In a welcome move, the high court agreed March 29 to review a lower court decision that undermined the University of Wisconsin's ability to nurture the free exchange of ideas on its 40,000-student Madison campus. The university, like many others, has long used mandatory student activity fees to aid a multitude of campus groups, without regard to their political views.
Every student organization is eligible for funds.
Yet five conservative law students claim the fee system violates their First Amendment free-speech rights because they disagree with 18 of the subsidized groups. In August, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that the university's method of aiding campus groups is unconstitutional. Well, the outcome of Wisconsin's appeal, now known as Board of Regents v. Southworth, will have profound implications. A Supreme Court ruling upholding the wrongheaded Seventh Circuit decision could have a potentially devastating impact on higher education nationwide. Without outside funding, many groups that enrich the college experience of cash-strapped students simply would fold or never even form.