University of Wisconsin merchandise is made in sweatshops. What does this mean?
Workers in the factories that make UW caps, hats and sweatshirts are routinely denied their basic human rights. They are forced to work 60- to 70-hour weeks, sometimes 24-hour shifts. They are physically and verbally abused. They are groped and sexually harassed by their supervisors. They are paid poverty wages.
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has drawn a thoughtful ethical line with his decision to support one type of human embryonic stem cell research in his state and to oppose another. Although the distinction made by Romney was largely lost in news coverage of his announcement, it could define a more constructive debate about stem cell research in Wisconsin and nationwide.
**This opinion/letter also appears in the March 31 edition of the Daily Cardinal.
The administration�s recent cuts to federal financial aid for higher education send a clear message to students: When it comes to paying for college, don�t count on Pell Grants.
Chancellor John Wiley wrote Monday about continuing to make the University of Wisconsinââ?¬â?¢s campus more diverse. The UW administration ââ?¬Å?[remains] absolutely committed to building an inclusive community free of social bias and inclusion,ââ?¬Â he said. And creating a campus atmosphere free of social bias should absolutely be a priority at this university.
The Labor Licensing Committee, whose ultimate goal is to have university-licensed companies uphold fair labor practices, has commendable ideals. However, the decision of four members to resign in light of a dispute with Chancellor Wiley over his decision to be less harsh with licensees, hurts their worthy cause more than it helps.
Rob Zaleski’s column the other day on UW-Madison Professor Dietram Schuefele’s research on the differences between TV news viewers and newspaper readers underscored just how much this country is changing – and I’m not so sure it’s for the better.
Schuefele is the journalism professor who surveyed nearly 800 residents of Tompkins County, N.Y., in the days after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center to determine if they viewed governmental police powers differently depending on where they got their news.
Let the disappointment be short-lived. The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball season may have ended Sunday with a loss to North Carolina, but Coach Bo Ryan’s team deserves big-time celebration.
Gov. Jim Doyle is seeking $19 million in his state budget for a project that, by comparison to its cost, has the potential for a gigantic payback.
The $19 million would help build the first phase of the Wisconsin Institute of Discovery, an ambitious research center for biotechnology that would rise on the UW-Madison campus over the next 10 years.
Some people think their very lives might be riding on this project. That’s because stem cell research at the institute could someday help cure diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
* This article also appears in the 3/28/05 Daily Cardinal Opinion Column.
While recent snowfalls might seem to argue the point, the equinox has come and gone, and it�s officially spring. Many see this as a time of renewal, but it is one of reflection as well.
Robert J. “Bob” Schutz, age 50, passed away on Monday, March 21, 2005. He worked for the University of Wisconsin-Madison for 13 years.
We asked readers to react to law schools, including the UW-Madison’s, that bar military recruiters because the military discriminates against gays and lesbians. Here is a sample of readers’ responses.
By now, we’ve all heard how Harvard President Lawrence Summers, a former member of President Clinton’s Cabinet and a distinguished scholar in his own right, made a politically incorrect point at a faculty seminar recently.
Opinion column by David Horowitz
Never one to pass up a scrimmage or a conversation, Bo Ryan stopped on his way to work Tuesday to talk to some kids shooting baskets on a driveway. He said he couldn’t get a game, but he did get some encouragement. The kids told him, “Go Badgers.” Ryan probably told them “Go left,” or something along those lines.
Some questions should be easy to answer. This seemed to be one such query. Last fall the UW-Madison Athletic Department cut way back on the number of courtesy cars and car allowances it provides, so that most of the 46 still getting such a perk were coaches or assistant coaches. Others lost their wheels.
Several times a year, when I enter the Ames post office through the south door of the main entrance, I check to see if Leo is still there, in the glass case where wanted posters are displayed.
Dave Zweifel writes about the “My Fair Lakes” campaign sponsored by the Madison Area Municipal Storm Water Partnership.
“During the next several months, the partnership, which consists of the University of Wisconsin, Dane County and 19 communities in the county, will highlight different ideas that all of us can use to ease the problem (of storm water runoff) and make our lakes cleaner.”
On the first day of February, a rare winter air-quality advisory was issued for Dane County lasting six days, warning everyone not to engage in strenuous activity and advising children and older adults to avoid outdoor activity completely.
Everyone can remember a particular teacher from his or her educational history that simply wasn�t cut for the job.
Promoting academic freedom in the classroom is a responsibility for both the presiding professor and the participating students. If the professor stifles students’ speech to spout an agenda, then students’ academic freedoms are at risk. The same holds true for students-if one student’s discourse threatens the speech of other students or the professor, then the classroom environment is harmed.
Who says that you can�t modernize without sacrificing character? The University of Wisconsin-Madison campus seems to be, from my amateur viewpoint, an eclectic mix of opposing architectural philosophies put into practice. While I would never claim to be well versed in theories of building design, it hardly requires a professional eye to observe, for instance, the disparity between Bascom Hall and nearby Van Hise Hall. Although such structural differences may seem awkward, this type of contrast is what defines the UW campus.
Parents and boards of education probably feel comforted when they see the title ââ?¬Å?Dr.ââ?¬Â preceding the name of the superintendent of schools. Unfortunately, though, ââ?¬Å?doctorates of educationââ?¬Â are relatively lightweight degrees. The dissertation and research expectations are far lower than those required for a Ph.D. in other fields.
Wisconsin’s problem with dangerous and underage drinking has been making news.
The majority of UW students enter the Madison campus at age 18, having graduated from their parents’ houses around the same time as high school, ready to tackle life without the training wheels of a mother and father.
Adidas has been at the center of the campaign against apparel produced in sweatshops. With the arrest of 54 demonstrators, Bascom Hall was the battleground for students and the administration. The campaign reached its climax and sweatshops became a buzzword on college campuses.
You’re going to hear a lot about sunshine this week, but it will have nothing to do with the weather outside. This is “Sunshine Week” across the country and, thanks to a proclamation by Gov. Jim Doyle, here in Wisconsin, too.
It’s a week that’s been dedicated to underscoring the importance of letting the sun shine on our governments, which, after all, belong to each of us.
NCAA schools gladly tap the financial keg of beer companies, as TV ad money flows in like a smooth lager. Meanwhile, drinking problems still plague college campuses. This hypocrisy is hard to swallow.
On Saturday morning, 330,000 American teenagers began their march into meritocratic adult life by taking the SAT. The test was new and improved, the first significant changes to the SAT in a decade. Analogies disappeared. A new writing section debuted. And math got a little harder.
UW-Madison is currently working on creating its Master Plan, which will decide the outcome of construction efforts at the UW for the next 20 years. Considering Wisconsin just issued its first-ever pollution advisory Feb. 1, it is of critical importance to our future and our children’s future to make sure the UW includes green building techniques into its master plan.
Next semester may be a little bit different for many students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as many may not be here. With tuition at an all time high and constantly rising, the question must be asked: how valuable is a Wisconsin education?
The exchanges between students sitting in the O and P sections of Camp Randall during football games in the fall and the treaties negotiated between American Indians and British colonists in the eighteenth century may have more in common than one initially perceives. Indeed, the land that currently bears the name Camp Randall was originally American Indian property. Furthermore, the exchanges between colonists and indigenous peoples probably included a few choice words.
The nation’s high schools are being flooded with AP, or Advanced Placement, courses. You’d think that would be a good thing. Think again.
The whining is loud over the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s unprecedented attempt to tell schools that if they do not educate their players, they will lose scholarships and eligibility for post-season play.
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.
How would you like to go to lectures in classrooms that automatically respond to the temperature outside?
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents has adopted a series of guidelines to regulate the $330 million UW trust fund.
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.
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.
In basketball, it’s not always how you play. Sometimes it’s who, when and where you play.
As a student at UW-Barron County, I love my campus, the academic community and the open-minded pursuit of knowledge it encourages.
Listening to Ward Churchill speak must be a lot like watching a train wreck — horrifying yet riveting.
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.
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
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!
In the Jan. 16 Wisconsin State Journal, guest columnist Don Nichols offered a solution to the state’s property tax dilemma, but it is not good policy.
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.
Quoted: John Young, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor and director of the State Climatology Office.
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.
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.
…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.
Congress should make sure that the new administrator of the National aeronautics and Space Administration takes a fresh look at a possible reprieve for the Hubble space telescope.
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.
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.
Tuesday’s article detailing Gov. Jim Doyle’s plan to trim public relations staffs within state goverment lacked some key information on the critical role public relations professionals play in building relationships between state government and its citizens.
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.
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.
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.
Author: Byron E. Shafer is a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin and the author of the forthcoming “The End of Southern Exceptionalism: Class, Race and Partisan Change.”
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).
I would like to congratulate the UW players and coaches for providing us with enjoyable entertainment and competition in the various sports.
Every time a new budget crunch falls upon the UW System, a familiar shriek echoes from the state’s flagship campus.
