University of Wisconsin-Madison
Since 1892 dailycardinal.com
Thursday, March 6, 2025
l
POUR ONE OUT FOR PAUL’S
ANORA SWEEPS OSCARS
Paul’s Book Store closes its doors after 70 years as a State Street staple.
“Anora” takes home Best Picture at 2025 Academy Awards.
+ LIFE & STYLE, PAGE 5
+ ARTS, PAGE 8
GOP lawmakers introduce anti-trans legislation ing on a team that does not match the biological sex that they were assigned at birth. The change was made in response to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump which banned transgender athletes from women’s school sports. Previously, the WIAA allowed transgender athletes to compete on teams that align with their gender identity. This decision was celebrated by Dittrich and Rep. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown, who said in a column they plan to reintroduce a bill “to secure women’s and girls’ rights in Wisconsin.”
Abigail Swetz, director of LGBTQ+ rights organization FAIR Wisconsin, said the organization has fought these “discriminatory bills” before and will do so again to ensure trans Wisconsinites can play the sports they love. “When an athlete gets to play sports on a team where they belong, that can make such a huge difference,” Swetz said in a statement Feb. 24. “Now is the time to show our trans kids love and support, not exclusion.”
‘There aren’t easy answers’
Wisconsin rail advocates push for expansion
By Anna Kleiber STATE NEWS EDITOR
Republican lawmakers introduced legislation that would ban transgender girls in Wisconsin K-12 schools and transgender women attending University of Wisconsin System schools and Wisconsin technical colleges from participating on teams or playing sports that reflect their gender identity. The first two bills would require each UW institution and technical college to designate each athletic team or sport by sex — for “males” or “men,” or for “females” or
“women.” The bill would further prohibit male students from participating on an athletic team or sport designated for females as well as bar male students from using locker rooms designated for females. Similarly, the second would do the same for K-12 schools to do the same. The two bills, both of which were authored by Rep. Barabra Dittrich, R-Oconomowoc, and Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, come after the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) changed its policy in early February to prohibit athletes from compet-
+ Trans athletes page 4
By Alaina Walsh SENIOR STAFF WRITER
necessarily be submitted,” Mnookin said. Mnookin said the university is developing a range of scenarios for implementing budget cuts but added the university’s research enterprise would undoubtedly be impacted, though the degree would depend on the amount of budget cuts. After a faculty member asked if The Wisconsin Research, Innovation and Scholarly Excellence initiative — a targeted hiring push in key fields that boosts regular hiring by 40% — would be discontinued, Mnookin said it “wasn’t a question” the university would have to walk back faculty hiring in general. “It certainly is true that if we were in a position of having very substantial cuts, we would probably be curtailing faculty hiring writ large,” Mnookin said. University leadership told The Daily Cardinal Feb. 12 they won’t lay off faculty if the cuts are implemented.
A newly formed coalition of passenger rail associations and advocacy groups gathered Tuesday to promote Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposal, which includes funding to expand passenger rail service and increase train frequencies in Wisconsin. Representatives from four passenger rail associations, along with two additional advocacy units, convened to support the state’s investment in rail infrastructure. The event featured speakers from multiple organizations, including the High Speed Rail Alliance, West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition and All Aboard Wisconsin. Chris Ott, deputy director of the High Speed Rail Alliance, emphasized the importance of passenger rail in providing economic opportunities, reducing road congestion and improving transportation accessibility. Ott pointed to recent remarks by U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has called for infrastructure investment to be a nonpartisan priority. “Passenger rail benefits everyone—whether you’re on the train or not,” Ott said. “A million people used Wisconsin’s eight Amtrak stations last year, reducing highway congestion and bringing economic benefits to local communities.” Currently, Amtrak operates routes serving Sturtevant, Milwaukee Airport, Milwaukee Intermodal, Columbus, Portage, Wisconsin Dells, Tomah and La Crosse. The Borealis train, which launched last year, has already demonstrated strong ridership with over 160,000 passengers since May. Ott noted the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), with federal support, is considering expanding rail service to Green Bay, Madison, Eau Claire and other underserved communities across the state.
+ NIH page 3
+ Trains page 4
LIAM BERAN/THE DAILY CARDINAL
Mnookin fields questions on impact of potential NIH funding cut By Gavin Escott CAMPUS NEWS EDITOR
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin indicated during a Faculty Senate meeting Monday the university would walk back hiring and rethink grant-making if a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding cut is implemented. Mnookin told faculty the anticipated loss of $65 million a year would be difficult to manage “without meaningful change.” She said the past six weeks brought an “unprecedented number of significant challenges” — pointing to the NIH’s decision to cap indirect cost rates at 15% — and told faculty questioning the funding cut’s impact there are no “easy answers.” “The situation continues to unfold,” Mnookin said. “It’s very important we don’t rush into accepting terms without a thorough and collective assessment, including whether there could be legal consequences
or risks to the whole institution.” The decision capping NIH funding, which comprises UW-Madison’s largest source of federal support, is temporarily paused, with Wisconsin and 22 other states involved in a lawsuit. However, Mnookin said the cut if implemented would deal a blow to UW-Madison’s operations and would force the university to “think about grant-making in a pretty different way.” Federal law forbids universities from paying indirect costs with grant money. These indirect costs, which include building maintenance, security and electricity, are typically paid for with the indirect cost rate, which the federal government gives in addition to the grants. A severe reduction in the indirect cost rate — UW-Madison’s current rate ranges from 27% to 55.5% — would pose “a huge institutional problem” with the university having to pay the associated indirect cost themselves, Mnookin said. “It wouldn’t just be that any grant could
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”