University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire: Unconstitutional Student Fee Funding Amendment

Case Materials

• "Lecture to Address Student Rights at UWEC and Beyond," FIRE Press Release, January 25, 2006
• "University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire Wages Campaign Against Student Viewpoints," FIRE Press Release, April 27, 2005: The University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (UWEC) Student Senate has amended its rules to forbid any student-organized activity that promotes a “particular ideological, religious, or partisan viewpoint” from receiving student-fee funding. This new policy directly contradicts the university’s First Amendment obligation to distribute student funds regardless of viewpoint and violates the rights of all UWEC students.
• "Amendment to University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Organized Activity Funding Policy, March 7, 2005," April 27, 2005
• "Letter from University of Wisconsin General Counsel Patricia Brady to FIRE, April 25, 2005," April 25, 2005
• "FIRE Letter to University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Interim Chancellor Vicki Lord Larson, April 6, 2005," April 6, 2005
• "Letter from University of Wisconsin General Counsel Patricia Brady to FIRE, January 13, 2005," January 13, 2005
• "FIRE Letter to University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Chancellor Donald Mash, December 16, 2004," December 16, 2004

Media Coverage

• "The ‘No Viewpoint’ Viewpoint," Greg Lukianoff, Inside Higher Education, June 6, 2005: Administrators at the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire are confused about the nature of their obligations to the U.S. Constitution. While the student government misconstrues constitutional rules on viewpoint discrimination to prohibit funding to every group that has a political or religious viewpoint, administrators defer action on the excuse that the policy is “not yet in effect”—even though the student government has already applied it.
• "Service-Learning proposal approved," Brian Reisinger, The Spectator (UWEC), May 12, 2005: University Senate Tuesday approved the new Service-Learning proposal as amended at its previous meeting, finalizing its decision to retain the ban on projects involving religious proselytization, while eliminating restrictions on partisan political activity.
• "Squelching of Campus Viewpoints Violates 1st Amendment, Group Says," Jim Brown, Agape Press, May 10, 2005: A civil-liberties group says the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is censoring the political and religious expression of students. That action, says the group, defies the First Amendment.
• "Group targets student funding policy," Sundeep Malladi, The Badger Herald (UW-Madison), May 3, 2005: In a controversial move, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Student Senate members passed legislation concerning student-funded activities that have come under fire from the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.
• "Political project restrictions denied," Brian Reisinger, The Spectator (UWEC), April 28, 2005: The University Senate narrowly voted to amend guidelines proposed by the Service-Learning Ad-Hoc Committee Tuesday, rejecting limitations on political activities that would ban projects partisan in nature.