The other day I was accosted at Memorial Union and asked to sign a Valentine's day card. Emily explains:
Walker's about to get the most Valentine's out of anyone in the state, if a UW student organized campaign is successful. The "We ? UW : Governor Walker, Don't Break My ?" event aims to collect thousands of Valentine's from the UW community -- professors, students, faculty, staff -- asking Walker not to include drastic cuts in funding for the UW system in his upcoming budget proposal.
It must be a real downer to receive a card on Valentine's Day that professes love for somebody else. A more appropriate message for the TAA, which seems to be the main source of the effort, and which is also wary of plans to give UW more independence from the state, would be: "I'm so glad we're married! Divorce is a sin!"
This commenter also made a good point:
I think that the TAA should be sending these cards to apathetic students who don't vote, rather than having students who are already paying attention send mass-produced cards that are going straight to the recycling bin or the fireplace of the Governor's Mansion. I mean, mass e-mail campaign would have at least saved some trees, and had the same effect.
The complexity of UW politics makes courting students on the issue tough. Obviously the entire campus community wants the state to do something to strengthen investment in the university. But people are divided on how. The UW administration seems willing to concede some state funding if it is allowed more self-governance, which it believes will lead to more revenue from tuition and fundraising. Others believe the state owes the UW more.
Furthermore, many UW leaders, including the chancellor, are waiting to see what the governor proposes. If Republicans do not put forth a plan to restructure UW governance, and simply cut more state aid to the university, then we will see a more unified opposition from the campus.
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