Madison Police out of control
Last weekend my brother and his friends from the University of Iowa came to Madison for the football game. During the second quarter, a police officer stopped next to my brother and told him and his friend that they were standing too close to the aisle. So, they moved over a few seats. Next, she demanded to see their tickets. She looked at them and determined that the two of them were not sitting in their assigned seats and she radioed for “back up.” She escorted the two of them out of the student section, demanded to see their IDs, confiscated their tickets and kicked them out of the stadium. She said the police were instructed to remove anybody from the stadium who was not sitting in their assigned seats. My brother and his friend were sitting about four seats away from their assigned seat and anyone who has ever sat in the student section knows that nobody sits in their exact seat.
My brother and his friend drove three hours from Iowa to see the game and missed over half the game for not doing anything wrong. Have we reached a point in Madison where the police can do whatever they want, whenever they want, to whomever they want? Is this how the city wants to welcome people from out of town who come to visit Madison? The police are here to serve and protect the people of Madison, not to harass them and treat them unfairly.
Kevin Neal
UW senior
Tommy Thompson has certainly been patting himself on the back for his “toughness” in negotiating a discounted price for the Anthrax drug Cipro from Bayer, the drug’s monopoly manufacturer. During the negotiations, Thompson was quoted as saying, “We’re not going to pay them the price they’re asking” and “I’ve given them my final offer.” Thompson also said, “I can assure you, taxpayers will get a very good deal from my negotiations with Bayer.” After signing the deal with Bayer, Thompson was quoted as saying, “I am a tough negotiator.”
So how tough a negotiator is Thompson? According to a story in Sunday’s New York Times, “the cut in price for Cipro would reduce Bayer’s profit margin on the drug to 65 percent from 95 percent.” Good job, Tommy!
Stephen Burns
Madison, Wis.
I would like to take this time to shine some light on a situation that a number of ill-informed students feel compelled to comment on: the Multicultural Student Coalition budget.
To those who have done so, I have one question for you: “Where were you when there were four meetings that lasted well past 1 a.m.?” I bring these meetings up because this is where all the questions you may have were answered.
Matt Baumgardner brought up a question in the Nov. 1 Badger Herald that I have a simple answer to. He questioned whether Tshaka Barrows could be trusted with handling “any large amount of money.”
Barrows is not the ultimate decision-maker in MCSC. I, (being the vice-chair) and the staff all have a say in what we, as a coalition, do. Unfortunately for Baumgardner and other concerned bodies, Barrows won’t be here for you to question his ability; he will be graduating in December. I will be responsible for these matters beginning spring semester, so if you have any questions direct them to me. Another concern was brought out in a letter by A.J. Hughes. Hughes states that Barrows seems to be “picking and choosing his enemies,” but he seems to be doing so as well. If Hughes wants to sit and write about an individual, maybe he should try to do so without showing his own ignorance in the matter at hand.
Theresa Vidaurri