324 students, 25 percent of enrollment, participated in UWMC Student Government Association executive elections April 6-7.
UWMC Student Government Association (SGA) announced the results of its executive elections on April 7. Approximately 324 students, 25 percent of enrollment, voted in the election. Elected executive positions will serve in their respective positions during the 2011-2012 academic year.
SGA Vice President Miles Dux was elected as SGA President with 234 votes, surpassing write-in candidate Matt Riedel with 75 votes.
Matt Riedel, SGA Shared Governance Director, was elected as SGA Vice President with 187 votes. Riedel defeated Scott Henrichs, a student who campaigned with Dux, by 61 votes. Henrichs had not served in SGA prior to his election bid for vice president.
Andy Lotz, Reid Gust, and Rachel Samuelson, won uncontested bids for Shared Governance Director, Executive Director, and Gender and Women’s Issues Director, respectively.
The Student Life and Communications Director position remained vacant, as no candidate for the position received the required 50 votes. Dux will appoint an interim director when he assumes office in May.
The annual United Council referendum passed with 213 votes, which grants UWMC membership in the state-wide student advocacy group for a fee of $2 per student.
The responsibilities of SGA are dictated in part by UW System policies, the UWMC constitution, and other entities on campus that participate in shared governance. Ten senators and six executive members represent UWMC’s 1,291 students. SGA is responsible for governing the affairs of clubs and student organizations, approving the $264,440 segregated fees budget, organizing student activities, and appointing student representatives on campus committees. All positions are filled during elections in the spring and fall semesters.
SGA executives are compensated with stipends funded by segregated fees. The SGA president and other executives receive cash stipends of 70 and 15 percent of tuition, respectively.
At each campus within the UW System, the administration shares its responsibilities for governing the institution with faculty and students. Wisconsin is one of the few states in the nation that provides a shared governance policy which is codified in state law. This long-standing practice is mandated in the Wisconsin state statutes under Section 36.09:
“The students of each institution or campus subject to the responsibilities and powers of the board, the president, the chancellor and the faculty shall be active participants in the immediate governance of and policy development for such institutions. As such, students shall have primary responsibility for the formulation and review of policies concerning student life, services and interests. Students in consultation with the chancellor and subject to the final confirmation of the board shall have the responsibility for the disposition of those student fees which constitute substantial support for campus student activities. The students of each institution or campus shall have the right to organize themselves in a manner they determine and to select their representatives to participate in institutional governance.”