Another proposed student wage-cap resolution was soundly defeated at the last Student Services Finance Committee meeting of the 2004-'05 school year Monday.
The resolution proposed \that segregated student fee-funded wages or stipends for students may not comprise more than 25 percent of any allocable [General Student Services Fund] Registered Student Organization's budget in a given fiscal year,"" according to a statement prepared by UW-Madison junior and SSFC member Brad Vogel.
UW-Madison faculty, students and SSFC members debated the percentage cap's amount and purpose.
""Limiting student salaries to 25 percent [of an organization's budget] actually limits their ability to provide a great resource on campus,"" Student Services Specialist from the Dean of Students Office Steve Crosby said.
Crosby noted organizations like Greater University Tutoring Service need budgets that allocate more than 25 percent to student salaries, because student work comprises its major expenditure.
However, according to UW-Madison junior and SSFC member Barbara Kiernoziak, the University of Minnesota capped its segregated-fee salary allocations at 40 percent and ""it has been working for ... the last four years.""
""You cannot expect to have quality student service and programming if you do not have the tools to get the work done,"" UW-Madison senior Katrina Flores said. ""Let me break down my own hourly pay for you. I work for the Multi Cultural Student Coalition. I make $8.52 an hour. I could go to McDonald's and get more hourly; however, I choose to work for students.""
""I'm at the table trying to represent those people who, when I talk to them, and tell them some of the figures of what these people are making, they're just astounded,"" Vogel said. ""To them, it's a slap in the face that people are getting this much money for doing something that they should just want to do or something they should be doing for altruistic reasons.""
Flores said state government, and not student segregated fees, are the problem with higher UW-Madison tuition costs.
""I cannot sit here and allow dedicated students working for a small wage to be the scapegoats for tuition hikes,"" Flores said.
UW-Madison senior and SSFC Vice Chair Kevin Otten agreed, citing 12 reasons for the committee to vote against the resolution, one of them being the scant inter-committee discussion took place prior to this SSFC meeting.
Also, according to Otten, organizations that allocated greater percentages of their budgets to salaries were, in fact, smaller organizations comprised of mostly student workers, like GUTS.
Vogel said he thought the debate was a positive learning experience and hopes some sort of student wage-cap will pass in the future.
There is a tentative plan to create an SSFC listserv for input on a potential student wage cap.
