Spring Break
Five stories that had us talking
Presidential campaign, Mash departure highlight 2004-2005 school year
Spectator staff
Issue date: 5/12/05 Section: Campus News
With the end of the semester near, The Spectator looked at the five major news stories that affected students, faculty and the surrounding community throughout the course of the academic year.
1. Eau Claire in the thick of the presidential election. With Wisconsin hailed as one of the biggest swing states in the election, Eau Claire saw visits by President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Democratic Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards and Independent Presidential candidate Ralph Nader also made appearances at McPhee and Schofield Auditorium, respectively.
The Democratic ticket of John Kerry and Edwards squeaked out a Wisconsin victory, but Bush won re-election 51 percent to 49 percent. Kerry took 61 percent of the Davies Center vote after nearly 2,800 ballots were cast, a 25 percent increase from the 2000 election.
2. Chancellor Mash resigns. On Feb. 4, Chancellor Donald Mash unexpectedly announced he would be leaving the university to assume the newly-created position of executive senior vice president of the UW System.
The move, which was made as part of a restructuring plan of the UW System, also made Mash the second-highest member of the System.
The Board of Regents appointed former UW-Eau Claire professor and administrator Vicki Lord Larson interim chancellor.
3. Tragedy strikes the campus twice. Former student Jesse Miller's body was pulled from the Chippewa River Sept. 12 and Jacob A. Libby, a Minnesota man who was visiting friends while on military leave, died Oct. 9 after a 35-foot fall from the Water Street bridge onto the rocks of the riverbank. According to each police report, both men consumed alcohol prior to the accident.
4. Service-Learning makes national headlines.
Eau Claire's Service-Learning program, touted by the university as a way for students to give back to the community, came under intense scrutiny when restrictions on religion-based projects were challenged.
The debate carried over to the second semester when a Service-Learning ad-hoc committee voted to include restrictions on partisan political Service-Learning in addition to the ban on religious proselytization.
University Senate voted Tuesday to uphold restrictions on religious activities, but voted against bans on partisan political activities for Service-Learning credit.
5. Riverbank construction closes hill for entire year.
Construction on the Chippewa Riverbank on Garfield Avenue, which was expected to be completed last summer, forced the closure of the hill for the entire year as crews worked to stabilize the riverbank to prevent flooding.
1. Eau Claire in the thick of the presidential election. With Wisconsin hailed as one of the biggest swing states in the election, Eau Claire saw visits by President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Democratic Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards and Independent Presidential candidate Ralph Nader also made appearances at McPhee and Schofield Auditorium, respectively.
The Democratic ticket of John Kerry and Edwards squeaked out a Wisconsin victory, but Bush won re-election 51 percent to 49 percent. Kerry took 61 percent of the Davies Center vote after nearly 2,800 ballots were cast, a 25 percent increase from the 2000 election.
2. Chancellor Mash resigns. On Feb. 4, Chancellor Donald Mash unexpectedly announced he would be leaving the university to assume the newly-created position of executive senior vice president of the UW System.
The move, which was made as part of a restructuring plan of the UW System, also made Mash the second-highest member of the System.
The Board of Regents appointed former UW-Eau Claire professor and administrator Vicki Lord Larson interim chancellor.
3. Tragedy strikes the campus twice. Former student Jesse Miller's body was pulled from the Chippewa River Sept. 12 and Jacob A. Libby, a Minnesota man who was visiting friends while on military leave, died Oct. 9 after a 35-foot fall from the Water Street bridge onto the rocks of the riverbank. According to each police report, both men consumed alcohol prior to the accident.
4. Service-Learning makes national headlines.
Eau Claire's Service-Learning program, touted by the university as a way for students to give back to the community, came under intense scrutiny when restrictions on religion-based projects were challenged.
The debate carried over to the second semester when a Service-Learning ad-hoc committee voted to include restrictions on partisan political Service-Learning in addition to the ban on religious proselytization.
University Senate voted Tuesday to uphold restrictions on religious activities, but voted against bans on partisan political activities for Service-Learning credit.
5. Riverbank construction closes hill for entire year.
Construction on the Chippewa Riverbank on Garfield Avenue, which was expected to be completed last summer, forced the closure of the hill for the entire year as crews worked to stabilize the riverbank to prevent flooding.
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