Members of Madison’s City Council introduced a resolution to create a permanent position for University of Wisconsin students on an alcohol review committee in an effort to further open discussions between students and city officials.

Ald. Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, District 5, and Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, both sponsored the resolution, which will change the current student position on the Alcohol License Review Committee to be a permanent, non-voting role.

ALRC is comprised of voting members and technical advisers, who do not vote but instead represent an organization of citizens with a legitimate interest in the committee. Technical advisers include representatives from the Dane County Tavern League, Madison Police Department, the Associated Students of Madison Student Council and UW faculty.

Currently, a sunset clause requires the ASM student position to be reaffirmed every three years by the City Council, or it will be terminated.

Resnick said the proposed resolution would provide an incentive to students to take part in city committees.

“Making it a permanent seat gives it more stability and makes students want to stick around,” Resnick said.

He also emphasized the importance of initiating student involvement in city affairs, saying with 55,000 students in Madison, the student demographic makes up approximately 15 percent of the city’s population.

Bidar-Sielaff also expressed her support for the proposed resolution and the benefits it would provide to ALRC.

“[The resolution] would bring a general sense of what student constituency is thinking about to the committee, what their priorities are, asking new questions, and just bringing a new perspective and value to the discussion in general,” Bidar-Sielaff said.

The resolution was referred to ALRC and Common Council Organizational Committee meetings for further comment in the coming weeks before it returns to City Council for a final vote. Both Resnick and Bidar-Sielaff said they do not expect the resolution to be met with opposition.

Another student appointment will be made to the Housing Committee in the near future, according to Resnick. He said Mayor Paul Soglin has pushed for the inclusion of students in city committees so their voice can be better heard in discussions of issues relevant to them.

“We want to take the thoughts of students on campus and other schools, like Edgewood and MATC, to show Madison does value the student voice,” Resnick said. “I think this is the first time in several years that we’ve seen this renewed energy to include students.”