On Wednesday, Oct. 1 the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Student Association met to hear from Vice Chancellor Stacy Narcotta-Welp and Assistant Vice Chancellor Nevin Heard for Access, Belonging and Compliance (AB&C); vote on a resolution to display a Ho-Chunk Flag on campus permanently; and approve the appointments for the Executive Cabinet positions.
To begin, Narcotta-Welp provided an overview for SA on what the AB&C division is and what’s new within the division, including revisions to their mission, vision and guiding principles, which can be found here.
Narcotta-Welp said, “All of us have a role in making campus more accessible, making sure that folks feel like they belong and can bring their most authentic selves to campus, as well as compliance, which makes sure that everybody’s rights are upheld and that we as a campus are doing the things that we need to do.”
She discussed the services offered through the office, such as the Disability Resource Center, the Civil Rights and Compliance Office, the Youth Protections Program, the Student Support Services Program, Multicultural Student Services, the Pride Center and the Center for Civil Dialogue and Civic Engagement (CDCE).
Then, Heard went over the most recent project that the AB&C Office has been working on: the Campus Climate Survey. He explained that the campus climate is worked on in a three-year cycle.
In Spring of 2025, year one of the cycle, the Campus Climate Survey was given to students, faculty and staff to collect data. This year, focus groups and the new Joint Campus Climate and Belonging Committee (JCCBC) will be utilized to assess how to improve the campus environment.
When interpreting the data, Heard said belonging was divided into the following four categories: relationships and engagement, environment, inclusion and representation and overall belonging.
Then, Heard went into the findings from the survey, which was taken by about 17.1% of students, or 1,600 students and was generally representative of the overall campus demographics.
Overall, he said the results showed that respondents have maintained meaningful relationships, employees take interest in their students, students don’t consider leaving UWL and they feel connected to their major.
On the other hand, some questions had a higher variability in responses. Heard said respondents have experienced offensive behavior and conduct, dissatisfactory leadership and variation in overall sense of belonging and that these areas require more attention.
For marginalized identities on campus – both students and faculty – the data showed that there is weaker trust in UWL’s leadership and in the respondents’ perceived ability to be their authentic self.
There will be a forum from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 6 in the Cameron Hall of Nations with more information on the student data from the survey and another at the same time Nov. 13 for the employee data. Heard said these results will be used to develop goals and implement changes to increase belongingness on campus.
After Narcotta-Welp and Heard gave their final remarks, SA President Emma Wittman gave her officer report. She updated the body on the progress of the Student Court appointments, which will be postponed until Wednesday, Oct. 8 to ensure all applicants receive a fair interview and deliberation process.
In organization reports, Senator Jordan Bellisle told SA that the Asian Student Organization (ASO) is having a fundraiser Oct. 23 in the Student Union. Senator Kaaviya Saraboji said the International Student Organization (ISO) is also having a fundraiser from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Oct. 6 in “The U”.
Senator Zach Ydunate said the Latin American Student Organization (LASO) will be hosting a fiesta with a live band, guest speaker and taco bar from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Oct. 25. The tickets for the event will be $5 for students and $8 for guests.
SA then switched focus to a resolution that was introduced last week titled, “Resolution to Display a Ho-Chunk Flag on Campus” by Senators Tamiaya Cornelius and Jolani Luhan. The authors of the resolution hope to have the Ho-Chunk flag displayed on campus by Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Oct. 13, and remain on campus permanently. The resolution was passed by the SA body.
Next, the resolution to approve the Executive Cabinet appointments was introduced and passed, with the two-week rule suspended.
The following individuals were appointed to an Executive Cabinet position: Hannah Bauknecht as director of staff, Jada Jahn as secretary, Alex Castleman as state affairs director, Avery Britz-Brown as local affairs director, Zoey Estrada as public relations director, Zeyrep Yesim Satilmis as inclusivity director and Felicia Ritzke as sustainability director.
SA will meet again Wednesday, Oct. 8.
