Seg fee policy moves forward

Numerous student groups against change

By: Nathaniel Shuda

Posted: 11/29/07

A policy that would limit the use of student segregated fees is on its way to the UW System Board of Regents.

The policy would prevent student governments from allocating segregated fees to organizations for some purposes, such as the hiring of staff members not affiliated with the university and renting off-campus facilities. Organizations that wanted to use segregated fees to such purposes would have to appeal to the chancellor, according to the policy.

In a 6-3-1 vote, a committee of System administrators and students passed the proposal, which now heads to UW System President Kevin Reilly. The Board of Regents will review the proposal at its Dec. 6 and 7 meetings.

UW-Eau Claire Student President Ray French, who is also a member of the committee, voted for the proposal, saying he doesn't foresee any problems with the new policies.

"In the end, all my questions were answered," French said. "In my opinion, there's nothing in here that I think is illegal. No one … could give me a substantial reason why that legal reasoning was inaccurate."

However, a group of 86 student groups from five UW System universities joined with the Student Rights Coalition, part of UW-Madison's Associated Students of Madison, in opposition to the policy, saying it would take away students' power.

"While administrators are in the best position to manage the operation of the university and faculty are best situated to determine curriculum, students know what the student body wants to enhance student life, what students will get involved with and what components will go into those extracurricular activities to make them useful," according to a written statement the group submitted to the committee.

"Of course, I don't like the restrictions based on the fact they're restrictions, but there's nothing about them to call into question," French said.

Because the new policy would not affect UW-Eau Claire students but rather only a handful of the System's 26 institutions, including Madison, French said he wouldn't call any changes to the current policy a "monumental" one.

But Madison junior and Student Rights Coalition chairwoman Rachel Butler said in a Nov. 14 interview with The Spectator that the new policy's changes may not be restricted to just those 26 institutions in the future.

"That doesn't mean it won't affect other campuses in the future," Butler said. "That doesn't mean every campus has to, it just means they have the opportunity."

French disagreed.

"This is a reaction to a decade of litigation," he said. "There is more of a requirement on our part to (update) these policies. I don't anticipate the university coming after anything that can remotely be a campus activity."