Welcome to another new and exciting semester, although I hope the chilly air does not keep anyone down. With this new semester, student-government leaders are looking forward to continuing their work on issues that benefit students’ lives here at UW-Madison.

This promises to be an interesting and important time for all students, as the State of Wisconsin looks to both a new governor and an imposing budget crisis.

Current estimates place the deficit at $4.3 billion, threatening to make this round of budget cuts even more harmful to UW System programs than last year. Tuition increases are near certainties, as the UW System looks to take a substantial cut in its operating budget.

While it should be noted that many groups in the state will be affected by this budget cycle and students should take some responsibility as well, we must ensure that astronomical tuition increases are not viewed as the “fix” to this crisis. This spring, as part of our recruitment drive, ASM will be circulating petitions for presentation to the governor before he announces his initial state-budget proposal. The Associated Students of Madison will make sure the student voice is heard up at the Capitol during this critical time.

While this State budget crisis will most likely affect the amount of tuition we pay as students, its ramifications will extend the types of services that are offered to students. Any member of a student organization on campus can testify to how difficult it is to secure office and meeting space on campus.

Over the last few years, ASM has partnered with University Health Services in a project to build a new, centrally located student-activities and health-services building. This facility would include an expanded Student Activity Center that would provide much needed office space for a host of student organizations on campus.

However, the looming UW System budget cuts threaten to prevent this project from receiving funding for a number of years. Thus, ASM will be calling on students to exercise their student power and contact their elected officials to voice their support for the funding and approval of this important and necessary project.

The issue of quality student-advising programs is also something that resonates with many students. Students often complain that their advisors do not remain in the same department throughout their college years.

To combat this problem of recruiting and retaining quality academic advisors, the Academic Advising Campaign of ASM has been working diligently on the creation of a peer-advising model for the University, where students would be advised both by their professional advisor, and also by a student in the same program.

This model would allow students to receive advice on course selection and career advice from upper-level students who have gone through the process. The Advising Campaign began its work last semester with an assessment of the history department advising and will press other large departments to pilot peer-advising programs.

Last semester, students won a 24-hour study space in Memorial Library, and the ASM 24-Hour Library campaign looks to work with the administration to allow College Library to change into a 24-Hour Library for all students to use. This campaign is only one of a number of new initiatives that ASM is taking up to fight for students.

As a new semester begins, I encourage all students to become involved in an issue that is important to them on campus. Speak to your elected student officials to let them know about what issues are important to you, or come to our spring kickoff on Feb. 12 to find out more information about how to take action and make this campus serve you. Take this opportunity to become an involved member of our campus community and affect some real change for students at this University.

Bryan Gadow ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in political science. He is the chairman of the Associated Students of Madison.