Opinion

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Escalation of police state marches on unnoticed

Nair Rodriguez made it very clear to the police. “I’m recording, because this is too much.” These words spoken shortly after turning on her cellphone camera after multiple cops in Moore, OK., (just south of Oklahoma City in Cleveland County) had pepper sprayed and tackled her husband, Luis Rodriguez, to the ground in a movie theater parking lot back in February this year. Nair Rodriguez had a dispute with her 19-year-old daughter shortly before and had slapped her. A bystander called the police, and it wasn’t much later that an officer mistook Luis as a suspect and demanded to see his ID. Luis refused (which he was in every right to do) and, well, it only went downhill from there. 

Letter to the editor: Community healing proves pivitol to advancing post-genocide Rwanda

After the genocide and war that destroyed the social fabric among Rwandans, different approaches have been used to restore hope, heal the wounds of the past and build social cohesion. “Community based sociotherapy” is one of the approaches introduced by the Byumba Anglican Diocese operating in the Northern Province of Rwanda.

Letter To The Editor: Democratization remains under the gun throughout Asian continent

Letter To The Editor: American military Presence continues to shape the future of Iraq

Letter to the Editor: Burke to fight for student loan debt

Wisconsin is in a student debt crisis. Today, more than 750,000 Wisconsin citizens hold federal student loan debt, with thousands more facing massive amounts of debt from private lenders. The average student is graduating with $22,400 in student loans, paying nearly $400 a month for almost nineteen years. They’re saddled with mountains of debt before they even walk across the commencement stage. 

Catching up and looking forward on recent events

Welcome back Badgers. We here at The Daily Cardinal are very excited to start yet another fantastic semester here at Madison and we are sure you are as well. This  summer has  provided a multitude of issues that we students need to pay attention to. 

"BRO-dgers" must act to prevent sexual assault

First off, I would like to say welcome and congratulations to every incoming student here at UW-Madison. Trust me, it may seem a little overwhelming at first but your college years are seriously some of the greatest years of your life, and if you open yourself up to all that this amazing campus and city have to offer than you will have plenty of fun. That being said, I need to switch gears and address all my fellow incoming male students or “BRO-dgers” if you will. 

Students should make collegiate education choices

Welcome to college. More specifically, welcome to the University of Wisconsin –Madison. Your adventure into higher education is just around the corner so it is important to remember just what that means. This is your education. Not your parents’ or your grandparents’ or any other family member’s. While you may wish to follow in a family member’s footsteps and follow their career path, it is ultimately your decision to make. I know too many college students who are following a particular career path because it’s what their parents want them to do; and because their parents write out the tuition checks; they feel somehow obligated to them. If this sounds familiar, I implore you to sit down with your parents and have a serious talk with them. 

New editor-in-chief strives to continue paper’s success

Three years ago, I walked into the basement of Vilas Hall a lost freshman looking for a place to belong. Since then, The Daily Cardinal has become a constant presence in my life. I can proudly say I not only found my place but also will now have the opportunity to lead the organization I have come to love.

Leaving a legacy and looking ahead

Anyone who knows me knows that I obsessively write down everything in calendars and lists. I tend to know what’s going on, when things are due and am obsessively on time. But three years ago, I wrote down the date of The Daily Cardinal’s fall recruitment meeting wrong in my calendar and showed up at the office desperately wanting to write anything and to find a place to belong. Writing down the meeting date wrong was probably one of the best things that happened to me because I showed up to 2142 Vilas and met some people who convinced me I could belong at The Daily Cardinal. 

Urban living provides invaluable wealth of knowledge

The approach of graduation and the completion of my academic career at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have come suddenly. Really, it only seems like reality now that I’ve got all my final preparations set and everything is ready to go to finish up as a student here. Time to say my goodbyes. The decision to write for The Daily Cardinal was perhaps one of my better decisions in the last four years. I want to thank my friends and family for their engagement and encouragement as well as the awesome staff who helped me along the way. 

Wisconsin: Your look ahead

Diversity Plan Framework

America has more work, less pay

The time has come for me to bid farewell to this wonderful university, to The Daily Cardinal, and perhaps to writing opinion pieces. Before I embark upon my final call to action, I just want to thank all the people who have made it possible for me to do this for the past six years: all of my editors, past and present, my parents, my readers and my high school journalism teacher Mr. Matt Johnson. It has been a strange and remarkable journey that I have thoroughly enjoyed and it will always be special to me. I have chosen my final topic with great care.

You need to study abroad

My one piece of advice for University of Wisconsin-Madison students: go abroad. And don’t just go abroad for three weeks in the summer and pretend you’re doing charity work in Costa Rica. Don’t just go abroad for a semester and take an introductory language course where you’ll forget everything, because you’re drunk the entire time. Go. Abroad. Find a place you think seems interesting and go there for an entire academic year. Go abroad and really commit to being abroad.

Mifflin Street Block party tradition steadily losing popularity to Revelry

The Mifflin Street Block Party is a piece of the University of Wisconsin-Madison that is as entrenched in the fabric of the school as anything else, whether the school likes it or not.  While dozens of items, columns and what-have-yous will be written about Mifflin over the course of the week, more will be written about Revelry, the on-campus music festival created in its stead.

NASA losing hold of public imagination

Abraham Lincoln said, “With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed.” In 1989 Americans celebrated the 20-year anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the moon. Then President George H. W. Bush stated, “Before the 50th anniversary of our first flight landing on the Moon, the American flag should be planted on Mars!” We are now five years from the former president’s dream, and it appears all too certain that we will not be planting the American flag on Mars anytime soon. So what happened? When did we decide as a society our thirst for space exploration was quenched on the moon?

North Korea remains an international nuisance

Friday, April 25  President Barack Obama landed on Osan Airbase, Republic of Korea. This event was carried out in accordance with the president’s current “Asia Trip Spring 2014” schedule. During the reception ceremony at the Blue House, President Obama presented a sapling of a magnolia tree and the Stars and Stripes to the president Park Geun-hye. Both the sapling and the flag came directly from the White House and were a gift of condolence for the Sae-wol Ferry accident which took place just one week ago in South Korea.

UW needs to cut contract with Jansport

This Thursday, April 24 marks the one year anniversary of the infamous Rana Plaza factory collapse that claimed 1,132 innocent workers’ lives. This incident was the largest industrial workplace disaster that has ever happened. In the last two years alone, over 1,500 workers have died due to preventable factory fires and building collapses.

Academic pride still necessary

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. 

The United States of America: Welcome to oligarchy

Oligarchy is a word you better get used to; because that’s the system of government we have in America today. It’s been a long time coming, and we’ve been far too apathetic to its toxic approach. A government of the corporation, by the corporation, and for the corporation is what we have now. Oligarchy isn’t a pretty picture, unless you enjoy the idea of corporate slavery. Say goodbye to worker’s rights, women’s rights, student’s rights and certainly prisoners’ rights. Keep your mouth shut about the broken system, and don’t question authority! Disregard the principles of physics, because with oligarchy, it’s not gravity that makes the world go round; it’s unfortunately money.