Federal judge strikes down university's student-fee system
By The Associated Press
12.11.00
Printer-friendly page
 |
| Scott Southworth |
MADISON, Wis. — A federal judge has ruled that the way the
University of Wisconsin System distributes student fees to fund campus
organizations is unconstitutional because it has no guarantee that the funding
decisions are viewpoint neutral.
The ruling came almost nine months after the
U.S. Supreme Court approved of
the mandatory fees themselves but sent the case back to the lower court to
examine the distribution method.
In his Dec. 8 ruling, U.S. District Judge John C. Shabaz gave the
university 60 days to come up with a constitutional procedure.
The university system's 13 campuses now designate a portion of student
fees for funding campus organizations. The student governments decide who gets
the money, though each campus' chancellor can veto their choices.
There are few requirements for the process, other than it must be done
democratically and with student input.
Shabaz said the university's guidelines do not guarantee that the
decisions about who gets the money are viewpoint neutral, a requirement set
down by the Supreme Court.
He said students become government officials when they decide how to
distribute the fees, and as such have too much discretion.
"The danger is at its zenith when the determination of who may speak
and who may not is left to a government official," he said after ruling from
the bench.
The Supreme Court upheld the university's mandatory fees in March,
ruling in
Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System v.
Southworth that the fees were constitutional as long as
funding decisions were not based on the student groups' ideologies. But it sent
part of the case back to the lower court, ruling that the way the university
distributed the money could be problematic.
Some students had wanted the university either to establish minimum
standards for a group to receive funds or to let students withhold their money
from groups they found objectionable.
Former UW-Madison student Scott Southworth, who brought the original
suit in 1996, supports an option to withhold.
"It's a simple, straightforward mechanism that would end this case in
February, when we come back to court," he said. "It's time for the Board of
Regents to step up and do the right thing."
Shabaz dismissed Southworth and several other plaintiffs from the case
last week, ruling they didn't have standing to sue because they were no longer
students and didn't pay the fees.
Jessica Miller, a University of Wisconsin-Madison junior on the
student government board that distributes student-fee money, said Shabaz's
decision to strike down the distribution system was disappointing. She said the
current system helps create an open forum for students to express
themselves.
"It allows for every idea to be debated and discussed," Miller said.
"Any system that wouldn't do that very strongly and have that as its main
mission would not be a benefit to students at all."
Peter Anderson, who argued the case for the university, said the
school could still collect fees in January for the upcoming semester. He said
it was too early to decide whether to appeal.
University officials said they were still reviewing the case Dec. 8
and could not comment.
Previous
Former law student renews fight against university's student-fee system
Lead plaintiff in case decided by Supreme Court earlier this year now argues Wisconsin school's fee-distribution system is not viewpoint neutral.
11.15.00
Supreme Court upholds mandatory student fees
Court votes unanimously to uphold the University of Wisconsin's student-fee system, which the justices say does not violate any student's free-speech rights.
03.22.00
Justices debate history of free speech on campus in student-fee case
Three University of Wisconsin students ask Supreme Court to let them withhold fee money from other campus groups with which they disagree.
11.10.99
Christian students claim student fees are unconstitutional
Groups urge Supreme Court to side with federal appeals court that ruled students could withhold portions of their fees from groups they oppose.
11.02.99
Related
Federal appeals panel OKs university's student-fee distribution system
7th Circuit judges find standards University of Wisconsin uses in distributing grants are sufficient to guarantee that decisions are neutral.
10.02.02
