As if the Badger loss wasn't enough to bear this weekend, I found myself looking at UW legal counsel Patricia Brady's draft of the new "simplified" segregated fee policy. "Simplification," as I understood it, was the process of making something easier, producing no difficulty. Yet this new policy seems to cause nothing but difficulty for the students of the UW System, and only a small group of students, the aptly named Student Rights Coalition, is trying to do something about it.
Supposedly created in order to merge documents F20 and F37, which were both vague policies on how to handle segregated fees, what the new policy has taken out is nothing compared to what it has added in. In a section labeled "Limitations on Expenditures of [segregated fees]," there is a whole new mess of restrictions regarding how we spend our allocable segregated fees that the administration is just trying to slip under our noses.
Under the new policy, travel expenses must fit state travel regulations along with the UW regulations. That's odd, considering allocable segregated fees have always been considered to be in a separate pot from state funds. Furthermore, according to the Student Rights Coalition proposed policy, "Independent student organizations have long been able to spend money out of accordance with state regulations." It's truly comforting that the student body knows more about the history of segregated fee policies than the administration does.
Another gem in the new policy is a section letting the administration decide where it would be acceptable for an individual to travel, whether or not he or she is representing the university. This would give the university the power to just say, "Well, that just doesn't sound good, so let's cross that off the list." There actually seems to be a lot of that going on in the administration's new policy.
As we head down this line of bullshit, we see that the new policy again grants the university some new powers. Apparently, if this new policy passes, the university would be able to take away funding for basic operating costs, including phone lines and rent. How can a student organization expect to operate with such limited funding?
Also, the new policy limits the ability of segregated fees to fund non-university staff, and by limit, I mean it eliminates that ability completely. Presently, the policy would only allow segregated fees to fund UW staff that work with student organizations. Although I'm sure our fine, liberal professors are experts in their own fields, I'd like to see some of them try to work outside their realm with the College Republicans. Something tells me that the same professors who have allegedly made their students watch "An Inconvenient Truth" in class would much rather have non-university staff being paid by segregated fee funds to deal with a group of kids who have voted for President George W. Bush twice.
"Overhead costs" would also be knocked off the list of acceptable items to spend our segregated fees on. According to the Student Rights Coalition, "This is a completely new restriction." Although this new limitation was designed to eliminate the cost of off-campus rent, the coalition goes to explain that the particular wording in this section would prohibit "the purchase of a phone, computer or fax machine, printer ink, a supply of pens, etc." Gee, I wonder if they'd give us money for a rock and chisel.
My favorite part of the new policy drafted by Ms. Brady, however, is the one which suddenly gives the chancellor the ultimate power to decide whether the allocable budget is acceptable. Although I understand that any illegal budget procedures would be unacceptable, I can't help but imagine how legal it is for the chancellor to have the final say on everything. Especially since, according to a little thing I like to call "Wisconsin Statutes 36.09 (5)," students are allowed an amazing principle known as "shared governance." Now, although I put these into quotations, these are two very concrete things, which, might I add, blatantly point out that the chancellor has never legally held the power to effectively veto any student proposed budget without a final decision by the Board of Regents.
So please, Ms. Brady, feel free to enlighten us all as to how this new policy is fair — or legal, for that matter. UW-Stevens Point Chancellor Linda Bunnell, I call on you as well, because I'd like to know why although you are the chair of this brand new committee that's supposed to solve these problems, you clearly know very little about the issues. Most importantly, I ask all of you, the students of the UW System, especially you crazy activists in Madison, home of all that is liberal, to stand up and fight the proverbial man you have been wanting to fight your whole life and give your support on the issue. Without it, you will never have the same funding you once had to organize your umpteenth Students Against Whatever group again.
Andrew Traverse ([email protected]) .is a freshman majoring in finance
