Indeed, the case of UW law professor Leonard Kaplan will likely be what is remembered most about this past semester. To recap, Mr. Kaplan came under fire for allegedly making racist remarks about Hmong culture in his Feb. 15 legal process lecture. Mr. Kaplan contended the statements attributed to him were both misquoted and taken out of context. That shouldn't surprise anyone, really, considering KaShia Moua, the law student who first circulated the salacious material, wasn't even in class that day and heard the comments secondhand.
But, hey, mistakes happen, and on March 7, we suggested Ms. Moua publicly apologize for the damage she had done to her professor's good name. Although the apology never came, we were fairly optimistic Ms. Moua and the Law School learned valuable lessons about checking facts, jumping to conclusions, and at least considering the worthwhile principles behind academic freedom and freedom of speech whenever charges of racism arise.
It appears, though, that we could not have been more wrong. On May 18, the Law School plans to present Ms. Moua with the Barbara B. Crabb Award for "promoting the ideals of honesty, fairness and equality."
Once we picked our jaws up off the floor, we decided the best possible response would be to give out a few end-of-semester awards of our own: the first annual Badger Herald Editorial Board Headliner Awards.
The Hung Out to Dry Award: UW Law School
Deserving even more blame than Ms. Moua, perhaps, is the institution that has both encouraged and enabled her wantonly throwing around the "racist" accusation in the notorious style of 17th-century Salem, Mass. Indeed, Law School Dean Ken Davis and anyone else involved in presenting Ms. Moua with this honor deserve some blame. We fail to see how anything she's done throughout this whole affair has been award-worthy by any reasonable standard.
What's more, aside from the Committee for Academic Freedom and Rights and The Badger Herald, this campus has been eerily silent about the ramifications this case has on academic freedom. Especially in the Law School, incidents such as these should not be allowed to foster a chilling effect on candid discussions of race and cultural differences.
The Messy High Chair Award: The Associated Students of Madison
Is there a better metaphor for ASM's infantile squabbling with the university than a high chair covered in baby food?
A year after "Daddy" Chancellor John Wiley gave them a one-year exemption on providing funding for student organizations' off-campus rent, ASM is making a mess of the kitchen once again. State law prohibits the university from paying for off-campus rent, and as Mr. Wiley has pointed out before, he only bothers to disagree with ASM when they are actually breaking the law.
Why ASM is so intent on adding more choo-choo power to the segregated fee gravy train and picking up more rent checks is one of this campus' great mysteries. In an era where tuition will increase for the seventh consecutive year this summer, it is simply mind-boggling that our student government representatives would throw temper tantrum after temper tantrum only to ensure more fiscal irresponsibility.
The Right Hand Not Knowing What the Left Hand is Doing Award: UW Admissions Department
Thomas Reason, UW's associate director of admissions, was probably a little more honest than his employers would like him to be when he spoke with a Badger Herald reporter in late March. In an otherwise mundane news article on the consideration of legacy in the college admissions process, Mr. Reason referred to a student's familial history at UW as a "tiebreaker for two otherwise identical applicants."
While we are strictly opposed to the consideration of any factor determined exclusively by the circumstances of an applicant's birth — that includes legacy, race and sex — Mr. Reason's comment seemed innocent enough. But what is striking is the candor with which a UW official acknowledges legacy as a factor, while Mr. Wiley continually performs a song-and-dance routine about how race has never actually been used as a tiebreaker. Somehow, though, using race as a factor in admissions was important enough for Mr. Wiley to spend a great deal of time over winter break and in the early part of the semester campaigning for UW-Madison's "holistic" admissions procedure to be extended to all UW System campuses.
"There has never, ever been a student admitted because of the color of their skin," Wiley said before a state legislative committee Jan. 11, according to The Associated Press. "It's not the case where some student lost a seat to a lesser qualified applicant of any race."
A decent case can be made in favor of race-based affirmative action, and we wholeheartedly endorse the same goals that such policies strive for. But if you're going to support it, don't use complex statistics to obscure the truth: If it's a factor at all, it will give some students an advantage based on what should be non-factors in the admissions process.
Congratulations to all the winners. If you're one of the lucky recipients, we invite you to stop by our office at 326 W. Gorham St. to pick up your certificate.
The Badger Herald Editorial Board is composed of one raging libertarian, one Sandra Day-esque grinning centrist, one hand-waving Red Sox fan, one Mayor Dave-bashing uber-liberal, one curly-haired Irish ex-Catholic and one editor in chief who can’t sit in a room for more than 10 minutes without taking a bathroom break. The girls learned quickly to check their "feelings" at the door and prepare for a session of Gingrich-era gridlock on any number of issues. Tears were shed, eyes were rolled and the divine right of Mr. King was poo-pooed by all — but we still couldn't agree on campaign finance reform (er, restrictions) or the best way to distribute basketball season tickets. It's been a long semester of private conversations across the table, passing notes and conforming to assigned seating. Overall, though, we've enjoyed every minute of it — even the one hour we spent stifling laughs and getting lectured on multiple dimensions from mayoral candidate Will Sandstrom. Good luck on finals, have a great summer and watch out for the night wallet burglar.