An Associated Students of Madison Sustainability Committee is one step closer to being created after Student Council voted in favor of forming the committee in the first round of voting Wednesday.
Rep. Collin Higgins, who said many students are looking for a more formal way to address environmental concerns on campus, proposed the Sustainability Committee earlier this month.
After initially being voted down, Council motioned to reconsider the committee at last week’s meeting.
Rep. Libby Wick-Bander said sustainability should not be a controversial issue and ASM should support this committee because many students have already showed interest in it.
The new committee will require a second vote of approval, which will take place at the next meeting, in order to be created.
Council also discussed the requested 2013-14 ASM internal budget, which could include $60,000 for Varsity Day in the spring of 2014.
Varsity Day was inspired by Senior Day 2012 when Neil deGrasse Tyson spoke on campus at the end of the school year.
Three students spoke in open forum to advocate for funding the event, which would bring a prominent speaker to campus to close out the year, saying it would be a great addition and beneficial way for ASM to impact campus.
Sarah Mathews, president of the Wisconsin Union Directorate, and Neil Damron, director of the WUD Distinguished Lecture Series, both said the event would be a good way to celebrate the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Damron said the university deserves the type of world-class speaker that Varsity Day would attract.
“A world-class speaker would excite and inspire students and impact them forever,” Damron said.
All of the students that spoke on the benefits of Varsity Day agreed that a board or committee would need to be created to find a speaker that could inspire and influence the entire campus.
Council will vote on the budget in its next meeting Nov. 7. The budget must pass Council before moving on to the ASM Student Services Finance Committee for approval.
Also in the meeting, Council passed legislation advocating for increased funding to the University of Wisconsin System in the next state budget, which is currently under development. The legislation calls for the state to institute a tuition cap and increase in financial aid, among other requests.
