As chair of the Associated Students of Madison Constitutional Committee, I am deeply disappointed with the lack of response – negative or positive – that our student body has given toward our efforts to improve our student government’s constitution.

At our opening press conference, attendance was high, with representatives from the following organizations in attendance: ASM Student Council (including Chair Allie Gardner), ASM Student Services Finance Committee, F.H. King Students for Sustainable Agriculture, Greater University Tuition Services, Multicultural Student Coalition, Wisconsin Student Lobby, Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group, StudentPrint and the Working Class Student Union.

Interest appeared high. Students appeared to want to be involved. They came with great suggestions and thoughtful criticism, which was excellent given the small window they had to review the document. And then, nothing.

There has been little to no attendance at the ACC information sessions. Members of the committee sit in a large room, waiting for students to come and give their input. But we are disappointed every time.

This lack of participation simply perpetuates the idea that students, while quick to criticize, simply do not give a damn.

Last semester, while the committee was formulating its game plan, I was told numerous times that students simply do not care enough about ASM to get involved and that seeking student input would be worthless. “Students are apathetic,” they said. “They are quick to criticize, but don’t care enough to want to fix it.”

The ACC could have listened to these individuals and pushed for this document to be adopted as-is, foregoing student input or any sort of transparency. Instead, we decided to give the student body the benefit of the doubt. We thought students would see how inept ASM is and want to be a part of solution, or that they would want to be involved in how they are represented at the student government, University of Wisconsin administration and state level.

So far, we have been proven dead wrong.

For the criticism we received at the beginning of the process – for our lack of transparency, for not including enough students in the drafting process and for rushing the adoption of the document – no one has come forward. 

We are now 100 percent transparent, with all the information about the committee and the documents up on our website (www.asmconstitution.com) and Facebook page (Students for a More Effective ASM). Every single student is now involved in the drafting process, and is encouraged to come forward with ideas and amendments at our information sessions or via email ([email protected]). Although we are only holding open meetings for two weeks, we are eagerly awaiting the supposed throngs of individuals who have ideas on how to better the new constitution.

The ACC brought this document before the student body because we could not in good faith advocate for changes without the input of those who it affects. However, if students are not willing to participate, we cannot do our job.

Please help us represent you before our student government by coming to our remaining information sessions, participating in our debate and being a part of the process. I hope you can feel motivated to step up and tell us what you think, whether you agree with me or not.

Alex Brousseau ([email protected]) is a second year law student and the chair of the Associated Students of Madison Constitutional Committee.