Columnist says manure digester supporters are full of crap OPINION
University of Wisconsin-Madison
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City in favor of rail station downtown By Beth Pickhard The Daily Cardinal
Madison’s Common Council passed a resolution Tuesday supporting construction of a high-speed rail station in the Downtown area. Council members said they want a major role in selecting the station, though the final authority is with the state of Wisconsin. The state will receive more than $800 million in federal funds to establish a high-speed rail connection between Madison and Milwaukee. Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, said Madison’s citizens have been working on this issue since funds were granted to Wisconsin in January. She said the Common Council and other city committees need to begin their discussion of the issue. “We don’t get to call the shots on this, we don’t get to decide the timetable, and this is a really important opportunity that we don’t want to lose out on,” she said. Although the Council has not endorsed any of the downtown stations, the Yahara Station on East Washington Ave. and First Street began months ago. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, urged council members to analyze and consider each of the three locations. “The reality today is that the Monona Terrace and Kohl Center should be seriously considered and
studied along with Yahara Station,” he said. Council members also debated vending in the Mifflin Street area during the annual block party. A proposal passed unanimously allowing only pre-approved vendors to sell during the block party within a confined area. Maniaci said landlords rented out their properties to vendors last year and it created tension on the morning of the block party because it interfered with security plans in place by the Madison Police Department. According to Verveer, also a member of the Vending Oversight Committee, UW-Madison officials were unhappy last year because vendors located themselves near university facilities. Madison resident Rosemary Lee said “small business vendors are not really any competitor to the university.” Council members also voted to suspend Jeffrey Okafo’s vending license for Jin’s Chicken & Fish for one year, following what some members said were repeated violations of city codes. Okafo has received citations within the last two years for leaving his cart unattended and vending without a license, among other issues. His license has been revoked for both six months and 30 days prior to this incident.
Students learn rights, how to interact with police at Mifflin By Grace Urban The Daily Cardinal
As the annual Mifflin Street Block Party approaches, students were given the opportunity Tuesday to learn how to conduct themselves should they be confronted by law enforcement. Erik Guenther, an attorney with Hurley, Burish and Stanton, S.C., spoke with students at the Know Your Rights workshop. The event was organized by the American Civil Liberties Union and was the second this semester. Guenther said there are three basic rules students should follow when attending the block party: be polite to police officers, never lie to them and make no statement without a lawyer present. “Your chances of being convicted of a crime go up if you give the police something to convict you,” he said. “You can’t get charged with obstruction [of justice] for lying if you never say a word.” Guenther said there are basic laws
every student should be aware of. “You’re not allowed to say, ‘I didn’t know that was against the law’ [in your defense],” he said. Guenther added it is important to remember that citizens are under no obligation to speak with police or let them into their home or apartment without just cause or a warrant. “You never have to let them in,” he said. “Just say no.” Partygoers should be careful to follow the rules and not attract attention to themselves if they want to avoid being arrested, Guenther said. “The police have limited resources, and they’re going to single out people that stand out to them,” he said. “So make sure you’re at least the second-drunkest person [there].” The three main rules for the block party are not to have open alcohol, not to hold glass bottles and not to urinate publicly, he said. Guenther left attendees with one final thought: “Be polite, assert your rights.”
SPORTS
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Wednesday, April 21, 2010
King of Sing
Danny Marchewka/the daily cardinal
David Redick (top), Crystal Lee (left) and Danielle Willerman (right) competed in All-Campus Idol Tuesday night. Ten finalists were chosen to perform in the event as a part of All-Campus Party.
PACE project yields discussion on alcohol consumption initiative By Estephany Escobar The Daily Cardinal
UW-Madison campus and community leaders held a final meeting Tuesday to honor the accomplishments of a 14-year initiative to reduce alcohol consumption. Policy, Alternatives, Community and Education, based in University Health Services, is a project focused on reducing the consequences of high-risk drinking in Madison. The project conducted alcoholrelated research to improve the city and campus alcohol culture. PACE created a chancellor’s alcohol policy group and collected yearly data of campus drinking habits, according to Aaron Brower, UW-Madison Associate
Vice Chancellor and PACE codirector Aaron Brower. Other efforts included sending a letter to incoming students about issues on the transition to college, and the role of alcohol, in addition to creating parental involvement. Carol Lobes, co-director of the Center for Democracy in Action, said the project generated significant changes in the community. “The change in attitude, what we laugh at, what we ignore and what we just define as a Badger are actually very different [from what it used to be],” she said. Brower said ideas regarding alcoholism and recreational drinking have also changed radically. “[Previously], alcohol abuse meant alcoholism. Now, we
think of this phenomenon of college drinking as its own special case of normative activity,” he said. However, he said part of the problem is some students view the behavior as a recreational activity rather than an alcohol problem. Brower said the involvement of the community played a major role in the project’s accomplishments. “I think it was successful because we have a strong campus and the community partnership,” Brower said. Lobes said PACE members knew the project needed strong student involvement to be successful. “We knew they had to help us pace page 3
UW Transportation Services face setbacks during construction By Melanie Teachout The Daily Cardinal
UW Transportation Services officials highlighted lost parking permit and meter revenue during its Tuesday meeting which addressed its $1 million budget deficit. According to Director Patrick Kass, new building projects have reduced the number of UWTS parking spaces, forcing the UWTS to look elsewhere for funding streams.
“We’ve already paid the cost to build that [parking lot] and with that income, we were able to fund other expenses in our department,” Kass said. “As we lose that lot, we lose that revenue source.” According to the comprehensive campus plan, 2,300 parking spaces will be lost from construction but UWTS plans to build 3,700 more. According to Kass, there are 75,000 faculty, staff, students and
visitors on campus every day and only 13,000 parking spaces to accommodate them. Currently, about 80 percent of UWTS revenue is permit parking and visitors’ parking. The majority of UWTS revenue is derived from permit holders, and Kass said they may have to make up some of the budget deficit. uwts page 3
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”