University IDs May Still Need Changing, by William Ricioppo

If new voter ID laws are enforced, changes will come to the way Wisconsin universities design and issue student identification cards. Despite uncertainty over the law, state universities are considering redesigning their campus IDs to enable students to vote.

Although laws ro require a valid form of ID−one issued from a government agency and containing a photo, birth date, expiration date, name, and current address, including the residence during university year − have been gradually increasing since 2002, it wasn’t until late 2011 when resistance to new laws began to increase. Since then, several courts, including two in Dane County, have intervened with injunctions blocking the new legislation.

The laws require voters to produce a state-issued photo ID when registering or voting at the polls. Supporters say it will cut-down on fraud and ensure a voter is a legal citizen, the only common qualification to participate in an election. Those opposed claim the requirements are intended to exclude certain segments of the population−particularly minorities, the elderly, and students at temporary addresses−from the voting process, as large percentages of these groups do not possess photo identification, especially with a temporary address.

The controversy over voter ID laws is largely divided along partisan lines, with republicans being heavily in favor of the requirements while democrats are widely opposed.

Many "Rankings" for UWL, by Mikaela Kornoski

In regard to President Obama’s recently proposed scorecard system, Heidi Macpherson, vice chancellor for academic affairs at UW-L, said, “It may be useful for students who are seeking out universities and want to make comparisons, but with any score card, it only tells part of the story.”

Macpherson is reporting for the evaluations given by Higher Learning Commission , by which UW-L is currently accredited. HLC’s next visit to the campus will be in the 2015-2016 school year. The institutions are judged by their peers and a “quality initiative” of the school’s choice.

Macpherson said, “There are a number of different measurements out there, and different organisations that are collating information. What I can say is that generally, they use the same source data, but may interpret it in different ways.”

UW-L chose “Firm Footing” as its quality initiative for HLC. The program looks to increase student academic success by identifying populations that would be deemed “at risk.” Such populations may include first generation or transfer students.

There are many different ways that universities are graded and ranked. It is important to do research and expand one’s search in fact gathering. As Macpherson said, “All measures show interesting results, but they only ever tell a partial story.”

College Measures is an organization that wants to improve the decision making process of students, parents, and lawmakers. The group provides data on the ability of schools to meet 4 goals: completion and progression, efficiency, productivity, and gainful employment. Performance by state and at the national level can also be found on collegemeasures.org.

Education Trust is an organization concerned with closing the achievement gap. It states that college rankings, specifically that by US News, aren’t practical. Education Trust’s College Results Online is a tool that provides the demographics of universities, net price, average student loan default rates, and graduation rates sorted by race and gender.

Tuition Freeze Helps Boost UWL Enrollment?, by Carly Vail

UW-L broke records with the largest freshmen class in history. There were 1,990 freshmen alone  enrolled in the fall of 2013.  The increase in freshmen enrollment at a four-year public university in Wisconsin could be due to the UW tuition freeze.

Increase in enrollment at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse has increased  to 10,427 students,  200 more than the fall of 2012.

Although there are higher numbers at UW-L, the student enrollment at Viterbo and Western Technical College has decreased. Enrollment rates at WTC dropped about 260 students and about 60 students at Viterbo.  For a freshman living on campus at Viterbo, the cost is around $30,070 a year, depending on financial aid – about double the cost at UWL.  WTC’s tuition is around $5,314 a year, depending on how many credits a student takes.  Most are commuters.

The Associated Students of Madison Chair David Gardner said, “This freeze will make higher education more accessible and affordable for all current, prospective, students as well as allow students and their families to plan for the costs of higher education and ensure a more stable economic future.”

According to Wisconsin Public Radio News, UW-La Crosse has its largest number of new students since the mid-1980s. There are now more freshmen and transfer students enrolling. UW-Stout has also seen an increase in student enrollment, but UW-Milwaukee’s freshmen enrollment rate has gone down six percent.

According to the Wisconsin State Journal, “The proposed tuition freeze comes after a chaotic spring for UW, which started with amicable relations with lawmakers and a proposed budget increase of $181 million. The System in April proposed a 2 percent tuition hike each of the next two years, down from the 5.5 percent annual increase approved by Regents in each of the past six years.”

Actors Wanted! (and more), by Shelby Jacobson

Local director Reuben James Steindorf is looking for students to be actors, extras, and behind the scenes help. These positions are for his upcoming movie Sycophant and TV series, tentatively titled Talia Amore Cosmetics.

The movie Sycophant is still in its fundraising stage, according to Steindorf. The plot is based off of a true story. The genre is both thriller and horror. The main female actor, Jordan, is forced into the middle of a mob drug deal. The drug deal turns quickly into obsession.

Three lead actors are needed in Sycophant. An African American female who has some interest or a background in performing arts, dance, or modeling , a Caucasian male with blond hair and blue eyes, as well as a Hispanic male are needed to complete the lead roles. Each needs to be athletically built, photogenic as well as between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two.

Steindorf’s describes his show, Talia Amore Cosmetics, as “young female assassins in a small Midwestern town going after those who get away with crimes. The assassins have learned how to work the system to their benefit.”

Steindorf is looking for females between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two. These women need to be athletically built and photogenic. No experience is needed.

Steindorf is looking for extras in both Sycophant and Talia Amore Cosmetics. No experience is necessary.

Reuben James Steindorf is a former Central High School student. He has done advertisement for The Discovery Channel as well as Gundersen Lutheran. Central High School also used his short movies he created years after he graduated.

If interested contact Reuben James Steindorf through the Facebook page “Sycophant Movie Fan Club.” https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sycophant-Movie-Fan-Club/169660246541490?ref=br_tf.

UWL Students Participating in Fest/City Pageant, by Ellen Barrett

The Miss La Crosse Oktoberfest Pageant usually includes many UW- LaCrosse students as well as neighboring college students attending Viterbo or Western Technical College. The organization provides over $16,000 in cash, scholarships, and gifts to its contestants.

“You definitely have to be intelligent,” says Alexandra Seitz, a Miss La Crosse Oktoberfest contestant and UW-L sophomore, “All the women involved have to be goal orientated. This isn’t just a beauty pageant.” Seitz went on to explain how preparing for the pageant while remaining a full time student was not only a large time commitment, but required a lot of dedication and hard work: from memorizing the history of La Crosse’s Oktoberfest, to remaining updated on current events, to developing a strong opinion and sense of self.

Seitz is currently pursuing a major in communications. After graduating from Central High School in La Crosse, she took a year off to pursue modeling in the talent industry. For a year she then attended Western Technical College and decided to transfer to UW-L this fall. She enjoys singing, hiking, and snowboarding when she isn’t doing school work or working her 3 jobs at Moka, Howie’s, and La Crosse Parks & Recreation. Although Seitz did not place in the competition, she gave an outstanding performance and plans to run again in 2014.

This past Saturday, the 52^nd annual Miss La Crosse Oktoberfest was held in the Fine Arts Center at Viterbo University.  This scholarship program is a preliminary program to Miss Wisconsin and Miss America. Those of the UW-La Crosse attendees who placed in the competition included the next Miss La Crosse Oktoberfest Christa Brehm and second runner up Sarah Newton.

As stated at oktoberfestusa.com, “This is an organization focused on community service, heritage, and empowering young women to achieve their personal, academic and professional goals.” The scoring of the pageant consisted of 35% talent, 20% interview, 25% lifestyle and fitness, 15% evening wear, and 5% on stage question.

For more information about Miss La Crosse Oktoberfest, visit http://www.oktoberfestusa.com/aboutus/misslacrosseoktoberfest.aspx. 

Us News v. Pres. Obama, on "Rating" Universities, by Mikaela Kornowski

The US News rating of UW-L comes just weeks after the emergence of President Obama’s suggested scorecard system for universities.

When compared, U.S. News ranking and the President’s systems differ. The scorecard system was created as a response to rising costs of tuition.

The system Obama would like to implement is a review of schools based on average tuition cost, average student debt, grad rates, grad students who received Pell grants, and average earnings for graduates.  The main purpose is to ensure that students get the education that they pay for by considering the outputs.

The ratings of U.S. News is largely input based, considering the test scores of entering students and the ability of the institution to cater to them while they are in school. It does not address whether or not students graduate any “smarter” than when they entered.

Matthew Yglesias of slate.com says that universities should not be graded on their input, but rather on their output. He says that students and parents are looking for schools that are difficult to be accepted into, have well-known professors, and have low teacher to student ratios. He states, “That means spending money on merit-based scholarships ... and student services. What it does not mean is investing money in cost effective teaching strategies.”

Universities received US News scores based on many categories, including average freshman retention rate, 6-year graduation rate, classes with fewer than 20 students, classes with 50 or more students, student-faculty ratio, Fall 2012 acceptance rate, peer assessment, undergraduate academic reputation, graduation and retention rank, predicted graduation rate, overperformance/underperformance, faculty resources, percent of faculty that is full-time, student selectivity, SAT/ACT 25th-75th percentile, freshmen in top 10% and 25% of high school, financial resources, and average alumni giving.

Recently UW-L was ranked 3rd overall in public institutions by U.S. News. The university was ranked 26th in the combined public and private category.

Yglesias and Obama’s scorecard suggest that universities should not be judged on the talents and capabilities of their entering freshman. But schools should rather be assessed on their ability to teach and prepare students for the workforce.