The Associated Students of Madison is having a rough month. Since new leadership took over in the summer, ASM gave birth to a somewhat heretical student government and in turn received harsh but justified criticisms from members of the 17th session. Former ASM Chair Brandon Williams even tweeted, ""It might just be me, but the @asmstudentgovt is starting to look and feel a lot like the WISPIRG office. Take it or leave it."" While bold, the tweet is probably true.
Although ASM's intentions still lie in the interest of the student body, as a journalistic observer I can't help but wonder whether students are actually running ASM this year or just running it to the ground. After analyzing the news and witnessing what former ASM leaders write in a North Park Street blog post as, ""a scandal of near-epic proportion for ASM,"" I can't help but conclude the latter.
ASM Chair Allie Gardner and recently removed Vice Chair Beth Huang seem to be a bit under-qualified and a bit overly humanitarian for their positions. However, I admit their hearts are in the right place. They understand the importance of attracting broad and diverse membership as well as the significance of protecting student rights. But, it can be argued their methods in doing so have been a bit unorthodox.
That said, I am able to cope with this session's new activist mindset and brush off obvious traces of WISPIRG. This is most notably seen in Gardner's former position with the organization as well as a hunger and homelessness project that some ASM members are attempting to tackle. I'm also able to overlook ASM's sponsorship of a diversity rally organized in response to an admissions study released by a conservative think-tank against UW-Madison. I'm even able to forget Gardner's fallacies about not endorsing the rally that I personally witnessed Huang speak passionately at.
So what's really the big fuss?
Sadly, at ASM's rate, there might not be anyone left to even answer that question. And if it hadn't been for last week's Student Judiciary motion to remove Huang and Nominations Board Chair Niko Magallon, my sentiments toward the organization would still be hanging on by a golden thread. Unfortunately, this was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Huang and Magallon were recently removed from their seats after a futile battle with the SJ over simple semantics of a previous ruling. Last year, Huang and Magallon were caught campaigning to students in campus residence halls—a move that directly clashes with ASM bylaws. In response, the SJ ordered the two to write an apology letter and complete 20 hours of community service by Sept. 15, 2011.
Huang and Magallon wrote their letters and submitted their hours on the night of Sept. 15, 2011. Because they recorded their hours on Sept. 15 rather than by Sept. 15, they were removed from their posts. Stupid.
While I didn't fully endorse Huang to begin with, it is completely ridiculous that a prominent leader of our student government is stripped of her title due to a simple communication error. If the hours were completed and turned in, then both Huang and Magallon paid their dues. Yes, the ramifications were scanty and yes the way in which they were completed are suspect, but that was the deal SJ made and, in my eyes, Huang and Magallon held up their end of the bargain.
This ruling only furthers ASM's clear lack of stability and consistency among its leaders, which creates grave uncertainty for the direction of ASM. According to a Daily Cardinal article, ""Huang said it took her three months to transition into her position as Vice Chair, and that nobody can make that changeover in one week's time. She said during that period she met with 50 to 100 different faculty, staff and administration members on campus, as well as student organizations.""
There is absolutely no way that a new vice chair and Nominations Board chair have the time and capacity to transition into these positions in a matter of weeks. Losing Huang and Magallon stretches ASM extremely thin. It is important that SJ take this into immense consideration before declaring a simple deadline mix-up the reason for the removal of Huang and Magallon in their upcoming appeal.
UW-Madison students have enough trouble keeping up with ASM as it is. Confusion over who is or isn't leading our student government mirrors the zoo that is now Wisconsin's Capitol—drama UW-Madison students don't need. It goes without saying that the council's new leaders have been questionable thus far, but their removal should not be based on a matter as trivial as a deadline confusion. Among other things, the SJ's decision to vacate two prominent positions only strengthens my contempt for ASM's actions this year and furthers my disappointment. As of now, this ASM versus ASM battle has no rightful victor.
Sam Witthuhn is a senior majoring in political science and journalism. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com
