The Student Activity Center Governing Board voted a second time Sunday on how to allocate office space within the student activity center.
The board was forced to re-visit a previous Feb. 21 vote because the Associated Students of Madison judiciary committee determined that bias had influenced their decision. Committee members were asked to abstain from voting if they had a connection to the group in question.
According to SACGB Chair Katy Ziebell, the original interviews and applications were considered under the advisement of UW-Madison legal services and conversations with members of ASM.
Greeklife, Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group, Vets for Vets and Wisconsin Student Lobby all received office suites which are the largest of the SAC spaces and include a conference room. Wisconsin Student Lobby had previously occupied a small office.
WISPIRG Chair Scott Thompson spoke about the impact a workspace can have on a student organization like WISPIRG during open forum.
He said the separate meeting space within the office allows for more formal meetings to occur in the conference room while training and group work happens in the rest of the office.
The close proximity to other organizations within the SAC spurs a lot of coalition building and partnerships on campus, he said.
Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, Supporting Peers in Laidback Listening and Health Occupations Students of America each received large office spaces, while the committee also allocated a total of 26 small and medium sized offices.
College Democrats, who had previously occupied a large office, were demoted to a small office space.
The selected organizations will be granted a two-year lease beginning in June on office space within the Student Activity center, and every student organization that applied in the current review cycle will be formally notified of the Board's decision. Each notification will also include a process of appeal.
