UW System President Katharine Lyall said Monday she does not believe an opt-out system for segregated fees proposed by some Associated Students of Madison representatives is legal.
A group supporting an opt-out system submitted the approximately 4,000 signatures needed for the initiative to be on the spring ASM ballot March 14.
Lyall said the idea of an opt-out system is fundamentally illegal.
\It is [illegal] and we won't let them do that,"" she said.
Lyall referred to UW System v. Scott Southworth et al the court case challenging the UW System's segregated fee distribution system, which went to the U.S. Supreme Court, to substantiate her claim. The UW System has altered its fee distribution methods since the court made its decision to ensure the process' legality.
""We're not about to go back to the U.S. Supreme Court for violating their rules,"" Lyall said.
The students who initiated the petition to put an opt-out system on the ballot, contest whether the Southworth decision makes the opt-out system legal. Roman Patzner, chair of the Student Services Finance Committee and a proponent of the opt-out system, said they spoke to a lawyer and are confident such a proposal is legal under the Southworth decision.
""[The U.S. Supreme Court decision] says explicitly that should the administration and students would better be represented by an opt-out system; that is completely within their legal grounds,"" Patzner said.
Furthermore, he insists the group is ready to take the issue to court if necessary.
Meanwhile, Pat Brady, general counsel for the UW System, declined to comment on the matter.
Nancy Lynch, associate university legal council, said she would not speculate on the legality of an opt-out system, saying she would wait to see how the process develops within student government first.
Currently, the signatures collected to put the opt-out system on the ASM spring ballot are being challenged in the ASM Student Judiciary.
