The official student government of UW-Madison says a recent incident involving a student regent selection highlights the need for a change in state law. The Associated Students of Madison (ASM) is supporting a bill (SB 157) that would require the governor to only nominate student regents who are suggested by student-elected organizations. Current law only allows the governor to nominate these student vetted candidates.
Governor Walker this week rescinded his regent nomination of a UW-Platteville student after it was revealed the nominee had signed a recall petition against the governor.
Grace Bolt, ASM spokeswoman, says they’ve been working on regent selection reform for the past year. “Part of the reasoning behind this was because we’ve had issues with student regents in the past voting for things like tuition increases, where we feel the students of the UW System, in genera, would not be supportive of those things.”
In response to the Walker incident, ASM Chair David Gardner says the “overly politicized nature of the appointment process” has “plagued not only this administration but all previous administrations.”
