More often than not, this board takes issue with the proceedings of the Associated Students of Madison student government. However, two recent moves on budget allocation made us reconsider. Student Council’s decision to pass Student Service Finance Committee’s General Student Services Fund that SSFC vetted last semester, and SSFC’s decision to reject the budgets for Wisconsin Union and Rec Sports were even-handed displays of responsibility.

Last semester, SSFC had tensions with the Multicultural Student Coalition over missed deadlines and failure to meet eligibility criteria. The conflict escalated, and eventually MCSC filed suit against SSFC, saying they violated viewpoint neutrality and purposely shifted the criteria needed to obtain student segregated fees. Student Judiciary eventually overturned the claim and vindicated SSFC. 

The events made Student Council uneasy, and general sentiment was that, due to the fracas, SSFC might meet opposition from Council when it tried to have its own budget ratified. ASM stood by the initial recommendations, and we commend the members for being able to move the budget forward. 

On Feb. 17, SSFC was presented with proposed budgets from non-allocable organizations, or those that SSFC has advisory control over what student seg fees they receive. Again, what tripped up the committee was requests for funds the non-allocables did not clearly specify what they would be used for. SSFC Rep. Justin Gerstner said the Union did not provide detailed enough information about where it would spend the $9 million it requested, and it has a reputation for being evasive on its use of student fees. And Rep. Cale Plamann said he believed the budget for Rec Sports was clear on where the money would be spent, but lacked other information. 

For now, at least, ASM and SSFC have shown us they can maturely handle budget review. Let us hope the trend continues.