If it’s Violent, They will come
All You Need Is ‘Rain’
NFL teams like the New Orleans Saints are just giving fans what they want +SPORTS, page 8
+ ARTS, page 5
University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Wednesday, March 7, 2012
County judge rules to overturn voter-ID law By Adam Wollner The Daily Cardinal
A Dane County judge issued a temporary injunction against Wisconsin’s voter identification law Tuesday, freezing the law requiring identification in order to vote, on the grounds that the provision disproportionately affects certain groups of voters. Circuit Judge David Flanagan ordered Gov. Scott Walker’s administration and the Government Accountability Board to stop enforcing the requirement that voters present photo identification to receive a ballot, which has been in effect since the state’s Feb. 21 primary elections. Because of his ruling, voters will not have to present valid
photo identification at the polls for the state’s April 3 elections, which include the Republican presidential primary and other local general elections. With the voter ID law in effect, UW-Madison had provided students with free voter identification. Because of the injunction, students can now vote without the university-issued IDs. “If no injunction is issued, a clearly improper impairment of a most vital element of our society will occur,” Flanagan wrote in his decision. “The duty of the court is clear ... Irreparable harm is likely to occur in the absence of an injunction.” The Republican Party of Wisconsin called the validity of
the ruling into question, however, because Flanagan signed a petition to recall Walker. RPW communications director Ben Sparks said they would ask the Wisconsin Judicial Commission to further investigate the matter. Flanagan will determine whether to grant a permanent injunction against the law in a trial scheduled for April 16. The Milwaukee branch of the NAACP and Voces de la Frontera, a Latino rights group, filed the lawsuit last year, arguing the photo ID requirement created an undue burden for minority voters, who were found to be less likely to possess state identification.
voter id page 3
Students from across UW System gather to lobby at state Capitol Students from throughout the UW System met at the Capitol Tuesday to lobby legislators on setting a tuition cap and increasing financial aid. UW-Madison freshman Meghan Wagner, who helped organize the event, said approximately 30 students gathered at the Capitol for about six hours to speak with legislators’ staff members. Wagner said the students primarily spoke about setting a new tuition cap and increasing financial aid. Currently, tuition can only
increase by 5.5 percent each year. At the end of this biennium, however, the cap will expire. Wagner said students across the system agreed it is important legislators cap tuition to keep college affordable to students and their families. “These are things that effect everybody across campuses and they are things everybody agrees upon,” Wagner said. “We all want to work together to change them.” The students spoke to staff of legislators who represent any district in the UW System as well as
staff of members of the Legislative Task Force on UW Restructuring. Wagner said while the Democratic staff members were receptive to students’ concerns, the Republicans took more persuasion. “The Democrats definitely supported the higher education issues, but we definitely had to do a little more talking to the Republicans,” Wagner said. Wagner said overall the day was successful, and the students hope to make Lobby Day a biannual event. —Anna Duffin
around town
Say cheese! Cheesemakers from over a dozen countries descended on Monona Terrace this week for the World Championship Cheese Contest. + Photo by Lorenzo Zemella
Man commits suicide outside politician’s office in Janesville A man committed suicide outside of U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan’s R-Wisc office located in the Olde Towne Mall in Janesville Tuesday. The 42-year-old man reportedly had a faint pulse when paramedics transported him to the hospital but later died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to The Janesville Gazette. Witnesses found the injured man in the common area of the building outside of Ryan’s office with a handgun nearby, The Janesville Gazette reported. In response to the shooting, the Janesville Police Department shut down nearby streets and
closed the mall while they conducted their investigation. As of print time, the JPD have currently not made any connection between the victim and Ryan, who was in Washington, D.C. at the time of the shooting, according to The Janesville Gazette. “This investigation is ongoing, and it’s not entirely clear what exactly has happened there,” Janesville City Councilman Yuri Rashkin said. “My thoughts and prayers are with the many friends that I have that are in that building.” The JPD will hold a press conference Wednesday to provide more information.
With amendment rejected, company scraps mining plans By Ben Siegel The Daily Cardinal
Stephanie Daher/the daily cardinal
Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, joined Democrats to oppose a mining amendment over environmental concerns.
Following the State Senate’s rejection Tuesday of a mining bill amendment meant to address legislators’ concerns, mining company Gogebic Taconite announced it will no longer pursue its proposed $1.5 billion iron mine in northern Wisconsin. Hours before the Florida-based company announced it plans, the state Senate rejected an amendment that aimed to address concerns with the extent of the bill’s environmental deregulations. Legislators didn’t vote on the bill itself—which would streamline the mining permit application process and roll back certain mining-related environmental regulations—but the amendment’s rejection was enough to terminate the potential project
all together, according to Gogebic President Bill Williams. “Senate rejection of the mining reforms in Assembly Bill 426 sends a clear message that Wisconsin will not welcome iron mining. We get the message,” Williams said in a release. “We thank the many people who have supported our efforts.” Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, joined the 16 Democratic senators in opposing the Assembly Joint Finance Committee’s amendment to the bill, saying that the proposal did not go far enough in its environmental protections. Sen. Robert Jauch, D-Poplar, warned against passing legislation that lacked the necessary environmental safeguards to prevent pollution of northern waterways surrounding the site of the proposed Gogebic mine.
“The people of this state have said over and over again, loudly and clearly, that they’re not against mining…[but] that they want it done in an intelligent, environmentally safe and sustainable way,” agreed Schultz. Jauch, who had proposed an additional compromise amendment with Schultz that was not taken up Tuesday, said that acceptably protecting the nearby environment goes hand-in-hand with economic development. “You cannot have responsible mining if you have an irresponsible mining law,” Jauch said. “[The economy] is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment.” The mining bill’s referral to the Senate’s Organization Committee will give legislators more time to rework the bill.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”