is that even that "small" amount was around $3 million, and that it grows in size 10 percent annually. This is money that could help relieve the burden of our tuition. Instead it goes toward the corruption and wasteful spending of our government.

This practice cannot continue.

I will never spend our money unless it serves the majority of students.

I will never allow our money to be spent on salaries for our student government.

I will eliminate excessive acronyms (SSFC, ASM, etc.) that allow our government to act in secrecy and with no accountability. Every student is a member of Student Government — they should know what's going on.

Vote for David Lapidus — Your Tuition Will be Well Spent