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Vote No Coalition plans to gain control of ASM
New FACES group to run for office on grassroots platform
BOBBY BREITENBACH/Herald photo
Members of the newly formed FACES group discuss their plan to ‘take back’ the Associated Students of Madison in front of the Union Thursday.
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Candidates with the For Accessibility Community and Empowerment of Students Slate presented their platform Thursday on the steps of Memorial Union, where they announced their plans to “take back [the Associated Students of Madison].”
“FACES is a backing tool for students running for positions on ASM,” freshman Jonah Zinn, a Letters and Sciences candidate, said. “FACES’ main goal is to reinvigorate the student population as a part of the student government and be real advocates for important student issues.”
Slated candidates emphasized student involvement, affordability and accessibility of a University of Wisconsin degree, campus safety, diversity and environmental responsibility as several areas that would receive attention under FACES’ platform.
In the past, Zinn said ASM has failed to act on the concerns of the student body.
“ASM has a lot of power to control segregated funds, but we want to make sure that these are put toward the right programs and groups,” Zinn said.
If elected, FACES candidates said they would use ASM’s grassroots structure to enable students.
“We know how to organize students from the bottom up,” Zinn said, citing the group’s involvement in the Vote No Coalition, which had significant involvement in preventing the new ASM constitution’s approval by the student body.
Furthermore, he said ASM does not currently utilize its lobbying abilities, and FACES would make effective use of these to “directly lobby and cultivate relationships with Bascom Hill, as well as state legislatures.”
Former Student Services Finance Committee Chair Kurt Gosselin, an ASM member and Vote Yes advocate, gave credit to the Vote No Coalition for having a passionate interest in student government, something he said he hasn’t seen in recent years.
But he went on to say that during the ASM constitution vote process, the Vote No Coalition was very adversarial toward the administration.
“I would say in most instances that the students should be working with administration for improvements,” Gosselin said. “Coming into things with a very adversarial attitude would be damaging to the effectiveness of ASM.”
Gosselin, who said he is not aware of FACES’ exact positions, added he hopes everybody running for ASM understands the scope of ASM’s power and doesn’t try to exceed it.
In addition to a new grassroots structure, UW freshman Jake Burow, a Letters and Sciences candidate, said that FACES also hopes to advocate for the university to make steps toward environmental responsibility.
He said that FACES believes the university’s current policies create two-fold problems.
“First, the university’s actions harm our environment, and second, they take money away from other much-needed programs,” Burow said.
Burow added FACES hopes to support programs at UW that will reduce waste, conserve food in the dining halls, replace Styrofoam use with biodegradable materials and stop pesticide use.
FACES candidates voiced concern over rising tuition prices coupled with the nation’s struggling economy.
Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, a graduate school candidate, said, “This university is becoming more unaffordable and unattainable, yet the university’s response has been that its hands are tied by the lack of funding offered by the Wisconsin state Legislature.”
Like other FACES’ proposals, Zinn said she plans on tackling other tuition issues through direct lobbying and campaign of school and state officials.
— Kevin Bargnes contributed to this report.
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Jonah Zinn is running? Excellent, another wealthy trustifarian white kid to do the bidding for SLAC and Progressive Dane. You guys can’t even get a good slate together!
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“ASM has a lot of power to control segregated funds, but we want to make sure that these are put toward the right programs and groups,” Zinn said.
Southworth v. Board of Regents? Homework time!
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“This university is becoming more unaffordable and unattainable, yet the university’s response has been that its hands are tied by the lack of funding offered by the Wisconsin state Legislature.”
In reality, financial aid increases with tuition hikes.
ALSO, among Big Ten schools, UW is the second most affordable. Only the University of Iowa has lower tuition rates.
OH. And for a group planning to take control of ASM, they didn’t plan their announcement very well. Why would you lay-out your platform on a Thursday when practically nobody reads the papers on Fridays? If this is an indication of things to come, the letters FACES will mean even less to students than ASM.
And Elizabeth WRIGLEY-FIELD??? Is this a belated april fools or something?
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I’m curious to hear more of what Zinn means by steering segregated fees toward “the right programs and groups.” While I probably agree with most of the beliefs that these candidates hold, Gosselin’s observations about their adversarial nature and my understanding of their ideological uniformity make me wonder if we risk another viewpoint neutrality dispute.
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“ASM has a lot of power to control segregated funds, but we want to make sure that these are put toward the right programs and groups,” Zinn said.
Applying this policy to the allocation of segregated fees undermines the entire notion of viewpoint neutrality. “The right programs and groups” statement has implicit within its meaning “We will fund the groups with whom we agree politically and not fund those with whom we disagree.”
This is a blatant violation of the principle of viewpoint neutrality as handed down from the United States Supreme Court. If these are the people deciding where your segregated fees are going, we will face additional lawsuits in federal court and be in direct violation of federal law.
This approach alone, is indicative that FACES is not qualified to hold elected office in ASM.
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This kind of reminds me of a high school student council campaign. The candidate says something like they will extend the lunch hour period and improve the education, etc. The problem is all they really did was plan the school dance.
This is my recommendation to those campaigning for ASM reform: Learn your role. Learn what ASM does and what ASM has control over.
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Vote No! To these guys.
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They couldnt find anyone other than a bunch of freshman?!?!
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Wow, a 7 person slate, of which like 4 will get elected. Yeah, they’re going to take over ASM.
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Where is Kyle in this article? Running things from behind the scenes probably.
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who are the other candidates?
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This makes me laugh. You’re not in high school anymore, Froshies. You have a lot to learn.
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I heard Jonah Zinn’s mustache was well below expectations for mustache march
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“I would say in most instances that the students should be working with administration for improvements,” Gosselin said. “Coming into things with a very adversarial attitude would be damaging to the effectiveness of ASM.”
Gosselin, who said he is not aware of FACES’ exact positions, added he hopes everybody running for ASM understands the scope of ASM’s power and doesn’t try to exceed it.
I’m not sure Gosselin is exactly well-positioned to talk about understanding the “scope of power” of ASM and not exceeding it. Pot. Meet Kettle. Was he the only person to be found to interview on this? Really?
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We are the second most “affordable” school but people need to stop using that as an excuse for justifying raising tuition. Financial aid does not always increase dollar for dollar with tuition increase and we hardly meet enough financial needs for students each yearas it is. There are several other schools who fulfill the need-based aid far more effectively. Many schools are not accessible to students who come from families who have low-incomes and this should not be acceptable across the United States. We as a university who demands to be lead as an example with the “wisconsin idea” at heart should not allow our university to slip from the grasp of students who deserve an education.
Just because they’re 7 people in the photo doesn’t mean they’re only 7 people running.
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In the past, Zinn said ASM has failed to act on the concerns of the student body.
LOL, you are a freshman who has a SINGLE semester under your belt. Are you saying that from experience? Congrats on getting in here, now learn what ASM does before you start looking like the ignorant freshman you are.