Opinion

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Letter: Keep collective bargaining at UW

Make Gender and Women's Studies courses a requirement

Over the course of the past several weeks this campus has been witness to many events and media pieces addressing the topic of sexual assault. The conversation about this pervasive problem has been constructive and enlightening, and it would be a shame to see this open kind of discussion go away once the issue is out of the limelight. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, but dedicating one month to sexual assault is not enough to mitigate the problem, and this campus needs to find a way to keep the conversation going year round.

Refocus on Wisconsin Idea to boost UW image within state

Katherine Walsh is an associate professor of political science at UW-Madison. Since 2007 she has gathered information about how the state perceives the university. Walsh’s research, published in her paper “The Distance from Public Institutions of Higher Education,” has exposed a rift between Wisconsinites and the university and the university’s failure to live up to the high expectations of the Wisconsin idea. By taking an innovative approach to the problems Walsh has highlighted, Wisconsin could join the forefront of the national conversation on how to restructure higher education.

Poorly marked crosswalks endanger students

The lack of signs at the bottom of Bascom Hill has been nagging me for a little while now. Once I read about the Tuesday hit-and-run at the crosswalk at the foot of the hill, I felt compelled to talk about it. Living around that area, I often use that crosswalk and have noticed that some drivers are either oblivious or ill-intentioned to pedestrians. But this was not so much of an issue not too long ago.

Lowering the drinking age reduces the allure of alcohol

Strange, dangerous and even horrifying trends are nothing new to alcohol-crazed teens. The latest—using hand sanitizer to create a substitute for hard liquor—isn’t even surprising. After six teens from San Fernando Valley, Calif. were hospitalized in the past few weeks, doctors and authorities across the U.S. have taken it upon themselves to warn parents of the dangers of keeping hand sanitizer in their houses.

Sex and the single student: Do men and women play by the same rules?

With Santorum out, candidacy can return to presidential race

As the Republican primaries slowly reveal Mitt Romney as the obvious contender for the United States presidency, focus on the economy is off the backburner and has found itself being touted again as a serious national issue. Social conservatism glib talk has hopefully made its exodus with the likes of Rick Santorum. Social issues have distracted discussion of issues such as jobs and the economy, issues more pressing and of far more importance than almost anything else being spouted about during the height of the debates.

Berquam’s Mifflin video misses the point

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: That video was bad.

Anti-Islamic mentality misinformed

Letter: Achievement gap leaves some minorities behind

MCSC diminishes it’s efforts to create a diverse campus

The Multicultural Student Coalition's budget appeal was given new life by Interim Chancellor David Ward last week. MCSC's actions and Ward's decision damage campus in two different ways: Ward has unfairly stuck his thumb in the pie of segregated fees, and MCSC continues to hurt this campus' overall conversation on diversity through its general ineptitude.

ASM ensures that student voice is heard

Address student debt with long-term changes

Graduation time is coming, and with it follow the concerns of getting a job and paying back loans. The timing could not be better for U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to visit Madison and gubernatorial hopeful Kathleen Falk to release her plan to fix what many are calling a student debt crisis.

Adidas’ business practices hurt Wisconsin’s progressive image

I don’t think there’s anybody who would disagree that UW-Madison has earned a strong progressive reputation. That is why I think the university’s continuing bad business practices, particularly involving alleged adidas’ improper compensation practicses, is especially damaging to its reputation.

Rhetoric distorts political debate

The great political divide between Democrats and Republicans lengthens as the sensationalized “war on women” finds its roots in misconstrued and poorly phrased assertions, growing into a monster of unexpected proportion. Women’s rights are incredibly important and the opinions of the female population are essential in today’s politics, but much of the news surrounding women’s rights is so morphed that it has become strictly propaganda.

Letter: Sexual assault an unseen war in the military

Schools must teach proven science in schools

Last week, the Tennessee legislature signed a bill into law allowing school teachers to bring in supplemental theories and textbooks to address controversies in existing science and to entertain unscientific debate in the classroom, all under the guise of "encouraging critical thinking" among schoolchildren. This deplorable bill was scripted by the state’s Republican lawmakers with help from the Discovery Institute, an organization known for its championing ‘Intelligent Design’ as an alternative to Darwinian evolution by natural selection.

Offering winter classes will help students

Last week, UW-Madison students received an e-mail with a survey from the Division of Continuing Studies regarding the possibility of UW-Madison implementing winter break classes. The plan consists of “offering a selection of in-person and online courses for one-to-three credits during the three weeks prior to the start of the spring semester.” For example, a three-credit course would meet roughly three hours a day every weekday for three weeks, and the tuition costs for the classes would be in addition to fall and spring tuition charges.

Taxation of income a moral hazard

Profits, self-policing can save Mifflin

Compared to the 2009 and 2010 Mifflin Street block parties, which were hazily remembered but mostly calm affairs, last year’s celebration was out of control. Although there were fewer arrests last year than in 2010, there were more than 20 trips to detox, three injured officers, three sexual assaults and two stabbings. I love reveling alongside my fellow students but Mifflin needs to be a party where everyone can go have fun and not get stabbed, so some changes need to be made.