Blowin' and suckin'

Well, it's official: UW-Madison now sucks. UW didn't even crack the top 100 best colleges in Forbes/U.S. News' new 2010 report. The question is: why..?

Here's what we think: Since sometime in the 1990s, the UW has been run by crooks who are more interested in their own status and authority than they are in the welfare of students (or Wisconsinites in general). The rot starts right at the top with former chancellor John Wiley and new incompetent Carolyn Martin. Some of all that fat must have gotten into her brain. Continuing down the hierarchy, at least three of the six or so vice chancellors are incompetents or crooks, the Wis. Union Director is a felon, half of his staff are criminals, and Hoofers is run by.... you guessed it, cunning little crooks. (well, not all little....)

Don't be confused by the term "college" in the Forbes report--it includes all American colleges and universities. Michigan, Virginia, North Carolina, Berkeley--they're listed, and they are big state universities like UW-Madison. Indeed, the UW used to be great, but a decade or so ago, the creeps in charge decided to emphasize football (and general stupidity) instead of academics. Thanks, Mr. Wiley! They're also fond of fundraising that elevates their status while contributing nothing to the UW. For example, tearing down perfectly good buildings to replace them with newer ones. Wiley's grand vision was a campus like Purdue's, where every single building is red brick, and nice, wide pedestrian walkways--blanketed by surveillance cameras, of course (caution: that link is to a UW propaganda page). The WUFUCYOU seg fee scam was a big part of that plan. It didn't pass at first (of course), so Union management kept forcing re-votes until it did! Can you spell s-l-e-a-z-y c-r-o-o-k-s?

Signs of the decline are everywhere on campus, including Memorial Union--but not for the reasons promoted by the sleazy Union director. Next time you're at the Union, look around. Today, instead of swirling pot smoke in the Ratcellar and women breast-feeding their babies on the Terrace (common sights in the 1980s), you'll see security guards patrolling under a canopy of surveillance cameras.

What's amazing is that UW ever was a top school. But hey, at least it's still a great party school! (as in, lots of alcohol.)

(check back tomorrow for more links and references.)