Gov. Scott Walker refuses to fund road repairs with the revenue sources dedicated for this purpose by law — the gas tax and license fees. This has resulted in a billion deficit in the roads budget.
Category: Opinion
Jason Gay: The Michigan Wolverines Are Back. Ugh.
There are a lot of reasons I want—no, I need—my Wisconsin Badgers to defeat the No. 4 Michigan Wolverines in football Saturday. The most obvious reason is that I graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, unequivocally regarded as the planet’s finest institution of higher learning and bratwurst (sorry, you Harvard/Stanford losers). A victory in Ann Arbor would make Wisconsin a perfect 5-0, and two weeks later, in Madison, when they crush Ohio State and its tetchy coach, Urban Meyer, the Badgers will have a clear track to a spot in college football’s daffy new playoff system.
Amazon dishonors Red Gym’s history — Sam Breidenbach
Letter to the editor: The Madison Trust for Historic Preservation believes the contract negotiated with Amazon by the UW Board of Regents to allow a package pick-up center in the Historic Red Gym is an inappropriate use within this prized national historic landmark.
Politicians need to work together to improve students’ lives
Students at UW-Madison are stuck in the epicenter of Wisconsin’s disastrous political discourse. Nowhere in the nation, it seems, is the debate over education as prevalent as it is a few blocks away at our state Capitol.
Gary L. Kriewald: UW unconcerned about affordable student housing
Letter to the editor: The article on the proliferation of luxury high-rises aimed at UW students was in depth, informative, and thoroughly dispiriting. Setting aside the soul-crushing banality of their architecture, these buildings symbolize perfectly the elitist agenda of UW administrators.
Our Views: Academic freedom under fire
With UW-Madison at its epicenter, the UW System appears to be sinking deeper into the intellectual morass known as political correctness. UW-Madison has unveiled a pilot program targeting 1,000 students devoted to improving race relations, largely in response to racial incidents on campus last year. If deemed successful, this program is likely to grow and probably move to other campuses.
Terry Nichols: Tech college funding should be decided at state, not local, level
The mission creep of the technical college system has expanded to the point that now Nicolet College out of Rhinelander has Nicolet College students in the Southwest Tech College district out of Fennimore.
Our Views: Academic freedom under fire
With UW-Madison at its epicenter, the UW System appears to be sinking deeper into the intellectual morass known as political correctness.
Journal Times editorial: Stop the whining, UW, and sign the lease
The whining and bleating factions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison haven’t lost a step judging by the kerfuffle they’re stirring up over the renting of some space at the old Red Gym.
Aneesh: Innovation requires free speech
The United States has one big advantage where it still towers over the rest: its world-beating universities. The days of U.S. supremacy in manufacturing are gone, although we still are competitive in certain areas connected to our research universities. Yet when the world is “free to choose,” to paraphrase the late iconic conservative University of Chicago economist, they “choose” the U.S. for education and research.
Mary Van Dyke: Calling on Madison to become coal-free
Letter to the editor: I am an out-of-state student studying conservation biology at UW, and I have seen firsthand the pride Wisconsinites have in this great state, especially on campus and in Madison.
Hora: State must invest in experiential learning
As Gov. Scott Walker and the Legislature consider the request for $42.5 million in new state funds for the University of Wisconsin System in the 2017-19 biennial budget, they should not only accept this proposal but also embrace the teaching and learning functions of Wisconsin’s colleges and universities as the centerpiece of the state’s workforce development strategy.
New UW System career website good start to keeping graduates in Wisconsin
What we all want after college, to get a job, just became a little easier for members of the University of Wisconsin System.
Maybe UW should donate to Club for Growth — Jim Angevine
Letter to the editor: Gov. Scott Walker has recently promised to link UW funding to what he vaguely calls “performance metrics.” The recent leak of documents to the Guardian newspaper clarify what “performance metrics” means.
Carville: Your Alma Mater’s Biggest Rival? Stingy State Government
A hypothesis: Go to any two-bit campaign rally in Louisiana, and before there’s any politicking, I bet you’ll hear this: How ‘bout ‘dem Tigers?
Satellites are the backbone of weather forecasts. Congress must vote to support them.
Satellites observe our planet’s weather from space — observations that are the backbone of weather forecasts. Without them, forecasters would not be able to monitor hurricanes, thunderstorms or blizzards. If we are to improve our weather forecasts, we must support our nation’s satellite programs. And there are two bills in Congress that intend to do just that.
Don’t forget to seek balance in everyday college life
There are 43,193 students enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. These 43,193 students are trying to complete homework assignments on time. These 43,193 students are attempting to attend all the club kick-off meetings they signed up for at the Student Organization Fair. And these 43,193 students enrolled at UW-Madison are trying to find the perfect balance between school and their social lives.
Sykes: Free college isn’t the solution: How the push for “college for all” sets up students to fail
Despite the evidence that we already have too many students in higher education, the hot new idea among the political class is to double down by pushing for “free college tuition.”
Kent Hamele: Press needs to step up in right-wing attempt to control UW
The article “Republicans voice contempt for UW ‘political correctness’ as budget process begins” consists of a long spiel of quotes wherein Rep. Robin Vos and Sen. Steve Nass are allowed to state their case repeatedly and at length. “Balance” is provided in five paragraphs at the end of the story which talk about the UW’s proposed diversity initiative, and provide no substantive response at all to the accusations voiced by Vos and Nass earlier in the piece.
Gerber: The Kremlin blamed our work when it declared Russia’s most respected polling firm a ‘foreign agent.’
On Sept. 5, Russia’s Justice Ministry declared the country’s leading independent polling organization, the Levada Analytical Center, to be a “foreign agent.” The designation applies to nongovernmental organizations that take part in “political activities” and receive foreign funding.
Cramer: To Overcome Deep Mistrust, Listen to Rural Families’ Needs
In order to invest effectively in rural areas, the most important step is to listen. I am a public opinion scholar, and since 2007 I have been studying political attitudes by inviting myself into conversations among groups of regulars in gas stations, diners, etc. in communities across Wisconsin.
Liz Scheer: Humanities offer vital business tools
Letter to the editor: At the Sept. 14 UW budget meeting Regina Millner vowed to protect the humanities at the University of Wisconsin, citing the necessity of fields like English and philosophy in terms of their capacity to enrich students on a human level.
Hey administration, have a beer: We may be the top party school, but we’re healthy as ever
When Princeton Review released their annual rankings of American colleges and universities, one ranking stuck out to me, and probably you too: the University of Wisconsin-Madison found itself in the number one slot for top party schools in the nation. Suddenly I heard Lil Yachty reverberating inside my head: “We did it, we did it, we did it.”
Hump day: UW’s top spot in party school ranking comes with a dark side
As Badgers both new and old flood the University of Wisconsin campus this fall, a renewed pressure greets them — the pressure to party.
Margaret Atherton: Rep. Robin Vos makes ridiculous charges about UW speakers
Letter to the editor: I am appalled that you would reproduce Rep. Robin Vos’ charges about “political correctness” on the UW campus without any fact checking or examination.
Time to show support amid the political chaos
I think there’s a theme here, a common thread that ties some of this stuff together. Each provokes a modicum of frustration for me. We should be doing better in measures of new economy performance, in part by virtue of the presence of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the excellence of our public schools. So it would follow that we should be doing a better job of supporting UW–Madison and those public schools.
Drinking culture should not define our university
I know the University of Wisconsin-Madison was recently ranked the top party school in the nation by the Princeton Review’s 2017 edition of “The Best 381 Colleges.” And that is definitely something to celebrate. But do we really need to fill every week, weekday and weekend with experiences centered on consuming endless amounts of alcohol?
Journal Times editorial: Ideological balance needed on UW campuses
When a young man or woman goes off to college, it’s in society’s best interests for him or her to be encouraged in development of critical thinking, to be expected to use research and investigation to examine points of view and beliefs.
Chris Rickert: Sifting and winnowing gives way to segregating at UW-Madison
As part of its ongoing effort to create a more “inclusive” campus in the wake of what some saw as a rash of racist incidents last school year, UW-Madison has announced plans to open a “black cultural center.”
UW Foundation should abandon fossil fuel — Bruce Beck
As reported in the Sept. 2 State Journal, Georgetown University now acknowledges it obtained profits from the institution of slavery when it sold 272 slaves in 1838, exactly at a time when the abolition of slavery was becoming a highly visible national political issue.
Gary L. Kriewald: George Orwell would shudder at UW’s ‘cultural fluency’ training
Back in the third grade I had a teacher with a discipline policy that earned her universal hatred: If one student misbehaved, the whole class was punished. Apparently, UW-Madison administrators hare adopted similar measures.
Wachs: Walker sowing the seeds of economic disaster
Noted: Meanwhile, here in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker just informed the University of Wisconsin System that it will receive no new funding in his next budget.
UW’s gaze into future instructive
A developer wanted to put up a large apartment building in the 1200 block of Spring Street — right where UW-Madison plans to expand.
Editorial: UW tuition freeze should continue for two years
We do not frequently agree with Gov. Scott Walker on issues relating to the University of Wisconsin System. But, in the absence of real reforms that address the excessive cost of higher education, Walker’s proposal to extend the state’s tuition freeze on UW campuses into the 2017-2019 state budget is necessary.
Editorial: UW speakers should offer diverse views
State Rep. Robin Vos has made news of late for saying Wisconsin’s public universities don’t offer enough conservative speakers on their campuses.
Rep. Vos correct, UW System should include more conservative speakers
The UW System has a great mission statement, part of which says the university should develop students’ “intellectual, cultural and humane sensitivities.” But this cannot be accomplished when conservatives are largely not speaking on campus, as Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, argued in a column for Right Wisconsin.
Trump Can’t Fix the Problems of the Working Class
Quoted: Counties and municipalities should be experimental governments, embracing new urbanism and supporting apprenticeships to open doors to the middle-class, co-ops and work-councils to give employees an ownership stake, investments in high speed broadband, timebanks to increase neighborhood interaction, community land trusts, credit unions and private development organizations to support startups through microloans and subsidized rent. “Get as much money circulating as possible and grow local business so you have people who care about the town,” says Joel Rogers a professor of law, political science and public affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the proponent of productive democracy.
Levine: The Cost of Keeping Companies in the United States
How should we stop corporations from leaving the United States, as both presidential candidates have vowed to do? After Pfizer announced this year that it wanted to merge with the Ireland-based Allergan in a maneuver known as a corporate inversion, the Obama administration put in new tax rules that effectively scuttled the deal.
Bernault: Le Gabon, le pays où il ne se passe jamais rien
Dimanche 28 août, le candidat de l’opposition unie, Jean Ping (73 ans) déclare avoir gagné l’élection présidentielle.
Still: Here’s a way to cut college costs
Jim Schmidt, the energetic chancellor of UW-Eau Claire, breaks it down to dollars and cents when he explains why students shouldn’t dally in their pursuit of a bachelor’s degree from his campus in northwest Wisconsin.
Hands on Wisconsin: Scott Walker thinks UW doesn’t need more money
Editorial cartoon.
Jeffrey Baylis: Performance-based funding is death spiral
Letter to the editor: As a faculty member, an elected official, and a member of a commission, I have witnessed the strategy used by administrators and politicians to kill off institutions they don’t like.
Paul Fanlund: On race, UW journalism professors reassess media ‘objectivity’
The professors, Sue Robinson and Kathleen Bartzen Culver, focused their research on Madison, using in-depth interviews (including with me), focus groups and analysis of actual coverage. They track the Madison media landscape from 2011, when a contentious bid by an African-American leader to create a charter school aimed at African-American boys failed.
UW’s accolades grounded in Wisconsin Idea
Over the past year, efforts by political leaders have been introduced to replace the “Wisconsin Idea” with an updated and, what some would believe to be, a more current University of Wisconsin mission statement.
Politics is cutting the heart out of Public Ivies
Former UW System Regent Chuck Pruitt column: For generations, public universities have been seen as great equalizers in the United States, especially for the middle class. In many states, a high-achieving student could go to a “Public Ivy,” a land-grant, flagship university in Michigan, Wisconsin or California, among others, and receive a Harvard- or Yale-caliber education at an affordable price.
Our view: Increase investment in UW
It’s time for Wisconsin to increase its investment in its public universities. After too many years of huge cuts by both Democrats and Republicans, the University of Wisconsin System deserves the additional $42.5 million investment it is seeking in the next state budget. The key word is investment.
Turn more patents into products
UW-Madison just ranked seventh in the world for patents. That’s a lot of brainpower. But the state of Wisconsin just ranked last for startup business activity. That’s a lot of lost opportunity.
Climate change is thawing deadly diseases. Maybe now we’ll address it?
In 2013, the National Academy of Sciences hosted a forum on the influence of global environmental change on infectious diseases. In his keynote speech, Dr Jonathan Patz stood in front of a large slide of a mosquito and warned: “Global warming’s greatest threat may also be the smallest.”
State employees give a lot during annual fundraiser
The campaign chairs for this year’s Partners in Giving fundraising campaign for state employees, including UW-Madison and UW Health employees, held their orientation meeting Tuesday to get ready for their work encouraging their co-workers to support some 520 charities and it was an impressive event.
Plain Talk: UW System can’t afford another double whammy from Walker and Co.
I heard UW-Eau Claire Chancellor James Schmidt on the radio earlier this month responding to Gov. Scott Walker’s pronouncement that he’s going to include another two-year tuition freeze on the UW System when he unveils his state budget this fall.
Amazon doesn’t fit in Wisconsin Idea — Joanne Berg
According to Tuesday’s State Journal story, the online retail giant Amazon is hoping to open a Pickup Point, called Amazon@UWMadison, in the Red Gym on the UW-Madison campus next spring.
Ringe: How a Donald Trump loss may undermine right-wing populism in the US
My job as a professor teaching European politics in the US revolves around explaining European political events to Americans. But as a dual citizen who grew up in Germany, I also spend much time during my frequent visits to Europe trying to help Europeans make sense of American politics.
Chris Rickert: More than survey needed if UW is serious about harassment
It’s hard to know what to make of recent survey results suggesting a significant number of UW-Madison professors are making passes at, cracking dirty jokes around, and skeezily commenting on the physical appearances of their female graduate students.
‘Cultural fluency’ is waste of money
Letter to the editor: The University of Wisconsin System has proposed that all students, professors and staff participate in mandatory programs designed to instill “cultural fluency.” (Am I the only one who cringes at the Orwellian undertones of that phrase?)
Vander Kelen’s death brings back memories
Letter to the editor: Immediately after learning of the sudden passing of former University of Wisconsin quarterback Ron Vander Kelen, my mind raced back to the 1963 Rose Bowl, which I can still vividly recollect.
UW booster Ab Nicholas will be missed
Letter to the editor: It is rare to be able to tell the story of a wealthy donor with the unlikely combination of a hot dog and soda.
Commentary by UW Regents: UW System is the state’s best return on investment
As Regents, we have a strong responsibility to keep the University of Wisconsin System affordable and accessible for Wisconsin families. We feel just as strongly about protecting the quality and excellence for which the UW System is known the world over. The reasons for ensuring this are compelling.
Berquam: UW program benefits all students
Christian Schneider’s Aug. 12 column dismissing the value of programs promoting cultural understanding at universities read like it was inspired by the sort of touchy-feely “diversity training” lampooned on TV shows like “The Office.”What we’re actually doing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison this year is quite different. The issues we’re addressing are real and the new Our Wisconsin program is a rational, evidence-driven response to them.
My Wisconsin Idea: an accessible and affordable future
As a student at UW-Madison, a world-class research institution, I have the ability to receive a quality degree with hard work and support. However, that support is threatened by polarized views and a misunderstanding that investing in public education is a partisan issue, rather than a value. I understand the value of my education because I know that in order to create jobs, improve the Wisconsin economy and maintain a quality education, my state must invest in education.
Fontes: The Demise of a Prison Lord
On July 18, Guatemala’s most infamous — and powerful — prisoner, Byron Lima Oliva, was shot to death in the Pavón prison outside Guatemala City. While it was a fellow prisoner who, the authorities said, put two bullets in Mr. Lima’s head, in all likelihood the intellectual authors of the killing hail from the highest echelons of the state and the moneyed elite. In Guatemala, it is often impossible to tell where the state ends and the underworld begins.