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We Conserve campaign announces early success By Grace Kim The Daily Cardinal
We Conserve, UW-Madison’s energy conservation campaign, announced Tuesday energy savings of $3.7 million and carbon dioxide reductions of 28,000 tons annually since it began two years ago. According to Faramarz Vakili, We Conserve program director and associate director of UW-Madison’s Physical Plant, the campaign’s goals are to promote awareness of energy conservation and cut campus energy consumption 20 percent by 2010. We Conserve was successful in reducing the energy consumption of five buildings: Chemistry, Chamberlin Hall, Engineering Hall, the Kohl Center and Biotron Laboratory, according to Vakili. He said We Conserve has comprehensive programs that help to reach these goals, including efficient systems, informed individuals working on the campaign, realistic expectations and responsible actions. “We have dedication and a lot of
focus on effort, and it’s a good cause and it’s producing a great result,” Vakili said.
“I think that just promoting our ideas and getting people to participate can be really great.” Brenda Voloshin research and education coordinator We Conserve
UW-Madison students joined the campaign this year with the formation of the We Conserve student chapter. “We Conserve has a ton of potential,” said Brenda Voloshin, research and education coordinator of the student chapter. “It has a lot of funding and great ideas from people, and I think that just promoting our ideas and getting people conserve page 3
Tree huggers
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Wis. women still face wage discrimination By Hannah McClung The Daily Cardinal
Government officials and advocacy groups came together Tuesday to recognize Equal Pay Day and raise awareness for Wisconsin’s gender wage gap. Equal Pay Day is an annual event that marks how much longer women must work to earn as much as men did in the previous year. For example, women working from January 2007 through April 22, 2008, made as much on average as men made from January through December 2007. According to a report by The Center on Wisconsin Strategy, Wisconsin women earned 22 percent less than men in 2006. Women make up half of the graduates from Wisconsin colleges and universities but earn less than men on average, according to a statement from
the Wisconsin Women’s Council. There is a 10 percent wage gap that affects women with bachelor’s degrees, but the same gap affects women with higher degrees and even tenured faculty members at universities, according to Christine Lidbury, executive director of WWC. “The yawning wage gap reflects the persistent gender discrimination that we all would like to think doesn’t exist in the year 2008,” Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton said. Lawton said choices regarding education do not contribute to the wage gap, adding the inequity exists in all professions but is largest in sales-related fields. Money lost to a woman and her family because of the wage gap damwages page 3
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Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Replacing Wiley Part two of three: Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz shares his thoughts about challenges facing the new chancellor On day two of its series on the UWMadison chancellor search, The Daily Cardinal interviews Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz. The Daily Cardinal: Can you describe how you as mayor work with the chancellor? Mayor Dave Cieslewicz: The chancellor and I have a regular lunch every eight weeks or so and we usually have a very full agenda, and we usually discuss a number of things that are joint efforts between the city and UW. Very often they’re things related to building on campus, like the progress on the Institutes for Discovery or Murray Mall or other major building projects because there’s so many going on on campus. Sometimes we talk about issues related to alcohol on campus—we jointly fund the Alcohol Policy Coordinator. That position is funded 50 percent by the city and 50 percent by the university. We’ll talk as things come up, like Halloween or Mifflin Street, so quite a number of varied things. DC: What is the most challenging issue you and Chancellor Wiley had to work on together during his term? Cieslewicz: The issue of use of alcohol on campus and in the city. Generally that’s been the toughest issue and one that there’s no easy answer for, and that’s one of the reasons we came together and funded the Alcohol Policy Coordinator, which is a unique position in the state. We’ve had other places—for example, LaCrosse has come to us and asked us how that position functions.
Lakhpreet Kaur was one of about 250 passersby to participate Tuesday in the University Book Store’s Earth Day “Hug a Tree for Charity” event.
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DC: Can you describe the position of Alcohol Policy Coordinator? Cieslewicz: It’s a position that’s
Lorenzo zemella/the daily cardinal
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz says he works closely with the Chancellor Wiley on issues such as building on campus and alcohol use. about three years old and it’s currently occupied by a woman named Katherine Plominski. Her job really is to work on a wide range of issues regarding alcohol policy in the city and on campus, so she meets regularly with representatives of the Greek system and student groups and downtown bar owners and the Madison police and city staff to really sort of coordinate all of their activities and to try to identify best practices. DC: What are two other additional issues you see carrying into the new chancellor’s term? Cieslewicz: The issues related to funding of the UW campus, particularly from the state. State support
for the UW, while it’s been increasing, hasn’t been increasing at a rate that really is needed to keep the UW a world-class institution. So it’s very important that the new chancellor be able to work with legislators and the government on increasing support for the UW from the state because the UW is the biggest economic engine not only here in Dane County, but really statewide, so I think that’s going to be a challenge for the next chancellor. Another one is to maintain the momentum that John Wiley has given us in terms of building on campus, in a very short time, into something that’s even more beautiful and functional cieslewicz page 3
‘Tony the Twister’ charged with sex assault By Callie Rathburn The Daily Cardinal
“Tony the Twister,” a balloon sculptor known for creating hats and animals at community events and Madison restaurants, was charged Monday with repeated sexual assault of a child, according to a criminal complaint. Anthony Stelter, 39, a selfemployed balloonist, performed for children at a wide range of events and businesses in the city, according to Town of Madison Detective Robb Hale. Prior to his arrest, Stelter worked Thursday nights at the Nitty Gritty restaurant on Frances Street. He also appeared at special local events throughout Madison, including an annual fundraiser for juvenile diabetes and Big Brothers Big Sisters activities. “At our Big Brothers Big Sisters
appreciation day, it was called a fun day, there was probably between 300 and 400 kids there,” said UWMadison senior Karissa Weske, a Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteer. “He did balloons for us all day and the kids interact with him all the time.” Stelter now faces 25 years to life in prison for the sexual assault. The criminal complaint said Stelter engaged in pedophilia acts with the then 13-year-old STELTER victim approximately 200 times. During the sexual assault investigation, police found cocaine and drug paraphernalia in Stelter’s home. Hale said Stelter was first arrested for possession and later charged with the
sexual assault counts. “News like that is kind of stunning seeing that he is with kids all the time,” Weske said. “He comes to a lot of the Big Brothers Big Sisters events whenever he is able, he is kind of the first person that is called.” Hale said police investigating Stelter’s criminal activity have not found any indication that Stelter’s balloon twisting patrons were victimized by him. Stelter is currently in jail but if he posts bail, he will be released with strict limitations until his preliminary hearing scheduled for April 29, according to Hale. There will be a separate hearing for the drug charges. Community members and police said they feel safer with Stelter behind bars. “He is a threat to our community. I think that all children are at risk with Stelter being around,” Hale said.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”