There is no point in reform for reform’s sake. Regardless of the current problems with the Associated Students of Madison, it should not reform only to lull the cries of its greatest critics. However, I believe the reforms of ASM are necessary not to silence the skeptics but to facilitate the rebirth of a robust and powerful student government on campus. While leaders in ASM may desire to substantially improve the lives of students on this campus, they are fettered by a design as confusing as it is flawed. The decentralized nature of ASM’s structure has consistently stymied organizational cohesion. Meanwhile, the absence of a visible figurehead has rendered the organization incapable of responding to students.
On Monday, ASM released a draft of its new constitution. After an extensive waiting period to allow feedback and revisions, the constitution will be brought before the student body in February in a special election for ratification. This constitution promises to provide substantial reforms to address longstanding defects within ASM’s structure. The new constitution will provide a comprehensive restructuring. Specifically, this new structure will work to resolve four major defects of the current system.
First, ASM currently fails to act quickly when situations arise. The absence of a clear leader slows even normal action. In cases when a firm position or statement is required by the student government, ASM has fumbled. While ASM has a chair, realms of authority are blurred. In many situations it is unclear whether the chair can act unilaterally or whether his or her actions require the approval of the Student Council. This new system seeks to remedy the problem by creating a popularly elected president, who will oversee the day-to-day operations of the organization and have the power to speak on behalf of the organization.
Second, the decentralized model of ASM creates a large chasm between advocacy and governance. While it may be easy to understand the theoretical advantage of having a student government that both advocates for greater student participation and uses the powers granted to students, the structure of ASM does not position these two arms in a way that forces them to work together for a common purpose. From experience, I can definitively say that neither of these arms works with the other to create a unified student agenda. Each arm operates self-sufficiently, making ASM appear far more like two organizations sharing an office rather than one united government. The new model will link the advocacy in any given area to the services and funding provided to address these same issues. By mandating a close relationship between ASM’s institutionalized power and its advocacy efforts, the entire organization will be more involved in its mission.
Third, ASM’s advocacy efforts are fractured and uncoordinated. ASM currently prioritizes busy work over unified action. ASM interns and volunteers are often given small projects to occupy their time, rather than jobs that fulfill the broader goals of the organization. This is due in part to a lack of a coherent strategy. Committees self-identify the issues they want to work on with little input from other committees or from the Student Council. Under the new structure, the Student Senate, the only completely elected branch of the government, will be charged with providing direction to the organization as a whole. This will invest the responsibility on how best to use ASM’s resources in a single representative body.
The aforementioned reform will also work to resolve one of the greatest contradictions in ASM: The elected body has the smallest say in how the organization is run. Currently, Student Council is essentially ineffective, acting as a rubber stamp for whatever proposals are handed to it. At the same time, there is little expectation for Student Council representatives to have any idea of even the most basic activities of other segments of ASM. As a result, the students elected to represent their constituents are removed from the real decision-making structure. The new system works to better incorporate student representatives by channeling all major directives of the organization through Student Council. Additionally, representatives will be required to sit on one or two Senate committees. These committees will be the primary source of legislation concerning different issues. Senators will have both the information to make informed decisions and the power use this information.
While it would be impossible to list all the reforms proposed in the new constitution, it is essential to highlight the larger systemic issues with the current ASM structure and the structural mechanisms provided in the new draft for the future leaders of ASM to effectively eliminate these problems. While caution is necessary, it is far more dangerous to allow the current faults of ASM fester. Only through decisive and comprehensive change can we create the student government we deserve.
Alex Gallagher ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in history.