Last Wednesday, the Associated Students of Madison announced the resignation of five representatives. ASM Rep. Tom Templeton said he believes the students resigned not because of problems with the student government but due to prior commitments. After interviewing one of the ASM representatives who resigned, it turns out Templeton was right. The student stepped down from his role because it was taking too much time away from his position on the Homecoming Committee. He said he is under the impression the other representative left their posts for similar reasons.
Our board is disappointed in these representatives' lack of commitment to the student body. When a student decides to take on the job of making decisions in the name of 40,000 of his/her peers, this job should be their priority. If that means discontinuing participation in other extra-curriculars, so be it. We understand being a representative is a tedious, time-consuming job burdened with bylaw restrictions and public scrutiny, but it is a job they signed up for.
With that said, we need to look at what ASM is doing to prepare new representatives for the arduous task ahead of them. Candidates need to be well informed about what their job will entail. The representative said many of the students resigned because they were not aware of how overwhelming the job would be. ASM must provide clear job descriptions to candidates, so they know what to expect before they decide to run. We need a student government that is composed of individuals who are prepared for the job, put it above all other extra-curriculars and have a true desire to represent the interests of our entire student body.
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