I have spent the last four years as a graduate student at UW, much of that I have also been active in the anti-war movement. In this time, it has become clear to me that the majority of UW faculty and administration feel it is not their place to voice opinions on matters of politics, including war with Iraq. Neutrality and professionalism seemed to be interchanged freely and to voice a stance appears to carry a stigma among the academic community.
Last week, I was asked to speak at UW-Whitewater on my experiences as a former U.S. army drill sergeant and the events that led to my anti-war activism. I noticed two striking differences between the event at Whitewater and events at Madison. First, the size of the student movement in Whitewater was considerably smaller, even if the size of the student body was taken into account. Second, the role of the faculty and administration was much more prevalent at Whitewater. The university encouraged professors to bring their classes to the event, many of which did. Jack Miller, the UW-Whitewater Chancellor, addressed the crowd on student activism. Perhaps for the first time, I asked myself if the faculty and administration of UW-Madison were living up to their responsibilities.
Responsibility is a strong word, but in this case, it is exactly the word I intend to use. These professors should be informing the public on these incredibly important issues. In a society where most information comes from sources tied to corporate interests, these voices in academia become crucial to keeping accurate and intelligent information present. With a new war, it is the duty of the faculty to stand up to tell us what they know. And speak loudly!
It has been more than a month since Governor Doyle released the 2003-2005 budget proposal. This proposal included a huge $250 million cut to the UW-System and an 18 percent tuition increase for in-state residents alone.
If nothing is changed, the UW-system will be receiving 38 percent of the total budget cuts. Governor Doyle is balancing the budget on the backs of students because in the past students have voiced little opinion on budget proposals.
How many students will be priced-out of an education because of these increases? How many faculty members will lose their positions? How many services and projects will be cut and defunded? We students need to voice our concerns; we need to say that it is not right to make students burden a deficit we were not responsible for!
This Thursday is the perfect opportunity for students to let legislators know this budget is unacceptable. There will be rally on Library Mall starting at 12:30. We will march to the capitol. Come and let the legislators know this budget is unacceptable.
