After controversy surrounding contract status for student organizations, a University of Wisconsin student government committee approved a contract and funds for academic support services for Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group to support the organization’s professional staff.
WISPIRG Chair Matt Kozlowski told members of the Student Services Finance Committee the services were necessary because they are a unique student organization that meets a broad range of needs not met by other organizations or by UW, such as training on lobbying and communications.
Kozlowski added they help students by increasing awareness of various state and national legislative issues, including federal legislation and homelessness campaigns, leading to a broad base of knowledge provided to the UW community.
By making UW students more knowledgeable of political issues, Kozlowski said WISPIRG helps encourage students to get involved in the wider issues around the state.
“We get people to engage and participate to let legislators know exactly what students think about an issue,” Kozlwosi said.
SSFC Rep. Cale Plamann said WISPIRG qualified for the special contract because they provided opportunities for service and research not available anywhere else on campus.
He added while the organization said some departments on campus provided small portions of the services available through WISPIRG, no department or organization provided holistically the range of resources for students as the organization.
“The services provided do help us build a foundation for long-range needs of society. That’s pretty much the entirety of what they do,” Plamann said. “It’s about hands-on service that you would otherwise not be able to gain knowledge of through the university. … It’s also fairly on-point of the Wisconsin Idea and all of the stuff we’re supposed to be doing here.”
Plamann added WISPIRG would not be able to provide the same services without the contract group, including professional training and a range of campaigning opportunities offered to students.
The committee also approved funding for an Academic Support Services Agreement, which provides the organization with funding for non-university employees.
The criteria to meet for ASSA included the organization’s ability to provide a unique service, to support the mission of the university and to engage in a non-competitive activity, Kozlowski said. He added WISPIRG “perfectly” meets these criteria.
“I don’t think we should underestimate the work done by … organizational staff to make sure there’s a framework for students to get their hands-on knowledge,” Plamann said. “Without the staff providing a guiding hand I don’t think that this would be anywhere near as successful as a service.”
The committee unanimously approved WISPIRG’s request, with 12 members voting to approve the measure and one abstention.
SSFC members also approved a wage exemption for the Student Leadership Program to increase members’ pay period by 20 hours, for a total of 60 hours logged per week, while they help new members transition and coordinate end-of-semester projects.
Representatives agreed they asked for the request for valid reasons and for a specific range of time and approved the exemption unanimously.
The committee tabled a motion regarding accountability liaisons, which would revise the job descriptions for UW students. SSFC Chair Sarah Neibart said this motion would be brought up again in this Thursday’s SSFC meeting.
