One day my generation will lead this country, and it is essential that we have a place to cultivate the hands-on skills necessary for our future.

I am a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and an active member of the Wisconsin Public Interest Resource Group student chapter here. Through this organization I have learned more than I ever could in a classroom. WISPIRG has not simply described to me notions of civic engagement, grassroots organizing and leadership; it has SHOWN me these things.

I have had the amazing opportunity to experience first hand the fruits of my labor. Not many 21-year-olds can say they have battled global warming, fought powerful corporate interests and helped protect human rights.

Moreover, WISPIRG, like so many other student organizations for so many other students, has given me a voice. Now, however, that voice is in danger of being compromised.

The Segregated Fee Policy Committee in Wisconsin is meeting this Tuesday to possibly restrict student rights. These restrictions would thwart our ability to decide how our segregated fees are being spent. Not only is this a violation of shared governance, but it is also an encroachment on the right for students to protect what is in their best interest. These fees are for students, paid by students, and as such need to be in the hands of students.

If these restrictions pass, it could harm many organizations that students around the state hold dear. I cannot stress enough how important these student organizations are for higher education, and how damaging it would be if this policy were set into motion.

One day my generation will lead this country, and it is essential that we have a place to cultivate the hands-on skills necessary for our future. Furthermore, it is imperative that we do not allow the gate to close on student involvement, as it may set the foundation for further repression.

I take pride in the fact that Wisconsin is the only state that has legislation, Statute 36.09(5), which grants students the power to decide where their segregated fees go, providing it is not illegal, and does not violate university policy.

No illegal activities or policy violations have occurred; yet Chancellor Wiley of the University of Wisconsin has objected to a student-approved budget on the grounds that student spending has gotten out of control.

This seems odd when UW student spending has gone down one million dollars, and Chancellor Wiley’s spending has gone up five million. If Wiley truly believes that we are being irresponsible then I give him the wise words of Thomas Jefferson: “I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion.”

Universities are learning institutions whose primary obligation is to our educational growth. The mere thought of revoking that which is in our legal rights as though we were children losing privileges, rather then the capable members of an academic society that we are, is appalling.

We are in the best position to decide where our fees go, as we are the ones to whom the university belongs. Put simply, it is just plan wrong to take away our right to shared governance. The very second we become silent is the second we cease to be represented.

I will not stand for such an injustice at the university that I love, and am confident that students around the state will relentlessly fight for their voice. We cannot let this review committee be the potential for us to be quieted, instead let it be an opportunity for us to be heard louder than ever.

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