When students pay their tuition bill at the beginning of the semester, they may not pay much attention to the $285.75 required in segregated fees. However, one group of students is petitioning for a policy change that may give students an incentive to take a second look.
Currently, students must pay segregated fees whether or not they participate in or agree with student organizations that receive funding via the fee system. However, some Associated Students of Madison representatives want students to have the option to opt-out of funding groups of their choosing. The only catch would be that students who do not fund a particular organization would not legally be able to participate in the organization's activities.
According to Representative Paul Nemcek, the proposed change is important to ensure students have input where their money is concerned.
\I think to genuinely give students power, this would be the best way to do it,"" he said.
Representative Jackie Helmrick said this became a particularly important issue earlier this month, when Chancellor John Wiley overturned the student government's decision about the funding eligibility of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan.
""I really think the last nail in the coffin was when the chancellor overturned the MEChA decision,"" Helmrick said.
Helmrick and Nemcek are among more than 20 people currently collecting signatures so the opt-out proposal will be on the ASM ballot in April. If they collect signatures from 10 percent of the student body, or nearly 4,000 students, then students will get to decide whether or not the opt-out system goes into effect next fall.
The group presented a similar proposal at the last ASM Student Council meeting Feb. 13. The motion failed by a vote of 16-9.
Helmrick said revisions have been made to the proposal since then to address some problems representatives had with the original version.
Nonetheless, many fundamentally oppose the idea of an opt-out system. Vicki Bomben, the staff/finance coordinator at the Campus Women's Center, said an opt-out system allows students to choose not to fund groups that benefit them.
""A seg fee opt-out system basically allows for people to be like, 'I'm not going to pay for this,' even though they're getting a service from it even if they never attend a program,"" she said.
Furthermore, Bomben said the current system already makes student organizations fiscally accountable by forcing groups to go through several steps in order to get funding.
Student Services Finance Committee Representative Faith Kurtyka said she agrees, noting that an opt-out system would lead students to make ill-informed decisions.
""One budget hearing can be six hours. How is a group supposed to get all that information to students so they can make that valid decision?\
