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The Student News Site of University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Badger Herald

The Student News Site of University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Badger Herald

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Letter to the editor: ASM is failing the non-resident student population

Letter+to+the+editor%3A+ASM+is+failing+the+non-resident+student+population
Hayley Cleghorn

Limp-wristed, impotent, ineffectual. These are all words that can describe how the Associated Students of Madison has served non-resident students of University of Wisconsin.

The latest proposal from university administration is to increase the tuition fees of non-resident students. Over the next four years, out-of-state students would pay $10,000 more, with an extra $1,000 for international students. These students already pay more than twice as much as resident students, and the price hike creates an onerous burden on them and their families.

https://badgerherald.com/news/2015/04/09/regents-set-to-vote-on-nonresident-tuition-increases/?preview=true&preview_id=116632&preview_nonce=a5e77d31e3

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You would expect such a change to elicit outrage from the elected student government. You would expect its leaders to fight the changes and defend college affordability specifically for non-resident students, who make up more than 25 percent of the undergraduate population. But no such satisfactory response has arisen. Instead, ASM has focused on demanding transparency in spending.

I could argue there is no case to be made there, because the university has been largely transparent in its accounts. If we are accusing UW of being fiscally irresponsible, the charge should be at their overall spending plans.

But this charge would not hit the crux of the issue, which is college affordability for non-resident students. These students do not care where their money goes; they care that they have to pay more to begin with. Some of them will be forced to transfer, others will see funds of their families erode.

The most shocking thing is how oblivious ASM seems to these realities. In their statement, they spend minimal time discussing the financial impact on non-resident students. Instead, they shift the focus to transparency and discuss implications for in-state tuition. The impact is said to be on “all” students when the financial burden currently rests exclusively on out-of-state students. Reading the letter, non-resident students must wonder, “How on earth are these people representing my concerns?”

The cherry on top of this fiasco is that non-resident students pay ASM to represent them. Leaders of ASM each receive a stipend, up to 100 percent of in-state tuition, which comes directly from the segregated fees all students pay.

https://badgerherald.com/news/2015/03/23/explained-with-more-student-government-elections-on-the-way-here-is-the-pay-breakdown/?preview=true&preview_id=114895&preview_nonce=25922bb0d0

Well, if out-of-state students wanted their student government to be flaccid and inept when they most needed it, they sure got their money’s worth.

Elliot Poh ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in history and economics.

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