2012.05.10

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Bird’s eye view from a hawk’s eye A live feed of a red-wing hawk tending her nest atop Weeks Hall is soaring to popularity across campus and the nation. NEWS | 2

THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1969 Volume XLIII, Issue 141

Thursday, May 10, 2012

www.badgerherald.com

Task force to support local boards Sean Kirkby State Politics Editor After University of Wisconsin System students testified on both advisory boards and tuition increases, a special task force recommended all institutions in the UW System develop advisory boards with Board of Regents members. The Special Task Force on UW Restructuring and

Operational Flexibilities supported the suggestion of UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Richard Wells, who presented recommendations signed by the UW System’s chancellors to members of the task force. The first recommendation called for a structure allowing individual chancellors to create or strengthen institution-level advisory boards. The Board of Regents would still be the governing

authority for the UW System. Wells also said the chancellors supported the option for these advisory boards to include regent members. Sen. Sheila Harsdorf, R-River Falls, said campuses already have the ability to appoint advisory boards. Still, she said appointees to these advisory boards should be left up to the individual chancellors.

“I think at a time where we’re focused on trying to provide campuses with greater flexibility, I don’t want to start telling them what to do,” Harsdorf said. “And so, I believe who they should appoint should be up to the chancellors. If they want to have a regent, I think they can do that.” Rep. Steve Doyle, D-Onalaska, said the policy has to be discretionary and

not mandatory in order to provide flexibility. He said he liked the idea of having one or more regents on the board as a “pipeline” to the Board of Regents. David Olien, senior UW System vice president emeritus, was the only member of the task force who said he does not support the recommendation. He said UW-Madison should have its own Board of Regents

Recall primary turnout increases City Life Editor A significant number of Madison voters participated in Wisconsin’s unprecedented recall primary election Tuesday, providing a voter turnout substantially higher than primaries of previous years. According to Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl, Madison turnout reached 41 percent in Tuesday’s recall primary, a significant jump from previous primary elections in the state. In 2010’s gubernatorial primary elections, turnout reached 20 percent, the same as the gubernatorial primary in 2006. Congressional and state Legislature primary elections mobilized even fewer voters in past years, Witzel-Behl added, with a 6 percent voter turnout in 2008 and an 18 percent turnout in 2004. “There is no precedent, because this was the first statewide primary for a recall,” Witzel-Behl said of Tuesday’s voter turnout. “There is no average to compare it to, really.” Large numbers of voters turned out in support of Gov. Scott Walker in the primary, with votes totaling 626,538 across the state, according to the Associated Press. Votes in the Democratic primary added up to 670,278. University of Wisconsin political science professor Kenneth Mayer expressed his surprise at the turnout for

Walker and said the numbers may have implications for the June 5 general election, during which Walker will face Milwaukee Mayor and Democratic candidate Tom Barrett. “I don’t think that’s something that people generally anticipated, and what that means is a little less clear,” Mayer said of the support for Walker. “It could suggest that Walker is in better shape for the general election than the polls are showing.” Mayer added Walker’s numbers may indicate a failure in public opinion polls to accurately gauge which party provides more voters, something he said will make a big difference in the upcoming general election. “This is an election that could easily turn on which side is able to get their people mobilized,” Mayer said. UW political science professor Donald Downs, adviser to The Badger Herald’s board of directors, also said he was surprised with the high numbers Walker achieved in the recall primary. He said the numbers may point to strong mobilization by Republican voters, something that may have been overshadowed by active recall campaigns taking place in the last several months. “You’ve heard a lot about the Democratic side of it, the pro-recall side being so active, but there’s obviously a

PRIMARY, page 3

TASK FORCE, page 3

Senate blocks vote on loans

Numbers high across Madison, GOP voters come out in droves for Walker Leah Linschied

and that it is the only major research university in America that does not have a separate board. “I recognize the situation is very delicate and this is not likely to happen, but I think it’s very important that it happen down the road,” Olien said. “I also would support a separate board for UWMilwaukee and for UW-Stout.

Interest rates for students could double, experts hope for solution Julia Jacobson Reporter

the structural deficit of $1 million on which UW Transportation Services is currently operating. He said the goal is to cut the service of the campus busing by 10 percent, which would mean a decrease in 3,200 hours of bus service annually. “As we looked at what programs or routes we wanted to consider cutting, we looked at what our ridership was for

United States Senate Republicans blocked debate on a bill Tuesday that would have prevented interest rates on college loans from doubling, which could leave students with an increased interest rate on federal loans starting July 1. The bill would have extended the 3.4 percent interest rate on Direct Stafford Student Loans from July 1, 2012 to July 1, 2013 and stopped interest rates from increasing to 6.8 percent. The $6 billion necessary to pay for the bill would have come from increasing Medicare and Medicaid taxes for high-income individuals. Senate Republicans said they want to lower interest rates as well, but would rather fund their version of the bill by eliminating provisions in Obama’s health care overhaul. In a statement, U.S.

FORUM, page 4

LOANS, page 3

Megan McCormick The Badger Herald

A campus bus makes its way up Observatory Drive. Students will likely see changes to campus bus routes this fall, mostly in terms of wait times.

Students say capacity is factor on cuts to busing Consolidating routes, 10% bus decrease among proposed changes Lauren Tubbs Reporter After receiving pressure from student representatives at the public forum held last week to discuss proposed changes to the Madison bus system, Madison Metro Transit System

opened up its second meeting Wednesday night to student input. University of Wisconsin Transportation Services Director Patrick Kass and Colin Conn, the schedule planner for Madison Metro, presented the forum’s participants with five potential changes to the current bus schedule. Kass said a combination of some of these potential alternatives needs to be made to decrease

Do you want a towel with that shower? Freshman David Sweeney gets a refreshing wake up call at an event hosted by Dasani to promote new recyclable bottling on Wednesday. The company was taking videos at 1,000 frames per second of the face wash to send to participating students.

UW reacts to gay marriage support

Megan McCormick The Badger Herald

Katie Caron Higher Education Editor As news of President Barack Obama’s support for same-sex marriage spread through the airwaves and social media, students on the University of Wisconsin campus felt the impact of his

message. Gabriel Javier, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Campus Center at UW, said hearing Obama’s announcement was great news. “I think it is important for him to

MARRIAGE, page 4

INSIDE

© 2012 BADGER HERALD

Goodell penalties set right example

How should we approach charter schools?

Nick Korger says simply obeying coaches doesn’t justify the Saints’ bounty program.

Spencer Lindsay ponders how to analyze and solve the nation’s achievement gap.

SPORTS | 12

OPINION | 6


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