America has a continent, Wisconsin a vast expanse, and Whitewater nine beautiful square miles. For Whitewater’s waning top-tier notables, however, there’s no more area than an arm’s length among a few dozen men and women. When even one of them steps aside for the bathroom, the remaining universe for the others shrinks by a percent…
University
School District, University
Whitewater YES is Right, for Now
by JOHN ADAMS • • 1 Comment
Over at the Whitewater YES for Education Facebook page, they’ve a post describing the WUSD budget proposal in supportive terms. Here’s part of what they have to say: ….The school board reviewed the District Leadership Team’s (DLT) program and staffing proposal at the April 20 board study session. The DLT created a proposal that aligned…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, Culture, Local Government, Politics, University
The Better Way to Address Sexual Violence on Campus
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Neil Heinen is the editorial director of WISC-TV in Madison. I have little idea of his politics; we’ve never met. I do know, however, that his station’s position on how universities should address allegations of sexual assault is better – ethically and practically – than the approach that UW-Whitewater has adopted. Heinen is entirely right:…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, Crime, Misconduct, University
How UW-Whitewater Treated a Sexual Assault Victim
by JOHN ADAMS • • 3 Comments
I’ve written before about the handling of sexual assault complaints nationwide and at UW-Whitewater. The more one reads on the matter, the more concerned one becomes, both generally and locally. There’s a new and troubling story about how UW-Whitewater handled an assault victim’s Title IX assault complaint at WISC-TV. In the report, entitled, Graduate speaks…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, Crime, Federal Government, Government Spending, Libertarians, Official Misconduct, University
If Universities Want Federal Money…
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
If universities want federal money (and they want as much as they can get), then it’s wrong for them to shirk federal legal standards for reporting assault and for proper treatment of those alleging assault. (Make no mistake: I’d contend that universities have a duty to manage campuses well and fairly even if there were…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, Crime, Federal Government, Law, Official Misconduct, University
UW-Madison Now Joins UW-Whitewater Under Federal Title IX Investigation
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
In the Wisconsin State Journal this morning, one reads that a second Wisconsin school is under investigation for its handling of sexual assault complaints. Dan Simmons writes that UW-Madison is now the second university in the state to be included in a growing probe of possible violations of federal law over the handling of sexual…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, Crime, Film, Official Misconduct, University
The Hunting Ground
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Academy-award nominated filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering have a new film now in limited-release, entitled, The Hunting Ground, about campus sexual assault. The film addresses violence, institutional cover-ups, and the damage done to victims & families from both assault and subsequent, institutional misconduct. The official trailer for the film is embedded above. (The same…
New Media, New Whitewater, Press, University
The Dark, Futile Dream
by JOHN ADAMS • • 1 Comment
UW-Whitewater is searching for a new chancellor, and so there’s a search committee, and a search consultant to guide that committee’s work. The consultant is Dr. Jessica Kozloff, the former president of a small, undistinguished college in Pennsylvania. (The UW System schools are, each of them, more competitive and developed than the one Dr. Kozloff…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, City, Culture, Education, Elections, Law, Local Government, Politics, School District, University, Waste Digesters
Policy Topics for the Spring
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
In October 2014, I wrote about Four Public Topics for the Fall. They seemed to be the city’s prominent public policy questions, looking ahead from 10.20.14. Those topics were (1) the 2015 City of Whitewater budget, (2) Whitewater Schools referendum, (3) UW-Whitewater’s social relations, and the (4) City of Whitewater’s waste digester proposal. Now, as…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, Public Relations, University
Chancellor Telfer & UW-Whitewater Officials: Why Wait 147 Days?
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
On September 18, 2014, with the support of national-assault prevention groups, law enforcement, therapists & doctors, and actors & actresses, a bipartisan coalition launched the It’s On Us campaign. The campaign asks everyone to pledge To RECOGNIZE that non-consensual sex is sexual assault. To IDENTIFY situations in which sexual assault may occur. To INTERVENE in…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, City, Crime, Law, Open Government, University
Former Coach Fader Vindicated Five Times Over
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
It’s been over nine months since Chancellor Richard Telfer suspended former UW-Whitewater wrestling coach Tim Fader, and later effectively fired him (Fader’s contract was not renewed). In April 2014, a woman alleged that a wrestling recruit assaulted her, and Fader has consistently said that he contacted the Whitewater Police Department about the incident, and that…
City, Local Government, School District, University
The Power of Evaluating Simply
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
A woman walks into a retailer, to buy a new computer. She’s an architect, and her needs are like any capable member of that uncommon profession. Her computer should be able to manage large files and demanding software, with a few accessories she already has in mind. Those needs are specific to an architect’s work,…
Education, Gov. Walker, Government Spending, Presidential race 2016, University
Gov. Walker, In-State and Out-of-State
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Two posts about Gov. Walker this week, one on how he’s come to propose a budget with so many education cuts, and the other on his considerable fundraising potential as a national candidate, are especially informative. Over at Urban Milwaukee, Bruce Murphy write about Waker’s budget proposal, in Why Walker Had to Cut UW Funding:…
Corporate Welfare, Education, Gov. Walker, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Labor, Liberty, Local Government, School District, University, WEDC, Wisconsin
Education: Substance & Spending
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Following comments to yesterday’s post on proposed cuts to the UW System schools (Caution arrives late, doesn’t recognize its surroundings), here are nine quick comments about education. 1. Act 10 as a budgetary tool. This centrally-planned idea didn’t work. Reductions in public-union bargaining powers in exchange for the ‘tools’ to balance school and other public…