Student government revisited a recent funding decision Wednesday to ensure the procedures used for approval fell correctly within viewpoint neutrality laws, which were not followed in the initial decision.
The Associated Students of Madison Student Council voted in its last meeting to approve funding for this fall’s University of Wisconsin-Madison Homecoming.
Although ASM Finance Committee originally approved the committee’s funding at $8,602, council amended and approved the request at $20,876.
ASM Chair Andrew Bulovsky said the council readdressed the funding request to ensure the body followed the correct processes in voting.
“It was a little unclear last time as to why people voted the way they voted,” Bulovsky said. “We wanted to make sure that everyone complied fully with state and federal law.”
The law dictates that all funding decisions must be made in a viewpoint neutral manner, or with an objective approach that does not take any group’s philosophy into consideration.
“We had everyone speak to their vote as to where and how it met the criteria, that way we covered our grounds and were not in violation of viewpoint neutrality,” Bulovsky said.
Many representatives who voted in support of the funding level cited the educational aspect of Homecoming, as well as the fact that no other campus organization conducts a similar event.
Representatives voting against the funding level said they did not support giving such a large portion of ASM’s event grant budget to a single group when other groups will request event funding throughout the remainder of the year.
Council again approved the event’s funding level at $20,876.
Also in Wednesday’s meeting, Student Council voted unanimously to appoint Ilirian Ameti and Adam Wald to associate justice positions on the ASM Student Judiciary.
Nominations Board Chair Sean McNally said he was confident in the qualifications of both appointees to serve well in their rolls.
McNally cited Ameti’s experience in mock trials and legislative internships, which gave him knowledge of government processes and viewpoint neutrality, as major qualifications. McNally also pointed to Wald’s “process-oriented” approach, learned through his experience interning with a New York supreme court judge, as an important quality for the associate justice role.
