Opinion

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Diversity is more than just skin deep

With the Supreme Court to rule on affirmative action this session—Fisher v. University of Texas—and our university to design a new Diversity Plan—our previous plan expired in ’08—I thought it appropriate to take a look at the idea of diversity as tied to ethnicity and address its misguided and racist nature. It’s a touchy subject and I really hope that I can have an open conversation with individuals about the topic. Feel free to comment on the article online or send me an email at snemcek@wisc.edu.

Facebook "likes" are trivial

Small, symbolic win for Palestine

When I was in 8th grade, I very much enjoyed playing Connect Four with my younger sister, Sydney.  I had a strong penchant for the game, and she did not. Whereas Sydney did not have much experience with Connect Four, I grew up playing it, sometimes for hours on end. I never let her win, not even once. In retrospect, my insistence on domination stemmed from some lack of self-esteem or compensation for a perceived flaw. I would like to connect my petulant Connect Four playing to the way that Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin “Bibi” Netanyahu handles relations with his counterpart, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Structure needed in diversity plan

Within the past year, issues surrounding diversity have been hugely controversial throughout the university. From the Center for Equal Opportunity’s allegations that UW-Madison unfairly takes race into account in admissions, to individuals at a fraternity throwing beer bottles and yelling racial slurs at African American students walking past, it is clear that the university needs to strive for improvements in diversity on campus.

The foreign language requirement should be altered

Last week, I wrote about one of the greatest contributors to rising tuition at public universities across the country: decreased funding from state legislatures.  And while draconian cuts to Wisconsin’s public universities are undoubtedly bad for the state’s future, decreased funding seems to be the new normal.  Like other state legislatures, Wisconsin has cut funding to education to remedy budget deficits.  But the cuts aren’t just the result of a severe and protracted recession—decreased state funding is decades in the making.

ASM correct in funding atheist group

I have been to hell. I have faced down the forces of evil. I have descended into the darkest reaches of existence and I have seen the blackness which resides in the hidden corners of men’s souls. What I mean to say is that I’ve gone to the comments section on an online article related to religion. I will never find a more wretched hive of belligerence and stupidity. Or at least I hope I won’t. Honestly, I don’t really want to talk about it, but I will. I set out on this Orphean journey in order to learn about the controversy surrounding the funding that Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics received from the Associated Students of Madison for next year. According to their website, AHA is a student organization dedicated to “promot[ing] the discussion of faith and religion on the UW-Madison campus” and “educat[ing] students on issues important to the secular community, and encourag[ing] the personal development of one’s religious identity.” Basically, it’s a student organization for, well, atheists, humanists and agnostics. The group has gotten a lot of publicity lately following ASM’s provision of almost $70,000 for their budget next year.

Letter: student input important to future of diversity plan

The Shared Governance Committee for Campus Diversity and Climate Committee (CDCC) is currently creating an ad hoc committee to work on researching and drafting the Campus Diversity Plan. The Diversity Plan is essential for campus to create a more diverse and culturally competent environment here on campus. The creation of the Diversity Plan will involve members from the following groups: students, faculty, classified staff, academic staff and non-voting community members.

Depression is a product of modern culture

A lot of blame gets thrown around when discussing mental illnesses, especially depression. Depression is one of the haziest of chemical imbalances, and the line between clinical depression and just having a series of off-days is a fine one. Who bears the guilt for despondence? To what must we attribute our despair? Who is responsible for depression? Ourselves, the chronically depressed? Our friends and families? Surely no one is directly responsible for our anguish. Depression is no one person’s fault, because depression is a result of our modern lifestyles.

'Focused deterrence' has positive impact

Since Nov. 2011, the Madison Police Department has been working with the Community Against Violence Team as part of their focused deterrence program, which is meant to offer support to violent repeat offenders while making it clear their violence and law-breaking will not be tolerated. It includes close monitoring of the convicts once they are released from prison and harsh punishment for future infractions.

NFL athletes’ aggression remains unaffected by fines

About a decade ago, the almighty National Football League looked like it was headed down a dangerous path. It was turning into a battle of big hits. An exaggeration, yes, but not far from where the league was going. ESPN used to throw together highlight reels of players head hunting, launching their 250-pound bodies at each other with the intent to knock guys out of the game. It is rare to see a sport with a main purpose of hurting the other team, but the NFL was certainly flirting with this notion.

Two-state solution approaches reality

The Nov. 29 Palestinian trip to the United Nations in order to upgrade their status from “Observer Entity” to “Nonmember Observer State” marks the latest development in the Middle East, where turmoil has become as conventional as wearing layers in January. With the eight—day Israeli-Hamas conflict still widely visible in the rearview mirror, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas is engaging in a last—ditch effort to stave off a free fall into irrelevancy. With this status upgrade in sight, its implications may actually greatly benefit Israel and the peace-seeking international community at large, while acting as a detriment to Hamas and other terrorist organizations.

Compromises from both sides are needed to avoid fiscal cliff

As we finish up what’s left of our Thanksgiving leftovers and adjust our belts—by which I mean we take them off—we look forward to Christmas, New Years and the fiscal cliff. President Barack Obama and budget experts have congregated at Capitol Hill and have made a resolution for New Years to finalize a plan that will put a stop to our deficit and set us on the right course to recovery. With the federal debt approaching the $16 trillion milestone, the freshly re-elected president has decided to take action and promised to have a decisive economic plan etched in stone by the first of January.

Construction destroys Madison history

Madison is home to tons of history and sentimental hotspots. We have the big ones such as the Capitol, Memorial Union, Bascom Hill and many others. However, it’s the smaller, more unnoticed areas that are under attack.

New chancellor should be savvy, transparent

With the Dec. 21 deadline for application rapidly approaching, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is on the brink of beginning its search for a proficient replacement to Interim Chancellor David Ward. As an editorial board and as students, we believe that it is necessary for certain qualities to be embodied by the incoming chancellor, whoever he or she may be.

Limits on public protests should be less restrictive

No one likes The Man. All he does is sit up in his tower and tell us what we can’t do. “No, Mitch, you can’t play tag with trucks on the interstate,” or “No, Mitch, you can’t light furniture on fire,” or “No, Mitch, you can’t perform open-heart surgery.” The Man is the reason there isn’t a system of ziplines across campus to get us to our classes and the reason The Bear Olympics isn’t a thing. The Man is smart though, and one thing he does let us do is publicly oppose him.

Israel's Iron Dome strengthens region's chance for peace

Nov. 21, Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease fire, effectively ending the eight days of back-and-forth strikes between them. The cease fire is a crucial step towards diffusing what was an imminent conflict in an area filled with more tension than any of us here in the United States can imagine. While Hillary Clinton and Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr may have brokered the end of rocket fire it was the Israeli Military’s “Iron Dome” missile shield system that has been the real hero in these troubling days.

Republican Jon Huntsman best Secretary of State candidate

A few weeks ago, I wrote a very passionate article just shortly after President Barack Obama won reelection.  It detailed the fact that the Tea Party represents a backwards, lying and conniving movement that in no way engages with reality as sane people know it.  My point was that I really want bipartisanship in this country, as I think it is how we progress as a society. However, as long as the Tea Party is not only alive, but prevalent within the American Political System, bipartisanship will be an uber-difficult thing to accomplish.  

States are leaving public universities behind

This year—for the ninth consecutive year—the University of Wisconsin-Madison increased its tuition by 5.5 percent, the maximum percentage increase allowed under state law. For the first time in the school’s history, tuition is more than $10,000 a year for in-state students. Including room and board, the cost of attendance is about $24,000 for in-state students.

Attending school away from home enhances learning

The point of college, as far as society is concerned, is to learn. The idea is that we get an education somewhere between watching football and getting smashed. This education is more than just what we learn in our classes, however. The most important things we learn in college are the life lessons we receive along the way.

Student veterans need more resources

The number of student veterans in the University of Wisconsin System has doubled since 2005, and is expected to continue to increase. While UW-Milwaukee is home to the most student veterans receiving GI benefits in the state, educating more than double the number enrolled at UW-Madison, all UW schools are involved. This has caused the UW System Board of Regents to give the situation more attention than before.