Weekend, November 16-19, 2017 - The Daily Cardinal

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University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Since 1892 dailycardinal.com

Weekend, November 16-19, 2017

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Pronouns key to an inclusive +OPINION campus page 7

Men in the middle Who to watch in the midfield this season

Lawmakers join together to fight Alzheimer’s, aid UW researchers By Lilly Price STATE NEWS EDITOR

While there is no cure and the number of people suffering from the disease is only expected to increase, researchers at UW are pushing to help ease the burden the cognitive disease causes. Wisconsin lawmakers have been hard at work proposing legislation to help those with Alzheimer’s. Most recently, Gov. Scott Walker included $100,000 in the state’s two-year budget for UW’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, one of 33 federal research institutions dedicated to finding a cure. Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that worsens over time and typically affects people 65 years old and above. Naturally occurring proteins in the brain malfunction and clump togeth-

er, blocking cell’s messaging path — destroying memory and other mental functions, like the ability to speak. The disease affects one in three elders, and is the sixth leading cause of death among people in that age group. Early onset Alzheimer’s can affect people as young as 40 and the symptoms develop rapidly. While other major causes of disease have decreased in frequency over the years, like heart disease, Alzheimer’s has increased. Currently, 5 million Americans are living with the disease, with that number expected to rise to 16 million people by 2050. “When you get older some memory loss is normal, but when loved one constantly forgetting where they put things...or names of

LAURA MAHONEY/THE DAILY CARDINAL

About five million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s.

Spring course for fraternity members educates UW men on sexual violence By Lawrence Andrea CAMPUS NEWS EDITOR

Throughout UW-Madison’s efforts to combat sexual assault on campus by implementing a variety of new programs, one program has remained the same. Greek Men for Violence Prevention — offered at the university for nearly a decade — is a two-credit, discussion-driven course where male fraternity members learn about masculinity, gender, the media and vio-

LGBT center on campus to switch names, become more representative By Sammy Gibbons FEATURES EDITOR

KATIE SCHEIDT/THE DAILY CARDINAL

UW-Extension will merge with UW-Madison starting next July.

‘Business as usual’ for UW-Extension despite impending university merger By Bremen Keasey STAFF WRITER

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lence against women. The course originated after members of fraternities began to realize the growing issue of sexual assault on college campuses, according to University Health Services violence prevention worker and course facilitator Christo Raines. “Sexual assault, sexual violence, stalking, dating violence — these are serious issues on our campus, and I think frater-

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The Board of Regents’ decision to merge two-year and four-year colleges in a sweeping re-organization has sparked controversy from those worried about its effect on the UW System, but a provision involving UW-Extension has been mostly overlooked. UW-Extension, a middleman that helps deliver university resources to Wisconsin counties through a variety of programs, will merge with UW-Madison starting July 1, 2018. And while some worry about unforeseen effects of the change, UW-Extension communications director Katy Keiser said she is not worried for the future of the program. “We will operate our programs with as little interruption as possible to those we serve,” Keiser said. Despite the upcoming merger, UW System President Ray Cross reassured Keiser that it will be “business as usual” for the variety of programs and services offered by UW-Extension. And in an email sent to the UW-Extension’s faculty and staff, UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank affirmed this commitment to UW Extension, citing her own personal experience “knowing the value” of its programs because of her parents’ work

as extension agents. “I strongly believe that this move can improve the work of both of our institutions, and strengthen the ability of Cooperative Extension to serve communities across Wisconsin,” Blank wrote in her email. As with the other aspects of the merger decision, there are still “unanswered questions,” according to Keiser, but she thinks her staff is ready to “roll up [their] sleeves and do the hard work this restructuring calls for.” While some UW System students and faculty affected by the restructuring plan have expressed frustration over their lack of input in the plan, the email from Blank made it clear that current staff will be a “necessary part” of the merging process. While there are still issues that need resolving, Blank was adamant about her support for UW-Extension and its role in fulfilling the Wisconsin Idea. “UW-Madison is home to the Wisconsin Idea, and for many years the presence of Cooperative Extension’s headquarters on our campus was an important manifestation of that commitment,” Blank said in the email. “We are looking forward to bringing Cooperative Extension’s organizational home back to UW-Madison.”

After adding a “T” in the late 1990s, UW-Madison’s LGBT Campus Center plans to evolve again with a fresh name — Gender and Sexuality Spectrum Center. According to a proposal shared on the LGBTCC Facebook page, the conversation surrounding this change has been ongoing for several years. Staff members felt this year — the center’s 25th birthday — was the right time. “While we continue to serve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, and many more students who use an array of other language for their own identities and experiences, we recognize the need to change our name to better reflect a broader community and allow for growth of language and emerging identities across the spectrums of gender and sexuality,” the report said. The process to come up with the name started with collaboration between LGBTCC staff and campus partners, along with research into similar university centers. Future stages in the namechange process include presenting the report to campus and community stakeholders. They will also collect feedback through surveys, forms and drop-in feedback sessions throughout December. LGBTCC will be replaced with GSSC in their logo in February, and the name will be formally introduced at Rainbow Graduation in May. Along with “flexibility” the new name brings, the report said one reason for the shift is the “highlighting” of transgender lives that will come with the name shift. “We want to … uplift trans lives especially as statistics show the risk for violence, health disparities, and other forms of discrimination are consistently highest amongst transgender and gender non-conforming individuals and communities, especially trans women of color,” the report said. The report recognized potential limitations with the name as well. It said every diverse identity cannot be encapsulated by a name, but they will “continue to promote space for individuals and communities to self-­identify with words that best represent and validate one’s identity.”

“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”


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