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University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Column: Religious student orgs like Badger Catholic don’t deserve university funding
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OPINION
dailycardinal.com
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Weekend, February 18-20, 2011
Chancellor defends talks with state By Kayla Johnson The Daily Cardinal
After being accused of misleading students regarding the proposed split from the UW System, UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin held a press conference Thursday in hopes of dispelling what she deems inaccurate rumors. The accusations stemmed from a Jan. 7 memo obtained by The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Wednesday, in which Martin advocated for the separation of UW-Madison from the UW System. Some students said they felt deceived by the Chancellor because she repeatedly professed a lack of details about the university’s future relationship with the state while the memo shows Martin knew of the possible split. Associated Students of Madison Vice Chair Adam Johnson said he felt deceived by the UW-Madison administration because specifics of the plan were kept from the New Badger Partnership student working group. “Chancellor Martin, Dean [of Students Lori] Berquam, ViceChancellor [of Administration
Darrell] Bazzell, among others have each personally and directly misled top ASM leadership repeatedly,” said Johnson in a blog post. “Words cannot describe my immense dissatisfaction on behalf of students. We have been duped.” At the press conference, Martin said the memo was in response to “inquiries made by the governor’s team. They asked hypothetical questions and we answered with hypothetical scenarios.” Martin said she and her team have been completely public in their advocacy for flexibility for UW-Madison for the past year adding that the possibility of public authority model was discussed with student government and mentioned on the New Badger Partnership website. If UW-Madison implemented a public authority model, it would separate from the UW system and operate under its independent governing board instead of the Board of Regents. Although the student working group was informed of the possibility of UW-Madison implementing a public authoirty model, the term “public authority” was unable
to be found on the New Badger Partnership website. On the website, the question “Is this initiative meant to sever ties with the state or the UW System?” is listed in the FAQ section. The response is, “No … this is actually intended to renew and enhance the relationship with the state.” Martin met with members of ASM Thursday morning to address why some contents of the memo had not been discussed with the student government. Following the meeting, ASM Chair Brandon Williams said although he felt left in the dark at first, he better understands the administration’s discretion. “If we had gotten our hands on it, it might have made it a political football before it was a political option,” Williams said. “While students were kept out of this information, sometimes the nature of politics is that you can’t tell everyone everything,” ASM Representative Tyler Junger agreed. Although he said he still feels a sense of “professional disappointment” toward the administration, Johnson said he is ready to move forward working with university leaders.
Nation polarized in reactions to bill, protests By Nick Graetz The Daily Cardinal
After a third day of protests and an afternoon that saw 14 Democratic state Senators leave the Capitol in protest of Gov. Walker’s budget-repair bill, Madison has found itself in the national spotlight. In an interview with WTMJ-TV, President Barack Obama said he is monitoring the situation in Wisconsin, and stressed the fact that everyone in the country will have to make adjustments to the new financial reality in an effort to avoid layoffs. In reference to his own freeze on pay increases for federal workers over the next two years, Obama said such adjustments seem like “the right thing to do.” “On the other hand, some of what
I’ve heard coming out of Wisconsin, where you’re just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain generally, seems like more of an assault on unions,” Obama said in the WTMJ interview. Obama also condemned vilifying public employees or blaming them for budget problems. In the interview, he called on the nation to remember the sacrifices public employees make for their communities. The surge of protesting in Wisconsin’s capitol has also elicited reactions from national leaders and conservative pundits. Republican U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., compared the protests in his state’s capital to those in Egypt that led to the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Rush Limbaugh, prominent conservative radio host, has also reacted to the budget situation in Madison on his daily program, calling the protests “an anti-democracy movement.” “What’s the point of having elections if public sector union bosses decide your quality of life, your tax rates, and all that, because that’s what’s happening here,” Limbaugh said. He also said the National Guard could step in to fill the roles of missing teachers. Fifteen school systems in Wisconsin canceled class for a second day Thursday, and the country is now watching as the increasingly heated political fight in Madison plays out over the next few days.
Ben Pierson/the daily cardinal
Protesters blockaded the doors of the Senate and Governor’s office in anger over the budget bill they claim is union busting.
Senate Dems flee Madison, delay bill By Ariel Shapiro The Daily Cardinal
On the most turbulent day yet of demonstrations against Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill, Democratic state senators successfully delayed the controversial legislation by walking out of the Capitol Thursday and setting up camp across state lines. The bill, which passed out of the Joint Finance Committee in a partisan vote of 12-4 late Wednesday night, after hundreds of testimonies denouncing it, was supposed to be taken up by the state Senate Thursday morning before moving to the state Assembly. However, the state Senate is divided 19-14, and at least 20 senators must be present to vote on
a bill. Republican senators left in the afternoon after it was clear their Democratic colleagues were not coming back. At first the whereabouts of the rogue lawmakers were unknown, and clues from the senators were cryptic. “Brb,” read a Facebook status from state Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, who, through her work during the JFC marathon public hearing, emerged as one of the leaders of the fight against the bill. It was later reported the senators were just over the border in Rockford, Ill., Gov. Scott Walker later implored them “to show up and do the job they’re paid to do.” “They don’t have to agree with protests page 3
Teaching Assistants to continue teach outs Friday By Alison Bauter The Daily Cardinal
BEn Pierson/the daily cardinal
Danny Spitzberg, of the Teaching Assistants’ Association, participated in the protests Thursday. TAA voted to continue holding classes off-campus Friday.
Teaching Assistants’ Association members voted Thursday to extend their “teach out,” calling for action on all University of Wisconsin campuses to cease holding class on campus through Sunday. TAA member Magda Konieczna, a PhD student and teaching assistant in the School of Journalism, said after two hours of deliberation, members voted to continue the teach out with only one opposing vote. “It was a very wide-ranging discussion, a lot of emotions,” Konieczna said. “A lot of people didn’t know, coming in, how they would vote because we think it’s very serious.” The TAA is discouraging any
activity on campus Friday and is asking professors and TAs to use their discretion to cancel, reschedule or hold classes off campus. “We realize this is not the strongest action we could call for,” the TAA wrote in a press release. “We are calling for it because we do not want the learning to stop.” Konieczna clarified that a teach out does not necessarily mean canceling discussion sections. “We’re not just saying ‘cancel classes’—that’s why we’re including rescheduling or holding them off campus,” she said. The TAA described its continuing protest as “a sign of solidarity with our elected representatives who have left the state … and with the
tens of thousands of people from around the state who continue to occupy the Capitol.” According to Konieczna, approximately 6,000 people walked off 12 campuses across the state Thursday. Konieczna said the TAA anticipates many more students and TAs will join in Friday’s teach out. In a letter to Chancellor Biddy Martin, the TAA requested she cancel UW-Madison classes Friday to “stand in solidarity with striking public employees across the state” against what they call the “draconian provisions” in Gov. Scott Walker’s Budget Repair Bill. UW-Madison has not yet officially canceled class in response to the controversial bill.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”