Politics have always been a passion for newly elected Associated Students of Madison student council member Derek Field.
Field, a University of Wisconsin-Madison sophomore and Blue Mounds native, majors in economics and political science, and plans to complete a certificate in Educational Policy studies.
In addition to sitting on several student government committees, he cofounded and serves as coeditor-in-chief of the recently established “Sifting and Winnowing: The Undergraduate Journal of Law, Political Science and Public Policy.”
Inspiration for the journal originated from a conversation between Field and cofounder Donya Khadem during which they realized UW-Madison is one of a few schools of its caliber without a publication of this sort.
“It would just work as a great platform to heighten the conversation about intersectionality between departments on campus,” Field said. “[For example], papers that have to do with International Studies, but are also political or rooted in policy are really, really relevant to the topics covered in this journal.”
He said he hopes that as “Sifting and Winnowing” develops and expands, the journal will be a source of collaboration between various departments, which could potentially sponsor research projects tailored for publication.
Additionally, Field explained the publication could be an opportunity for pre-law and policy students to gain exposure to legal and political writing, working directly with the journal’s associate editors to produce finalized content.
Field said his motivation for involvement in student government stems largely from his background.
“I’m a first [generation] college student from a working class background, so this directly impacts myself and those from similar backgrounds to me,” Field said.
As Finance Director of the Working Class Student Union, his primary focus is on ensuring college affordability and access for all students.
“If I would have lived .2 miles further west, I would have gone to a smaller school district with 29 people in my class, no AP classes or anything like that,” Field said. “College affordability and access is a pretty important issue to me because it’s hard to justify why, because of where I live, I get to come UW and have opportunities that I do.”
