At the University of Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker’s name is guaranteed to provoke strong responses. It is no secret he is not thought of fondly at UW, and a large part of that is due to the staggering budget cuts he inflicted upon this university, as well as the rest of the UW System.

$250 million cut to UW System remains as Assembly passes state budget

Walker and Wisconsin’s education do not have a good relationship, all due to the policies he chose to put into place. Now that his presidential candidacy has come to an end, Walker is making moves to restore his image in the state. More than that, he has been doing some major backpedaling and is now claiming that Wisconsin must invest more in public education.

It is certainly a bold move on his part, especially considering his past actions during his time in office, but he doesn’t stop there. In Walker’s State of the State Address, the governor boasted about the many achievements in Wisconsin’s education over the past year, as well as harping on needing “our young people to have as many excellent higher education options as possible.”

As some of his critics point out, Wisconsin has made these education achievements in spite of him, not because of him.

In the same vein of higher education, Walker is recruiting applicants for two different student representative boards. The first, the Wisconsin Technical College System Board, is seeking a student at a technical college, as the title of the board implies. The second, the UW System Board of Regents, is looking for a candidate that is a bit more specific. Walker is on the hunt for a non-traditional student, which he specifies as an undergraduate student who is “at least 24 years of age and represents the views of non-traditional students, such as those who are employed or who are parents.” Along with these stipulations, the student cannot be from UW.

This is not the first time there has been something off about the selection process for a student representative on the Board of Regents. During the election that took place in 2013, a well-qualified student applicant was selected, only to have his appointment withdrawn by Walker due to his political leanings. This withdrawal happened after the student, Josh Inglett of UW-Platteville, acknowledged he signed the petition to recall Scott Walker.

As per state law, the governor is required to appoint two students to be part of the board, which consists of a total 18 members. The purpose of having these students as a part of the board is to add student perspectives to state procedures. But, Walker is picky with the types of candidates he wants to have on this board.

No matter what a person’s inclination towards Walker is, it is certainly entertaining to watch him scuttle back and forth on the topic of education, specifically public education at the college level. All sorts of people across all of Wisconsin’s universities and departments are stinging from the budget cuts he inflicted, and yet he is now bragging about what Wisconsin students have achieved.

Walker is patching up the injuries he inflicted with Band-Aids, trying to piece together the mess he has made of the education system. It is a welcome change to see him support education, but it is doubtful as to whether or not it will be sufficient. With the unfortunate controversy surrounding the past Board of Regents appointments, as well as the current specifications for a candidate, the UW System’s student body has a very limited voice.

Hannah Fricke ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in microbiology