Assembly bill looks to add a student Regent
There is a hearing in the Universities, Housing and Government Operations committee of the Wisconsin Legislature today regarding Senate Bill 175. So why should I care? Why should any student in the UW System care?
Ask the UW System Board of Regents. A group appointed by our governor, they are the invisible hands that guide all matters pertaining to student life in Wisconsin. For instance, if our tuition goes up, which it probably will, chances are high that the Board of Regents is behind it. Right now, one student regent, appointed by the governor as well, represents the entire student body in the UW System on the Board of Regents.
This is what SB 175 seeks to change. According to Wisconsin Statute 36.09(5), \Student ... shall have the primary role and responsibility for the review of policies concerning students' life, services and interests."" In light of this, SB 175 proposes another student occupy a seat on the Board of Regents in the UW System, one selected from a nontraditional background. It also requires the student regent from the traditional background to be selected from recommendations made by student representatives of the UW System. If this bill passes, I, as a student of the UW System will have twice the voice in the affairs concerning me than I did before.
Is this a good bill? I guarantee it is. Why shouldn't students be able to have a say in affairs that will affect their lives? It only makes sense and according to Statute 36.09(5), we have the right to speak our minds and decide what affects us.
There are students from the Associated Students of Madison who will be speaking at the hearing Wednesday. As this is quite literally the direct voice of the students, voicing their opinions on the issue, I suggest that the members of the committee listen closely to what they have to say. In fact, I think it is imperative that they consider what students have to say before making a decision, and it's even more important that students speak up about it. This is your life! Don't let others control it for you. Make sure our lawmakers know how we feel about SB 175 before they decide on it.
Concentrating diversity in Witte illogical
Segregating a group of students in the name of diversity is counterintuitive. By creating a multicultural community in Witte Residence Hall, the overall number of minority students would decrease throughout the residence halls and would be focused in one central location. This would detract from diversity in general because a lesser amount of residents would be exposed to diversity and the people who do offer diversity are living in a concentrated area. In essence, you have to choose diversity rather than being inherently exposed to it.
Complaining that 800 of 6,900 overall residents are of color should be lauded for it's appropriate representation of the state's multicultural makeup, rather than frowned upon. The 2000 census says the state of Wisconsin is 11.1 percent non-white, and the 800 UW Housing residents of color make up about 11.6 percent of Housing residents overall. That seems like an accurate amount to me. I completely understand the benefits of diversity, but I question the efforts of allowing those who wish to be ""more diverse"" to concentrate in one area. It detracts from the diversifying experience that they are trying to get Housing to offer to everyone.
Horowitz flier does not encourage racism
I read with interest Ms. Kaiksow's opinion regarding David Horowitz's flier that was recently circulated in The Daily Cardinal (""Horowitz creates hate, violence,"" Oct. 29). I have also read the text of Mr. Horowitz's flier. I do not see how Ms. Kaiksow can possibly come to the conclusion that Mr. Horowitz's flier in any way encourages racism.
If what she really means is that, if the result of Mr. Horowitz's flier is that someone ends up expressing an opinion about the current anti-war demonstrations to a non-white person, and that non-white person finds it offensive, then that means that Mr. Horowitz has promoted racism, then I would suggest that Ms. Kaiksow is sorely in need of some instruction in logic.
Her attempt to tie the contents of Mr. Horowitz's flier to the hot-button issue of racism is indeed sad. It reveals a mindset that would suggest that all events need to be seen through the lens of ""race.""
I don't know about anyone else, but to me, that is the perfect definition of ""racist.""
