Elsewhere

Whitewater: Policy rescinded
UW-Whitewater Chancellor Jack Miller has temporarily rescinded a policy on “free speech, distribution of literature, protests and demonstrations and political activity” to address concerns raised by faculty and students.

The policy was added to the University Handbook in January, but it was not a newly created policy at UW-Whitewater. As part of a larger effort started in 1999 to update and codify campuswide policies, administrative staff pulled together a number of existing rules and guidelines that relate to these issues, dating as far back as 1991. Miller says the intent was to have existing practices reflected in the university’s formal policy handbook.

After the chancellor’s staff approved the policy in December 2001, a number of issues have been raised about its potential impact on free speech, open debate and campus climate.

Whitewater: Group to study campus diversity, climate
A task force meeting this semester will study ways UW-Whitewater can improve and enhance diversity in areas such as employment, student recruitment, academic content and student support.

Chancellor Jack Miller assembled the task force in December after two fall semester open forums raised questions about the university’s multicultural climate. The forums were triggered by a racially offensive incident at Homecoming 2001, in which a student appeared on stage in blackface.

“This is not a governance group that will replace any of the existing governance structures on campus,” says Miller, who convened the first meeting of the 30-member group Jan. 28. “Our primary goal will be to provide input, make recommendations and raise issues to the groups that set the rules for the campus.”

Milwaukee: Conferees “tour” Singapore digital libraries
What would a library be without books? Well, a digital library.

UW-Milwaukee conference participants were scheduled Feb. 27 to take a virtual tour of Singapore’s new library, the world’s first library without any traditional books.

Digital libraries store information in an electronic format for easy access, says Hong Iris Xie, assistant professor of Information Studies at UWM and an expert on digital libraries. Users can generally access the library from their home, their business or anywhere else where the Web or electronic access is available, says Xie. Digital libraries also offer a very cost-effective method for sharing information, she adds.

In addition, digital libraries can make a wide variety of non-text materials more easily available. Digital libraries can include photos, movie or video clips, sound recordings and many other artifacts that couldn’t be represented or distributed in text formats, says Xie.

UW-Eau Claire offers redistricting planner
As a public service to citizens in the Chippewa Valley, UW-Eau Claire is providing access to a legislative redistricting computer program that allows users to create their own versions of congressional, Assembly and state Senate districts based on ward information submitted by counties and municipalities.

Congressional and state legislative districts will be redrawn this year to reflect Wisconsin’s changing population as measured by the U.S. Census.

The software program has been installed on two public computer terminals on campus. Using the program, residents can participate in the statewide redistricting plan. Citizen-created plans may be considered by government officials working to redraw district lines.