The Multicultural Student Coalition and the Student Services Finance Committee appealed to the student government’s judiciary body Tuesday over the legitimacy of a budget waiver the student group turned in past deadline.

Any organization requesting a budget of more than $250,000 must submit a waiver containing additional information about their group’s spending, and it was due at noon on Sept. 19.

Nneka Akubeze, speaking on behalf of MCSC, said the organization was not given enough time to complete the waiver, given the fact that it received the waiver on Sept. 10. She also mentioned that her budget was 116 pages long.

She further argued that the waiver violated viewpoint neutrality, which states that a group cannot be denied funding because it advocates a particular point of view.

Both she and Rebecca Pons, another member of MCSC, said they felt the organization was being targeted by SSFC. They also said they believe SSFC violated procedural laws and did not act transparently.

“It is very imperative that transparency is there and is present throughout the system,” Pons said.

Both emphasized the issue was not about the waiver being late, but whether the SSFC violated the Associated Students of Madison constitution in issuing the waiver.

Samir Jaber, speaking on behalf of SSFC, said the case did not pertain to the goals of MCSC, and that it was not violating viewpoint neutrality.

“This is a case about responsibility,” he said. “Every organization is required to follow the same rules. The SSFC went above and beyond to notify the MCSC what the rules were.”

He said the SSFC notified the MCSC about the new waiver on Aug. 10 via email, though the organization did not receive the actual waiver for another month.

He also argued that it was “well within SSFC’s responsibility” to impose waiver violations.

SSFC Chair Sarah Neibart said the length of MCSC’s budget was not a sufficient reason for it being turned in late.

“Regardless of how many pages a budget is, I have to treat every group the same way,” she said.

Prior to the presentation of evidence and concluding arguments, a large group of students came to speak on behalf of MCSC in open forum.

Leland Pan, an ASM representative, spoke in favor of the organization’s efforts.

“Everybody here is about helping students, and I think MCSC does a great job,” he said. “It has positively impacted my life.”

Althea Miller, a member of the MCSC leadership team, also spoke highly of the organization. She spoke against actions of SSFC in the past, saying she had been personally ridiculed by its vice chair.

Matthew Manes, a past SSFC chair, also spoke briefly at the beginning of the hearing. He said MCSC’s arguments were without merit and they should be dismissed.

“MCSC did not follow established procedures,” he said. “There’s a procedure outlined in the standing rules.”

SSFC Secretary Ellie Bruecker also responded to criticism from MCSC for failing to record a meeting in the past. She accepted full responsibility for her mistake, but she spoke out against the claim that it was intentional.

SJ Chief Justice Kathryn Fifield said the judiciary has 10 days to make the final decision on the appeal, but will try to expedite the decision process.