Katrina relief petition illegal

Student Senate president requests apology from authors

By: Mark Schaaf

Posted: 9/19/05

Student Senate President Aaron Olson has called on the Progressive Student Association to apologize for circulating a petition last week that, he said, illegally asked for student segregated fees to go toward Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

But PSA President Andrew Werthmann said his group is apologizing only "because we weren't able to fully represent the students' will."

The petition called for $1 in student segregated fees per signatory to benefit Hurricane Katrina victims. A resolution, which was set for the Senate floor tonight, has since been dropped.

Doug Bradley, UW System director of communications, consulted with lawyers and said once student segregated fees reach the state treasury, it becomes state money and it is illegal to spend it for charitable purposes.

"I think that's very noble, but unfortunately it is illegal," Bradley said, adding it could set a bad precedent. "Students say, 'Well, that's our money,' but all monies that are in the state treasury are subject to state rules and regulations."

Werthmann hoped that because of the urgency of the Gulf Coast situation, an exception could be made.

"The administration, backed by the Board of Regents, as well as the vice president and president of the student body ... decided that they were going to put up roadblocks and that we couldn't allow this reshaping of rules to help out the victims," Werthmann said.

Werthmann and Sen. Brandon Buchanan brought up a resolution in the Student Senate meeting Sept. 12 to move segregated fees to benefit Katrina victims.

But the resolution was moved to the Organizations Commission, a move Werthmann condemned at the end of the meeting, saying it was not unlike the slow bureaucracy that hampered immediate Katrina relief efforts.

Since the resolution has been dropped, Werthmann said the PSA will pursue other avenues to help Katrina victims.

Olson said he wants the PSA to apologize not only for the illegality of the petition, but also for causing confusion.

"With your lack of appreciation for ethics and law, you have put the student body in a state of confusion and potential mistrust of its representatives," Olson said in a letter to the PSA. He cited three examples, including one student who thought the dollar was coming out of her Blugold account.

Werthmann and Buchanan insisted the petition, which carried nearly 1,400 signatures, was explained fully.

"They felt OK if $1 was going to be designated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina," Werthmann said, adding that no activities or groups would lose money because the aid was to come out of a fund used only for emergencies.

Junior Katie Miles agreed with Werthmann, saying she knew exactly what she was signing off on when she signed the petition Sept. 12.

Sophomore Scott Anderson, however, said he did not.

"I basically just signed it to get the guy away from me," Anderson said. "I asked him what it was for and he said, 'relief for Hurricane Katrina victims,' and I was like 'OK.'"

Even though the petition was fully explained to junior Drew Duggan, he said finding out it is illegal is unsettling.

"It kind of makes me mad because they should have thought of that beforehand and they should have covered all their bases," Duggan said. "And now I feel misled by my representatives."