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Office allocations begin for student organizations
Some groups unhappy with their future digs
By Mike Hansmann
Another year is almost in the books at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and that means another round of musical offices for student organizations. The space on the third floor of the UWM Union is reserved for student organizations, with that space being regulated by the Union Policy Board.
The Union Policy Board is responsible for many things, including the distribution of offices. Here is a quick rundown of how the office application system works for student organizations.
The process begins with a notice from the SAO office, which is sent to all the orgs via e-mail, through flyers and in mailboxes reminding orgs that they need to start applying for office space. This application is accomplished by completing the office renewal form and putting it in the office renewal form lock box.
The forms are then given to the Office Allocation Committee (OAC) chairman for the OAC to make the initial office allocations. After OAC finishes, the allocations are taken to the Union Policy Board (UPB), who then approves the office allocations.
Within three days of approval, this map with the new office allocations must be posted in the Student Org. wing on the third floor. Student Organizations unhappy with newly allocated spaces can appeal to the UPB.
If an org is moved after the initial appeals and is still not happy, they can appeal again. Any appeals after that have to taken up with the chancellor’s office.
This year’s allocations, like in year’s past, are not without discontent and orgs angry with their positioning. One such example is The Leader, the campus newspaper being moved from their office of 10 years into a smaller space. The Post spoke to the Leader’s News Editor Kelsey Dionne concerning their current office situation.
“After not publishing in print last semester due to lack of funding and now having this office taken from us, it just really came as a surprise because we were just getting back up on our feet,” said Dionne.
Dionne indicated that the Leader is now on much more stable ground after a tumultuous year, and that the paper could use their familiar space as they continue to grow.
“Our goal is to become independent of segregated fees. A major element to that is room to accommodate a growing staff. This means space for production, writing, editing and layout, and also space for business operations such as advertising and billing. Moving us into a space half the size of our current office can do nothing but hinder us,” said Dionne.
However, Tyler Kristopeit, Chairman of the Union Policy Board, contended that while he believes the Leader provides an important function to the University, the University Student Court simply needed that space.
“It came down to the fact that Student Court has priority over the Leader when it comes to use of space. The SA Constitution requires a Student Court. They needed a larger space due to the sensitivity of the documents in their possession and also a large enough space to work and hold their meetings,” said Kristopeit. He added that he wishes he could give all groups what they wanted, but there were a large volume of qualified applicants in which to distribute offices to.
There will be another meeting next week, which will further clarify the Union office situation.
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