Associated Students of the University of Washington

''Good v. Associated Students'' was a legal case representing action taken by three University of Washington students, individually and as representatives of a class against the Associated Students of the University of Washington, the University of Washington, its regents, and others. The suit comes from the required student membership in the ASUW and the associated activities of the student organization and fees collected by the University. The two primary issues raised by the plaintiffs were “(1) Does the university have the authority to allocated funds to the ASUW? (2) Are students’ First Amendment rights violated by (a) the requirement that they be members of the ASUW; (b) that they are charged a fee to support the ASUW?”<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Good v. Associated Students |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/washington/supreme-court/1975/43073-1.html |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Justia Law |language=en}}</ref>  

''Good v. Associated Students'' was a legal case representing action taken by three University of Washington students, individually and as representatives of a class against the Associated Students of the University of Washington, the University of Washington, its regents, and others. The suit comes from the required student membership in the ASUW and the associated activities of the student organization and fees collected by the University. The two primary issues raised by the plaintiffs were “(1) Does the university have the authority to allocated funds to the ASUW? (2) Are students’ First Amendment rights violated by (a) the requirement that they be members of the ASUW; (b) that they are charged a fee to support the ASUW?”<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Good v. Associated Students |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/washington/supreme-court/1975/43073-1.html |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Justia Law |language=en}}</ref>  

The Court ruled that while it was legal for the University to collect Students and Activities Fees (SAF), it could not require mandatory enrollment in a student association. The mandatory enrollment in the student association violated students’ First Amendment right of freedom of association. The Court also recognized the special relationship between student associations and university administration as unique compared to other campus student groups.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last1=Kaplin |first1=William A. |title=The Law of Higher Education, Student Version |last2=Lee |first2=Barbara A. |last3=Hutchens |first3=Neal H. |last4=Rooksby |first4=Jacob H. |date=1 Jan 2007 |publisher=Jossey-Bass |year=2007 |isbn=9781119271918}}</ref>

The Court ruled that while it was legal for the University to collect Students and Activities Fees (SAF), it could not require mandatory enrollment in a student association. The mandatory enrollment in the student association violated students’ First Amendment right of freedom of association. The Court also recognized the special relationship between student associations and university administration as unique compared to other campus student groups.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last1=Kaplin |first1=William A. |title=The Law of Higher Education, Student Version |last2=Lee |first2=Barbara A. |last3=Hutchens |first3=Neal H. |last4=Rooksby |first4=Jacob H. |date=1 Jan 2007 |publisher=Jossey-Bass |isbn=9781119271918}}</ref>

The mandatory fee requirement would remain constitutional so long as the ASUW did not use student funds as the “vehicle for the promotion of one particular viewpoint, political, social, economic or religious.”<ref name=":3" /> Good v. Associated Students set the legal precedent that universities could not require mandatory student involvement in any extracurricular student organization.<ref name=":4" />

The mandatory fee requirement would remain constitutional so long as the ASUW did not use student funds as the “vehicle for the promotion of one particular viewpoint, political, social, economic or religious.”<ref name=":3" /> Good v. Associated Students set the legal precedent that universities could not require mandatory student involvement in any extracurricular student organization.<ref name=":4" />