The Wisconsin Union and the Associated Students of Madison are debating the composition of a student majority committee that will review submissions in a “Name the New Union Building” Contest.
Union Council and ASM released a joint statement Tuesday with the composition of the committee that was quickly retracted the same day. ASM Chair Tyler Junger said the statement was retracted because the stated composition of the committee was incorrect.
Junger added the ASM press office did not read the statement before it was released and a revised version approved by the press office will be released later in the week.
UW Chancellor Biddy Martin asked ASM to assemble the committee to name the union, Junger said.
In response to an ASM Shared Governance blog post praising the independence of Union Council from ASM, Junger said in a comment on the article that naming the new union was never the responsibility of the Union Council.
“If this is about the naming of the new building, let’s make sure that one thing is certain: Naming that building is the responsibility first of the Board of Regents, second of the chancellor and third of whoever she asks to do it,” Junger said in the post.
The student majority committee, once formed, will review submissions that university students, faculty, staff, Union members and alumni are encouraged to suggest for the new union.
The Union Council — the Union’s student majority shared governance body — will then approve a ballot students will vote on during the ASM spring elections, Vice President of Project Management Patrick Tilley said.
Tilley added the exact numbers of student leaders from the Union and the ASM who will make up the committee are still being debated.
ASM spokesperson Ken Harris confirmed both the Union and ASM are working out the process of the committee’s structure.
Ultimately, the committee will be a collaboration between ASM and Union Directorate, Harris added.
He also said he thought it is important for students to have a voice in naming the union.
“At ASM, we think it’s important because it is students who are paying for it, and students should be able to leave their mark on campus,” Harris stated. “Students should at least help name it.”
Tilley agreed the contest would be an opportunity for students to voice their opinions because students are paying for about 60 percent of the project.
In addition, the Union is considering the alumni as an important component in the new name and is thinking about how alumni will use the union.
According to Tilley, if an alumnus makes a donation, they might be able to pair their name with the name students choose.
The student committee will review submissions and forward a list of appropriate names to the Union Council at a Union Council meeting. According to Harris, the committee is hoping to find names that have a unique characteristic about them to reflect the character of the students at the university.
