Category: Opinion

Superstorm Sandy did more than rock the eastern coast of the United States last year. It also damaged Mitt Romney?s chances in the presidential election. Quotes from Republican primaries, where Romney called for responsibility for disaster response to shift from the federal government to state and local authorities, suddenly looked foolish as those local authorities were quickly overwhelmed. Yet, even as the aftermath of Sandy demonstrates the need for federal help, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in New York is losing US$1.3 billion ? roughly 5% of its budget ? in government cutbacks.

For hundreds of years, the experience of higher education has essentially been the same: Students have gathered at places of higher learning, been instructed by faculty and received their degrees after completing a designated course of study.

Chances are that French air power combined with superior numbers and equipment on the ground in Mali will prevail and force the jihadis to retreat in some fashion to the Sahel. That, however, will hardly be the end.

All too many people have a tendency to roll their eyes whenever University of Wisconsin-Madison students and faculty members raise questions about the exclusive contracts apparel manufacturers like Adidas have with the university.

In October this year, I was invited to give a lecture to school leaders and senior staff from state schools in the Melbourne area. However, I was ?dis-invited? by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, after some members heard another lecture I gave at the University of Melbourne on why we should be worried about the effects of current school reforms and what we might do about them. For at least some people in the DEECD, my statements were ?too controversial? in the current political context of school reform.

For as long as I can remember, my two friends who attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, have been telling me that there is nothing comparable to spending a Badger football weekend at their alma mater. The weekend of October 27th also happened to be the Madison Homecoming as well as an event celebrating Halloween known as Freakfest, so I was offered multiple opportunities to be 18 again.

Climate change has registered barely a peep in the presidential contest between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. But no matter who wins on Nov. 6, the next occupant of the Oval Office is likely to become the first “climate president.” [A column by Paul Robbins, director of the Nelson Institute.]

It has been suggested that Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan should make a campaign stop on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Conservatives who objected to the way in which UW officials managed President Obama?s visit last week want Ryan to visit in order to test the commitment of the UW to a genuine ?sifting and winnowing? of ideas. It?s a great idea. Schedule Ryan for a rally on Bascom Hill. Give his campaign the same cooperation that the Obama campaign got. And let?s see how things go for the crown prince of conservatism.

Students gathered Thursday to hear one of the most significant political figures of our time speak in the heart of their campus: the first African-American president in the White House, the second visit from a sitting president in two years since President Harry Truman in 1950, all coming together on Bascom HIll. President Barack Obama?s second visit will surely be remembered. 

Each school acts in a hypercompetitive, prestige- and resource-seeking space that feels almost Darwinian — each striving to be the best and allowing those falling behind to simply die away. Given the tremendous potential supply of college-goers most public institutions enjoy, their adherence to this approach is remarkable. Instead of flagships working in tandem with sister schools to find places for each of the state?s high school graduates, they try to hog as many resources as possible, leaving other campuses to struggle with less. The greater good suffers. (A column by Sara Goldrick-Rab, UW-Madison education professor.)

According to the University of Wisconsin-Madison?s Institute for Research on Poverty, more than 20% of all Wisconsinites – and more than 50% of our state?s seniors – would fall below the poverty line but for government policies such as Social Security, food stamps, the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Homestead Credit.

Yesterday, the Washington Free Beacon reported that the UW-Madison-based Center on Wisconsin Strategies COWS is attempting to form a national progressive answer to the American Legislative Exchange Council ALEC. Over the past few years, ALEC, which drafts model legislation that promotes free markets and less government, has become a primary target of the left.