Tonight, the Associated Students of Madison Student Council will be voting on whether to approve a special election so students can vote on the ASM Constitutional Committee’s proposed constitution, bylaws and financial code. A special election would put the proposal in the hands of the students, giving them the choice to decide, rather than keeping the decision in the hands of a very few.
Members of Student Council briefly debated the proposal at their last meeting, with many expressing concerns that students were not smart enough to understand the proposed documents and the difference from the current governing documents. One representative even went so far as to make a motion to postpone the proposal indefinitely so it would never see the light of day again.
The ACC and its supporters on Student Council are pushing for a special election because we think a decision as important as this should be left up to the students, not to a few people with their own agendas. We also do not agree that students at this university are not smart enough to make such an important decision. The University of Wisconsin is a world-class institution with some of the most intelligent students in the nation – if a group of students can draft such a proposal, it is guaranteed others can understand it.
Student Council faced a similar dilemma last semester when they decided to approve a referendum on the fall ballot, which would gauge campus opinion on the proposed Memorial Union renovations. The main reasoning behind approving the referendum was to give students the opportunity to voice their opinion on something that would impact them on a daily basis.
Whether or not representatives agree with the ACC’s proposal, they should still vote for the special election for the same reason they approved the Memorial Union referendum last semester: a change to ASM’s governing documents would affect students on a daily basis. They should have the power to decide on whether or not it is passed.
Student Council representatives should empower its students to make its decisions, not jam up legislation because they may not agree. Doing otherwise substitutes a representative’s own personal and political opinion with that of his or her constituents.
Students these days can occupy the state Capitol, help run campaigns for presidential candidates and dispense millions of dollars to student organizations. The least Student Council can do is give them the power to decide their own form of governance.
Alex Brousseau ([email protected]) is a second year law student and chair of the ACC.
