When Associated Students of Madison announced they had a $1.2 million budget surplus, we expressed hope that they would distribute the money in the way most beneficial to students. Unfortunately, ASM has again shown their hypocrisy by dispersing most of the money in a manner that helps almost no one.
More than half the surplus will be set aside to offset segregated fees for next year. While that seems nice, it actually amounts to a savings of approximately $20 per student next year. In addition, one of the reasons ASM cited for not wanting to give every student a refund was that students who had been paying segregated fees for a longer time would see no extra benefit. Now, those who have been paying longest-graduating seniors-will not see any of their money back, while students who have only been paying for one year will see the most benefits, comparatively speaking.
Furthermore, ASM gave $140,000-nearly 12 percent of the surplus-to its own operating budget. That is the single worst way to allocate the money. It shows ASM, as it is wont to do, has greatly overestimated its own worth to the student body.
Twenty-eight student organizations submitted viable proposals to receive some of the excess funds. Of those, 26 were rejected. While this would be excusable if the money had actually been put to good use, ASM decided to go against its own stated position with some of the money and rewarded themselves with another portion.
We are happy that some of the money went to programs beneficial to students, including the Child Care Tuition Assistance and Bus Pass programs. But ASM self-righteously threw away most of the money, which could have been used to help students so much more.
