Students voted whether to join United Council in an online ballot on Tuesday and Wednesday. The results will be posted online once the vote has been tallied.
United Council is about representing state-wide issues common to all students, such as tuition and student rights and give students a voice, according to OSA Speaker of Assembly Ann Duginske.
The cost to support United Council comes from an increase of two dollars in tuition for every student if the campus decides to become a member, but OSA President Thomas Wolf said the cost is well worth it.
“The reality is that for us not being a part of United Council would cost us more for resources that United Council can provide and the skills and expertise that their lobbying efforts present,” Wolf said. “For us to do that on our own would cost a lot more than two dollars a student.”
United Council is funded through Board of Regent policy called a mandatory refundable fee.
This provides students with the individual option to opt out if the campus as a whole decides to become a member.
“Any student that does not want to be a member can send a letter to our office and we will refund the two dollars plus postage,” said United Council Executive Director Nichole Juan.
OSA Vice President Alex Abendschein stressed the importance of unifying the student body at the meeting.
“Think about it, isn’t your two dollars worth the chance to unify the student voice?” Abendschein said.
Two years ago Oshkosh decided to pull away from United Council because it felt they deviated too far from their original mission statement and the student body wasn’t being represented as a whole.
Juan said United Council has worked with Oshkosh and other students to restructure the plan and meet many of the needs that UW-Oshkosh expressed when they opted out two years before.
“Right now is a good time for Oshkosh to get back in, right before the big election coming up in the fall when we are going to be facing a really tough budget for students,” Juan said. “The more voices we have in the organization, the stronger the students will be.”
Juan explained some of the benefits of saying yes on the ballot.
“We are a statewide student association for Wisconsin so we fight for students rights and equity within higher education,” Juan said. “We lobby the capitol, Board of Regents, State Legislature and many other places to ensure students have access and portability to higher education.”
She added that members have the opportunity to run for United Council leadership roles, be on UC Board of Directors and gain free admission to all events.
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