The Associated Students of Madison Student Council began conversation Wednesday on its proposed internal budget for the 2017 fiscal year.
ASM is annually tasked with making decisions on the breakdown of segregated university fees, charged to students for additional services and programs besides general instruction.
The budget covers a variety of costs, such as ASM administrative functions, stipends for ASM faculty and staff and grants to registered student organizations.
ASM Chair Madison Laning recognized that the budget line for the Green Fund, which provides grants to students developing sustainable projects on campus, would remain at $50,000, although she originally suggested it be decreased to $25,000.
Keeping the budget at $50,000 would allow students to figure out how to use the fund, according to ASM Sustainability Committee Chair August McGinnity-Wake.
“Before we talk about cutting further and further, we should give it some time to let students be creative in finding ways to use it,” McGinnity-Wake said.
Laning explained the removal of the line for membership to the United States Student Association, a national organization promoting education and advocacy on issues impacting students, according to its website.
It has been difficult to work with USSA in the past few years because ASM functions differently than other universities’ student governments, Laning said, adding that she hopes ASM will focus on building coalitions on campus before looking toward the national level.
The council will meet later this month to vote on next year’s budget.
Also at the meeting, the council passed the Student Voter Access Resolution, detailing ASM’s support of an initiative allowing students to use Wiscards as a form of voter ID. Representative Leland Pan described how the legislation would reduce barriers for student voters.
Currently, university administration does not intend to approve this method and wants to issue a secondary card for voter ID, according to Pan.
