Associated Students of Madison chose its future leader Wednesday night. Bryan Gadow, UW junior and former Shared Governance Committee chair, will hold the post and collect a salary of roughly $4,000 for ASM’s ninth session.
Gadow, who ran uncontested, said he hopes to get more students involved with ASM.
“It’s really important to get students both in ASM and outside of ASM involved in the issues,” he said. “I want to make sure students on this campus are more represented in the decision-making process.”
As part of increasing student involvement and increasing the diversity of opinions, Gadow wants to get input from more student organizations.
“We work with a lot of the same groups. Those groups are very important, but I would like to reach out to other organizations that we don’t normally hit,” Gadow said. “That’ll ensure we get a broader grasp on the issues.”
The position of vice chair, which is responsible for recruitment, outreach, and supporting the chair, was highly debated by members of the committee.
Emily McWilliams, a member of the REACH party, beat Steven Weiss, a member of the Badger party, for the position, which makes under $4,000 annually, by a 17 to 14 vote.
” I believe strongly in student autonomy and shared governance,” McWilliams said. “I want all members to become involved, regardless of their political ideology.”
Part of the debate revolved around the ability of the candidates to reach out to the campus community and bring diversity to ASM.
Weiss’s ability to support diversity was questioned.
“Just because I’m a white male doesn’t mean I can’t be diverse,” Weiss said. “I very much support diversity. I think diversity on campus needs checks and balances, and this will increase diversity on campus.”
The position of secretary — the only position allowed to hold two titles — went to Austin Evans over Andrew Horn of the Badger party. Evans, a UW junior active in promoting sexual-assault awareness on campus, will also serve as Shared Governance chair.
Committee and board appointments were also made for SSFC, but the politically divided group has yet to elect its own chair, as has the Finance Committee. ASM also appointed members and heads for Diversity, Legislative Affairs, and Campus Relations committees.
All in all, future United Council of UW Students president Jeff Pertl said the appointments and pending elections are not dominantly liberal or conservative.
“It struck a nice balance,” he said.
