On Wednesday, April 22, the Student Association (SA) met and discussed eight new resolutions that they are hoping to pass in next week’s meeting. Along with the new resolutions they also met with La Crosse’s Mayor, Shaundel Washington-Spivey, Wisconsin State Representative Jill Billings and The Green Fund.
This meeting got off to a shaky start, with a large portion of the Senate being absent. Since SA was not fulfilling quorum, they were technically meeting informally and could not conduct any official business until at least three more members arrived to the Senate meeting.
After some quick emails and messages to the missing senators, the Student Association leadership felt confident that they would reach a quorum soon and continued the meeting. Within the next hour, three more members arrived, and they fulfilled quorum.
First, the SA heard from La Crosse’s Mayor, Shaundel Washington-Spivey. Washington-Spivey is a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse alum and a former member of the Student Association. Washington-Spivey is also the first black elected mayor in the city’s history.
He encouraged the SA and the student body in general to “go beyond the four walls of campus.” He pushed for students to get more involved with the city and the local community.
He then addressed the city’s homelessness crisis. Washington-Spivey is working to bring the city to a functional zero with homelessness. This is not saying that there will never be homelessness in La Crosse, but that those who find themselves in these challenging situations can quickly be connected to resources to help them.
Next, the SA met with Wisconsin State Representative, Jill Billings. She spoke about her eight-year-long effort to obtain funding for Prairie Springs Ⅱ. She emphasized that it was a team effort involving students, local business leaders, the health care community, and university leadership.
Later, she spoke about the issue of youth online safety. With the rise of AI and deepfakes it’s becoming increasingly easier to manipulate children in an online setting. Billings is working on legislation that focuses on online safety for children. This bill is receiving bipartisan support, emphasizing how important the online safety of children is.
Finally, the Green Fund spoke to the SA about the new projects they are working on. The Green Fund is paid for by each student’s tuition. Each semester, every student pays $5 to the organization in order to increase sustainability on campus.
The Green Fund presented a project where they hope to replace 193 fluorescent lights with LED lights in the Student Union. This change would reduce the heat output and electrical use, making the building more energy efficient.
They are also working to install 32 new dual flush toilets in the resident halls. These toilets are estimated to save about 76,000 to 120,000 gallons of water per year.
Finally, Student Association discussed eight new resolutions that they are hoping to vote on next week:
- Resolution honoring Dr. Kara Ostlund for her dedication to the students at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse.
- Resolution honoring the legacy and distinguished service of Dr. Betsy Morgan.
- Resolution to approve the UWL Green Fund Grant for Citizen Science Day.
- Resolution to approve the UWL Green Fund Grant for dual-flush retrofit pilot for residence hall water conservation.
- Resolution to approve the UWL Green Fund Grant for the Student Union LED lighting replacement.
- Resolution to approve the Spring 2026 Election Results.
- Resolution to approve the 2025-2026 Student Higher Education Advocate of The Year Award recipient.
- Resolution to recommend the adaptation of the Amended Student Court Rules of Procedure
Student Association will discuss all the above resolutions at their next meeting on April 29th.
