THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1969 Volume XLIV, Issue 65
Thursday, January 24, 2013
www.badgerherald.com
UW System faces stricter scrutiny Lawmakers call for larger audits for $33 million in overpayments Polo Rocha Senior Legislative Editor Strict scrutiny will be applied to the University of Wisconsin System after state lawmakers voted to execute a larger audit on the System because of about $33 million in overpayments that were discovered during a regular audit. The Joint Legislative Audit Committee voted in favor of a more comprehensive audit from the Legislative Audit Bureau in their Tuesday meeting, in which legislators questioned UW System officials on the overpayments. LAB discovered in its routine audit that the UW System overpaid $17.5 million to retirement funds and $15.4 million in health benefits. The overpayments happened because the state failed to reconcile UW System payroll data with a state benefits agency’s data. UW System President
Kevin Reilly reported the System recovered the $17.5 million a month after it discovered the overpayments. But the System has so far only recovered $2.4 million of the $15.4 million, a task Reilly said could prove difficult because it requires the System to work through complex legal contracts. Rep. Samantha Kerkman, R-Randall, the committee’s co-chairperson, called the recent findings a “pattern of behavior.” She cited a 2007 hearing with Reilly regarding his scrapping of a $28.4 million payroll system that his predecessor had begun in 2001. The previous payroll system, Reilly said, was on the verge of breaking at any time, which could have led to UW System employees not getting their paychecks. That is why his predecessor had begun planning the new payroll system that Reilly stopped because it would still have problems. Reilly said at this hearing that was the “hardest decision” he has made, as the UW System had already paid for much of that system. Reilly then directed the UW System to develop the current payroll system,
which was implemented in April 2011. While the UW System implemented the new system, Reilly said the top priority was getting paychecks to people, so other tasks like reconciling the data were “deemed to be a lower priority.” “I know we have to rebuild some confidence,” Reilly said at the hearing. Although he said this was not an “excuse,” Reilly reminded lawmakers the UW System employs about half of the state’s employees and has a payroll of more than $2.26 billion. Reilly said the UW System would fully cooperate with the LAB’s audit, but the System will do its own investigation that will go further, which Reilly expects to cost less than $50,000. Many of the legislators expressed their concerns with the overpayments, including Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, who said the overpayments affect UW System students by not using the wasted dollars on educating the state’s “best and brightest.” He said he agreed with Reilly that a comprehensive study of the UW System is
UW SYSTEM, page 2
Mary Kuckuk The Badger Herald
Legislative Affairs Committee Chair Daniel Statter is working with legislaters to push for a state bill to encourage underage people to report emergencies.
ASM committee pushes Responsible Action bill Julia Skulstad Senior Campus Editor University of Wisconsin’s student government is moving forward with a bill that would encourage underaged people to call police in emergency situations with reduced consequences by further engaging in talks with state
legislators. Associated Students of Madison’s Student Council passed a resolution in support of the Responsible Action Bill last December, and the Legislative Affairs Committee has been working to get it passed. If passed, the bill will enact policy on a statewide basis to provide protection for
individuals when reporting any issue or crime even if they are underage and alcohol is present. Legislative Affairs Chair Daniel Statter said the committee does not want the threat of an underage ticket to hold someone back from contacting law enforcement.
BILL, page 2
Fraternity house closer to approval Stephanie Awe Reporter
‘Reel’ big show Ska punk band Reel Big Fish put on a performance at The Majestic Theatre Sunday, giving audience members a taste of their unique sound. Jen Small The Badger Herald
Langdon Street is one step closer to seeing a new face to the Theta Chi house after the city’s Urban Design Commission approved a modified plan for a new building for the fraternity Wednesday night. After making many prior adjustments, UDC approved the plan for a new building for the Theta Chi Fraternity to be located at 210 Langdon St. At its meeting, UDC added amendments stipulating the need to find an alternative material for the building and to continue to work on landscaping and other details. While some UDC members felt they had been circling and needed to approve the plan as initially presented, not all of members agreed. “Details need to be resolved,” UDC member Dawn O’Kroley said. O’Kroley said she had
issues about building the presented design in such a historic location. She expressed concern the proposed landscaping features would compromise the building rather than enhance it. O’Kroley emphasized although they were small details, they needed to address concerns like landscaping. “You’re working on a precious and historic place,” O’Kroley said. “It’s a really phenomenal environment, so it deserves a high level of detailing.” Randy Bruce of Knothe & Bruce Architects, LLC, said he had worked to “beef up” the landscaping, as prior concerns were that the shrubbery was too lightweight. Bruce said the developers are “struggling with this.” When UDC members suggested adding additional tall trees to the area, such as hybrid oaks, Bruce said he was concerned
FRATERNITY HOUSE, page 2
Scientists call for ban lift on contentious bird flu research One year after halt, group says studies should continue on deadly avian disease Noah Goetzel Higher Education Editor After nearly a oneyear hiatus, controversial research on the potentially deadly avian influenza virus will resume, according to plans unveiled by a group of world-renowned scientists, including a University of Wisconsin professor. UW professor of
virology Yoshihiro Kawaoka was one of 40 experts in the field to sign a letter published in the journal Nature and Science Wednesday, lifting the freeze on bird flu studies in place since Jan. 2012. The research will not occur in the U.S., where the moratorium has not ended yet, but could continue in other countries that have allowed for such research. According to Kawaoka’s letter, scientists who now have approval to conduct such research in their countries “have a publichealth responsibility to resume this important work because the risk
exists in nature that an H5N1 virus capable of transmission in mammals may emerge.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported more than 600 human bird flu virus cases from 15 countries since November 2003, and victims in about 60 percent of the cases have died. After Kawaoka and Dutch virologist Ron Fouchier completed separate studies regarding spread of bird flu virus mutations in ferrets, the disagreement over publishing these findings spurred uproar from the
public health community, UW research spokesperson Terry Devitt said. “It should be noted,
“It should be noted, there were some significant differences between the work in Holland and the work conducted here” -UW research spokesperson Terry Devitt there were some significant differences between the work in
© 2012 BADGER HERALD
Holland and the work conducted here,” Devitt said. “The work here was done using different techniques that made the research less worrisome.” Federal government officials still worry an outbreak of the mutated virus could occur and infect lab workers and the public, Devitt confirmed. He also did not rule out the possibility that information about the potentially deadly bird flu could fall into the wrong hands. Following that debacle, leading bird flu scientists voluntarily agreed to halt their research in the field
in January 2012. Both the studies of Kawaoka and Fouchier were eventually published in May despite the opposition. Devitt said the primary concerns restricting the U.S. from continuing bird flu research are the types of laboratories where that work is done. He said the research must conform to strict safety and security guidelines of the federal government, and the National Institute of Health has yet to make an assessment of these conditions. The sequence of
BIRD FLU, page 3