The broad consensus among those students active with student government is that our current student government, the Associated Students of Madison, must make significant changes if it is to regain any relevance on campus. A successful transformation of student government hinges on its ability to control its message. We have seen the current ASM structure plagued by the inability to effectively capitalize on its successes. For instance, the current ASM structure does a competent job allocating fees and placing students on shared governance committees. While neither of these processes are perfect and like minds can differ on how they could be improved, the fact remains that the current ASM does these two things well and things are improving. However, this message has not been conveyed effectively to the student population. This failure is undoubtedly a major factor when explaining broader student discontent with ASM and the lack of student enthusiasm in the ASM reforms. ASM needs to prove its relevance before it can expect students to be excited about participating in the student government process.
However, the blame cannot be laid solely at the feet of ASM. The campus media outlets have contributed to the perception of ASM on campus. The media serves as the most effective lens for students to understand the student government. While ASM must strive to use other mechanisms to communicate with the campus population, nothing will ever be more penetrating then media coverage.
The role of the media has become increasingly apparent as ASM works to make reforms. The media’s skepticism over the current process of reform is heavily tainted by the classic fallback position: ASM cannot do anything right. The editorial coverage thus far has demonstrated the inability of the editorial boards to endorse strongly the changes ASM is trying to make.
As much as it pains me to use it, perhaps the best representation of this relationship can be found in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”. In one scene, a man walks through a plague-inflicted village with a large wheel collecting dead people. As he rolls through town, he shouts, “Bring out your dead, bring out your dead.” Another man approaches, carrying what appears to be a cadaver. As he attempts to lug the body onto the wheel barrow, the body states firmly, “I’m not dead yet.” And despite incessant claims that he is indeed feeling better, the man holding him insists the body be taken away. In “Spamalot,” the musical, the dying man even gets up and sings about how he is not yet dead.
Well, ASM is starting to feel better. It certainly has not completely recuperated, but things are improving. However, the expectations in the media for ASM to fail at these reforms only contribute to ex ante constraints limiting reform. The desire by non-ASM campus elites to declare ASM dead casts a shadow on what could be a very productive series of reforms.
This desire is evident in attempts to cast low attendance at ASM Constitution listening sessions as being akin to the pathetic turnout at the State of ASM address last year. We see this in columns by the editorial boards of both papers that have not approached these reforms with anything amounting to more than cautious and reserved optimism. Even so, none of the editorial staff from either paper have taken the time to attend a single listening session. Instead, they send green reporters to count the number of students who attend and report back to headquarters.
Despite the positive steps ASM is taking, these reforms are not inevitable. The success of the reforms relies on the perseverance of a couple worn-out full-time students. These students have been facing significant resistance to reform from ASM staff invested in the current system. At the same time, there has not been sufficient support by those on campus who recognize the need for these reforms. If the reforming of student government is treated like a lost cause it may become one. ASM promises to improve at outreaching to the campus and media. This is one of the primary goals of the reform. But through this transition, there must be some commitment by the campus, especially the media, to have confidence that ASM will improve.
Alex Gallagher ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in history.
