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Thursday, April 23, 2009
That’s a Capitol idea!
SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH A monthlong series focused on sexual violence in America and on the UW-Madison campus in an effort to dispel myths and educate students, including weekly feature articles and daily facts.
False reporting difficult to estimate, sources say By Brandice Altfillisch THE DAILY CARDINAL
LORENZO ZEMELLA/THE DAILY CARDINAL
UW students gather in the Capitol Wednesday to show off research projects at the sixth annual “Posters in the Rotunda: A Celebration of Undergraduate Student Research.”
Mayor unveils plan for economic improvement By Abby Sears THE DAILY CARDINAL
Getting Madison out of its current economic slump is top priority for the city in 2009, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said in his annual “State of the CIESLEWICZ City” speech at a Downtown Madison Rotary Meeting Wednesday. Cieslewicz noted several “sobering” statistics reflective of Madison’s current economic situation. With an unemployment rate of 5.4 percent—the highest since 1990—and a 50 percent decrease in city revenues this year compared to last year, Madison is another
community facing the challenges of the national economic crisis. “We are in the deepest economic recession probably since the Great Depression,” the mayor said. “We’ve got to think about the future ... and respond aggressively on these things rather than just pulling in.” Dave Cieslewicz mayor Madison
However, the news is not all bad, Cieslewicz said, pointing out CNN’s Money Magazine’s recent ranking of the best U.S. cities for finding employment that put Madison in the number two spot
for cities with a population of 200,000 or more. Cieslewicz also unveiled his plan to boost the economy based on a transformative recovery and inspiration from President Barack Obama. “[Obama’s] talked about not just returning back to the old economy, which has some weaknesses about it, he talks about needing to make adjustments in education, energy and health care because he sees those as the foundations of a new, stronger economy, and I think he’s right about that,” Cieslewicz said. The mayor’s plan aims to make the city more business-friendly and to demonstrate that Madison can be both progressive and pro-business. Cieslewicz said he
When it comes to sexual assault terminology, experts often consider victims to be individuals who endure the trauma of rape, but in some cases there are others who can feel victimized—those who are falsely accused. Pierce Harlan, a corporate lawyer in Pennsylvania, has been working as an advocate for the falsely accused since defending a friend in court. He authors a blog titled “The False Rape Society.” The site includes an extensive amount of news articles and personal stories about men who have been wrongly accused of rape. According to Harlan, many people do not talk about false sexual assault claims because they are overpowered by “politics.” “The whole field has become so politicized that we’ve lost track of victims,” he said. “We’re talking about ideology here and not real victims. Why can’t we talk about rape victims and false rape victims without bringing gender, politics into the whole thing?” Harlan said in an interview. Harlan said false defendants of
sexual assaults are just as likely as the accuser to feel victimized. “Guys have been beaten, they’ve been killed, they’ve killed themselves, they’ve been fired from their jobs, they’ve lost their businesses, they’ve lost their wives, their girlfriends … on the basis of an allegation,” he said regarding instances where a man was accused. Kelly Anderson, the director of the Dane County Rape Crisis Center, said men could also be raped, although the number is significantly lower. Anderson said she thinks false sexual assault reports are an understandable crime to be concerned about, but said people often misuse the phrase, “false claims” to represent unfounded claims. “A false report is when someone says, ‘I was raped,’ and it’s demonstrably untrue,” she said. “Unfounded cases are where the chances are really good that something did happen, but [the Department of Justice] is not going to be able to prove it.” Estimates for the percentage of false reports range from 2 to 8 percent false reporting page 3
Gearing up for spring
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ASM endorses Martin’s new tuition initiative By Rory Linnane THE DAILY CARDINAL
The Associated Students of Madison voted to fully endorse the Wisconsin Initiative for Undergraduates Wednesday despite uncertainties about student support. The initiative, drafted by Chancellor Biddy Martin, would raise tuition to increase financial aid and academic support. According to Martin, the initiative would help UW-Madison remain competitive with other Big Ten
schools. It will go before the Board of Regents May 7-8. “I think we’re at a tipping point in terms of faculty hired and the quality of this institution relative to our peers,” ASM representative Jeffrey Wright said. “Something needs to be done and it’s certainly not going to happen, at least in short term, out of the Capitol.” ASM sent out a poll about the initiative via e-mail April 3 which garnered over 2,000 responses. About 20 percent of the respon-
dents expressed support for the initiative, while 40 percent were neutral and 40 percent were opposed. Following a partial endorsement of the initiative at the last meeting, representatives said they talked to their constituents and found them to be supportive of the initiative. Many said students initially expressed opposition but changed their minds when hearing more about the initiative. asm page 3
LORENZO ZEMELLA/THE DAILY CARDINAL
Colin Frater, a 2007 UW-Madison alumnus, helps fix students’ bikes as part of Hoofers on Library Mall Wednesday.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”