Wisconsin Students May Be Able to Opt Out of Funding Leftist Programs

There may not be many things more anti-American than being forced to pay for a program you find morally objectionable. However, it happens all the time. But in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker is trying to help end that.

In particular, Walker wants to make sure conservative or libertarian state college students won’t have to fund opposing programs with their fees. Unsurprisingly, the Left is up in arms:

Walker also proposed that UW students could opt-out of allocable segregated fees, which he said would give students the opportunity to decide what they want to fund. UW-Madison students pay $607.56 per semester in segregated fees, and only roughly $90 of that money is allocable.

Colin Barushok, chair of the student government committee in charge of allocating UW-Madison student segregated fees, said this proposal is an example of state government reaching past what they are in control of.

“This is the best example of big government overreach, trying to take control of our allocable fees,” Barushok said. “They don’t have any business telling students they can opt-out of these fees, especially considering these fees are allocated by elected student officials.”

Yeah, about that.

Colleges aren’t governments in and of themselves, though several seem to think so. Public colleges and universities are just that — public. They’re not funded exclusively by tuition, but by taxpayers.

That means what we have here is a governor looking to dictate how a government entity conducts business. That’s not “overreach,” that’s literally his job description.

The truth is that no one should have to fund programs that he or she finds offensive. Would feminists want to fund a men’s rights group? Would gay and lesbian students be fine with funding a group dedicated to traditional marriage?

While funds are allocated by an elected student government, it’s important to understand that it just doesn’t matter.

We all know that the only reason this is an issue for Barushok and company is because so much of this funding flows toward liberal groups rather than toward conservative or libertarian entities.

Were it the other way around, we can only suspect Walker would be applauded for his effort by the very people deriding him now.