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University of Wisconsin-Madison
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BADGERS DENY THE ILLINI, END LOSING STREAK UW pounds No. 23 Illinois 63-50 with John Leuer adding 15 points and six rebounds SPORTS
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UW ends deal with Russell UW skeptical of apparel-maker’s labor practices By Megan Orear THE DAILY CARDINAL
UW-Madison officials announced Thursday the university will no longer do business with Russell Athletics, which makes apparel with the UW logo, because the company might be violating workers’ rights. After Russell announced it would close one of its factories in Choloma, Honduras, in 2008, workers’ rights groups suspected unionizing efforts were the cause of the closure, which left 1,800 workers without jobs. The Worker Rights Consortium released a report in November 2008 that pointed to a number of factors, such as the timing of the announcement and threats from managers to
workers, as evidence Russell closed the plant in retaliation against workers’ efforts to organize. Dawn Crim, special assistant to the chancellor for community relations, said the university has been waiting for answers to questions about these activities since October, and even after evaluating several reports and talking directly with Russell executives, the role unionizing played in the closure is still unclear. These unanswered questions are grounds for the university’s decision, according to Crim. “Freedom of association is something that we take very seriously. It’s part of our expectations of our business relationships,” she said. Russell Athletics could not be reached for comment. “We are very pleased the university has terminated the Russell contract, and I think it
THE DAILY CARDINAL
The UW System Board of Regents met Thursday to assess the progress of its strategic planning efforts for growth in Wisconsin a year after implementing them. Board President Mark Bradley said it is important to monitor progress after approving the action steps needed to “keep momentum behind the Growth Agenda for Wisconsin.” Rebecca Martin, UW System senior vice president for academic affairs, explained the need for a Growth Agenda with a
Rebecca Martin, UW System senior vice president for academic affairs, discusses the action steps for the Wisconsin Growth Agenda. NICK KOGOS THE DAILY CARDINAL
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universal vision to produce and attract more college graduates, support more well-paying jobs and strengthen communities where citizens and employers alike will thrive. “I think we’ve made real progress,” UW System President Kevin Reilly said. The growth of people, jobs and communities are initiatives ingrained into the Wisconsin Growth Agenda. According to Martin, the first action step involves creating shared learning goals for all UW regents page 3
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Weekend, February 6-8, 2009
Expert provides tips for finding jobs outside academic world By Kelsey Gunderson THE DAILY CARDINAL
LORENZO ZEMELLA/THE DAILY CARDINAL
James Baughman, director of the School of Journalism & Mass Communication, spoke at Memorial Union Thursday in honor of UWMadison’s 160th Founders’ Day. Residence halls served birthday cake in cafeterias beginning at noon to celebrate the occasion.
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Regents evaluate progress of action steps in Wisconsin Growth Agenda By Ashley Davis
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Advocates react to UW Hospital abortion vote By Erin Banco THE DAILY CARDINAL
The UW-Madison Hospital and Clinics Authority Board’s vote Wednesday to implement a second-trimester abortion clinic raised mixed emotions among state community members. The board voted 11-3 to install the clinic in the Madison Surgery Center, a private joint venture owned by Meriter Hospital and UW Hospital. “Without local availability of this service ... Madison-area women will be forced to obtain this procedure elsewhere and may obtain it under conditions that do not meet current medical standards,” UW Hospital spokesperson Lisa Brunette said in a statement. The Alliance Defense Fund, a legal alliance that defends religious freedoms, began protesting the clinic in early December 2008. “UW Hospital cannot authorize second-trimester abortions in this clinic without creating pervasive plans,” Matt Bowmen, legal counsel for ADF, said. Bowen said the clinic could potentially violate state laws and inherently threaten to violate the consciences of employees who work there. Several anti-abortion advocates from Wisconsin said they are unsatisfied with the board’s decision. Peggy Hamill, state director of
Pro-Life Wisconsin, said it was clear the board members knew their vote before the start of the meeting. “One has to pray that the truth that resonated throughout all the stunning testimony of those people ... on the side of life will eventually touch the hearts of those members of the board that voted in favor of the slaughter of children at the hands of the UW,” she said. State Rep. Kelda Helen Roys, DMadison, said it was important for doctors to see the public health need in the Madison area, but she was unsatisfied with how the hospital handled the matter. “Abortion is a medical procedure, and the only thing disappointing about the whole process is that it was treated differently than any other medical procedure,” she said. “The only people that should be having a say in this is the patients and the doctors.” State Sen. Glenn Grothman, RWest Bend, who led 28 state senators in petitioning against the clinic, said second-trimester abortions are not seen in countries like France, Germany and Russia. “This not only makes the University of Wisconsin a statewide embarrassment, it makes it an international embarrassment,” he said. Boards from the UW Medical Foundation, Meriter Hospital and the Madison Surgery Center still need to vote on the issue.
For many students, the road to finding a career can be challenging, but over 100 UW-Madison community members learned Thursday the trip might not be as difficult as they thought. Susan Basalla, co-author of “So What Are You Going to Do With That?: Finding Careers Outside Academia,” provided students in Grainger Hall with tips on how to find jobs outside the academic world. Basalla warned graduate students the process of leaving the academic world is a difficult road. “It’s not easy to leave a universe you have lived in for a decade or more,” she said. “The happy thing is it’s only finding that first job that can be the hardest.” Basalla offered strategies to hone job-seeking tactics. According to Basalla, the most important strategy to finding careers outside of academia is networking. “Networking is the numberone, hands down, best way to get a job,” she said. “It’s about making connections, generating some possibilities and sitting back to see what happens.” Micah Hahn, a UW-Madison first-year graduate student, said she found Basalla’s networking tips to be the most thought-provoking part of the speech. “She gave a lot of practical tips which were helpful,” she said. “A lot of her ideas were things you can actually use in the real world.” Basalla said pursuing outside interests while in graduate school can be important not only for forming connections outside of academia but also to help make the process more smooth and enjoyable. Katie Holman, a UWMadison second-year graduate student, said she felt underestimating her non-academic pursuits was her biggest problem in graduate school and was glad Basalla addressed the issue. “A lot of times when people are in grad school they forget about what they enjoy,” she said. “Graduate school tends to come first, but it’s nice to hear someone say that you don’t have to love school, you can have other hobbies.” Basalla encouraged graduate students not to portray dissertations as their greatest accomplishments. She said the process of the research is more important than the actual content. “The process of formulating your problem, structuring your argument and actually going through that process is what’s valuable,” she 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.”