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THE BADGER HERALD · NEWS · FALL 2014 REGISTRATION ISSUE
COVER STORY
Library Mall boasts history of change With construction set to end in October, campus focal point looks to better cater to pedestrians, local businesses by Rachael Lallensack Digital News Editor
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With the recent upheaval of Library Mall and Bascom Hill, it has become increasingly apparent that University of Wisconsin’s campus only has two seasons: winter and construction. Shovels hit the ground this May for the renovation of Library Mall and State Street Mall and construction should be wrapped up near the end of October, Chris Petykowski, the project manager, said. Before the current project, the area in between the Wisconsin Historical Society and Memorial Library had been undergoing utilities renovation since fall of 2012. For most undergraduate students currently at the University of Wisconsin, construction in that area has become a familiar sight.
Before Construction As both the city of Madison and the UW campus have grown, Library Mall and State Street areas have transformed over time. The area, originally called “Lower Campus” when it was first introduced in 1891, was once a green space used for military drill practices, football games and baseball games in the early 1900s. It eventually turned into “Library Mall” when the Historical Society and Memorial Library were built on each side of it, Gary Brown, a Campus Planning and Landscape Architecture architect, said. Any athletic use of the area was officially eliminated in 1946, after complaints at the Wisconsin Historical Society of “loud, frequent cheering,” according to the Library Mall Cultural Landscape Inventory. Then
Memorial Library opened in 1953, completing the east edge of the area. In the 1970s, the 700 block of State Street still operated as a two-lane street. By the mid-1970s, the national movement to create pedestrian malls in downtown cities came to Madison, and State Street Mall began. Not much changed in the area until the current construction projects. The general concept of the “malls” remains the same, but two historic pieces of previous designs that are gone as of this summer are the tall-standing four-sided clock and the concrete pulpit, Petykowski said. After Construction The area under construction is a center point of many UW icons like State Street, Memorial Library, the Historical Society, the Humanities Building and Bascom Hill. It actively functions as both a “pass thru” and a
“destination,” according to the city of Madison’s final design for the project. A giant maple leaf sculpture designed by Jill Sebastian will be added to the landscape, Petykowski said. Sebastian is an artist who has been heavily involved in design work all along State Street, he added. The two blocks designated for the food carts influence the design for the area, Petykowski said, noting that the redesign will make it more convenient for the businesses to operate, as well as provide more room for long lines. Until the projects are done, the food carts remain spread out on State Street, Frances Street and East Campus Mall, he said. Petykowski said the project is essentially a rebuilding process of the sidewalks, planters and seating areas. “There are more places to sit and eat lunch, or
study or just enjoy the space,” he said. Planters with both single and double tier wall seating will be added to accommodate gathering areas or meeting places, Petykowski said. He said pedestrian level lighting will be added, as well as under lighting on benches to provide more of a “soft glow” rather then “harsh overhead light.” Other features include a drinking fountain and a pair of tower viewer coinoperated binoculars, he said. A staircase will also be added at the bottom of Bascom Hill, so students can walk straight from the end of State Street Mall up the hill, Brown said. Construction is not expected to block traffic on Park Street when school starts. However, construction on the Bascom Hill staircase should remain in progress until mid-September, Brown said.
Start of school year sees rise in assaults Uptick in reports of sexual crime by stranger perpetrators near campus atypical, prompts concern in community by Rachael Lallensack Digital News Editor
Three sexual assaults committed by strangers were reported in the same week only days after students began returning to their new apartments to start a new year in Madison. University of Wisconsin Police Department spokesperson Marc Lovicott said they do typically see an increase in crimes during the beginning of the school year, mainly sexual assaults and robberies. Lovicott said a few reasons why crime rates are up at the beginning of the school year is because new students are learning to live on their own in a new city and starting to experiment with alcohol. “Oftentimes, we see smart decision-making decline as folks drink, and as intoxication levels rise,
that also sets someone up as an easier target for a crime,” he said. West Mifflin Street – Aug. 18 A stranger sexually assaulted a 21-year-old woman while she slept in her own home, a police report said. It was unclear whether a backdoor was unlocked at the home after a party in the residence, according to the report. The Madison Police Department released a sketch of the suspect. Fahrenbrook Court – Aug. 20 A 21-year-old woman was sexually assaulted after she was followed by a stranger down Park Street and pulled into a parking lot at Fahrenbrook Court, police reports said. Marcus T. Boone, 27, was arrested and tentatively charged with first degree sexual assault, the report said. Detectives said the victim
reported the incident right away and provided a thorough description of the suspect, allowing officers to immediately start reviewing surveillance footage and identify a person of interest. 21 N. Park St. – Aug. 22 A stranger sexually assaulted a 21-year-old woman in an alleyway near 21 N. Park St. while she walked home from State Street after going out with friends, a police report said. The suspect is described as a white male in his early 20s, approximately 5-foot-11 to 6-foot-2, with a muscular build, brown spiked hair and facial stubble. These incidents raise concern in the campus community, but it is important to remember that an estimated 60 to 90 percent of sexual assaults go unreported, Kelly Anderson, executive director for the Dane
County Rape Crisis Center, said. That being said, it is atypical to see three consecutive cases where the perpetrator is a stranger, as about 80 to 85 percent of perpetrators target people they know, Anderson said. “So many of these messages are focused on what women and girls ‘should’ do to avoid rape,” Anderson said. “The bottom line is, what should we as a culture be doing to make rape much less common. We talk about this as if somehow women and girls should avoid being raped without ever having the conversation about who’s doing this.” Anderson said for students who are new to UW, it is important to be familiar to the perceived threats in a new environment, but prevention and protection should not stop there.
Anderson’s advice on what to do if an assault occurs: 1) Contact the rape crisis center ’s 24/7 crisis line at 608-251-RAPE. 2) Contact the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner or SANE program at Meriter Hospital to have forensic evidence collected. 3) Know where the Rape Crisis Center is at 333 E. Campus Mall, room #7901. Madison Police Department spokesperson Joel DeSpain’s advice: 1) Have a plan when you go out. Know who you are going with and how you are getting home. Stay with your friends. Don’t allow them to walk home alone. 2) Travel in welltravelled, well-lit areas and be attentive. Maintain situational awareness. 3) Enjoy yourselves, but stay safe and know your limits when drinking.
Walker, Burke to focus in on higher ed by Brenda McIntire Digital State Editor
With the most recent Marquette Law School poll showing the gubernatorial race in a dead heat, the two candidates’ views toward higher education will likely influence student voters. Both Gov. Scott Walker and Democrat Mary Burke, the former Trek Bicycle executive, have made curbing student debt a priority, each taking a slightly different focus. Over the past two years, Walker has focused on keeping tuition costs low and has frozen tuition, which he plans to renew if reelected. Walker spokesperson Alleigh Marré said Walker has also helped make college more affordable by indexing tuition tax deductions to help more Wisconsinites. “In Wisconsin, we’re not just talking about making higher education more affordable, we’re doing it,” Marré said in an e-mail. “Gov. Walker enacted the first back-to-back tuition freeze in the history of the University of Wisconsin System, indexed the tuition
tax deduction so more families can benefit, and increased higher education aids to the highest level in state history so more students regardless of income can earn a degree.” In comparison, Burke’s approach has focused more on increasing financial aid to students. According to her jobs plan, Burke would make tuition more tax deductible to help middle class families. In Burke’s “Invest for Success” plan would allow students to refinance their loans similar to mortgage refinancing as long as they
remain in Wisconsin after graduation, according to a statement. “In her plan, Burke calls for a first-of-its-kind authority allowing refinancing of student loans without using state tax dollars to refinance the loans,” Burke spokesperson Stephanie Wilson said in a statement. “This would help qualifying current borrowers refinance their student loans — just like homeowners can refinance their mortgages — so long as they stay in Wisconsin.” Both Walker’s and Burke’s
The Badger Herald file photos methods for lowering higher education costs will benefit students, said Nicholas Hillman, a University of Wisconsin assistant professor in educational leadership and policy. He said while financial aid targets students with greater financial need, freezing tuition standardizes payment so those who can afford higher costs still pay less. Financial aid has also been shown to increase the probability of a student’s
enrollment in a particular school, he said. “Keeping tuition low will help students, but targeting to them directly will help them even more,” Hillman said. Charlie Hoffman, the UW College Republicans president, called Burke’s “Invest for Success” plan impractical and costly. Hoffman said he was skeptical the plan would be feasible, saying there is nothing for banks to leverage to enforce the plan. “She’d like to make student loans like a mortgage or car payment, [but] when you take out a mortgage you have your house to leverage, with a student loan you don’t really have that,” Hoffmann said. “The bank can’t take away your education.” Both candidates, however, share similarities in some aspects of higher education policy. Both agree on making it easier for students to transfer credits among colleges within Wisconsin and on providing incentives for students to attend technical colleges after high school. Burke and Walker will face off in the Nov. 4 general election.