http://http://vimeo.com/14761994

Chair Brandon Williams introduces ASM

http://http://vimeo.com/14762087

Vice chair Adam Johnson introduces ASM

http://http://vimeo.com/14761661

Chair Matt Manes introduces SSFC

http://http://vimeo.com/14762034

Chair Sam Polstein introduces ASM’s Legislative Affairs committee

Real power.

If you ask Associated Students of Madison Chair Brandon Williams why you should care about the University of Wisconsin’s student government, that is the answer he will give you.

This year marks the 17th session of an organization that decides where hundreds of your tuition dollars go while simultaneously flying under most of the campus’ radar.

ASM’s new leaders are looking to change that with new initiatives which would directly help students instead of bickering over ASM’s internal structure, which partly consists of the Student Services Finance Committee, Student Council and grassroots committees.

Your $527

Using the SERF and NAT is not free. Neither is the ASM bus pass. Neither is the free pizza at various student organization kick-offs. All these things are paid for by segregated fees, which fund UW student services.

As of the 2010-11 school year, almost every student pays $527 per semester for segregated fees. This portion of tuition funds University Health Services, Rec Sports, numerous student organizations, the unions and bus passes among other services and programs.

Student Service Finance Committee, an ASM branch, is in charge of allocating these fees. It is the job of the SSFC to look at the budgets of these programs and determine each budget’s fiscal responsibility and impact on students who foot the bill.

SSFC cannot decide to rescind funding for UHS, Rec Sports or the unions; it can only make recommendations on their overall budgets for further review from higher administration.

It can, however, decide which student groups are eligible for funding and then edit their submitted budgets.

If the above description of SSFC proceedings made you yawn, you are not alone.

SSFC Chair Matt Manes said this is the way it should be.

Manes said he hopes his committee’s work fades into the background this session, because accountability with student dollars and fiscal responsibility is not the stuff of legends.

“If we’re doing our job well, it shouldn’t be interesting. No one cares that garbage cans are emptied,” Manes said.

Reaching Out to Freshmen

Student Council, Manes urged, is a different story. If SSFC is the nuts and bolts of ASM, then Student Council is the engine.

Vice Chair Adam Johnson said he wants to increase awareness of Student Council on campus so new students know what Student Council is and does.

Johnson said most outreach resources would be spent on incoming freshmen to let them know what ASM is.

“It is probably too late to change a senior’s attitude. Freshmen come in without preconceived notions [about ASM]. People have to know and care what we are doing,” Johnson said.

While ASM is looking for malleable freshmen minds to spread the word to, Williams said ASM liaisons would also be attending other student organization kick-offs during the beginning of the fall semester.

“You can’t reach every student, but you can reach every student group,” Williams said.

ASM will also be having a kick-off of its own for the fall which will be better, Williams promised, than the last ASM mixer, which featured a pig head on a Tupperware tray and several broken fire codes.

Williams said the pig head is not the only mistake the new session has learned from past sessions.

Last semester, important financial decisions were gridlocked for weeks, members walked out breaking quorum in the middle of Student Council and the occasional f-bomb would fly in the middle of debate.

“You have to be able to take the personal and professional and separate them,” Williams said.

The salve for these breakdowns, Williams said, is communication not just within ASM, but also with other groups on campus. Opening these channels, Williams said, will open opportunities to make a real change on campus.

Safety will be one concentration this semester, Williams said. There is a poor dynamic between groups on the campus and city level who care about student safety.

Williams said he hopes an ASM Safety Coordinator would get more student involvement and input in the UW Police Department and also synchronize ASM, the Greek system, the Dean of Students and city officials.

While the UWPD Chief Susan Riesling has been receptive to the idea of involving the safety coordinator with UWPD, nothing has been formalized, Williams said.

Activism through ASM

To sit on SSFC and Student Council, one must be elected or appointed. However, there are several grassroots groups in ASM which do not require anything to join, save a commitment to the committee’s cause.

The main difference between the workings of Student Council and grassroots committees lies in the focus of work each body has. While Student Council looks to improve the overall quality of life on campus for all students, grassroots committees narrow their focus onto specific issues, be it politics, academics, student organizations or diversity.

Some of these committees are Academic Affairs, which spearheads a campaign to lower the cost of textbooks. The Diversity Committee grapples with the delicate issue of celebrating and understanding differences on campus, while Legislative Affairs, a recently resurrected committee, offers another avenue for political action on each level of government.

One such initiative Legislative Affairs Chair Sam Polstein is hoping to accomplish this year is to change the way students think about housing.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with signing a lease early in the school year for the upcoming year, Polstein said students might choose their new home for the wrong reasons and fall prey to peer pressure.

Currently, the city of Madison allows landlords to put apartments and houses on the market and sign leases during the fall semester. Polstein said he and his committee are working with city officials to push back that date to the spring semester.

A Responsibility to Students

ASM touts itself as representative of the entire student body of UW, with students from every school and every year. That includes freshmen, whose elections are coming up this fall. Four seats are available on Student Council, and two are available on SSFC.

Whether or not you run for a seat, drop in on a grassroots meeting or read the headlines on the previous night’s Student Council meeting, this year’s ASM session promises to spend your money responsibly and make UW a better place to live and study.

It is up to the students to make sure ASM keeps its promises.

Correction: The original copy did not make clear the amount most students pay for segregated fees is per semester, not per year. Additionally, last year’s amount was given. For the 2010-11 school year, regular undergraduate students taking 12-18 credits pay $527 for segregated fees. Students taking fewer than 12 credits pay less. See the Fall 2010 fee schedule on the Office of the Registrar’s website.