Marquette University to drop Catholic affiliation

Father Robert A. Wild, president of Marquette University, announced today Marquette University is dropping it's identification as a Catholic University.

"Let's face it. We have a few Catholics on the staff and even most of them aren't practicing. We invite speakers that endorse abortion. We promote the homosexual lifestyle. If we didn't have the Gesu church next door most people would have a hard time distinguishing us from a state university."

When asked what the students thought, he said, "The student government is all for it. I don't think anyone else will even notice."

Father Wild also assured the university community that the transition will not be disruptive to campus life. "Students and faculty will notice no change whatsover."

Holding our schools to a higher standard

At least the state DPI race is being fought over the issues, albeit a trifle one-sided. Candidate Rose Fernandez is challenging the educational establishment again, this time over standards:

There is no doubt that Wisconsin has some great public schools. But without solid standards and the ability to accurately measure student performance we will never know just how good our schools really are.

A recent study issued by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute evaluated states’ academic standards and found that Wisconsin’s standards were among the lowest in the country.

That’s not acceptable and it’s time for a change.

President Obama’s Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, has called for states to adopt academic standards that are more rigorous and comparable with those of other leading nations.

I agree. And as your State Superintendent I will see to it that Wisconsin does just that.

Presently, there are vast differences between Wisconsin’s model academic standards in core areas and those in states like Massachusetts and Virginia. There, the standards have both clear objectives and tangible expectations for each grade or two-year intervals.

Unfortunately, too often, Wisconsin’s standards are neither as rigorous nor tangible; and the state merely measures performance standards in fourth, eighth and twelfth grades.

Here’s just one example of the problem: The math standards in Massachusetts expect a child in the first or second grade to find the value of combinations of coins and dollar bills up to $5. In Virginia the first grade standard is to do the same for a dollar bill.

In Wisconsin, we challenge fourth graders to master change combinations up to thirty cents.

Here's her plan:

In my first 100 days as State Superintendent, I will bring together teachers, parents and employers to begin the process of having new, rigorous and tangible academic standards in place by 2010.

This debate is not about federal or state education mandates. Rather, I believe DPI should provide model standards from which local districts can build their expectations for the students within their schools.

We also need to improve the state’s assessment system at the same time as our standards are upgraded.

It’s time for a change.

I will bring the parents, teachers, employers and education leaders from around the state together to build a set of standards that are understandable, tangible, rigorous and realistic.

Teachers deserve to have concrete, understandable expectations and our students deserve to be challenged to excel and have their success measured honestly.

In other news in the race, State DPI official Jeff Dickert told WTAQ-AM’s Jerry Bader yesterday he realizes he was wrong to send out an invitation to a Tony Evers fundraiser using his state government e-mail account. He contacted the state Government Accountability Board, claims it’s a “self-referral” (even though CRG Network filed a complaint) and also claims that he would have sent the same type of e-mail for Rose Fernandez (hilarious).

I don’t want to spend a lot of time on this lest I be accused of letting the issue “consume” me* but I’m just fascinated with how someone will turn themselves in to the state Government Accountability Board. Will his lawyer block the cameras with legal papers? Will Dickert pull his coat over his head as he walks into the state GAB offices? Oh, that’s right. There won’t be any cameras there. No newspapers. Good thing conservative bloggers and talk radio are covering the story.

* For an English teacher, Jay Bullock of the center square has real trouble with English.

Grim anniversary

The attack on student protestors in Tiananmen Square was 19 years ago today.

From the Associated Press:

New York-based Human Rights Watch said about 130 prisoners are still being held for their role in the demonstrations that were crushed in a brutal military crackdown. The square in the heart of the Chinese capital is expected to feature prominently in media coverage of the Olympics, although authorities worry about the possibility of fresh protests marring the event.

"The Chinese government should show the global Olympic audience it's serious about human rights by releasing the Tiananmen detainees," Sophie Richardson, the group's Asia advocacy director, said in a statement released Monday in New York.

The square was calm Wednesday morning on the 19th anniversary of the June 3-4 military assault on the protesters in which hundreds, possibly thousands, were killed. China's Communist leaders portray the protest as an anti-government riot and have never offered a full accounting of the crackdown.

Looking forward to the Olympics?

China pledged to improve its human rights situation in its bid to host the 2008 Olympics. But one Tiananmen activist, whose son was killed as he hid from soldiers enforcing martial law, scoffed when asked whether the August games had spurred the government to change its attitude.

"I don't have this kind of illusion," said Ding Zilin, pointing out that some of her activist friends were placed under house arrest this year. She is the co-founder of the Tiananmen Mothers, a group representing families of those who died, and has campaigned to get the government to acknowledge those killed in the crackdown and compensate their families.

No official figure is available of the number of people who remain jailed in connection with the protests. Liu Xiaobo, an Internet writer who was jailed for nearly five years after the protests, said he knows of up to eight people serving life sentences in Beijing's No. 2 Prison on charges of organizing people to oppose the soldiers or taking part in acts such as the burning of police or army vehicles during the crackdown.

China Human Rights Defenders, a network of activists and rights monitoring groups, released a list Tuesday with the names of eight Beijing residents who remain imprisoned in connection with the Tiananmen protests. A handful of activists had also been placed under house arrest or monitored by police in the days leading up to the anniversary, the group said.

WIL's Call to Action

I think every member of the state legislature should read this "Call to Action" by the Wisconsin Institute for Leadership, Seriously Addressing Issues in Wisconsin.

While some groups try to make a point by playing dress up and engaging in street theater, the Wisconsin Institute for Leadership prefers to stimulate your brain.

This call to action originally appeared in our blog. In the wake of legislative and gubernatorial action on the state budget, it’s prudent to move this to the front page. After reading this, head over to our forum and share your take, or participate in many of the other discussions there.

A call to action

The Wisconsin State Budget is running an incredible (and seemingly perpetual) deficit, and too many public officials are looking toward anti-business and anti-consumer tax hikes and accounting tricks for a quick election-year fix.

Wisconsinites deserve better. In tough economic times the government should do what Wisconsin families are now doing every day, adjust their spending habits to meet the economic reality of the day. In other words, Wisconsin government spends too much and needs to spend less!

In addition to cutting spending, Wisconsin public officials should pass legislation that improves the economic climate here. This is only a partial list of our goals, each of which should have standards by which we can measure their achievement.

1. We must unleash the private sector to allow risk takers to find solutions to the problems associated with the quality and cost of health care and education.
   
2. We must build on efforts to attract venture capital.
   
3. We must not reinstitute an onerous death tax for a short-term budgetary fix.
   
4. We must pass legislation to eliminate the capital gains tax on funds invested in Wisconsin.
   
5. We must fix the Milwaukee Public School system which is not only a black hole for tax dollars, but is also failing generation after generation of our state’s children.
   
6. We must invest in higher education and end the brain drain. Student aid should increase proportionately with any tuition increases in the UW System.
   
7. We must end the raids of segregated funds for uses other than which they were intended and further examine whether those long-established funds are adequate and appropriate given the changing economy.
   
8. We must get Wisconsin out of the ten most taxed states in the nation.
   
9. We must provide tax incentives to current businesses to invest in modernizing and growing their operations.
   
10. We must ensure that we have a reliable energy transmission system, which includes safe, proven methods of generation and distribution.

Dude, only one party?

Well, so much for student government elections at UW-Milwaukee.

An entire slate of 26 candidates running with the opposition party for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Student Association in this week's election had their names stricken from the ballot because of campaign violations, a UWM election official said today.

Candidates with Achieving Student Action through Progress (ASAP) filed complaints today with the student court hoping to postpone the election, scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Otherwise, students who go to the polls will see only the names of candidates from the Students United For Change (SUFC) party or two independent candidates. If they want to vote for candidates from ASAP, they'll have to write the names in.

The ruling was made by election commissioner Dan Bahr, a former student senator who ran with the party that stands to benefit from the decision. He stepped down from that position in February when he was appointed election commissioner.

"All we ever wanted was a fair election," ASAP vice presidential candidate Julio Guerrero said. "We don't mind losing if we're on the ballot. The fact that they felt they needed to take us off the ballot shows me personally how much they fear losing power."

The ACLU and Milwaukee Alderman Nic Kovac are now involved. Perhaps Jimmy Carter can cut short his trip to the middle east and mediate the election dispute.

As a former UW-Milwaukee student government president once told me, "Never have so few fought so hard over so little." The winner of this struggle gets cash, a nice office, free use of a computer and (unless they changed the rules) even occasional use of a state car. Not bad for someone who is supposed to be going to college.

Don't mend it. End it.

Over at the Critical Badger the students are lamenting the student body's apathy towards the UW-Madison student government and the apparent incompetence of the incumbents. The "state of the ASM" speech only attracted an audience of three reporters and six ASM members. If you read through the Critical Badger's post down to the comments, someone else proposes (yet again) a list of "reforms" needed to generate more interest by the students in their student government.

It's an issue dealt with time and again, but someday I'll get a group of students to listen to me. There is no need for a student government. Student governments are only good for taxing their fellow students so a few can have offices and salaries while attenting college. The other purpose of student government is to rubber stamp the desires of the administration.

If a student or group of students really wanted to make a difference on campus, they would form a single-issue ad hoc committee to tackle a problem and then quickly disband it when the problem is solved. The administration would take such a committee more seriously than it ever has the student government and it wouldn't cost the students any money.

Reform of student government in Madison has been tried before and it will be tried again. The same holds true at any UW system campus, or even Marquette. Each time I root for them to succeed, but each time I know it won't be long before the student government lapses into corruption and apathy. Sadly, the students in it will still believe they are doing something noble. And even if they achieve something, the next student government will just change things back.

Meanwhile, student governments are never representative of the students. They get less than ten percent of the student population to vote. After the election there is so much turnover that soon the student government doesn't look anything like the body that was elected the previous spring. Of those holding office, only a few will actually participate. They'll be the ones with titles, office space and salaries.

Why children should be seen and not heard

Six UW system student governments cried, "Gimmee, gimmee, gimmee!" They want taxpayers to:

-- Increase pay and improve retention for UW faculty and staff using strictly state funds.

-- Increase funding for the Wisconsin Higher Education Grant, the Advanced Opportunity Program and the Lawton Undergraduate Retention Grant program.

-- Support a veterans' tuition remission program funded completely through state funds.

-- Cap tuition increases so they don't exceed the rate of inflation.

-- Provide funding for domestic partner benefits for all UW employees.

-- Provide funding for mental health counseling at all UW institutions.

-- Make sure state law ensures that the average tuition increase is matched dollar-for-dollar with the average Wisconsin Higher Education Grant award.

I'm surprised they didn't ask for free massages and pedicures every Friday. Sadly, if this shows anything it's that students should be required to take more economics courses. They might learn money doesn't grow on trees.

I should note, too, that one of the student governments belongs to UW-Milwaukee, touted by WTMJ's Charlie Sykes as an indicator student governments can be run by conservatives. If these are the conservatives, we can shudder at what passes for today's radicals.

I offer the same advice I have offered to students ever since my days at UW-Milwaukee: abolish student government. It isn't representative. It isn't responsible. It's inherently corrupt and it just costs money. Kick the kids back to the classrooms where they belong.

Students on the march

WTMJ-AM's Charlie Sykes has an article in The Wisconsin Interest discussing the rise of conservatives at UW-Milwaukee and elsewhere.

Last spring, conservative students, running for seats on the UWM student Senate, on a platform of lowering segregated fees (paid by students) and fiscal responsibility, won the student election by a 2-to-1 margin. “We saw this as a mandate,” recalls A.J. Piwarun, who is now deputy speaker of the student Senate. “At the first college republicans meeting in September, I recruited about nine members to run for open Senate seats. During the course of the semester, more Senate seats opened up, and we recruited additional conservatives to the cause.”

As of mid-January there are 40 student senators: 16 are members of the College Republicans; 8 are non-affiliated conservatives; 10 are moderates; just six are considered liberals. Piwarun says that about half of the moderates vote with the conservatives, “giving us a clear majority.”

They've achieved some successes, but how long will they last? They may regret not following the advice I offer students every year:

Close the student government down.

Someday you crazy kids will listen to me

The student government in Madison wants to open a grocery store. Awash in cash and not enough brains. You want to make tuition more affordable? Wipe out the segregated fees that support such stupid ideas.

Another reason student government should be abolished

Even private universities are not immune from the plague of "student government" sucking down student resources with little purpose. Now the Marquette Student Government President won't talk to bloggers "on the record" perhaps the students should petition to do away with the institution. MUSG President Brock Banks sent an e-mail to one blogger that stated in part,

However, I am aware that you have a blog that also serves as a forum to address MUSG issues. It has been and continues to be MUSG policy not to do interviews with or provide press releases to individuals bloggers. These are reserved for media outlets such as the Marquette Tribune, Warrior, and other such news sources. Any “interview” would have to be strictly off the record and not for the purpose of your blog. If you have further questions about our policy, please contact the Communications Vice President Jillian Mertz.

That a student government even has a "Communications Vice President" is reason enough to call the whole institution into question. But consider the degree such arrogance is subsidized.

Marquette's alternative student publication, The Warrior, reported,

In Fiscal Year 2005, the Marquette University Student Government spent exactly $399,996.43. That’s a pretty big number, but just to put it in perspective, that much money can also purchase: 129 round trip flights from Milwaukee to South Africa, 1606 video iPods or 7,272 Fanatics ticket packages.

But of that $399,996.43, only 22.4 percent went back to the student body in the form of student organization disbursements. And for every dollar disbursed to a student organization, 48 cents was spent in MUSG administrative expenses. (ht:GOP3)

That's a heckuva slush fund for student activities at Marquette, and it's not surprising the student government takes the biggest slice of the pie. It's a pattern repeated at public universities everywhere.

I know once again I'll hear from someone claiming student government does some good, that it fights the evil administration and prevents fascism or something. But the reality is students are better off organizing on an ad-hoc basis.

I offer the following program to any group of students wishing to change their their student governments. At best "reform" takes hold for one year and accomplishes little. Abolition should be the call. Start now by calling for the end of all student organization salaries, and then run on a platform of sweeping the corrupt student governing body out of office. With no replacement.

Your fellow students will thank you for it.

Mirage over Lake Mendota

I'm conflicted. Should we forgive the governor's occasional flights of fancy, his over-active imagination? Should we, much as we would a small child, try to understand Governor Doyle's desperate need for attention? A need so great he invents government programs out of thin air and then engages in fantasy behavior?

Or should we treat him like a grown man, and ask that he behave himself in public and stop telling whoppers to eigth-graders who are young and impressionable enough to actually believe someone with the title of governor?

As I comment in this week's column, Governor Doyle was in town last week, and he made some promises that he isn't authorized to keep.

The governor made a stop in Waukesha last week to sign up eighth-grade students for his Wisconsin Covenant program. The program would guarantee a spot in the University of Wisconsin System and a financial aid package for any student who maintains a "B" average through high school. The governor has been touring the state promoting the program and having kids sign their names to promises to get good grades.
Now, everybody likes kids getting good grades. Even I like kids who get good grades. I always advise such kids to continue to get good grades, go to a nice university, go to law school, and eventually become governor by making false promises to eighth-graders.

I don’t get invited to speak at "career day" very often.

My other advice to children is to be skeptical of anything Gov. Jim Doyle promises.

After all, there is no "Wisconsin Covenant" program. It does not exist except as a proposal that has not been passed by the Legislature and is unlikely to be passed this year.

It’s an amazing bit of deception to promise to kids and their parents the rewards of a welfare program that doesn’t exist. It’s also quite underhanded to recruit the kids to actually sign up for a non-existent program.

Even eBay doesn’t allow its sellers to put items up for auction they don’t have.

If he was a used car salesman, we'd ask the state attorney general to prosecute him for consumer fraud. But since he's the governor, apparently we're asked to indulge his acting out the scenarios of his fantasy world.

Such behavior by the governor cannot be conducive to good mental health.

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The more things change

I can't decide if reading this makes me feel young or old, but UW-Milwaukee's Union Policy Board is having trouble allocating the office spaces for student organizations for next year.

I have a solution, if any of you student government types want to listen. Just throw all the student organizations out on their butts and turn those offices on the third floor of the student union into meeting rooms. Better yet, knock all the walls down, scatter some couches and create a quiet study area away from the noise of the concourse. Some of you do study, right?

I merely offer this advice as a UW-Milwaukee alumnus and a former Vice President of the Union Policy Board who had an office with a great view of the campus.

So that's what the perp looked like?

Not that this changes my mind about the overall usefulness of student government at our state universities, but UW-Milwaukee's student government managed to do one thing right:

The Student Association of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee almost unanimously approved legislation on Sunday that orders the university to include identifying characteristics like height and race in campus-wide e-mails detailing crimes on or near campus.

But the university spokesman reiterated last week that the official university position is that race in suspect descriptions is inappropriate. The binding power of the legislation on the university could be disputed, although the Student Association legislative affairs director said the student group is poised to take the matter to the Board of Regents if necessary.

The university spokesman said he wanted to wait until after the vote before issuing a response to the legislation. He could not be reached on Sunday night.

The legislation, entitled “Suspect Description Disclosure Act,” states that “any information narrowing the scope of possible suspects is valuable, and…apprehending suspects of crimes on and near campus is in the best interest of students by promoting safety.”

It goes on to order UWM’s office of University Relations to disclose “any and all information received by police, including but not limited to the sex, race, build, and height of the suspect along with age, clothing, and involved weaponry and vehicles of each suspect, about crimes committed on or near campus.”

The legislation still has to be signed by the student government president Samantha Prahl who, according to the article, wants to speak with the administration first. Never a good sign.

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Baaa BLAM!?

Dominick Riesland, who wrote an extensive article on the problems with student government at UW-Milwaukee for The University Standard (previously referred to by me here), has a blog of his own completely dedicated to the issue, Well Armed Sheep. He responds at length to my most recent statement suggesting student governance in the UW System be abolished.

I think this marks the first time I have been made a key search word or category on anyone's blog or search engine.

On his blog, Riesland notes the following, "Attorney Teresa Rickert of the Brookfield law firm of Schmidt Rupke Tess-Matner & Fox, S.C. on Monday, October 23 to intervene on its behalf."

A quick Google search reveals Rickert received a B.A. from UW-Milwaukee in 2001. She was a member of the UWM mock trial team in 2000. When she was hired by Schmidt, Rupke, Tess-Mattner & Fox, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (7/24/06) reported she was being added to "focus on civil litigation and corporate law."

A new paradigm for UW shared governance

I think Jon Hayden may be on the right track with a suggestion to eliminate separate student government at the UW system schools and instead concentrate on increasing student participation on university committees. I think he may have proposed a solution to radical for the universities to swallow, but it's a proposal in the right direction to giving students a real voice in university affairs while eliminating the "pigs in the trough" student governments.

So now I've got a student leader thinking about the issue of shared governance and segregated fees. If we could only get someone in the legislature to start thinking about the issue. Let's see. Who in the legislature has actually thought about the issue of shared governance and segregated fees? Hmmmm...

(I expect an e-mail from Madison any minute now telling me I'm crazy if I think he'll take on this project.)

Blaming the peasants

Let's start with an update on UW-Milwaukee's student government. The UWM Post has reported the student government has been let back into their offices but Student Association Senate Speaker Russell Rueden (hold the sauerkraut) has been suspended from student activities.

The Badger Herald in Madison has a story on the controversy. Of course, their student government has tight fiscal controls that would prevent something like this happening there. Everyone try not to laugh too hard.

Student governance defender Jon Hayden blames the peasants for the troubles of the ruling oligarchy.

You got what you deserved, whether you like it or not. You can cry, you can moan, you can organize protests, but you failed yourself.

Sincerely from the great, and scandal-free, UW-Green Bay,

Jon Hayden

I would take a cheap shot at his totalitarian tendencies, but he is a college kid. That, and his blog doesn't allow comments. So we'll just laugh hysterically at his apparent belief UW-Green Bay is immune from corrupt student government.

Um, Jon, what you wrote is indistinguishable from what student government defenders were saying twenty years ago when I first suggested student government should be abolished. Time to try a new paradigm, I think.

Students and faculty at UW-Milwaukee will be happy to learn their student government troubles have hit the big time in The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required). That oughtta convince the administration they did something wrong, no?

Recess Supervisor comments here, "Imagine what would happen if you gave high school student councils the power to tax and spend. You'd probably get something similar to this." Add sex and beer to the mix, and I think we're getting the idea.

Dominick Riesland writing in The University Standard (needs an RSS feed) writes a long story how student government has changed in recent years, including the student organization office allocation process (yes, Eric, little has changed). But Riesland also writes how student government tried the "black capsule" option:

At the meeting, a document was passed around called the Financial Accountability Act of 2006, which would have ordered that the Union, Norris Health Center, Klotsche Center and the Athletics department undergo an audit and be similarly shut down "in order to comply with the University's interpretation of F20." The stated reason was that President Prahl did not want to set the precedent of having to release the information on the Private Account because that would undermine the ability of the SA to act as a check on the administration. If she did release this information, she claimed, future SA Presidents would be forced to do the same, which removes the independence of the SA. There was no quorum; therefore, no vote could be taken on this measure. But given the track record above, there is no reason to believe that this setback will make the legislation go away. {emphasis added}

I especially love the Nixonian logic, even if there's no way in Hell the administration would ever agree to such nonsense. He concludes, "This is not the pattern I want to see from student government, as it undermines the entire concept of shared governance. Such evasiveness and apparent corruption could lead to a repeal of the vaunted Wisconsin Statute 36.09(5) that guarantees students the right to participate in University policy." One can only hope.

Before some student comments below about how they are going to use this as an opportunity to make student government better, let me remind you of some final thoughts of a student who tried to lead a group to change the student government at UW-Madison last year:

The reason Student Government failed is exactly two of the six members actually believed in the idea of revolution. It was clear to me almost from the beginning that aside from Steve and myself, no one wanted to put in the effort to make this thing work. In hindsight, one could easily make the case that some fraction of the group was just using SG as another grandstanding tactic to further its ASM ambitions.

Sometimes it sucks to be a student trying to save your fellow students from being oppressed by The Man.

UW-Milwaukee will face Marquette in basketball

Memo to UW-Milwaukee: Keep the student government away from the money.

According to the UWM Post, UW-Milwaukee will face Marquette University in men's basketball starting in 2007-2008. UW-Milwaukee will get $200,000 over the next three years and the games will be played at Marquette's home court, the Bradley Center.

Maybe putting the students in charge of each other is not such a good idea

Ever read The Lord of the Flies? Drew Baryenbruch of The University Standard, a publication I was unfamiliar with, announces Democracy Now an Illusion at UWM. (ht: Jon Hayden)

Curiously, Baryenbruch seems to be looking for his share,

As a student at UWM, you are charged more in segregated fees than you would be charged if you attended any other campus in the state. These fees are set by your student government - the Student Association. A government that is by far the highest paid student government in the state. Your President alone makes $9,500 a year. She also controls a budget of over $80,000 to be spent on executive employees. I will never argue that creating student jobs is not one of the greatest accomplishments the Student Association could achieve for students. Why, though, do all of these jobs have to be internalized solely in the executive branch? Isn't the goal of the student government to spread the wealth?

Meanwhile, Fox 6 news in Milwaukee, obviously bored with covering real government news, covers the suspension of student government at UW-Milwaukee as if Fidel Castro just tossed out Batista (yes, it's an apt comparison). What had me laughing was the student government president telling the interviewer she spends 40 hours per week in the student government office.

Really, students at UW-Milwaukee, start the petition drive now to abolish student government. You have nothing to lose and a few dollars to gain.

Note: For whatever reason, I'm having trouble accessing the UWM Post online (the newspaper Mike Mathias and Jessica McBride wrote for when they were in college). Maybe government forces have seized the newspaper. If so, it would be one of the few revolutions that wouldn't have to worry about seizing the radio station. Who would notice?

Disband student government at UW-Milwaukee

(Note: previous commentary on student government in the UW System can be read here, here, here, and here.)

The worst thing that happened to student government was when student government was actually given some authority. From then on it became a taxing authority answerable to less than 10% of the students independent of any real role in student life.

When I was a student, by the time I reached my senior year (junior year: the best three years of my life) I realized that student governance was a complete scam. It was the UW System's way of keeping the rabble-rousers busy while the administration went about its business. I also noted the absurdity of students taxing other students so they could collect a minor salary while participating in extracurricular activities. These revelations occurred to me as I sat looking out my student government office with a window overlooking the campus while my unfinished term paper sat on my desk next to my student government provided computer.

Here's a quick quiz for you. Who get's more money from the university students, the student government president, or the star of the UWM basketball team? Who is really more important to UW-Milwaukee?

Sometimes getting paid for an extracurricular activity isn't enough. Sometimes there's a little graft in the system. After all, who is going to notice? The university? Sometimes it was parking tickets, or getting the university to pay for a rental car for a "conference". But once in a while some student would come along and just add a little extra spending money to the bottom line.

We don't yet know if that is what happened in (this case, but it must be pretty serious for the university to take the rare step of shutting down student government temporarily and calling the police. What allegedly occurred is that a student government official paid his own private company $10,000. Possibly the company does not really exist, possibly the company is legit but the transaction wasn't, possibly the whole transaction was legitimate.

But the episode does underscore how easy it is to take money from the system, and how real conflicts of interest occur inside student government.

Besides, no college kid should ever have a chief of staff.

The students of UW-Milwaukee should take my advice and on the day following election day start a petition drive to abolish student government. Hand over the keys to the administration and be done with it. Abolish all salaries for student organization and student activity leaders, whether inside or outside student government. And finally, sever all ties (financial and otherwise) with off-campus "student lobbying" organizations like United Council and USSA.

Now, everytime I make these suggestions, this is what I hear: the administration is going to steamroll the students and, my favorite, "this year will be different" in student government.

Did student government stop the UW System from hiring Kevin Barrett as a lecturer, petitioning the Board of regents for a tuition increase, or a change in the admissions process which valued multiculturalism over academic standards? Is the sick leave policy going to change anytime soon? Did student government stop the Board of Regents from issuing an opinion on the state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage? Is student government raising the academic standards in the classroom?

How would life be different for the average student at UW-Milwaukee if student government was abolished, other than their tuition bill would be cheaper without the extra segregated fees tacked on?

As for the absurd belief that this year or next year student government will be better, think how long ago I first called for the abolition of student government (1990). Every year since then student government has been about the same. So what do you have to lose?

Update! Jon Hayden (I think) at Fighting Phoenix depressess me with his belief that UW-Milwaukee's student government will emerge stronger than ever. I don't believe that to be the case, but then that's not much of a goal to shoot for. What's depressing to me is that he actually wants a stronger student government. He must like paying segregated fees.

Congressman Mark Green's Speech to the Republican State Convention

(text supplied by Green for Wisconsin)

Thank you, Governor Thompson. I’m so proud to have your friendship, your advice … and your support.

Twenty years ago, you rescued this state and made us a national leader. You’ve inspired so many of us into public service. I promise you, we will not let you down. Will we?

Scott Walker … thank you … we always said we hoped our friendship would survive this process. I am fortunate to have you on my team, but even more fortunate to have you as a friend.

My family is here with me today. Sue, my wife and partner on so many adventures … UW-Eau Claire, law school, teaching in Africa, the State Assembly and Congress … and, most important, parenthood.

My kids really have a wonderful mom … between soccer games and swim meets, and basketball and piano, Sue Green manages to make it all work … and still have time to listen to me complain about how busy my day was!

Sue grew up on a farm down in Walworth County … where her parents and her brother still farm.

There’s a lot of talk these days about building urban-rural partnerships … about uniting the different parts of our state. Well, Sue and my urban-rural partnership has been going strong for over 20 years.

My three children, Rachel, Anna and Alex … they’re not only great kids, but they provide invaluable advice to me and the campaign. They’ve taught me how to work an iPod … and thanks to them, I know that a TomKat sighting doesn’t refer to a war plan.

Now Anna has a soccer game in a few hours down in Neenah, and if her dad doesn’t go on too long, she just might make it! Don’t worry, we’ll go with the two-hour version … not the three-hour one we practiced last night!

I tell you, I look around this room, and I walk around this convention, and I get a feeling … I get a feeling my friends … it’s been twenty years since we knocked out of office an out-of-touch Democratic governor, and I get a feeling it’s time to do it again!

Are you ready? I hope you are … because – just like 20 years ago – our beloved Wisconsin is sliding down the wrong track.

As I travel this state, I see too many folks worried about our future. Our taxes are too high, our business climate is faltering, our schools are letting down the very families who need them most …

And Jim Doyle, well, he’s nowhere to be found … unless, of course, you can write a big campaign check!

My friends, one of the great things about our state is that we’ve always known who we are, and what we stand for. After all, you say “Wisconsin” and people think: beautiful state … bold ideas … interesting headgear …

Let’s face it: it takes a little self-confidence to walk around with a wedge of cheese on your head – and I am willing to bet that many of you here can pull it off with style.

Cheeseheads with attitude!

But that’s what I mean! We know who we are. We’ve never worried much about what others may think, because we’re usually out in front, leading the way.

That is, until now.

Sure, under Jim Doyle, we’re still leaders, but it’s in taxes, and lawsuits and the loss of good-paying jobs.

We’re here because we can do better! And we will do better!

I believe in the future of this state because I believe in the strength of our people. Our people are good … and strong … and hopeful … and hardworking.

No matter how hard Jim Doyle and his friends are trying to move the state one way … our people will keep trying to move forward.

Republicans, it’s time for us to come to the rescue. It’s time to offer folks leadership that listens … leadership that trusts them … it’s time to make Wisconsin great again.

My friends, it’s time for Jim Doyle to go, and I accept your nomination to show him the door!

We gather here united as Republicans … but we’ll leave here bonded as Wisconsinites … with a clear mission to recapture the Wisconsin spirit.

Under Jim Doyle, even though government may be for sale, our famous “can-do” spirit is not.

Because our people understand what Jim Doyle doesn’t.

Our problem isn’t that we’re under-taxed. It’s not that we’re under-regulated. It’s not that we’re under-sued. It’s just that we’re under-led.

Time after time, issue after issue, the big difference between Jim Doyle and Mark Green is the difference between trusting in government … and trusting in the people.

Ronald Reagan used to say: “Stop putting your faith in the false gods of bureaucracy. Trust the genius of the American people again.”

He was right. As Republicans, we should go with the people every time.

It’s true on taxes. Heck, that’s what the battle over taxes is all about – who can spend your money more wisely. You … or Jim Doyle.

We must stand strong for lowering the tax burden – because it’s robbing families of their dreams and sapping this state of her strength.

Wisconsin’s tax burden is the 7th highest in the country. Our state and local taxes are nearly 10% more than the national average.

Jim Doyle had his chance to help our taxpayers, and he failed.

He failed by vetoing a property tax freeze three times in just three years … and now those taxes have risen another $600 million.

He failed by mismanaging our state budget so badly that we now have one of the worst deficits in the county.

He failed by stealing from our children’s future, and putting his massive spending increases on the taxpayers’ credit card.

He failed because our state’s tax burden is tying an anchor to every entrepreneur, every senior, every graduate, every family. When they find the ladder of opportunity, big government is right there to hold them back and hold them down.

But you and I are going to toss that weight aside – we won’t stand for it any more.

I support constitutional limits on taxes and spending on all levels of government … it’s time we empower taxpayers with the right to simply say, “no more!”

It all boils down to this: I began this campaign with this simple pledge: Elect me as your governor, and Wisconsin’s tax burden will improve, or I won’t run for re-election. I’ll keep my promise … or step aside for someone who will.

To make Wisconsin great again, we must do more than lower our tax burden – we must also ensure that our young people have the education they need and deserve.

There is no challenge more important to me or to our state. And just like taxes, I believe good education policy is a matter of trusting people over special interests.

Under Governor Green, our schools will serve the needs of our families, not just the wish list of WEAC.

Some of you know that Sue and I spent a year as volunteer teachers in Africa just after finishing college. Where we taught, education wasn’t compulsory and it wasn’t free.

In our village, families had to pay a school fee for their children to attend. From time to time, the headmaster would appear in our classrooms and call out the names of the kids who hadn’t paid, and they would have to leave. It was a heartbreaking thing to watch … but then something inspiring would happen … the same children who were removed from the classroom actually would quietly sneak back in.

They were desperate to learn … all of our kids want to learn. I believe there is an innate desire in young people to learn. Unleashing their potential should be the goal of our schools – not just protecting tenure and fringe benefits for employees.

Education funding will always be a top priority, but we’ll also demand accountability. Good teachers, and there are lots of them, should have their pay based on merit – not on how long they occupy a chair.

And our education dollars should actually reach our classrooms – not get lost in the bureaucracy.

A few months back, I met a great lady in Milwaukee who said to me, “Mark, you know when you see that shiny banner at a school that says ‘No Child Left Behind?’ Well, they’ve been leaving my kids behind for years.”

I know there are some out there who would wish away our education challenges, or sweep them under the rug. That won’t happen on my watch. We’re going to stand with and for that mother I met.

In Milwaukee Public Schools, only about one of out three African American children will graduate. And Wisconsin’s achievement gap between white and minority students is among the worst in the nation.

Jim Doyle is standing in the schoolhouse door, blocking thousands of families from their dreams. But you and I are going to kick the door in.

We’ll support charters, we’ll support choice and we’ll support home schooling … and we’ll never settle for second best when it comes to our kids’ education.

And the same must be true for our University of Wisconsin. Sue and I are proud – so proud – to be alums of the UW system. But I worry that it’s losing its way.

Under this administration, the UW has been so wrapped up in red tape and bureaucratic maneuvers that they’ve actually been hiring convicted sex offenders, shelling out $700-a-month car stipends, creating hundreds of high-paying “back up” jobs … even jacking up tuition for Wisconsin families while slashing out-of-state tuition at the very same time.

We are headed toward an era when anyone can go to the UW – unless you’re actually from Wisconsin.

And the very people Jim Doyle put in charge of the university can’t understand why everyone is so worked up.

“But you don’t understand,” they exclaim in a patronizing tone. But we do.

While they defend turf, and programs, and perks, we defend students … and we’ll fight for their interests and their dreams.

It’s the same old story. Over and over again, Jim Doyle seems to confuse moving Wisconsin forward with moving it toward his friends.

He seems to confuse creating jobs for families with creating jobs for trial lawyers.

He seems to confuse investing in our children with investing in the WEAC agenda.

Jim Doyle is so addicted … he’s so addicted … to special interest cash that when I asked him to agree to run a clean campaign and limit spending to $1 per Wisconsinite – that’s five and a half million dollars – he wanted no part of it.

He’s selling the soul of our state, and we’re not going to stand for it anymore! Are we?

My friends, fellow Republicans, it’s time for us to go to work. It’s time for us to remember our principles … to remember the lessons of Lincoln and Reagan and Tommy Thompson.

It’s time for us to boldly take the lead. Our state motto is “Forward,” not “let’s see what the bureaucrats or special interest contributors have to say.”

Remember, our state capital is named for James Madison, the Founding Father who wrote this of our newborn nation: “yes, this is new … yes, this has never been tried … many things Americans have done have never been tried before.”

At a time when every new toothpaste is hailed as “revolutionary,” it’s easy to lose sight of the true meaning of the word … but what those early Americans were trying was exactly that, revolutionary.

The unprecedented idea that ordinary people could govern themselves.

That was it. That was the nugget that electrified the world, and set history on a whole new course.

The early settlers in Wisconsin were fired by that idea … and they were followed by wave after wave from across the sea, all stirred by visions of a new and better life in this new and revolutionary world.

They were Norwegians and Germans and Irish and others. They brought us their beer and sausage and cheese, their love of the outdoors.

As one writer put it, they also brought us “ideas and influences from [an] aroused Old World.” Notions that nourished and invigorated their new homeland.

They gave birth to a new political party called the Republicans, a new social experiment called kindergarten, a new movement to create a genuinely popular, democratic and progressive model of government – government that responded to the people, not well-funded interests.

Of all the states, it was only in Wisconsin that all of these influences came together and took root, and led President Theodore Roosevelt to call us “a pioneer blazing the way [for] America.”

Decades later, another leader appeared on the scene, again spouting “new” and “radical” ideas about welfare reform and education and economic growth.

Tommy Thompson and his ideas succeeded not only in reforming and rejuvenating Wisconsin herself, but making the Badger State a challenge for the rest of the nation to follow.

Tommy’s ideas took hold and took flight because they were firmly rooted in who we are.

What a difference a few years makes …

Jim Doyle and his crew say they want to keep Wisconsin moving forward, but they just can’t seem to grasp the fundamentals of what makes us different … what makes us special … what makes us Wisconsin.

They’re stuck in the Madison mindset of minutiae and maneuvering.

Just look at the choices the Doyle crew has made:

Allowing state employees to donate their own money to faith-based groups through the state’s charitable giving program? That’s a no-no.

But the university using its limited funds to launch a class called “Vampires in Literature and Film?” No problem with that.

A student RA holding a Bible study in the privacy of his own dorm room? Heaven forbid.

But taking millions in contributions and then giving out permanent gaming compacts. That doesn’t smell bad at all!

Allowing schools to refuse to hire convicted felons? You’ve got to be crazy.

But letting a cop killer out of prison? Why not.

Allowing family piers with more than two boats? How could you!

But in-state tuition and home loans for illegal immigrants? They don’t see a problem there.

Their disdain for our everyday beliefs and values is astonishing!

You are going to hear a lot from me in the coming months about what I think is wrong about the Doyle administration … but it comes directly from a deep-seated belief in what is right about Wisconsin.

I believe we need to respect and fight for the values that made us what we are. Values like faith and family, hard work, love of country, devotion to the outdoor life.

I believe that family is central to a healthy society, and marriage should be clearly defined.

I believe human life is a gift from God, and it deserves our protection.

I believe we should invest in finding cures to diseases that are robbing families of their loved ones – and we can do that without leaving our moral compass behind.

I believe sex offenders belong in prison, not in our neighborhoods.

I believe immigration has enriched the soul of this state. My own parents are immigrants, and I am proud to be a first-generation American.

As governor, I will always welcome legal immigrants, and I will work to honor them by stemming the tide of illegal immigration.

I believe we need to break down unnecessary barriers that hurt faith-based organizations as they work to lift lives and heal neighborhoods.

I believe democracy is rooted in the principle that every citizen should have his vote counted, but only once. And I promise you, 2006 will be the last time you can vote without an ID!

My friends, we will run with an agenda this is not only worthy of election, but worthy of Wisconsin.

I want to tap into the strength and character and ingenuity of our people.

I want us thinking big again – not big government – but big ideas, big dreams.

And like the people I hope to serve, I’m not one to shrink from a challenge.

Most people don’t know this, but for much of my life, I competed in swimming. Now, even my own father has said I wasn’t the most gifted of athletes, or even the most gifted of swimmers [by the way, thanks Dad].

But he always knew I had the drive and the discipline to be the best that I could be – which was an All-American, three times.

Let me tell you, a January morning in Green Bay or on the UW-Eau Claire campus is a mighty cold, dark and forbidding thing to behold … where the idea of staying under the blankets is a lot more enticing than jumping into that pool.

But if you have a goal in sight and a plan to get you there – well, then you plunge right in and you get it done.

You don’t just dip your toe in and wait to see what the trial lawyers have to say.

I am plunging myself into this campaign, body and soul, because I truly believe we need to get Wisconsin moving back in the right direction … back to where people are in charge, not special interests.

I’ve already mentioned that my parents are immigrants. My mom is from England; my dad was raised in South Africa.

I was fortunate enough to have been born in this country, in Boston, when my dad was doing a residency. But soon after that, our family moved to Australia, where my father taught medicine for a couple of years.

Then one day, he gets a letter from a friend – the only American he really knew – who asks my dad if he would help develop a clinic in a place called Green Bay.

Well, my father had never heard of Green Bay. But he came, and he helped build that clinic, and he never left.

My brothers and I got to grow up in Green Bay … we got to grow up fishing and camping, living and dying with the Packers, sucking down sweet corn and … well, you get the picture.

A few years ago I asked my dad, I said “here you are, a guy living in Australia, born in South Africa, arriving in Green Bay in November, and yet you decided to stay. Why?”

And he said, “because everything a family could ask for is right here in Wisconsin.”

And that, my friends, is what this campaign is about.

It is about building a brighter future.

A future where my family – my beautiful wife, Sue, my kids Rachel, Anna, and Alex – where my family, and your family, and every family in Wisconsin can have that good job, own a nice home, enjoy the beauty of our state and afford to stay here to watch the next generation achieve even greater things.

A future where once again we have the confidence to aim high, think big and make a difference … all the while never forgetting who we are and what we stand for.

A future where all of us move forward together, sure in the knowledge that we are different … we are special … we are Wisconsin!

Thank you very much. I’m honored to be your nominee. God bless you all, and God bless the great state of Wisconsin!