Weekend, April 16-19, 2015 - The Daily Cardinal

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University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Weekend, April 16-19, 2015

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dana kampa/the daily cardinal

Dana kampa/the daily cardinal

dana kampa/the daily cardinal

Alder-elects Sheri Carter, District 14 (left), Samba Baldeh, District 17 (middle), and Barbara McKinney, District 1 (right), will join the City Council April 21.

City makes history, gains perspective By Dana Kampa the daily cardinal

A new batch of more diverse Madison City Council members, including the city’s first black women to serve as alders, are preparing to “hit the ground running” April 21. “We come at a critical time,” Alder-elect Barbara McKinney said. “That lense is so important because you will never see things the way I see things, not that you’re bad or good. It’s just that my vision is totally different. If the city is really going to move in a way that it includes

all people, you really have to include that vision.” In the April 7 general election, McKinney won the race for District 1 and Sheri Carter won against incumbent Ald. John Strasser to represent District 14. McKinney said she takes pride in being elected based on the support she earned from her community. “For me, ironically, it wasn’t even to think of being ‘the first,’” she said. She said returning to her former home in Ferguson, Mo.,

and seeing the effects of Michael Brown’s shooting prompted her to run for office. “When I was standing there, I just realized how blessed I had been to move from that, and what I had accomplished,” McKinney said. “I realized that I could really make a difference.” Alder-elect Samba Baldeh, who won the race for District 17, follows eight black Council members who served before him. Baldeh is a software engineer and a partner in a technology consulting business. He was born in a small village in

rural Gambia and immigrated to America in 2000. “I wanted to be in the process of people who will make the laws,” Baldeh said. “My reflection, or my understanding of the world or my people, particularly minority people … [having] that reflected into policies, laws or ordinances is important.” Carter, who has been a community activist for more than 15 years on city and neighborhood committees, also emphasized the importance of bringing diverse backgrounds into Madison politics.

National rally calls for higher minimum wage By Jessica Dorsky The Daily Cardinal

Approximately 100 students and community members rallied on Library Mall Wednesday with signs that read “Students for $15,” “Poverty Wage Jobs Hold Madison Back” and “Who made your burger? Who made your shirt?” The demonstration was part of the national Fight for $15 strike to raise minimum wage and increase unionization. Amy Perez, a first-generation Madison College student, is the only female in her family who is single and without kids. She said she works 35 hours per week to support herself and hopes to transfer to the UW-Madison College of Engineering, despite having trouble maintaining the neces-

sary GPA. “My parents can’t afford to pay my living expenses or tuition at all,” Perez said. “Working this much is really messing up my GPA and it is going to take me longer to finish college.” She added balancing school and work makes it difficult to focus on anything else, including her health. “I don’t even remember the last time I went to the doctor for a regular checkup or vaccines, I don’t have the time between school and work to do that,” Perez said. Immigrant Workers Union member Claudia Gonzalez said she quit her job as a nanny because the $8 per hour wage was

+ OPINION, page 5

rally page 2

“I come from a different perspective by working with neighborhoods and working from the grassroots,” she said. “It’s knowing all phases of life and being able to translate that to the Common Council meetings.” The alder-elects agreed their priorities include improving education, transportation and public safety. McKinney, Carter and Baldeh are scheduled to join the only current black Council member, Ald. Maurice Cheeks, District 10, in serving Madison at the end of the month.

MPD arrests five teens for Feb. crimes By Adelina Yankova The Daily cardinal

Kaitlyn Veto/the daily cardinal

Students join fast food workers on Library Mall as part of a national strike to raise minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Learn your lessons the hard way

Police arrested five Madison teenagers for multiple acts of vandalism committed in the city’s West District two months ago, according to a Madison Police Department statement released Wednesday. The “crime spree” resulted in more than $30,000 in damage to 45 properties, including private homes, mailboxes and vehicles, according to the release. The Feb. 14 vandalism primarily took the form of splattered paint balls and spray painted messaging, with seven of the cases incorporating anti-Semitic words and images. These derogatory sentiments

crimes page 2

Ass Waxing + SPORTS, page 8

“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”


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