I understand that you’re just as uninvolved and apathetic as most students, but you do no service to further educating them, and quite honestly media is lacking in this town.

The first problem with your point is the repeated claim that student workers only use their money for alcohol and unnecessary extracurriculars/purchases. This is rather ignorant and insulting to student workers. We use our wages to pay tuition, pay rent, and buy groceries, and given the increases in normal tuition and decreases in financial aid this becomes more difficult every semester.

Additionally, in claiming that SLAC should work “through the system,” look at the history of sweatshop activism on this campus. In part the only reason our administration is as radical as it is, is because they are conditioned by direct action. But even so, “working through the system” often leads nowhere. Look at the Student Wage Committee: it is 2 students and a dozen or so administrators. The students get voted down every time, even when they proposed resigning and opening the seats for student workers. Only after pushing and prodding were LTEs added to the LTE taskforce. But let us not forget that in 1999 and 2000, over 50 students sat in in Chancellor Ward’s office to even join the oversight body we are now so proud of.

But that aside, your own paper is partially culpable for hiding the fact that SLAC does indeed work through formal committees. Two students sat on the LTE committee originally, two are now on the student wage committee, and three sit on the Labor Licensing Committee. The group maintains active relationships with administrators. It is only after these “proper channels” clog up that other means are sought. In the case of adidas, the LLC voted unanimously (the majority of the committee are faculty and staff) to cut the contract, and this was rebuffed by Wiley. This is the problem of the non-binding resolution: after the decision is vetoed, do you just let it be? Or do you seek other less-accepted channels?

Finally, I find it rather strange that you compare this to CAN. I don’t exactly see why their methods are better per se, in fact don’t you think that the opposite would be better? Do you really think that sitting in against Kohl will change our involvement in the war? It is already clear that what congress says makes no difference. So why not make better use of these tactics against a target that is more sensitive to action?

Another elitist SLAC member posting, I see.

Who is this elected leader of SLAC that you speak of? SLAC is a nonhierarchical organization.

Opinions are important so long as they aren’t ignorant (or stupid, but stupidity is a subject for another post, I’m sure), but your comment, Jason Smathers, seems to be “misguided”. You write:

“The idea of increasing university workers' wages to $10.23 was confusingly off base. Those who are actually living on minimum wage need it. Students trying to earn an extra buck for some CDs or a night with Goldschlager don't.”

You make it sound as if students have no real values or worth out side of pop-culture and alcoholism, which is disturbing and which would lead more angry me to ask, “did you write you’re article so you could make some booze money?”, but I think that that would be inappropriate.

Also, don’t assume that workers, making less than a living wage, on this campus are all students.

I would also like to avoid this prejudice from one of the anonymous posts (11:04pm) against SLAC members. I am not a member of this organization.

“…needs to be convinced that working with the system to achieve progress is something within grasp.”

The system has shown no desire to work with either SLAC or CAN. Both the administration on campus and the representatives of this state and country have claimed to stand with the groups but have failed in their actions to show they stand with them.

As far as the occupation of Kohl’s office, Madison Area Peace Coalition, Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice have been going there through the “proper” channels to get Kohl to have a meeting on the war to discuss the issue with everyone for a year. Their hard work has been ignored by the system.

Is it that much of a stretch to think that troop and base withdrawal are out of grasp. I don’t think so, but I also thought the media was supposed to question the rhetoric of the administration in their drumming up false charges for war. But what do I know I was out to sea half the time during the lead up to the Iraq War maybe they were doing their job while I was gone and slipped up only when I was on land and could access the news. Surely they would question statements like Rumsfeld who said that WMDs are “in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.”

Is demanding that our representative come back to Wisconsin for the first time in over six months to meet with constituents on the most important issue of our generation? What is so radical about this whole idea?

The voters of the country who voted Democrat did so because there was no choice for most of the country besides the same coin, Democrats on one side and Republicans on the other. If Democrats really think they were elected on a major issue besides the Iraq occupation they are kidding themselves. After taking office what have they done to get my brothers and sisters out of harms way? Stalled, delayed, waited for the Iraq Commission, said that they won’t cut-off funding, delayed some more. All the while hundreds of US military members have died for a lie and thousands of Iraqis have died. Now they are pushing a minor phased redeployment in over a year to do so and not all troops have to be removed and still Bush will not listen to the will of the people. In the meantime the oil laws of Iraq have been rewritten to allow foreign corporations to profit on the sale of Iraqi oil instead of the people of the country. Do you really think the Iraqi people want this? How exactly does the system work for us or them?

Todd Dennis USN 1997-2003 Iraq Veterans Against the War Campus Antiwar Network UW-Madison

Guess what? People who actually want to help movements join them, go to their meetings and argue for the best thing to do, or approach their memberships directly with ideas. They don’t post attacks in the campus papers from on high.

“Guess what? People who actually want to help movements join them, go to their meetings and argue for the best thing to do, or approach their memberships directly with ideas. They don’t post attacks in the campus papers from on high.”

Word, but he is too worried about his booze money since his parents pay for his education to put action where his mouth is.

Todd Dennis stop grandstanding about the Iraq war. This is about SLAC, not the war.

8:51 am… Excuse me? I don’t think the article is saying CAN’s method’s are better, just that they don’t have any power to get national attention or anything done, so they have to act like radicals. The point is that the SLAC is legitimate, they just have to drop the rhetoric.

“I understand that you’re just as uninvolved and apathetic as most students”

SLAC = elitist.

1. Antiwar guy—get your own forum.This is not about you. I care about the war and about bringing our troops home but I’m sick of it being blasted in inappropriate forums.

2. “The idea of increasing university workers' wages to $10.23 was confusingly off base. Those who are actually living on minimum wage need it. Students trying to earn an extra buck for some CDs or a night with Goldschlager don't.” I second the cry against this op-ed writer. I do need my wages to pay my rent and tuition and bills. HOWEVER, I do not deserve $10.23/hr. to work in the Rathskeller. It’s called a living wage for a reason.

HEY STUDENTS! GUESS WHAT A LIVING WAGE IS BASED OFF OF? What it costs to raise a family of 4 at 110% of the poverty line… HOW MANY OF US ARE SUPPORTING A FAMILY OF FOUR? The living wage is a ridiculous and immature attempt to bask in glory for SLAC. It was and is important to the LTEs who are actually supporting a family and whose professional careers are exactly what they are getting paid to do. We, students, however are not in that situation and should not and cannot be lumped into that category.

1. SLAC will never learn or know how to play nice.

“SLAC is not an extremist organization, nor is its leader some sort of renegade; he is an elected official”

I don’t think Ashok is the leader of SLAC, but either way, you clearly don’t know much about the group if you think he’s not a radical. Talk to him sometime. Ask him about Deomocrats. White people. Wisconsin. Jewish students.

See what he says. Write about it.

11:42 - “Also, don’t assume that workers, making less than a living wage, on this campus are all students.”

I don’t think any of the opponents of the living wage ref. assume that. What we assume is that it is ridiculous to make it mandatory that we pay ALL the employees $10.23. I don’t understand why we have to pay a student 10 bucks to swipe ID cards or dish out ice cream.

Smathers clearly has massive envy. What a sad little rant for attention.

Slave………