Supporters of a plan to reconstruct the student unions have said they will aim to re-educate students about the proposal when the measure goes on the ballot this fall.
The Wisconsin Union Facilities Improvement Plan, which was defeated on the spring student government ballot, a result that was later overturned by the Student Judiciary, clashed with Student Labor Action Coalition's Living Wage proposal.
Members of SLAC and a local union came out strongly against the plan and misconceptions arose, according to UW-Madison junior Shayna Hetzel, vice president of External Affairs for Wisconsin Union Directorate.
Hetzel said the misconceptions centered on WUFIP and the Living Wage proposal, which wanted to raise the wages of some university workers, to be mutually exclusive. Fliers posted by SLAC claimed WUFIP's funds were being put toward a new research facility, a parking lot and a hotel, and that WUFIP was created and promoted by administration and a marketing public relations firm.
Hetzel said all of these claims were incorrect and WUFIP hopes to combat the setback this summer and fall.
WUFIP would renovate Memorial Union and knock down Union South to build a new facility said Eric Palm, UW-Madison senior and vice president of administration of the Wisconsin Union Directorate.
It's less expensive to knock down and start over than to add on because the building is not structurally strong enough to build on top of,\ Palm said.
WUFIP would bring Memorial Union up to modern standards because it is a 78-year-old building that has never had a major renovation, according to Palm.
SLAC was strongly against the passage of WUFIP because of its use of segregated fees, according to UW-Madison junior and member of SLAC Ashok Kumar.
""Students shouldn't be charged for something the state should pay for,"" he said.
UW-Madison senior and SLAC member Liana Dalton added that workers' rights needed to be addressed this spring and took precedence over WUFIP.
Regardless of the setbacks and misconceptions this spring, WUFIP supporters said they are optimistic for the future.
""I really think that we are going to be optimistic because once summer comes and people start using the terrace, it's going to provide a new surge of appreciation for the union,"" Hetzel said. She added WUD is ""hoping to sit down with SLAC and Local 171 to work out [their] differences and maybe both of the referenda can work together to make campus better.""
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