Here’s my amateur version of the late William Safire’s long-standing tradition of offering annual predictions. This was the list for 2015, the FW eighth-annual edition. Let’s see how I did:
1. The biggest policy discussion of 2015 will be
A. City of Whitewater’s scrutiny of vendors
B. Campus culture and policies
C. Police Department community relations
D. Over debates about the direction of the Whitewater Schools
Adams’s guess: B. Campus culture and policies.
Correct answer: B. Campus culture and policies. I think this was the right answer, with a caveat: addressing sexual assault is now a statewide topic, that Whitewater’s campus administration has discussed vaguely, poorly, or even deceptively. There’s no better example of how local officials create and support a narrative at odds with statewide or national discussion than this one. There’s much more ahead on this topic.
2. For the Whitewater Schools, the biggest issue will be over
A. Finances
B. Academics
C. Extracurricular activities
D. There will be no big issues during the year
Adams’s guess: B. Academics.
Correct answer: D. There will be no big issues during the year. All in all, surprisingly quiet.
3. Whitewater’s economy will
A. Expand along with the American economy
B. Expand more slowly than the American economy
C. Be stagnant
D. Fall into recession
Adams’s guess: B. Expand more slowly than the American economy.
Correct answer: B. Expand more slowly than the American economy. Whitewater – and much of Wisconsin – lags America’s level of nationwide growth (itself frustratingly unimpressive).
4. Gov. Walker will
A. Run for president to considerable nationwide attention throughout the year
B. Run for president with little nationwide notice throughout the year
C. Decide not to run
D. Move to Whitewater
Adams’s guess: B. Run for president with little nationwide notice throughout the year.
Correct answer: B. Run for president with little nationwide notice throughout the year. Wisconsinites noticed him – understandably – but Republicans across the country quickly shifted attention to others after Walker’s announcement, and he was out of the race in under 80 days.
5. After the spring general election, Common Council will be
A. Farther to the left
B. Farther to the right
C. Unchanged in ideology
D. Deeply but closely divided by personality
Adams’s guess: B. Farther to the right. Just a bit, I think. Council will see three new members and one incumbent re-elected.
Correct answer: B. Farther to the right. Just a bit, I think. Council saw three new members and one incumbent re-elected.
6. The Municipal Administration leadership (full-time staff) will see
A. One leader leave
B. Two leaders leave
C. More than two leave
D. No leaders leave
Adams’s guess: B. Two leaders leave.
Correct answer: D. No principal leaders left.
7. The search for a new chancellor at UW-Whitewater will
A. Be mostly a campus matter
B. Be mostly a local, non-campus matter
C. Be mostly a state matter
D. Continue into 2016
Adams’s guess: C. Be mostly a state matter.
Correct answer: B. Be mostly a local, non-campus matter. Local insiders made themselves felt here, with a slate of outside candidates so mediocre that insiders’ preferred candidate was a predictable, if unimpressive, pick. UW-Whitewater has for a second consecutive time to chosen an administrator below the level of her best faculty, and below the level of chancellors in other UW System schools.
8. The city commission that gets the most attention in 2015 will be the
A. Urban Forestry Commission
B. Police and Fire Commission
C. Community Development Authority
D. Tech Park Board
Adams’s guess: C. Community Development Authority.
Correct answer: All wrong – no one received much notice at all, and even relative comparisons belie scant attention.
9. UW-Whitewater athletes will win
A. No national championships
B. One national championship
C. Two or three national championships
D. Four or more national championships
Adams’s guess: Two or three national championships.
Correct answer: B. One national championship (Men’s Wheelchair Basketball).
10. 2015 will see an invasion of
A. Tourists
B. Locusts
C. Extraterrestrial beings from Zeta Reticuli
D. Ferrets
Adams’s guess: D. Ferrets.
Correct answer: None of these choices. There’s a question where I’m happy to be wrong – we’ve been spared a ferret invasion.
That’s only four of ten – a disappointing showing. Let’s see if I can do better in 2016.
Tomorrow: Predictions for 2016.
…will there be predictions for the New Year..?
You bet — I’ll make predictions for 2016 tomorrow (on Saturday, January 2nd).