A University of Wisconsin alumnus, who just happens to be the executive producer of Comedy Central's The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, has lent his support to UW's contentious Student Union Initiative.
Ben Karlin sent the Student Union Initiative a video clip last week supporting the proposal. UW senior and Wisconsin Union President Shayna Hetzel said the group hopes to circulate the video throughout campus via e-mail and word of mouth.
The initiative, which will be on the ballot in the Associated Students of Madison Student Council elections Wednesday and Thursday, proposes to increase student-segregated fees to pay for the renovation of Memorial Union and the reconstruction of Union South.
In his video, Karlin stays true to the character of his fake news programs with a witty monologue from a news desk.
"Hey everybody, vote for the Student Union Initiative Oct. 18 and 19," Karlin says in the video. "If you don't, the Terrace will crack off and sink in Lake Mendota — and then where ya' gonna hang out?"
Hetzel said Karlin volunteered to associate his popular name recognition with support for the union initiative when he gave a lecture at UW last year.
The Student Union Initiative also developed a separate video over the summer in which UW students express their support for the initiative. The student video plays at both union buildings, selected Wisconsin Union Directorate events, and was featured at the Battle of the Bands on homecoming weekend.
ASM Chair Dylan Rath said the student government does not have a collective stance on the initiative, but noted he personally supports it. He added the two videos show the diverse group of people the Student Union Initiative will affect.
"I think that the videos are a really excellent way to break through the clutter of normal advertising," Rath said. "They really show the broad base of support."
Rath said the Student Union Initiative has a better chance of passing this semester, in part because of the two advertising videos. The initiative failed two student votes last semester that were later nullified due to technical difficulties with the online voting system.
Student Labor Action Coalition member Nick Limbeck said he does not support the Student Union Initiative because it costs students too much money. SLAC, incidentally, authored the Living Wage proposal, which also will appear on ballots this week.
The Living Wage referendum calls for student workers at the Wisconsin Union, University Health Services and Recreational Sports to receive the living wage of $10.23 an hour, which is calculated to support a family of four.
Limbeck called the Student Union Initiative video and the Karlin video deceiving because the initiative asks for "millions of dollars," but has more than just student interests in mind.
"They're using … the ever-questioning, ever-liberal Daily Show, but they seem to not want the students to question where all this money is going," Limbeck said. "It seems kind of ironic."
Rath said he does not anticipate any problems with this semester's elections, but added ASM is prepared with troubleshooters to answer any questions that may arise during the voting process.
"We just want to make sure that we have very secure ballot boxes," Rath said, "so there is no opportunity for people to say that this wasn't a valid election."
