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Category: Opinion

Paul Jadin: UW, broadband, inclusion are key to Madison region’s success

Wisconsin State Journal

First, education is king. Don’t ever allow UW-Madison to be anything but a premier, world-class institution. State and private dollars invested now will be leveraged considerably by virtue of the fact that most of the federal investment will go to expanded research at universities such as UW.

COVID-19 shows why it’s time to finally end unpaid college internships

The Conversation

Unpaid internships are often seen as an important rite of passage for college students. And with good reason. Studies have found that students acquire new skills and networks that enhance their job prospects.

-Matthew T. Hora, Assistant Professor of Adult and Higher Education, Director of the Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Mindi Thompson, Professor of Counseling Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Ready for takeoff: Three simple guidelines for flying after vaccination

The Hill

It will take years until all air travelers are immunized, but we do not have to wait years until it is safe to fly.

-Dr. Laura A. Albert is a professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the College of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is a prominent member of INFORMS. Her research applies optimization and analytical methods to public sector applications including aviation security.

Letter to the Editor: Law School Right to Affirm Commitment to Free Expression

Daily Cardinal

While it may be an unpopular minority opinion within the law school, I agree with Dean Daniel Tokaji and the law school administration’s position and handling of the matter. The law school only needs to ensure that no discrimination exists in employer hiring practices. It would be inappropriate for the law school to censor the political activities of prospective employers.

American Hegemony Is Ending With a Whimper, Not a Bang

The Nation

Today, in the era of a 78-year-old president, a veritable Rip Van Biden, Americans and the rest of the world are, it seems, waking up in a new age. It could well be a daunting one.Invest your way with Schwab.From automated investing to financial consultants, get tools and resources that match your needs.

-Alfred McCoy is the J.R.W. Smail Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A TomDispatch regular, he is the author of In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of US Global Power and Policing America’s Empire: The United States, the Philippines, and the Rise of the Surveillance State.

Transform State Street into promenade

Wisconsin State Journal

Madison should finally take city buses off of State Street and turn the entire length of the street into a pedestrian mall. This would allow shops and restaurants to take over more public space outside, where the risk of contracting the novel coronavirus is much lower than inside.

Meet Spring 2021 Editorial Board

Badger Herald

The Editorial Board serves to represent the voice of The Badger Herald editorial department, distinct from the newsroom, and does not necessarily reflect the views of each staff member.

Mark Copelovitch, Jon C.W. Pevehouse and Jessica L.P. Weeks: Substance and framing of Thompson Center’s ‘free speech’ report are questionable

The Capital Times

Column by Mark Copelovitch, a professor of political science and public affairs. Jon C.W. Pevehouse, a Vilas Distinguished Achievement professor of political science and public affairs, and Jessica L.P. Weeks, a professor of political science and the H. Douglas Weaver chair of diplomacy and international relations. All three are professors at UW-Madison.

White Riot

New York Times

In their paper “Trends in Educational Assortative Marriage From 1940 to 2003,” Christine R. Schwartz and Robert D. Mare, professors of sociology at the University of Wisconsin and the University of California-Los Angeles, wrote that the “most striking” data in their research, “is the decline in odds that those with very low levels of education marry up.”

In a time of social and environmental crisis, Aldo Leopold’s call for a ‘land ethic’ is still relevant

The Conversation

An ongoing reckoning with race in American history has drawn attention to racism in the environmental movement. Critiques have focused on themes such as forced removal of Indigenous peoples from ancestral lands, early conservationists’ support for eugenics and the chronic lack of diversity in environmental organizations.

Adjunct Associate Professor of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Vaccinating the Prison Population Will Help Protect All of America

Newsweek

By controlling COVID-19 cases in correctional facilities, we have a chance to reduce illness and death for everyone and signal to these particular communities that they, too, have a share in the modern-day miracle of COVID-19 vaccines.

–Brent Orrell is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he works on job training, workforce development, and criminal justice reform. He has worked for the United States government for 20 years, including senior roles at the Department of Labor and at the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Rashawn Ray is a David M. Rubenstein Fellow at The Brookings Institution and a Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland. He is on Twitter @SociologistRay. Dr. Howard Henderson is a non-resident Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution, a Professor of Justice Administration at Texas Southern University, and director of the Center for Justice Research. John M. Eason is the Director of the UW Justice Lab and an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Equity gap: Poor colleges serving low-income students need more money

USA Today

It’s time for federal and state legislators to work together to make targeted public investments, close resource gaps, and address structural barriers to opportunity that have plagued the higher education system for decades and that have been made only more urgent by the COVID-19 pandemic and our national reckoning on racial justice. It’s time for a real conversation about equity-based funding in U.S. higher education.

Nick Hillman is associate professor of educational leadership and policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Follow him on Twitter: @n_hillman

UW should be able pay athletes — Christopher Kox

Wisconsin State Journal

An earlier comment by Chancellor Blank, however, is worth noting. The chancellor stated that if it became necessary to start paying athletes, this would greatly hinder the university’s ability to field teams. This may be so.

Dig deeper during this season of giving — Jeff Russell

Wisconsin State Journal

Column by Jeff Russell, Dean of the Division of Continuing Studies, UW-Madison. :The economic fallout from the pandemic has touched all of us, but very disproportionately. Witness recent market highs that will benefit a fortunate slice of society while many struggle mightily.”

Will Bascom Hall be removed next? — Andrew Khitsun

Wisconsin State Journal

Letter to the editor: So if I go on campus and call Bascom Hall an offensive name, and if someone overhears that and posts it on Facebook and it goes viral — will Bascom Hall be raised to the ground then? It’s completely obscene and unjustified for the university to dishonor the memory of Chamberlin by removing the rock.

Rock removal is warmup for Lincoln — Gary L. Kriewald

Wisconsin State Journal

Letter to the editor: I predict the next phase of their agenda will be the removal of “offensive” names (namely white and male) from all university buildings, which will be the warmup act to the main event: the removal of the Abraham Lincoln statue from Bascom Hill.

Paper shouldn’t have printed slur — Joseph Bazler

Wisconsin State Journal

Letter to the editor: I’m especially saddened that this usage came in an article where the State Journal’s problematic use of the term in the past was recognized. The article stated that the president of the Wisconsin Black Student Union Nalah McWhorter “also faulted the Wisconsin State Journal for printing the vulgarity in a 1925 news article.”

Don’t waste money on removing a rock — John Luther

Wisconsin State Journal

Letter to the editor: It appears UW-Madison is planning to spend lots of money to remove a historical rock planted on the side of Observatory Hill many years ago during glacial times. This action is another example of bowing down to the vocal minority.

Barry Burden and Reid Ribble: Be patient as the votes are carefully counted

Wisconsin State Journal

The election of a U.S. president is complicated. Though the voting ends Nov. 3, at that point the process of presidential selection is just getting started. It takes weeks for the institutional machinery to crank. As eager as we at the end of a long campaign season to know who won, it is imperative to let the system work as we intended.

Letter: Chronic animal welfare violations at UW-Madison demonstrate need for animal testing alternatives

Daily Cardinal

Following the most recent complaint of animal welfare violations, the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center (WNPRC) has established a pattern of violating federal standards. Their growing history of offense throws into question the effectiveness of primate research given its parameters and invites transition to more innovative, morally sound alternatives.

Letter: State could learn from UW campus

Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison students are among the brightest anywhere. New students learn quickly with drastic measures enacted to force them to adopt these actions.Public health experts should believe it really does work.The rest of the state should take note.

A call for action: UW BIPOC Coalition demands justice

Daily Cardinal

Included in the message was a “Protest Card” that listed guidelines that, should organizers fail to follow, may result in “conduct action and/or arrest.” The friendly tone of the email did not mask the malice behind its intent and we, as organizers, understood what we were being threatened with — “comply by our rules or face consequences.”

Doing this one thing helps community college students transfer to a 4-year university

The Conversation

It needs to be the new normal to make sure transfer students are seen as individuals with talent and a contribution to make through the transfer pathway. They are more than numbers. Elizabeth’s and Dominic’s stories illustrate the difference that genuine personal relationships with advisers and faculty at four-year colleges can make to chart a successful transfer.

By Xueli Wang, UW-Madison