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University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Weekend, November 14-16, 2008
Budget cuts force UW System to reduce hiring By Grace Urban THE DAILY CARDINAL
CHRISTOPHER GUESS/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO
The Wisconsin football team, which won the historic Paul Bunyan’s Axe from Minnesota in 2004, hopes to defend it once again Saturday, this time against a much-improved Gopher squad.
Can Wisconsin cut the Gophers down to size? By Scott Kellogg THE DAILY CARDINAL
Continuing the longeststanding rivalry in Division I college football, the Wisconsin football team will wrap up its conference schedule this weekend at home against Minnesota in the battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe. The Badgers hope to keep the Axe in Madison for a fifth-straight year—they have not lost to the Golden Gophers since 2003. But for the first time since that season, Minnesota (3-3 Big Ten, 7-3 overall) enters the game with a better record than Wisconsin (2-5 Big Ten, 5-5 overall). Following a 35-point win at Indiana last weekend in which it regained some Wisconsin-style toughness and swagger, the team
will try to somewhat salvage a disappointing season by capturing a victory. “I know we’re confident on defense, and offense, too,” sophomore safety Jay Valai said. “So we should be ready to go.” Senior linebacker Jonathan Casillas also has reason to believe his defense will play well based on recent performance. “We’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I think we’ve learned from them,” Casillas said. “I think you could see that during the Indiana game, and the Michigan State game, too.” But regardless of recent play, Wisconsin players will be fired up to get the chance to play against the Gophers. “That’s what you play col-
lege football for when you go to Wisconsin. You got to play for the Axe,” Casillas said. Last season, Minnesota finished the season 1-10 overall and winless in the Big Ten. This season, the Gophers have experienced a respectable turnaround, and it starts at the quarterback position with sophomore Adam Weber. “[Minnesota’s] way better than last year, and that’s because of him,” Casillas said. Weber has morphed from a mistake-prone freshman into a smart game manager. Last season, he threw 24 touchdowns, but he was also intercepted 19 times. This season, Weber has thrown 11 football page 3
The current fiscal crisis has the UW System facing many potential spending cuts, including decreasing the amount of faculty it hires. UW System President Kevin Reilly sent a memo to all UW chancellors Oct. 28, which stated that beginning Nov. 1, new hires must be approved by the chancellor or a designee and hires “must be deemed those most essential to the university’s mission at this time.” There will be “resource restraints of various kinds,” said David Giroux, spokesperson for the UW System. Although it is too early to know specifically how many jobs will have to be cut, or whether enrollment will drop, there are going to be cuts in all areas, according to Lee Sensenbrenner, spokesperson for Gov. Jim Doyle. “Right now it’s too early to say the
nature of those cuts and how they’ll play out,” Sensenbrenner said. According to Mike Mikalsen, spokesperson for state Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, the goal is to keep cuts as minimal as possible. “This opens the door to discussions about how the system can be more efficient,” Mikalsen said. According to Mikalsen, there are many unknowns at this point, but it is important to avoid raising tuition too much. “What we’re looking at is the tolerance level for tuition increases,” he said. This will most directly affect middle-class families, Mikalsen said, because “financial aid doesn’t go to middle-class students. Less and less of these students are able to finance higher education.” Giroux expects a higher need for financial aid because of the poor state of the economy. “Many more students will be hiring page 3
Economic growth on agenda for next legislative session By Nico Savidge THE DAILY CARDINAL
State Democrats hinted earlier this week an economic stimulus package for the state is in the works, but specific aspects of the plan are yet to be determined. State Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Finance, previously said a stimulus package made with Gov. Jim Doyle could be part of their legislative agenda. John Anderson, spokesperson for
Miller, stressed job creation, saying that it will be “the top priority for Senate Democrats.” He said it was too early to discuss any specifics of economic legislation. “The proposals are still in the [formative] stage and we’re waiting for the governor,” he said. Democrats now control both houses of the state Legislature, and Jim Bender, spokesperson for incoming Assembly stimulus page 3
Little strummer boy
New Student Activities Center to open in spring semester By Andrea Carlson THE DAILY CARDINAL
Many student organizations on campus, including the Associated Students of Madison, will move to a new home starting Jan. 6. The new Student Activities Center will reside on the third and fourth floors of the University Square building located at 333 East Campus Mall. The building will contain retail on the first and second floors, with University Health Services on the fifth through eighth floors and the Bursar’s Office on the ninth and 10th floors. The purpose of the new location is to bring together various student organizations on campus in a centralized meeting space. Included in the facility are cubby spaces and lockers for
each organization, conference rooms, a rooftop deck, study areas and a kitchen area. UHS presented the idea for the project in the mid-1990s, citing the need for a more central location on campus. Since then, UHS has been working with ASM to find a suitable location. “I think it’s a really great opportunity to show that ASM is really trying to work with student organizations, and it’s really great that we’ll be in such close proximity to [them],” said Lauren Vollrath, chair of the SAC Governing Board. Organizations to receive permanent office space in the building include Student Print, WSUM radio and ASM offices. The current ASM office is
located at Memorial Union, but according to Adam Sheka, chair of the ASM Shared Governance Committee, the office is disjointed and not cohesive for working with other organizations. “There’s a lot of opportunity for [ASM] to interact with other students, which is just going to be really beneficial,” Sheka said about the new space. According to the ASM website, students supported the decision to implement new office space through a referendum during previous ASM elections. “It’s an example of one of ASM’s victories that is really going to last a long time,” Vollrath said. ASM officials said the total cost for the University Square project came to $59 million.
CHARLIE BAKER/THE DAILY CARDINAL
Art Paul Schlosser performs with his guitar and kazoo at an open mic Thursday night in der Rathskeller at Memorial Union.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”