The Associated Students of Madison Student Council met in-person Wednesday evening to discuss potential collaborations with Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment to increase funding for survivor services on campus.
The meeting opened with a presentation by Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment, also known as PAVE. PAVE is a student organization that works to end sexual assault, dating violence and stalking on the UW campus, according to the PAVE website.
PAVE Chair Jessica Melnik and PAVE Projects Coordinator and ASM Diverse Engagement Coordinator Ndemazea Fonkem gave a presentation with general program updates and suggestions for continued collaboration between PAVE and ASM. The presentation began with a summary of the work PAVE has done on the UW campus over the past year, as well as a summary of resources available to students through PAVE.
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Melnik said PAVE’s resources are meant to empower victims and survivors as they pursue healing after trauma. Not all resources made available by PAVE will be pertinent, relevant or accessible for every survivors, but PAVE seeks to make victims and survivors aware of their options, Melnik explained.
PAVE hopes to collaborate with ASM, specifically the Student Services Finance Committee. SSFC could assist PAVE by allocating funds with the University Health Services’ budget requests, according to Melnik.
Melnik said adding full-time positions for survivor services in the UHS budget would be the most practical task for ASM to begin with.
“Last semester, they already started putting people on waitlists for survivor services in October,” Melnik said. “The suggested three full-time positions for survivor services is a start, but more will be necessary.”
Melnik and Fonkem said ASM and PAVE could collaborate in other ways, including increasing transportation services for students at late hours, emergency housing, survivor empowerment and anti-violence cooperation.
By working collaboratively with ASM, more students can learn about PAVE, making the services more available to students, according to Melnik and Fonkem.
“We are working for a world where PAVE is not needed, not where we are looking for answers to these problems,” Melnik said.
Following PAVE’s presentation, ASM Chair Adrian Lampron swore in new representatives Dom Zappia and Steven Shi.
Lampron then introduced new legislation, including changes to judiciary bylaws and the election and appointment order. The legislation was not voted on at the meeting.
ASM representatives also heard a resolution that would limit the number of single use plastics on the UW campus. The resolution encourages UW to join the Break Free From Plastics movement and recommends the creation a UW policy to provide a framework to eliminate non-essential, non-compostable and single-use disposable plastics on campus.
The resolution was adopted by unanimous consent.
The next ASM Student Council meeting will be held Wednesday, March 9.
