Foundations laid by a court case filed six years ago by former UW-Madison law student Scott Southworth have yet again been cited by a student organization as a defense for funding.
A Satanic student organization at UW-Oshkosh recently received funding after meeting organization requirements and presenting a reasonable budget proposal.
Despite doubts about the organization, Obsidian Enlightenment, Nathan Wardinski, a UW-Oshkosh senior and the group's treasurer, said they should be seen as a \proactive philosophy"" organization.
""We're not out to recruit people to Satanism,"" Wardinski said.
Wardinski said the group aims to be a constructive part of campus and an outlet to increase diversity.
""Obsidian Enlightenment is a Satanic student organization that seeks to increase diversity on the UW-Oshkosh campus by presenting alternative religious viewpoints,"" Wardinski said.
The group received approval of their budget proposal last week from OshKosh Student Association. The decision of OSA to fund the controversial organization is based on the precedent set in Scott Southworth v. UW System Board of Regents. The case, which was filed by former UW-Madison student, Scott Southworth in 1996, addressed the constitutionality of the process by which mandatory segregated fees are allocated to various student organizations. Southworth argued that UW System student government finance committees possess too much freedom in this process.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in March 2000 that the funding process was legal as long as decisions were made on a viewpoint-neutral basis. The case is now known as Fry v. Board of Regents and the decision is being appealed.
Scott Spector, a UW-Madison senior and a member of Student Services Finance Committee, said based on the Southworth case, ""no group can be biased against, or discriminated against,"" in regards to recognition and funding.
""Decisions must be made upon the merit of the application and not the merit of the group,"" he added.
Wardinski said he hoped the OSA will recognize and remember the Southworth decision when the organization presents a new budget asking for additional allocations next fall.
Southworth feels that a decision by the organization to use his case in order to receive funding would be strategic. However, he does not feel the group should be funded by student segregated fees.
""No student should be forced to fund the political, ideological or religious activities of anybody else and this is exactly what is happening at this point,"" Southworth said. ""I think it's tragic that any student of Christian faith, Islamic faith or Jewish faith would have to fund a Satanic organization. I also think it's tragic that this system is designed to force students to fund, not only Satanic groups, but any group.\
