The University of Wisconsin-Madison Associated Students of Madison (ASM) unanimously approved legislation calling on Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin to meet with the graduate student union and also passed legislation advocating for the expansion of shared governance during their Wednesday meeting.
ASM also tabled a proposal that would make segregated fee spending and requests publicly available in a spreadsheet on the ASM website for next meeting after confusion on which committee or ASM member would update the spreadsheet.
ASM endorses the TAA’s request to meet with campus administration
ASM unanimously approved legislation calling on Mnookin to meet with the UW-Madison graduate student union, the Teaching Assistant’s Association (TAA).
UW-Madison has repeatedly denied TAA attempts to speak with Mnookin regarding graduate student’s working conditions, citing shared governance as the “exclusive vehicle” through which campus administration meets with students, staff and faculty for feedback on campus policy.
The TAA hopes to discuss medical leave and graduate student stipend increases with campus administration.
“Grad students don't have the right to paid medical leave,” Madeleine Topf, TAA co-president told the Cardinal. “The cost of living is going up in Madison, where grad students don't make a living wage. We'd like to see increases in stipends across the board so that people can afford to live when they're studying and when they're doing their research and when they're teaching.”
Last spring, the UW System approved six weeks of paid family leave for all employees after months of advocacy by the TAA. UW-Madison also approved multi-year stipend increases for graduate students.
Rep. Thomas Niepsuj told The Daily Cardinal that ASM passed the legislation so “graduate student voices are heard.”
“This legislation is hopefully going to provide a clear call to the university that graduate students and the TAA are going through ASM as a voice to advocate for the graduate students and continue a relationship and conversation with the chancellor, because many graduate students feel like that's lacking,” Niepsuj said.
More than 268 graduate workers have shown support for the TAA's request, and 708 faculty, staff, and community members signed a solidarity petition for the "Meet and Confer" initiative, according to the legislation.
Role of shared governance
ASM also approved legislation regarding their role in student government and wanting to return to a governing body. Student-led efforts to increase shared governance authority have been ongoing throughout the UW System after former Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled state Legislature relegated ASM and other shared governance groups to advisory bodies in 2015 through Wisconsin Act 55.
Since 2015, ASM has had to seek approval from the chancellor when allocating segregated fees, according to the Student Services Finance Committee (SSFC) website.
“ASM upholds its commitment to advocating for and supporting students at UW-Madison,” the legislation said.
The legislation also said ASM’s Legislative Affairs Committee will “engage with legislatures and administrators” to advocate for an expansion of shared governance through a “coordinated campaign.”
ASM transparency spreadsheet
ASM tabled “the Sunshine Act” after confusion on implementation. ASM will discuss the legislation again at their next meeting on Oct. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Student Activity Center.
The legislation called for financial transparency for the Grant Allocation Committee (GAC) and the SSFC by utilizing a spreadsheet on the ASM website that discloses funding requests and decisions. The GAC and SSFC distribute student segregated fees to Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) that request money.
“The GAC and SSFC combined allocate over a million dollars per year to different organizations,” Rep. Amitabh Shatdal told the Cardinal. “The idea is, if all this money is going out and it's coming from our pockets as well, if I'm a student, I should be able to easily access the last week, what did they spend the money on?”
ASM previously drew criticism for sponsoring controversial campus speakers, including Sen. Ted Cruz, commentator Matt Walsh and conservative author Kim Zember. The GAC must distribute funding in a “content neutral” manner to all RSOs that request grants.
The spreadsheet “would be required to outlay at minimum the organization involved, the date of the decision, the request description and the exact funding amount granted,” according to the legislation.
During debate, other ASM representatives brought up concerns surrounding the implementation of the proposal, particularly confusion on which committee and members would be responsible for updating the spreadsheet.
