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Category: Opinion

Tear down those outdated walls, Madison and Milwaukee!

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The I-94 corridor connecting Madison and Milwaukee is not only 70 miles of concrete enabling us to get back and forth in just a little over an hour but a main artery along the “IQ Corridor” that stretches through Wisconsin from the Twin Cities to Chicago. Wisconsin’s ability to flourish and grow depends in part on our ability to remove any old blockages in this artery and cooperatively leverage the strengths of our two cities.

UW Business News Wire

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By Charles Hoslet

I was driving along I-94 from Madison to Milwaukee the other day and crashed right through a large brick wall. I noticed that other drivers were also getting through�in both directions.

The brick wall, of course, was just a figment of my imagination, one of those old “truths” we are taught to believe, but just aren’t true any more. The old idea is that Madison and Milwaukee are very different places, have little in common, and frankly don’t much like each other. We pick on each other almost as much as we do those Bears fans to the south.

Editorial: Defend UW free speech

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Ward Churchill, the controversial University of Colorado professor who has been the target of so much right-wing wrath, spoke Tuesday night at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

And his talk drew far more attention than it would have, thanks to the screeching of media windbags like Bill O’Reilly and politicians who have grown a bit too comfortable in the bully pulpit, such as Wisconsin’s own state Rep. Steve Nass.

Reinstated Israel program a great experience for students

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Daily Cardinal

We are privileged at UW-Madison because our post-secondary education is enhanced daily by an intellectual, political and physically appealing environment. However, this does not hinder us from choosing to explore the education, culture and landscapes of universities in countries where study abroad programs are available.

No sweat: UW licensing

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Badger Herald

As reported two days ago in this newspaper, University of Wisconsinââ?¬â??Madisonââ?¬â?¢s Special Committee on Labor and Licensing made recommendations to Chancellor John Wiley Monday regarding the production of UWââ?¬â??Madison-themed apparel and sporting goods

JEFF BROWN: Alvarez knows how to keep jobs separate

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La Crosse Tribune

A few years ago, Barry Alvarez had a decision to make, one that only the very best college football coaches in the country are faced with. And make no mistake about it, Alvarez has shown year after year he is one of college football’s best coaches.

Remember the Wisconsin Badgers before Barry? Ugh!

Richard Askey: Scores attest to problems

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Wisconsin State Journal

In his State of the State talk, Gov. Jim Doyle remarked that Wisconsin students have the highest score on the ACT. At a recent meeting, state School Superintendent Libby Burmaster said Wisconsin students always rank near the top on national tests. Here (right) is some data that suggests this is not likely to continue, nor is always true even now.

Our Tools of War, Turned Blindly Against Ourselves

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Chronicle of Higher Education

What is a war casualty? The answer appears painfully obvious. It asserts itself not through argument but, more viscerally, through photographs: a torso shredded by a road-side bomb; a bloodied peasant spread-eagled in a ditch; a soldier (cigarette dangling nonchalantly) smashing his boot into a dead woman’s head.

Author: Rob Nixon, the Rachel Carson Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He is working on a book on the environmental and epidemiological aftermaths of high-tech wars.

Black men fall behind

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USA Today

What looked like a good-news report on minorities in higher education was released Monday: The number of African-American, Hispanic, Asian-American and Native American students enrolled in college doubled during the past decade.

John Nichols: Controversial prof’s voice should be heard

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Capital Times

…while I probably disagree with Ward Churchill more than most of his right-wing critics, I recognize him as a challenging public intellectual who has prodded and provoked my thinking in ways that I have to respect.

So, as a Wisconsinite, I was pleased when the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Chancellor Jack Miller became the first campus administrator in the country to resist the right-wing crusaders who have been campaigning to deny Churchill a right to speak at institutions of higher learning.

Chris Ott: Benefits for domestic partners is right and fair

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

For the first time, Gov. Jim Doyle has proposed $500,000 a year to fund health insurance coverage for the domestic partners of University of Wisconsin employees.

The funds would cover the partners of gay and lesbian employees, but non-gay employees who choose not to marry would have the option as well.

UW’s new digs impress retired scribe

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Wisconsin State Journal

The area around Camp Randall Stadium is a hectic place these days, with construction still dominating the scene. I’m not around there much these days, although it was once like my second home when I covered University of Wisconsin football and basketball for the Wisconsin State Journal.

So a recent visit with sports information director Justin Doherty in the new Kellner Hall at the east end of the stadium staggered my imagination. Seeing the lavish surroundings I couldn’t help but think of former SID Jim Mott’s old office, where water leaked from the stadium seats above during a heavy rain.

Staff Opinion: Doyle comes around

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Daily Cardinal

He finally said it. After cutting it out of the State of the State address earlier this year, Gov. Jim Doyle got his priorities straight at his budget address Tuesday.

“For the first time in more than 10 years, my budget will add more state money to the UW and financial aid than it will to the Department of Corrections,” he said.

Tuition ââ?¬Ë?on the moveââ?¬â?¢

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Badger Herald

As Governor Doyle addressed a packed state capitol last night, his misleading rhetoric produced hope for a University of Wisconsin System badly neglected of late. But his numbers told a different story, one with as much heartbreak as his hyperbole had delivered hope; one where students will now be forced to fork over a five to seven percent tuition increase, neatly packed onto the steep hikes already thrust upon undergraduates last time the governor delivered his budget.

In Ward Churchill Case, Who Defines ‘Acceptable’ Speech?

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Chronicle of Higher Education

Over the past several months, Hamilton College, the small liberal-arts institution in upstate New York where I teach history, has been the site of some of the most heavily publicized conflicts ever fought in the history of American higher education to define the limits of acceptable speech on a college campus.

Colleges reach out to students in need

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USA Today

I take strong exception to the notion that colleges and universities are turning a ââ?¬Å?blind eyeââ?¬Â to the accessibility and affordability of college for low-income students. It is simply wrong to assert that elite colleges have attempted to ââ?¬Å?crowd outââ?¬Â low-income students (ââ?¬Å?Is college getting out of reach?ââ?¬Â Life, Wednesday).

On the status of the sexes

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USA Today

Harvard President Lawrence Summers, who enjoys shaking up the status quo, exceeded expectations when he suggested recently that women might lack the right stuff when it comes to math and science. How else to explain the scarcity of females on his faculty?

Build for students

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Daily Cardinal

On one level, campus reconstruction-the demolition of Van Hise, the reconstruction of Ogg and the development of Lakeshore-is positive. Van Hise is so dangerous it is cheaper to demolish than refurbish. Ogg is a reputably filthy tower riddled with tiny, garret-like rooms. Lakeshore needs some new pizzazz. In short, new buildings will make this campus both more attractive and safer.

Stem cells offer hope for cures

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Badger Herald

Many regard regenerative medicine as the string theory of life sciences � elegant, global and controversial. Born in 1998, on the hands of Dr. James Thomson, the now world-renowned University of Wisconsin researcher, the science of stem cells already has scientists and economists gushing over its seemingly endless applications.

Truth about math, science and women

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USA Today

Commentary By Joyce King

Growing up, Daddy said that it was just the order of the universe: ââ?¬Å?Men are smarter than women.ââ?¬Â Now that Harvard University President Lawrence Summers has apologized for recent remarks about differences that might make women less capable in math and science, I can’t help but wonder how many men believe women are less productive or lack the mental ability to compete.

Still: Life-science research plan is about more than stem cells (WTN)

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Wisconsin Technology Network

As more states line up to promote human embryonic stem-cell research, policymakers and investors will ask, ââ?¬Å?Will it pay off for all?ââ?¬Â The most likely answer is no. But among those states poised to compete with Californiaââ?¬â?¢s $3 billion initiative, Wisconsin may be the best positioned for success.

Whether federal or private, research faces scientific obstacles

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USA Today

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the nation’s medical research agency that conducts and funds research at institutions around the USA to improve people’s health. As a leader of medical research, NIH aims to make discoveries that will help prevent, detect and treat disease and disability. That includes funding research on existing human embryonic stem cells.

A rocking Halloween solution

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Badger Herald

Last month I had the opportunity to go to a forum where police and students discussed what might have gone wrong this past Halloween. For the third straight year, Halloween ended with a riot on State Street. I went because I was curious whether students and police could see that they both could have handled themselves better. That didn�t happen. Those who were pepper sprayed were convinced that they shouldn�t have been, and the police were sure, with few exceptions, which were layered with qualifiers, that they handled themselves correctly.

Dave Zweifel: Lasee peddles false TABOR info

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Capital Times

…There are other ways to address the problem of escalating property taxes and the never-ending need for education dollars, our investment in the future. Two state commissions have made some suggestions, but legislators have simply put them on the shelf, opting instead for a simplistic solution they call a Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

What it really should be called is the Taxpayer Bill of Frights.

Time to consider guaranteed tuition

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Daily Cardinal

Over the past few years, UW students have seen their tuition increase at unprecedented rates. In the face of drastic budget cuts that originate in the statehouse, the university has been forced to continually demand more money from students while offering fewer, more crowded classes. A fourth-year in-state student now pays $2,933.12 per semester-a 64.4 percent increase from a semester’s tuition when he or she entered the university in the fall of 2001.

Banlocal minimum wage Ordinances

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Wisconsin State Journal

The bidding has commenced. Now it’s time to ban local minimum wage laws before the city councils of our state succumb to the easy politics of giving people more money without having to raise taxes. It’s just too tempting when you’re giving away other people’s money.

Don Nichols: Let homeowners defer property tax hikes

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Wisconsin State Journal

The immediate causes of Wisconsin’s budget deficit are twofold. First, along with many other states, our tax receipts fell when the dot.com bubble burst, and we now struggle to fund our growing needs from a shrinking tax base. Second, some bad budgeting decisions postponed a confrontation with the deficit, which had swelled to more than $1 billion. These immediate issues have put us in a deep hole.
Nichols is director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs, and a professor of economics and public affairs at the UW-Madison.

Same-sex partners need insurance

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Daily Cardinal

As a leader progressive education UW-Madison should have been the first Big Ten school and one of the first in the nation to guarantee health insurance to partners of gay and lesbian faculty. Instead, it is currently the only school in the conference not to offer such benefits.

Reader views: ‘State of Fear’ — or smear?

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Wisconsin State Journal

No sacred cows Wayne Madsen objects to the portrayal of environmentalists as villains in Michael Crichton’s “State of Fear.” As most of us know, Crichton is largely a writer of fiction. Characters from many walks of life – politicians, businessmen, athletes, lawyers, celebrities – play the villains in various fictional works. Madsen, however, seems to think that environmentalists should be granted unique protections against such portrayal, even in a fictional context.
Richard Amasino, professor, Department of Biochemistry, UW-Madison

Tom Still: Wisconsin Angel Network part of state�s focus on entrepreneurship (wisbusiness.com)

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www.wisbusiness.com

MADISON ââ?¬â?? Five years ago, it wasnââ?¬â?¢t necessary to use terms such as “entrepreneur,” “venture capital” or “knowledge worker” when talking about the state economy. That was before the recession of 2000, the war on terror and other global trends fundamentally changed the Wisconsin landscape.

Dave Zweifel: Pell cut an attack on working people

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Capital Times

The Christmas Eve news that the Bush administration is going to cut back on Pell grants for low-income students this year underscored just how out of kilter this country has become.

We’re spending billions upon billions fighting a war that should never have been started and lavishing billions upon billions on giving the least needy people in America breaks on their income taxes. As is almost always the case, the people who can afford it least wind up bearing the burden.