Student fee system upheld

The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 1 upheld the constitutionality of UW’s mandatory student fee system. The case began in 1996 when former UW law student Scott Southworth sued the university, claiming that mandatory student fees violated the First Amendment by forcing him to support groups with which he disagreed. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the university, saying the fees are constitutional because they are distributed on a “viewpoint neutral basis.”

Southworth then challenged the viewpoint neutrality of the funding system. U.S. District Court Judge John Shabaz ultimately agreed, saying the fee distribution process does not guarantee viewpoint neutrality because decisions are left to the discretion of student government leaders. The Court of Appeals overturned that decision, upholding the university’s belief that the mandatory fee system is both constitutional and viewpoint neutral.