Schilling visits Student Senate

Last week, the Student Senators were treated to a special speaker when State Senator of the 32nd District Jennifer Shilling arrived to address the representatives of the student body. This was also an opportunity to let students voice their concerns with the recently-elected government official who defeated Dan Kapanke in the recent recall elections.

One of the first questions asked by the Student Senate was that of the recently-enforced voter ID bill, which made it very difficult for college students, and several other groups of people, to register and carry out their votes on the Election Day last October and November. Concerning this issue and how it affects La Crosse and Wisconsin, Shilling made her voice clear: "I am against this law and I have always voted against it because it disenfranchises people… furthermore, the cases of voter fraud are low in Wisconsin, and this bill shamelessly impedes the voting process of college students, of senior citizens, and of minority voters. It is simply not fair, and I think that the creators of this bill are rather aware of this," said Shilling

At UW – La Crosse, students encountered many difficulties when trying to register and cast their vote during the 95th Democratic Primaries, and the State Senate recall election in La Crosse. Before the days of the elections, UW – La Crosse was not notified completely of what was needed for student voter registration. Now it requires documented proof of residency, such as a bill or lease, ID cards which many students may or may not have, and for the student to have been living at one address in La Crosse for more than 28 days. Said Shilling: "Since the elections this fall there are still a lot of questions from not only the University of Wisconsin, but from Viterbo and Western Tech as well," citing that other universities are encountering similar difficulties. "Ultimately, this bill is not a solution, it is a problem."

 Another issue frequently discussed upon the floor of the Senate is that of University finances. Said Shilling: "Governor Walker has asked the University of Wisconsin System to take a $250 million funding cut, which in turn means that the University in La Crosse has been asked to take a $10.3 million cut of that in total… the UW System is basically taking the brunt of these cuts, even though the UW System is funded only by 7% of General Purpose Revenue." Shilling went on to say that when the State Senators asked for flexibility regarding the cuts, the Governor responded by making the cuts steeper. "I know that the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin public education are both things that the State of Wisconsin takes pride in, and forcing so much of this economic reform to be shouldered by public education is truthfully only going to hurt the state as a whole."

Said Legislative Issues Director of the Student Senate Dan Dodge: "With things the way they are, students around the state and here in La Crosse are upset and it is clear that Shilling understands this frustration… I thought she did a great job at answering the questions of the Student Senators."