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Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Students debate future of Ethnic Studies requirement By Tamar Myers the daily cardinal
More than 80 students and faculty met in Varsity Hall Monday to discuss revamping the university’s ethnic studies requirement. The Ethnic Studies Roundtable event, organized by the Associated Students of Madison Diversity Committee and the Wisconsin Union Directorate Society and Politics branch, featured a presentation on the history of the requirement, spoken word performances, and discussions led by members of the committee. ASM Diversity Committee member Beth Huang gave a presentation on the history of the ethnic studies requirement, a mandated class of at least three credits that students must fulfill in order to graduate, which began in fall 1989 in response to incidents targeting people of color and what many saw as a “Eurocentric” curriculum at the university. During the feedback session many participants discussed the
need for classes to be more than simply a requirement to check off a list. They cited many recent events as examples of why efforts to increase understanding of diversity are needed, such as racial slurs a participant had seen written on a campus building. “There’s still acts of hate and crime all over campus,” senior Mary Bechtol said. Participants also discussed the need for more topics than race to be covered by the classes, such as issues of sexual orientation and gender. However, Ad-Hoc Diversity Plan Committee Co-Chair Michael Jackson said he believed the university should end the requirement completely and instead promote “a diverse and inclusive environment” through workshops teaching students to be leaders and how to work with students of different backgrounds. “While ethnic studies was a good idea, I’m not sure its been
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Shoaib Altaf/cardinal file photo
Gov. Scott Walker will include a proposed expansion to school choice programs in Wisconsin in his upcoming biennial budget, including a scholarship for special needs students.
Walker proposes to expand school choice By Meghan Chua the daily cardinal
Gov. Scott Walker announced a proposal to expand Wisconsin’s school choice programs Monday that includes vouchers meant to give parents more options in school choice. Wisconsin has the oldest school voucher program in the U.S., according to a press release from the governor’s office. Programs currently exist in Milwaukee and Racine. Under these programs, states provide vouchers for students whose residency and family income levels meet certain requirements, funding their attendance at private schools that can better meet their educational needs. According to the release, the expansion of the state’s voucher program will open it to school districts with at least two underperforming schools and over 4,000
Grey Satterfield/the daily cardinal
Busses currently pick up and drop off students in front of Memorial Union, which sometimes creates traffic congestion.
City could add downtown bus station By Melissa Howison the daily cardinal
A project to improve downtown transportation and research possible locations for a future train and bus terminal will move forward after the Board of Estimates unanimously approved the proposal Monday. City of Madison developer David Trowbridge presented the plans to improve downtown transportation both in the near future and in the long run by applying more than $400,000 in federal grant money awarded to the city.
According to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, the money will be spent on “priorities” such as improving intersections and increasing access to Lake Monona and the parks surrounding it, as well as determining possible sites for at least one bus and rail station. Verveer said one of the key areas the project selected for a possible bus station is on campus, behind the Kohl Center, but construction would be several years down the line.
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students, but will also include limits of 500 and 1,000 students in the 2014 and ‘15 fiscal years, respectively. “Every child, regardless of their zip code, deserves access to a great education,” Walker said in a statement. The move to expand school choice programs around the state will be funded as part of Walker’s budget, which he will formally announce Wednesday. The budget will include additional funding going to each sector of education, including charter schools and student-choice programs. According to the release, the plan also expands open enrollment for individual courses, which provides access to foreign language and Advanced Placement courses that students in rural areas cannot currently access. State Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said in a
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Proposed special needs voucher program draws parents’ concerns By Meghan Chua the daily cardinal
A provision of Gov. Scott Walker’s budget that would create a voucher-like program for special needs students drew concern from activists across the state Monday. Walker announced Monday the budget would create a Special Needs Scholarship Program that would provide state-funded scholarships for children with special needs to attend a school of their choice, which could be private or public. Beth Swedeen, Executive Director for the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental
Disabilities, likened the Special Needs Scholarship Program to a voucher program. Swedeen said she is concerned about the lack of accountability for private schools to serve a disabled student specialization to his or her needs. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires institutions that accept federal funding to provide a certain standard of services, including special education, to students with disabilities. “[The program] drains resources out of the public system, which is accountable for student outcomes, into a private sys-
tem where there is no accountability,” Swedeen said. Parents and their students, many with disabilities, from across the state gathered in the Capitol Monday for a news conference sponsored by Stop Special Needs Vouchers, a statewide organization. Tracy Hedman, who spoke at the conference, said she was concerned about vouchers’ effect on her son’s education. She said her relationship with the school her son attends “would have been far different if [he] was not protected under IDEA, and
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“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”