Associated Students of Madison Student Judiciary Chief Justice Nicholas Checker raised heads among student council members at a meeting Wednesday, when he openly expressed his belief that ASM is not doing enough to establish itself as a successful student government.
Checker said he will step down from his position Monday. With his announcement, he brought his opinions on the campaigns ASM has presented this year, saying he did not think there was enough being accomplished for students to fully value the job of ASM and recognize why the organization was created.
“I just really am sort of disappointed in the way campaigns have been run,” Checker said. “We have these campaigns that have really no physical, tangible outcomes.”
Checker cited the lack of clear-cut goals from certain committees as an issue, as it leads to a vague idea of what ASM should be accomplishing for students. Checker also said he does not think students associate ASM with a student-oriented system for improving campus life.
Checker specifically addressed the Green Fund, saying that he thinks its efforts are redundant and a waste of student money.
“I think the Green Fund is a mistake, in the sense that you have an Office of Sustainability with millions of dollars at its disposal,” Checker said. “This $40,000: What is that going to do? Are you going to buy a composting toilet? I don’t know what you are going to do with that kind of money.”
Student Services Finance Committee David Vines defended the work of ASM members, saying that one cannot define success simply by physical outcomes.
“Our job here as ASM is to facilitate student shared governance and to amplify students’ voices on campus,” Vines said, noting that ASM was originally established to protect students’ interests. “Just because your average student doesn’t think about that when they think about ASM … doesn’t mean the work that we do here isn’t valuable and really important to students.”
Student Council also ratified the General Student Services Fund budget, presented by SSFC, of $1,083,283.36.
A decision on the Green Fund bylaws has been pushed to the next Student Council meeting.
