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ASM meeting with Chancellor Blank By Alison Stecker CAMPUS NEWS EDITOR
Members of student government discussed alterations to the new campus COVID-19 policy with University of WisconsinMadison Chancellor Rebecca Blank and Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Lori Reesor in a closed-door meeting early Wednesday morning. Shared Governance Chair Reez Bailey and Chair Adrian Lampron presented the Associated Students of Madison’s suggested amendments included a “strong affirmation” of students’ rights to wear masks, providing air filters in classrooms with improper ventilation, the creation of a shared governance process for students to apply to drop a class or withdraw without penalty and for instructors to apply for COVID-19 accommodations. According to Shared Governance Chair Reez Bailey, the alterations are important to make sure every member of the community feels protected as the campus mask mandate ends on March 12. “We want to make sure every member of our campus continues to feel safe,” Bailey said in an interview with The Daily Cardinal. “Part of that is ensuring that even if that’s just one professor or one student that does not feel safe, they are able to pursue their education and job here on campus in a way
that makes them feel comfortable and accepted.” The chancellor was very respectful and responsive to ASM’s advocacy, offering a compromise to every request, Bailey said. “We were really happy to get this meeting, and I think the fact that the chancellor was willing to sit down and meet with us faceto-face signaled how she was willing to listen and hear our advocacy,” he said. This meeting comes a week after UW-Madison’s English Department voted to request an extension to the mask mandate on campus. “Masks help mitigate that risk. We urge you to ... continue to mandate wearing masks indoors until such time as the (CDC) recommends stopping or campus has put measures in place allowing individual instructors/programs to require masks in their classrooms,” Miranda Alksnis, an instructor for freshman composition, tweeted on Feb. 25. Although ASM was not in close coordination with faculty or departments on campus, they conversed with leaders of the Teaching Assistants’ Association (TAA), ACLU, UW BIPOC Coalition, Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment (PAVE-UW) and other stakeholders on campus to gather information for their COVID-19 policy suggestions. “We always had a good work-
ing relationship with TAA and that form of instructor advocacy,” said Bailey. “Although we had not been in as close coordination with faculty, I feel very confident with our advocacy and outreach to the student body and student structures.” In response to ASM’s first requested alteration, an affirmation of students’ right to wear a mask at any time without academic consequence, the chancellor told ASM that if any students experience issues with professors, they should report it. The second alteration asked the university to establish a shared governance process for professors, TAs, lecturers and other instructors to apply for COVID-19 accommodations, including a mask mandate in their classrooms. Blank said that while professors can ask their students to mask, they ultimately cannot implement mandates. A meeting recap provided by ASM stated that she clarified that accommodation requests are also still available, but no requests have been filed since the mask mandate removal announcement. The university had 40 accommodation requests in the fall and 20 in the spring, although it is unclear whether faculty, TAs or instructors filed them. The meeting recap stated that most of these applications were approved by the university, but that individuals may not have received the exact accommoda-
tion listed on the initial request. Chancellor Blank also referenced ASM’s third alteration, stating that students can either withdraw for mental or physical health issues or use the medical withdrawal process, but the university cannot make this a shared government process for privacy reasons. There is also a graduated tuition
ing with Blank and Reesor was very productive and each point was thoroughly discussed and rebutted, resulting in a good compromise coming out on either end. He stated that he is sure that the majority of students will support the alterations, and they should “watch their emails” for information about the COVID-19
COURTESY OF KATIE SCHEIDT
ASM met with Chancellor Blank in seeking to gain more flexibility in COVID policy. refund if students choose to medically withdraw. ASM’s final request for the university to purchase physical air filters for all classrooms was rejected. Other schools have tried air filters and found that they had no major impact in large classrooms, so the university will not purchase them, Blank said. According to Bailey, the meet-
mask mandate policy the Friday before spring break. “I feel confident that most students would see these policy suggestions that we brought forward as reasonable,” Bailey said. “We’re not asking for the mandate to be reinstated, but we’re asking for more flexibility around individuals who have preexisting conditions and safety concerns.”
Common Council approves grant funding six police officers By Francesca Pica STAFF WRITER
The Common Council narrowly voted 13-7 Tuesday night to accept a $750,000 federal matching funds grant from the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing (COPS) Hiring Program. The grant provided by the DOJ is expected to provide funding for six additional Madison Police Department officer positions in 2023. According to the terms of the grant, the city will match 25% of the cost in its 2023 budget, and will pay 75% by 2025. After that, the city must cover the entire cost of the new officer positions. Madison was initially awarded the grant by the DOJ on Nov. 18, 2021. The city was previously offered a COPS Hiring Program grant in 2020, however, the Council declined to accept the federal funding.
PHOTO BY CAMERON LANE-FLEHINGER
Common Council approves federal grant that funds additional six police officers.
During the Tuesday Council meeting, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes addressed the council, stating that the additional officers hired through the use of the grant will enable MPD to focus on pursuing a trust- and legitimacybuilding initiative that aims to connect and improve relationships with Madison youth. “[The additional officers] would be a great addition to our team because they would not have to divide their attention among some of the other activities that we are asked to do,” said Barnes. According to Alder Barbara Harrington-McKinney, Dis. 1, who voted in favor of approval, the grant provides much-needed investment in improving relationships between law enforcement and the public, especially young people. “This is an opportunity to really begin to invest at the ground
level and build relationships with young people,” HarringtonMcKinney said. “I would much rather have a police officer, just as a mental health officer, show up with compassion and really talk through problems and situations.” Several alders who voted against accepting the federal grant voiced opposition to the proposal, citing concerns about the cost of such a commitment. Alder Grant Foster, Dis. 15, who voted against the grant, pointed to the large cost of maintaining the funding after the grant expires. “This sounds like a good deal in the beginning, but we’re talking about adding almost $600,000 per year to our operating budget,” said Foster. “That’s $600,000 per year that could be going to our affordable housing fund. That’s $600,000 that could be going towards our community services funding.”
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”