Smith's allegations about Monona incorrect
I am writing to correct a number of inaccuracies and misrepresentations in Braden Smith's opinion column (""Shorewood Hills, Monona take advantage of the city of Madison,"" Feb. 14).
1. Monona kids go to schools in the Monona Grove School District, not the Madison District as Smith claims. There is, however, a ""school-within-a-school"" program at MGHS that takes in expelled or neglected Madison students.
2. Monona is not ""a rich land of luxurious homes."" There are some nice houses, just like in Madison, Waunakee or anywhere else. However, the majority of homes are ranch style and belong to blue-collar families, similar to those on the east side of Madison.
3. Finally, Monona's relationship with Madison is not parasitic, as Smith seems to suggest. While people from Monona certainly enjoy (and spend money at) the Civic Center, Monona Terrace and State Street, Madisonites equally enjoy Monona's parks, pool, giant playground complex and bike path. In fact, there are often more people from Madison using these amenities than people from Monona, though they are funded solely by Monona taxes. Those of us in biology call such a relationship mutualistic, not parasitic.
Smith's only legitimate argument for Madison's possible annexation of Monona seems to be that Madison surrounds Monona on all sides. Ironic, then, that he sarcastically calls Madison the ""evil empire"" in his piece. The last time his ""surrounded on all sides"" argument was used, it was by the Soviet Union regarding the annexation of West Berlin. One hopes that cooler (and better informed) heads prevail and that Madison and Monona continue to coexist as neighbors, allies and friends.
Rep. Black discusses financial aid, tuition ties
An affordable education, it seems, is not a very high priority of the Wisconsin government.
With proposed state budget cuts, the already daunting cost of a university education promises to increase even more in the next few years. Many students already struggling to pay for their education will be forced to rely on financial aid to help offset the difference.
However, when the state legislature increases tuition costs, it has no obligation to proportionally increase the financial aid available to deserving students. With every $100 tuition increase, we already lose 2.2 percent of low-income students. For a university already struggling to attract a diverse population, making tuition scarcely affordable to the average working-class family of Wisconsin hardly seems to be the answer. The average student in the UW System graduated $15,314 in debt in 2000. It helps neither the state of Wisconsin, nor its economy, nor its residents to make education a luxury only available to those families already privileged, rather than an opportunity for all deserving students. If tuition increases, financial aid must increase.
The Legislative Affairs Committee of ASM is committed to resolving this situation, and supports two bills (SB-79 and AB-194) currently in the Wisconsin legislature that would link financial aid increases to tuition increases. Monday, Feb. 18 at 2 p.m., Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, Wisconsin Assembly minority leader, and UW students will be addressing this topic in a press release. It will take place in the Inn Wisconsin East Room of the Red Gym and is open to all.
