Cardinal View: Civic engagement is more than presidential voting
Election season is once again upon us.
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Election season is once again upon us.
Imagine any university building. Find a bathroom. Now find a bathroom where you feel safe.
Students on college campuses across the nation have been protesting to hold their administrators accountable for evaluating diversity and making a genuine effort to improve the experience of students of color. Although UW System administration has recognized the necessity of student voice, and UW System President Ray Cross has met with student protesters, these positive steps have been clouded by miscommunication and a lack of tangible action.
As the fall semester comes to an end, The Daily Cardinal Editorial Board reflects on the past few months with a series of short recaps.
State Rep. Jesse Kremer, R-Kewaskum, and Sen. Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, are currently attempting to push a reactionary and inflammatory bill through the Wisconsin state Legislature that would allow students to carry concealed firearms inside of university buildings. With the rise of tragedies involving gun violence at schools, this bill poses a grave threat to our students and faculty in not only an emergency scenario, but also in the day-to-day routine of classes. Allowing students, staff and visitors to carry concealed weapons inside of university buildings is irresponsible, and a risk that we can’t afford to take for a series of unproven “safety” benefits.
Mayor Paul Soglin, since his landslide reelection victory in April 2015, has once again taken upon himself to address Madison’s homeless problem with rhetoric rather than substantial policy. Over the summer, Mayor Soglin proposed a new city ordinance which would tackle problematic loitering and lodging in Madison’s Central Business District. While not directly mentioning the homeless, the ordinance, which Madison’s Common Council has since voted down, attempted to clear out downtown of individuals whom were causing an undue nuisance to both city residents and the various business of downtown Madison.
In the fall of 1967, 22-year-old Paul Soglin and his UW-Madison peers were engaged in a peaceful sit-in to protest the campus presence of Dow Chemical Company, one of the leading producers of napalm during the Vietnam War. When Madison police attempted to remove the students from the building in which they were protesting, the confrontation turned violent and many students, including Soglin, were beaten by officers. Soglin was later chosen to lead the student strike that followed the incident.
Madison—whose unofficial label is “77 square miles surrounded by reality”—is hailed as a progressive haven.
As the Republicans swept through statehouses, governor’s mansions and Congress in the Tea Party wave of 2010, there was an almost immediate reaction from one of the left’s biggest supporters: unions. Legislation proposed in the beginning of 2011 that would bar public sector unions from a practice known as collective bargaining sparked the reaction. From Madison, Wis., to Columbus, Ohio, union members became the backbone of weeks-long protests that gripped Rust Belt states.
Creating a downtown housing market based almost solely on luxury apartments, in the eyes of this Editorial Board, does not provide sufficient means for stunting student housing prices. Moreover, it puts the needs of students, who, for what it’s worth, have in recent history been the backbone of Madison’s downtown economy, behind those of young professionals—a group the city is clearly working to attract with new development.
Amidst the game day haze, between the criss-cross wave and Jump Around, fans looking to the Camp Randall Stadium jumbotron may have seen a video from the UW Athletic Department.
In the new millennium, we can watch a police officer kill a citizen as easily as we can start a Netflix trial. These past few years of headlines, from Florida to Ferguson and beyond, have served as an archival of wrongdoing: a grandparent being beaten into the soil, black children being shot down in their neighborhoods, peaceful protestors swallowing tear gas in the night. America has swallowed its tax dollars into a whirlpool of distrust, time and again, leaving citizens clamoring for relief from the ailment of a system they can no longer trust.
UW-Madison once had a colorful reputation as a university on the forefront of social justice through activism. In February of 1960, over 500 students gathered on Library Mall in support of the Civil Rights movement. Throughout the 1960s and ’70s, thousands of UW-Madison students were deeply involved in educating the nation daily about the perils of the Vietnam War. In July 1981, more than 1,500 students rallied on Bascom Hill in support of abortion rights.
Increasing job insecurity in an unstable economy makes getting a college degree a double-edged sword: the financial investment is a risk that may not pay off, but at the same time, without a degree there are few secure and potentially fulfilling career options.
Two years ago, Leland Pan beat John Magnino for the District 5 seat on the Dane County Board of Supervisors. This time around, Pan is up against College Democrats former Chair Chris Hoffman. The District 5 seat, typically held by a University of Wisconsin-Madison student or recent graduate, represents the campus and surrounding area. Students make up the majority of constituents Hoffman and Pan, both UW-Madison seniors, are vying to represent.
With the ongoing events in Ukraine dominating headlines, we at The Daily Cardinal feel it’s important to take a step back and observe the situation not only in Eastern Europe, but throughout the Middle East and elsewhere, from abroad and, importantly, honest perspective.
Any one of the 83 percent of students who stepped foot into any of University of Wisconsin-Madison’s recreational sports facilities last year can tell you they leave much to be desired. Students have to trek up five flights of stairs to get from the weight room to the cardio room at the Serf. Pipes are constantly leaking, and students can frequently be seen huddled at the back of the room waiting for a machine to become available. Forty percent of outdoor recreational sports activities, which students pay a fee to participate in, are lost annually due to the condition of the fields.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Ad Hoc Diversity Planning Committee, charged with drafting a new diversity plan, released preliminary suggestions Feb. 18 for improving aspects of diversity and inclusivity at the university. While we are glad these plans are in motion, we believe the success of the plan depends on campus input and making sure this draft—no matter how rough it may be—is available to the campus community.
Nearly four years ago, a deft, bold stroke of a pen enacted a law that turned newly elected Gov. Scott Walker into perhaps the most divisive man in Wisconsin history. Today, he is one of the most highly revered politicians in the country and on the short list for a 2016 Republican Party presidential nomination.