Category: Opinion

Westman is professor emeritus of psychiatry, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

Thumbs up to study of voter ID law’s effects. Speculation is swirling about the effects of Wisconsin’s voter ID law on election turnout.

I grew up in Madison, as did my father. I now live in California, but I often thought my children might attend UW-Madison.

Over the past several years, college tuition has been a hot topic. Millennials are living at home following graduation because they cannot pay off their student loans and they are putting off purchases such as homes.

Of course, the election of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States caused anxieties among nations in the Indo-Pacific which have been threatened by an expansionist China seeking regional predominance, nations which therefore seek help from the U.S. government. These governments do not want the U.S. government, however, to run an anti-China containment policy. Their regional resistance to a hostile Chinese hegemony is far more nuanced than that. The big question is whether Donald Trump is capable of such nuance.

These are uncertain times we live in post-election and that uncertainty extends to our relationships with the rest of world.

We decided to wait until after the election to begin editorializing in support of the University of Wisconsin’s request for an increase in state funding in the upcoming budget.

UW-Madison leaders have got to be chagrined at how easily it would have been to avoid the crisis sparked by a pair of clueless football fans at Camp Randall Stadium two days before Halloween.

We decided to wait until after the election to begin editorializing in support of the University of Wisconsin’s request for an increase in state funding in the upcoming budget.

I agree totally with Rev. Alex Gee. I am appalled at the UW’s position and cannot believe this is the same UW that I attended. An extremely open and liberal campus that bore Paul Soglin as mayor of Madison and led a progressive/liberal agenda.

No degree is worth one’s dignity, yet it seems black students are continuously asked to sacrifice theirs.

As I walked up to Varsity Hall in Union South Tuesday morning, I was put into a state of discomfort — a state that  I would realize was the theme of the day. As I peered into the room, I scanned the faces of the participants. I fell short of what I was eager to see. I did not recognize many student faces. I did not see my colleagues. I only saw faculty and community members.

I want to start by saying University of Wisconsin is an extremely competent institution. I do appreciate the many educational opportunities and multitude of programming this university provides — not to mention the friends I have made in my four years here. All the same, like any institution, UW has significant shortcomings that must be addressed.

It is with grave concern as a taxpayer, Badger fan and mother of a current UW freshman that I wrote to Chancellor Rebecca Blank about the racist incident at the Badger game.

I have been asked to contribute as an alumna many times, and finally decided I could afford it. But this latest event of someone dressed in a costume of the most hateful nature imaginable attending a UW football game has changed my mind.

I am appalled that this could happen in our UW stadium. This is not free speech, this is a hate crime.

Election editorial.

My heart sank twice late Monday night as I scrolled by a Facebook status linked to a story about a University of Wisconsin-Stout student dying after a violent assault. It sank first for the life of the student, and second for the repercussions this would have on Middle Eastern students. The mugshot-like photo of the victim, a Saudi student, could prompt further profiling of Muslim students on the UW-Stout campus and potentially here at UW-Madison.

This latest incident of racism at last Saturday’s UW football game is shocking yet somewhat familiar. Last year I gave my football tickets to a black friend of mine and his 10-year-old brother. As they were walking down the aisle to their seat, some jerk, who was apparently sitting with his son, shouted “Sit down n—–!” Many people in the area heard this and NO ONE DID ANYTHING!

I was horrified to read about the writing off of a football fan in Obama mask and noose at last Saturday’s football game. As an educational institution that taught both of my parents, my father an immigrant, I am ashamed at the lack of thoughtful reflection that led to the decision by UW that this was simply “free speech.”

The climate at University of Wisconsin-Madison for many African-Americans, Latinos, and individuals with mixed heritage is often one where they feel unseen, unwelcome and unsafe. Beyond looking at policies at Camp Randall, I challenge the university leadership to confront and reduce hate speech while maintaining free speech.

Social media erupted over the weekend after a pair of football fans showed up at the Wisconsin Badger football game in Halloween costumes depicting Donald Trump hanging Hillary Clinton and President Obama with a red and white rope noose.

Social media erupted over the weekend after a pair of football fans showed up at the Wisconsin Badger football game in Halloween costumes depicting Donald Trump hanging Hillary Clinton and President Obama with a red and white rope noose.

The University of Wisconsin System should be able to manage construction projects on campuses rather than allowing bureaucracy to muddle up the works.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is currently asking students to respond to a survey on how comfortable they feel on campus on a number of levels.

The current—Fall 2016—issue of the Wisconsin Alumni Association’s Badger Insider magazine contains a fun story by John Allen titled “Legends of the Fall Semester.”

For the second time in seven years, violent unrest has followed the presidential election in the small country of Gabon in West Equatorial Africa

This is a letter of comment concerning the actions and abuse of authority by Sen. Steven Nass.

On Sunday evening, students did not receive a WiscAlert. This is disturbing, because when a violent sexual assault occurs in the heart of campus, I think it’s well within our right to know.

For the second time in seven years, a presidential election in Gabon has triggered violent unrest. Rich in oil, uranium and manganese, Gabon now faces a turbulent future. Incumbent president Ali Bongo’s narrow victory over opponent Jean Ping ignited the country’s main cities and forced a recount of the vote.

Politics naturally involves debate, but perhaps never before has it seemed so divisive. Beyond the partisan divide, our society is split along racial, ethnic and class lines, divisions that have rocked communities and forced hard conversations across the country.

Where are the professors? Nothing annoys academics more than pointing out how little time they actually spend teaching students.