On Wednesday, March 27, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Student Association (SA) met to discuss a change to registration which prioritizes student-athletes on campus and a change to the policy regarding campaigning within the on-campus dorms.
Athletics Senator Lizzy Hanstetd informed SA of the change to registration for student-athletes. For the first time in 11 years, student-athletes will be getting priority registration.
SA has seen three separate resolutions that have looked to provide priority registration for student-athletes, with only the most recent passing. Priority registration allows UWL student-athletes to build their schedules around their sports, relieving some of the stress and business that often comes with being a student-athlete.
Hanstetd clarified that while student-athletes are getting priority registration, the number of student-athletes is small enough to not significantly affect registration for other non-athlete students.
“This is a huge step for us, and I just wanted to say thank you,” said Hanstetd.
Furthermore, priority registration will only apply to students who are involved in sports that are in season, student-athletes who compete in winter sports will only be able to pick one semester in which they receive priority registration.
Dean of Students Dr. Kara Ostlund shared with SA that she has been a part of a group reviewing the bylaws put in place by UWL to affirm that they align with the bylaws set by the larger Universities of Wisconsin. At the time of writing, Ostlund reported there have been no discrepancies between the two and there have been no issues with UWL’s bylaws.
Ostlund explained that any policy that may hold a student accountable must be seen by the Board of Regents of the Universities of Wisconsin. The Board of Regents does not have to approve it, they just have to have seen it and know that it is in place. A governing body must then approve the policy for it to go into effect, in the case of UWL, that governing body is SA.
The policy that Ostlund spoke on specifically was in regards to political campaigning on campus, including academic buildings and residence halls. The last time that UWL had this policy reviewed was, “in the eighties, judging by the typewriter paper I found it on,” said Ostlund.
The changes that are being made include removing the ability to go door-to-door unaccompanied when campaigning in the resident halls, removing the requirement to leave identification at the front desk of the resident hall they are campaigning in and specifying that only two people can campaign in one resident hall at any given time.
Ostlund also spoke to the Office of Residence Life and has worked alongside their office when making these changes to the campaigning policy.
SA unanimously passed these changes to the campaigning policy. SA will meet again on Wednesday, April 3 and The Racquet Press will continue to provide updates on priority registration for student-athletes.
