H 23°, L 4° | Tomorrow: 
H 21°, L 6°In times of economic malaise, it’s important that everybody in government adjusts to new fiscal constraints and exercise responsibility in spending. It seems the Student Services Finance Committee did just that last Thursday, when it approved a series of budget cuts for, among other things, the MultiCultural Students Coalition.
MCSC had requested a relatively large budget to fit what appears to be an ambitious agenda. However, the direction of that ambition was rightly questioned by SSFC, which voted to zero-fund MCSC’s trip to the Sundance Film Festival in February. It’s hard to imagine the direct benefit to the student body of sending several lucky students to Utah to understand aspects of multiculturism that aren’t readily available in Madison.
In addition, the committee voted to reduce salaried positions and decrease the number of hours available to salaried workers. Vice Chair Carl Fergus rightfully encouraged the organization to increase its use of volunteers. His advice is likely an understatement: Last year MCSC had 51 paid positions approved at a total of $179,000 — a number far too high for a student group.
In previous budgets SSFC had not drawn the necessary line in the sand, often approving frivolous expenses, such as the $9,666 to send eight MCSC members to the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in San Diego next year. SSFC is finally beginning to appreciate that groups need to demonstrate a direct service to the entire student body in the battle for segregated fees.
The important message SSFC should send to MCSC and student groups in general, however, is that student groups receiving funds should be able to present a coherent mission that aligns with the interests of everyone on campus — not just the lucky few in leadership positions. MCSC has a stated objective of “providing administrative services for students of color and organizations representing students of color” with the hope of “improving campus climate for all students.” This is a worthy and necessary goal in the context of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where evidence of self-segregation is visible all over campus, within student groups and even in academia. However, we hope MCSC aggressively pursues this goal realistically, by seeking to affect change at UW with the help of the campus community. If MCSC leaders do not realize this, we at least hope SSFC will continue to make the point clear for them.
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Want to cut seg fees in half? Simply stop funding the new Union South construction out of student pockets, and that would do it. I don’t know why seg fees, which are supposed to fund student activities NOW, which we can directly benefit from, are being used to update infrastructure.
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Seriously, why isn’t the Badger Editorial Board taking a position on de-funding the Union South project and why isn’t the Badger reporting staff investigating how the funding got passed in the first place?
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The SSFC did a good job giving the MCSC budget an appropriate vetting process. Scrutiny of this level has been long overdue in SSFC decisions, and it is a positive step for the committee to take.
For 8:16pm, since the university students voted to approve the Union South Project (an initiative I voted against) and the university has already begun debt service for the process, it is likely too late for “defunding” the process. However, if capital building projects are of concern, I would recommend that irate readers rally against the proposed changes to the Natatorium which would cost students $60 per semester.
Oh, and a point for 12:51pm, segregated fees are considered appropriate for debt service for projects like the Union in addition to support for student activities according to UWSA policies.
-SSFC Chair Kurt Gosselin