THE UNIVERSITY U OF WISCONSIN’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1969 Thursday, October 13, 2011
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Volume XLIII, Issue 28
ARTS | VIDEO
NEWS | CAMPUS
SPORTS | FOOTBALL
Jump back!
As members of the ASM Student Council debate legislation to restore ousted officials, leaders warn against body’s collapse | 2
Battle at outside linebacker
Footloose without Kevin Bacon? Check out what University of Wisconsin students have to say about the replacement of a classic.
New IDs to cost $500K
Kevin Claxton and Ethan Armstrong are battling for a starting spot on UW’s thriving defense. | 14
Going Mad(Hatters) for trivia Members of the University of Wisconsin MadHatters men’s a capella group serenaded students duking it out for trivia superiority on Wednesday. The trivia night, hosted by the Wisconsin Alumni Association, awarded points for Homecoming week. Zhao Lim The Badger Herald
UW officials say issuing second card will force system to absorb exorbinant fees Sean Kirkby State Reporter
Issuing new student ID cards to out-of-state students could run a cost of up to $700,000 for the University of Wisconsin System as officials continue to weigh how to meet the requirements of the Voter ID law. The University of Wisconsin System is weighing the possibility of issuing a second ID to outof-state students that would comply with the new voter ID law but could mean up to $700,000 in costs for the Madison campus. UW spokesperson Dennis
Chaptman said issuing the new student IDs would likely cost UW at most around $700,000, but a more common estimation is around $500,000. “The [second] ID would be for a student from Illinois who wants to keep her Illinois driver’s license rather than getting a Wisconsin-issued driver’s license or Wisconsin state ID,” Government Accountability Board spokesperson Reid Magney said. “She would not only need to have 20 days of residency but also the student ID card.”
VOTER ID, page 4
Ward to support merit-based faculty salaries Chancellor says pay increases could keep UW competitive, quality in forefront Alyssa Smith News Reporter In a recent address to members of the faculty, University of Wisconsin Interim Chancellor David Ward expressed support for pursuing a more competitive, merit-based wage structure with the aims of ensuring quality of instruction and retention. Ward emphasized the
importance of creating a merit-based pay plan with the aim to help enhance faculty and staff salaries, according to Faculty Senate member and University of Wisconsin chemistry professor Judith Burstyn. She added the topic of wages appears to be a great priority for the chancellor despite the challenges presented by current budgetary constraints. Vice Chancellor for University Relations Vince Sweeney echoed the sentiment, adding such an initiative could benefit the university by ensuring
UW is attracting and retaining quality faculty members. He said these proposed salary changes could serve to benefit the university as a whole. “Increased wages will help us stay competitive in the fight to keep the best and brightest faculty here at [UW],” Sweeney said. “It would be in the institution’s best interest to recruit and retain the best faculty.” Speaking about Ward’s first term serving as chancellor from 19932001, Burstyn said Ward managed to keep a consistent and equivalent salary base for UW faculty
in comparison to wages to its peer universities. She added in the period between Ward’s terms of leadership, there were few to no salary raises for university employees and in some cases, salaries were decreased. This is significant, Burstyn said, because university data shows the faculty turnover rate was much higher when wages were stagnant compared to when wages were more competitive, demonstrating the notion that some faculty members decided to pursue new employment opportunities at other
institutions during these periods. Burstyn also listed salary discrepancies as another cause for concern among UW employees when discussing Ward’s message of monetary allocation. She said the university must find a way to bridge the gap in its base budget. “When we hire new faculty, we have no choice but to pay competitive salaries. When we make offers, they are always at competitive wages [and] often higher than wages of those who have been here a long time,” she said. Burstyn added Ward
appears “concerned about correcting these issues.” In his address, Ward suggested ideas for reform including resource stewardship and educational innovation, Burstyn said. This would aim to reconsider how operations are managed and ask where money is being applied and if this is the best area for it, she added. Ward also addressed the possibility for gain in the area of philanthropic reform and its potential to aid the base budget,
WARD, page 2
Bill would divide state’s electoral votes by district Proposed election law would benefit candidates with regional popularity Matt Huppert State Editor Matt Hintz The Badger Herald file photo
Current Madison Alcohol Policy Coordinator Mark Woulf will address neighborhoods, drug crime under shifting role.
Changes in policy position to address heroin epidemic Mayor, city officials to broaden scope to drug issues after UW halts partial funding Dan Niepow Deputy City Editor Following cuts in funding for the Alcohol Policy Coordinator from the University of Wisconsin, Mayor Paul Soglin said the role would likely face a revamping in the scope of its focus in the near future. The coordinator ’s role is expected to expand to address the growing drug concerns in the city, particularly with the
increased frequency of heroin-related incidents over the past several months in Madison, he said. “Since it’s going to be a full-time city position, there are no constraints on how the position is utilized,” he said. “The alcohol policy coordinator is going to be working on all substance abuse — not just alcohol … it will include the rising problem with opiates and heroin.” The position was previously funded equally by the UW and the city, but now will be entirely shouldered by the city, Soglin said. This will allow more freedom in determining what the coordinator can
do, he said. There have been a growing number of burglaries and armed robberies linked to the use of heroin, and Dane County has already proposed the creation of the Opiates Task Force to combat these issues. The alcohol policy coordinator will now be able to address these issues as well, Soglin said. He also said there would be an added neighborhood component to the position, allowing the coordinator to look at specific neighborhoods experiencing drug-related problems. For the first half of the
ALCOHOL, page 4
A bill that could potentially alter the influence of Wisconsin voters in presidential elections began being circulated for support in the Legislature Wednesday. The proposal, introduced by Rep. Dan LeMahieu, R-Cascade, would segment the state’s electoral college votes and give the congressional districts in the state a separate vote in the presidential election. Under Wisconsin’s current system, whichever presidential candidate wins the popular vote in the state wins the state’s 10 electoral votes, regardless of how close the election is, University of Wisconsin political science professor Donald Downs said. Most states’ Electoral College systems operate in this manner If LeMahieu’s proposal gains approval, this system
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of votes would likely create a divide in Wisconsin’s electoral vote, Downs said, as some electorates tend to vote down partisan lines. Under the bill, the eight congressional districts in the state would act as individual popular vote elections. If a candidate wins a congressional district he or she would receive one electoral vote. Rep. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, said those in support of splitting the electoral votes into the individual districts contend this would give more legitimacy to citizens who vote against the party which typically wins the state. However, she says this measure would have the opposite effect, as candidates could instead focus their attention on states where they can win all of the electoral votes. She said Wisconsin has primarily voted in favor of Democratic candidates over the past 30 years. Roys said Republicans in the state who support this bill are doing so in an attempt to curb the number of electoral votes President Barack Obama stands to get in the 2012 election. A small number of states, including
Nebraska, have previously chosen to split their electoral college votes in the presidential elections, Downs said. Besides Wisconsin, several states, such as Pennsylvania, are also currently considering splitting up their electoral votes. Downs said the change in the electoral college count would mean Wisconsin would receive less attention from candidates in future presidential races. With the removal of a ‘winner-take-all’ electoral college system, candidates would not have the incentive to campaign in the state, he said. In recent presidential elections, Downs said, candidates have viewed Wisconsin as a swing state which could go for either Republicans or Democrats. However, the proposed split of the state’s electoral votes would likely end this status. “In the last few [presidential] elections, Wisconsin been one of the key states,” Downs said. “[With the split of electorate votes,] the state would become less important.” Downs said the
ELECTORAL, page 4