University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Tuesday, March 24, 2015
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TAA and UW-Madison find common ground By Ellie Herman THE DAILY CARDINAL
When he arrived on campus in 1968, graduate student David Newby found himself amid campus-wide riots and protests in which he desired to take a more active role. Concerns with a lack of representation in educational policy led teaching assistants like Newby to question how they could gain influence within the educational system two years prior. These students formed the Teaching Assistants’ Association in 1966 to address such concerns in a cohesive manner, making the TAA the first of the nation’s current 31 graduate student employee unions. Founding members were primarily concerned with wage bargaining and the state Legislature’s proposal to remove “tuition remission,” which would require teaching assistants to pay full tuition. “The dispute was over whether teaching assistants were ‘in training’ to become teachers, and they were doing this as part of their education, but they were also providing a service for the university,” UW-Madison professor of history William P. Jones said. In 1969, former UW-Madison Chancellor Hugh Young proposed an agreement with the TAA continuing the discussion of tuition remission that added a stipulation removing teaching assistants’ ability to bargain wages. In response, TAA members and undergraduate students launched a campus-wide pro-
test a few months later, shutting down various campus services and the bus system with support from “Teamsters,” members of a blue-collar union. After three weeks, the strike ended with the TAA conceding and voting to sign a contract with university administration. Ten years following that first protest, TAA members went on strike once again. The primary issue was that university administration felt many of their grievances infringed on faculty control over educational issues, according to Newby. “From the beginning it was very obviously a strike for the survival of the union,” Newby said. TAA members eventually acknowledged the administration would not give in, and the strike ended after five weeks of unpaid protest. A lifetime member of the TAA, Newby said the relationship between the TAA and faculty and administration improved significantly following the reacquisition of wage bargaining rights in 1985. “From a number of discussions with current TAA folks, they have been developing ... much closer relationships with the faculty,” Newby said. According to TAA member and history Ph.D Sergio M. González, the university acknowledged the union as a representative voice of graduate students during 2011 collective bargaining demonstrations despite not generally rec-
ognizing other public unions. The TAA has adjusted its own focus since the 1970s under the more recent leadership from people like current co-presidents Michael Billeaux and Eleni Schirmer. The TAA started a new campaign to grant graduate employees who are new parents with paid parental leave. “As it stands right now, there’s currently no paid time for graduate employees who become parents, so we’re looking to get that passed,” Billeaux said. Schirmer said the majority of graduate student employees are between the ages of 25 and 45 and typically work for three to nine years during a time when people often contemplate starting families, which could suggest potential gender implications. “A lot of women in particular feel like their academic potential is thwarted by the fact that they want to have kids and there’s not a way to take time off from work,” Schirmer said. “Without a paid leave, women disproportionately have to make those types of sacrifices that men don’t.” This past fall, TAA members intended to remind administration that many of them are parents as well as graduate students by holding a “play-in” in Bascom Hall, where members and their families spent the afternoon together. Members held conversa-
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WILL CHIZEK/THE DAILY CARDINAL
UW-Madison’s Sigma Chi fraternity chapter faces suspension for violations including serving hard alcohol while under probation.
Sigma Chi fraternity suspended after code of conduct violations The Committee on Student Organizations suspended UW-Madison’s chapter of Sigma Chi Fraternity until May 8 after numerous conduct violations, according to a university release. A report last month alleged members of the fraternity served alcohol at an unmonitored event in January that resulted in an underage student being sent to detox, which goes against the Registered Student Organizations Code of Conduct. At that time, the fraternity was barred from hosting events in its house due to a suspension that ended last fall. Fraternity members can-
not attend or host any chapter activities, other than required weekly meetings, because of the new suspension. Sigma Chi will now face probation with alcohol restrictions through Dec. 31, which means it cannot host or co-host events with alcohol. The fraternity can end the restrictions early if it submits an “extensive” risk management plan detailing how it will educate members to avoid future issues, according to the release. Assistant Dean and Director of the Center for Leadership and
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U.S. Supreme Court declines to rule on voter ID appeal By Andrew Hahn THE DAILY CARDINAL
GRANT VANDER VELDEN/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO
Members of the UW-Madison Teaching Assistants’ Association protest outside the Union Theater in September 1980, voicing their concerns over a lack of say in educational policy.
+OPINION, page 6
Unlock your key to the city
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to take up a case Monday that alleged Wisconsin’s 2011 law requiring an ID to vote is unconstitutional. The decision will allow the law to go into effect for future elections. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the state soon after the law was enacted, arguing it put an undue burden on minority and low-income voters. A long legal battle prevented voter ID from going into effect, as the suit jumped from court to court. Last year a federal appeals court in Chicago ruled the law was constitutional. The U.S.
Supreme Court let that ruling stand Monday, but did not give its reasons for denying the case. State Attorney General Brad Schimel said the law was a victory for Wisconsin’s elections, but the April 7 spring elections were too soon for voter ID to be implemented. “Our legal team did an outstanding job defending Wisconsin law, from the trial court to the U.S. Supreme Court,” Schimel said in a Monday statement. “Absentee ballots are already in the hands of voters, therefore, the law cannot be implemented for the April
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+ARTS, page 5
Lil Dicky entertains crowd and some guy’s girlfriend
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”
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