The Student Services Finance Committee approved the Student Activity Center Governing Board (SACGB) budget, and heard the Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group's case for eligibility Monday.
The SSFC denied WISPIRG eligibility for student segregated fees last September, rejecting the group's case on the grounds that their services did not meet the 75 percent quota of student beneficiaries.
In November, WISPIRG appealed the ruling to the Student Judiciary, claiming the SSFC's definition of ""beneficiaries"" was inconsistent. The SJ ruled in favor of WISPIRG, and did so again when the SSFC appealed the decision.
Since then, the SSFC has officially changed the definition of ""beneficiary"" in their bylaws from ""any individual or group that receives ‘services'"" to ""any individual or group who receives ‘programming' from the group.""
At their second eligibility hearing, WISPIRG characterized their direct service as the ""experiential learning"" students receive when WISPIRG trains them to campaign and lobby.
WISPIRG Secretary Allie Gardner illustrated the point using the example of the group's high-speed rail campaign. Gardner said the train itself was not the service; the service was the experience students gained during lobbying and campaign training.
""The people who actually benefit from our services are the students,"" WISPIRG President Rashi Mangalick said.
Cale Plamann, like many SSFC members, was concerned by the perceived change in definition.
""There are definitely people who are expressing concern over the fact that [WISBIRG's] direct service has changed in a very dramatic way from their application to what they presented here,"" said Plamann.
According to SSFC Chair Matt Manes, committee members may choose whether to take changes at face value, or to rely on the definitions in WISPIRG's September presentation.
Due to time constraints, the SSFC both heard and approved the SACGB's 2011-'12 budget Monday. The final budget was approved at $410,752, up from $359,325 the year before, due to higher maintenance costs.
""I know it's painful, but that's what we have to do to keep this building up to standards,"" SACGB Chair Katy Ziebell said of the increase.
The committee will determine WISPIRG's eligibility at their meeting Thursday.
