OPINION & EDITORIAL
UNITY continues ASM’s tradition of progressive politics
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Also by Phil Ejercito:
- So long, ASM; it's been fun (February 15, 2002)
- Politics: an unconventional cure for depression (January 24, 2002)
Related Stories:
- Progressives in Madison, unite! (February 25, 2005)
- Best case for 'Worst House' (April 18, 2002)
- ASM: gone AWOL? Be there or beware (August 30, 2002)
- Letter to the Editor -- 11/20/03 (November 20, 2003)
- Barrett the progressive candidate? (April 19, 2002)
by Phil Ejercito
Tuesday, October 15, 2002
Direction and a sense of destination are inherent in a progressive student movement. But from time to time, crises emerge that challenge our ability to stay focused and proactive, and today, every student at UW Madison is facing a crisis. Our rights as students have been hijacked by résumé-building, right-wing extremists. Our right to responsive and accountable representation, our right to quality student services, our right to a safe and welcoming campus, our right to a fair and unbiased process for supporting a marketplace of ideas — all these rights and more must be vigorously defended, and ˇUNITY! has and will continue to uphold these rights.
ˇUNITY! has a long history of fighting for students’ rights. Born during the late ’90s heyday of organizing against sweatshops and calling for socially responsible investing by our university, ˇUNITY! was the fulfillment of UW Madison’s activist reputation. From purchasing a seat on the Board of Regents, to holding a successful anti-sweatshop sit-in in the Chancellor’s office, ˇUNITY! was more than a slate of students running for ASM elections. It was a movement of speaking truth to power and for making change a reality.
There are always questions about the meaning of the ˇUNITY! name. Literally, “unity” refers to singularity, and people misinterpret this as an emphasis on single-issue exclusivity. On the contrary, the idea behind the “unity” banner has been an acknowledgement of diversity of people, of opinions, of issues and of ideologies. It is impossible to pin down ˇUNITY! as a single-issue movement or made up of a singular type of student — thus, it is the celebration and acknowledgement of our differences that truly unite us.
While progressive activism on the UW Madison campus never went away, the ˇUNITY! banner has been sidelined for the past few years in the wake of a corrupt deal between Mike Dean and a cabal of conservatives. Following the spring 2000 ASM elections, Dean teamed up with several conservatives who lost that election to overturn the democratic will of the students, disqualifying the entire ˇUNITY! slate from taking office. For elections violations ranging from checking their email in the ASM office to trying to arrange a debate, a conservative Student Judiciary issued the now infamous Dean v. ˇUNITY! decision that allowed Mike Dean to rise to the chair position.
Following Mike Dean’s reign over ASM, which saw multiple drunken antics and various attacks on women, ˇUNITY! carried on under different banners. Progressive activism was still alive and well, fighting for lower tuition and increased financial aid, protesting unfair labor practices, defending the rights of women, queer students and students-of-color, and fighting for the rights of student tenants.
So once again, a progressive student movement is alive and well, carrying the banner of ˇUNITY!. Facing a new crisis, students have an opportunity to unite for their rights. We have seen the hijinks of résumé-builders who claim to represent us, failing to preserve drink specials. We’ve seen them attack women and queer students on ASM. We’ve watched them play partisan politics, blackmailing their own members and trying to bribe honest students. We’ve watched them break the law and expose their ignorance and prejudice while defunding essential student services, and we’ve watched them get convicted for it. We’ve watched them blow off support for Homecoming because of their petty little meeting boycotts, and we’ve watched their obstructionist disregard for an overworked Student Judiciary.
We the students can no longer sit idly by while our rights are being hijacked. ˇUNITY! of years past has set a high bar for us to meet. Can we unite to defend our right to control our own money? Can we unite through our diversity of issues and backgrounds to take control of our governance? Can we unite to defend equal access to education? Can we unite to work for all students and to be held truly accountable? With the ASM elections open this Tuesday Oct. 15 through Thursday Oct. 17, we the students of UW Madison can seize this opportunity to meet the standards of history and the challenge of the future. Stop by www.studentsforunity.org to unite!
Phil Ejercito (phil@reachuw.org) is a senior majoring in political science.
