BADGERS HOPE TO KEEP DEVILS ‘BLUE’
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to fret over finding housing for next year OPINION
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University of Wisconsin-Madison
UW enters tonight’s statement game with level-headed confidence after Maui SPORTS Complete campus coverage since 1892
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Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Forum addresses LGBT concerns By Robert Taylor The Daily Cardinal
Alison Bauter/the daily cardinal
Dean of Students Lori Berquam listens as students comment upon and give suggestions for LGBT services on campus, including the LGBT Campus Center, Tuesday evening.
Group criticizes surge strategy in Afghanistan By Alison Dirr The Daily Cardinal
About 35 individuals congregated in the Humanities building Tuesday to discuss President Obama’s speech on his strategy in Afghanistan. Buzz Davis, a member of Wisconsin Impeachment and the Bring Our Troops Home Coalition, led the discussion. Obama outlined an exit strategy for Afghanistan in a speech at West Point Military Academy in front of 4,000 cadets. He said the strategy includes a troop surge in 2010 and ends with troop withdrawal beginning in July 2011. “These are the three core elements of our strategy: a military effort to create the conditions for a transition, a civilian surge that reinforces positive action and an effective partnership with Pakistan,” Obama said, stressing that he did not take this decision lightly. He explained his hopes that U.S. allies will send additional troops to augment U.S. forces in the fight against the Taliban. The vast majority of those who attended the meeting said they opposed Obama’s announcement to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan beginning in 2010. A pamphlet distributed at the meeting called on those present to either “fight escalation or accept it.” Some expressed interest in organizing protests to promote their anti-war cause. “I think a better direction would be for Obama to come out and say that this is not what our country is really about and we’re going to stop waging wars in these countries that have resources that we want,” attendee Kristine Pettersen said. Most of the attendees said they shared Pettersen’s sentiments, though two students present disagreed. “All of [the attendees] were worried about important issues like the decline of unions in the U.S. and the controversy over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and chose to focus on imaginary and ridiculous ideas like impeaching Obama as a war criminal,” UW-Madison freshman Gabriel Alpert said.
Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Campus Center Director Eric Trekell and Dean of Students Lori Berquam hosted a listening session for the UW-Madison community, students, faculty and staff Tuesday. The forum addressed the many services provided by the LGBT Campus Center and solicited input to improve the center, as well as the overall LGBT experience at UW-Madison. Students spoke out in concern regarding the hostility they said that they experienced on campus for openly identifying themselves as LGBT. One student referenced incidents where some professors and teaching assistants had run classroom exercises without regard to the presence of LGBT members. In one such instance, the professor had made a blanket statement about homosexuality, only to catch himself, telling the class, “It is Madison, you
know,” according to the student. Sean Aukland, who has worked for three years within university housing, said it was possible for resident assistants in the dormitories to opt out of LGBT sensitivity trainings. “That is extremely problematic because it makes that training choice-based,” he said. He said he saw several cases in recent years where LGBT residents left housing because of a hostile living environment. “We had just recently in one of our residence halls a student who left and terminated his housing contract because he was being specifically targeted,” he said. Berquam said the university is concerned about these issues, and the LGBT Campus Center is a resource available to all LGBT students and allies on campus. “The LGBT Campus Center is available for any student looking for support and community on campus,” Berquam said. “It lgbt forum page 3
Panel discusses impact of HIV/AIDS on women By Melanie Teachout The Daily Cardinal
A panel of experts gathered to discuss the effect of HIV/AIDS on women worldwide and answer questions for UW-Madison students in honor of World AIDS Day Tuesday. Ashlynn Ware, a senior at UW-Madison, shared a personal encounter with HIV/ AIDS. She was born HIV positive. “Before I was born, my mother was encouraged to have an abortion because the doctors told her that I wouldn’t live to be old enough to do anything for her to experience being a mother or that she wouldn’t live long enough to be my mother,” she said. Ware said encountered many obstacles at a young age because of her diagnosis but continues to educate others on her experience with HIV. Lori DiPrete Brown from the Center for Global Health spoke about HIV/AIDS from a human rights perspective. She encouraged all attendees to take action in the community to help HIV/AIDS research. “In the past people could be easily excused for not knowing. But now in the information age you almost have to try, you almost have to close your eyes and ears to not know what is going on,” Brown said. Dr. Ajay Sethi of the department of Population Health Sciences spoke about infection prevention. Sethi said he previously focused his research mainly on AIDS prevention in Uganda. According to Sethi, the extremely high birthrate in Uganda puts future generations
at risk of acquiring HIV from their mothers at birth. Sethi said that in the past, health care for women regarding HIV was less accurate and as a result caused misunderstandings concerning the virus and left many women untreated for HIV.
“The viral load in women is half of that in men,” Sethi said. “There was a time where viral load was a measurement of HIV and lot of women were told not to go on treatment because their viral load was low,” referring to an example of misconceptions about the virus.
Danny Marchewka/the daily cardinal
A panel of experts discussed HIV/AIDS prevention for women worldwide with UW-Madison students Tuesday in honor of World AIDS Day.
UHS to hold large-scale H1N1 vaccination clinic at SERF Friday University Health Services has announced plans for a large-scale H1N1 vaccination clinic this Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Southeast Recreational Facility. The announcement follows a significant drop in influenza-like illness reported to UHS.
The 4,000 doses of vaccination will be available to all students ages 24 and under. No appointment is needed for the clinic, but a valid student ID is required. “Now that we have [the vaccine], our goal is to deliver as many doses as possible to [students] as quickly as we can,” Sarah VanOrman, executive director of UHS, said
in a statement. “By far, the most efficient way to do that is to hold a large clinic in a big space like the SERF.” Free H1N1 vaccinations are also available to students at the main UHS location on East Campus Mall from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. However, vaccinations will only be available at the SERF Dec. 4.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”