Associated Students of Madison held its annual press conference Tuesday to announce the ASM Committee and Campaign fall semester objectives. The group presented plans for a collaborative effort to increase safety on campus, the forthcoming Student Activity Center and the ongoing Vote 2006 Coalition.
UW-Madison sophomore and Student Activity Center representative Allison Eddy took the podium to present ASM's relationship with the building and planning of the new Student Activity Center, currently under construction where University Square previously stood. ASM intends to receive student input on the design process and increase awareness on campus.
According to the list of the ASM Fall 2006 goals, ""By the end of the semester a minimum of 10,000 students will be able to explain what is happening at the University Square Construction Site.""
Following Eddy was UW-Madison junior and ASM vice chair Gestina Sewell presenting for the Vote 2006 Coalition. As the midterm elections approach, the coalition has been working to register, educate and mobilize UW-Madison students. Vote 2006 has been stationed at popular student sites such as Library Mall, in order to gain attention of students to register.
""Not only do people show interest in voting, they show interest in who they're voting for,"" Sewell said.
Vote 2006 will be holding a ""Get the Scoop and Vote"" ice cream social on Bascom Hill Oct. 16 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. to raise student interest. Students can get ice cream and register to vote before the Nov. 7 midterm elections. The last chance to register through student organizations is Oct. 18.
In light of recent safety concerns on campus, UW-Madison sophomore Kelly Arendt, intern with ASM's Campus Relations Committee, presented plans for a year-long campus safety program. The fall semester will be devoted to primarily gathering information on existing safety programs here and on other campuses. Arendt and the fellow committee members plan to work toward shared goals with a proposed coalition between campus police, Madison police and the Dean of Students Office.
Committee chair and UW-Madison junior Christie Penn commented, ""We're not saying that the university is doing a poor job, we're just working along with the university as well as other organizations to create a safer campus.""
