With high turnover since the last session, UW-Madison students can expect to see changes in the way student government functions, past and present leaders said.
New Associated Students of Madison Chair Allie Gardner said while the learning curve for student government is steep, she thinks the new representatives will bring a fresh perspective to council.
""I think that everyone has tried to prepare themselves in a way that's going to best serve students, reach students and involve students,"" Gardner said. ""I think it's a good thing.""
But last year's Student Services Finance Committee Chair Matt Manes disagreed, saying the lack of experience on council is a ""huge issue"" ASM has faced before.
Manes does not expect to see this session of council accomplish as much as last session because they are ""more focused on social justice movements than on programs that will produce results for students.""
""The student leaders now in charge are representative of a different guiding philosophy, one in which student activism is at the forefront of their minds,"" Manes said.
Gardner, who formerly served as secretary for student advocacy group Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group, said it is ASM's duty to advocate for topics that impact students, like accessible public higher education.
""I think we're trying to engage and involve as many students as possible,"" Gardner said.
But last year's ASM Chair Brandon Williams said this session's council will be more likely to take stances on issues that not everyone on campus would agree with.
""Last year we tried to narrowly focus as much of what we could do on stuff that most of the campus would be 100 percent behind and by doing that we could focus on things that were really important and not stretch ourselves too thin,"" Williams said. ""I think that they might run into a problem with that kind of liberalized approach.""
Gardner said a wide range of political opinions is represented on this year's council, and she does not foresee ASM taking stances on issues they should not.
In a move decried by both Williams and Manes, ASM sent out a mass email to the student body with details about an upcoming rally for diversity last week. Gardner, however, says the message was designed to inform students, and did not constitute endorsement by the council.
Williams felt as if many people ran for positions this year because they were unhappy with decisions made by last session's council.
""It almost felt like an ousting of sorts, and there was not a whole lot of outreach to get information from us,"" Williams said.
New representatives ran for positions so they could address issues they didn't think last session adequately addressed, Gardner said.
