THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1969 Tuesday, October 11, 2011
www.badgerherald.com
Volume XLIII, Issue 26
CFACT funding appeal case closed Student Judiciary says campus group will not receive seg funds from last year Katie Caron News Reporter The Student Judiciary voted Friday to close a case concerning the appeal of a student organization denied funding in October of 2010. The case began
approximately a year ago when the Student Services Finance Committee sent a letter to Collegians For A Constructive Tomorrow denying the student organization’s eligibility for funding for the 20112012 fiscal year. Following several appeals and court hearings since the original denial, SJ voted to close the case Oct. 7. Associate Justice Nicholas Checker delivered the unanimous opinion of the court dismissing the case and
ruling in favor of SSFC. SSFC ruled to deny funding to CFACT — a national nonprofit organization promoting environmental stewardship — in October of 2010. The group had failed to return SSFCowned equipment, which SSFC said was a violation of University of Wisconsin financial policy. Matt Manes, SSFC chair at the time of CFACT’s funding eligibility denial, said CFACT did not return equipment including printers, laptops and
cameras to SSFC by the end of a 5-month extended deadline. Manes said the group’s noncompliance was not a misunderstanding and that it was attempting to keep the equipment. CFACT appealed SSFC’s decision, arguing SSFC was in violation of viewpoint neutrality and used “pretextual arguments to disguise viewpoint discrimination.” CFACT’s appeal also said SSFC imposed unfair proceedings and that the
History lesson Cecilia Leon, member of MCSC, stood on Bascom Hill Monday informing passers-by of the significance of the day’s Indigenous Peoples Day celebration. Between the hours of 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday, indigenous students educated members of the University of Wisconsin community through informational literature, music and talks that demonstrated the effects of colonization on Native Americans. Malory Goldin The Badger Herald
its power by applying powers reserved to SSFC. SSFC argued its appeal that “in judging CFACT did not commit an intentional violation, the panel effectively overstepped its bounds by not only interpreting the bylaw, but also applying it to the available evidence.” The court’s ruling last week confirmed this point, holding that CFACT did not present credible evidence to suggest SSFC members showed any
keeping of equipment was unintentional. SJ then set up a panel to review the case. The panel initially did not affirm CFACT’s viewpoint neutrality claim but did find that CFACT did not commit an intentional violation and reopened the case for the word “intent” to be addressed by SSFC, according to 2011 ASM SJ16. SSFC then appealed this decision, seeking to deny the case on the basis that the panel acted beyond
CFACT, page 2
UW, state look at admissions Wis. to hold hearing after national study says university racist against caucasians Leah Linscheid State Reporter A Wisconsin Assembly committee announced it would hold an informational hearing regarding the University of Wisconsin’s holistic admissions process. According to a statement from committee chairperson Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities is responding to two controversial studies released by the conservative think tank Center for Equal Opportunity last month, claiming UW uses reverse discrimination in its admissions policies. The studies allege the university’s undergraduate and law school admissions discriminate according to race and ethnicity, giving preference to blacks and
Latinos over Caucasian and Asian applicants, according to CEO’s website. Data from the study implies that race and ethnicity may be used as a final determining factor in the admissions process, according to Mike Mikalsen, spokesperson for Nass. During the hearing, the committee will listen to testimonies regarding UW’s admissions process, Mikalsen said. The public will be allowed to attend, with access restricted by the number of seats available. He said only speakers invited by the committee will be asked to partake in the conversation. Mikalsen also addressed concerns that demonstrators may be present at the hearing. “We certainly want
ADMISSIONS, page 2
SSFC hears power check proposal Danielle Miller News Reporter Members of student government met Monday to examine controversial new legislation proposing an added check to the process of funding student organizations while hearing two eligibility hearings as well, one for a previously denied group. The discussion of new legislation regulating the power of the Student Services Finance Committee through a Process Standardization Committee was a central topic of conversation during Monday night’s meeting. The key change under the proposed committee would require new forms, procedures or legislation to go through this committee in order to be approved. A large function of the committee is to prevent decisions from being “unilateral within SSFC,”
Rep. Tia Nowack, who coauthored the legislation, said. Nowack also said the current SSFC policy is to recommend issues to Student Council. The Process Standardization Committee, she said, would support that policy. When confronted by differing opinions in regards to their decision to present the legislation directly to Council rather than SSFC, co-authors, Reps. David Vines, Tito Diaz and Nowack, defended their position. They argued going to Council first promoted the idea of SSFC not having sole authority. They also said the new legislation is concerned with self-regulation and the protection of student organizations — and that Council includes everyone the check will affect. Vines said he supported his decision to go to Council first on the
grounds that SSFC not only functions within itself, but in cooperation with other committees, and does not have sole authority over decisions concerning student organizations. Nowack agreed with Vines’s argument. “The intent is that new processes that are created are reviewed by other committees to ensure legality,” she said. The legislation was slated to be voted on in the Student Judiciary and then forwarded to Council for a final vote, but committee members requested to ask Council for the legislation to be referred back to SSFC for further discussion. This referral would place the legislation in SSFC for two weeks, after which it would then return to Council. The student organization Collegians For A Constructive Tomorrow also presented
during its eligibility hearing Monday night. Previously, the group had been denied eligibility because of a failure to return Associated Students of Madison equipment on time. Representatives from the organization supported their petition for eligibility, stating CFACT teaches students skill sets that are relevant to any political idea. “We’re trying to give students a resource to pursue issues they care about,” President Joshua Smith said. On campus, CFACT creates workshops and campaigns for student groups and opens them up to all students to teach effective advertising and campaigning, Smith said. Another student group applying for funding eligibility was the Legal Information Center. This organization provides legal information
John Lemmon The Badger Herald
Rep. Tia Nowack co-authored a piece of legislation that would create a committee to oversee the day-to-day work of SSFC. The proposal has drawn mixed reactions. to students through the efforts of student volunteers, according to its representative Ray LaBarge. The Legal Information
Center’s motivation in applying to SSFC for funding is to promote awareness, LaBarge said.
SSFC, page 2
Legislation introduced to exempt seniors from voter ID Senator says elderly not a threat for voter fraud, face hardships caused by original bill Mitchell Herrmann News Reporter A state senator announced Monday he will propose legislation
to exempt senior citizens from the recently signed voter ID law. Sen. Tim Carpenter, D– Milwaukee, is currently looking for co-sponsors for the legislation, and expects to introduce the bill by the end of the week. The proposal would allow registered seniors who are above the age of 65 to vote without having to present any
identification, according to a statement from Carpenter. The voter ID law, signed by Gov. Scott Walker on May 25 of this year states that starting next year, all registered Wisconsin voters will be required to present a valid, stateissued identification card in order to vote in any election. “The voter ID bill
prevents election fraud by requiring that the voter prove that they actually are who they say they are. In the past if someone else next to me says, ‘yeah that’s who he is,’ [the election attendants] will believe it,” Andrew Welhouse, spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said. Welhouse said the act
© 2011 BADGER HERALD
should not have any adverse effects on voter turnout and was only proposed in order to prevent fraudulent voting. However, Carpenter said the act makes voting harder for some individuals, especially senior citizens. “I have had several elderly constituents endure significant difficulty and physical
hardship in getting stateapproved photo ID for voting,” Carpenter said in a statement. “These elderly constituents have not had driver ’s licenses for years, and when they went to get a state ID at the DMV, they were refused due to a name being changed from their birth certificate or lacking
VOTER ID, page 2