Since August, the Associated Students of Madison Legislative Affairs Committee, in collaboration with the UW Budget Coalition, has been consistently and effectively organizing interns and volunteers to lobby the Joint Finance Committee, gather student support, and build partnerships with administrators. Governor Doyle's budget has called for a 14-percent increase in tuition in the next two years, elimination of hundreds of essential staff positions, inadequate funding of financial aid and the complete lack of support for campus disability resources. On the bright side, some faculty will be rehired, and for the first time in 10 years, the UW System will be funded at a higher level than state corrections.
The UW-Madison administration seemed supportive in aligning their efforts with student interests. Therefore, I was disheartened and dismayed when numerous state representatives hinted that perhaps our campus administration was indeed not as committed to our mutual proposals as we had originally thought. In fact, I was outright told by two state senators that UW System lobbyists Don Nelson and Kristi Thorston had just had meetings with their offices and had blatantly advocated for a tuition increase for Madison students-the same tuition increase that they had vehemently abhorred to our faces. Our administrators and university representatives have sold us out under the guise of their unending, beneficent support.
Students would like the university's support in fighting to make sure that UW-Madison is accessible to all students. What we at least deserve from university representatives is the same honesty that we have granted them in the past.
Emily McWilliams
Chair
Associated Students of Madison
