So let me get this straight, the Student Services Finance Committee cut funding for WISPIRG because they were helping the community too much? Is it just me, or does that sound selfish and illogical? This decision is absurd and completely contradicts what the university stands for.
Charles Van Hise, university president in 1903, finalized the university's mission statement, which said, ""I shall never be content until the beneficent influence of the University reaches every home in the state."" To punish an organization for doing exactly that is ridiculous. To me, Van Hise's statement insists students of the UW-Madison should not only aid students, but also the community.
As a former WISPIRG intern, I cannot even put into words how much WISPIRG has helped me. I was the volunteer coordinator for WISPIRG and provided over 150 hours of community service for students to take advantage of. Tell me how this does not help the students and the community at the same time?
SSFC denied funding to WISPIRG because students weren't 75 percent of the organizations' beneficiaries.
WISPIRG is a student-run, student-administered, student organization on campus that teaches students how to be effective citizens. According to WISIRG, an effective citizen is what it takes to shake up the status quo and get decision-makers to act on big social problems.
WISPIRG has done just that. There are many campaigns within WISPIRG that target a specific social problem in which they campaign and raise awareness. For example, The New Voters Project in 2008 registered over 6,000 students to vote in the presidential election.
Many campaigns within WISPIRG are created with students in mind. For example, sustainable campus, health care reform, textbooks and higher education have directly impacted UW students. Just because WISPIRG does a lot of outreach work doesn't mean they doesn't help the students. WISPIRG allows anyone to get involved and provides opportunities for volunteer work, internships and leadership roles within the organization.
It also directly helps students get involved with organizations and create long-lasting relationships that could help them find a job in the future. It is widely known that WISPIRG has built coalitions with many organizations in the Madison area, organizations that rely on WISPIRG for student involvement and often contact them in order to achieve a certain goal.
WISPIRG joined with the Community Action Coalition to help with the Red and White Hunger Fight, which is a campus wide food drive. By taking away WISIRG's funding, the SSFC will also eliminate WISPIRG as a resource for student involvement in community based organizations.
WISIRG provided a lot of students with a place to mobilize their public interest.
""It reaffirmed that I wanted to pursue a major in a profession that I could fight social injustices. With the tools and skills I gained in WISPIRG, I knew that policy was the direction I wanted to go in,"" said Renee Heller, a senior in the School of Social Work. ""It is unfortunate that people are going to lose out on that opportunity and exercise what we should be doing as not only students, but as constituents and citizens of our community.""
Not only is the SSFC denying students the opportunity to get involved with the community, but the state as a whole will also be negatively impacted. To reprimand an organization for serving the community and becoming a living example of our university's mission statement is wrong and thoughtless. If anything, WISPIRG deserves to be applauded for its dedication and hard-work on campus and in the community.
Brittany Schmidt is a senior majoring in theater and drama. We welcome all feedback. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
