NEWS
Anti-war group pushes Iraqi tuition referendum
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by Pedro Oliveira Jr.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
University of Wisconsin students may have a chance to decide
this spring whether to devote one tuition dollar per semester to fund a program
to bring five Iraqi students to campus for an education.
Campus Antiwar Network members and several others have
collected a total of 2,350 signatures from the student body and filed a
proposal to add the Iraqi Student Project to the Associated Students of Madison
spring 2008 ballot.
The ISP was founded in the summer of 2007 and modeled after
the Bosnian Student Project, in which from 1993 to 1996, 150 Bosnian students
came to U.S. colleges with tuition waived, according to CAN member and UW
freshman Jenny Wustmann.
Middle East-based recruiters would work with Iraqi natives
in Iraq, Syria and Jordan to identify, test and screen students. The students
would be recommended based on academic records, language abilities, economic
need and likelihood of success.
If the initiative were approved, each UW student would
donate $1 per semester, including summer
sessions, and the money would be refundable per written request within 45 days
of the first day of class.
“It was actually a lot easier than I thought it was. I
wasn’t expecting people to be as supportive of this as they were,” said Wustmann,
who was heavily involved in collecting signatures. “Some reactions were so
enthusiastic, like ‘how can I help this? It’s such a great idea.’”
ASM requires a minimum of 5 percent of signatures from the
student body to include a proposal on the spring referendum. With nearly 200
signatures more than the requested number, CAN member and UW sophomore Sam
Finesurrey said the next step is for ASM to check names and ID numbers to
ensure no signatures were forged.
Associate Dean of Students Kevin Helmkamp said though
widespread student support could increase the likelihood of passing a project
like this, there are “major hurdles” that could impede approval by UW
administration.
“Even with a referendum, it doesn’t mean we can just make it
happen,” Helmkamp said.
The students would still have to obtain a U.S. student visa
and go through regular admissions process, Helmkamp said, and granting an
in-state tuition waiver could make it difficult to proceed with the project.
“It’s difficult enough to come to the U.S. as a student from
another country, [and] all of those processes would have to be followed,” he
added.
Finesurrey said he hopes to have the Iraqi students by next
spring, since the application deadline for fall admissions has already passed.
“I think that the type of campus that Madison is, to have
that sort of global influence is always a very positive thing,” Helmkamp said.
“But it also raises the question … of what other areas of the world would also
benefit the campus, and how to choose one over the other.”
ASM representatives did not return calls seeking comment
Tuesday.
Anonymous (February 27, 2008 @ 6:55am):
Would I happily donate a dollar for the education of an Iraqi student at the UW? Absolutely.
Will I let another addition to my staggeringly high segregated fees go toward publicity for the Campus Antiwar Network? Absolutely not.
This is nothing more than a political ploy for a group that can't even gain traction on one of the most antiwar campuses in the country.
Anonymous (February 27, 2008 @ 7:48am):
Has CAN looked at what CAN and CANNOT be funded with seg fee dollars? Sorry guys, your signature collecting may have been for nothin.
Anonymous (February 27, 2008 @ 7:58am):
If anything, we should be focusing our efforts to get more Wisconsin students a quality education...not subsidising students that want an education on our dollar so that they can use it on the other side of the planet.
CAN is out of touch with the University and the state as a whole.
Anonymous (February 27, 2008 @ 8:52am):
very well put, 6:55.
Anonymous (February 27, 2008 @ 9:03am):
Donate the money to Baghdad University and promote the redevelopment of Iraqi higher education, which used to be the pinnacle of the Arab world. This program is a make-ourselves-feel-good effort by CAN and should be rejected completely. 99% of the exchange students will just claim asylum here anyway (see: University of Oklahoma) so in the end the project just supports the Iraqi brain drain.
Anonymous (February 27, 2008 @ 10:03am):
Concur with 9:03... Maybe promote/sponsor a "UW-Madison laboratory" at an Iraqi university.
Once CAN gets these poor kids on campus, they'll try and exploit them at every opportunity. Has CAN considered the Iraqi students might be PRO U.S.-interevention? Uh oh, that would be emabarrassing, wouldn't it?
Anonymous (February 27, 2008 @ 10:05am):
9:03-- Well, it seems like that's the only way that displaced Iraqis can gain asylum here.
But CAN, do you really think Wiley will enact this even if it passes? Think back to the Living Wage/WUFIP fiasco last year. LW Yes, WUFIP No--Thrown out, try again. LW Yes, WUFIP No--Thrown out, try again. LW Yes, WUFIP Yes--Certify these results, but then immediately declare that living wage referendum will be ignored. Expect something similar. If/when Wiley discards the victory, y'all better be prepared to throw down and make sure it gets implemented.
Anonymous (February 27, 2008 @ 10:54am):
Where do you guys get this stuff.
1st to 9:03: There is barely a University of Baghdad at this point. The secular violence has left the higher education system in ruins. Hundreds to thousands of professors have been killed. Ideally I'm sure that CAN and any other groups associated with this project would love to help the rebuilding of the universities in Iraq, but at this moment that is just a reality.
2nd to 7:58: The students that you are talking about ignoring, because a dollar is too much of a hit for your budget, are currently living in refugee camps. While I agree that the state and the country should improve higher education for all of it's citizens, that doesn't we we should ignore humanitarian crisis overseas. Over two million Iraqi's are living in refugee camps in Syria and Jordan and you're worrying about a dollar.
3rd to 6:55: You're really going to go against this project because a name is associated with. In reality I really don't care, if it was the same College Republicans who back Horiwitz coming supporting this project, I would still be in favor. The student body on this campus has a chance to stand up and say we care, about these people and about this crisis. Although we know this isn't the ideal situation we want to make the best out of it. If it gives CAN good press, good by them, they deserve this. This is a fantastic project.
Anonymous (February 27, 2008 @ 11:04am):
I guess I'm just wondering why we can't put a dollar towards bringing Wisconsin students (or any US student for that matter) who can't afford an education here?
Anonymous (February 27, 2008 @ 1:17pm):
Silly, idealistic liberals... you can't administratively do this! HAHA. The UW CANnot make a political statement like this crazy group would like them to. Way to lay the smack down Kevin!
Anonymous (February 27, 2008 @ 2:42pm):
there is a huge antiwar campaign going on in March. Loose Change initiated a global protest to be held for the 5th anniversary of Iraq invasion. You can find more than 200 different places that have organized in solidarity to protest the illegal government. http://worldagainstwar.org
also the ideas of the imperialist war machine has brain washed those using the media to persuade the public that war and murder is ok. This is a complete farce. I will protest next month and hope all of you find a way to make your point known that war is not the human way. Thank you for your article
Anonymous (February 27, 2008 @ 4:34pm):
haha, that last guy is funny good for you. protest and waster our police time and your chance at an education. by the way CAN you are a joke
Anonymous (February 27, 2008 @ 4:41pm):
Didn't BH run this thinly veiled Marxist propaganda piece last Fall?
Didn't it get panned by readers then, too?
Are BH editors really this lazy?
Your issue advocacy is showing (again).
Anonymous (February 27, 2008 @ 4:45pm):
The referendum system within ASM has several major flaws. One of the problems is that students can put a lot of work into passing a referendum when ASM does not have the authority to pass such a resolution. Even though such a referendum could pass, the proposal clearly violates UW System Policy established by the Board of Reagents.
CAN should begin efforts to set up a charitable fund. The current effort on a student referendum will never go into effect.
Consolidated Policy Paper on Segregated Fees:
I. B(3) Prohibited SUF Expenditures(d) Direct financial aid to an enrolled student such as scholarships, tuition, room and board, but excluding child care payments.
-Patrick Elliott
Anonymous (February 27, 2008 @ 5:44pm):
1:17 You're really laughing because this project might fail? You're laughing because these kids will not have the opportunity to get an education and will remain in there refugee camps? I think you need to rethink you're conservative values. As far as this project goes this is likely the 1st step of many. The administration is not going to accept these kids without a fight, but I think they're going to hear the student voice loud and clear when the overwhelming majority of students vote in favor of this humanitarian effort. That may not lead to the immediate acceptance of these kids into this university, but sign me up for the next step, I'm in.
Anonymous (February 27, 2008 @ 8:00pm):
Even if CAN cannot get that referendum enacted, the proposal seems to be raising issues that remain shamefully untouched by the network news.
There are over four million Iraqi refugees.
There are so many individuals seeking refuge in Syria and Jordan that they are being turned away.
Sweden, for example, admitted 18,600 refugees in 2007.
The U.S.? 1,608.
Which of these countries has invaded another and displaced 4 million innocents?
Madison spent $270.2 million on the war in 2007 - money that went towards the same weapons that displaced 4 million civilians.
I don't think it's very out of line to suggest this community assume the paltry responsibility of giving five students out of 4 million the chance to gain an education.
And, 9:03 - Iraqi brain drain?
If we're concerned about Iraqi brain drain, why hasn't something been done about Iraqi universities shutting down due to the assassinations of professors?
Why hasn't something been done about the 80% of Iraqi doctors who have fled the country? Why are we allowing thousands of the potential young minds who could restore their country to some form of normalcy rot in refugee camps?
Perhaps a poorly thought out referendum, CAN, but a notable effort. Something needs to be done.
Let me know when you get it figured out, I'll be on board.
Anonymous (February 27, 2008 @ 11:39pm):
Right, right. Great idea. A nice way of saying that we're sorry for deposing their dictator.
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