Thursday, February 11, 2021 - The Daily Cardinal

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University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Thursday, February 11, 2021

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ASM votes ‘no confidence’ in Heller By Anthony Trombi STAFF WRITER

The Associated Students of Madison (ASM) passed a vote of no confidence in the Vice-Chancellor of Finance and Administration Laurent Heller, signed an open letter from Amnesty International, addressed UW-Madison complaints over the COVID-19 Student Relief Bill and updated a potential budget for CAHOOTS at their meeting on Tuesday. ASM passed the COVID-19 Student Relief Bill on Jan. 26 that would allocate $2 million to help students experiencing housing insecurity. Heller, on two separate occasions, blocked the COVID-19 Relief Fund as UW-Madison claims it violates system policy. ASM leaders claimed that Heller purposefully presented misleading legal arguments and refused to meet with any students regarding the issue. “I specifically want to talk about Vice Chancellor Lauren Heller. Administration continues to say to students and press that we are refusing to work with them on another solution,” said Lourdes Puig, a mem-

ber of the BIPOC Coalition, in the meeting’s open forum. “Laurent Heller, who is directly blocking the fund, has refused to meet with students to discuss the issues.” In a vote of 18-0 with two abstentions, ASM officially declared no confidence in Heller. A no confidence vote signifies ASM’s lack of support for an entity. University communications did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the vote. ASM also released a document which addresses legal concerns with the Student Relief Bill. The document explains the legal issues presented by the Office of Legal Affairs and provides an explanation based on community feedback. “I am primarily here to talk about my support for the Student Covid Relief Fund. We have always had an eviction and housing crisis in Madison,” said Heidi Wegleitner, who represents District 2 which encompasses an area of Madison just northeast of campus, in the Open Forum. “This pandemic has really put so [many] more people in jeopardy of losing their housing.

The numbers really are staggering and a tremendous need for additional resources.” Amnesty International — a human rights advocacy club on campus currently supported by 26 student organizations — also presented “a moral restart” plan that offers a different approach from UW-Madison’s “Smart Restart.” The “moral restart” consists of improving the quality of student housing and isolation unit resources, implementing a pass-fail option, increasing transparency between accessibility and student resources and addressing racial inequality on campus. A petition outlining those priorities, sent in early January to Chancellor Rebecca Blank, Dean William Karpus, the Board of Regents, the Office of Compliance and to Administrative officials at UW-Madison, was formally signed by ASM and Amnesty International. The student government passed their budget proposal for their Crisis Assistance Helping Out On the Streets (CAHOOTS) Crisis Response Team, which relies on crisis and medical professionals to respond to mental health

related calls, instead of law enforcement officers. ASM also passed Emergency Housing legislation that recognizes “housing as a fundamental right” and states that “eviction and homelessness does not just affect students but the broader community within Madison, Dane County and the state of Wisconsin.” Furthermore, the legislation “demands that Governor Evers use his emergency powers to authorize the use of public buildings — including University of Wisconsin buildings — to provide housing to homeless individuals.” SHIP Restructuring to Aid Students, another proposed and passed legislation, will conduct a comprehensive examination of the health coverage for UW students and international students under student visas, where SHIP is the UW-Madison Student Health Insurance Plan. The legislation states that, “ASM demands SHIP restructures its payment periods to be either on a monthly or semesterly plan that corresponds to the time when the semester begins

Dane County relaxes restrictions under new orders By Nicole Herzog STAFF WRITER

Public Health Madison and Dane County issued an emergency order easing restrictions surrounding gatherings and activities Monday. Under Emergency Order #13, indoor gatherings where food and drink are not served will allow up to 50 people, while 150 people are permitted for outdoor gatherings. Events with food and drink allow up to 25 people indoors and 100 people outdoors, according to the statement released by Public Health Madison and Dane County. The previous order allowed gatherings of up to 10 people indoors and 50 people outdoors, regardless of the presence of food and drink. The new order became effective Wednesday at 12:01 a.m., according to a statement by the City of Madison. The order serves to replace Emergency Order #12 and will remain in effect for 28 days. “This order loosens restrictions on important parts of daily life, and I am hopeful that we are able to continue on this path as we move into spring,” Janel Henrich, Director of PHMDC, said in the City of Madison statement. “As we cautiously adjust our orders in recognition of improving conditions,

and as we vaccinate more people, we will continue to monitor where we stand. As we saw in the fall, things can change quickly and we all need to do our part to prevent disease spread.” The order also reduces restrictions surrounding sports games and competitions, according to the statement. Sports games and competitions are allowed under the order; however, physical distancing of six feet or more is required at all times except during active participation in the sport. Additionally, face coverings must be worn during sports when physical distancing is not possible. Sports which cannot uphold physical distancing at all times are limited to 25 people indoors at a time and 100 individuals outdoors, not including employees. All sports must also have a cleaning, hygiene and protective measure policy established. The new additionally adjusts rules regarding the types of face coverings allowed, with additional restrictions on masks for outdoor locations. The new order mandates the use of face coverings with two or more layers and does not permit certain face coverings, such as ski masks, single-layer neck gaiters or bandanas. Face coverings are

also required upon attending an outdoor gathering of more than 50 individuals. Mandates regarding schools, higher education institutions, restaurants, personal services (i.e. salons and tattoo shops), religious entities/groups, gyms and retail stores remain unchanged, according to a statement issued by PHMDC. The decision to shift restrictions comes after more than 11 percent of the population of Dane County has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The statement also notes that

when Order #12 was released in January, the seven-day case average was 213, and 71 residents were hospitalized with the virus. At present, the sevenday case average is 107 and 63 people are hospitalized. Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway expressed her optimism when looking toward the future amidst the state of the pandemic. “I feel very hopeful,” RhodesConway told WKOW. “And I’m really glad that we’ve collectively worked together and collaborated enough to get ourselves to this point.”

CAMERON LANE-FLEHINGER/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Dane County is relaxing restrictions on gatherings under a new emergency order.

and ends.” This would differ from SHIP’s current payment period which offers an annual, a fall or a combined spring and summer premium for international students. The final legislation passed focused on workers’ rights during the pandemic. The Student Council asked that, “all campus units provide employment and payment continuity for all workers - hourly, part-time and salaried — during the pandemic and extend the $15 dollar wage floor to student workers.” “I want to voice my support, especially for the worker’s rights during the pandemic tonight. Really everything on the agenda, it is all interconnected in the ways the university is treating its students and its workers,” said Clare Michaud, an academic staff member and former UW-Madison undergraduate student, in the Open Forum. “The university is especially to blame for how it has manifested within the campus community and the greater Madison community.” The next ASM student council meeting will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 23.

BIPOC students call for action By Sophia Vento STAFF WRITER

The UW-Madison Black Cultural Center — an identity center within the Multicultural Learning Center — is honoring Black History Month with a slew of events in their series, “Music as Medicine: Evolution of Music in the Black Community.” Throughout February, the university is hosting a series of events that highlight the rich history and influence of music in the Black community, as well as its role in activism, healing and freedom of expression. Featured art, radio and documentary galleries are listed among the university events planned for the month. Events are open to the public. And, amid special university recognition of Black History Month, student organizations and leaders continue to advocate for Black students across campus every day. The UW-Madison BIPOC Coalition is one student group advocating for the voices of students often left out of decision-making processes at the university level, including Black students. In honor of Black History Month, the coalition is highlighting the accomplishments of Black artists, activists, creatives and intellectuals – both past and present — on social media. They are also hosting a variety of

call to actionpage 2

“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”


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