The Badger Herald Editorial Board deemed the following stories important to watch throughout the semester.
Soglin vs. homeless gets benched
Mayor Paul Soglin’s “not-in-my-backyard” approach to Madison-area homelessness narrowed this summer with the addition of the clause “and for damn sure not on my benches.”
Strained mayor-homeless relations characterized this spring and summer. Citing concerns about Madison’s drifter problem, Soglin has sought to make State Street and the Capital Square a public park in order to “greater control” behavior. Then Soglin vetoed a unanimous City Council proposal to make homelessness a protected class, to the chagrin of many homeless rights advocates.
It was Soglin’s bench ordinance announcement in July that kickstarted a debate which will likely persist through the end of fall. The mayor’s proposal would impose a time limit on public bench usage downtown, including State Street. The ordinance limits public bench time to one hour, and prohibits people from sleeping in many downtown areas, including the City County Building.
The City Council first took up the ordinance at the beginning of August, marking the start of the proposal’s slow progress through various committees. Due to its contentious nature, it remains to be seen whether this ordinance will get the support it needs to be enacted — and what the city’s homeless will do if it does.
Gov. Walker’s record with women inconsistent with pro-life values
Fueled by the release of secretly recorded videos that accuse Planned Parenthood of selling fetal body parts, Gov. Scott Walker has made defunding the organization a campaign platform. More recently, he has backed legislation to block federal funding from the state’s branch.
He repeats a hipster-esque plug essentially claiming he defunded Planned Parenthood before it was cool, citing the $1 million in funding directed away from the organization in his 2011-13 budget, which resulted in five clinics closing.
“We defunded Planned Parenthood long before these videos came out,” Walker said at the GOP debate in August.
Earlier this summer, Walker signed a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks with no exceptions for rape or incest. Though Walker signed a condition allowing abortion in cases in which the mother’s health is at risk, he’s spoken against it and argued at the GOP debate that there are “alternatives.”
The video releases were highly doctored and the reality remains that abortion is only 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services. The majority of the organization’s services go to sexual and reproductive health care and sex education. Walker’s strong “pro-life” record doesn’t carry over when it comes to women’s lives.
Affordable housing shortage prices people out of Madison
In early August, the House-Choice Voucher for affordable housing in Madison was opened to the public for the first time since 2007. After an overwhelming response, the Dane County Housing Authority closed the application within five hours, saying it didn’t believe it could serve more than 2,000 applicants within two years.
In 2013, Madison had an abnormally low rental vacancy rate, with less than 2 percent of facilities available for rent in the first quarter. Wisconsin’s average that year was more than 6 percent. Today, the low amount of available units is met with luxurious high rises that are out of most residents’ budgets. According to the Affordable Housing Market Report, half of renters in Madison pay more than 30 percent of their income in rent, which is considered unaffordable.
These are grave statistics if we want Madison to become a top choice for young professionals and families. Higher rent will price people out of the city, and to promote further growth in Madison, affordable housing is a necessity.
Going Greek or going back in time
Langdon Street is point blank a 1950s-era segregated district of campus. Greek tradition is hyper-exclusive on the basis of socioeconomic status, race and gender, not to mention the “traditions” embedded in Greek culture are frequently dangerous.
A viral University of Alabama Alpha Phi recruitment video drew attention due to its lack of diversity, and raised questions about what “values-based recruitment” really means.
Watching blonde after blonde do hair flips and throw glitter in the air was basically like walking down the Barbie aisle at Target — think the scene in Toy Story 2 at Al’s Toy Barn.
The video features ladies living in the lap of luxury, dressed to the nines. But high and mandatory costs to live in official Greek houses bar low-income students from joining.
Date parties and formals reinforce heteronormativity as sororities pair with fraternities to rage all night. This creates barriers for the LGBTQ community and negates decades of work toward gender equality. Furthermore, incidences of rape and sexual assault occur far too often.
In spring, The Badger Herald uncovered dangerous hazing rituals at UW’s Chi Phi fraternity chapter. University officials said the frat’s actions caused “serious physical, psychological and emotional injuries,” and Chi Phi was stripped of its official university organization status. Reports from the investigation make it clear that hazing remains deeply embedded in Greek life.
Going Greek is more like going back in time.
UW-state relationship status remains questionable
After a biennial budget season marked by a UW-state fist fight, UW emerged battered, bruised and divided.
Walker nixed tenure and shared governance from the state budget, which was the final hit in nearly a seven-month battle over Wisconsin’s public higher education system. It raised questions about the state government’s role in university policies and has further strained relations between the Capitol and Bascom Hall.
Removing tenure from state statute broadens the grounds on which tenured faculty can be fired, while simultaneously giving the Board of Regents responsibility to create its own tenure policy. The exact nature of the final tenure policy the Board will present for a vote next April remains unclear, leaving educators fearful for the future of UW education and research.
While shared governance was also removed from state statute, the Student Services Finance Committee still has the ability to allocate student segregated fees. The degree of autonomy UW’s student government will retain is still in question.
Controversial tenure provisions become reality as Gov. Walker signs budget
The showdown also exposed divisions on campus. Members of faculty and staff have criticized Chancellor Rebecca Blank’s efforts to protect the interests of tenured professors. Some said Blank was too slow to organize resistance to the proposed changes to tenure and shared governance.
The consequences of this drawn-out confrontation has yet to be fully realized. All that’s left in the interim is general uncertainty and a feeling of UW bitterness towards the state.
Walker heads to the big leagues
Unless you’ve been living under a media-resistant rock, you’re aware the 2016 presidential race has begun. You’ll find a familiar face in the crowded Republican roster as Wisconsin’s very own Walker packed his famous brown bag lunch and headed to the big leagues. Yep, Walker is looking to take his conservative policies, love of ham and receding hairline to the White House.
After launching his long-anticipated campaign in mid-July, Walker has split time between Wisconsin and the national stage. Walker is not required to resign the governorship unless he ultimately is the nominee. As it currently stands, our state is basically dealing with a part-time governor until primary voters send him home or tap him in for the general election.
Walker promises to fight for the American Dream in presidential campaign launch
While he has been highly ranked in early polls, it appears we’re in for a bloodbath of a primary season. With more than a dozen candidates fighting for the nomination, it’s hard to foresee what will happen to Walker (and Wisconsin) over the next few months.
One thing’s for sure, current Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch would get one hell of a promotion should Walker secure the nomination.
