The current state of political affairs in Wisconsin has left many students and Madison residents feeling discouraged and unsure of how to respond to recent events. From the state of political discord unraveling at the capitol, to budget cuts UW system schools are facing, it seems as if the UW System is unraveling with little we can do to stop it. To educate myself about these matters, I accepted a friend's invitation to attend a United Council convention at UW-Parkside along with many members of the Associated Students of Madison, including ASM Chair Allie Gardner. United Council is a Wisconsin student association that advocates for student's rights at the state level. The main focus of the convention was a discussion of how to communicate with legislators and other student organizations to assert change of the status quo.
The Convention kicked off at the UW-Parkside Student Center on Saturday morning. Amidst the live Twitter feed with countless @UnitedCouncil tags and excited exchanges between friends across campuses, we discussed the importance of lobbying as Wisconsin students facing immense budget cuts to our university system. This is especially important with the recent decision by the Joint Finance Committee to cut $46.1M from the UW System budget. To override such changes, we must communicate with our representatives and maintain a relationship with them.
United Council offered countless workshops to help empower and inform students of their rights. I personally attended workshops on voter registration, how to lobby, organizing coalitions and UW sustainability. During the workshop on voter registration, we discussed how to organize registration events and promote awareness on our campuses in lieu of the new voter ID law, which prompted many efforts such as pushing for voter ID cards in ASM Legislative Affairs which are now available in the Wiscard office. As a member of SLAC (Student Labor Action Coalition), the ‘coalition building' workshop redefined "coalition" and helped explain how to effectively and respectfully coordinate with other campus organizations. At the ‘sustainability' workshop, we discussed the various movements students were taking up across UW campuses, such as UW-Eau Claire installing LED lights for their night lighting across campus, and UW-Baraboo, working on funding for a composting bin.
Attending the United Council convention allowed me to exchange experiences with students across campuses and engage in positive discussion about ways to improve our campuses. From this experience I became better acquainted with peers, conversed with students across the state, and became more aware of the amazing work and accomplishments of UW system students across the state. They inspired me to continue to fight for our Wisconsin university system.
I encourage all my fellow students to attend a United Council Convention. ASM frequently sends students on these trips, and all students are welcome to attend. Discussing students' struggles and successes within their lobbying movements is truly a wonderful educational experience, and one that will help me affect change on my campus. With the current state of the UW system, it is important for us, as students, to remain active participants in any discussions concerning our time on campus. Let us use resources like United Council to further our efforts and make an impact on UW campuses statewide.
Alexandra Rezazadeh is a junior majoring in Biology with a German Certificate. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
