Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/boundvolumes/529bv.pdf
Page Number: 300

529US1

Unit: $U39

[09-26-01 13:21:31] PAGES PGT: OPIN

Cite as: 529 U. S. 217 (2000)

225

Opinion of the Court

conﬁrmed at oral argument that their stipulation regarding
the program’s viewpoint neutrality does not extend to the
referendum process. Tr. of Oral Arg. 19, 29.

Id., at 14.

With respect to GSSF and SGAF funding, the ASM or
its ﬁnance committee makes initial funding decisions. App.
14–15. The ASM does so in an open session, and interested
students may attend meetings when RSO funding is dis-
cussed.
It also appears that the ASM must ap-
prove the results of a student referendum. Approval ap-
pears pro forma, however, as counsel for the University
advised us that the student government “voluntarily views
th[e] referendum as binding.” Tr. of Oral Arg. 15. Once
the ASM approves an RSO’s funding application, it forwards
its decision to the chancellor and to the board of regents for
their review and approval. App. 18, 19. Approximately
30% of the University’s RSO’s received funding during the
1995–1996 academic year.

RSO’s, as a general rule, do not receive lump-sum cash
distributions. Rather, RSO’s obtain funding support on a
reimbursement basis by submitting receipts or invoices to
the University. Guidelines identify expenses appropriate
for reimbursement. Permitted expenditures include, in the
main, costs for printing, postage, ofﬁce supplies, and use of
University facilities and equipment. Materials printed with
student fees must contain a disclaimer that the views ex-
pressed are not those of the ASM. The University also re-
imburses RSO’s for fees arising from membership in “other
related and non-proﬁt organizations.”

Id., at 251.

The University’s policy establishes purposes for which fees
may not be expended. RSO’s may not receive reimburse-
ment for “[g]ifts, donations, and contributions,” the costs of
legal services, or for “[a]ctivities which are politically parti-
san or religious in nature.”
(The policy
does not give examples of the prohibited expenditures.) A
separate policy statement on GSSF funding states that an
RSO can receive funding if it “does not have a primarily

Id., at 251–252.