News
United Council membership referendum is approaching
The Pointer
ajuhn217@uwsp.edu
The student body of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has the opportunity to vote on a referendum determining its membership of United Council this school year.
UC is a state recognized organization unifying all member campuses and giving them a voice to state legislature. UC focuses on issues and decisions pertaining to higher education that affect all students.
Currently, of the 26 UW system campuses, only 15 UW campuses are members, four of which are four-year schools.
Each campus is to hold a referendum every two years to determine its membership of UC.
UW-Milwaukee went against this policy by having the referendum twice last semester and then again early on this semester.
“During the summer, the [UW-Milwaukee] student senate decided to run an election two days after class started, so that was a little interesting to say the least,” said Kirk Cychosz, the president of UC.
In turn, just last week they pulled its reigns. This was one of UC’s largest benefactors. This will leave UC without approximately $60,000 next semester.
Students at member schools pay a $2 refundable fee each semester to UC. UWSP provides $18,000 a semester.
Andy Letson, a student who claims his involvement to be on the periphery of UC, said he has not been able to figure out how to get his money refunded.
He said, “You cannot find how to get your stuff back on their Web site. It has always been kind of a concern of mine. If they don’t give you any instruction on how to get your money back; It’s not at all refundable. If students don’t know that it is refundable, it’s not refundable.”
Once a school pulls out of UC, the institution can hold a referendum to rejoin again in the future.
Cychosz is confident in the future of UC.
“Schools come and go. It really depends on student government action. I am not worried about the future of United Council,” he said. “We went through a very painful restructuring process … We have really changed how United Council operates and we are now modeled after a lot of other successful non-profit organizations … we’ve really streamlined and changed how we operate … And now we’re moving forward.”
“It would be very difficult for them to continue in the capacity that they are, just because they don’t have the funding,” he said. “UC has lost a lot of its respect within the legislature because they don’t have the member campuses they used to.”
Nate Schultz, the Student Government Association vice president and the UC campus liaison for UWSP, said, “I think we have a genuine concern … about the strength of United Council and why people are pulling out. I think that some reasons are that they don’t know about how the reconstruction is going to work and they want to see how solid it’s going to be.”
Letson thinks UC focuses on too many social issues rather than issues in academics, like not having enough desks in classrooms.
He also feels under-represented based on what the UC policy platform states the organization will support.
It states that UC will “support any legislation or policy that would improve the recruitment, retention and graduation rates of students of color, students with disabilities, non-traditional students, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer and questioning students, female students and other traditionally underrepresented and disenfranchised students.”
Letson does however have a positive outlook in regards to Cychoz as president of UC. “Personally, I think United Council can do some really great stuff. I think [Cychosz] can push the organization into a good direction, the direction it needs to go in.”
UC originated in Stevens Point and is in its 50th year in existence. To commemorate the 50th, Schultz said UWSP would like to hold a UC winter convention but it is not budgeted for it as of yet.
Schultz said, “We’d love to host it. We’re looking at options, if we have some sponsors. We want to be there for the 50th anniversary but we have to plan.”
Look for more on the referendum from SGA in the coming months.
