United Council of UW Students, Inc. - 5

Introduction

Hello UC Alumni! I hope this newsletter finds you healthy and happy. United Council students and staff have been busy, busy, busy, and below is some information on what we have been up to. If you have any questions about the information included in this newsletter, or have other questions/suggestions for UC, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Lilia Williams, our LGBTQ Issues Director, is also currently acting as Interim Executive Director. You can reach her at lgbtq@unitedcouncil.net, or (608) 263-3422 Ext. 20.
 

Building Unity

This year's Building Unity Conference will be taking place March 30-April 1 at UW-Parkside. Sara Tibebu, our Multicultural Issues Director, has been working hard to pull this amazing conference together for the 15th time! We have three fantastic speakers lined up:

Michael Benitez is a scholar, activist, speaker, and spoken word artist. He will focus on global and national diversity issues.

Imani Henry is an activist, writer and performer. Since 1993 he has been a Staff Organizer at the International Action Center (IAC), where his work has focused on national organizing of communities of color and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement toward broader social justice campaigns.

State Senator Lena Taylor (Milwaukee) has been a passionate advocate for students and affirmative action & pre-college programs on key committees such as the Special Committee on Affirmative Action since December 2006.

With most of the logistics and speakers lined up, the focus is now on recruitment, workshops and fundraising. If you are interested in facilitating a workshop or making a financial contribution, please contact Sara Tibebu at multicultural@unitedcouncil.net, or (608) 263-3422 Ext. 12.
 

Wisconsin Needs Higher Education Reinvestment (H.E.R.)
United Council’s 2007-2009 Biennial Budget Campaign

Since student voter turnout increased by an average of 56% in the last election (over 2002 numbers), United Council students have been working hard to utilize their electoral power. In our 2007-2009 Biennial Budget Campaign, students have laid out 10 budget priorities that they want to see in the final version of the budget, with each priority aiming to improve access, quality and/or diversity:

• Establish a fully-funded tuition freeze
• Increase the average Wisconsin Higher Education Grant (WHEG) award by $541
• Establish a dollar-for-dollar link between tuition increases and the average WHEG award
• Increase the average Lawton Minority Undergraduate Retention Grant (LMURG) award by $762 (to match WHEG)
• Increase the average Advanced Opportunity Program (AOP) award by $3,280
• Increase funding for Fund 402 to provide more money to Plan 2008 activities ($8.259 million total increase)
• Increase Employee Pay Plan by $30.683 million (strictly through GPR funds and not tuition)
• Provide $400,000 for the Initiative on the Status of Women Close the budget loophole on the outdated formula that would reduce the number of project and research assistantships at UW-Madison
• Offer Domestic Partnership Benefits to all UW System Employees

Here is a link to a recent op-ed published in UW-Eau Claire’s The Spectator.

Impo
rtant Dates for Wisconsin Needs H.E.R.

• Joint Finance Committee (JFC) Hearings:

• Tuesday, March 20th - Milwaukee
• Wednesday, March 21st - DeForest
• Tuesday, March 27th - Chippewa Falls
• Wednesday, April 4th - Prairie du Chien
• Wednesday, April 11th - Rhinelander
• Thursday, April 12th - Green Bay

• Statewide Day of Action: Thursday, April 5th
• Statewide Student Lobby Day: Tuesday, April 17th

If you are interested in participating in any of these events, please contact Max V. Camp, Legislative Affairs Director, at legislative@unitedcouncil.net or (608) 263-3422 Ext. 15.
 

Ward Connerly, Enemy of Affirmative Action, Part II

In the last newsletter, you were invited to attend the Special Committee on Affirmative Action's meeting at which Ward Connerly was speaking. Connerly has led successful attacks on affirmative action in California and Michigan, and Wisconsin was his next stop. Thanks to concerned students in Wisconsin, however, it was made very clear at that hearing that UW students support both affirmative action and holistic admissions, which take many factors into consideration in admissions decisions aside from test scores and GPA. Several hundred folks turned out to show their support for these policies, marching down State Street before the hearing and forcing the committee to open an overflow room. Since then, students have testified and attended other hearings, and the message has been overwhelmingly supportive of holistic admissions policies.

Search and Screen Update

Students from the Search and Screen Committee have begun the process of hiring two new staff members - Executive Director and Organizing & Communications Director. Interviews will be taking place within a week. We'll update you on new staff ASAP!