The Associated Students of Madison Student Services Finance Committee voted 5-4 with one abstention Thursday to approve the addition of the referendum question, “Do you support the use of ASM resources to grow certain grassroots statewide student movements approved by UW-Madison students?” to the ASM 2016 spring election ballot.
UW-Madison sophomore Ian Oyler, who collaborated with other students to draft the question, said the timing was right to present the referendum to campus, due to increased interest in statewide student organizing in the past few months.
Several other student representatives shared more details on the referendum and addressed questions previously posed by SSFC members, including what the desired results would be and why a referendum was the best method for assessing student opinion on the issue.
Sophomore Marquise Mays said a referendum would be the most official, unbiased way to hear student voices. Although a survey was another proposed method, Mays explained surveys are not all created equal and would only be able to reach a limited audience.
Hannah DePorter, a student who said she brought an “outsider’s perspective” to the referendum debate, pointed to ASM’s website, which says it is “first and foremost a grassroots organization.”
“If that is what ASM is saying that they are first and foremost going to do, all students should be able to answer that question,” DePorter said. “Because we’re all part of the university.”
SSFC Vice Chair Brett DuCharme said although he agreed there was a need to hear student voices, he would not vote for the referendum’s addition in part because it could set a “dangerous” precedent for what could appear on the ASM ballot.
Representative Brent Johnson echoed DuCharme’s argument and said the planning process for this specific referendum felt “rushed.”
Other members argued the referendum would simply allow information to be gathered on whether students on campus support this type of resource allocation, without implementing specific policies.
“No walls are going to come crumbling down if the students vote yes on this referendum,” Representative Colin Barushok said.
The referendum passed and will move to the Student Judiciary before appearing on the election ballot.
