The Badger Herald: Opinion: Doyle policies keep UW system on track

Opinion

Doyle policies keep UW system on track

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Tuesday, September 19, 2006 12:00 a.m.

3 Vote 0 Votes

Last Friday night, I was part of a crowd of 50-plus University of Wisconsin students who gathered to watch as Democratic Governor Jim Doyle went on to win his first debate with Republican Congressman Mark Green. After Gov. Doyleís victory, State Senator Jon Erpenbach spoke to us about the importance of the election in November, making it clear that the only candidate who cares about UW-Madison is Governor Doyle.

One of the main points in Governor Doyleís platform is to defend students in the UW System, and he fights daily to make sure basic protections afforded to students like you and I arenít eliminated.

Discouragingly, his opponent, Congressman Green, does not see things the same way. Congressman Green votes with a blatant disregard for students. Since most students are not property holders, Green believes most of us will not pay attention when he talks about freezing state property taxes. But Greenís proposed freeze would severely cut funding to UW-Madison, making this an issue of grave concern to all students. In fact, to enact Congressman Greenís freeze, $100 million would have to be slashed from the UW budget.

Legislation like this is nothing new. In Colorado, similar legislation was enacted, the schools fell apart, and the Legislature ended up reversing its decision.

Governor Doyle cares about the UW System too much to let this happen. He has provided property tax relief, but he has done so while also protecting the quality of education in Wisconsin. Governor Doyle is doing the right thing, balancing taxes with quality services that benefit the businesses and families of Wisconsin.

The Governor also requested that the Board of Regents cap tuition increases at the rate of inflation ó a request the Board is following. And he is implementing his Wisconsin Covenant plan to raise student achievement and encourage college enrollment, so we can make sure that any student who works hard and plays by the rules can receive a first-rate Wisconsin education.

After scolding the Board of Regents for proposing a more holistic approach to UW admissions, Congressman Green made it clear that he will make it much more difficult, if not impossible, for an ìout-of-stateî student to enter the UW System under his administration. Bemoaning that out-of-state students are overrunning our university, Congressman Green again shows that he fails to understand higher education.

In reality, in-state freshmen enrollment has increased since Governor Doyle took office.

While the mission of our university must first be to serve the great state of Wisconsin, the vast majority of Wisconsin voters understand why out-of-state students are also critically important. To be a world-class institution, a university must attract the most talented students from across the country. The caliber of education offered at UW-Madison is deeply enhanced by the diversity of perspectives and experiences that students bring to campus. This diversity is necessary to provide the competition of ideas and viewpoints that is needed for a truly ìhigherî education.

Why then is Congressman Green trying to eliminate the out-of-state student? Sadly, because he is playing partisan games. Congressman Green is making an issue out of nothing, and ignoring the more pressing problems of job creation, equitable tax-relief, education reform, and fiscal responsibility.

In response, I encourage every out-of-state student to vote at UW-Madison. I ask you to take a stance against a candidate that doesnít care about you or your education ó a candidate who votes 92 percent of the time with President George W. Bush!

As Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton has said, ìWisconsin simply can't afford four years of Congressman Green.î This applies especially to UW-Madison.

What Wisconsin needs is another four years for Governor Jim Doyle ó a Governor who truly cares about Wisconsin and the students of UW-Madison, regardless of how much money your family makes or where you hail from.

If you didnít have a chance to see Friday nightís debate, let me tell you all you need to know right now. Congressman Green doesnít care about the student vote, while Governor Doyle has crafted his policies with the UW student in mind.

Students ó whether from Milwaukee, Minnesota, New York, or halfway around the world ó should tell Governor Doyle that we appreciate a Governor who fights for our university, our rights, and our values. We need to be at the polls in November to vote for our universityís biggest champion: Jim Doyle!

For those of you who come from outside Wisconsin, all it takes to vote on campus is proof of residence in Wisconsin, a valid ID, and a document (like a lease agreement or UW official mailing) proving your current address. For more information about how students can vote in Wisconsin, please check out our Web site at

HYPERLINK "http://www.uwmadisondems.org"

www.uwmadisondems.org.

Forward.

Eli Lewein (lewein@wisc.edu) is a junior majoring in political science. He is also the Chair of the UW-Madison College Democrats.

3 Comments | Leave a comment

Anonymous | September 19, 2006 1:12 AM | Reply

Where was Nelson Eisman?

Anonymous | September 19, 2006 4:00 PM | Reply

What an incredibly moronic editorial. Not once do you even address the issue of the FACT that tuition at UW has gone up precipitously in the 4 years of the Doyle administration. Not even one hint that this has happened. I can't believe the BH even wasted the time to print this garbage that is better suited for some cheap mass mailing to party drones.

Anonymous | September 30, 2006 3:43 PM | Reply

Nicely written column. Regardless of the partisan line taken, Eli makes the point that Jim Doyle is the only candidate in this race that will represent students (and has the power to do so). Mark Green does not care about students period.

As great as Eisman may think he is, he has no voice in this race. If he wants one, he should respect the two other candidates, and run on the platform of creating an instant run-off institution, not this "I have no voice, listen to me because of it" attitude.