Last November, our former President wrote a column detailing the resurgence in student activism that has been prompted by Gov. Walker’s historic attacks on virtually every facet of life in Wisconsin. Over the last 15 months, each new attack—restrictions on collective bargaining, the largest cuts to public education in Wisconsin’s history, restrictions on the voting rights of students and minorities, and more—sent new waves of outrage coursing through the student body. These spurred spontaneous rallies, grassroots lobbying efforts, and perhaps most importantly—votes. Turnout in the 2011 spring elections was nearly 700 percent higher than in previous comparable elections, with historic numbers of students taking an interest in their state and local government. We have had the privilege of seeing students energized, informed, and active in a way that hearkens back to Madison’s rich history of protest in the 1960s with the Vietnam War. And this energy on campus continued as over 1.1 million Wisconsinites signed petitions to remove Scott Walker from office, with over 10,000 of those signatures coming from our campus.
Now, we face the difficult task of determining who will assume the office of the governor in little more than a month. There are four strong candidates seeking to challenge Walker on June 5, but one stands apart. That candidate is Kathleen Falk.
From the moment Scott Walker began his assault on workers’ rights in February 2011, Kathleen Falk was on the front lines standing up for Wisconsinites. As Dane County Executive, she filed a lawsuit against the Walker administration to overturn the collective bargaining law as soon as it had been forced through the legislature. When hundreds of thousands of people marched on the Capitol building to protest Walker’s attacks on the rights of working Wisconsinites, Kathleen Falk marched with them, braving the cold and snow to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with unionized Wisconsinites from every corner of the state in opposition to Walker’s radical ideological agenda. And, when it came time to collect signatures to remove the governor from office, Kathleen Falk volunteered nearly every day, going door-to-door across the state to speak with voters and collect signatures.
And Kathleen Falk has a record that proves she shares our values as students and as progressives. As someone who worked to put herself through state school in Waukesha, Wis., she understands the burden of graduating with tremendous student loan debt. That’s why our Vice-President, Janel Alters, stood proudly beside Kathleen Falk when she introduced her Wisconsin Student Loan Debt Crisis Initiative, which would implement far-reaching reforms to ensure access and affordability for higher education in Wisconsin. That’s why Falk has earned the endorsement of EMILY’s List, the national organization that promotes the election of progressive champions for women’s rights. As Falk herself said, “Believe me, I know about glass ceilings. I’ve been breaking them my whole life. Who better to stop the War on Women than a woman?” And that’s why she has earned the endorsement of every major labor organization in Wisconsin—because of her proven track record negotiating pragmatic solutions with labor, and because of her commitment to restoring the Wisconsin tradition of collective bargaining.
Voters across Wisconsin will go to the polls in less than one week to determine who will face Scott Walker in his historic recall election on June 5. In a field of strong candidates, one stands out as a champion for progressive values and an advocate for students, women, and working Wisconsinites. That’s why Kathleen Falk has earned the endorsement of The Young Progressives and countless other organizations that share our values. On May 8, vote Kathleen Falk for Democratic candidate for Governor.
Sam Gehler is the president of The Young Progressives. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
