After years of focusing on communication with undergraduate students, the Associated Students of Madison is looking to branch out to University of Wisconsin’s 11,000 postgraduate students.
Student Council Graduate Student Representatives Matt Tobelmann and Tola Ewers began the initiative by turning to the Graduate Student Leadership Caucus to strengthen the group’s voice on campus.
“As a graduate student, I know that it is vitally important for graduate students to have a voice in [ASM] because they represent a large fraction of students on campus,” Tobelmann said.
Although GLSC has 50 graduate students representing 40 different departments at UW, their viewpoints have been repeatedly overlooked, Tobelmann said.
The main goal of integrating graduate students into ASM is to keep their connection to campus issues consistent, according to John Tackett, a representative of the Medical Students Association.
“Graduate students have good ideas to fix the ways ASM doesn’t work to the best of its ability because of their experiences and lifestyles that differ from undergraduates,” Tackett said.
ASM Constitutional Committee Chair Jeff Wright said ASM seeks to establish a positive relationship with graduate students and hopes to receive input and advice on vital student issues.
“This is part of an overall effort to perform better outreach to a greater part of campus, because in the past, we haven’t had the strongest relations with the graduate student body,” Wright said.
According to Wright, the number of voiced perspectives offered by graduate students has declined in recent years, but those involved hope to reignite their interests and contributions.
“It is vital for graduate students to succeed at the university with support,” Wright said. “And they can help ASM know how and when to tackle the wide range of issues they need for their success.”
Graduate students have recently shown their interest in student government and voiced confidence in their ability to help improve the system by endorsing the new ASM constitution, Tackett said, which looks to improve the student government’s legitimacy and connection with the student body.
The GSLC plans to meet at least two times each semester to gather feedback on ASM policy and other concerns specific to the graduate community.
At the most recent caucus, graduate students employed at UW sought business cards to legitimize their positions, Tobelmann said.
“A lot of graduate students attend conferences and meetings where they should be able to exchange business cards with professionals that will help them with their dissertations,” Tobelmann said. “It also makes the university look better for their graduate students to be more professional.”
The resolution passed unanimously and the students are completing final business card arrangements.
“The most important factor is that graduate students have real-world experience under their belts in the work force that they can bring to the table [in ASM],” Tackett said.
The next GSLC meeting will take place Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. in the Caucus Room of the Student Activities Center to discuss campus safety, the ASM constitution proposal and graduate student diversity.
