With four games left, Barry Alvarez is approaching his best job ever with the Badgers, which is saying something for the only Big Ten coach to win three Rose Bowls. Even if Wisconsin finishes the regular season 9-3, it would be infinitely better than last year’s 9-3, when Alvarez had much more talent and then made the mistake of saying UW had overachieved when it was done.
For a guy who has dedicated his life to peace and compassion and tranquility, the Dalai Lama sure finds ways to upset establishments.
This time, those upset are scientists who are outraged that the Tibetan spiritual leader has been invited to speak at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience next month in Washington, D.C.
He is scheduled to speak about research he has done with UW-Madison professor Richard Davidson that purports to show monks who meditate produce very strong concentrations of gamma brain waves, as measured by an electronic scanner.
Last week, the Student Services Finance Committee faced a difficult decision regarding whether the SAFEwalk service was beneficial overall to the campus given its steep costs per walker. SAFEwalk is based on two central tenets: transportation and safety.
A solitary cup defiantly remains across the table, half-filled with warm beer and taunting the player on the opposite side to sink the ball and finish the game. Staring at the hazy cup with glazed-over eyes, the player leans precipitously over the table to steady himself, at the same time releasing the ball in a hurried, erratic motion. The ball sails across the table in a wobbly arc, landing nowhere near its intended target. The ball is picked up and the game continues.
For the past week I’ve been cruising the corner of Breese Terrace and Regent Street, waiting impatiently for the appearance of the giant sculpture that was to be unveiled today to kick off UW-Madison’s Homecoming events.
Where were they hiding it, I wondered? In the Field House? Under the roof of the McClain Center? Behind the steeple of First Congregational Church up the street?
Though the University of Wisconsin-Madison consistently ranks as one of the nation�s finest state universities, this mark of distinction could very well lose all validity in the near future. As the university continues to receive less and less money from the state, it faces the serious possibility of becoming a de facto private institution. Indeed, statistics suggest that the status of many of the nation�s state-financed institutions may be in peril.
The first few days of class are always the same. The professor introduces him or herself, reads through the syllabus (although most students are capable of reading on their own), and discusses the rules of cheating. An especially salient topic that arises in the cheating segment is that of plagiarism.
As we, the university community, come together to celebrate Bucky’s pirate homecoming, let us take a minute to think about where the Bucky Badger T-shirts that are so ubiquitous this week came from. All UW-Madison clothing is made in sweatshops by individuals who in many respects are just like ourselves. Although it is impossible to fully understand the struggles of workers far away, there are parallels between their experiences on the factory floor and ours at the university.
In order to make Halloween a safe, peaceful and enjoyable weekend, the following question must be answered: Who is responsible for the events of Halloween?
A problem that plagues the University of Wisconsin is diversity, or lack thereof.
As liberals lean back and enjoy the spectacle, conservatives are fighting each other over the nomination of Harriet Miers to replace Sandra Day O’Connor on the United States Supreme Court, says Ann Althouse, a professor in the UW Law School.
Four Madison researchers have donned green eye shades for a bottom-line look at programs designed to prevent juvenile delinquency: What’s their cost? What’s their yield?
I understand the logic behind banning smoking in Madison bars. I almost understand the threats to stop Halloween. Taking away SAFEwalk, though, is something that boggles my mind.
Malcolm X once said, ââ?¬Å?Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.ââ?¬Â It is very unfortunate that our current Legislature apparently disagrees with the words of this great thinker. As students around Wisconsin head back for another year of higher education at one the 26 University of Wisconsin colleges and universities, Congress will be voting on one of the most detrimental pieces of federal legislation to face students in a very long time.
This pertinent proposal is called Budget Reconciliation. If Congress buys this pitch, it will cut at least $9 billion from student loan programs. Budget Reconciliation is a special process used by Congress to cut and change entitlement programs such as Medicaid, pensions and student loans. The attempt by Congress to use this process to gut federal loan programs will be devastating for students both today and in years to come.
The room in Vilas Hall is full of college students, eager to get in on the gig being described by the panel participants for the UW’s media career day. They’re hearing about staplers being whipped at people, coffee runs for the boss, endless photocopying and derisive taunts.
Oh, yeah, and there’s usually no pay at first.
Most people who live in Wisconsin will tell you that Milwaukee is not exactly a shining beacon on a hill. While its condition cannot quite be described as abysmal, Milwaukee is simply a city that has been left behind. Sadly, if the University of Wisconsin successfully receives something it is currently seeking, Milwaukee will be left behind once more.
Recently, UW requested to rename its medical school the ââ?¬Å?UW School of Medicine & Public Health.ââ?¬Â One could easily dismiss this plan as attempting little more than a rearrangement of the medical schoolââ?¬â?¢s title. However, to do so would be to ignore the impending changes such a shift would bring.
It’s one of those lawsuits that produces guffaws from those who read or hear about it, but it is anything but funny to the people who must bear its brunt.
….It’s the suit that claims the bars near the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus conspired to fix drink prices, thereby overcharging money-strapped college kids who wanted to relax with a few drinks now and then.
….The pity is that all the owners did was try to cooperate with the UW and Chancellor John Wiley’s campaign against binge drinking.
After a gruesome afternoon like Saturday’s, when a Northwestern offense once again reminded a Wisconsin defense that purple is among a contusion’s dominant colors, you’ve got to be asking yourself:
Who is this Bret Bielema guy, and why has he already been entrusted with the future of the UW football program?
Before the Badger football showdown with Michigan, AOL Instant Messenger away messages, T-shirts and dialogue among Badger football fans were flooded by puns depicting Ann Arbor as whore-personified -deserving to be beaten, conquered and dominated.
Before the Badger football showdown with Michigan, AOL Instant Messenger away messages, T-shirts and dialogue among Badger football fans were flooded by puns depicting Ann Arbor as whore-personified -deserving to be beaten, conquered and dominated.
Gov. Jim Doyleââ?¬â?¢s 2002-05 budget proposal eliminated about 200-300 courses at the University of Wisconsin in 2003. Students were forced into crammed classrooms far exceeding capacity. Since the proposal was instated, the College of Letters and Science ââ?¬â? the largest school on this campus ââ?¬â? has cut $4.5 million from its program. Such cuts have reduced the number of faculty and staff positions, increased class size and diminished the overall quality of a UW education.
Paul W. Barrows has given 16 years of dedicated service to the University of Wisconsin. No one has ever suggested that he did anything other than superb work. Nor has anyone ever filed a complaint about him.
Yet, because of former Dean of Students Luoluo Hong and her campaign against him, Paul Barrows is no longer the vice chancellor for student affairs. That is a loss for the university and its students.
Guest Column: C. Coe and E. Sandgren
Upon reading Leslie Hamilton’s Sept. 29 guest column in the State Journal, we were struck by the large cultural void that has emerged between people.
We want more beer! We want more beer!
This chant is familiar to all those who dedicate their Saturdays to going out to support our amazing (and undefeated) 2005 football team. The season has started off just like any other; students decked out in their brightest red gear, with beers in hand, tailgating before the games.
While the Wisconsin legislature continues to bungle its way through narrow-minded and politically-motivated debates over stem cell research, it’s important to note the National Institute of Health’s establishment of the first and only National Stem Cell Bank here at Wisconsin’s WiCell Research Institute.
(WISC-TV Editorial)
If you or a loved one has diabetes, Parkinson’s disease or a spinal cord injury, you need to do two things.
First, send Gov. Jim Doyle flowers and a nice note.
Second, look in the mirror and admit you’re a loser.
Hey, I know it sounds harsh, but I’m a loser, too.
Stem cell research has the potential to treat ailments such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, stroke, diabetes, heart disease, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Dr. Paul W. Barrows has given 16 years of dedicated service to the University of Wisconsin. No one has ever suggested that he did anything other than superb work, nor has anyone ever filed complaint about him. Yet, because of former Dean of Students Luoluo Hong and her campaign against him, Paul Barrows is no longer the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. That is a loss for the University and its students.
The fall term is in full swing now at the UW and at campuses across the country. Students are settling in to the rituals of academia; classes and labs, homework and exams, counterbalanced (or in some cases outweighed) by ball games and the high-tech social life of a new-millennium collegian.
….before I start to sound like a hypocrite, let me make it clear that I believe with all of my being that education is a foremost key to success. It just isn’t the only one.
That said, at what point does education hinder rather than enhance our ability to function in the work world?
(Sarah Botham is the owner of Botham, ink. and a senior lecturer in the UW Department of Life Sciences Communication.)
Chancellor John Wiley addressed the Faculty Senate Monday, speaking to issues important to professors, such as sick leave and vacation policy, in his annual State of the University speech. While these shortcomings are important, we believe a much wider portrait must be painted to fully assess the condition of our great, state university of Wisconsin.
When former vice chancellor Paul Barrows returned to campus Monday morning, the entire community let out a slow breath, hoping against hope that the scandal was now firmly in the past and that UW could begin the slow process of healing.
Other Wisconsin fans at Saturday’s Badger game at Camp Randall Stadium probably saw the empty pedestal at the corner of Crazylegs Drive and Breese Terrace and imagined what I did.
I could just picture a sculpture of old Crazylegs, Elroy Hirsch, doing his famous huck and buck atop the pedestal. He’d look great with the retro- themed renovations just completed at the stadium.
Fifteen years ago, Barry Alvarez’s first adult portion of the Michigan Wolverines was served cold. Wisconsin lost by 38, Camp Randall had empty seats and a lone Michigan fan with a boom box made it worse by playing that harder-to-get-out-of-your-head-than-the-Macarena fight song that reverberated throughout the silent stadium with each score, which was often.
The Big Blue menace, then, has been as much a part of the Alvarez legacy as anything, including the three Rose Bowl championships.
Editor’s Note: This is an official response to the Sep. 7, 2005 Cardinal View in which our editorial board criticized the Halloween no-guest rule in UW-Madison dorms.
The Division of University Housing provides a residential community for 7,000 undergraduate students. The residence halls are students’ homes-we are not in the business of running a hotel.
Progress reports, parent-teacher conferences and detention slips are all elements of years past ââ?¬â? or so we thought. It turns out that University of Wisconsin-Madison is trying to bring the parents back into the school with a new parental notification policy announced last week. Students who thought that upon arriving in Madison they were ââ?¬Å?freeââ?¬Â from their parents are shocked at this policy change. But after a reported 14 trips to detoxification so far this semester, I say it is about time we do something.
With Thursday’s release of the Steingass report-an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Paul Barrows’ employment status-came a slew of new allegations of sexual harassment, decision-making errors and further knowledge of the debates among top UW-Madison officials as the Barrows controversy unfolded.
After a year of eerie silence blended with sordid deceit, the University of Wisconsin opened the blinds on the Paul Barrows affair Thursday afternoon.
There are still too few women at the top, too many at the bottom. Every few years, a report that women are gaining ground prompts panicky articles proclaiming that ââ?¬Å?men are falling behind!ââ?¬Â Don’t get me wrong: I believe in equality for all. I’m concerned about women’s status and I’m concerned about the race, ethnicity and income divisions revealed in the Department of Education survey.
Editorial by Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women
Where the Boys Are, released in 1960, is the quintessential college spring-break movie. Today, visitors to college campuses can’t help but ask: Where are the boys? Currently, 135 women receive bachelor’s degrees for every 100 men. That gender imbalance will widen in the coming years, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Education.
very year, approximately 100 UW-Madison students are admitted to emergency detoxification. So far this semester, 14 students have been so admitted to university hospitals-most of them 18- or 19-years old. Beginning this week, university policy will direct the Office of the Chancellor to formally notify parents and guardians when “their son or daughter has been involved in a gravely serious situation,” including detox. This action is both inconsistent and dangerous for underage students.
Riot gear and pepper spray have defined Madison’s annual Halloween party for the last three years, staining the image of Madison and the university. In our view, there are two major problems that must be dealt with if the city is to enjoy a safe and uneventful weekend this year. The influx of people from closing bars creates a chaotic, congested State Street and, second, most rioters are intoxicated outsiders with no stake in the Madison community.
….Frankly, John Wiley deserves a pat on the back. It’s well past time that someone at the university stood up to these bullies.
The UW hasn’t had a great public relations year, to be sure. The lengthy Paul Barrows paid leave and the three professors who remained on the payroll after being convicted of felonies became perfect targets for exploitation. The Nasses and Suders never make an attempt to understand how that might happen before running their mouths and calling for the Legislature to punish the UW.
The University of Wisconsin ââ?¬â? and the public at large ââ?¬â? has known since March that Lewis Keith Cohen is something more than just an unsavory character. He has admitted to charges involving the electronic transmission of child pornography and using the Internet to arrange for a sexual rendezvous with a 14-year-old boy.
Despite the relatively rare public invocation of the process, much hoopla has been made of late over the University of Wisconsin administration�s use of so-called back-up positions. The jobs, veritable fall-back posts for certain employees who lose their discretionary positions for one reason or another, offer some modicum of job security and guaranteed income to those who otherwise might find their names gracing the unemployment rolls on a whim.
After two years of talks, allegations of negotiating in bad faith and a disastrous and illegal two-day strike in April 2004, the Teaching Assistants Association and Wisconsin�s Office of State Employment Relations are still no closer to an agreement for the 2003-05 contract period.
UW-Madison freshman Sam Melameb, who intended to study at Tulane University this year, arrived on campus from New Orleans last week with “eight articles of clothing and a pair of sandals.” Despite the traumatic circumstances that brought him to Madison, Melameb is responsible to pay tuition to both institutions. According to Tulane University, students who are enrolled for the current semester and are studying elsewhere will not be immediately refunded, despite the school’s temporary closing.
The UW has a huge public relations problem that it needs to fix, especially when it comes to the immediate firing of convicted felon professors charged with heinous sex crimes. I was one of two guests last week on ‘The O’Reilly Factor’ on the Fox News channel to talk about this issue. Bill O’Reilly and his producers had asked me to come on to discuss three criminal professors who had not been fired as of last
week, but had already been convicted and sentenced for their crimes.
….His upcoming appearance at the Wisconsin Union Theater is sure to pack the house with local anti-war activists.
However, there are some inconvenient facts about Galloway that aren’t often reported in the American press. Whatever one’s opinion about the Bush administration’s wars, no one who claims to be a progressive ought to have anything to do with Galloway, a dishonest, authoritarian reactionary.
WTDY-AM 1670 talk show host Casey Hoff is a bit worried that he won’t be allowed to graduate in December from the UW-Madison as planned. The reason? He got the chance Wednesday night to “rip” Chancellor John Wiley to an audience of millions on national television. And he jumped on it.
The topic was the UW-Madison professors who have been convicted of crimes and remained on the payroll, specifically Roberto Coronado, the UW Medical School professor who was sentenced to eight years in prison for repeated sexual assault of a child and fired the same day the segment aired.
It has been 18 months since the Teaching Assistants’ Association walked back into classrooms following an unsuccessful and unpopular strike. Still operating under a contract negotiated in 2001, teaching assistants are scheduled to enter mediated discussions with UW officials in upcoming weeks. Given that recent talks have proven unfruitful for the TAA, we anticipate that upcoming negotiations will be highly sensitive affairs, invoking passionate pleas from union members and student supporters. However, if one state lawmaker has his way, the TAA’s right to collective bargaining will soon disappear.
In recent days, state Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, has gained a lot of media attention by attacking the University of Wisconsin-Madison for allowing George Galloway, an anti-war member of the British Parliament, to speak on campus on Sept. 18.
He has based his objection on the fact that the Havens Center, which is based in the sociology department, is a co-sponsor of the event, leading him to claim that taxpayer money is being used to “shove” Mr. Galloway’s “pro-terrorist” views “down our throats.” I would like to take this opportunity to set the record straight.
(Patrick Barrett is administrative director of the A.E. Havens Center, which promotes critical social thought throughout the social sciences and is part of the sociology department at UW-Madison.)
University Housing created more problems than solutions for Halloween festivities when it declared this past summer that no guests will be allowed to stay in the dorms from Friday, Oct. 28 through Tuesday, Nov. 1. The tactic is meant to prevent out of town students, who accounted for 391 of the 450 arrests during Halloween in 2004, from attending the festivities. The no-guest policy is a dangerous step because the hazards far outweigh the benefits of keeping a minute percentage of the 75,000 party-goers away from Halloween in Madison.
In the wake of devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, the University of Wisconsin System ââ?¬â? along with other colleges and universities around the nation ââ?¬â? has taken it upon itself to help students displaced by our nationââ?¬â?¢s latest tragedy.
Imagine sending people who have been assimilated into the most stable demographic population in America into cities and towns all over the United States that are as unprepared as the victims to understand their sense of dislocation and their support needs.
….The University of Wisconsin anthropology and sociology departments may have a role to play in helping the community understand the new cultures moving into their midst.
(Shari Julian earned her doctorate in public/educational administration UW-Madison in 1979. She also earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees here. She later earned a post-doctorate degree in clinical counseling and has been a hospital clinician for 20 years. She is now a faculty member in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Texas in Arlington.)
….So when does Suder get hot and bothered about “hate speech”? When the University of Wisconsin hosts prominent speakers who dissent from the official line of the Bush White House and its allies in this country’s conservative media.
….The reality is that this appearance by Fonda and Galloway, controversial figures with something to say, is in the very best tradition of a university that has for more than a century declared: “Whatever may be the limitations which trammel inquiry elsewhere, we believe that the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”
Smoking ban needs time, exceptions
Friday classes ridiculous
Monday, August 29, 2005
MICHAEL M. COX
I was disappointed by the recent comments by President Bush and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., suggesting that it would be appropriate to include the idea known as intelligent design in science curricula.
There are many misconceptions being propagated by individuals intent on undermining science education in this country.
It is simply incorrect that controversy exists in the science community about whether evolution occurred. Evolution is a fact. I have been a scientist for 30 years. In that time, I have been to nearly 100 international conferences and have visited scores of science departments. Never once — anywhere — have I encountered a controversy about whether evolution occurred.
The people who work for Wisconsin government are being demonized once again.
Government workers are either – take your pick – lazy and shiftless or coddled and overpaid.
The latest fuel for state worker bashers came from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, which last week issued a report that shows Wisconsin public employees pay a smaller share of their retirement costs than those in other states. Plus, they then receive higher pension benefits than nearly everyone else when they retire.
One item in the new State Historical Society Museum exhibit on the bombing of UW-Madison Sterling Hall caught my attention.
It wasn’t the original FBI wanted poster for missing bomber Leo Burt or the photo of physicist Robert Fassnacht, who was killed as he worked late in his office. Or the twisted engine casing of the Ford Econoline van that contained what was, at that time, the biggest car bomb ever manufactured.
The annual ranking guaranteed to give college presidents a headache was released Monday: The Princeton Review’s list of the top party schools. This year’s No. 1 ââ?¬â? and we can shortly expect a rebuttal from its chancellor ââ?¬â? is the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
