University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Thursday, February 10, 2022
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‘Break free’ from single-use plastics By Audrey Perry STAFF WRITER
The Associated Students of Madison will discuss the Break Free From Plastics Resolution legislation tonight to push for the school to stop purchasing singleuse plastic. The legislation calls for the university to slowly eliminate the purchase of unnecessary and wasteful plastic. “The Break Free From Plastic legislation will serve as a jumping off point for UW to implement zero waste practices and kick off student advocacy efforts for plasticfree dishware in the Unions, dining halls, housing and other campus buildings,” ASM Sustainability Chair Ashley Cheung said in an interview with The Daily Cardinal. As an educational institution, UW-Madison is responsible for teaching their students to be more aware of plastic pollution, the legislation states.
“This resolution does not change the procurement policy on campus because we as students don’t have that type of power, which is why we need administration to work with students on this goal,” Cheung said. The legislation gained widespread support from students, with 485 signatures supporting the petition to slowly stop the purchase of single-use plastic. “In drafting this legislation, we gathered opinions from students of varying backgrounds, standings and educational paths and found the majority support eliminating single-use plastics on campus,” Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group Campus Action President Riley Gough said to the Cardinal. “It’s clear that this community supports sustainability measures like this one, and this resolution solidifies that commitment.” ASM recommends that the university finds alternatives to single-
use plastics, such as glass, stainless steel, natural fiber cloth and platinum silicone. According to Cheung, a lot of the plastic products used on campus are misleading. The coffee cups at Union South say “biodegradable” on the side, but anything that breaks down over any period of time could be considered biodegradable, she said. “We are aware that as students, our reach into decisions regarding procurement is minimal, and that it is up to administration to change what types of products are bought,” Cheung added. The university has previously made commitments to reduce plastic waste on campus by joining the Post-Landfill Action Network, signing off on the Second Nature Resilience Commitment and creating the Zero Waste team of the Office of Sustainability. “These are encouraging signs that the University recognizes the
challenges faced by the climate crisis and is taking steps to mitigate its impact,” Gough said. “However, up to this point, the university’s policy changes have been incremental at best.” The university has cut greenhouse gas emissions by 46.6% since 2007, but there is still a lot of work to be done on campus, according to Gough. “We need to start taking bigger steps if we are to truly address the threat that climate change poses to all of us,” Gough said. “Third-party studies like the STARS Report have shown that significant changes still need to be made, especially in air quality, buildings, dining halls and waste management.” ASM encourages the university to join the Break Free From Plastic Global Plastic-Free Campuses Program to move toward a more sustainable future. “We want to raise awareness
and demonstrate that students not only care about this, but are willing to do what we can to make campus more sustainable,” Cheung wrote in the proposal. ASM will introduce and debate the legislation tonight, and the committee will vote in two weeks to see if it passes.
COURTESY OF DRAKE WHITE-BERGEY
ASM tries to get rid of bad plastics.
University addresses COVID-19 effects on accessibility By Maggie Kahn STAFF WRITER
The COVID-19 pandemic introduced a multitude of changes into the lives of students across the globe. From daily zoom classes to constant masking and social distancing in dormitories, nothing about college or learning felt the same. Those with disabilities, mental and physical alike, had to adjust their learning accommodations and routines as the pandemic altered major aspects of their lives. For students like Morgan Stieber, a UW-Madison junior who suffers from sensitivity to light and chronic headaches, online learning was especially challenging. “Moving online was difficult because I didn’t have any inperson classes,” Stieber said. “It was all on my screens, which was really hard for me to do most of the time. [The] lights are really bad for headaches and screen time is just not great for that.” Many classes at UW-Madison operated with an open-note testing system during the pandemic because instructors could not prevent students from using their resources at home, Stieber said. “I think the concept of open notes for exams is also really helpful because the idea that we should be doing everything based on memorization [is a] flawed system,” Stieber said. “Anxiety wise, that’s definitely helpful
knowing you have notes. I think a majority of my classes all of last year had open notes.” These shifts have also opened students’ eyes to the possibilities of making campuses accessible regardless of a pandemic atmosphere. “[It’s comforting] knowing that [UW-Madison] is capable of being accessible because it had to be accessible for everybody to move online,” Stieber said. “[It] was good that they had all of the equipment and everything was ready.” For UW-Madison faculty, the rapid shift to online learning increased the number of clients the McBurney Disability Resource Center received, Access Consultant Leslie Stilson said. Students with attention deficit disorder and other learning
disabilities started asking for accessibility help, Stilson said. Moreover, virtual learning access benefitted clients with chronic mental health issues that flared up during the pandemic. While the pandemic has offered individuals who have a disability more flexibility when it comes to learning, trying to comprehend complex subjects at home can introduce troubles with distractions for those individuals, Applied Life Studies Librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign JJ Pionke said. “Think about the students who are taking courses remotely via online learning,” Pionke said. “Many of them are trying to do their full course load along with household chores, interacting with whoever they are living
WILL CIOCI/THE DAILY CARDINAL
More than 30 percent of UW-Madison students took a summer class in 2019. —
with, including perhaps taking care of and homeschooling children. For the student who has dish duty, is cutting the grass, commuting to an essential job or even going out for a morning run, having a PDF of homework being read to them on their phone or by a laptop can help them keep up with and complete their learning.” According to University of Washington student Grady Thompson, individuals who have a disability have benefited from these monumental changes in learning at several universities in America. “I know a lot of folks with disabilities, myself included, who hope that after the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still opportunities to engage in learning and work more remotely — even if not all the time,” Thompson said. For students like Elise Fjelstad, a UW-Madison sophomore with cerebral palsy, commuting to in-person classes had been a struggle. “I don’t think people realize that I can’t just walk up the stairs to get to Bascom Hill,” Fjelstad said. “There is no ramp. There’s nothing there.” According to Fjelstad, another positive aspect of COVID-19 hybrid and online learning for people with disabilities is the fact that they have the option to attend virtually if they need to. “A lot of classes right now have the option of online or in-
person,” Fjelstad said. “I have been going in-person because I pay attention better, but it’s reassuring to know that if it is snowing, or if my chair isn’t charged ... or I can’t get to [class], I can still make sure that I’m attending in some way.” The fact that able-bodied students are also figuring out the complications and pitfalls that come with COVID-19 hybrid learning has created a more accepting environment for those with disabilities, Stilson said. “One of the real benefits has been more acceptance and understanding for limitations that people might experience,” Stilson explained. “On a macro level, my work is completely impacted by how the world views disability and COVID has been kind of a neutralizer. Everyone is at risk of being too sick to do something or needing to quarantine. Everyone over the past two years has experienced a need for access.” The pandemic has cultivated both positive and negative aspects in learning environments for abled-bodied and disabled communities, and it’s important to recognize the potential that accessibility has for each student on campus, Stilson said. “Access for one person is access for all people,” Stilson concluded. “It doesn’t need to be something othered. We know that belonging and feeling included matters. One day that might be you who needs the access.”
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”