When Brooke Evans graduates in May she doesn’t want the university to put low-income students’ challenges on the back burner.
Evans is a first-generation student who sits on the Associated Students of Madison Student Council. As a student who was homeless during her college experience, Evans has worked to bring socioeconomic diversity issues to the attention of university officials who had previously dismissed the topic.
“Before I leave, I really don't want these issue to become Brooke issues,” Evans said. “I want the university to be officially accountable.”
After years of work, she proposed creating a new chapter six shared governance committee that would address these issues and advise policy makers in an official capacity.
“I've come to realize that out of all of these committees that focus on marginalized groups, there isn't one focused on being first-generation-low-income, which is a marginalized group,” Evans said. “I wanted there to be one space on campus that has to focus on this specific group.”
In 2014, Evans and a former faculty member began a task force to assess food and housing security on campus. This task force led to the founding of the Open Seat Pantry, and conversations began with University Housing on making dining halls food-stamp accessible. Evans added that part of the group’s success was its ability to facilitate conversation across different offices on campus from facilities to student life to The Office of Financial Aid.
“No one had communicated about the constantly conflicting message that [low-income students] were receiving,” Evans said. “We wanted what was promised to us in the brochure, and we never got it because we always had to live by another reality.”
Last winter Evans and former ASM Chair Madison Lanning met with Chancellor Rebecca Blank and Dean of Students Lori Berquam and asked if they would support the creation of a formal shared governance committee. Berquam was supportive and encouraged them to push this forward, according to Evans.
For many students issues like food security are not a pressing concern, but for others, it affects every aspect of their life. This has been a “blind spot” for the university and this group of students deserves consideration in policies that are made, Evans noted.
Her hope is that this committee will assess and collect data on whether students, faculty and staff can reasonably access housing, food and the Wisconsin Experience.
“Why is it not the business of the university?” Evans said. “If you're setting the standards for what excellence looks like you should understand the requirements imposed on specific groups looks like, so you can understand if your expectations are rational and feasible … I want there to be a large population of first-generation-low-income students who succeed.”
ASM endorsed the creation of this group, and student leaders will bring the proposal to the other shared governance groups in the near future, according to Evans.
