University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Thursday, February 27, 2025
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Stop listening to lonely men
War and peace has returned
Men’s wellness content has turned into a breeding ground for conservative resentment and misinformation. + OPINION, PAGE 6
The UW Orchestra’s performance of “Rite of Spring” and “Piano Concerto No. 3” rewarded concertgoers. + ARTS, PAGE 8
A look at UW-Madison’s Peace Corps legacy lives beyond the classroom and signifies the university’s commitment to public service and knowledge at a global level. “These volunteers build ties with the communities they serve, creating lasting relationships that strengthen global connections for years to come,” former UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank said. USAID spending was less than 1% of the 2023 federal budget, comprising roughly $38.1 billion. Since 2000, over $58 million in USAID funds have enabled the SPA program to support the Peace Corps, an annual average of roughly $14.5 million, which goes to grant projects, training activities, and field-level program support. Since 1983, SPA funding has allowed the Peace Corps to reach more than 30 million local community members in 115 countries. USAID funding through SPA grant projects generated an additional $36 million in local community and third-party contributions.
Attempts to dismantle USAID by Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency remain under review due to a lawsuit filed by two foreign service unions. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump administration from putting USAID employees on administrative leave, reinstatement of some 500 USAID workers from administrative leave and ordering that no USAID employees should be evacuated from their host countries before Feb. 14 at 11:59 p.m. Amid these decisions and UW-Madison’s long history of Peace Corps involvement, any cuts could impact alumni and the global communities they serve. The long-term fate of USAID funding remains uncertain, and effects will be felt not just in Washington and Madison, but worldwide, where thousands rely on initiatives for development and humanitarian support.
Rothman, Mnookin discuss Evers’ budget proposal
Meriter Hospital nurses call for safe working conditions
By Lauren Eno STAFF WRITER
The University of Wisconsin-Madison entered “Peace Corps Week” Sunday, maintaining its status as one of the nation’s top producers of volunteers. Peace Corps Week, which runs from Feb. 23 to March 1, commemorates the founding of the Peace Corps in 1961. UW-Madison ranks as the second highest university producer of volunteers, with the university holding the 1st or 2nd spot more than 15 times. In 2024, the Peace Corps announced UW-Madison had produced 2,766 volunteers since the organization’s creation. However, President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders, such as the Order on Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid that imposed a 90-day pause for review on all foreign assistance, cast the future of such programs into doubt. The Peace Corps is funded through the
Small Project Assistance (SPA), a partnership with USAID, and continues to operate equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, though they are impacted by new orders impacting hiring and diversity. UW-Madison Peace Corps recruiters referred comment on the situation to university communications, who said the university does not have additional information or an institutional reaction. While the Peace Corps is a separate entity from the U.S. State Department and not included on a list of 2,600 agencies that the Trump administration targeted for scrutiny in January, Trump attempted to slash Peace Corps funding during his first term, and current volunteers have voiced apprehension as to their future. By promoting agriculture, community economic development, health and more in over 60 countries, UW-Madison said the Peace Corps embodies the Wisconsin Idea, a university principle that education should influence people’s
By Sreejita Patra SENIOR STAFF WRITER
JULIA WIESSING/THE DAILY CARDINAL
By Zoey Elwood COPY CHIEF
University of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman and UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin spoke at the Wisconsin Counties Association (WCA) Legislative Conference Tuesday, discussing Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposal, in-state employment opportunities and mental health. University funding Rothman acknowledged that Wisconsin ranks 43rd out of 50 states in public funding for higher education. He pointed to Evers’ budget proposal, which aligns with the UW System Board of Regents’ request to bring funding to the national median. “Forty-third out of 50 is not the Wisconsin I know,” Rothman said. “I don’t think 43rd out of 50 is sustainable for us as a state if we want to be as economically vibrant and viable as we should be.” If the budget request is approved, Rothman said, it would provide enough
funding to reimagine branch campuses without closing any that are not already slated for closure. He also said he would not recommend a tuition increase for the next two years of the biennium as some cost-saving measures have already been taken, such as layoffs and reducing programs to maximize efficiency. “It’s incumbent on the state to make the investment in the Universities of Wisconsin that will allow our state to continue to have a constellation of 13 universities, something all of us can be proud of, and something that the rest of the nation looks at with envy,” he said. Mnookin noted concerns about potential reductions in federal funding, including National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants that support research at UW-Madison. “Are there ways that we need to be more efficient and do things better, and to look at what we haven’t been doing well and try to make improvements?” Mnookin said. “Those are all very fair questions, but we don’t if we take what’s on the table and just toss it all out. I think that the people of Wisconsin and
the people of our nation will be paying for that for a long time.” Without additional funding from the state, UW-Madison would need to increase tuition to cover the potential annual $65 million loss if federal research funding cuts are implemented. Mnookin said this reduction of funding would impact the university’s research work on cancer, Alzheimer’s, natural resources and more. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, told The Daily Cardinal on Feb. 12 that “it would be impossible for the state [of Wisconsin] to replace federal funding,” citing the need to maintain a balanced budget. The Wisconsin Idea in action Both speakers highlighted the Wisconsin Idea, which ensures that the benefits of the university system — graduates who contribute to Wisconsin’s economy and society — extend beyond campus borders to serve the entire state.
+ Continue reading on page 2
Meriter Hospital nurses and health care workers at UW Health and Group Health Cooperative (GHC) called for safer staffing ratios, security measures and wage increases at Madison hospitals in a press conference Thursday. The nurses represented by Services Employees International Union (SEIU) Wisconsin said they have been in contract negotiations for roughly one month and are currently fighting for protections from physical assault, gun violence and more. They also highlighted the need for improved communications with frontline nurses during violent situations such as the Abundant Life school shooting in December. “When a facility is in secure status after these events, we want to make sure there’s communication happening so that everyone is aware of what to do,” SEIU Chief of Staff Crystal Martzall told The Daily Cardinal. SEIU Executive Director Louis Davis also told the Cardinal that most health care workers who reach out to SEIU for unionizing purposes mention gun safety as a top concern in negotiations. Carol Lemke, who has worked as a nurse at Meriter for 24 years, said health care workers are facing an increased threat of violence that could in part be solved by metal detectors, updated emergency protocols and safer staffing. She said she is “concerned that Meriter is focusing on the money it could save instead of the patients’ lives nurses hold in [their] hands” in their negotiations with workers. “This is the year that nurses will be heard. We know what we need to deliver the highest quality care and we are demanding a voice at the table,” Lemke said. Continue reading @dailycardinal.com
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”