Asking the average freshman to explain what Associated Students of Madison does to serve the student body of the University of Wisconsin is like asking a housecat to knit a sweater: Many students are oblivious to the many facets of ASM that affect their daily lives. The organization is charged with the duty to represent the student body in university affairs and is active in financing many student organizations and services.

A Wisconsin state statute dictates that students attending state universities must have a voice in the development of policy that affects student life and interests. Charged with upholding this mandate, ASM is made up of several elements that deal with student-organization funding, make official the student body’s stance on university affairs and empower the UW student body to act on its concerns.

The ASM Student Council ratifies policy put forth by various ASM committees and representatives and makes the student body’s stance on various issues official.

The Student Council is composed of 33 members that represent the UW colleges. The College of Letters and Sciences claims the most Student Council representatives, but students from the freshman class and graduate, professional and special students also serve to represent their individual student constituents in student government in the council’s routinely scheduled bi-weekly meetings.

The Student Council’s chair serves an important role as spokesperson for ASM and organizes ASM affairs along with the help of the vice chair.

Student-run campaigns are an important aspect of ASM that address those concerns and allow students to get involved.

“The heart of ASM lies in the campaigns and the interns that work on them,” ASM Student Council vice chair Sharon Lee said. “The Student Council just sort of makes everything official.”

Current ASM campaigns include the Plan 2008 campaign, which works toward the implementation of the UW System Plan 2008 to increase diversity; the Student Fee Taskforce, which works to investigate the current spending of student fees by the university; and the International Students Campaign, which works to increase awareness of international-student affairs on campus.

Several other committees ensure the effectiveness of ASM for various student groups. The diversity committee works toward goals important to various ethnic and cultural groups, and the shared-governance committee guarantees that the Wisconsin state statute endowing ASM with its effective power remains upheld.

Checking the legislative Student Council is the student judiciary branch of ASM. The judiciary resolves complaints against ASM by interpreting the organization’s constitution and bylaws. The student judiciary is made up of eight student members, all of whom are appointed by the ASM nominations committee.

Other aspects of ASM serve in the allotment of student funds to student groups, the election of ASM representative and the appointment of ASM committee members.

The Student Services Finance Committee makes decisions regarding the funding of student organizations on campus. The segregated fees included in UW student tuition supply ASM with an incredible amount of funding to divide among student groups, and SSFC decides who gets what.

When considering funding a new student organization, SSFC grants or denies an organization’s eligibility for funds based on several criteria. If the student group provides a valuable service to students that is not provided elsewhere by ASM-funded organizations and allows all UW students to participate, along with several other requirements, SSFC will go on to approve or disapprove the group’s proposed budget.

Costs are cut or adjusted based on the organization’s needs as determined by SSFC, and ASM provides the organization with the allotted capital.

The ASM nominations board also performs an important task. The board appoints SSFC, student judiciary and replacement Student Council members. The board also oversees the hiring of non-student ASM staff members.

The ASM Bus Pass Program and StudentPrint organization are also major aspects of ASM. The Bus Pass Program ensures most students free bus transport throughout the city, while the StudentPrint non-profit organization serves student groups by printing business cards, providing copy services and developing websites.