Associated Students of Madison Student Council elects new leadership

 It is believed many members were backed by the Blind Side Slate, a group of representatives with the goal of increasing diversity within the council. The group refused to name the number or names of members who ran for positions with Blind Side support. ASM Sustainability Coordinator August McGinnity-Wake said he believes the slate is the most powerful one in ASM’s recent history.

The following representatives were elected:

Student council leadership

ASM Student Council Chair: Former Legislative Affairs Chair Carmen Gosey, an establishment candidate

ASM Student Council Vice Chair: Mariam Coker

Student Council Secretary: Madhuvanthi Sridhar

Committee chairs

Nominations Board Chair: Vanessa Studer

Shared Governance Committee Chair: Omer Arain

Shared Governance Campaign Director: Mara Matovich

Equity and Inclusion Committee Chair: Ali Khan

Legislative Affairs Committee Chair: Sally Rohrer

Press Office Director: Jason Klein

Outreach Director: Matthew Wulf

Goséy, who previously served as the Legislative Affairs Committee chair, said she believes the chair’s role is to be a resource for students. She said she does not plan to explicitly dictate roles, but instead to empower other individuals and support their campaigns.Coker formerly served as the Equity and Inclusion Committee chair, and she stressed relations she has made with students around the UW System and the nation, as well as representing the university on a panel concerning campus climate for a Board of Regents meeting.

She said the issues UW-Madison faces are not unique to this campus, and explained she plans to hold administration accountable for improving campus climate.

Madhuvanthi Sridhar, who ran for the ASM chair position and was defeated by Goséy, was ultimately voted as secretary for the upcoming year.

Outgoing Student Services Finance Committee Chair Thuy Pham said she was very happy about the diversity of the session’s council representatives, and said the organization is all about differences.

“It’s all about how you see differences, but then you embrace it and you make it into something magnificent,” Pham said. “That’s how we work at ASM and SSFC.”

Compiled from The Daily Cardinal and The Badger Herald