The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Student Association Senate voted to place a referendum on the upcoming April 26 and 27 ballot evaluate student support for changing the name of the university.

Students voting in the 2006 elections will have the opportunity to choose from a list of more “prestigious” names, ridding UWM’s current name of the hyphen, which backers of the proposal said pushes UWM under the radar of its peer universities.

“Hyphenated schools tend to get the short end of the stick,” said Sen. Neal Michals, the bill’s author. “I just think it’s time that UWM moves out of this category and into something better.”

Michals cited the fact that UW-Madison receives almost twice as much funding as UWM, which he attributed to the theory that universities with hyphenated names are not taken as seriously.

According to the UW System Board of Regents allocation data, UW-Madison, which is the largest university in the state, receives 55 percent of all funding, while UWM, the second largest university, receives only 13 percent.

UW-Madison, according to the data, also spends $52,000 per student annually, while UWM caps out at $18,000 per student.

Those who backed the proposal feel that by changing the name of the university, UWM will be able to collect more money because alumni and other potential donors are more likely to give money to a school whose name is not hyphenated.

“It is actually rather common to change a name of a university in order to get more money,” Michals said. “No one actually takes schools with hyphens seriously.”

Michals referred the Senate back to the UWM men’s basketball Sweet 16 appearance in the 2005 NCAA Tournament. He said announcers often called UWM “that plucky hyphenated school,” while other schools were called by their own names.

Some of the senators said they have been approached by a group of alumni that has been lobbying to change the name since last year’s basketball tournament, but this is the first time that the SA has decided to officially support exploration into changing the name.

The senators developed four different names for which the students can vote: Wisconsin State University, University of Milwaukee, Milwaukee State University and Milwaukee University. There will also be an option for students to vote to keep the name University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as well as an option to write in a name of their choice.

Whichever name is chosen by the student body will then be passed on to Chancellor Carlos Santiago and eventually the UW System Board of Regents, the Wisconsin State Legislature and Gov. Jim Doyle. If all parties agree on the name change, the name change will be official.

Supporters of the name change do not expect this to be a quick process. Michals speculated that if officials quickly on the proposal, the current freshman class might be the first graduates of the newly named university.

Currently, there are 26 schools in the state with the prefix UW and a hyphen. Since its founding, UWM has undergone six name changes.

Student org funding rules changed

During the same meeting, the Senate ratified a constitutional amendment that will change some of the allocation rules for student organizations and update some of the old rules.

The amendment was introduced by Sen. Drew Baryenbruch in order to help the bylaws be more effective and update some of the rules that he described as “incredibly out of date.”

The new law will require that all of the funds that come from the Student Appropriations Committee go to the Student Activities Office. The SAO will then manage all of the funds that it receives from SAC, and it will distribute them as it sees fit.

“This will make it easier for some of the student orgs to receive money in order to attract speakers and other programs,” Baryenbruch said. “It will also level the field for some organizations to plan trips.”

The new law will also put all funding for special trips by organizations on a first-come, first-served basis. Some senators felt that some organizations were going on trips to “compete” in competitions, but in reality were doing nothing.

All of the money from SAC that goes to student organizations comes from student segregated fees. While this is not the source of all money that most organizations get, it is a large amount for many.

The other parts of the amendment called for some minor name changes and other wording changes, because some of the laws in the SA Constitution cited organizations and committees that have long been defunct.

New student orgs approved

The SA Senate also approved the charters for four new student organizations: the Bemani Club, the Milwaukee Underground Film Festival, the Women’s Wrestling Club and Loyalty Equals Brotherhood.

The Bemani Club brings together students who play video or stand-alone arcade dance games such as “Dance Dance Revolution.” It is the first organization of its kind at UWM.

The Milwaukee Underground Film Festival will hold an annual film festival in which students from any major may enter films that they have created. The movies will be screened at UWM and judged for quality, and the winners will receive a prize.

The UWM Women’s Wrestling Club will exist as a sister club to the Men’s Wrestling Club to help support the growing participation of women wrestlers in America.

Loyalty Equals Brotherhood brings together Latino students to provide moral and academic support. The group plans to work with the Latino community in Milwaukee through volunteer work at elementary schools and neighborhood clean-ups.

The four founding members said that there was a need for such an organization after they witnessed many of their Latino friends drop out during their freshman year, due to what they believe was a lack of support.

> Comments