Wow, what a showing! Over 8,000 people voted against the referendum to increase our seg fees. Thanks to all of our supporters, volunteers, and activists who helped with the campaign. This proves that a true grassroots campaign can defeat a well-funded, astroturf opponent. The students have spoken. Democracy prevails.
Today is the last day to vote NO to new seg fees!
From the press, two articles. Yesterday in the Badger Herald, Sam Clegg denounces the rhetoric of NatUp, while today in the Daily Cardinal, Ashley Carter describes the campus dynamics surrounding the vote.
Vote NOW with the link above.
The Associated Press has picked up the referendum story and reveals the astroturf campaign for a new Nat:
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has spent thousands of dollars encouraging students to vote this week to raise their fees by $108 per year for a new fitness center, according to a review by The Associated Press.
The $31,000 campaign by the university’s Division of Recreational Sports included funding for a student organization lobbying for the project, NatUP.
The division also paid a design firm that recommended the $62 million project to create the group’s Web site, which features fancy images of the proposed building and refers to the current Natatorium as small, crowded and dungeonlike.
The site does not disclose its link to the Milwaukee-based firm, Kahler Slater Architects, which would likely compete for the work if the project moves forward. “UW Students, the future is in our hands!” the site says.
The Badger Herald editorial board has come out against a new Natatorium. From the article:
If students are intent on the construction of a new Natatorium, then we will respect that decision. But we believe that if Rec Sports is so adamantly set on rehabilitating its facilities, it can learn to do so without a complete reliance on student money.
Voting is open! Voice your opposition to seg fees NOW!
The ASM website has information posted about spring elections, taking place Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week. There is a page outlining the NatUp proposal here.
Starting Monday, you can cast your vote against the seg fee increase referendum on the ASM elections page.
Frank Honts, a member of the ASM Shared Governance committee, has come out against the seg fee increase in The Badger Herald, responding to Mike Bernatz’s op-ed in favor of it. The text of Frank’s op-ed is posted below.
Read the rest of this entry »
No New Seg Fees gladly accepted the invitation to a debate with NatUp on the seg fee increase referendum. The debate is taking place on Thursday, April 8th at 7 PM.
Because No New Seg Fees proudly clings to transparency, accountability and democracy, both in the proposition of increasing seg fees and in the way we run our campaign, we thought we would post them for all to see. We don’t know if all of our submitted questions — but they’re good for everyone to think about before voting on April 12-14.
So take a look below — and then join us at the debate on Thursday evening to hear the answers.
Read the rest of this entry »
More support from the Associated Students of Madison (ASM): ASM Freshman Representative Jamie Bemis expresses her opposition the construction of the new Nat.
I oppose the NatUP referendum not because I disagree with renovating the Natatorium, but because I don’t think it’s the obligation of students to pay for the project. All the other buildings on campus (with the exception of Union South) have been built with government money as is appropriate, and starting to use student seg fees to pay for new building projects will lead to a slippery slope of unaffordable and unrealistic seg fees in the future. I also disagree with the process used to get the referendum on the agenda, with little information documented on both sides of the idea.
Jamie Bemis
ASM Freshman Representative
The No New Seg Fees! campaign is getting support across campus, from undergrads to grads, from activists and student government representatives. Below, No New Seg Fees! campaign supporter and ASM Nominations Chair Theo Sharpe expresses opposition to the new Nat.
—
As much as having a new state of the art gym sounds very enticing, I would say I am against this referendum because of the following reasons. I think we as students would like to see our segregated fees used for something substantial that would cause no pain to our pockets. With the current state of our economy, more and more students are struggling to afford the cost of tuition. We need to be working on how to make college affordable, helping provide more aid to students who cannot afford college and not increasing the burden on students by increasing segregated fees which would mean an increase in tuition for all students.
Read the rest of this entry »
No New Seg Fees! on Twitter