No. 9 Artist of the Decade hint: They redefined southern hip hop... ARTS
l
University of Wisconsin-Madison
PAGE 5
BADGERS PLAN PRESEASON PUNCH FOR DUKE Perennial powerhouse Duke visits the Kohl Center Wednesday night
Complete campus coverage since 1892
Cieslewicz to appoint Woulf to ALRC seat Mayor Dave Cieslewicz announced his intention to appoint Mark Woulf as an Alcohol License Review Committee voting member Monday. Woulf, who currently holds a non-voting position on the board as a technical advisor, is also a UW-Madison student. Woulf’s nomination follows in the wake of a proposal by Ald. Bryon Eagon, District 8, to add a permanent student seat to the ALRC. “[Woulf ’s] experiences on the ALRC over the last few months in addition to him being a young person here in Madison brings a unique voice and vote to the ALRC,” Eagon said. As a compromise, Cieslewicz agreed to appoint a student to a newly created citizen seat.
l
SPORTS
dailycardinal.com
l
PAGE 8
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
This one’s for The Books
“When UW students show an interest in civic issues, that interest should be encouraged,” Cieslewicz said in a statement. “I hope this will spur increased student interest in other important civic issues.” Woulf echoed that sentiment. “This opens the door for future involvement,” he said. Woulf added that he anticipates the transition to be a smooth one because of his previous experience with the ALRC. The appointment will be considered at the Common Council meeting on Dec. 8 and voted on Jan. 5. According to the statement, Cieslewicz intends to work with the Associated Students of Madison to appoint a new student to the technical advisor position. —Grace Urban Ben Pierson/the daily cardinal
Acclaimed cerebral indie troupe The Books brought their audio-visual performance to the Majestic Theatre Monday night. Read The Daily Cardinal’s take at dailycardinal.com/arts.
State expects more government employee, university layoffs as budget takes effect By Ariel Shapiro The Daily Cardinal
Alison Bauter/the daily cardinal
Economist Jeremy Rifkin spoke Monday, calling on young people to use their “empathy gene” to help stop climate change.
Economist asks youth to stop climate change By Lydia Statz The Daily Cardinal
Noted economist Jeremy Rifkin spoke Monday as part of the UW-Madison Distinguished Lecture Series, calling for a young people’s revolution to end global climate change. Rifkin, the author of more than 16 books, drew on scientific research and personal experience as he commented on the future of the environment. His lecture focused on the idea of human empathy and its role in changing our society. He cited scientific evidence for the existence
of an “empathy gene” and stated his belief that humans must take advantage of this ability to bring about change. Decades ago, he said, researchers first found evidence of the gene in many social animals, including humans, which gives the ability to feel another’s pain and recognize his or her suffering. “If we are truly by nature empathic, this is great news,” said Rifkin, who urged young adults to reach out to their counterparts on other continents and institute a new rifkin page 3
Statewide budget cuts passed in June continue to affect state employees, including those at UW-Madison. According to a statement from state Rep. Mike Sheridan, D-Janesville, the $3 billion cuts made in June were the largest in Wisconsin’s history. “We were facing a historic deficit, and some hard decisions had to be made,” Sheridan’s spokesperson Rebekah Sweeney said. “Most agencies received a 6-percent spending cut, although we tried to protect education and local government from the deepest cuts.” With an across-the-board agency spending cut of 6.1 percent, state employees have seen
cuts resulting in furlough days and even layoffs. “Virtually every state employee has had to take furloughs or will have to take 16 day furloughs over the course of two years,” John Anderson, state Sen. Mark Miller’s, D-Monona, spokesperson said. “It’s had an effect on every single state employee, but that’s part of balancing the state budget.” According to Carla Vigue, communications director of the Wisconsin Department of Administration, job vacancies have increased from 2,394 to 3,154 between November 2008 and November 2009, an increase of 32 percent. Vigue said that as of Oct. 31, there have been 211 layoffs and at-risk lay-off notifications. She said
she expects this number to rise. David Giroux, UW System spokesperson, said that although some layoffs have occurred throughout the UW System, the schools have dealt with the budget cuts in other ways. “[The cuts] have led to and will lead to larger class sizes, fewer sections of individual classes being offered and longer lines at campus offices,” Giroux said. “They are things that you might notice in small ways, but [when] you step back and look at how common these occurrences are, you can see the scope of this cut.” Giroux said that the way the cuts are dealt with “varies by campus and varies at each campus by college and by school. It’s all very local and specific.”
Company responsible for Ogg demolition may file lawsuit The company originally responsible for the demolition of the old Ogg Hall in spring 2008, Dore and Associates, is asking the state for $1.7 million in damages after being fired before the demolition was complete. According to David Helbach, secretary of the Wisconsin State Building Commission and administrator to the Division of State Facilities, the state of Wisconsin fired the company because of sev-
eral safety violations. “They were fired for just cause and we will stand behind it,” he said. “They were holding workers and students in jeopardy when they were doing their work.” According to Helbach, Dore and Associates is now filing a claim against the state of Wisconsin, claiming that the state owes them $1.7 million in damages. The company is arguing that the time delays were the state’s
fault and cost the company a considerable amount of money. Helbach said, however, the state was forced to postpone some of the demolition because of safety risks. “The delays were not caused by the state of Wisconsin, but by [Dore and Associates] not doing their job adequately,” he said. Helbach said if the State Claims Board turns down their claim, the company will file a lawsuit. —Kelsey Gunderson
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”