DON’T RUN THE RISK, CARE FOR YOUR FEET UW researchers say it behooves joggers to find their soles before lacing up FEATURES
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All 26 UW System schools breaking law on contract disclosure By Hannah Furfaro The Daily Cardinal
More than 80 state agencies, including UW-Madison, are not in compliance with an open records law that requires all state agencies to report their contractual agreements on an aggregate website maintained by the Government Accountability Board. The 2005 law requires the GAB to maintain a website called Contract Sunshine, which was intended to make all contract agreements between state agencies and contractors publicly available in one online location. According to Reid Magney, GAB spokesperson, it is up to the individual agencies to post their contract information. “Agencies who are not filing information with Contract Sunshine are not in compliance with the law,” he said. None of the UW System’s 26 campuses is in
The Daily Cardinal
A high-speed rail stop could be located near downtown Madison under two new Amtrak station proposals. Martin Rifken, owner of the 700 block of Williamson Street, has proposed two different stops downtown, one on Williamson Street and the other behind the Kohl Center.
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Magney said the state Legislature did not include enforcement provisions when it originally passed the law. He contracts page 3
“If students need to take a kind of transportation that’s only at Willy Street, then they could take [the train] from the Kohl Center,” Rifken said. “This stop wouldn’t have a place to bring cars and park them, but they would be able to have taxi and bus drop-off.” The Kohl Center stop, which rail page 3
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Tuesday, March 16, 2010
People flocked to State Street Monday as rainy skies finally gave way to sunny weather.
“Agencies who are not filing information with Contract Sunshine are not in compliance with the law.” Reid Magney spokesperson Government Accountability Board
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Fun in the sun
compliance, according to Magney. “We have had some discussions with the university system in terms of why [they] aren’t inputting the information and what kind of changes [to the] system would make it easier for them to do that,” he said.
Willy Street, Kohl Center high-speed rail stops proposed By Michelle Langer
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Who will kill the radio star next? Uncle Sam or royalty-free DJs?
emily julka the daily cardinal
Experts debate ethics of UW primate research By Daniel Tollefson The Daily Cardinal
Experts argued the ethics of primate research at a debate held at Memorial Union Monday. The debate, which featured Paul Kaufman, chair of the UW-Madison Department of Ophthalmology, and Rick Bogle, co-director of Alliance for Animals, was moderated by Rob Streiffer, UW-Madison professor of medical history and bioethics. The UW-Madison Department of Psychology conducts biomedical and behavioral research at both the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center and the Harlow Center for Biological Psychology, which hosts
about 500 rhesus macaque monkeys. According to Kaufman, who uses monkeys to investigate cures for glaucoma and other eye-related diseases, studying animals is the necessary final test before permitting research on human beings. He said the importance of preserving the life and health of humans requires that researchers establish specific distinctions between human and nonhuman primates. “But [monkeys] are not us,” he said. “I would posit that we have the ethical right and obligation to employ those species if it is going to help our health and life.” However, Bogle, who has advo-
cated for over 15 years against the use of monkeys in research, argued that the distinction between monkeys and humans is not large enough. According to Bogle, monkeys have concerns for one another, a sense of self and a similar consciousness to humans and should be free from research. He also said he is concerned with the treatment of the monkeys in research centers. “We know that the monkeys in the labs tend to have some sort of abnormal behaviors. They bite themselves, they chew on their fingers, they primates page 3
Committee proposes further changes to possible Gordon Commons construction
isabel Álvarez/the daily cardinal
Under UW-Madison Facilities Planning and Management Director Gary Brown’s proposal for Gordon Commons, a wide terrace with outdoor seating would accommodate student leisure activities.
The Joint Southeast Campus Area Committee met Monday to discuss further redevelopment plans for Gordon Commons. The project was originally proposed to the committee in January and would necessitate ground-up construction on the corner of Dayton and Lake Streets. Minor changes were made to the project in the two months since the proposal’s introduction. According to Gary Brown, director of UW-Madison Facilities Planning and Management, the building would remain three stories and serve up to 1,000 students. After the new cafeteria is constructed, the old one would be demolished to create green space. The biggest concern the committee faced in past meetings was the visual aesthetic of the walls facing both Dayton and Lake. At the meeting, Brown presented a new design to try to address the issue.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said he believes the proposed building’s visuals have become more appealing for foot traffic since the revision. He said this is crucial for what he called a “heavily traveled route.” Committee members also discussed fueling changes to the Charter Street Heating Plant, which provides power to the UW-Madison campus by a back-pressure steam turbine generator, according to Facilities Planning and Management. Committee members said they want the heating plant to be visually and academically attractive while reducing coal consumption and burning only natural gas and biomass. Committee member Laura Gutknecht said the plant’s design should be a substantial revision. The Urban Design Commission will further discuss the Charter Street Heating Plant plan April 7. —Beth Pickhard
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”