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Thursday, October 4, 2012
Obama visit sparks outcry from faculty By Tyler Nickerson The Daily Cardinal
on campus
The stage is set
Workers put the finishing touches on the stage on Bascom Hill where President Barack Obama will speak Thursday. The speech will be Obama’s second visit as a sitting president. + Photo by Grey Satterfield
College Democrats, College Republicans geared for Obama When thousands of University of Wisconsin-Madison students pack the slopes of Bascom Hill to hear President Barack Obama speak Thursday, students from the College Democrats and College Republicans plan to capitalize on the large crowds, but for different reasons. College Republicans Chair Jeff Snow said his group plans to canvass campus all day Thursday, wearing Romney T-shirts and promoting Romney’s “positive agenda for the country” to young voters. “We’re obviously not going to protest,” Snow said. “We’ll let Obama have his time, but
still remind people about his failed policies.” College Democrats Chair Chris Hoffman said his group plans to travel up and down the waiting line to make sure people are registered to vote and they have voting forms. “I think the president’s speech is going to motivate students to vote,” Hoffman said. “It will be one of the biggest points of his speech.” Both Snow and Hoffman said they expect the president to speak on issues relevant to UW-Madison students, such as student loans, increased tuition and health care. But Snow said Obama’s speech has not generated as
much buzz compared to prior visits and he will not be viewed as positively as in 2008. “[He is taking] up the most central, pivotal part of campus and just disrupting everything for an entire day,” Snow said. “It wasn’t like that when he spoke in Library Mall in 2010 or when he spoke at the Kohl Center in 2008.” But Hoffman said Obama’s visit shows the strong support he has in Madison. “I really think [his speech] really energizes the city and the university,” Hoffman said. — Sarah Olson and Taylor Harvey
President Barack Obama’s visit to Bascom Hill on the University of Wisconsin Madison campus Thursday has elicited support from those who hope the event brings good publicity to the university, excitement from Obama supporters, and joy from throngs of students whose classes have been cancelled. But the day before the speech, some are questioning the role the University, a public institution, is playing in what is a clearly partisan campaign event. In an email sent to University officials Wednesday, Political Science Professor Ken Mayer expressed serious concerns about the university’s supportive role of Obama’s speech throughout the process. Mayer called Bascom Hill
the most “disruptive” spot on campus to hold a rally and condemned the office closings and class cancellations that came as a result. He also questioned the decision to hold a campaign event on campus grounds. A set of guidelines released by the university on Sept. 8 read “political activities are generally not allowed inside campus buildings or spaces, recreational sports facilities, athletics facilities or campus libraries.” “Clearly it’s a campaign space, a space that’s being rented by a campaign,” said Vice Chancellor for University Relations Vince Sweeney in reaction to Mayer’s criticisms. “But it is the President of the United States.” As a consequence of the build-
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Student government approves voter registration in dorms By Tamar Myers The Daily Cardinal
Members of student government approved a resolution Wednesday that would defy a University of Wisconsin-Madison housing policy by authorizing student voter registration inside university residence halls, pending Chancellor David Ward’s approval. Current housing policy bans all forms of canvassing and soliciting, but this legislation aims to create an exception to the policy from Oct. 7 to 12. If approved by Ward, the
Madison Student Vote Coalition, a nonpartisan group of students working to register voters and encourage student participation in the election, would be permitted to go door-to-door in residence halls. Associated Students of Madison Student Council Chair Andrew Bulovsky said this approach would benefit students given the current political environment. “Civic engagement is a serious problem in the United States, especially with declining voter
registration page 3
Poll shows Obama leading Romney, Thompson closing in President Barack Obama still leads challenger Mitt Romney by 11 points in Wisconsin, while Rep. Tammy Baldwin’s, D-Wis., lead over Tommy Thompson shrunk to just four points in the U.S. Senate race, according to the latest Marquette University Law School Poll released Wednesday. An MU poll taken in midSeptember showed Baldwin with a much more commanding lead, 50-41, compared to this poll, which shows the Madison congresswoman only ahead of Thompson 48-44. In the presidential race, Obama continued to lead
Romney 53-42, compared to 54-40 in the mid-September poll. Professor Charles Franklin, who conducts the poll, said decided voters are providing a solid base for both parties and shifts in voting preference among independents accounts for the different results. “In August, independents leaned a bit Republican in the Senate and slightly Democratic for president,” Franklin said in a statement Wednesday. “In midSeptember, they leaned strongly Democratic in both races, and now they are swinging back to a more competitive balance.”
The poll also suggested a large gender gap in both the Senate and presidential contests. While Romney leads among men 49-44 percent, 61 percent of Wisconsin women supported the president and only 36 percent support Romney. Baldwin had the support of 54 percent of women compared to 38 percent for Thompson. The margin of error for the overall sample of 1,000 registered voters was plus or minus 3.2 percent. Of the 1,000 surveyed, 894 said they are likely to vote this November. —Tyler Nickerson
grey satterfield/the daily cardinal
Student government authorizes door-to-door voter registration in residence halls Wednesday, pending the chancellor’s approval.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”