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Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Natatorium vote elicits strong campus reactions By Ashley Davis The Daily Cardinal
UW-Madison students have been actively demonstrating their support or opposition to a referendum that would increase student segregated fees to extensively expand the Natatorium with a $60 million renovation. The proposal would add an indoor turf field, four-court basketball gymnasium with a running track around its perimeter and five to seven multipurpose hardwood, mirrored rooms, among other amenities, according to Mike Bernatz, a UW-Madison senior leading the NatUp campaign in favor of the referendum. The referendum would be funded primarily by student segregated fees, costing students roughly $54 per semester for 30 years beginning fall 2013, the biggest concern for many opposing the project. “This referendum that we students are voting on is not about a new Natatorium; this referendum is about another hike in segregated fees, and we as students are saying that we cannot afford any more new seg fees right now,” said Peter Rickman, leader of the No New Seg Fees campaign opposing the expansion and co-president of the Teaching Assistants’ Association. According to Bernatz, the project would be funded by other sources in addition to segregated fees. “Athletics has committed half a million dollars for the pool renovations, we’ve requested $3.7 million from the state ... and Rec Sports is subsidizing the costs
until 2013, which is going to be about a million dollars,” he said. Still, Rickman said the project should be funded more by the state’s general-purpose revenue or by private donations and grants. “We need to ensure that at this time, as much as any, of economic and fiscal crisis, that we’re protecting access of higher education for students,” he said. Under a 2008 Associated Students of Madison bylaw, at least 15 percent of the student population, approximately 6,200 students, must vote for the project to move forward. “If 15 percent doesn’t vote, then students haven’t voiced their opinions loud enough,” ASM Chair Tyler Junger said. The bylaw was created following the approval of the new south campus union in an election in which approximately 6 percent of students voted. However, Bernatz said regardless of turnout, if the referendum is approved, it will move forward to the Board of Regents and Chancellor Biddy Martin. “ASM was really upset that such a low voter turnout was able to determine the results [on the south campus union],” Bernatz said. “So they didn’t fully understand the bounds of their power and made a rule ... but they don’t have the power to do that ... and that rule is strictly advisory.” According to Junger, ASM does not have any binding power to allocate segregated fees to the project if less than 15 percent of students vote. Students can vote online at asm. wisc.edu until 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Senate passes ban on texting while driving, payday loan bill By Steven Rosenbaum The Daily Cardinal
The state Senate passed a bill Tuesday that prohibits texting while driving. The bill, which passed the Assembly in January, provides a penalty of between $20 and $400 for the first offense and between $200 and $800 for the second. Opponents of the bill said it was unnecessary because of existing laws prohibiting inattentive driving. Senators supporting the bill, however,
said it was needed because such laws leave the decision to issue a ticket up to the individual police officer. “If we pass this it is very specific. If you are texting, it is illegal,” state Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, said during the debate. “It really takes the onus off the officer, because he doesn’t have to make this decision was that person inattentive driving or not. It’s if you are doing this activity it is against the law.” Supporters also said it is important senate page 3
ASM leaders face complaint over stipends By Ryan Hebel The Daily Cardinal
Four high-ranking members of UW-Madison’s student government may have broken organizational bylaws by voting to substantially increase salaries for positions they later filled, according a Student Council member. In a complaint filed Monday with the Student Judiciary, council member Maxwell Love alleges that current Associated Students of Madison Chair Tyler Junger, Vice Chair Tom Templeton, Secretary Kurt Gosselin and
Student Services Finance Committee Chair Brandon Williams voted to increase stipends by more than 15 percent for the positions they now hold. Last year, all four were members of committees that voted on the budget. According to the bylaws, accepting an increase of over 15 percent would “constitute malfeasance in office and be grounds for firing, impeachment or removal from all offices and positions held in ASM” if the representative had stipends page 3
isabel Álvarez/Cardinal file photo
Barrett trails GOP foes in campaign donations Part 2 of 2 in a series on campaign finance By Ariel Shapiro The Daily Cardinal
Democratic frontrunner and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who joined the gubernatorial race in November 2009, now faces the challenge of catching up with his Republican competitors who have been formally in the race for a year. As of the last filed finance report in January, which accounts for all money going directly in and out of the campaign from July 2009 through the end of the year, Barrett has about $1.6 million at his disposal. This puts him ahead of former Congressman Mark Neumann and just behind Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, who has about $2 million on hand. Between July 2009 and Dec. 31, 2009, Barrett received over $800,000 in campaign contributions, with the vast majority of those coming in the last six weeks of the year following his official bid. Barrett campaign spokesperson Phil Walzak said raising over $750,000 in six weeks is “astonishing.” “I think it spoke to how excited people were that he was getting in the race,” he said. Most of Barrett’s largest donations came from Milwaukeebased lawyers and labor union-
affiliated political action committees, a fact that Mike McCabe, executive director of the nonpartisan watchdog group Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, said he finds hardly surprising. McCabe said trial lawyers and labor unions are two of Democrats’ core constituencies and “if Barrett’s campaign is going to be remotely successful, he has to expand that fundraising base outside of those traditional Democratic constituencies, and he has to expand it statewide.” Expansion is precisely the goal for the Barrett campaign, according to Walzak. He said since the report was filed three months ago, Barrett has been working to connect to the rest of Wisconsin and campaign in parts of the state generally thought to be “red country.” “Tom is someone who wants to run a campaign that is not just speaking to a [Democratic] base,” Walzak said. “I think that involves the fundraising component and drawing support from independent and middle-of-the-road moderates.” Walzak said in the next filing report, which will come out in July, “there will be a much more diverse and broad-base representation of support. I think you will see a lot of small donors from different walks of life, I think you are going to see a lot of business support on there and I think that you are going to see a lot of geographic diversity.” Although Walker is still ahead in terms of funds, McCabe said because of Walker’s high spending, Barrett may have more cash on
hand by the summer. “[Walker’s] spending a lot more money earlier than Barrett. He’s spending on TV advertising, because he’s got a primary opponent in Mark Neumann, and so I think by the time that the reports are filed in July you might actually see Barrett sitting on more cash,” he said. In the second half of 2009, Barrett spent about $70,000, compared to over $900,000 for Walker. Barrett could also potentially benefit from contributions from one of the state’s biggest wild-card interests, Native American tribes, particularly the Forest County Potawatomi Community based in the Milwaukee area. According to The Lakeland Times, the FCPC supported Gov. Jim Doyle in 2006 by funding advertisements and contributing $200,000 to the Democratic National Committee. McCabe said Native American tribes are “one of those interests that’s the proverbial 800-pound gorilla. If they jump into the race, they could bring millions.” The FCPC has made no announcements about any support for Barrett, but Lori Cleereman, assistant to the chair of FCPC, said, “We’ll be keeping our options open.” McCabe said campaign finance “is a really important factor” as the race heats up. “Who has the money usually wins,” he said. “It’s probably the single best indicator of electoral success, and I think that is a very sad commentary on the state of our democracy,” he said.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”