Thursday, October 10, 2013 - The Daily Cardinal

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FALL GUIDE

All hail Mac Don’s Just 601 words away from a trip to the golden arch

Apple picking, haunted houses and squash, oh my!

+PAGE TWO University of Wisconsin-Madison

Complete campus coverage since 1892

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System boasts high retention, graduation By Tamar Myers the daily cardinal

The Board of Regents will hear a presentation of the annual University of Wisconsin System Accountability Report Thursday, which shows second-year retention and six-year graduation rates in the University of Wisconsin System both exceed national averages. However, underrepresented minorities and Pell Grant recipients still fall behind. The accountability report outlines goal areas where the system has worked to improve, based on a framework spearheaded by UW System President Kevin Reilly. One of these areas is the number of students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree within six years. The 59.6 percent six-year graduation rate of 2006 freshmen beat out the national average of 56.6 percent. In terms of second-year retention, 80.2 percent of freshmen continue onto a second year at the same institution, which is higher

than the national average of 79.3 percent. This is on target to meet the system’s goal of 80.4 percent retention, the report said. With both six-year graduation rates and second-year retention, underrepresented minorities and low income Pell Grant recipients lag behind. The system hopes by 2015 to slash equity gaps to half of their baseline cohorts, the rates from 1998-2000. Gaps in both second-year retention and six-year graduation slightly increased among students receiving need-based Pell Grants. While the number of non-Pell Grant recipients graduating in six years increased, the rate of Pell Grant recipients has remained stagnant. The gaps between second-year retention of underrepresented minority students and the number graduating within six years decreased slightly, compared to the baseline cohorts. However, according to the

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Thursday, October 10, 2013

Ron Kind helping draft bill to reopen government By Ben Rangel the daily cardinal

courtney kessler/the daily cardinal

Mayor Paul Soglin said a prolonged federal government shutdown could negatively impact UW research grants.

Shutdown could cut UW research grants Madison Mayor Paul Soglin addressed the impact of the federal government shutdown on city residents and University of WisconsinMadison students at a press conference Wednesday. “As of this week, we do not have any critical services that are compromised,” Soglin said. However, Congress remains at a standstill disagreement as the shutdown plows through its second week, and Soglin said although local effects have been minimal so far, the shutdown could have more significant consequences on the Madison community if it continues. “What’s going on right now is really unheard of,” Soglin said. “We have to start preparing as best we can for difficulties.” Although Soglin did not offer specific figures, he said

the immediate lack of federal funding for research grants in the event of a prolonged idle Congress will force UW-Madison students to compromise their scientific work that has been months or even years in the making. In addition, the future of the Women, Infants and Children program, a food supplementary organization for many Madison residents, also faces deeper budget cuts if Congress does not find a resolution in the immediate future, Soglin said. Soglin added he has little patience for those that triggered the shutdown. “Whether they intended or not, the perpetrators of this are having the effect of terrorists in their greatest hope of shutting down the United States government,” Soglin said. ­— Irene Burski

As the government shutdown reaches its second week and Congress’ inability to compromise continues to keep roughly 800,000 federal workers furloughed, U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D– Wis., is working with U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, R–Pa., to draft a bipartisan bill that would temporarily reopen the government. The bill would eliminate the Affordable Care Act’s controversial tax on medical devices in exchange for the passing of a budget. Kind said in a statement he believes bipartisan momentum is growing and that he and Dent came together to “agree on a course of action.” Every year on Sept. 30 Congress has the constitutional responsibility to pass a federal budget. Failure to agree on a budget by Oct. 1 results in the shutdown of many non-essential aspects of the government. While negotiating the budget bill, Republicans pushed for the repeal of certain aspects of the Affordable Care Act before they would pass a budget bill, but Democrats would not accept any movement on the ACA, leading to a failure to compromise and the ongoing shutdown. Kind and Dent agree on an aspect of the bill that should be removed and are gaining bipartisan support. Peter Knudsen, Kind’s press secretary, said in an email Kind proposed the bill because members of the House, “need to walk before [they] run by having bipartisan conversations to build trust.” Other Wisconsin representatives, including Sean Duffy, R-Wis., and Reid Ribble, R-Wis., also gave indications they are willing to compromise. Duffy said in a statement he

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Ticket holders to receive gift cards at Saturday’s game

Homecoming

Get on board

Greek members, residence halls and student orgs teamed up against each other in the Badger Games Wednesday night at the McClain Center. + Photo by Will Chizek

The University of WisconsinMadison Athletic Department will distribute $5 gift cards to student ticket holders at the Northwestern football game Saturday, according to Associate Athletic Director for External Relations Justin Doherty. The department also mailed out $10 vouchers to non-student account holders with season tickets in the seating bowl. With approxi-

mately 14,000 ticket holders, the cost will be around $140,000, excluding the student vouchers. This comes after a shortage of vendors at the University of Massachusetts game Aug. 31, where fans reported a variety of problems, such as long lines, a shortage of food and dissatisfaction over beverage choices. Doherty said the Athletic

Department decided to distribute gift cards as a personal appreciation to fans and to encourage attendees to try some of the offerings available through the new concession provider, Learfield Levy Foodservice LLC. Students can pick up the vouchers up until 2 p.m. at the student entrance gate by exchanging their ticket for a gift card.

“…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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