It has been nearly two weeks since we were sworn in as Student Council Members of the 16th Session of ASM. I would like to extend congratulations to my co-blogger, Tyler Junger who will preside as the Chair of 16th Session ASM in addition to the congratulations I extend to all the other members of the Coordinating Council.
We now have the entire CoCo (as our Vice Chair Tom Templeton has humorously dubbed Corrdinating Council) established and have recently concluded our first meeting. I was excited to witness the enthusiasm that everyone brought to our meeting (on Tuesday night at 9:30 during finals week!), and I hope that this enthusiasm will drive us forward in our mission to serve students on campus.
The Nominations Board, a committee on which I sit, has already conducted a plethora of interviews for SSFC, Finance Committee, the Student Activity Center Governing Board and the Student Judiciary – and this Friday will hold interviews for the Landlord Rating Website and the SSFC Accountability Liaison. Academic Affairs has held their first meeting, and Legislative Affairs began discussing their role within the Government this session as well. Things are off to a good start!
SSFC has elected a strong balance of experienced and fresh members into leadership this year, with Brandon Williams ascending to the Chairship, Michael Romanesko at the helm alongside Williams as Vice Chair, and Matt Manes, a Student Council Representative from the College of Ag & Life Sciences enthusiastically stepping into the Secretary role. This team will do an excellent job this year directing a crew of mixed experience in allocating segregated fees in a fiscally responsible and a long-term sustainable fashion.
With finals week concluding, the campus press taking their annual summer hiatus and students dispersing the Isthmus, it is time for us, as leaders of the student government and student body to shift our minds away from the elections and focus our energy toward the ever-important task of governing. We have a number of issues that need to be tackled quickly, and I will attempt to briefly highlight them below.
1) Madison Undergraduate Initiative Oversight Committee
The MUI passed the Board of Regents with flying colors, likely due in large part to the considerable support provided by faculty, staff and ASM as well as students across the university. However, now that the Initiative has passed, the real work begins. One of the stipulations of ASM’s support for the MUI was the creation of a student-led Shared Governance Committee charged with oversight of the allocation of the financial resources expected to flow in from the MUI. Our next order of business will likely involve ASM top leadership working with Chancellor Martin and the Faculty Senate to establish parameters and charge for this committee. This is an important undertaking, because we, as students, should maintain considerable discretion in the direction of this initiatives, and this is hte first step in pursuing this authority.
2) SSFC Preparations for 16th Session
With the new leadership elected, SSFC will now enter the phase in which they update forms, procedures, policies and timelines for the new year, which starts the clock ticking for prospective GSSF groups (and those groups whose eligibility expires in Fiscal Year 10) to work on their eligibility applications. This process, however, is one of the most efficient processes ASM undergoes annually, and there is no indication that anything will be different this year.
3) Move-out Night
ASM will be hosting a giant slumber-party in the Student Activity Center (colloquially the SAC), on the night of August 14. Who is invited you ask? Any student who is changing residences, with a blood alcohol content below the legal limit who is willing to stay in the building after the doors lock at midnight. Rumor has it that WSUM will provide musical entertainment and refreshments will be provided (no promises, just a rumor I have heard). Unfortunately the Move-Out Matron herself, Hannah Karns, will be in London this summer and is searching for anyone interested in taking on this project. It will be critical for ASM to find someone to take the reigns, as a poorly implemented event could be disastrous for ASM both as a Student Government and for the SAC as a building. However, I am confident that we will find an interested individual and that this event should be successful.
4) Figuring out a Legislative Agenda
I mean this in both the political sense as well as in the “what will ASM work on this year” sense. Unfortunately, time constraints held substantive discussion of “campaigns” for ASM to take up to a minimum, but this will prove to be a major topic for discussion at the June 12 meeting (Friday @ 5:00 pm in the SAC for those interested in attending). I am extremely skeptical to the concept of selecting a variety of “campaigns” – I use the quotes here, because I do not believe there is a coherent understanding of campaigns applicable to every council member – at the beginning of the session and setting this as our “direction” for the year. The standing committees seem to be the most appropriate places within the Government to work on many of these issues, especially since I view the Student Council as a legislative body, not the activist arm of ASM – many of my fellow Council Members will disagree with this interpretation. However, I am curious to see where the debate goes. However, I will only support campaigns that are within the scope of the Student Government and those to which ASM resources can be contributed without spreading too thin those resources. Like I mentioned previously, I am wary, however, I will approach the discussion with guarded optimism.
5) Collaborative Cohesion
Unfortunately, there are members of the blogosphere who insist on divisive language and perpetuating a level of uncooperativeness that will likely dampen efforts this year. However, the fifth major issue ASM needs to tackle is fostering an atmosphere that can be both constructive in terms of substantive debate and legitimate disagreement and cooperative in terms of working toward the ultimate goal of serving students. I had a conversation with Nominations Board Chair Theo Sharpe a week or so ago, and I think we settled on a good solution for problems that arise from unnecessary divisiveness – standing up and yelling “this is bullshit!” <emphasis added>.
6) Structural Revisions
Although we will not likely see comprehensive revisions like 15th Session’s valiant attempt to resurrect the decaying structure of ASM with the proposed Constitution, ASM will need to reflect on the hinderances and philosophical discrepancies that underlie the current system and work to incrementally improve upon what current persists.
Outlook:
I look forward to working with ASM for my 4th and final year. Having served in nearly every capacity ASM offers, I feel that I bring a unique perspective to the discussion, and I look forward to contributing in whatever manner seems most appropriate at the time. With the strong leadership we have witnessed thus far and the drive and determination that the Student Council brings this year, it is Time to Govern.
