Participation: It was once considered to be the mere act of showing up and handing in your homework on time. But lost are the days of middle school. Along with milk breaks, recess and rewards of candy for doing good deeds, passively-earned participation points became a thing of the past… Read more »

Tweets, statuses and likes — these commonly used words allude to the culture of social media. However, these often-inane actions can sometimes have hefty consequences if not carefully monitored. In response, state legislators are pursuing reform that would ban landlords, universities and employers from forcing prospective tenants, students and employees… Read more »

Marijuana — the very mention of the word conjures up the images of cultural icons like Cheech and Chong, Harold and Kumar and, of course, anyone and anything having to do with the 1960s. With the recent legalization of marijuana in Washington and Colorado, it is easy to see marijuana… Read more »

Pedal pubs are a new drinking concept that are beginning to gain popularity throughout the United States. For those of you who don’t know, a pedal pub is shaped like a trolley and requires the riders to pedal in order to move the quadricycle. The pedal pub then has a… Read more »

Today is the election between incumbent Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Patience Roggensack and challenger Marquette Law School professor Ed Fallone. Before I get into an analysis of the candidates, I have to make sure everybody knows that polls are open until 8 p.m. today and that you can find your… Read more »

Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, has written legislation that would ban citizens from carrying concealed weapons in the Capitol. The legislation is aimed at changing part of the concealed carry legislation signed into law by Gov. Scott Walker in July 2011. It is simple — guns should not be allowed in… Read more »

Gov. Scott Walker has begun his transition back into re-election mode by stepping away from his 2010 campaign promise to help the state create 250,000 jobs during his first term. The 250,000 jobs promise was the biggest campaign promise Walker made, and it will be the standard he is held… Read more »

This past week, the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate passed a controversial bill which would drastically change Wisconsin’s iron mining regulations. An identical bill will be picked up in the state’s Republican-controlled Assembly this week and will mostly likely pass there as well. Republican lawmakers authored the bill to hasten the process… Read more »

In his budget address last week, Gov. Scott Walker cited plans to end residency requirements throughout the state of Wisconsin. While only taking up a paragraph of the 600-page document, the prospect of ending residency requirements has been one of the most controversial parts of Walker’s budget plans. Residency… Read more »

Today is the Wisconsin Supreme Court primary election. Sadly, few, if any, will take the time to participate in this all-too-often nuanced election, which will narrow the field from three candidates to the two who will face off in the April 2 general election. However, I feel it is my… Read more »

In the wake of the Newtown, Conn. shooting, gun control has taken center stage in both state and national politics. In tonight’s State of the Union address, President Barack Obama must capitalize on his momentum to further the gun control debate. The attention gun control is currently receiving will not last… Read more »

Under pressure from opponents of his gun control agenda, President Barack Obama recently released a photo of himself skeet shooting at Camp David to prove his assertion in an interview with The New Republic that he goes “skeet shooting all the time.”  The sincere controversy over this skeet shooting photo… Read more »

Shortly before his State of the State address, Gov. Scott Walker released a report detailing the findings of a review board he commissioned, which consisted of lawmakers and small-business owners. As a result of the board’s recommendations, Walker has urged state lawmakers to consider a major overhaul of the rules and… Read more »

Incoming Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald is hoping to change the way in which the members of the Government Accountability Board are chosen. GAB is in charge with overseeing Wisconsin’s elections, specifically in the areas of campaign finance, elections, ethics and lobbying laws. Currently, the GAB members are six former… Read more »

It has been less than a month since the 2012 presidential election, and already, the Republican Party is coming up with a plethora of excuses to explain their predicted and well pronounced loss. In the week following the election, former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney made his now famous ‘gifts’ comment… Read more »

Last week Tuesday, the state of Wisconsin once again stepped into the spotlight by electing Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, to be the first openly gay Senator in United States history. With this historic election, it is time for Wisconsin to legalize gay marriage. Baldwin will soon hold one of the… Read more »

Your choice for Wisconsin’s next senator is just as important as your choice for president, and as students, sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters, we have a clear choice of who that should be. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, is the only candidate who has a decisive plan for making higher… Read more »

Within the past three months Wisconsin has been the site of two major mass shootings, which have resulted in the deaths of 11 people, including the shooters themselves. In response to these shootings, two Democratic state legislators intend to reintroduce a bill that would place stricter laws on gun control.… Read more »

On Sept. 30, 2012 the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, also known as the Farm Bill, was left to expire under the indecisive eyes of Congress. As the son of dairy farmers, I consider this action an insult to the agriculturists who work tirelessly 24 hours a day, seven… Read more »

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals filed a complaint over University of Wisconsin animal research, which they believe violates the Animal Welfare Act. The allegations specifically cited veterinary care without adequate anesthesia, which allegedly caused significant suffering to a cat creatively nicknamed “Double Trouble.”The PETA complaint against UW was… Read more »

Tonight millions of Americans will tune in to a televised vice presidential debate, and it is important that we take the time to look at Wisconsin’s addition to this much anticipated event. When Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, was nominated to be former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s running mate, many people… Read more »

From the repeal of collective bargaining to the recall elections to voter ID, in the past year Wisconsin has been a battleground state. Considering that our campus and our Capitol are at the epicenter of these debates, one would think that the President of the United States would have mentioned… Read more »

Gov. Scott Walker’s collective bargaining law was struck down late on the night of Friday, Sept. 14. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has yet to rule on the constitutionality of the law, but already a firestorm of debate and controversy has taken place. The most recent action in the unending battle between… Read more »

Madison is one of America’s greatest biking cities. As such, bikers should have adequate access to safe navigation throughout the city. In this spirit of safe navigation, the Madison Police Department has recently begun a bicycle ambassador program. The Madison Police Department’s programs aim to ease relations between motorists, pedestrians… Read more »

In this week’s arts section of The Badger Herald, I came across an article that claimed, in spite of concrete evidence, that organic food was somehow beneficial to one’s health. Now, for those of you who buy organic food for its unique taste, I have no problem with your logic… Read more »

The campaign for the soon-to-be empty seat of Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., is in full swing, and as many of us now know, Wisconsin’s next senator will be either Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., or former governor Tommy Thompson. Already there is a non-issue being brought to the forefront of voters’… Read more »

In May 2011, Gov. Scott Walker signed into effect the controversial voter ID law, which would require voters to show any of several types of state issued IDs in order to participate in elections. Supporters of voter ID claim some form of identification should be required in order to better… Read more »

Recently, President Barack Obama has granted the state of Wisconsin a waiver to be exempt from many of the provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, as reported by the Sheboygan Press. The No Child Left Behind Act has been at the forefront of criticism for several… Read more »

Once again the petitions are being signed for another recall election to take place. This recall, however, is the first to take place that is not in response to the events that took place here in Wisconsin back in February 2011. State Sen. Bob Jauch, a Democratic senator from Poplar,… Read more »

The Equal Pay Enforcement Act became law in Wisconsin in July 2009 and was written much in response to the Supreme Court decision of Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. In this court case, Lilly Ledbetter, a Goodyear employee, was being paid less than her male coworkers and decided to… Read more »