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Sexual assault reports jump to 325 in 2016 By Nina Bertelsen THE DAILY CARDINAL
In the last year, UW-Madison saw an increase of more than 100 sexual assault reports, according to a university official. The number of reported sexual assaults on campus rose from 217 reports in 2015 to 325 reports in 2016. This more than doubles the increase between 2014 and 2015,
when the number of reports rose by only 45. Tonya Schmidt, assistant dean and director in the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards, said the office has consistently seen an uptick of reports after they were able to publicize resources and clearly communicate their process with a Violence Against Women grant from the
Department of Justice in 2009. Following this, Schmidt said she believes many students felt more comfortable coming forward once they knew what resources existed, rights afforded to them and how the reporting process works. This includes knowing that a student won’t get in trouble for underage drinking if they report a sexual assault.
More than two-thirds of the 2016 reports—215 instances—were disclosed to confidential resources and no further information was given to be followed up on for an investigation. This means that officials do not have information about what degree of assault and where these occurred, or if they were perpetrated by a student. Of the ones that did contain
additional information, 15 proceeded with an investigation. Out of the 15 investigations, four were found not responsible and six responsible. Two students found guilty were placed on university probation, three were suspended and one assailant was expelled. Five cases remain under investigation.
Bill would prohibit Planned Parenthood, UW agreement By Madeline Schachte THE DAILY CARDINAL
OWEN DESAI/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO
Three other Big Ten schools offer three-year degree pathways that require completion of credits prior to freshman year. This path may not be an option for students in STEM degree programs.
Three-year degree pathways could be ineffective, but help some at UW By Meredith Nesbitt THE DAILY CARDINAL
The debate over three-year versus four-year bachelor degree programs is taking center stage following Gov. Scott Walker’s 2017’19 budget proposal. An aspect of this requires the UW System to establish pathways to a three-year degree for 10 percent of programs by Jan.1, 2018 and 60 percent of programs by June 2020. Student loan debt has become a growing problem nationwide, and Walker’s budget attempts to target this issue in Wisconsin. A report published by The Institute for College Access & Success calculated that, on average, a 2015 graduate of UW System four-year public universities has $26,435 in debt. Walker’s mandate, if approved, could theoretically save students 25 percent, around $6,600, as well as get them into the workforce a year earlier. “Graduating in three years gave me a lot of flexibility, both financially and in terms of time to leave undergrad and not feel as much immediate stress that one feels with high student loan payments or having spent
so much of their time completing a degree” Julie Goodrich, a UW-Madison graduated in three years with a degree in Legal Studies and Spanish, told The Daily Cardinal. However, the budget contains no further explanation about the three-year programs or plans for implementation, and many questions remain. Some have questioned the proposal’s viability at UW-Madison. Engineering, math, computer science, biology, chemistry, physics and other degrees cannot be completed in three years, according to Noel Radomski, director of Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Secondary Education. “It goes to the quality of the degree program, the accreditation requirements, what employers want from those graduates,” Radomski said. “Also, students who get their degrees in the STEM fields will often go on to get their Masters or PhDs. They have to get a high quality bachelor’s to do that.” Currently 40 percent of UW-Madison undergraduates receive a STEM degree. Additionally, the budget does
not say whether the three-year plans will decrease the number of required credit hours—they may just encourage enrollment in summer courses to get students through the system faster, Radomski explained. Across the Big Ten, three-year degree programs are relatively uncommon. They are offered at University of Iowa, Purdue University—where the degrees offered are all humanities-based— and The Ohio State University. “The three year degree plans are designed for students who come to Iowa with specific goals, have already earned some college credit, or are ready to complete more courses per term than average,” according to the University of Iowa Office of Undergraduate Admissions. The same applies to Ohio State, where 70 percent of majors offered have an associated threeyear plan. At Ohio State, completion in three years depends on freshman passing entrance exams and having AP credits from high school. For a three-year biology degree, a student must come in with 24 cred-
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Republican legislators introduced a bill Friday that may result in UW System employees no longer being able to perform abortions or train others at Madison Planned Parenthood clinics. The legislation, introduced by state Rep. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, and state Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, would terminate a nearly five-year arrangement in which physicians from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health are given the ability to work in the Madison locations of Planned Parenthood. The legislators called the arrangement, in which “UW has provided faculty members to serve as abortionists,” at
Planned Parenthood Madison clinics “appalling.” “The University has been acting as a contractor for Planned Parenthood,” Jacque told the Associated Press. “That is not the role of the government.” Since 2012, an agreement has allowed Planned Parenthood to hire out UW System faculty physicians to perform a variety of services, including family planning, disease screenings and abortions. Sixteen to 20 hours of services are provided to Planned Parenthood by approximately 10 faculty members each week, and system employees receive a compensation rate of $150 dollars per hour.
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On the move On Feb. 28, UW-Madison students walked to class through dense fog and mist. The bus drives past carrying those who avoided the gloomy weather. + Photo by Morgan Winston
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”