As a new semester begins, it is time for chalk to cover the sidewalks, quarter sheets to fill the classrooms and the familiar sounds of protests and rallies to echo across Library Mall. As students return to campus, various campaigns will be swinging into gear, and as always, the College Democrats will be on the front lines fighting to keep our Democratic values on campus and to continue to occupy the governor's office down the street.
Last week, Gov. Jim Doyle highlighted the key components of the Democratic agenda in his State of the State address. This agenda is not as radical or divisive as encouraging people to carry hidden guns on State Street or preventing students from obtaining birth control from UHS, but rather provides direct relief and practical assistance to all. It is an agenda that is centered around providing opportunity for every Wisconsinite, focusing on programs for people who need them most and ensuring that no one is left behind.
One of the highlights of Gov. Doyle's progressive agenda is the Wisconsin Covenant, which aims to make college more affordable. In the words of Gov. Doyle, "as long as the student holds up his or her end of the bargain," by maintaining a B average throughout their high school career, "every family that qualifies for financial aid will get a package that fully covers their tuition." The beauty of this plan is that regardless of a family's financial situation, if a student works hard, the state will guarantee their ability to attend college.
In addition to the Wisconsin Covenant, over the last three years Gov. Doyle has established a record of ensuring the strength of public universities and colleges. He was able to double financial aid for UW students by vetoing hundreds of millions of dollars that Republicans tried to slash from public education in last year's budget. At the same time he has also requested hundreds of millions of dollars to turn UW-Madison into the stem-cell capital of the world, not simply in the name of education and science, but for the cause of our common humanity as well. The governor has protected our right to vote by vetoing the Republican Voter ID Bill, which he knows would disenfranchise the vast majority of UW students. This disenfranchisement would occur since students who move around every year are unable to change the address on their licenses, which under the bill would make such IDs an ineligible form of identification at the polls. Furthermore, he has continued to uphold our right to privacy by vetoing Republican attempts to ban the administration of birth control on campus and believes that no politician has the right to decide what a woman should do with her body.
Democrats believe that this right to privacy also extends to the relationships between couples committed to spending their lives together. We do not support hateful constitutional amendments aimed at preventing someone from receiving the same rights as anyone else. Our state constitution should not be used as a political pawn to enforce an anti-gay agenda that denies gay families the same basic rights that others take for granted by outlawing civil unions. This goes against the very core beliefs of a nation built on the idea of equality.
It is these fundamental rights and goals that are at stake in the 2006 election and when weighing such issues students should remember that without the tens of thousands of votes on this campus, Wisconsin would have turned red in the last two presidential elections. Yet again, this fall, the state will see another close election in which the College Democrats will continue to work to educate, register and mobilize students to ensure that Wisconsin continues to take the high road by enacting policy that gives every resident of this state the tools to prosper. Join us this semester as we begin our effort to fight for these values.
Brian Shactman is a junior majoring in political science and the chair of the College Democrats of Madison. Their spring kickoff meeting is tonight at 6:30 in 1121 Humanities.
