The Associated Students of Madison (ASM)’s Justice, Equity & Belonging committee (JEB) released a statement Tuesday calling for students to support diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in response to university-wide budget cuts.
“University administration has made decisions that compromise direct avenues for the support of marginalized students,” they wrote. “These changes will make it harder for many to succeed and they will result in losses felt in daily life, impacting students’ sense of identity and belonging on campus.”
In early July, UW-Madison announced itwould ‘sunset’ the Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement, moving their services and staff to other administrative units. “Fewer than 10” employees of the Division were also laid off that day.
At the time, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said “diversity of viewpoint” and “diversity of identity and background” would continue to be a “core value” of UW-Madison.
JEB’s statement Tuesday voiced concern with what they called a “lack of clarity and transparency from university administration about the future of DEI at UW-Madison.”
“Although some of these changes have been announced to the student body,” they wrote, “the language included offers ambiguous commitments to supporting marginalized students, while simultaneously eroding existing structures designed for that goal.”
The statement also said the changes occurred without student knowledge or input, which JEB claims violates the principle of shared governance: the ability of students, faculty and staff to advise administrators on university decisions that is enshrined in Wisconsin state law.
JEB also called students to action, urging them to support student cultural centers, affinity groups and equity-based organizations on campus. They also implored “identity-based” and “equity-oriented” student organizations to “prioritize dialogue” with each other, alongside staff and faculty.
“The historical gains in equity on this campus exist because marginalized communities refused erasure and organized relentlessly against the university’s shortcomings; the tradition we honor is not one of administrative generosity, but one of resistance,” JEB wrote. “Our role is to ensure that equity is not treated as optional, but as essential to the life of every Badger on campus.”
JEB will have its first meeting on Sept. 23 in the Caucus room of the Student Activities Center. The meetings are open to the public and recur biweekly.
Annika Bereny is the campus news editor for The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as the special pages editor. As a staff writer, she's written in-depth on campus news specializing in protest policy, free speech and historical analysis. She has also written for state and city news. She is a History and Journalism major. Follow her on Twitter at @annikabereny.
