Four University of Wisconsin freshmen were elected to Associated Students of Madison on Wednesday.
Out of 18 candidates, John Paetsch, 513 votes, Megan Phillips, 402 votes, David Sweetapple, 377 votes and Andre Hunter, 356 votes, will serve on Student Council, ASM Student Elections Commission Chair Anthony DaBruzzi said.
The election saw 20 percent voter turnout with 1,291 freshmen voting out of the total 6,339, DaBruzzi said. Average voter turnout during the past six years has been 23 percent, but DaBruzzi said this year was “very average and very typical.”
Freshman elects highlighted campus safety as a key issue they want to work on.
Phillips and Hunter said they wanted to work to extend Safe Walk hours to 3 a.m. Hunter also said he wanted to make WiscAlerts mandatory for all students.
Sweetapple, Phillips and Hunter all said they wanted to increase the number of emergency blue light systems on Lakeshore Path.
Freshman elects also highlighted textbook affordability as a main issue they hope to work towards.
Phillips said she wants to prohibit professors from introducing a new textbook version that does not have substantial changes from the previous version, adding that she wants to prevent professors from requiring a textbook for a class if less than 50 percent of the textbook is used.
Paetsch said he wanted to look into creating a “lending library” to help make textbook costs more affordable.
Phillips also said she wanted to work towards creating uniformity from college to career transition programs. Hunter said some other issues he wanted to work towards were increasing college affordability, increasing UW Transportation efficiency, tenant rights and diversity around campus.
Citing Dejope Hall and Gordon Dining and Event Center, Sweetapple said he wanted all dining halls around campus to be on a rotating schedule because students get sick of eating similar food everyday, even if it is delicious.
Paetsch said he wanted to help increase unity throughout the campus and promote the listening of ideas and making sure all students have the opportunity to find their niche.
The freshman elects said they plan to reach out and communicate with their peers mainly through social media.
“[We will] meet socially, not face to face, that’s the way things are done now,” Hunter said.
Sweetapple said he is considering starting an online polling system to see what issues are most important to the students and to help determine what he should be focusing on.
The freshman elects said it was concerning that many of the freshmen on campus did not even know what ASM was.
Phillips said it is important that all the freshman elects make themselves available to their peers around campus and expand their reach throughout campus by going to different areas and speaking with people.
