City alcohol policies are set for review. Which work best for Madison? FEATURES
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LEAVING AN INDELIBLE MARK ON THE CARDINAL A tribute to a devoted friend, staff member and classmate, in memory of Neha Suri
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A dear friend passes on
isabel Álvarez/the daily cardinal
By Sam Berg and Ryan Hebel The Daily Cardinal
More than 200 students, faculty and family members gathered Wednesday at Lathrop Hall to share memories of Neha Suri, the UW-Madison senior who passed away Tuesday. Neha, 22, had been at UW Hospital in critical condition since last week with bacterial meningitis, a rare but sometimes fatal disease. After being taken to the hospital Jan. 25, doctors placed Neha in an induced coma to aid in the healing process. Despite the doctors’ best efforts, Neha’s condition worsened. Many of Neha’s closest friends contributed to the ceremony through songs and specially written music or by recounting their favorite stories of the Singapore native. “She approached life with unparalleled enthusiasm and curiosity. Her vibrant energy and whimsical nature made her an explorer, seeking out new experiences, places and friends,” UW-Madison student Dave Abbott said. Others spoke about Neha’s commitment to her friends and family. “We’ve all had enough heart-to hearts with Neha … to appreciate her courage in confronting the tangles of philosophy, religion and spirituality. Most memorable for me, however, are those wide brown eyes that looked upon life’s mystery with such amazement. Neha floated on the kinds of
questions that suffocate greater souls,” UW-Madison student Bryan Fate said. Dean of Students Lori Berquam opened the service, calling the emotionally charged ceremony a celebration of Neha’s spirit and all the lives she touched. Berquam said she visited the hospital Monday, where Neha’s family and a large group of friends—who had visited Neha every day since the abrupt hospitalization—seemed bonded by a shared compassion. “It was something that I haven’t seen before, and it really goes to the warmth and the strength and compassion of the students to the family, and the family returning it to the students,” she said. “I want to thank Neha’s family for lending her to us for a short time so she could walk up the sidewalks of Bascom Hill, go to her classes and enrich all of our lives.” Chancellor Biddy Martin also offered condolences to Neha’s family. “What I’ve learned about Neha Suri in the past few days makes me wish I had known her. It makes me proud that she was a student at UW-Madison … She was a person who clearly valued family and who clearly valued friendship,” she said. Many faculty members also spoke warmly about Neha, who had double-majored in journalism and neha page 3
Isabel Álvarez/the daily cardinal
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OPINION
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Thursday, February 4, 2010
Oversight Committee continues to review Madison Initiative proposals By Kelsey Gunderson The Daily Cardinal
The Madison Initiative for Undergraduates Oversight Committee met Wednesday to continue discussing which MIU funding proposals it will recommend to Chancellor Biddy Martin later this month. The MIU Student Oversight Board ranked each proposal earlier this semester, and the MIU Oversight Committee, which consists of faculty, staff and three nonvoting students, is now in the process of reviewing all 114 proposals while taking into consideration the student board’s rankings. According to Aaron Brower, vice provost for teaching and learning and a member of the committee, roughly half of the $10 million generated this year by the MIU tuition increase was set aside for need-based financial aid, leaving about $5 million to allocate across campus. Brower said the group ranks each proposal using the criteria
Martin outlined for the MIU. These criteria involve ensuring easier access to high-demand courses while also trying to accomplish more expansive goals within specific departments, he said. He said the majority of the proposals asked for more faculty and staff to open up certain classes to more students. Brower said, however, that the proposals that really stood out this round were those asking for funds to improve departments’ overall curricula and included things like internship opportunities or undergraduate research programs. According to Maria Cancian, a UW-Madison professor in the school of social work and also a member of the committee, members also tried to give the highest rankings to the proposals that impacted the most students and were cost effective. Both Cancian and Brower said choosing which proposals to recommend is a difficult process.
“It’s a glass half-full and a glass half-empty,” Brower said. “The half-full part is people really stepped up across campus and proposed all sorts of really great projects, the half-empty part is there are way more good projects in need out there than we’re going to be able to fund.” Cancian said to try to accommodate more of the requests, the committee is able to make amendments and choose to fund parts of certain proposals. “We routinely recommended amendments … usually not because all the aspects of a proposal weren’t worthy but because honestly there were many more proposals that we really wanted to fund,” she said. Both the MIU Student Oversight Board and the Oversight Committee will present their recommendations to Martin later this month. Martin will take both groups’ recommendations into consideration and will likely make her final decision in early March.
Study: Politics affects views on stem-cell research By Ariel Shapiro The Daily Cardinal
A recent UW-Madison study found that Wisconsin voters’ level of political activism on the issue of stem-cell research is more likely to be correlated to political ideology and media exposure than religion. Dominique Brossard, a UW-Madison professor of life sciences communication who worked on the study, said the report found there are more liberal activists than conservative activists rallying around the issue of stem-cell research. The study is based on a Badger Poll conducted in July 2006 of randomly selected Wisconsin voters. Brossard and Amy Becker, a
UW-Madison life sciences communication graduate student and co-author of the report, said previous research indicated that religion was more prevalent in forming voters’ opinions. Despite previous findings, UW-Madison professor of political science Charles Franklin said the politicization of stem cell research now divides voters along party lines. “Even if attitudes towards stem cells originated 15 years ago in some kind of religious orientations, once those became polarized between the parties and the ideological restraints, then this inevitably became something structured along partisan dimensions,” Franklin said. He also said because the poll
was conducted during an election when stem-cell research was a prominent issue, and one in which “Gov. Jim Doyle in particular pushed pretty early and hard in the campaign,” the poll results may not be as relevant today. “I’d like to see them produce more recent data on it,” he said. Although the findings may be somewhat dated, Brossard said the poll results show the effects media have on people’s perceptions of scientific issues. “I think it is encouraging to see that these issues are motivating the public to participate and that I think it is very important for scientists to understand that they need to be present in the public debate,” Brossard said.
Committee debates Broom Street, Peace Park renovations By Nick Crowley The Daily Cardinal
The Madison Board of Public Works met Wednesday to debate Broom Street renovations and approved plans for the renovation of Elizabeth Link Peace Park to be reviewed by the Common Council. Construction on Broom Street would take place over the summer. The renovations would improve the condition of the street and replace the current streetlights, among other improvements. The new lights would be lower to the ground and provide more light for pedestrians on sidewalks. “As anyone who drives a car or rides a bike knows, this project is
long overdue,” Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said. Though supporters see the project as necessary, the cost of the proposals sparked some debate from landowners on Broom Street. “How can you propose such an expensive project in this economy?” a community member asked. “You can’t put a price on public safety,” Verveer said. “Given the number of pedestrians walking at night, it is very important that we implement appropriate lighting.” Verveer said he hopes the economy will be in better condition by the time the public pays
for the project in October 2011. The board also approved improvements to Elizabeth Link Peace Park. Plans for further developing the small park off State Street include the addition of a visitors center and a fountain. These upgrades aim to make the park more visually appealing to attract more students and other citizens. After nearly a decade of deliberations, the Madison Common Council will assess the longawaited improvements on the park February 23. If approved by the council, construction should begin by March.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”