ASM “Continue to Raise” Campaign Passed, Wunk Sheek Highlights Native November
Posted: 2022-11-10 10:26:14 Expiration: 2032-11-17 20:26:14
Associated Students of Madison
333 East Campus Mall, 4301 Student Activity Center, Madison, WI
Website: asm.wisc.edu Phone: 608/265-4ASM
E-mail: press@asm.wisc.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
10 November 2022
CONTACT:
Meghan Savaglia, Press Office Director
press@asm.wisc.edu
262.441.1041
ASM “Continue to Raise” Campaign Passed, Wunk Sheek Highlights Native November
MADISON, WI — The Associated Students of Madison Student Council met this Wednesday, November 9th at 6:30 p.m. to discuss new and old legislation presented to the Student Council. Topics included the “Continue to Raise” minimum wage campaign, the end of the UWS SGA organization, and a presentation from indigenous student organization Wunk Sheek.
The “Continue to Raise” Campaign, presented and sponsored by Chair Ndemazea Fonkem, is a formal ASM campaign proposal to target rising affordability issues on campus via campus wage rates. ASM has been in the unique position over the last two sessions to raise its own wage and the wage of GSSF groups supported by ASM. Many internal questions have been raised over the ethicality of this process. The legislation presents a continuous commitment to raising the wage standards for all student workers on campus, ASM student workers included. Chair Fonkem noted, both in the legislation and verbally, that “the Fight for Fifteen [movement] began in 2012… and we’re only just now seeing that number be reached.” Other information included in the legislation noted large freshman class numbers over the past five years, as well as cost of living rates for Madison sitting higher than both state and national averages. The chair requested that the legislation be voted on at the following ASM Student Council meeting, and it can be viewed here.
Legislative Affairs Chair MGR Govindarajan brought news of the end of talks around the UWS SGA. After the UW-Milwaukee Student Association failed to ratify the UWS SGA Constitution, eight other UW student governments met and decided to discontinue action towards the UWS SGA. A resolution was made between these eight schools to continue efforts towards creating a statewide student government organization. With this, Section 8 Bylaw Amendments previously passed once through Student Council were removed at the meeting tonight, as well as ratification of the UWS SGA Constitution originally passed through Student Council.
The FY24 ASM Budget was also passed for the second and final time by Student Council, and will now move on to be assessed by the Student Services Finance Committee.
Finally, in light of “Native November,” indigenous student organization Wunk Sheek presented to the Student Council about their organization, as well as events hosted by the group occurring throughout the month of November. Kira Adkins and Kalista Cadotte, both executive board members, shared the importance of Wunk Sheek for indigenous students on campus. Wunk Sheek, a member of the Indigenous Student Center on campus, describes their mission as serving “students of indigenous identity and members of the UW-Madison community interested in indigenous issues, culture, and history.”
Adkins, Social Justice Chair of Wunk Sheek shared more on Native November. “Our theme this month is ‘Recognition’... and each person has a different definition, but for me, ‘recognition’ is recognizing all our accomplishments despite everything that’s still happening to us. The fact that so many of us can succeed.”
“It really is a community, it really is like a family, and that is what all of our tribes were, and what all of our tribes are today, is this democratic show of leadership and diversity of voices.”
The Indigenous Student Center is located at 215 N. Brooks Street, and is currently set to be demolished at an undetermined time for construction of the Levy Humanities building. Mecha, a historically Latine organization seeking to build empowerment of underrepresented identities on campus, and Zoe Bayliss Housing Cooperative are also being displaced by the Levy building construction.
Wunk Sheek highlighted their ongoing struggle for information about demolition of 215 N. Brooks Street, as well as information on where they and other Indigenous Student Center organizations will be housed in the future.
Cadotte, Member Engagement Chair, shared the importance of finding allies on campus to support their mission and housing struggle. “We need to go beyond recognition, or our land acknowledgments on campus, and I think that even that has work to be done… We really do need those allies on campus, it can’t just be us, because our voices don’t usually get heard from administration.”
For more information on Wunk Sheek and the Indigenous Student Association, visit here. Follow Wunk Sheek on Instagram @wunksheek for more information on their Native November events.
The next Student Council meeting will be on Wednesday, November 30th 2022 at 6:30 p.m. at 333 E. Campus Mall in the Student Activities Center.
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-- Associated Students of Madison: Meghan Savaglia