The Associated Students of Madison, UW-Madison’s student government body, passed legislation to reform a joint campus police oversight committee after ignoring communications from the police department.
Landis Varughese, ASM anti-violence chair and PAC member, introduced the legislation after the UW-Madison Police Advisory Committee did not meet for approximately six months. The committee’s last meeting was in October 2023.
The committee is composed of faculty, administrative staff and student representatives who “share relevant feedback with UWPD staff, and offer perspectives about various aspects of the department’s operations,” according to the committee website.
The legislation, titled “Reimagining UWPD Advisory Council” was passed unanimously and called for reinstatement of committee meetings in August, more accessible meeting times and locations, and a greater number of student representation on the committee.
“When you talk about the functions of UWPD, their goal is to serve students and they also didn't have students at the table [during recent campus events],” Varughese said. “I feel like there needs to be student input and students involved in this kind of discourse.”
Varughese said committee meetings, which usually take place on the last Wednesday of each month, were canceled without any explanation from UWPD until March 13 when Rachel Laubmeier, executive assistant to the chiefs, indicated meetings would be “canceled for the foreseeable future.”
In a follow-up to an inquiry from a committee member, Laubmeier said UWPD was taking former UWPD Police Chief Kristen Roman’s abrupt resignation in February as an “opportunity to face inward and heal the department.”
According to WMTV, an internal investigation of a possible violation of university policy by an employee believed to be Roman was completed as of early April. It’s currently unclear when the investigation results will be public.
Varughese was concerned about how student input would be solicited in the search for the next UWPD chief, given the committee has not met in months.
In a statement to The Daily Cardinal, UWPD spokesperson Marc Lovicott said UWPD was disappointed that ASM passed the legislation without the department’s input.
“We have since sent a letter to ASM leadership and the legislation co-sponsors to share our concerns about the legislation and once again request a meeting so we can move forward and work together to make campus a safe and enjoyable place for everyone,” Lovicott said.
Lovicott also said holiday schedules and breaks were the primary reason for meeting cancellations in November, December and January. Varughese, the ASM representative, said the meetings were canceled without explanation.
Additionally, Lovicott said UWPD interim Chief Brent Plisch met with ASM leaders on Feb. 21, during which ASM leaders said they would follow-up on options for future engagement. ASM never followed up, Lovicott said.
Varughese said he did not recall the February meeting requiring follow-up and said the meeting primarily focused on the Feb. 13 shoving of a protester by a UWPD officer, not the oversight committee.
“This meeting had just taken place shortly after the engineering career fair incident. Some leaders were looking for clarification on that,” Varughese said. “And it was very interesting because Interim Chief Plisch did bring up [the committee] when asked about ways UWPD is engaging with students, but did not recognize the fact that it wasn't active until another student from ASM said so. He was bringing it up as a form of recourse [that exists].”
Lovicott also said Plisch followed up with ASM leaders on March 15 asking to schedule another meeting. ASM Chair Kevin Jacobson confirmed he received the email and did not respond. Varughese did not receive the email.
“It's good to work in collaboration with the administration, but it's not something we always do. And I would say that it's also important that we bring policies, especially those that are really complex like this, before our primary governing body, which is the Student Council,” Jacobson said.
In an email to ASM leaders Monday, Plisch criticized the leaders for not replying to his requests and failing to collaborate with UWPD on the legislation.
“This legislation, with no participation, feedback, insight, or partnership from the organization most impacted, provides words with no action and I fear it is not enough to make the PAC a meaningful group,” Plisch said in an email to ASM leaders.
Plisch also expressed his interest in obtaining student and community feedback for UWPD’s search for the next chief.
“Action is required now if the PAC wants to play a meaningful role in the selection of the new Chief of Police,” Plisch said in an email to ASM leaders. “However, what we were doing previously, which includes some of the suggestions in the legislation, was not working to have meaningful participation and must be carefully and thoughtfully reimagined, not as an unenforceable demand or a mandate, but through partnership and collaboration.”
Jacobson confirmed he responded to the most recent email from Plisch and indicated that his term as chair ended Wednesday, which means the new chair will be responsible for partnering with UWPD to reestablish avenues for community oversight and student engagement with campus police.
“The whole intention of legislation was not necessarily a condemnation of UWPD, but rather an invitation,” Varughese said. “I do hope that, in the future, ASM leadership makes these demands a reality.”
Noe Goldhaber is the college news editor and former copy chief for The Daily Cardinal. She is a Statistics and Journalism major and has specialized on a wide range of campus topics including protests, campus labor, student housing, free speech and campus administration. She has done data analysis and visualization for the Cardinal on a number of stories. Follow her on Twitter at @noegoldhaber.
