Our Ed Board hopes the Nat-Up campaign will be for naught at today’s referendum. OPINION
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University of Wisconsin-Madison
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UW OFFENSE FROZEN AT THE FINISH LINE Despite Thursday’s blow-out win, UW couldn’t best B.C. in Saturday’s championship SPORTS
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Monday, April 12, 2010
UW to cut Nike contract over labor violations By Kelsey Gunderson The Daily Cardinal
The Labor Licensing Policy Committee announced its plan to end UW-Madison’s contract with Nike Friday, saying the company failed to address several alleged labor violations in Honduras. In December, Chancellor Biddy Martin gave Nike 120 days to address its alleged failure to pay over 1,600 workers severance pay after the sudden closure of two Nike-contracted factories in Honduras. Nike allegedly owes these workers $2.2 million in severance pay, which is equivalent to about seven months of wages. “The chancellor made a really great move ... I think we should support her and help her reach out to other universities.” Daniel Cox Student Labor Action Coalition
Nike has also been cited for its alleged failure to pay into Honduras’ national health-care system, resulting in the workers’
inability to access health care when needed. Dawn Crim, special assistant to the chancellor and member of the LLPC, said Martin monitored Nike’s progress over the past four months and felt the company had not made significant progress by the April 7 deadline. She said although Nike has offered these workers job training and priority jobs in other factories, Martin believes their efforts were inadequate, and that they failed to present a clear plan to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future. “The real solution is better conditions and workers working,” Crim said. UW-Madison is the first university to end its relationship with Nike over the issue, and members of the LLPC are working to encourage other universities to cut their contracts as well. “The chancellor made a really great, move and I’m really happy she showed this leadership. I think we should support her and help her reach out to other universities,” Daniel Cox, a UW-Madison student nike page 2
WISPIRG fasts to raise over $10,000 to help fight hunger, homelessness By Anna Discher The Daily Cardinal
Members of the Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group announced Saturday that WISPIRG’s monthlong Hunger Cleanup raised over $10,000 to help fight hunger and homelessness. The Hunger Cleanup is held to address hunger and homelessness both in the area and nationwide and involves volunteers painting, working at local shelters, planting gardens and raising money for charities. As of Saturday morning, WISPIRG surpassed their goal of $10,000 with a total of $10,238 raised. UW-Madison student and Hunger and Homelessness Coordinator Mariana Berbert said she expects the final total to be near $11,000. “We’ve really seen this year how much students do care about their community and how much power we actually have to make a change,” Berbert said. Berbert also addressed WISPIRG’s Haiti Relief and Hunger Strike and said UW-Madison students have made enormous contributions. Vijay Pai, WISPIRG Hunger and Homelessness intern, said 50 percent
of the money raised for the Hunger Cleanup will go to the Community Action Coalition in Madison, 15 percent will go to Haiti relief funds and 35 percent will go to the National Student Campaign against Hunger and Homelessness. Chris Brockel of the Community Action Coalition for south central Wisconsin said the organization’s goal is to purchase food, alleviate poverty and better the lives of people in the Madison and south central Wisconsin area. Brockel said the approximately $5,000 donated by the Hunger Cleanup will be converted into about 20,000 meals. “Two years ago in Dane County there were 85,000 households that visited food pantries,” Brockel said. “Last year in Dane County there were 170,000 families that visited food pantries.” Brockel said he was appreciative of the volunteers who helped with the event, particularly UW-Madison students. “Our food pantry relies on about 17,000 hours of volunteer hours every year, so the things that we do are not possible without volunteers like [UW-Madison students]” Brockel said.
Photo Courtesy of Patrick Peczerski
Students, faculty and Madison community members gathered Saturday at the capitol to mourn the Polish President and the other 95 victims involved in Saturday’s plan crash.
Madison community gathers to mourn Polish president and victims By Ryan Hebel The Daily Cardinal
Members of Madison’s Polish community held a vigil at the Capitol on Saturday afternoon in memory of the 96 people, including the Polish president, killed in a plane crash earlier in the day. The plane’s passengers, including Polish President Lech Kaczynski and other national military, church and government officials, were headed to Katyn to commemorate the 70th anniversary of a Soviet massacre in the same location when their plane crashed, according to the Associated Press. Former student Patrick Peczerski organized the memorial with UW’s Polish Student Association and Madison Polish
Heritage Club, and said most of his Polish friends were “just in complete shock.” “Everyone just poured out into the streets [in Poland]. Even though it was raining they went to light candles at the Presidential building. Most of my friends are liberals and even though Kaczynski … was a conservative, everyone just sort of forgot about politics.” Peczerski the event he helped organized will hopefully help others in his community cope with such a major loss. Former UW student Marek Rogal described the vigil’s atmosphere as “surreal.” “With the kind of high-profile people on the plane, it’s like a tragedy in a small town, so every-
body to some extend knew them.” Rogal said he was shocked to see that one of the victims was someone he had grown up with in Poland, Sebastian Karpiniuk. Rogal said their parents knew each other and Karpiniuk had once rented a room in his grandmother’s house before moving on to his deputy position in the Polish Parliament. UW-Madison Junior and President of the Polish Students Association Magdalena Bojda could not attend Saturday’s vigil, but said she was glad others had a chance to “show a collective expression of sorrow and solidarity.” “A lot of people here right now have a lot of family in Poland and everyone is kind of feeling it altogether,” Bojda said.
Differential tuition plans to require student input By Hannah Furfaro The Daily Cardinal
The UW System Board of Regents unanimously approved a measure Friday that requires state universities to seek student input when raising differential tuition costs. The measure does not require student approval on differential tuition initiatives but gives elected student bodies at UW System universities power to periodically review increases. Elected student bodies will now be consulted on differential tuition increases like those already passed at UW-Madison, UW-La Crosse and UW-Eau Claire. Prior to approval of the measure, students’ role in the differential tuition process was unclear. According to Regent Aaron Wingad, a senior at UW-Eau Claire, the policy is “meant to empower
students.” “The underlying concern is that the students want to make it a little more concrete and a little more clear how they fit into the differential tuition process,” he said at the meeting. Regent Brent Smith said the committee that initially discussed the policy “did not want to do a onesize-fits-all” approach for campuses and wanted to give students more opportunity to submit input. “Many restrictions were not in place for limiting the amount of differential tuition … or a prescribed process for student input,” he said. “We wanted to provide some opportunity for campuses to come up with their own procedures in those particular areas.” Tyler Junger, chair of the Associated Students of Madison, said he is skeptical of the policy and
said student input is not the same as decision-making power. “I think the reality is that the system is very hesitant to give up any authority over whether or not they can charge students money,” he said. He said he thinks it will be very difficult for any chancellor to propose increases students oppose and said he hopes chancellors “don’t even consider moving forward” with increases “students are blatantly against.” “I wish the policy would state that students would have that authority. It really would be a good thing for students to take the reins and decide whether or not we are going to be charged more to go here,” he said. In 2009, a four-year differential tuition increase was approved at UW-Madison. UW-Eau Claire recently approved a four-year $1,200 differential tuition hike.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”