With student organizations facing increased scrutiny from the university, some groups are questioning Associated Students of Madison Student Segregated Fees Committee's viewpoint neutrality and the application of the Southworth v. Board of Regents case in determining how much, if any funding, groups will receive.
The Southworth case started in 1996 after several law students declared they felt segregated fees forced them to support organizations that stood for political and ideological beliefs contrary to their own. They said the segregated fee policies violated their First Amendment rights of free speech and freedom of association.
Lawyers from the university argued students' free speech was not violated, because they were not forced to join student organizations.
The Western District Courts of Wisconsin ruled in favor of the students, so the Board of Regents appealed to the full circuit court and eventually the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2000, the Supreme Court upheld the university's segregated fee system if the students allocating funds ruled in a ""viewpoint neutral fashion,"" according to the opinion issued by the Supreme Court Justices.
SSFC Chair Zach Frey said the Southworth case and viewpoint neutrality have shaped SSFC's foundations. The concept ensures all student groups are given equal access to funding, regardless of their viewpoints.
If registered student groups feel they are wrongfully denied funding through the SSFC, they can appeal the decision through the ASM Student Judiciary.
""That's one of the biggest ways that viewpoint neutrality can be protected, because it's impossible for the SSFC and for the university to establish rules and criteria for funding that totally take away any discretion that the SSFC may have,"" Student Judiciary Chief Justice Josh Tyack said.
Tyack said it is ""very serious"" when an SSFC member violates viewpoint neutrality, but added it is difficult to find evidence to accuse the member of violation.
""It is their motivations that we're looking at, in many cases,"" Tyack said.
However, he said many groups still try to appeal decisions based on viewpoint neutrality, such as the UW Roman Catholic Foundation, which later withdrew its viewpoint neutrality complaints against specific SSFC members in its recent Student Judiciary lawsuit.
