If we can learn anything from the Associated Students of Madison, it is that history repeats itself. With each session comes new representatives, ideas and debates, but through it all ASM has seemingly been forever plagued with the unofficial “parties” that impede its progress.
So far this year, student council has seemingly operated productively with mutual respect on both sides of the table. In comparison to last year, meetings have run smoother and been hours shorter.
Council has thus far approved legislation advocating for voter registration in the dorms and increasing funding for homecoming. Representatives are working on campaigns to improve the mental health of students at the university, improve campus safety and allow students to see syllabi for their classes for enrollment.
But if ASM’s history tells us anything, the instant a controversial topic appears on council’s agenda, the unofficial party lines will immediately divide the group and lead to unproductive internal hostility. These controversial topics, such as the Campus Services Fund two years ago or the Multicultural Student Coalition’s budget last year, will likely consume a significant amount of representatives’ time and energy, consequently detracting focus from other important campus issues.
In the interest of the student body, we encourage ASM representatives to operate in a mutually respectful manner when a controversy arises. Rather than spending meetings bickering and circulating ad-hominem attacks, members need to continue to reach out to one another and find common ground on all issues, however contentious.
Further, ASM needs to seek novel methods for gauging the interest of the student body. While members of student organizations typically have a vested interest in student government’s functioning, many students do not even know what “ASM” stands for. While this is a problem not unique to the current session of ASM, it is still one that needs to be confronted.
Conversation topics around campus this year, about changes to the bus routes and SAFEride services, were discussed in student government bodies last year. Unfortunately, oftentimes students do not realize they have a say in such matters until decisions have already been made.
Currently, ASM is working to improve communication with the general student body by reaching out to freshmen in residence halls and becoming more active on social media sites. While these improvements are a respectable start to keeping the student body updated with the latest ASM happenings, representatives need to embrace the spirit of innovation and seek original ways to shift the interest of students towards student government.
After all, ASM plays an indispensible role on campus. So much of what student government does directly impacts members of the UW-Madison community. The opportunity for shared governance is fairly unique to the UW system, with only a few other schools in the nation providing students an official say in the inner-workings of their education. ASM, along with the university in general, must help students capitalize on this opportunity so UW-Madison can best represent the interests of all stakeholders.
Please send all feedback to edit@dailycardinal.com.
