THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE CE 1 1969 UW market launches Produce stands open at Union South Thursdays
NEWS 4 Photo credit: Patrick Kuhl
Monday, September 9, 2013 | Volume 45, Issue 3
MONDAY
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Looking for ways to procrastinate? Check out COMICS 6 to get your puzzle fix and hearty laughs out before lecture.
Heart of a champion, man of iron.
Andy Fate The Badger Herald
As the annual Ironman triatholon made its way through Madison, this participant swam 2.4 miles, biked 112 miles and ran 26.2 miles to gain his status as an Ironman finisher.
Regents debate excess revenue levels Madeleine Behr State Editor Discussion turned to deliberation over acceptable percentages of allowable reserve funds Friday morning at the monthly meeting for University of Wisconsin System officials. Although expected to approve a plan to ensure financial transparency after information of reserve funds became public this spring, the UW System Board of
Regents did not approve the proposed plan, but decided to continue the discussion at their October meeting. After passing a resolution to deplete the system-wide reserve fund from $152 million to $36 million to cover one-time costs, such as the UW Flexible Option program and others, the board debated the percentage of unrestricted funds that could be held by each institution, proposed at 10 and 15 percent. Of the eight funding
categories described in the proposal, the four categories encompassing unrestricted funds include tuition, auxiliary operations, general operations and other unrestricted program revenue. The percentages serve as thresholds for what amount of reserve funds can be held to ensure the financial health of each institution, David Miller, senior vice president of the UW System, said. The proposal would set
a minimum percentage of reserve funds at a 10 percent minimum cash carryover requirement, adding that funds accumulated more than 15 percent of their unrestricted funds as a cash carryover will have to be justified by each institution’s officials to the board. All requests to keep funds above 15 percent would also include a timeline for the use of additional unrestricted funds, according to the proposal.
“If we thought the 15 percent was a cap, we would say this is unacceptable,” UWMadison Chancellor Rebecca Blank said of the proposed percentages. “What I want to make clear is that we are almost surely coming back to you with those justifications and hope you take them seriously for business related reasons.” Miller said allowing each institution to come forward and explain the purpose and timeline of using the funds
above 15 percent will lead to a more transparent and public understanding and discussion of fund usage. Many regents expressed their fears about the proposed percentages, saying 15 percent is too low to ensure financial health of each campus. Regent David Walsh said he was impressed a number could be decided so quickly, but a 15 percent guideline
REGENTS, page 2
Soglin to negotiate labor wages Sarah Link City Editor In preparation for the October introduction of Madison’s operating budget, Mayor Paul Soglin looks to reopen negotiations with local labor unions in an effort to tighten a budgetary gap. Such negotiations, however, could result in cuts to public workers’ salaries, Ald. David Ahrens, District 15, said. The 2014 operating budget, which will be introduced to Madison’s City Council on Oct.
Andy Fate The Badger Herald As of Aug. 27, 25 underage alcohol citations have been issued in Madison.
Extreme alcohol levels reported Start of year sees spike in underage citations despite new UW drinking education program Lindsey Gapen Herald Contributor As of Aug. 27, 25 underage citations have been issued and 10 students have been sent to detox or a nearby hospital, Marc Lovicott, University of Wisconsin Police Department spokesperson said. Increased alcohol-related citations are typical to this time of year, with the influx of students on campus and in the city, Lovicott said. “These numbers may be a tad higher than average, but we’re used to seeing large numbers at the beginning of the year since students are just coming back to school and
many aren’t used to a college setting,” Lovicott said. However, despite finding normalcy in the number of incidents, the severity of the altercations have been considerably more severe, Lovicott said. The extremely high amounts of alcohol consumed in some of the cases were both alarming and unusual, he said. Officers have handled two cases in particular that could have ended fatally, both involving 19-year-old female students, a UWPD statement said. One student was recorded to have a BAC level of .33 and
ALCOHOL, page 4
1, manages how the departments operate and maintain city employment, specifically involving such items as salary increases and health insurance. In a statement earlier this summer, Soglin said funding for local revenue sharing, transportation and payment for police and fire protection services will fall flat in 2014, despite the state government’s projection of a $1 billion surplus. “… the Finance Department projects a difficult gap between revenues
and expenditures, particularly if we wish to address neighborhood development issues, poverty, the digital divide and food policy,” Soglin said in the statement. Several years ago, City Council signed labor agreements approving a 3 percent increase in union wages, Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said. However, with these negotiations, Soglin looks to raise union wages by only 1 percent in order to adjust to the limitations on revenue growth put in place by the state, Resnick said.
Ahrens said the mayor is considering these steps because of a gap in the budget that makes such cuts necessary. “I think what the mayor is trying to do is to reduce the level of the pay increase because of the $4 million shortfall,” Ahrens said. Ahrens said the salaries of workers in all agencies of city employment would potentially be affected by this, including workers in the parks department, fire department and city
SOGLIN, page 2
Ironman races through city Diverse group of 3,000 participants takes on grueling annual triathalon Aliya Iftikhar Campus Editor Daniel Bretscher planned to dig into the best cheeseburger in town to celebrate his second place finish at Madison’s Ironman race on Sunday. Bretscher has been professionally racing triathlons for six years and completed the race in eight hours and 46 minutes, six minutes behind first place finisher Maik Twelsiek of Arizona. Throughout Sunday, around 3,000 runners could be seen swimming, biking and running a total of 140.6 miles around Madison during the Ironman triathlon. Some dumped the water meant for drinking on their heads as they ran past, others stopped for bathroom breaks and at
least one stuffed a bag of cheese puffs in his running vest. Participants came from a wide variety of backgrounds and represented 49 states and a variety of nationalities, Ben Rausa, a staff member at the Ironman event said. They included professionals, amateurs, disabled and cancer survivors, he said. “You can’t stereotype an athlete here, you’ll see people from all walks of life, age, shape and size,” Rausa said. The race began at 7 a.m. and participants had two hours and 20 minutes to complete the swim course, had to complete the bike course within 10 hours and 30 minutes after the offi cial start time and the run course 17 hours after the official start time, the Ironman website said.
© 2013 BADGER HERALD
For many, participating in the Ironman is a lifelong accomplishment and a dream come true, Rausa said. The participants generally train for the event for at least a year, he said. This Ironman was Bretscher’s sixth and he was just happy to get through it. “It’s a relief to get to the finish line and have a good result,” Bretscher said. For Blake Becker, a Madison native and current resident, Sunday marked his 28th Ironman and he finished in sixth place. “This race got me into the sport, it’s a race that I really want to win someday so every year I come back trying to win,” he said. Dispersed along the Ironman route were about 3,500
volunteers and even more supporters, Bekah Stauffacher, an Ironman volunteer said. Some helped the medical team, handed out water and snacks and others simply cheered to keep up participant morale. Glenn Bohannon, a staff member at the Ironman event, has competed in four Ironman races previously and enjoys working on the other side. “It’s rewarding to me because I can see what goes on behind the scenes, a lot of people come here and don’t know all of the stuff we have to do and how long it takes us to set it up,” Bohannon said. The race route took four days to set up and will take one day
IRON MAN, page 2