The Associated Students of Madison Student Council appointed Rep. Mia Akers to the position of vice chair Monday, ending a deadlock with Rep. Sarah Neibart, which carried over from the first meeting of the 20th session held last Wednesday.
Representatives originally voted May 1 to appoint a vice chair, but postponed the decision until Monday after three 15-15 ties between Akers and Neibart.
Aker was ultimately appointed by a 16-13 vote.
Many students spoke in open forum in favor of the two candidates. Akers’ supporters included several Diversity Committee members and United Council Vice President Beth Huang, while Niebart was supported by former SSFC Chair Ellie Bruecker and former Shared Governance Chair Britt Moes.
Akers said her goals for next year include ensuring different campaigns work collaboratively, sending large groups of students to conferences and conventions, in addition to reaching out to the student body.
“I really just want to continue to fight for students, whether it’s student debt or whether it’s working with the campus diversity plan,” Akers said. “I want to make sure the student voice is still preserved and student autonomy is still being fought for.”
Council also voted to appoint five other officers, including Rep. Kayla Van Cleave as University Affairs Committee chair, Rep. Andrew Kidd as Finance Committee chair and Grace Bolt as Press Office director.
Kidd, who also chaired the Finance Committee during last year’s session, was elected 16-11 over Mary Prunty, a former intern for the University Affairs Committee who coordinated a financial literacy campaign earlier this year. Prunty said although she did not have much experience with grant allocations, she was willing to put in the time to learn the policies and procedures.
Akers and Nominations Board Chair Becca Buell both spoke on Prunty’s behalf. Buell said they had worked together on the University Affairs Committee, where Prunty was hardworking and skilled at reaching out to student organizations.
Kidd said he has learned from issues during his first term as chair, such as an error in following policy that resulted in the committee redoing the hearings of 45 organizations applying for grants.
Representatives who endorsed Kidd highlighted his experience, saying Kidd moved past the inherent learning curve in the position to become an effective leader.
Shared Governance Chair Sean McNally spoke in favor of Kidd, saying his year of experience would benefit the committee.
“There is such a vital need for consistency with ASM,” McNally said. “We have a turnover of leadership year after year. It’s just completely detrimental to the committee’s progress and also detrimental to the relationships with other student organizations on campus.”
Kidd said his plans for next year include informing students about other resources for grants, capping grant totals and improving outreach to student organizations, with which he said he will enlist Prunty’s help.
He also said he would make it a priority to make the committee’s policies clearer to student organizations, “so that any [registered student organization], whether you’ve been here for 20 years or you’re just starting up, can know how to access money.”
Also at the meeting, ASM members suggested campaign ideas for next year, which included initiatives centered on sexual assault awareness, tenant rights and mental health. Representatives will vote next session to decide which campaigns to pursue.
