Almanac

Ask Bucky
Actual questions from real people, answered by the friendly folks at the Campus Information and Visitor Center.

Q: What is a Bascom course?
A: When general education requirements were first implemented, departments were given the opportunity to propose Bascom courses. The courses were designed to meet what today is known as the Communication B requirement. While many other courses, both large and small, have now been approved as Communication B courses, the term “Bascom course” is still often used to denote a small Communication B course taught by faculty or academic staff.

Q: Do UW–Madison’s foreign language departments offer translation services?
A: Most foreign language departments maintain a list of graduate student tutors who are available to do translations for a small fee. Contact the appropriate department directly for its list.

Your questions for CIVC can be asked in person at its office on the first floor of the Red Gym. Or call 263-2400 or e-mail askbucky@redgym.wisc.edu.

Environmental justice advocate to speak
Vernice Miller-Travis, a leading national environmental justice advocate, will give a free public lecture at 4 p.m., Thursday, May 8, in 180 Science Hall. Her topic will be “The Challenge of Environmental Justice.”

Environmental justice — where environmental and civil rights issues meet — seeks to remedy the disproportionate siting of waste disposal sites and other environmental hazards in or near minority communities.

Most recently, Miller-Travis managed the environmental justice program of the Ford Foundation. Earlier, from 1993 to 1999, she directed the Environmental Justice Initiative of the Natural Resources Defense Council, a leading national environmental organization.

Miller-Travis has served on the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, which helps shape federal policies related to the Superfund and its application, brownfields redevelopment, and solid and hazardous waste management. She also co-chaired West Harlem Environmental Action, a group devoted to improving environmental health and quality of life in communities of color, and was a founding member of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance and the Northeast Environmental Justice Network.

Her lecture is sponsored by the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, and the College of Letters and Science with support from the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment. For information, contact Herb Wang, 262-5932, wang@geology.wisc.edu.

Backward Glance
From Wisconsin Week, May 12, 1993: UW System President Katharine Lyall recommends adopting Gov. Tommy Thompson’s proposed budget, provided that a few modifications are made. One requested change is restoring the $6.5 million cut in supplies and expenses proposed in the budget. … The UW System Board of Regents adopts a salary distribution plan that will recognize both merit and solid performance. … The School of Pharmacy names Donald Witiak of Ohio State as its new dean. … The UW Law School receives a donation from the Milwaukee law firm Habush, Habush and Davis, which will allow the Law School to renovate its appellate courtroom. … Many university employees joined in the spirit of the first-ever national “Take Our Daughters to Work Day” by inviting their daughters and other young women to experience a day in the working world.