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With glitches hopefully done, live webcast on for Thursday

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Also by Ken Harris:

UW Hospital receives stroke care honor (January 31, 2008)
With glitches hopefully done, live webcast on for Thursday (January 31, 2008)
Union to install new brew shop (January 30, 2008)
UW responds to security reports (January 30, 2008)
Talib Kweli to headline April All-Campus Party (January 30, 2008)

by Ken Harris

Thursday, January 31, 2008

University of Wisconsin graduate student Ryan Hanke had been planning the Focus on the Nation event kickoff since November and thought nothing could prevent the live Internet feed from being broadcast Wednesday.

The live webcast, which features actor Edward Norton discussing global warming, was supposed to be shown at three separate University of Wisconsin campus locations Wednesday. But none of the locations could connect to the program.

Focus the Nation is a two-day event held on the 17 Wisconsin and 1,600 other schools nationwide focused on raising awareness of climate change issues.

Hanke, Focus the Nation head student organizer, said he is looking at the situation from the positive side.

“I think it’s almost a good sign there were so many people accessing it (and) the system couldn’t support them all,” Hanke said. “I just wish it actually worked.”

UW senior Lincoln Tice said he was not particularly disappointed with the evening and was still going to attend Thursday’s events.

“I’ve been concerned about climate change for a while,” Tice said. “I just wanted to show up and show my support.”

Hanke said he hopes the bad start is not an omen for Thursday’s teach-in and Green Democracy programs.

The teach-in starts at noon Thursday with a lecture by UW environmental studies professor John Foley in the Great Hall in the Memorial Union. Mayor Dave Cieslewicz will follow with a presentation of a Green Madison Plan at 1:10 p.m.

According to Hanke, Green Democracy is going to be the “big event,” running from about 5:45 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Thursday. It will be held at the Lowell Center at 610 Langdon St.

The evening program will be in the format of a panel discussion, and there will be four speakers.

Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton, Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, and Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, will each be giving 25-minute presentations, followed by questions from the audience.

“It should be a big day,” Hanke said. “We hope to get legislators to look and get attention to global warming.”

Hanke said the programs are free and open to anybody who wants to attend, adding he hopes a lot of students show up. He added he believes young people are important for making change.

“We’ll be the future voters,” Hanke said.

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