Thursday, December 12, 2013 | Volume 45, Issue 29
THE BADGER HERALD
Jen Small, Andy Fate, Chris Lotten and Joey Reuteman
Pneumonia plagues campus during finals With 100 cases reported in past month, UHS cautions students Marvin Gutierrez Campus Editor Andy Fate The Badger Herald Alcohol-licensed businesses can give bouncers a $10 “finder’s fee” for confiscating and turning in fake identification.
Bars incentivize taking fake IDs Jamie DeGraff Herald Contributor Legally, it is the bouncer’s job to confiscate fake IDs from underage patrons, but for some, there is an added monetary incentive to stop these faux 21-year-olds from getting into their bars. Madison Police Department Lt. David McCaw said
bouncers caught selling fake IDs in the city are often arrested and charged. However, others find legal incentives. To help discourage bouncers and bartenders from making an illegal profit on fake IDs, McCaw said some bars have put a $10 “finder’s fee” on any confiscated ID. This means bars may pay
bouncers $10 for every confiscated ID they hand in to management. “By state law, bouncers have the right to confiscate IDs, but are required to surrender them,” McCaw said. “Some bars do that, others don’t.” Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8,
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With more than 100 cases of pneumonia reported in the last month alone, the University of Wisconsin issued a warning to its students Wednesday of an outbreak ahead of finals week. University Health Services Director Sarah Van Orman said UW has seen an increase in pneumonia cases compared to past annual records. Forty-five total cases in the fall and winter season are normal, but within the last month UHS has encountered close to 100 cases, she said. UW Health officials worked with the Wisconsin State Health
Department, and lab tests confirmed mycoplasma pneumoniae as the primary bacteria causing the outbreak, Van Orman said. The Wisconsin State Health Department also confirmed that particular bacterium was the origin of the outbreak, she said. According to Van Orman, the bacterium is common on college campuses. However, the concern lies in this year’s annual rate, which has yielded twice the amount of cases compared to before, she said. Because the organism is present, there is possibility of it spreading person-toperson, Van Orman said. Pneumonia, which is a lung infection that spreads through respiratory droplets, can include symptoms of coughing, shortness of breath and fevers that can
reach temperatures of more that 100 degrees Fahrenheit. “Colleges see a lot of outbreaks because many people gather in close settings due to classes and living arrangements,” she said. However, because this form of pneumonia is common, it can be easily treated as long as it is taken care of in its beginning stages, Van Orman said. Diagnosis is determined by a physical examination that includes a chest X-Ray and listening to the lungs. If confirmed, antibiotics, lots of rest and time are normal for treatment, the UHS web page said. Students are advised to wash their hands, sneeze into the elbow zone and stay home if they are feeling sick, Van Orman said, adding students should go to UHS if they are feeling any symptoms of pneumonia.
Tuition surcharge for undergrads covers state cuts UW initiative funds student services, new faculty for fourth year in a row Maddie Makoul Herald Contributor A tuition surcharge for an undergraduate initiative allows University of Wisconsin to provide services that state and other funding cuts would have otherwise eliminated. Nancy Westphal-Johnson, senior associate dean for
undergraduate education and academic administration in the College of Letters and Science, said Madison Initiative for Undergraduates was primarily created to provide undergraduates with more access to “bottleneck” courses and to provide more faculty to teach these courses. MIU also provides financial aid, Westphal-Johnson said. Through funding from a supplemental tuition charge, MIU funds grants and financial aid. It has added $40 million annually to UW’s budget to support
undergraduate experiences, according to a UW statement. Since 2009, MIU has allocated $50.9 million in need-based grants and as of October 2013, it awarded $20.4 million in financial aid to 6,742 students, the statement said. MIU was implemented in an extremely challenging budget time and when the freshman class was larger than ever before, placing an even greater importance on this improvement in staff and classes, Westphal-Johnson said.
“With MIU, we are able to meet the course needs of students and provide them with a richer educational experience than ever before,” Westphal-Johnson said. John Coleman, professor and political science department chair, said he has seen a number of good things come to his department due to MIU, including the ability to hire more faculty and a career adviser to work with students. It also allowed changes to be made to the political science major including a new track so students can take a more
© 2013 BADGER HERALD
“quantitative approach” to their studies, he said. “[MIU] gave us flexibility to do things that would have been difficult to do otherwise…with regards to advising, it gave us a service for students that I really think we are obligated to provide but hadn’t been able to before,” Coleman said. Coleman said MIU has been mainly positive as it provides more faculty, so there can be more courses that are not as overloaded as they were prior to the installation of MIU. Westphal-Johnson said
MIU provides money for these improvements through a tuition surcharge, which increases the cost of students’ tuition, though she said MIU does its best to help those who are not be able to pay the additional amount. “Certain students are not charged the surcharge given their family’s income and some other people are eligible for financial aid from the MIU based on their financial needs,” Westphal-Johnson said.
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