The Multicultural Student Coalition is an extremely important student organization on campus that has seen quite a bit of press recently, showing its forcefulness in dealing with the Associated Students of Madison and the Student Services Finance Committee. However, the controversial and callous nature of its actions has turned many people sour toward the group’s cause, and rightly so.
The controversy began when MCSC requested a budget of $1.27 million and turned in its waiver application -necessary to overcome the $250,000 funding cap – several hours after deadline. After being denied funding, MCSC asked for an extension to finish its budget in case SSFC’s decision was overturned by the Student Judiciary. Finally, MCSC missed the deadline to file an appeal through SSFC’s internal review process.
MCSC attributed these missteps to the racist and Eurocentric nature of the student government’s internal procedures. Personally, I understand its argument that ASM and SSFC’s procedures are steeped in white supremacy. After all, parliamentary procedure and our very own United States government were created by a group of white men whose ideals were anything but politically correct for our time.
However, while I am sympathetic to the group’s grievances, its members are going about trying to change the system in the most awful way possible. Instead of proposing a new system of government or trying to enact any meaningful change from within the organization, the leaders of MCSC are refusing to follow the rules and chastising SSFC members as racist when they get denied funding.
Things like deadlines and forms are simple things to follow. However, MCSC has missed several deadlines and has refused to follow the necessary forms and procedures, saying that certain questions were “Eurocentric” and “white supremacist.”
It is not through lack of effort by SSFC members that MCSC continues to miss deadlines and not follow the rules. Members of SSFC have personally contacted the leaders of MCSC many times in an effort to ensure they understand SSFC’s procedures and to understand their point of view. However, their efforts to help have only been met with a cold shoulder by the organization’s leadership.
To put it bluntly, MCSC needs to get its act together if it wants to be taken seriously. While I understand acceptance in an inherently white-dominated organization is not what the members are striving for, they are going to need it if they want funding in order to spread their message.
MCSC should – like other organizations which do not receive funding from segregated fees – get money through other funding streams this year. It should then step back, take a hard look at its organization, and come back next year with a revised and more effective plan of tackling its perceived racial problems in SSFC and ASM as a whole.
MCSC is a student organization which could have a tremendous impact on our campus in a profoundly great way. However, as long as it continues to ostracize outsiders and throw around the word “racist” like we do “newspaper,” it can never hope to accomplish its goals, no matter how important or noble.
Alex Brousseau ([email protected]) is a second year law student.
