Senate Finance, Food Permits, and SAO Drama

Last night’s meeting kicked off the Senate Finance Committee, and after only about an hour, I was left wanting for more. There’s something magical about SA after dark. Maybe it’s the empty union, or the intensity of seeing your peers on campus when you should be home relaxing, but something about nightly meetings really spices things up.

Although I’ve been waiting to begin the SFC process for months, things could have went horribly wrong tonight, as I was stuck at KFC (no that’s not another abbreviation for a committee, it actually is Kentucky Fried Chicken) for about 45 minutes. I thought my roommates and I would have ample time to pick up a doubledown sandwich or two before I had to be on campus, but thanks to a large order, and the slowest service imaginable, I came dangerously close to missing the meeting, and being ejected straight off the committee for good! Thankfully, I made it there just in time, and next time, I’ll make sure to allow more than an hour if I want to get takeaway before a big meeting.

Probably the most interesting point during the meeting was the ineligibility of every resource center, due to the plan to include these together in the Student Life Organizations block. Even though we ruled the Women’s Center, the LGBT Center, etc, ineligible for funding, only because we are going to fund them under a different module, it felt odd equating these important resources with ineligibility. I capped off a day filled with Student Activities Office tension, by being the second to a motion finding the Student Activities Office ineligible for funding, due to it being a duplicate service to the “Office of Student Life,” the new center to be put in place by SFC funding.

As for the tension before last night, yesterday morning I authored a new plan to reorganize food sale permits under the Union Reservation and Event Planning Services Office, instead of the Student Activities Office. This plan also includes an end to the previous “six food permits per zone per semester” policy, and replaces it with an unlimited number of food permits that can be issued, outside of six on campus buildings, instead of the previous zone system. The plan also increases the maximum number of food permits per Student Organization to five per semester, which I’m confident RSO’s will appreciate. Obviously, SAO did not seem pleased. I am awaiting an email from Eric Jessup-Anger and the SAO office, on when a meeting will take place to talk about the proposed changes. The plan already received the support of the Dining Services Committee, and I’m confident it will pass in the Senate. Regardless of SAO’s reservations, these changes will pass, and the students will have victory.

I received some good news yesterday, I am to be the subject of the UWM Post’s second “Know Your Government” senator profile, to be printed in next week’s issue. I’m excited to field some questions from the Post’s SA reporter, and I’m humbled by the honor of being featured in our campus newspaper.

The next SFC meeting is next weekend, and the committee will hear direct presentations from those institutions seeking segregated fee funds, including Athletics, which I’m looking forward to hearing from. I plan on working on legislation to be discussed at the next senate meeting also, including a proposed limit on the number of presentations per senate meeting, and a new procedure for filing complaints to the Union Policy Board.

-Red Menace out.

Late Report on the Eau Clair Trip

Better late than never, and know that I have the time, I suppose I'll fill everyone in on the UC trip to Eau Clair, as well as the non-eventful senate meeting.

The Trip to Eau Clair lasted from Friday to Sunday, and after experiencing the city, I can safely say I never want to set foot in Eau Clair for the rest of my life. Friday night was spent wandering around what passes for "downtown" and although Senators Johnson, Banks, and I had some fun, the overarching theme here is how terribly boring that city is.

As far as actual events at the UC trip, the most interesting was the REPS/UC merger. The presidents and vice presidents of all the UW schools, which make up REPS, decided to join with UC, making one united front. REPS will act as sort of an oversight on UC's actions, as well as set the budget UC operates off of. This change makes the current UC board of directors quick almost irrelevant, as they will cease to exist once the merger goes through. Now that Milwaukee is part of UC, the general consensus it that while there is a board of directors, we deserve representation on it. With that idea in mind, I ran for a seat during a meeting in which UC board vice-chair Dan Posca resigned, due to pressure from the organization about his racist/sexist comments, and general conduct.

The election would have went well, as the only schools in the meeting were Madison and Milwaukee, although since we're not technically current members of UC, we were allowed to put candidates forward, but not to vote for them. Safe to say, I lost that election. Nonetheless, I put up a good fight, and Milwaukee will have a seat on the board by January for sure.

The conference gave me the ability to get to know Max Love, the secretary of UC's board, as well as Sana Khan, also a board member. It was nice to see other progressive and passionate student representatives.

Once I get my hands on the legislation REPS passed, I'll fill the blog in on the new voting policies, and other substantial changes. Senate meetings have been pretty quiet, but with SFC coming up, it won't be long before the tidal wave hits the shore.

-Red Menace out.

Student Victories Press Release

The following is an official SA press release, which I'm posting here to assist my readers.


University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee sees many Student Victories

MIWAUKEE, WI; October 18th, 2010: The students of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee have won many recent victories over mismanagement, poor planning, and policies deemed unfriendly to students. The Student Association is proud to proclaim its new initiatives, dedicated to advancing student empowerment, and opening the door to further progress and development for every student.
On September 26th, the Student Association Senate unanimously passed legislation advocating changes in library policy. The “Equal Borrowing Privileges Act,” called for the immediate equalization of circulation privileges amongst UWM students, specifically calling for undergraduates to be allowed to loan periodicals, magazines, and journals. In response to the legislation, the University’s Library Policy Committee will meet next month, and several members of the committee are expecting it to pass without complications. If it does, it can be implemented as soon as next semester.
After an initial delay, the Student Association Senate, during a meeting on October 10th, passed the “Campus Life Commitment Act,” which grants an extension to the Student Activity Office’s controversial new student org renewal process. With knowledge that student organizations are the lifeblood of our campus, the Student Association will continue to seek ways to best address and alleviate the concerns of the student body. The Senate also passed a resolution supporting advocacy for more state funding to the University, and the UW system.
During its Vote Work initiative, which ended last Wednesday, the Student Association, along with members of the United Council of UW Students registered a total of 909 new voters on campus. “I’m pleased at the number of voters we registered. We generated lots of knowledge about the election, as well as the issues that are important to us as students.” said Angela Lang, Vice President of the Student Association. “We look forward to November, and expect to see many students going to the polls confident and informed about their decision.”
After almost six months, and much confusion, a total of $1300 will be heading to the Haiti Relief fund within days. The Senate Oversight and Rules Committee will deliver a report during the next Senate meeting, outlying a new procedure for collecting donations, and handling money. With careful planning, the Student Association will ensure similar confusion does not occur again.
Within weeks, the Senate Finance Committee will begin meeting to assess funding procedures for next year. The committee is dedicated to ensuring that every student funded enterprise is both financially responsible, as well as financially viable.
On Tuesday, October 19th, Student Association President Travis Romero-Boeck will be holding a “fireside chat” in the Union Fireside Lounge at 4:00 pm. This will be an open forum for students to ask questions and give input on campus issues, including the beginning of the Search and Screen Committee to pick a new Chancellor, of which Romero-Boeck is a member.
The UWM Student Association is the student’s voice that seeks out new and innovative ways to prompt positive change on campus and in the community. The Student Association creates a trustworthy and transparent relationship with all of the student body. For more information on the Student Association please visit www.sa.uwm.edu or contact Alex Kostal at 414.229.4366.
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United Council Decision, Press Release Drama

With 699 votes, and 68% of the total, UWM students decided to once again become part of the United Council of UW Students. In a surprisingly quick transformation of opinion from last year, the referendum was held without any sign of a “Vote NO” campaign. Be it an organizational restructuring improvement, or the free legal aide UC offers to its member campuses, most everyone involved in student politics voiced enthusiasm for once again becoming a member.

I’m satisfied with the result, and seeing how the fee charged to each student for UC membership is so small, and refundable at that, I’m not really surprised the outcome happened the way it did. I look forward to a warm partnership in the future, a partnership I’ll experience this weekend when damn near the entire Student Association heads up to Eau Clair to attend a UC convention.

Keeping the positive train rolling, I have issued a press release, detailing the recent student victories of the last month or so. I will post it here, so that readers may take note. As Public Relations Director, I’m gearing up to start polling students weekly on the state of the Student Association, as well as the campus, and the community. I’m looking forward to getting some feedback to what we as student representatives can do better. As Mao Zedong said, “we must always strive to serve the people,” and I plan on serving the students of UW-Milwaukee for a long, long time.

Whilst spreading my press releases today, I noticed that someone had plastered several double sided sheets of paper over them on the third floor org wing of the Union. A stunt like this brings Senator Campbell to mind, since she has been the only legitimate voice of outcry on the press releases going public. Why a member of the Student Association (of which every student is a member) would object to the posting of a SA press release on student victories on common space baffles me. Along with that, it is also a violation of the new UPB bylaws on posting privileges. Nonetheless, I will continue to post my release, without regard to the laws of man or beast. (which I’m actually not violating in any way.)

I’ll most likely update later on this week or Monday, on the happenings at the UC conference, and of course the Senate meeting this Sunday.

-Red Menace, out

Finding time to blog amidst Midterms

Sitting down in my favorite blogging chair, I’m glad to give myself a bit of a break from the constant rush of a week I’ve been having. With all able-bodied men, women, and children of the SA having being mobilized for the United Council Vote Initiative which ended today, I was honestly too busy to even give a report on Sunday’s senate meeting. Rather than attempt to do so now, I’ll just suffice to say it was a bit of an expected, if not uneventful meeting. With the happy exception of a few new senators being appointed, and the first outing for the newly elected Freshmen, it was quite uneventful. All of the old business, including the “Campus Life Act” and my “Senate Accountability Act” was passed, so look out wayward senators, and prepare for a quick and unforgiving dose of myself and Senator Ludwig’s blend of fast acting and hard hitting accountability. (BAM)

Unfortunately, and despite our best efforts, the SA failed to reach our goal of 2000 new voters registered on campus. I expect we’ll end up somewhere between 800-900. This is actually quite good for the number of volunteers we were forced to work with, which ended up being somewhere around 5-10. I wish the Senate would have done a bit more, and I’ll take the next chance to remind them to become a bit more active, during the next meeting.

A student-wide email went out today, naming 25 members of the Chancellor Search and Screen Committee. The two student representatives are the SA President and Vice President. I don’t know what screwed up math equation the board of regents was using to proportion the number of seats for the committee, but how did a campus of 30,000 students end up with only 2 student representatives on the committee? Bullshit.

I believe it would be a good decision for the two student representatives to call an informal committee to meet with interested students about the type of questions they want asked during the sessions. I believe as student representatives, they have a duty to listen to the concerns of the student body. I’ll bring this up to them ASAP. (no pun intended)

Also, the Union is donating $1,300 to the SA, which in turn will donate the full amount to the Haiti Relief Fund. It’s pretty generous of the Union to do this, although it’s a shame the original money was never found. And Katie, the Union donating money doesn’t prove your innocence, nor does it prove Michaels stole the money, if he did, why the hell wouldn’t Scott Gore fire him? Christ. This donation only shows that the Union is willing to move on from this embarrassing debacle, and keep the original goal in view, which was of course, donating money to Haiti.

I’ll try to be a bit more timely in updating, Menace fans (and Kyle) but being a full time student has its costs. I look forward to starting my new Public Relations Initiatives next week, which I’ll fill everyone in about later on.

Onwards and Upwards,

-Red Menace, out

The Press Release

*This is the official SA Press Release on the senate meeting of Sept. 26th. I am reposting it here, so as to help my readers understand what happened.*


Solo Student Association Senator denies Organization Renewal Extension

MIWAUKEE, WI; September 27th, 2010: A single member of the Student Association Senate blocked the passage of the “Campus Life Act,” legislation aimed at extending the deadline for the Student Activities Office’s controversial new org renewal program. The new process, which was put into effect with no formal student consent or review, requires student organizations to navigate a lengthy online process, submit paperwork and documentation of officers, and attend mandatory org renewal trainings. Student organizations not renewed stand to lose their status as a registered organization by the University, causing them to lose funds, office space, and supplies that they have been allocated.
During the vote on the “Campus Life Act,“ Letters and Science Senator Anahit Campbell voiced the lone objection to the bill. When pressed for her reasons, she questioned why SA officials had not first spoken to SAO with their complaints. Student Association President Travis Romero-Boeck assured the senate that he had been in contact with SAO numerous times, and had been unable to work out a compromise. Due to the Student Association’s bylaws, non-budgetary legislation passed without unanimous consent must wait two meetings to take effect. By the next senate meeting, the detrimental effects the renewal process will have already taken their course. After a budgetary amendment was added to the bill, and the approval vote was commencing, Senator Campbell walked off the Senate floor and waited to hear that quorum wasn’t reached before leaving.
The Student Association considers student organizations critical to the wellbeing of campus life, and denounces Senator Campbell’s brazen disregard for the opinions of her constituents, and the campus community at large. “It is our responsibility as student representatives to support organizations on campus,” stated fellow senator Moondancer Drake, “I can’t understand how anyone could feel differently.” Due to the lack of quorum created by Campbell’s absence, over twenty student committee posts were left unapproved, leaving many committees without representation until the next senate meeting, later in October. Student Association officials are seeking alternate methods to allow student organizations time to renew in a student-friendly manner. “Student organizations are at the heart of the UWM campus community. I truly believe it is the duty of the Student Association to ensure that the interests of student organizations are represented,” stated Romero-Boeck.
The UWM Student Association is the student’s voice that seeks out new and innovative ways to prompt positive change on campus and in the community. The Student Association creates a trustworthy and transparent relationship with all of the student body. For more information on the Student Association please visit www.sa.uwm.edu or contact Alex Kostal at 414.229.4366.

Another eventful meeting

Every time I enter a senate meeting, I don't know what's going to happen. I may have an agenda, I may have spoken with senators beforehand, but each and every senate meeting is completely unscripted, and no matter how many senators seem agreeable and non-confrontational, chances are they'll be some drama. Yesterday's meeting was no different.

Senator Ludwig and I had been working on a accountability bill during the week before yesterday. Its aim was to nail down all branches of the SA to a common code of conduct, including writing weekly activity reports, recording hours, and appearing before the senate. We decided the best course of action would be to submit chunks of the bill bit by bit, until the goals were met. This included submitting a small piece of legislation setting the number of demerit points needed for removal from the senate at 12. We wished to go lower, to 9, but were informed a bill with 9 points would receive a presidential veto. After what happened later on in the meeting, its no surprise Travis isn't keen to depopulate the senate.

Besides that, I also had my "Equal Borrowing Privileges Act" up for consideration, which I'm proud to say passed unanimously early on in the meeting. After a lengthy opening, it was realized that the speaker had missed over twenty committee appointments when making the agenda, they would have to be added near the end. One of the largest bills up for consideration was the "Campus Life Act" which sought to extend the deadline for SAO's student org renewal process. Long story short, Senator Campbell and Kadulski left the meeting, which broke quorum, not allowing an extension, and also removing any chance of the committee posts being appointed. I've spent all day writing up versions of this story, so I'll just re-post the official SA press release on what happened. More info will be given soon.

-Red Menace out.