Opinion

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International Community Fails Syria

The death toll in Syria rose by another 400 people since last Thursday after a wave of killings promoted by President Bashar al-Assad. On Monday alone, over 25 people were reportedly killed in a government-led crackdown on protesters dissenting Assad's rule over the Syrian people. Monday also witnessed yet another statement by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemning the recent escalation in violence in the country and a promise of an international resolution on the issue from the United Nations Security Council.

Apple iPads won't help our failing schools

Apple, over the past couple of weeks, has begun to unveil its strategy for getting into the textbook business. It hopes to electronically transform this industry, similar to the other sectors it has systematically revolutionized since the turn of the century. It is no secret that educators and academic institutions are looking for ways to invigorate the classroom experience and to capture the attention spans of today's students. Yet, despite the user-friendliness of the iPad, the competition of other products-Amazon's Kindle, Barnes and Nobles' Nook and other Android devices-and the technologically reliant young people of the 21st century, a problem looms: Technology can be more of a burden than an asset unless properly integrated into a curriculum.

Walker campaign fueled by outsiders

Chadima incident reminds us that all of campus must combat sexual assault

Letter: UW does not address many issues for students with disabilities

Concerns over Romney’s taxes should turn to fixing muddled system

Mitt Romney’s spectacular fall from the front-runner position in the Republican candidacy following the South Carolina primary election can be attributed to a variety of causes. Arguably, his reluctance to reveal his taxes seems to have been the greatest. Voters seemed to be indignant at the fact Romney would be taxed at a meager 15.4 percent for the 2011 fiscal year despite reported income that would make him eligible for the 35 percent tax bracket.

P.E. cuts hurt UW-Madison

The additional $25.5 million UW-Madison will have to cut over the next two years is already having a major impact on campus, and one of the most tangible ways in which students will feel the cuts is the elimination of 29 for-credit physical education classes after 2012. Everything from fencing to yoga to badminton will no longer be offered through the university. The very fact that so many classes are on the chopping block should be a red flag for students and faculty alike.

Human toll of the war on drugs inexcusable

There is great suffering in our world. To pretend that you, or others aren't suffering at some points in time is to gloss over the realities of life. We all wish for a world without pain, but a world without suffering is a world without life. I accept this notion, but I reject the "suffering" projected by certain political and ideological interests.

Letter: Proposed Nuisance Party Ordinance leaves ASM with concerns

GOP Must Reconsider Pres Candidate

The Republican Party is in disarray. For the first time ever, three different presidential candidates have won the first three primaries of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, and the GOP establishment has become worried that Former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-MA, whom they presume to be their most electable candidate, may not obtain the nomination. For the past year, primary voters have been resisting Romney by switching from one conservative alternative to another, including ridiculous fringe candidates like Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-MN, and Herman Cain.

Union choice in recall may not be best

Last week, Democrats successfully turned in over one million signatures in the first step of the state's gubernatorial recall process. While it will take the state's Government Accountability Board weeks to verify the 540,208 signatures needed to begin a recall election against Gov. Scott Walker, unions throughout the state will be hard at work to find the perfect candidate who supports their ideas and ideologies. Chief among these concerns will be to restore collective bargaining rights as they see fit.

Letter: Student involvement is key to taking Wisc. back

Education reform vital for Wisconsin

In the face of recall, Gov. Scott Walker is continuing to push for changes. His most recent plan calls for education reform, focusing mainly on teacher evaluations and improving reading levels. While these programs will improve Wisconsin’s public education system, Walker would do the state’s students even more good if he looked at reforms happening on America’s coasts.

ASM needs new constitution, student input

Parliamentary style questioning keeps leaders in check

When Newt Gingrich triumphantly challenged President Obama to seven, three-hour Lincoln-Douglas style debates in early December, the prospect appeared to coincide with his image as the intellectual Republican candidate. Yet since his impressive performances in GOP debates, the professorial Gingrich appeal has tapered significantly. His disappointing fourth-place finish in the Iowa Caucus-due, in part, to a horde of negative advertisements in the state-shattered any hopes of the utopian, debate-based primary Gingrich desired. A strong showing in Florida could give a jolt of energy to his candidacy, but with a limited war chest and reservations about his personal life, Gingrich would best avoid buying new milk. 

Letter: Campus student workers need more rights

What group constitutes the greatest percentage of the staff employed by UW-Madison? Is it Faculty? Graduate Assistants? Academic Staff? Classified Staff? In fact, it's none of these. All of these are dwarfed by the number of student hourlies on campus. 

Mercury and other pollutant regulations beneficial for Wisconsin citizens

On Dec. 21 the mercury pollution saga finally came to an end. The long awaited Environmental Protection Agency regulations were finalized and put into effect. The new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) are the first ever national limits on mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants. These new regulations will ultimately improve people's health by requiring power plants that contribute to air pollution in Wisconsin to use widely available, proven pollution control technologies. These technologies will help protect families from pollutants such as mercury, arsenic, chromium, nickel and acid gases.

Worst decisions made at the Capitol

Voter ID law suppresses citizens' rights

Worst ASM decisions of the year

Failure, thy name is ASM

Letter: It's Christmas people! Get over it.

I just read an article titled “Keep the baby Jesus out of politics,” and while it brings up a few good points, I disagree with the majority of it.  To begin with, stating that a pine tree has no claim to Christmas is like stating the Green Bay Packers have no claim to the G logo that is now property of, and synonymous with, the team. It is true that conifers played no part in the first Christmas. In fact, they first mention of them being part of the Christmas celebration was in the 16th century in Germany and Livonia. However, tradition makes up a large part of every event, and I mean every event, after its inaugural year. After five centuries of being the only light up decorated tree widely known to the Western World, I think its safe to say that yes, a Christmas tree is a Christmas tree. Calling something by its name whether its good or bad from your point of view is the proper thing to do. As stated in Harry Potter, “Fear of the name only increase fear of the thing itself.”