The Badger Herald: News: ASM constitution revisions continue

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ASM constitution revisions continue

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Also by Remi Boudreau:

ASM constitution revisions continue (November 12, 2008)
'Incubator' will help new ideas (November 10, 2008)
Study links overall health, grades (October 27, 2008)
ASM election attracts 5.1 percent of student body (October 16, 2008)
Lawton signs new deal for UW, China exchange (October 13, 2008)

By Remi Boudreau
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 12:00 a.m.

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Needing to get a second draft of the new Associated Students of Madison constitution ready before the second round of listening sessions next week, ASM’s Constitutional Committee worked overtime to highlight key changes Tuesday night.

Much of the discussion during the night came directly from the listening sessions that have been held in the past few months, which generated useful feedback overall, according to Student Services Finance Committee Chair Kurt Gosselin.

“We were looking for a general overview of information, and what we got back was a more specific set of ideas, so that was a drawback, but I think they were successful in soliciting feedback from the campus,” Gosselin added.

From all of the listening sessions, the Constitutional Committee has addressed 256 comments and considered how they should be applied to the revisions of the draft.

One of the major issues is the concern that the student body president still does not have any qualifications attached to it, said Constitutional Committee Chair Jeff Wright.

So one of the changes made to the new draft was to split the oversight of the Shared Governance Committee between the executive and legislative branch, which until now was solely in the hands of the legislature.

According to Gosselin, in the previous listening sessions, the committee gave a presentation that was followed by students’ concerns and student dialogue.

In round two of the upcoming listening sessions, the committee will highlight key changes that have been made and then provide dialogue with students to clear up any issues.

“We need to make sure the document will present a better government for the students,” Gosselin said.

During the meeting, much debate was raised over what language, if any, should be added to the constitution to clear up discrepancies.

Wright added the language, in general, has definite implications on interpretation.

“One thing we’re being really cognizant of is not putting in some kind of language that will bind the government in the future,” Wright said.

In February students will vote whether to adopt the new constitution, and then the Constitutional Committee will hold additional information sessions to let students know about the opportunities provided within the constitution. Pending all of those steps, it would go into effect during spring elections, according to Wright.

Gosselin said that though not all committee members are able to attend every meeting, the committee is very committed to the timeline set and has had very productive meetings lately.

According to Wright, students also need to make an effort to stay updated, and it’s very important that with the potential adoption of new constitution students’ voices are heard. One of ASM’s main jobs is the delegation of student funding, which has a major impact on students’ lives.

“It’s vital that students attend because changes to this government, regardless of whether or not they’re involved, will change their life in some ways,” Wright added. “We appoint funds to different committees and advocate for students, so student government can have a real direct impact on students’ lives on campus.”

4 Comments | Leave a comment

Anonymous | November 12, 2008 1:59 PM | Reply

Please add the following line to the beginning of the new constitution: “Unless 60% of the student population votes in the affirmative the ASM is hereby dissolved.”

Anonymous | November 12, 2008 2:10 PM | Reply

What is Associated Students of Madison?

Anonymous | November 12, 2008 8:32 PM | Reply

from ASM alum: why are you putting so much effort into this constitution instead of working on student issues? long term…will it really improve the ASM structure?

Anonymous | November 17, 2008 7:24 PM | Reply

I hope the constitution gets rid of ASM entirely. Getting three percent of the student body to vote in any given election doesn’t give you the right to act like a government.