The UW Roman Catholic Foundation—also known as St. Paul's, at 723 State St.—has tripped over many stumbling blocks on the road to becoming a registered and fully funded student organization.
All student organizations on campus desiring meeting space and funding for amenities like travel, events and day-to-day activities must apply to be a Registered Student Organization through UW-Madison's Student Organization Office. The SOO has been ordered through a state audit to more closely scrutinize RSO applications this year for discriminatory membership policies.
Due to increased complaints from religious student organizations that their applications were being delayed and denied because of the university's alleged desire to not fund religious organizations, SOO Director Yvonne Fangmeyer and UW-Madison administration decided to streamline communication regarding the complicated RSO process through University Communications.
For the 2006-'07 academic year, there are currently 587 RSOs, according to the SOO website, 37 of which are classified as religious student organizations. There were 66 religious RSOs for the 2005-'06 academic year.
UWRCF has been in contact with the SOO since June 20, 2006 to try to become an RSO. The Foundation was told Sept. 22, 2006, it needed to restructure its board to make the majority of its 12 members students.
Several e-mails between Fangmeyer and UWRCF member James Van Hoven indicated the SOO needed to know more about UWRCF's membership and leadership policies to ensure the foundation was not discriminating on the basis of religion and sexual orientation. As of Wednesday, the group is still in negotiations with the SOO to garner RSO status, according to UWRCF Director Tim Kruse.
After receiving RSO status, a group can apply for nominal grants from the Associated Students of Madison Finance Committee. If the group needs more funding than the committee can dole out for expenses like rent, trips and food, it must then apply for money from the General Student Services Fund, a fund compiled from 12 percent of all students' segregated fees—an amount that totals nearly $20 million. The minimum amount of funding a GSSF-funded group can apply for is $10,000.
The ASM Student Services Finance Committee—comprised of 16 student members, including a non-voting chair—controls the GSSF, holding eligibility hearings first to determine if groups are suitable for GSSF funding, then budget hearings and, finally, budget decisions. SSFC determines each organization's budget for the upcoming academic year.
Declaring violations of viewpoint neutrality on behalf of committee members and due process breeches on behalf of the committee itself, UWRCF took the denial to the ASM Student Judiciary.
The Student Judiciary ruled Monday to overturn SSFC's denial of contract status and the committee will rehear UWRCF's proposal to obtain contract status next week.
The Foundation maintains SSFC members and UW-Madison administration have singled out its religious viewpoint as the campus' oldest religious student organization.
""We have been singled out for so long over our spiritual and educational viewpoint and mission,"" Kruse said at the UWRCF v. SSFC Student Judiciary hearing Nov. 26. ""And if you read Wiley's letters circulating last year that called us out on our ‘religious nature,' you'd know we have reason to be suspicious.""
