The fault lines of a national debate over free speech in higher education were on display Thursday during a lengthy hearing on Republican legislation that would require University of Wisconsin institutions to discipline students who interrupt speakers.
In campus clashes from California to Vermont, many defenders of the First Amendment say they see signs that free speech, once a bedrock value in academia, is losing ground as a priority at U.S. colleges.
A Republican plan to punish students who disrupt free speech on college campuses ran into opposition Thursday at its first public airing in the Legislature, with critics saying it impedes the very thing it seeks to protect.
Walker has said he’d be willing to look at more spending from the state’s main account — which also pays for K-12 schools, the University of Wisconsin, prisons, Medicaid and other government operations — to help pay for roads. The transportation fund currently is mostly made up of money from the gas tax and vehicle registration fees.
A bill to create a new taxpayer-funded college scholarship for Wisconsin’s brightest students would have another big outcome — decimating a popular program that uses tax dollars to buy natural areas for public use.
In short, students who will not have to show any financial need will get scholarships, the state will pay itself for some 77,000 acres of land it hasn’t been able to sell to anyone else, and money to buy more desirable land will be reduced — and taxpayers will, actually, pay for all of it.
High-performing students could receive scholarships worth $5,000 per year to attend Wisconsin’s public universities under a Republican bill backers said Tuesday could keep the state’s top young minds from going elsewhere. But some are questioning the complex model lawmakers have devised to pay for the new scholarships, which would be funded by the proceeds from the sale of public land from one state agency to another.
The Republican leaders of the Legislature’s budget committee plan to reject Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to self-insure state employees, but find other ways to try to save money under the existing system.
UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank got a couple of tough questions about free speech during an hour-long conference call with more than 6,000 alumni Monday. Her responses were impressive and should reassure conservatives that the state’s flagship university is committed to encouraging diverse views on campus.
No one who appreciates the high value Wisconsin has historically placed on academic freedom can accept the restrictions state Rep. Jesse Kremer, R-Kewaskum, state Sen. Leah Vukmir, R-Brookfield, and their co-authors have proposed in a pair of speech-code bills that outline schemes for punishing students and restricting the ability of the UW and its administrators to take stands on major issues.
A new scholarship program could help retain Wisconsin’s “best and brightest,” at University of Wisconsin System campuses.
Governor Scott Walker is calling on lawmakers to approve a self-insurance model for state employees.
State Rep. Chris Taylor said she would modify it to take out ’punitive punishment’ against students.
Column: Kim Krautkramer is now a third-year medical student at UW-Madison, pursuing a dual doctorate (M.D.-Ph.D.) in the medical scientist training program.
Republican lawmakers have introduced two bills in the last week that create penalties for college students who disrupt campus events, such as speeches by controversial personalities. Those proposals are drawing criticism from free speech advocates though, who argue they would stifle free speech rights.
Sen. Leah Vukmir and Rep. Adam Jarchow began circulating the bill for co-sponsors Wednesday. The measure also would prohibit administrators in both systems from expressing themselves on public controversies and require schools to let speakers onto campus even if they can’t guarantee their safety. Organizing protests to dissuade speakers from visiting would be prohibited.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republicans have introduced another bill that would allow University of Wisconsin System and technical college officials to expel students who inhibit free speech rights.
Many legal tools are already available to campus administrators and local authorities that allow them to deal with those who disrupt speakers at campus events.
The Republican sponsor of a proposed bill that would require University of Wisconsin campuses to create a system to punish students who disrupt the free expression of others says he expects Democratic support.
Letter to the editor: Even when they are well-intentioned, attempts by legislators to micro-manage University of Wisconsin affairs are often heavy handed or misdirected.But the bill from Rep. Jesse Kremer, R-Kewaskum, to ensure free speech on campus seems appropriate and essentially constructive.
They are advancing speech-code legislation that Larry Dupuis, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Wisconsin chapter, correctly refers to as “unnecessarily draconian.” If Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and his compatriots get their way, the Board of Regents would be mandated to adopt policies requiring UW campuses to remain neutral on public controversies — like, one supposes, the debate over how best to protect Wisconsin dairy farmers in international trade disputes. This has the potential to impinge on academic freedom, public discourse and the ability of lobbyists for the university system to advocate for maintenance of the Wisconsin Idea, adequate funding of campuses, tuition issues and more.
Noted: To find out, I got in touch with Prof. Steven C. Deller at the University of Wisconsin-Madison-Extension, who has followed the state’s economy closely and who dug up a wide range of data for me to review. I also took a close look at a recent Politifact Wisconsin report by Tom Kertscher that rated Walker’s statement — “Wisconsin’s economy is in the best shape it’s been since 2000.” — as only half true.
One of the Republican lawmakers behind a bill that would require Wisconsin’s state universities to suspend or expel student hecklers who disrupt speeches acknowledged Monday that it may be unconstitutional.
One of the Republican lawmakers who helped write a proposed a bill that could expel students for disrupting events at University of Wisconsin system schools, said he expects the bill to get bipartisan support.
With a K-12 school aid increase on solid ground, a University of Wisconsin tuition cut in serious jeopardy and a solution to road funding still elusive, the Legislature’s budget-writing committee will come together Monday to begin voting on the two-year spending plan.
First Amendment watchdogs say a Republican bill that would require University of Wisconsin System officials to punish students and employees who interrupt speeches could help address what they see as growing hostility to opposing ideas among some on college campuses.
The bill would also require universities to stay neutral on public policy controversies. The intent of that provision is to bar universities from forcing faculty or students to take a particular viewpoint, an aide to Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said.
Republican lawmakers would require University of Wisconsin System institutions to discipline and potentially expel students who disrupt speeches on campus, and mandate that UW stay neutral on political controversies.
Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin and North Carolina are circulating bills that would require state universities to punish students who disrupt campus speech and remain neutral on political and social issues. Both are based on model legislation from the Goldwater Institute, a conservative think tank.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — University of Wisconsin students who disrupt speeches and demonstrations could be expelled and campuses would have to remain neutral on public issues under a bill Republican legislators are pushing this week.
Republican state lawmakers are proposing a bill they say will help protect free speech rights on University of Wisconsin campuses.
The state Building Commission approved plans Wednesday for a roughly $96.5 million replacement of the Southeast Recreation Facility at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau is expected to provide updated revenue projections in May. That could provide additional revenue without having to reduce Walker’s proposed increases in K-12 and college funding.
A key UW-related budget proposal may be in danger, as several Republican lawmakers have voiced opposition to Gov. Scott Walker’s five percent tuition cut proposal for the state’s public universities.
Noted: In a report, University of Wisconsin-Madison economists estimated that farms of 500 or more cows accounted for 40% of state milk production in 2013 compared to 22% in 2007.
Radio broadcasts by famed Wisconsin conservationist Aldo Leopold 80 years ago have been recreated as part of this year’s Earth Day celebration.
The co-chairman of the Legislature’s powerful budget-writing committee says he is open to ending the freeze on University of Wisconsin System tuition in the next two years.
“We’ve made difficult budget reductions at UW-Eau Claire, while doing our up most to try and protect the student experience,” said UW-Eau Claire Chancellor James Schmidt.
Schmidt was one of dozens of education leaders who made a plea to legislators to keep education a top priority in the state budget.
“There is no doubt that the three UW system campuses, including the three universities in this part of the state, Eau Claire, River Falls and Stout, are key to the future success of the State of Wisconsin,” Schmidt said.
UW-Stout Provost Patrick Guilfoile told the committee there is a need to raise the salaries of university faculty and staff to “attract new hires and to stop the exodus of valued employees from UW-Stout.”
“I hope this committee will find a way to support a pay increase for our employees because the quality of our faculty and staff make all the difference in the quality of education that we can offer our students, and competitive salaries help ensure we recruit and retain outstanding faculty and staff,” he said.
“We can’t freeze tuition forever,” Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, told the Wisconsin State Journal, making him the second member of the Joint Finance Committee to indicate interest in allowing limited UW tuition increases.
Quoted: “The danger is that a true Article 5 convention arguably has no limits,” said UW-Madison political science professor Howard Schweber. “We’re in very uncharted territory here. It’s not at all clear there’s any way to call such a convention and limit its mandate to considering questions of debt. Once such a convention is called, it’s very plausibly argued that it can do anything. The outcome could be quite radical.”
Letter to the editor from Robert Golden, dean UW School of Medicine and Public Health and chair of the board, UW Health.
Letter to the editor: The University of Wisconsin is a vital resource for all Wisconsinites. Through educating our citizens and conducting important research, the university lays the foundation for a bright future for Wisconsin. While doing so, it creates thousands of jobs and millions of dollars of income. But because of budget cuts over the past decades, it has become increasingly difficult for young people to afford a UW education, and the university has slipped out of the top five research institutions in the country. To secure Wisconsin’s future, more money must be allocated to the University of Wisconsin.
University of Wisconsin President Ray Cross is asking legislators to allow the Board of Regents to set system performance standards.
Shifting state worker health benefits to a self-insurance model may not save $60 million as planned, and could increase costs by reducing competition, a UW-Madison business professor said Thursday.
System President Ray Cross and UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank said Thursday that letting the Board of Regents decide how to measure UW institutions would be more effective.
Don’t expect major changes any time soon for the University of Wisconsin-Extension – not in programming, not in personnel, and not in the amount of money that counties will need to contribute to keep their Extension offices operating.
A congressman who represents Madison and its surrounding areas will come to UW-Madison’s campus to talk to students Thursday.
A Republican bill targeting an agreement between the University of Wisconsin and Planned Parenthood would jeopardize the school’s ability to train future obstetricians and gynecologists, according to university officials. But the lawmakers introducing the bill say there’s no evidence that would happen.
After years of going to work on their adversaries, Gov. Scott Walker and fellow Republican Robin Vos have gone to work on each other — both in public and in private.
Two transgender University of Wisconsin employees sued state entities Friday in federal court over their refusal to pay for their gender transition surgeries.
The ACLU is suing the state of Wisconsin over its decision in January to eliminate insurance coverage for gender reassignment surgery and other care for people transitioning between genders.
Two transgender University of Wisconsin-Madison employees are suing the state’s insurance board and UW System after it stopped covering sex reassignment procedures.
A survey looking to track workplace experiences and satisfaction for faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows budget cuts have affected faculty’s enthusiasm.
The items removed include several controversial items affecting the University of Wisconsin.
The Legislature’s Republican-controlled budget committee has removed 83 items from Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal. That means they will have to take the more difficult path of passing as separate bills, rather than as part of the $76 billion budget.
University of Wisconsin-Madison student government is praising Republican leaders for removing provisions from Gov. Scott Walker’s budget that would have allowed students to opt out paying some fees.
The state’s powerful Joint Finance Committee eliminated Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal Thursday that would have allowed UW System students to opt out of paying segregated fees.
University of Wisconsin-Madison student government is praising Republican leaders for removing provisions from Gov. Scott Walker’s budget that would have allowed students to opt out paying some fees.
MADISON, Wis. — In another sign of trouble for Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to borrow more and delay road construction projects, the Legislature’s Republican-controlled budget committee announced Thursday it was scrapping the governor’s road-funding proposal and starting from scratch.
