A picture is worth a thousand words, but how many would it be for a meme?
Answer: a lot if you follow the UW-Madison Memes for Milk-Chugging Teens.
A frenzy of memes popped up in the satirical Facebook group, at the Associated Students of Madison’s opposition to the controversial dining plan and what some students call high segregated fees first surfaced Wednesday night. This spurred conversation about what exactly the student government does as well as the student finance committee's role in funding.
Bartlomiej Brzezicki created the first meme, captioning it as “A meme sure to piss both sides off”:
However, students in the 10,700 member group got into a debate about which segregated fees ASM allocates. Several representatives pointed out that this $1,260 number is inaccurate because that dollar amount doesn't go towards allocable segregated fees.
All students pay segregated fees each year. There are two types:
- Allocable, which are negotiated each year and support campus organizations like Badger Catholic and Sex Out Loud, the ASM, and the Student Activities Center
- Non-allocable, which cover the institution’s larger, fixed costs like University Health Services, Rec Sports and student unions
For Student Services Finance Committee Rep. Jeremy Swanson, the memes provided a good laugh, but he said he didn’t think much of them since they were “inaccurate” and “misjudged.” But he acknowledged that before joining ASM, he didn’t know what the segregated fee was.
“It’s an understandable falsehood that these students have this misbelief that they have about ASM or what we do and where that fee goes to,” Swanson said. “But then being on SSFC and seeing that we literally scrutinize every single dollar of where that fee goes that students are paying every semester, it kinda puts me on the other side of that divide and now it’s kind of weird to look back on the other side and see ‘How do people not know all the good that the segregated fee does?’”
Still, Swanson said it’s understandable that not all students take the time to see where the segregated fee goes. If students don’t understand how their government functions, the body could do better educating them, he said.
ASM Chair Katrina Morrison agreed, saying ASM has worked hard to reach students. She pointed to their radio show, The State of the University, which aired in September, as well as tabling events and presentations for organizations.
“It’s clear that there is misinformation about the role and the importance of ASM. I’m glad that students are talking about ASM and are seeking to better understand ASM, but I think there’s more work to do on that front,” Morrison told The Daily Cardinal. “We’re always really open to student feedback, even if it’s through a meme page.”
After the first meme, other ASM memes followed:
Some representatives commented on the initial ASM memes and tagged each other, including Morrison.
“JERKS! They need to stop hating on ASM otherwise they WILL regret it,” Morrison wrote.
Rep. Ekenedilichukwu Ikegwauani replied to Morrison’s comment.
“ASM chair threatens the student body, seems legit,” Ikegwauani said, accompanied by two thinking emojis.
Morrison replied to Ikegwauani’s comment and said that she was only joking, something she later reiterated to The Daily Cardinal.
“My comments on the memes were such a joke,” Morrison said. “Nothing more than a joke and I hope that that came across clearly, but if not, I really am sorry if anyone took offense to my comments.”
Morrison’s comments are still up and she said she has no plans to take them down.
But not everyone thought that ASM representatives’ conduct was appropriate, including Brzezicki.
“While I appreciate many of the services that segregated fees pay for, I made the meme to highlight the high cost they impose on all students,” Brzezicki said. “Because it’s a meme, and memes aren’t generally taken seriously, I didn’t anticipate much of a reaction. The reaction I did get from representatives was unprofessional and unbecoming of campus leaders. I’m happy, though, that this is opening up dialogue on the issue.”
In response to the ASM memes, Morrison made her own Thursday night:
Morrison told The Daily Cardinal that the new meme is also a joke.
“Just trying to bring some humor to ASM complaints :)” Morrison said via text.
Administrators of the meme page say they are glad the generally humorous content is also fostering a dialogue on campus issues.
“They’ve [the memes] opened up conversations that could never have happened before,” Shane Linden, one of the original creators of the group, said. “The meme group is the agora of our time.”
