The Associated Students of Madison Finance Committee put a request for a grant by the Monkey Hoes, a UW-Madison registered student organization, on hold for the second time on Tuesday.
The Monkey Hoes, whose purpose, according to its mission statement, is to 'offer the campus a break' by providing 'an alcohol-alternative to weekend drinking' wants to take a trip to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium, according to organization leader, UW-Madison senior Patrick Elliott.
Elliott requested $230 before the committee Nov. 29 to partially cover the cost of the trip. Elliott tried to convince the committee his group benefited Madison and 'was much like a residence hall event organization.'
The committee refused to fund the trip at that time.
'We felt that this mission could have been fulfilled in Madison. The purpose was unclear, and they had no co-sponsors,' UW-Madison junior and committee member Barry Landy said.
Elliott claims viewpoint neutrality, or the practice of not letting an organization's purpose factor into the decision over its funding, was violated by members of ASM during the hearing. There needs to be a 'different system or better training,' Elliott said. 'Viewpoint neutrality is not being exercised.'
The committee was split over whether members exercised viewpoint neutrality.
UW-Madison graduate student Jason Schmidt, an ASM representative, believes the committee did act neutrally.
'At the beginning of the finance committee we had a meeting that oriented us, and a good deal of it was spent on viewpoint neutrality,' Schmidt said.
On the other hand, ASM representative and UW-Madison sophomore Jon Kuether recognized some of the problems with the system.
'I think with viewpoint neutrality there's a real thin line, and in this case, I think it could have been crossed,' Kuether said.
There is also some disagreement over the whether groups applying for travel or event funding are fairly treated and granted funds accordingly.
'We do support an effort to make the system fair,' Elliott said. 'There's this tone [in ASM] that they know how to run your organization better than you.'
In addition to the charges of violations of viewpoint neutrality, Elliott believes proper voting procedure was not followed during the Nov. 29 hearing.
ASM's Student Judiciary will assess whether committee members Landy and Ryan Scannell violated viewpoint neutrality rules today.
