Just at the Union when I passed the CWC. I saw a bunch of boxes and assumed the worst. I knew the SSFC had denied them funding, but was it really enough to send them packing?
Fortunately that was not the case, and as I talked to Swati Bhargava, the publications coordinator, I felt a little silly for making such an assumption. Nevertheless, Swati, who does not speak for the organization as a whole, explained why she thought the SSFC decision was incorrect.
“Right off the bat, they decided that services we provided to student parents was not a direct service. No other organization offers outreach to student parents.” She and I agreed –– services to student parents should be considered a service to the student body. Most students are not parents, but all of them (all jokes aside) have the capacity to become parents. It’s kind of a basic element of human nature. Just like illness. If we have services for sick students, we should have them for those who are pregnant or those who are parents.
Tags: Campus Women's Center, student parents, UW
The Sconz 
March 1, 2010 at 2:01 pm |
SSFC already funds (about $780,000 worth) services to student parents through the university’s Child Care Tuition Assistance Program. They give grants to student parents to pay for child care costs. Her assumption that no other similar program is offered is wrong. http://occfr.wisc.edu/
As far as SSFCs funding criteria is concerned, it is unclear whether the inclusion of their child care services in the direct services would have granted them eligibility. As I have already explained to the Campus Women’s Center (Swati especially), eligibility is granted only if the group meets ALL 19 criteria. We can’t take into effect the importance or popularity of the group in our decision making abilities. If you have a problem with that, your beef is not with SSFC, but rather with the Supreme Court who issued a 9-0 decision that all segregated fee funding must be done in a viewpoint neutral manner.
Of course, I am happy to answer any questions you have on the criteria itself.
-Brandon Williams, SSFC Chair
March 1, 2010 at 2:05 pm |
Brandon, I don’t think she was talking about child-care as much as parental counseling.
I will look into the issue further and ask you some questions.