A recent UW press release claims that UW-Madison is rising in overall university rankings. In the CWUR (Center for World Univ. Rankings, based in United Arab Emirates), the UW rose from the 27th ranked university worldwide in 2018 to 25th in 2019 (21st to 19th nationally). But has the UW really improved? A rise of two spots doesn't even surpass the margin for error, and we were unable to find any other ranking in which the UW has risen or in which is ranks as highly as in the study cited by the UW.
In the highly respected Times Higher Education (THE) rankings (image), the UW slipped from 33rd to 36th in reputation score from 2018 to 2019. This score is important because, although it doesn't focus on measurable attributes like student acceptance rates, faculty/student ratio, library quality, and research output, it does measure the perceived quality of a school among academics--which is important for getting a job or getting into grad school.
More significantly, THE ranks UW 43rd overall among world universities. Thus, the UW isn't quite as good as its reputation.
Even worse, THE now ranks UW-Madison as the 23rd best U.S. university (note that this is consistent with the CWUR ranking of 21st in 2018). That compares to rating as the 10th best U.S. university in the 1980s (that includes private universities such as Harvard, Stanford, etc). Also, UW-Madison now ranks as only the 8th best public school; that's not bad, but in the 1980s, it ranked 3rd, trailing only Berkeley and Michigan. In the new US News rankings of public U.S. universities, UW-Madison doesn't even crack the top 10.
In the widely cited QS world university rankings 2019, the UW is even further back at 53rd (20th among U.S. universities), ranking behind such venerable bastions of scholarship as Fudan University (China), the U. of British Columbia (Canada), and the U. of New South Wales (Australia). Ouch.
Finally, the Princeton Review's list of top party schools. Not that it means much, but the UW has slipped to #13 this year. But hey, we still rank higher as a party school than as a place to get a degree!
In citing the CWUR study, it is obvious that UW administrators cherry-picked the study that would paint UW-Madison in the best possible light--and it's still a big drop from a few decades ago. Elder UW administrators must be dreaming of the old days.
The $64,000 question: Is the UW's slide driving Hoofer Sailing Club's slide..? Someone ought to climb Bascom Hill, find the chancellor, and slap her in the head with a copy of the Princeton Review until she gives a straight answer. Or rip that ridiculous sifting and winnowing plaque off the building and use that.
Looking at the link someone added on the previous blog post, is this the same incident?:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-49197716
It appears to be yet another case of a malicious false allegation. Different name, different face, different court, same story, a young woman who falsely accused a taxi driver of molesting her. Most false accusers are probably never caught, so this problem is more widespread than anyone thinks.
The new UW-Madison alcohol policy, started in 2014, certainly has affected Hoofers by turning sailing here into a safe, clean, family-friendly pastime instead of a real sport for college aged and other adults.
ReplyDeleteEr, wait,... safer?? BOTH Hoofer sailing deaths have occurred SINCE the new policy took effect, so the policy is a double-edged sword, with both edges hurting HSC. Keelboat cruises now suck, and the alcohol policy has killed people.
Chancellor Blank stare, are you reading this?
The new alcohol policy killed people? No way! I'm pretty sure it was climate change.
DeleteGlobal warming is caused by less pirates, Google it. Less pirates is caused by lame alcohol free Pirate's Day. Lame Pirate's Day is caused by the alcohol policy. QED.
DeleteWe all knew it would happen. The UW doesnt care about student lives, they care about appearance of caring about student lives.
ReplyDeleteThe alcohol ban did not eliminate alcohol from sailing, it made people terrified to ask for help when they needed it, for fear of being caught and punished.
Everyone including the leadership and administers knew this. But felt for liability their stance had to be no alcohol. They knew it would make a dangerous situation, but that was ok because they appeared to do the "Right Thing".
Do you have insider information that the skipper of the fateful cruise was drunk? I mean, we've all suspected it, but the witnesses all denied it.
DeleteYes, and I know exactly what she was drinking. This cant be news. She got her rating from LT and was the then Vice Commodore. Dont think she ever actually had a lesson on the thing. Didn't understand O'Day's sideslip. and again, was so terrified of getting caught with alcohol she didn't call for help when she needed to. BM would still be alive today. and MR would have had friendly hands catch her and affect a rescue under the old system. as I personally have done many times.
DeleteOf course the witnesses all denied it... they were drunk too and were afraid of getting into trouble! We know the skipper was drunk because otherwise she would not have let MB jump into cold water without a life jacket and then sail away. We also know the Harvey crew that ran over YC were intoxicated (alcohol or pot) because one of them refused to submit to a blood test.
DeleteThe statistic itself it what's important: 75 years with free flowing beer, no deaths. Four years under prohibition, two deaths.
It is not a simple cause and effect but a web of causal relationships leading to general deterioration of Hoofers and maybe the UW too.
Sifting and Winnowing?!? When in recent history has the UW ever allowed for an opinion not its own? Same with Hoofers, Everyone gets handed their opinion, and if you refuse it or question it, you are banished.
ReplyDeleteSo this is interesting. There is a 25% chance that female Hoofer member who made the ?false? report in 2016, that resulted in severe sanctions against a former club member, was sexually abused before she ever took a sailing lesson:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/publications_nsvrc_factsheet_media-packet_statistics-about-sexual-violence_0.pdf
I know who she is, kinda cute, so probably more like 50/50. According to "A-Non", cute little girls get abused more than pizza-faced girls, natch.
Hmm, looking at that factsheet some more, there is also a 20% chance she was sexually abused in college, which is mutually exclusive of being abused as a child, so the total probability is actually 45%. Given her above-average looks, certainly over 50%. Thus the odds are that she was sexually abused before she ever set foot in Hoofers.
It also says 81% of women exhibit long-term effects, so there is a 0.81 x 50% = 40% chance (at least) that while she was taking sailing lessons, she was having flashbacks to past sexual abuse.
Could that perhaps have influenced her perception of, oh I don't know, whether someone might have been stalking her?
This also seems to confirm someone's comment on the previous blog post that any man who courts a woman these days is playing with fire.
--Mr. Math
Those stats are based on self reporting surveys. Accounting for Munchausens, she is about 6% probable to have actually been assaulted. 14% to think she was assaulted but wasn't, 25% to make an accusation that is knowingly false and about 100% to be believed.
ReplyDeleteWhile the man is 100% fucked, no matter what, and 100% not afforded any opportunity to defend himself. That's all I'm saying. Especially if she stole money and got caught
I have a theory Mr Math,
ReplyDeletePlug the girl you think was the "victim"s name into CCAP and see if she was sued right before she made an accusation. Then see if a Judge decided she owed thousands of dollars right before she was magically "Assaulted" and ask yourself... "What really happened here?"
I always bring a Notary Public along on dates. Get signatures on everything but always stop and ask permission first.
ReplyDeleteMay I hold your hand? (Sign here/Notary Seal)
May I kiss your forehead lovingly? (Sign here/Notary Seal)
May I brush the hair back from your face so I can see your lovely visage? (Sign here/Notary Seal)
This can tend to kill spontaneity, but it sure beats being tossed in Dane County lock-up and getting sodomized by 4-6 felons. Oh! And have a lawyer on retainer before you even go out. You might do 48 to 72 hours in the jail until the Notary Public and the lawyer get you out.
Better Get Saul.
Love it, and as absolutely bat shit crazy as that sounds, we are there, its true.
DeleteWelcome to the DPRM Everyone outside Madison calls it Mad Town for a reason. Literally the 3rd most batshit crazy place in the entire US of A. next to Key West and San Fran.
Wow, you closed down my ability to make any comments? Nice way to confirm that you are a coward.......
ReplyDeletejust remember....there is always a way in.
ReplyDelete