Opinion: Letter
Vote yes
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I have been a student here for six years now, four as an undergrad and two as a medical student, and have clearly seen something: Associated Students of Madison Student Government doesn’t work the way students need it to.
However, from the inside this year, I see that it’s not the people in ASM who are failing to better students; it’s the structure laid out by the current constitution that is failing to serve us properly. For all of the students who feel anger or apathy towards the product of the current ASM structure, I urge you to VOTE FOR CHANGE and VOTE YES.
The new constitution provides students a clear, public leader to hold accountable to work on issues that students care about. The constitution also gives elected representatives a clear meaningful role in determining the overall direction of the organization. The proposed constitution’s Financial Code provides much-needed security to registered student organizations who currently receive funding from ASM because only those with financial experience would be allowed to amend budgets. Through the new constitution, the delineation of roles between the executive and legislative branches allows for greater coordination and efficiency within ASM. The proposed constitution systematically integrates the three efforts of student government essential to serving students:
1) Advocating on behalf of students
2) Appointing students to university committees
3) Allocating segregated fees
By organizing the student government in a different way, the student voice will be more coherent, organized and effective. Furthermore, the new structure is easier to understand than the current bureaucratic system and will open up access to the greater student population.
If you’ve given up on the current ASM constitution or have always wished you could change your student government, now is your opportunity.
Vote yes on the new ASM constitution Feb. 23-24. Vote for Change!
Johnny Tackett
2nd Year Medical Student
Member, Constitutional Committee
jjtackett@wisc.edu
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I’m voting yes for:
Establishing a monarch at the head of ASM.
Increasing bureaucracy.
Limiting the voice of student organizations.
Killing the organizing potential of ASM.
Vote Yes! Vote for change!
Saying “Vote for Change” is definitely an attempt to give this reform a sense of empowering students… the irony is that it is taking away power from the students. The reason the ASM, back in its prime 5-7 years ago, was one of the most powerful student governments in the country, was because of the current structure we have—with better representatives in its positions.
The act of “positive change” can not be committed by a simple vote… it’s beyond that. A vote is just the beginning. “If you’ve given up on the current ASM constitution or have always wished you could change your student government, now is your opportunity.” — Yes, but not by a single vote. By seeking out the right people (multiple people, a diverse group of individuals from various backgrounds) to properly represent us, the ASM will regain its powerful student voice. By voting to surrender our collective power to “one clear public leader,” is a step in the opposite direction. With a university of over 40,000 students, does it really make sense to say one individual can better represent us than a wide group of students representing the university’s diversity?