The Associated Students of Madison Sustainability Committee unanimously voted Wednesday to give ASM sponsorship on an event that will focus on training community members to protest a proposed oil pipeline.
The climate change group 350 Madison asked the committee to sponsor an Oct. 13 workshop at Memorial Union teaching “civil disobedience” responses to the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, including actions to put protesters in positions where they could be arrested.
An on-campus sponsor is required if the event’s intended audience includes more than university students. Sponsorship means ASM will be listed as a supporter on paperwork but will not entail any financial contribution, Chair Will Mulhern said.
Committee members discussed possible concerns before voting. Vice Chair Kevin Englebert, for instance, said the workshop material was “a little radical.” However, Englebert and other committee members ultimately voted for sponsorship.
“I want to make sure that the different environmental organizations on campus help each other out,” Mulhern said. “This doesn’t require very much.”
