For the past six months, the Associated Students of Madison’s 18th session has received a constant barrage of criticism from all sides pertaining to the organization’s general internal ineffectiveness. Any member of ASM knows and understands that the concerns for the organization put out by the media and general campus avenues are valid, at least to some extent. General student body members who are versed in the history of ASM also know that these concerns are not unique to this session.
So how do we mitigate these issues, and stop them from reoccurring in future sessions? Internal trainings are needed to increase constitutional, multicultural and policy competency. By allocating more time and resources to training representatives and officials within ASM, we can help build a stronger student association committed to the campus at large.
Every year ASM allocates nearly $1.5 million to train the staff and members of external parties, such as registered student organizations and student service divisions such as the Unions, the University Health Services, and the recreational sports facilities in order for those organizations to function effectively. Conversely, ASM only spends around $8,000 on internal training. These students are not only put in charge of the allocation and control of $40 million in student fees, but must also outreach to the general student body of over 42,000 students, work towards great accessibility and affordability of higher education, provide services that are not provided by the university, and advocate for UW-Madison students’ interests in the creation of university, local, and state programs and laws.
For the amount of work that goes into performing all of the aforementioned duties, $8,000 is a pitiful amount of resources to put towards training an organization that has an incredible amount of yearly turnover. ASM MUST put more resources into training ASM members if they truly want the organization to function as an effective voice for students.
Some would argue that increasing training for ASM officials would lead the organization to become even more internally focused, however this is flawed logic for several reasons. First, it is important to realize that much of the time wasted on internal policies during Student Council meetings is a direct result of a general lack of knowledge on the history of internal affairs and the proper way to go about changing and improving internal policy. Secondly, the training that ASM would provide would be available for student groups in conjunction with internal members, bringing even more ASM services to the student body at large. Lastly, ASM representatives would be able to use the skills they take from increased training to increase the value of the Wisconsin Experience. This in turn would increase the power of the student body in decisions pertaining to UW-Madison students on and off campus, and implement the Wisconsin Idea to the absolute fullest.
This article is endorsed by ASM Diversity Committee Chair Tangela Roberts, SSFC Representatives Justin Bloesch and Arturo Diaz and Student Council Representatives Niko Magallon, Clay Thomas and Tia Nowack. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
