Students got a taste of the Associated Students of Madison candidates' positions Monday night at a candidate forum in the Memorial Union's Lakeshore Cafe. The Student Election Commission held the event to increase voter participation, according to Emily Becklin, the Student Election Commissioner.
\We're trying to do a lot of outreach programs to try and get people to be informed as to what their student government does,"" Becklin said.
According to ASM Representative Austin Evans, turnout last year was 12.5 percent. Evans said this event was a good idea but it is ultimately up to the candidates to encourage people to vote.
Despite the SEC's efforts, voter attendance at the event was minimal and some students said they came for the free ice cream.
""It's a neat idea to go around and talk to people but what does ASM really get done?"" asked Jacob Lesandrini, a UW-Madison senior.
Lesandrini said he does not traditionally vote in ASM elections but is planning on voting in Tuesday's city election.
Other students came with concerns about particular issues. UW-Madison sophomore Cathy Giljoharin said she came to find out the candidates' positions about student segregated fees.
""I came to hear the justifications for why they think a seg-fee opt-out system is a positive thing for this campus,"" Giljoharin said.
Student segregated fees are a part of student tuition that fund student organizations. Some ASM representatives said they want to change the way segregated fees are distributed, allowing students to opt-out of paying for certain organizations.
Segregated fees were part of many candidates' platforms including Erin Johnson, a freshman running for Letters and Science representative who said she supports maintaining the current segregated fee system.
Johnson and Evans both expressed concern over the budget cuts to the university and said more student representation on the UW System Board of Regents is necessary.
""We're trying to bring ASM back to student issues,"" Evans said.
ASM has three branches, the Student Council, which is the legislative body, the Student Services Finance Committee, which prepares the budget, and the Student Judiciary, which deals with ASM legal issues and has the final say on the budget unless it is appealed to the chancellor. There are 31 people running for Student Council this semester, according to Evans. All students can vote in the ASM election and everyone has seven votes which they can distribute as they like. Students can vote online at http://www.asm.wisc.edu April 7-10.
