A Moment with the ASM Chair

Eric Varney | 3/31/2006 3:36 pm | ...

As I sit here writing from the fifth floor of the Memorial Union--overlooking beautiful Langdon Street and a facade of the State Historical Society--I ponder what facet of ASM I should share with the public. From textbooks to Shadow Day, we're hard at work doing all kinds of great things to help students and make the University of Wisconsin a better place.

The textbook rental system, which is set to debut in late August, is currently in the works. The program will offer textbooks at a discounted price--assuming they are returned at semester end--for several classes. As of now, the Academic Affairs Committee has secured a commitment from a few professors to use the same textbook for at least four semesters. Some professors have been receptive to the idea of a rental system, while many unfortunately, have not. Concerns at this point, which are being hashed out by committee members, are mostly logistical. Students should be as excited as I am--this rental system is only months away from becoming a tangible reality.

Student Council has been meeting regularly to decide on important issues such as budgets and resolutions. Recently, Student Council debated and passed various resolutions to support keeping the Unions open at Halloween and denounce educational budget cuts by Congress. Additionally, all segregated fee budgets from SSFC were approved by Student Council and forwarded to Chancellor Wiley. We anticipate his response and look forward to working with the budgets further to ensure we, the students and administration, are in agreement on various issues.

Right about now you're probably thinking I'm going to sidestep the elections landmine and not say anything about it. I just wanted to whet your appetite first with some other student power glory. As you may have read--or are now reading--the ASM spring elections were stopped halfway through and will resume the week of April 3. The reasoning behind the temporary standstill is primarily related to technical errors caused by the unprecedented voter turnout.

When the elections resume, votes for referenda will be saved and recast automatically, while all votes already cast for representative seats will be erased and students will have to vote again. Although I personally don't agree with this plan, I'm very pleased to know that this election was on pace--which will hopefully continue--to have the highest voter turnout in history at the University of Wisconsin.

With only a month left at the helm, I've thoroughly enjoyed being the head of the student government. The ride has been tumultuous, but I've learned a lot, turned a few heads, and have tried to make this campus more enjoyable for all students.

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