Effects of attack for students on campus
As time neared to head for class Tuesday morning, the typically peaceful campus of UW-Madison immediately wielded the effects of a national disaster. Television sets of waking students were diverted from the normally preset channel of MTV to CNN. Through the normally idle morning halls, faint echoes of a national disaster replaced the pleasant silence.
Heading into the elevators, the confusing news was confirmed: Our nation had once again felt a ripple of the world's timeworn wave of international terrorism. Students gave witness to horrific news of two hijacked jetliners colliding with the World Trade Center in New York, their minds innocent of the tragedies occurring as they spoke.
Heading into class, the unthinkable news filled numerous professors' morning discussions, revealing that about 10 minutes after the first attacks at the WTC, a portion of the Pentagon, the nerve center of our country's defense, had been targeted and hit. With the end of morning classes, students rushed to the nearest televisions to see for themselves the terrifying images of people fleeing the monstrous black clouds of debris chasing them down the streets of Broadway.
Undersized dorm rooms were quickly congested with everyone waiting to see what would come of these malicious acts of terrorism. Great disbelief and deep-rooted anger filled the minds of students as celebration videos of Afghan citizens filled the television screens after the attack. Mourning for the victims of the hijacked planes and WTC was accompanied by discussions of student families near the areas of attack.
As some students were forced to leave for classes, others sat in indignation, constantly receiving news updates of the brutality. Computers alerted of incoming e-mail from school officials expressing their condolences and grief as well as their assurance that no part of campus was insecure. Following an abnormally serene evening, many returned to the television sets to continue to watch our government pace through this period of distress.
As students retired for the night, groups joined hands to send their prayers to victims of this terrible event, tying together as people of an indivisible nation, embodying America's fortitude. We went to sleep thinking about tomorrow, one in which the sorrow and pain may still linger, but one which is also a prominent first step in building an end to these unfortunate realities.
Apology, request for all students to get involved
This letter is both an apology and a call to arms. First of all, I
wish to apologize for what may have seemed callous remarks in an
article concerning hate crimes that ran last Friday in The Daily
Cardinal ('Police: Gilman St. incident not hate crime,' Sep. 6,
2001). Although not fitting the technical police definition of
'hate crime,' the incidents that took place Aug. 20 and over Labor
Day weekend were acts of violence fueled by hate towards students
of color.
While downtown Madison is generally a very safe place relative to
cities of comparable size, recently it has not proven so for people
of color in our community. I am not a sound-byte politician, and
the comment I made regarding the safety of downtown Madison for
people in general did not reflect the recent situation for students
of color in our community. Despite their 'liberal' nametags, this
campus and this community deal very poorly with the issue of race.
I apologize for the part I played to perpetuate that.
As to what we can do, it is only if we take responsibility as a
community and get involved, either through ASM, our student
government, through various community groups, or throughthe city by
serving on or appearing before city committees, that we can solve
the problems we as a community face. Hate crimes are by far the
most sinister and cannot be tolerated in our community. ASM can be
reached at 265-4276, or asm@studentorg.wisc.edu.
Currently there are 85 vacancies on city committees. Specific to
recent events regarding public safety (the sexual assaults
perpetrated by students on two of our classmates and the hate crime
committed against two fellow students), there is a vacancy on the
Public Safety Review Board.
Students, we have before us the opportunity to swell the ranks and
become the decision makers of our community. If you wish to serve
on a committee, or simply wish to be informed about items affecting
students that come before committees, please contact me at
345-8683, or district8@council.ci.madison.wi.us.
Wisconsin election freedoms at stake
Wisconsin always has had a history of progressive electoral politics. In national elections, Wisconsin usually ranks in the top five states for voter turnout, due to the ease of same-day voter registration. In fact, one out of every six votes in Wisconsin in the 2000 elections was from someone who used same-day registration. No doubt that some of these votes came from students in politically active Madison. Because of this, and because accusations of voter fraud elsewhere, attempts are being made to hamper severely this right. Assembly Bill 259 is one such menace.
AB 259 would require voters to present Wisconsin Department of Transportation photo identification or license at the polls, and would eliminate the ability of a neighbor to vouch for you if you do not have proper ID. Currently, you must be a citizen of Wisconsin for 10 days and have proof of residency at time of registration in order to vote.
The Assembly has set a public hearing for AB 259 Sep. 13 at 10 a.m. Come tell the Assembly that you do care about your right to vote. Your student government, the Associated Students of Madison is taking students to the Capitol to tell legislators that students are against this policy. If you have any time at all, join us at the ASM office, 511 Memorial Union, at 9:30 a.m. so we can fight this injustice.
