Last Meeting of the 30th Session Calls for UWPD Advisory Council and Food Accessibility Legislation
Posted: 2024-04-18 00:55:18 Expiration: 2034-04-25 20:55:18
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
18 April 2024
CONTACT:
Kate O’Malley, Press Office Director
press@asm.wisc.edu
262.665.8800
Last Meeting of the 30th Session Calls for UWPD Advisory Council and Food Accessibility Legislation
MADISON, WI — The Associated Students of Madison Student Council met for the last meeting of the 30th session on Wednesday, April 17th to discuss reimagining the UWPD Advisory Council and create a new Food Access Coordinator position in the University. Additional discussion centered around grants, bylaw changes, SACGB space allocations, and more.
The meeting started off with a presentation given by the Student Affairs Strategic Initiative team on “Enhancing the RSO Experience.” The team’s goal was to get feedback from ASM on their plans to develop a uniquely Wisconsin student leadership experience for RSOs, involving advisor requirements and a 3-tiered accreditation program.
The meeting then went into Open Forum, where various students stated their support for both the Food Access Coordinator Legislation and the UWPD Police Advisory Council (PAC) Legislation. Students Chloe Shomo and Ashley Hagen presented their cases for the Food Access position, highlighting statistics from the Sustainability Committee’s Food Access Survey which indicated 20% of UW students suffer from food insecurity. Speakers Quinn Henneger, Forrest Johnson, and Representative Jess Harlan spoke of their support for the PAC Legislation in light of February’s events where a UWPD officer pushed a student to the ground during a protest.
Next, the meeting opened the floor to new legislation. Both the Grant Allocation Committee Allocations and the FY25 Operations Grants Allocations were approved via unanimous consent. The Reimagining UWPD Advisory Council Legislation was introduced by Anti-Violence Chair Landis Varughese which calls to reimagine the council and the role that UW students serve in it, upon the abrupt ending of monthly meetings in October. This legislation would bring back the monthly meetings, require six students to serve on the council, add a “student quorum”, and make the process generally more accessible and inclusive to its purpose as a shared governance committee. The legislation was passed via a roll call vote and can be viewed here.
Following this, the Food Access Coordinator Legislation was proposed by the ASM Sustainability Committee. This legislation calls upon ASM to campaign for the position of a Food Access Coordinator within the university, which would serve as a point of contact for students to gain access to resources and address food insecurity concerns on campus. It calls upon the University to maintain their commitment to support student’s basic needs and expand basic resource availability. The legislation was also passed via affirmation vote and can be viewed here.
Further business entailed passing the Student Activity Center (SAC) space allocations for 2024-25 and approving updated ASM leadership position descriptions. Additionally, Internal Affairs Standing Rules were approved in order to clarify and outline the procedures and rules that the committee follows to both students and Student Council members. Finally, there was a change to ASM Bylaws for the purpose of promoting continuity during transitions of leadership positions to ensure efficiency and productivity amidst sessions. This legislation was passed via roll call vote and can be viewed here.
The next Student Council meeting, and the first of the 31st session, will be held on Wednesday, April 24th at 6:00 p.m. at 333 East Campus Mall.
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-- Associated Students of Madison: Kate O’Malley