FACES Slate becomes the FACES caucus within ASM!

This is the list of Candidates from the FACES slate who were elected in the Spring Election and currently serve as Student Representatives on the Associated Students of Madison Student Council and are members of the FACES caucus:

College of Letters & Sciences:

Theotis Sharpe
http://www.facebook.com/profile.phpid=1226220425#/group.php?gid=64537562097&ref=mf

Jonah Zinn
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1226220425#/group.php?gid=62102492869

Alexandra Harris
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1226220425#/group.php?gid=78603759621&ref=ts

Eric Hoyt
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=83971546762&ref=mf

Martenzie Johnson
http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=martenzie+johnson+for+asm&init=quick#/group.php?gid=63951369076&ref=search&sid=8630797.3421736280..1

Brian Benford

SSFC:

Kyle Szarzynski,
Jake Burrow

Graduate School:

Elizabeth Wrigley-Field,
Katrina Flores

Keep an eye out for additions to the list as the FACES caucus gains support and numbers within the Student Council.

FACES Caucus Members in ASM Committees!

Hey all,

Just an update for everyone about the ASM Grassroots Campaign Committees and Shared Governance Committees FACES caucus members have stacked and are involved in.

Academic Affairs:

Jonah Zinn (Chair of Committee)
Eric Hoyt

Diversity:

Alexandra Harris,
Theotis Sharpe,
Elizabeth Wrigley-Field,
Eric Hoyt

Nominations Board:

Theotis Sharpe (Chair of Committee),
Katrina Flores,
Eric Hoyt

Student Services Finance Committee:

Kyle Szarzynski,
Jake Burrow

Share Governance Committee:

Martenzie Johnson

Labor Licensing Policy Board:

Jonah Zinn,
Eric Hoyt

LTE Advisory Committee:

Eric Hoyt

There may be more folks I'm missing so let me know of any corrections.

In Solidarity,

Eric Hoyt

Updated Candidate and Endorsement List

These are the links to the pages of Candidates of the FACES slate running to be your Representatives:

College of Letters & Sciences:

Theotis Sharpe
http://www.facebook.com/profile.phpid=1226220425#/group.php?gid=64537562097&ref=mf

Jonah Zinn
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1226220425#/group.php?gid=62102492869

Alexandra Harris
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1226220425#/group.php?gid=78603759621&ref=ts

Eric Hoyt
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=83971546762&ref=mf

Rebekah Blocker
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=98850686368

Brian Benford

Tyler Hawks

Nathan Maney
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=71468451820

Michael Rogers

Sam Stevenson
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=70030186789&ref=mf

SSFC:

Kyle Szarzynski

Adam Breihan
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=64943202814

Graduate School:

Elizabeth Wrigley-Field

Katrina Flores
(write-in)

CALS:

Evan Hurley
(write in)

Law School:

Gunercindo Espinoza
(write-in)

Endorsements:

Wunk Sheek
Students for Choice
Justice for Palestine
Student Labor Action Coaltion (SLAC)
Student Progressive Dane (SPD)
International Socialist Organization (ISO)
Campus Anti-War Network (CAN)
African Students Association
Queer People of Color (QPOC)
Progressive-Student Alliance (PSA)
Pathways for Excellence
Movimiento Estudantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA)
Multicultural Student Coalition (MCSC)

Vote for members of the FACES slate today!

Vote for members of the FACES slate today!

FACES stands for For Accessibility, Community, and Empowerment of Students. We are a broad coalition of students with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We are all experienced organizers who continuously work on issues that affect and concern students. We will make a difference in the Madison community and will take up issues that matter to YOU.

Here is a summary of our platform:
1.Student Empowerment
2.Accessibility and Affordibility of Higher Education
3.Advocating for Safety
4.Increasing Diversity
5. Environmental Responsibility
6. Accountable Representation

Please also vote YES today for the United Council refferendum to ensure that students' voices are heard.

YOU CAN VOTE TODAY (4/13-4/15) AT http://www.asm.wisc.edu/

These are the Candidates of the FACES slate running to be your Representatives:

College of Letters & Sciences:

Theotis Sharpe
Jonah Zinn
Alexandra Harris
Eric Hoyt
Rebekah Blocker
Brian Benford
Tyler Hawks
David Ellington Wright
Nathan Maney
Michael Rogers
Sam Stevenson

SSFC:

Kyle Szarzynski
Adam Breihan

Graduate School:

Elizabeth Wrigley-Field

CALS:

Evan Hurley (please write-in)

We are supported by a broad list of student organizations who believe that we will make a difference in ASM:

Wunk Sheek
Students for Choice
Justice for Palestine
Student Labor Action Coaltion (SLAC)
Student Progressive Dane (SPD)
International Socialist Organization (ISO)
Campus Anti-War Network (CAN)
African Students Association
Queer People of Color (QPOC)
Progressive-Student Alliance (PSA)
Pathways for Excellence

Please join us on Library Mall on Monday at 1:00pm for a rally.

FACES Candidates for the ASM Election

These are the links to the pages of Candidates of the FACES slate running to be your Representatives:

College of Letters & Sciences:

Theotis Sharpe
http://www.facebook.com/profile.phpid=1226220425#/group.php?gid=64537562097&ref=mf

Jonah Zinn
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1226220425#/group.php?gid=62102492869

Alexandra Harris
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1226220425#/group.php?gid=78603759621&ref=ts

Eric Hoyt
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=83971546762&ref=mf

Rebekah Blocker
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=98850686368

Brian Benford

Tyler Hawks

David Ellington Wright

Nathan Maney
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=71468451820

Michael Rogers

Sam Stevenson
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=70030186789&ref=mf

SSFC:

Kyle Szarzynsky

Adam Breihan

Graduate School:

Elizabeth Wrigley-Field

CALS:

Evan Hurley
(write in)

For Accessibility, Community, and Empowerment of Students (FACES) Slate Platform

Increasing Grassroots involvement in Student Issues

FACES sees that there is a huge problem in student power in that students do not feel as if they can make a difference in their community. We want to make sure that every student’s voice is heard and that every student feels like they can affect the outcome of issues on campus. FACES, which comprises much of the Vote No Coalition that overwhelmingly defeated the proposed ASM Constitution, understands the power and the process of grassroots organizing.
• We will address and tackle issues that affect the lives of students and that provoke student concerns thereby empowering them to take initiative.
• FACES will make the activities of ASM very public so that as many students as possible are aware that these problems are being addressed.
• Since student groups are a key component in grassroots organizing on campus FACES will reach out to as many groups as possible in order to create as wide of a coalition as possible, gaining support for our initiatives. This will involve making sure that student groups receive adequate funding. Also, we will use the grassroots committees to their fullest potential by utilizing them to unite students and conduct campaigns.

Improving Affordability and Accessibility of higher education

In these tough economic times it is more important than ever that as many people as possible receive higher education. We do not believe that the university’s money woes should be all passed on to working students and working families who will not be able to pay off their debts for many years. We see this as one of the most important issues plaguing students at the UW Madison and one that has gone unaddressed for far too long. Education is a right and no one should be excluded based on economic status.
• We will lobby the university and our legislators directly.
• Propose a shared governance committee to monitor university spending and make sure that unnecessary costs are not passed onto students and working families.
• FACES will make sure that any tuition increases correspond with dollar for dollar increases in financial aid and that the financial aid process is fair.

Encouraging a safe campus climate opposed to harassment and sexual violence

Students at the University of Wisconsin must feel safe at all times in all places in and around campus. Safety is important now more than ever to ensure that students understand that they are protected by the university and that the university will not stand for assaults on its members. We will use both education and heightened safety precautions to ensure the peace of mind of Madison students.
• We will start an education campaign about rape and sexual violence using campus groups. This education will be made public and readily available to all students. Also we will survey the existing programs and propose alterations if they do not adequately educate students.
• While Blue Safety phones are available throughout Lakeshore, few can be found in Southeast or along main off-campus locations. We will push for more phones to be added to the campus and surrounding areas.
• In order to make rapes and sexual assaults easily reportable we will propose to have the rape hotline in student wisc cards in order to ensure that no crimes go unreported and that they are dealt with adequately and promptly.
• We will reform safe ride and safe walk to ensure that they can effectively handle the volume of requests they receive. The safe ride and safe walk systems are good ideas but have many current limitations such as only covering a limited area and having a relatively small staff to handle the number of students who may need assistance on weekends. FACES will try to increase the budgets of these systems or revamp their structures to ensure that students are protected and safe when they need to be.

Improving Diversity Standards and Tolerance

We recognize that the University of Wisconsin is undergoing a serious diversity crisis. Minorities have not been actively recruited and those who have have felt alienated in a largely homogeneous school. Not only have diversity programs, like Plan 2008, failed, funding for diversity programs, centers, and scholarships is being rolled-back. We see this as unacceptable and as detrimental to progress in Wisconsin.
• We will push for a more diverse faculty by advocating for domestic partner benefits and a incentives for minority professors to come to Madison. Efforts that contribute to campus diversity, such as mentoring students from underrepresented minority groups, should count positively toward tenure decisions as well.
• FACES will advocate for increased finding of minority scholarships, such as the PEOPLE program, and will insist that these programs are not reduced.
• One of our first priorities will be to make sure that students who choose to live on the multi-cultural residence floor do not have to pay extra to live there. We understand that creating a sense of community is key in the retention of minority students and that adding this extra fee discourages diversity in Madison.
• We will insist that elected members of ASM and SSFC take a diversity training class. Many members of ASM are not in touch with every student and every point of view on campus. Therefore, we want to make sure that ASM makes decisions fairly and with the full knowledge of the consequences of their actions.
• We will use our lobbying power to make sure that diversity issues are tackled within Bascom Hall and within the capitol.

Advocating for Environmental Responsibility


The UW- Madison is extremely wasteful and oblivious to the environmental consequences of their actions. Not only do these wasteful practices affect our environment, but they force the university to over spend, taking money away from much needed programs.
• We will strive to get the university to reduce waste in general including in UW dining halls where enormous amounts of perfectly good food is simply thrown out every day, advocating for increased use of biodegradable products and shifting away from Styrofoam use, making sure that recycling programs are adhered to, increasing the use of fair trade products, and in decreasing energy use overall.
• Finally, we believe that for the general health of our campus and for the beauty of our surroundings we must cut back on pesticide use.

Creating Responsible and Accountable Representation

Our current ASM leadership is not in tune with the student body and is out of touch with the needs of this campus. We will be extremely transparent in our process and be very open to student input. Furthermore, by using grassroots organizing we will make sure that our decisions reflect the interests of the student body.
• By holding semester listening sessions, making ourselves available, and being as transparent as possible we will create a leadership that recognizes that every student in this university is an associated student of Madison and deserves to be heard.
• In order to meet our goals we will take advantage of the lobbying opportunities both within the university and in the capitol.
• In order for our university and its leaders to be responsible we will make sure that UW-Madison is investing in socially responsible causes.

Vote no today! Polls open until 9 PM!

Vote no now at: http://asm.uwsc.wisc.edu

You have until 9 PM tonight to vote!

Tell your friends to vote NO!

PAVE Chair Outlines Constitutional Concerns

Today is day two to vote on the proposed ASM Constitution. In the spirit of informing voters, I would like to share some of my thoughts as a fellow student and as a member of an organization funded by Student Segregated Fees. First, this constitutional amendment is not a reform, it is an all out restructure. We need real reform in ASM. The problem with our student government is not its structure, but its current leadership. Second, a powerful executive branch will transfer power away from student committees. ASM was revamped eight years ago to be a grassroots organization in order to give students the space to exert their influence on this campus. Reverting to a top-down system changes the structure of ASM, effectively changing the role of student voices in our governing body. Finally, despite the quantity of listening sessions held after the constitution had already been drafted, students were not really engaged in the "reform" of ASM. Listening sessions were announced on the day of (one session announced via e-mail half of an hour after it had started) and did not provide meaningful space for students to provide feedback that was counter to the vision of the drafters. I think that if the Constitutional Committee had implemented what students have to say, we would be voting on a proposed reform to ASM that would not reinvent the wheel, that would propose changes to reflect what we have learned from the past and current structure of ASM, and would leave the agency of students intact. For the benefit of the student body and the future of ASM, vote "No" today at http://asm.uwsc.wisc.edu/

Ally Cruickshank
PAVE (Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment)

Vote No! Monday and Tuesday!

Vote No Today at http://asm.uwsc.wisc.edu

Spread the word to all your friends!!!

ASM's Past

This is a really insightful article written back in 1999 (ASM's heyday) by Ben Manski, a leftist student leader at the time who is still very active here in Madison.

http://www.zmag.org/zmag/viewArticle/13329

This is a passage about ASM and its role in progressive activism that culminated in two sit-ins for student empowerment and against sweatshop labor in 1999 and 2000:

"The Associated Students of Madison is the campus student association, representing the 37,000+ students of UW-Madison. ASM is a rank and file organization in the sense that every student is a member, and that all ASM campaigns and most committees are open to all students. ASM is led by an elected 33-person council, which sets policy and priorities for the organization, and allocates millions of dollars to student organizations and services. In 1998, the radical UNITY! slate won 16 of 33 seats on the Council. The new ASM leadership established the ASM Social Responsibility Campaign, which among other things, took a lead on the sweatshop issue.

ASM, as the campus student association, is unquestionably the most broad-based student organization at UW-Madison; it also has the largest number of members not only on paper, but also in terms of active members. The involvement of ASM leadership in the occupation meant that many students took part in the occupation that had never participated in direct action before. It also meant that the occupation had greater credibility with the Administration and the media as being an action that students in general supported.

ASM resources proved essential in ensuring the success of the occupation. Tools such as quality walkie-talkies, portable computers, cell phones, and megaphones were all readily available due to ASM involvement; the ASM offices and ASM staff organizers, along with the UW Greens Infoshop, served as the main base of support work for phone banking, web and email updates, media work, and so on.

ASM elections provided a forum for students to ratify or reject the goals of the occupation by referenda. Students generally showed their support for the goals of the occupation in the February 23-25 elections by passing the anti-sweatshop referenda with over 76 percent of the vote."

The fact is is indisputable: ASM was once a hardcore, effective grassroots organization. Founded by campus radicals back in 1994, the organization was designed to run political campaigns, which it did quite successfully on a number of issues (as outlined in the article above). It was the focal point for political action on campus in a way that is almost incomprehensible less than a decade later. Its many achievements include affirmative action advocacy, divestment from Burma, groundbreaking anti-sweatshop work and even a tuition freeze.

Hell, ASM even forced a Chancellor to resign. The 2000 sit-in featured 55 students, including the ASM Chair and Vice Chair, who chain-locked themselves to the Chancellor's office demanding sweatshop-free apparel and increased student control over the university's operations. (As Manski writes above, the sit-in and preceding movement were led and organized by ASM's Social Responsibility Campaign.) The riot police were called in and mass arrests were made amidst a large student protest. The student and local community loudly and actively opposed the Chancellor's actions, forcing his resignation soon thereafter. Before stepping down he committed UW to joining the Workers Rights Consortium, making it one of the boldest advances against sweatshop labor taken by any major American university at the time.

Aside from its structure, what made ASM a success at the time were the people who occupied its positions. For several years, the campus radicals - CAN, SPD, MCSC types - controlled a majority of the seats on the Student Council. The UNITY slate was the banner under which they operated.

As radical involvement declined in ASM, so too did the organization's effectiveness. As moderate students came to control the organization and made attempts to "govern" when not studying for their Poli Sci classes, ASM degenerated into the do-nothing body that we know today. Perhaps the last gasp of radical energy in ASM was the unsuccessful hunger strike for lower tuition in 2005. This was also the last year that progressive students ran a slate of candidates for the Student Council. Since then, the activist-progressive crowd has operated almost completely independently of ASM, to the detriment of both groups.

Since the Student Council has given up on what it was designed to do, it has become a joke - and now, conservative forces have found their opening. What we are currently witnessing with the new Constitution is really just the culmination of a multi-year conservative backlash - as symbolized by the recent logo change. If the other side gets their way, ASM will never again be the principal channel for campus activism.

For those who feel differently and want to return ASM to its roots, defeating the Constitution is a first and imperative step. I will join ASM members in congratulating the Constitutional Committee in rekindling interest in our student government. For the first time since I've been on campus, the left is actually taking an interest in ASM, operating as an organized force to change it for the better. Regardless of the result of next week's elections, the growing and energized campus left will be a force in ASM come this year, the next, and into the future.

Constitutional Developments

The Vote No campaign has recently received endorsements from MEChA, Sex Out Loud and the Teaching Assistants' Association, among others. From talking with representatives from these and other groups, it is clear that both political and nonpolitical student organizations and their members have a vested concern in defeating the new document. This is especially true of powerful groups like the TAA which can relate to the intended grassroots structure of the current ASM - and precisely what the revisions intend to destroy.

Several other groups are also sympathetic toward our side, but are reluctant to give an official endorsement to the campaign due to intimidation from at least one member of the Constitutional Committee. Given the almost complete lack of grassroots support for the Constitution, it's not a surprise that the Committee would have to resort to such tactics as making threats to group funding to curb the anti-Constitution momentum.

With a completely united progressive front against the Constitution, and with many non-progresive supporters as well, the Vote No Coalition looks exactly how an effective, grassroots movement on campus should: We are a large, democratic and diverse front of students who are connected to the organizational backbone of campus social, cultural and political life. Our side intends to achieve victory not through bribery, threats or backroom deals, but through a an energetic activism and confidence in the superiority of our arguments.

Constitution Coverage

The Herald does a good job outlining the arguments of the anti-Constitution coalition:

http://badgerherald.com/news/2009/01/22/campus_groups_critic.php#add

The Cardinal is predictably clueless and continues to give only one side of the story. (It is interesting to note the (stated) intensity that the pro-Constitution forces intend to put behind the campaign. I doubt it will amount to much, however. Reporters should also closely monitor the student seg fee money that ASM intends to spend on "education" efforts around the Constitution. Are we really to believe that this won't have a pro-Constitution bias?)

http://dailycardinal.com/article/21773


Two responses to what appear to be the talking points of the do-nothings and conservatives who support the Constitution:

1)THE ANT-CONSTITUTION COALITION IS COMPRISED OF A SMALL NUMBER OF IDEOLOGICALLY-DRIVEN STUDENTS AND FAR LEFT ORGANIZATIONS.

Thus far, eight of the most active student groups (including 3 GSSFs) on campus comprise the coalition. We also have members of other groups like MEChA, MCSC, the CDems and other large organizations involved. As groups meet up once again with the new semester, their organizations will be able to take official stances on the Constitution. We expect to have an almost completely united progressive front against it.

Many non-political groups - PAVE, Sex Out Loud, among many others - have also expressed concern about the new document, some of their members even on record in the press. We are confident that many (if not most) of the large groups on campus (i.e. GSSFs and a few others) will endorse the campaign for student democracy.

While the non-progressive minority would love to believe that our numbers are small, the truth is that they have no substance to back up this claim. Our coalition has a distinct advantage, in that our members live in the world of activist and non-activist large student groups on campus, not the incredibly small and enclosed world of ASM leadership.

The truth is that it is the pro-Constitution coalition that has precisely this shortcoming. As someone who has been to multiple Student Council meetings discussing the Constitution, I can verify that no more than a half dozen of their members really know anything about the Constitution. I can think of maybe four or five people who are really prepared to throw down in defense of their prized document, and how effective they will be is not clear.

In sum, props to the Herald for giving legitimate and balanced coverage on this issue.

2) THE ANTI-CONSTITUTION COALITION IS A REACTIONARY FORCE INTENT ON BLOCKING EFFORTS TOWARD REFORM IN ASM.

Probably the most important advantage of the pro-Constitution side is their exploitation of the obvious fact that ASM, in large part at least, is a failed organization. In this context, their presentation of the new document as the culmination of efforts toward "reform" intuitively sounds appealing.

Our side rejects that the notion that any old "reform" will do. We need real reform, not faux reform. Not only does the new Constitution miss the point of what currently ails ASM - it doesn't serve as a proactive body to fight on behalf of student interests - it also concentrates power in what is a textbook undemocratic move. (Why not just elect a dictator?)

Across the United States, the structure of student governments (precisely what the Constitutional Committee is so concerned with) markedly differ, though the same problems of ineffectiveness and lack of student involvement are consistent everywhere. Contrast this with student governments in Mexico, Canada and Europe: They are powerful, proactive organizations that are able to effectively fight for student interests because they are successful in mobilizing students. In Montreal in 2006, for example, when the government proposed massive increases in tuition (though still a pittance compared to U.S tuition), student governments succeeded in organizing a multi-day strike and ultimately won on the issue.

Obviously, the United States - well-known for its lack of leftist energy - is a different country with different social dynamics. This doesn't mean that ASM should just give up on mobilizing students, nor does it change the fact that the only way we will win on the issues is through pressure-backed activism, however difficult it is to create and sustain.

Our efforts toward making ASM a legitimate representative body will not end on February 18, regardless of the result. Our coalition is a large and diverse group of people and organizations committed to fighting for progressive student government, an effort which will continue on toward the April elections and beyond.

Finally, it's important to note that members of our coalition, Chynna Haas in particular, did their best to work with the Constitutional Committee and Student Council to reach an appropriate compromise. As I'm sure Chynna will attest, she and her cohort were treated rudely during the proceedings, including by the leadership of the Constitutional Committee. The entire process had a facade of encouraging student involvement, but the empirical evidence (What changes were really made in response to student feedback?) proves quite the contrary.

Why vote no on ASM's proposed constitution?

The problems with the new Constitution can be divided into two categories:

1) FUNDING FOR STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS WILL BECOME JEOPARDIZED.

- One of the proposed changes will give the new President the power to veto all budgets. An override of the veto requires the support of 3/4 of the Student Council, to be renamed Student Senate. Viewpoint neutrality will become much easier to violate, and groups which have had funding for years could be cut off from seg fees due to the whims or opinions of a single individual.

- A two-month notification to groups of changes in the financial code was removed from the Constitution in one of many last-minute, insider changes. This leaves groups, particularly GSSF, subjected to any hastily implemented changes by the SSFC (to be renamed Appropriations Committee), Student Senate or the President.

- Members of the Student Council have stated that certain protections should be placed in the bylaws, instead of the Constitution. But changes to the bylaws can only occur after the constitution vote, by which time any leverage we have with ASM will have vanished. The Constitutional Committee had the opportunity to protect student groups and they didn't.

2) THE MONUMENTAL POWER OF THE NEW EXECUTIVE POSITION PRESENTS A MAJOR THREAT TO STUDENT INTERESTS, EMPOWERMENT AND DEMOCRACY. The powers embedded in his/her authority include:

- A veto over all legislation and bylaws requring, respectively, a 2/3 and 3/4 override from the Senate.

- Appointments of the positions in the new Cabinet, Finance Committee, Student Judiciary and the chair and vice-chair of the Student Elections Commission.

- The Executive Order Power, an "emergency" provision which can be enacted at any time give the president de facto dictatorial powers over the entire ASM until the Senate chooses to revoke it (the body only meets every other week), or up to a six-week period.

- As stated above, veto power over all budgets, requiring a 3/4 override from the Senate.

- A 2/3 impeachment requirement for the executive position. Accounting for the inevitable absences in the Senate, this means the executive could commit illegal acts, like refusing to implement legislation he/she dislikes, so long as about 8 Senators show up to side with him/her.

- A close connection to the administration that is likely to leave him/her subservient to their interests before those of the student body.


In this context, the "vote no" coalition is currently asking for all UW student organizations to give their endorsement in opposition to the new constitution. Please contact one of the adminstrators of this group if your group is interested in sponsoring.

We plan to have many more endorsements with the beginning of the next semester as groups meet up once again. For now, the following RSOs have signed on:

Campus Women's Center
Student Progressive Dane
Working-Class Student Union
Student Tenant Union
Student-Labor Action Coalition
International Socialist Organization
Campus Antiwar Network
Action for Environmental Justice