After legislators dealt the UW System roughly $250 million in funding cuts during the state’s last biennial budget, along with a continued tuition freeze, it seemed too soon to tell how those cuts would affect each of the approximately 40,000 faculty and academic staff throughout the system.
The Dane County Board of Supervisors voted to amend its minimum wage ordinance Tuesday night, increasing pay for workers of the county and entities with which the county contracts to $12.50 by January of next year. The updated ordinance changes the definition of a “living wage” in service contracts and sets an hourly wage for those service contracts at $12.50 effective Jan. 1, 2017.
Madison will be hosting an Ironman race Sunday, bringing street closures and alternate bus routes along with the triathlon.
A sexual assault was reported to a UW-Madison Campus Security Authority Thursday morning, according to a UW-Madison Police Department incident report.
University Health Services will continue to push back against UW-Madison’s heavy drinking culture this year by tailoring and shaping existing programs, as well as adding new ones.
A state report released Thursday showed that state support for rural school districts has declined in the past five years, leading to outcry from Democrats that the legislature has not done enough to support those areas. State aid to rural school districts throughout Wisconsin dropped 13.5 percent in the past five years, according to a memo released by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
SexWIse Workshop kicked off its opening event at Sellery Hall Wednesday night. During the 90-minute workshop, the first of three workshops in the GetWIse series, students held group conversations about sex, relationships and sexual assault prevention on the UW-Madison campus. Sam Johnson, violence prevention specialist at University Health Services and program manager for End Violence on Campus, led the soft opening of SexWIse.
The city of Madison announced Tuesday that it will be addressing the barrier some citizens face to accessing affordable Internet through a new program called Connecting Madison. Common Council established the Digital Technology Committee in 2013 with the mission of “making studies and recommendations relative to facilitating the provision of internet access to all citizens with special attention to low income families, realizing additional benefits from and [expanded] utilization of the Metropolitan Unified Fiber Network...” Connecting Madison is what came of that committee to ensure Internet access for low-income families.
This year, freshmen students will be offered the new Our Wisconsin inclusion education program intended to improve campus climate.
The Associated Students of Madison Student Council passed legislation Wednesday urging the UW-Madison Police Department to be transparent about the equipment it owns and intends to own. Passed by a vote of 18-4, the legislation says that UWPD should annually update a list of its equipment because “student tuition dollars could be used to purchase militarized equipment.” The legislation also specifies that if UW-Madison acquires items on the Prohibited or Controlled Equipment List of federal Executive Order 13688, passed by President Obama in the wake of Ferguson and other instances of police militarization, that the student body should be notified. Tyriek Mack introduced the legislation to Student Council, positioning it as part of the greater Black Lives Matter national platform.
Gov. Scott Walker announced Wednesday his plan to include a “Back to School” sales tax holiday in Wisconsin’s 2017-19 biennial budget.
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., is deploying a new tool in his quest to fight back against Democratic challenger Russ Feingold and retain his seat in the Senate: Snapchat. Johnson’s campaign announced Wednesday that they would deploy ads on the social media app on nine college campuses throughout the state, including UW-Madison.
Assembly Republicans unveiled their 2017 agenda Wednesday, a plan which includes extending the tuition freeze at UW System schools and increasing the presence of conservatives on campuses. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, introduced the three-part plan, which they named the “Forward” agenda, after the state’s motto.
Firemen and police officers temporarily closed off the 500 block of West Mifflin Street Tuesday night after receiving a 911 call about a possible basement fire. The resident of the house returned home around 8 p.m.
Though the school year has just started, the Associated Students of Madison is already hard at work reaching out to and advocating for students across campus, according to Chair Carmen Goséy.
UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank is poised to begin a committee this fall that will share information with and seek insight from various leaders in the community regarding diversity and inclusion.
The city of Madison Common Council unanimously voted to delay discussion of a motion intended to curb roadside panhandling put forth by Mayor Paul Soglin Tuesday. Madison suspended enforcement of its General Ordinances regarding panhandling in January after the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin sent a letter to city attorney Michael May, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, released an op-ed Tuesday urging for more conservative speakers to be hosted at UW System campuses. The op-ed, titled “A Free Speech Challenge to the UW System” and published by Right Wisconsin, claims liberal ideology is disproportionately offered at university-sponsored lectures across the state. The article calls on UW System to “practice what they preach,” referring to a Board of Regents statement released last year emphasizing the need for free speech. “It is not the proper role of the university to attempt to shield individuals from ideas and opinions they, or others, find unwelcome, disagreeable, or even deeply offensive,” Vos wrote. “Although the university greatly values civility, concerns about civility and mutual respect can never be used as a justification for closing off discussions of ideas.” Vos says past speakers do not reflect a commitment to intellectual diversity.
University Health Services has hired three new mental health professionals prepared to support underrepresented student groups, including one specifically for students of color, who began their positions Tuesday.
Each week until Election Day, The Daily Cardinal will profile a down-ballot race in Wisconsin, taking a look at the state and local candidates and their policy views.
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