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…
University
Assault Awareness & Prevention, City, Crime, Law, Open Government, University
Former Coach Fader Vindicated Five Times Over
by JOHN ADAMS •
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 •
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 •
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 •
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…
Government Spending, State Government, University
Caution arrives late, doesn’t recognize its surroundings
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over these last several days, Wisconsin has begun a debate about the size of possible cuts to the UW System, to public school districts, and other parts of the state budget. Some of the discussion stems from a 2.3.15 analysis from the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Fiscal Analyst Emily Pope, in reply to State Sen.…
Public Relations, University
Chancellor Telfer and the Narrow Limits of Public Relations
by JOHN ADAMS •
Chancellor Dick Telfer’s several years as leader of UW-Whitewater now draw to a close. In that time, Telfer’s administration – with a staff of ten in media relations – has pushed countless stories in the Daily Union, Gazette, Register, and Banner touting not simply students’ genuinely worthy accomplishments, but significantly his own importance. That’s Dick…
Drug War, University
About UW-Whitewater Dean Mary Beth Mackin’s Drug War Defense
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s someone with whom UW-Whitewater’s Dean of Students, Mary Beth Mackin, might wish to speak: Tammy Sadek, mother of the late Andrew Sadek. Readers may recall that in October, I wrote about Dean of Students Mary Beth Mackin’s defense of using students ensnared in low-level drug stings as confidential informants. (See, The Dean’s Drug-War Equality…
City, Culture, Local Government, New Whitewater, Politics, School District, University
Whitewater’s Near Future Depends on What Year It Is Now
by JOHN ADAMS •
Law, University
Walworth County District Attorney Clears Coach Tim Fader of Wrongdoing
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Walworth County District Attorney, Dan Necci, has sent former UW-Whitewater wrestling coach Tim Fader a letter completely clearing Fader of criminal wrongdoing of any kind, in his wrestling program or any other matter. See, Former UW-Whitewater wrestling coach cleared of wrongdoing by DA @ Channel 3000 WISC-TV. Here’s the text of that letter: November…
University
UW-Whitewater Chancellor Richard Telfer Announces Retirement, Effective June 30th, 2015
by JOHN ADAMS •
Crime, Open Government, University
Support the Campus Accountability and Safety Act
by JOHN ADAMS •
Discussion is better than silence; knowledge trumps ignorance. Thousands of universities receive federal funds, including our own campus. Under the law, those universities are required, since the Clery Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1092(f), 34 C.F.R. 668.46 to record and report instances of crime on and near their campuses. (UW-System schools publish that information in compliance…
University
Scalding’s Not the Remedy to Freezing
by JOHN ADAMS •
University
‘No One Left to Lie To’
by JOHN ADAMS •
That’s the title of a book by the late Christopher Hitchens. Although I share neither his atheism nor his support for the Iraq War, I’d suggest that for his book title alone Hitchens deserves to be remembered well. It’s just perfect. There’s a point at which, after years of dissembling, distracting, and excuse-making, shifty leaders…