This is the full version of the story concerning the UW Roman Catholic Foundation and university administration that ran in the Oct 2, 2006 issue of The Daily Cardinal.
UW Roman Catholic Foundation spokesperson Tim Kruse said Sunday night that blatant religious discrimination, miscommunication and unaccountability were responsible for the organization's current preclusion from Registered Student Organization status.
Kruse said the organization submitted its RSO application to the Student Organization Office June 20, in an attempt to get the application in before the fiscal year began July 1.
The SOO began a dialogue with UWRCF July 17, according to University Communications, but ""only after I repeatedly badgered them to say something about our application,"" according to Kruse, who also said he called and e-mailed the SOO repeatedly, about every other day until July 17.
According to University Communications, SOO Director Yvonne Fangmeyer requested the constitution and bylaws of UWRCF July 26. However, Kruse said he kept calling Fangmeyer and set up the meeting that occurred June 26.
""And when I met with her, Yvonne asked for those. And I said, ‘Yvonne, I'd be happy to get you those; however, I want to ask you a question first because I feel like our viewpoint has been singled out by you guys. I want you to show me one other group that you've ever asked this of,'"" Kruse said. ""And she turned white as a ghost and had nothing to say.""
The University Communications timeline states Kruse was notified June 28 that Aug. 1 was to begin the SOO's 2006-'07 academic year registration process and that UWRCF's current application was for the 2005-'06 academic year.
""That was a great shock to me actually, because the whole new fiscal year starts July 1—that's when SSFC starts, that's the university's new calendar,"" Kruse said. ""That was the first I'd heard of it.""
According to Kruse, he asked to reapply right away, and Fangmeyer said he couldn't because he is a special student, as a part-time continuing adult, even though he submitted the first application as a special student.
According to Kruse, three other UWRCF members, who are regular UW-Madison students, submitted the 2006-‘07 application Aug. 18, a date that corresponds with the University Communications timeline. According to Kruse, Fangmeyer never asked the three students for UWRCF's constitution and bylaws. Kruse said he did not want the group to submit the bylaws and constitution voluntarily because the SOO had allegedly never asked any other group for this information.
According to Kruse, Chancellor John Wiley has actively engaged in religious discrimination against the UWRCF as the university's only religious group ever to be funded by the General Student Services Fund, which offers Student Services Finance Committee-approved organizations grants upwards of $10,000.
Kruse cited a July 30 e-mail between UW-Madison junior James Van Hoven and Fangmeyer as representative of this religious discrimination by the university.
""Does your membership and officer/Board selection for both student members and non-students members meet [the university's] non-discriminatory requirements...For example, if I were a practicing lesbian or a non-Christian, would I be able to be a member, as well as, an officer/board member?"" Fangmeyer asked Van Hoven in an e-mail requesting additional information about UWRCF.
""As indicated in our application and in Tim's correspondence with you, we don't ask the sort of questions of anyone; anyone can join by simply indicating a desire to do so; we ask nothing in regard to religious, sexual or other about such things,"" Van Hoven wrote. ""Our feelings about these matters are outlined in our hiring policy which reads:
‘The UWMRCF is an equal opportunity employer. No information that could potentially be used as a basis of discrimination (gender, religious preference, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc.) is requested on job applications.' In point of fact, though we do not ask, we have had lesbians, gays, and non-Christians all as members and/or board officials.""
Special Assistant to the Chancellor Casey Nagy maintained that UWRCF's board leadership, with only 3 student members out of 12, is the main issue for its preclusion from RSO status. He also said if the group were to be given RSO status, the university would have to ensure the group's actions were open to all students and performed in a ""legal,"" constitutional manner.
UWRCF was still in discussion with the university and the SOO regarding its RSO status as of press time, according to Nagy, Kruse and University Communications. The organization has been encouraged by SSFC chair Zach Frey to attend its Nov. 13 hearing regarding funding for the 2006-'07 academic year.
