Monday, September 21, 2009 Volume �� | Issue �uwmpost.com

inside

The Student-Run Independent Newspaper at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

uwmpost.com uwmpostexchange.com blog.uwmpost.com sports.uwmpost.com

uwmpost.com�

News | page 3

Sports | page 7

fringe | page 10

Editorial | page 19

Cobain likeness misused in Guitar Hero 5

UW System to spend 81 million upgrading computer system

TechStore celebrates grand opening

The Beat: Global Union at Humboldt Park

One on one with comedian Mike Birbiglia

Milwaukee Bucks season preview

Men’s soccer loses to Santa Barbara, Oakland at Panther Invitational

New political party needed

By Mike La CountStaff Writernews@uwmpost.com

UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Carlos Santiago gave his ple-nary address, “Still Standing but Not Standing Still,” on cam-pus last Thursday in the union’s Wisconsin Room.

Santiago opened with state-ments about the national econ-omy and the current state of Wisconsin’s budget. Projections show Wisconsin facing a $5 bil-lion defi cit.

This defi cit meant a bud-get cut of $20 million for UW-Milwaukee.

Santiago stated that the mea-sure was “…a cut unprecedented in the history of the university.”

Low sales tax revenue from last year suggests that the state funding situation will not im-prove soon.

This cut has resulted in the loss of a pay raise for the faculty and staff , unpaid furlough and a tuition increase of 5.5 percent. There have also been cuts to university programs and orga-nizations. Despite taking these measures to prevent layoff s, potential mid-year changes in the budget could mean layoff s anyway.

There will be no money allo-cated for new faculty or staff in the 2009-2011 biannual report, nor will there be pay raises for faculty or staff .

Chancellor’s plenary address off ers dire revelations, little positive

H1N1 outbreak under control on UWM campus

Dr. Helen Mamarchev was fi red by Chancellor Carlos Santiago June 25

By Tom SwieciakNews Editornews@uwmpost.com

With UW-Milwaukee tee-tering on the brink of fl u season, fear of the H1N1 vi-rus, or swine fl u, has been rampant. The World Health Organization is currently operating under phase 6, or “pandemic” phase, which re-fers to “widespread human infection.”

When the Post asked Dr. Julie Bonner of the Norris Health Center what symp-toms to look for in case H1N1 is contracted, she said “fever and cough.”

“Other common symptoms are sore throat and body aches. While some of these symptoms sound like strep throat or mono, the symp-toms with fl u often come on

abruptly. These symptoms also could sound like a cold and our guide for students highlights diff erences be-tween fl u and cold,” Bonner said. The guide referenced by Bonner can be found at www4.uwm.edu/norris.

When asked about com-parable health scares in the past, such as bird fl u and SARS, Bonner said swine

fl u was comparably diff er-ent. “Currently, 2009 H1N1 fl u is a mild illness in most healthy individuals without long term complications, and most individuals not needing to see a healthcare professional,” Bonner said.

Still, Bonner added that having the added stressor of the fl u, on top of being a UWM student or faculty member, can have quite an impact. “We need to plan ahead in case the level of ill-ness becomes more severe,” Bonner said.

Planning ahead has in-volved numerous campus measures, including H1N1 e-mail alerts, handouts to freshmen on Welcome Day and simply using bulletin boards around campus.

“In addition to communi-

Tips to prevent the swine flu: 1). Wash your hands, 2). Cover your cough with your sleeve, 3). Stay home if you are sick and �). Get vaccinated.

See ADDRESS page 3 See SWINE page 4

By Jonathan AndersonSpecial Projects Editorspecialprojects@uwmpost.com

UW-Milwaukee’s former Vice Chancellor for Student Aff airs, Helen Mamarchev, was under investiga-tion for making infl ammatory state-ments when she was abruptly fi red by Chancellor Santiago in June, ac-cording to records recently obtained under Wisconsin’s public records law.

Just days before the investigation was launched – on June 12 – Santiago informed Mamarchev that he had de-cided to not reappoint her for the up-coming academic year. Mamarchev’s 2008-2009 appointment was set to expire on June 30.

Records show that on June 17, Santiago and Mamarchev met with senior-level offi cials from the Division of Student Aff airs; Santiago

had requested a meeting to inform the division’s leadership of his de-cision and to discuss Mamarchev’s exit from UWM. After Santiago left the meeting, Mamarchev purport-edly made the statements in ques-tion. UWM administration is refus-ing to release the statements, call-ing them “inaccurate and infl am-matory.” In a letter obtained by the Post, Santiago referred to the state-ments as “extremely inappropriate and unprofessional.” The day after the meeting, upon being informed of the alleged statements, Santiago initiated the probe.

“I have since received allegations that, following my visit with Student Aff airs’ staff , you made a number of untrue statements to those staff members,” wrote Santiago in a June 18 letter to Mamarchev. “I will be initi-

Former vice chancellor was fi red amid misconduct probe, records showChancellor Santiago, university administration keeping quiet on details

Interview with the Championship’s Joe Crockett

fringe, page 11

See MAMARCHEV page 5

uwmpost.com September 21, 2009 �

ating an investigation into these allega-tions. In the meantime, I have concluded that, given the allegations, substantial harm to the institution could result if you continue in your position during the in-vestigation. You are therefore suspended from your current duties, with pay, effec-tive immediately.”

Santiago further ordered Mamarchev to stay away from campus, not to com-municate with students and university staff, return UWM property and to re-frain from accessing electronic files. In a June 23 letter, Santiago specifically asked Mamarchev if she had violated the terms of her suspension by “seeking to obtain copies of UWM electronic files and having them sent” to her private e-mail account. It is unknown why Santiago asked this and what Mamarchev’s answer was, if she did indeed respond.

Mamarchev was summoned to the Hefter Conference Center to meet with in-vestigators on June 24, but it is unknown if she showed up. Santiago fired Mamarchev the next day.

Mamarchev, whose salary was just un-der $150,000 per year when she was let go, was hired in 2007 by Santiago. Before coming to UWM, Mamarchev was the vice president for student affairs at Illinois State University. She has since put her Glendale home up for sale. Neighbors say she has moved out-of-state to work at an-other university, though this has not been confirmed. Repeated attempts to contact Mamarchev have gone unanswered.

Shrouded in secrecyUWM administration has repeatedly

refused to answer questions regarding Mamarchev’s dismissal; most recently last week when the Post asked Santiago to con-firm obtained information. Santiago did not respond, but UWM spokesman Tom Luljak told the Post that it is university pol-icy not to comment on personnel matters. In June, Luljak said in an interview that “it was in the best interest of the university to make this personnel change,” though he would not say why. While records the Post has obtained shed some light on the events surrounding Mamarchev’s ulti-mate exit from UWM, questions still lin-ger about why Santiago initially decided to not reappoint her.

Student Association President Jay Burseth says the chancellor has also kept him largely in the dark about Mamarchev’s dismissal.

“He’s even really secretive with me,” said Burseth. “It seems like he’s trying to brush it off for whatever reason, and maybe it’s not specifically the chancellor, maybe he’s being pressured by others, but he certainly doesn’t want it discussed, and I’m interested in why.”

UWM administration wholly denied this newspaper’s public records request for investigation-related records, telling the Post that the records are protected from release because they were “created under the direction of legal counsel in anticipation of potential litigation,” and that the records are considered attorney-client privileged communications and at-torney work product. Santiago would not say whether Mamarchev has threatened to sue.

The university also redacted the state-ments Mamarchev is accused of making from records it released, citing what is commonly referred to as the “balancing test” in the state’s public records law – an analysis that weighs the public interest in disclosing a record versus the public in-terest in withholding a record. The admin-istration argues that keeping the state-ments secret outweighs the public interest in disclosing the statements, because, it says, disclosure “could have a detrimental effect on the privacy and reputational in-terests of certain individuals.” If UWM em-ployees knew that the university would re-lease “inaccurate and inflammatory state-ments” about them, the university says it might have difficulty retaining and re-

cruiting employees.“This difficulty in retaining and recruit-

ing employees could in turn harm the pub-lic interest,” UWM administration wrote in response to one of the requests the Post made for Mamarchev’s personnel re-cords. “Therefore, the public interest in withholding inaccurate and inflammatory statements outweighs the public interest in disclosing them.”

Robert Dreps, a Madison attorney and expert in freedom of information law who has represented the Post in the past, dis-agrees with UWM’s decision to withhold the statements Mamarchev is accused of making.

“I think the balancing test rationale is far-fetched,” said Dreps. “Releasing the precise statements for which an employee was fired would not persuade any rational person that the university might release inaccurate information about them.”

According to Dreps, while the univer-sity has a right to prepare for a potential lawsuit stemming from Mamarchev’s dis-missal, the public is entitled to know why she was fired.

“I think it’s fair to say that the uni-versity is entitled to protect its litigation strategy if it’s concerned that the case might end up in court, but the public is en-titled to know precisely why this woman was fired,” said Dreps.

Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center in Arlington, Va., says it is not uncommon for universi-ties to invoke a “blanket of silence” in con-tentious personnel matters. Both LoMonte and Dreps told the Post that they believe UWM’s application of the balancing test is flawed, and that ultimately the statements Mamarchev is accused of making should be made public.

“The balancing test is supposed to take into account the public’s right to know,” said LoMonte. “The vice chancellor of a university has an enormous amount of authority and public responsibility. If you apply the balancing test fairly, you’ll find that there’s an overriding public interest in knowing what’s behind the story.”

Bill Lueders, the president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, a statewide organization that advocates for open government, says the universi-ty’s refusal to disclose the statements also impinges on the ability of the public to hold university leaders accountable.

“I think it is unfortunate that UWM isn’t more forthcoming,” said Lueders. “If the comments were so inaccurate and inflam-matory, then I think the public ought to know what they were. Otherwise, what’s to stop the chancellor from firing some-one for telling a truth that he just doesn’t want to hear?”

Lueders thinks citing attorney-client privilege is a weak justification for with-holding the investigative records, and says that in similar situations of alleged misconduct by public officials, a public interest in knowing about the misconduct has been recognized.

“In many other situations, those types of records are released because of the gen-erally understood public interest in de-termining whether public employees have engaged in misconduct,” said Lueders.

LoMonte agrees.“When you’re talking about a high-rank-

ing, high-paid policy maker, there really is a public interest in knowing why decisions are made,” said LoMonte. “That’s doubly true if there are any allegations that the official engaged in misconduct.”

Student reactionNews of Mamarchev’s exit prompted a

mixed bag of responses from students. Student government officials, who regu-larly communicate with university admin-istrators, quickly found out, and not all were disappointed to see Mamarchev go.

Kyle Duerstein, the speaker of the Student Association Senate and oft-critic of Mamarchev, was updating his blog in June with rumors of a shake-up in Chapman Hall.

“Students rejoice,” blogged Duerstein. “With Helen gone from this role, UWM is most certainly a better place for

students.”In a statement to the Post, Duerstein

cited tension between Mamarchev and the Student Association.

“While the Student Association has made progress working with the admin-istration over the last few years, there has been tremendous animosity felt by students from Dr. Mamarchev,” Duerstein said. “I am glad that the students of UWM can look forward to moving forward with a Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs that will hopefully demonstrate a deeper pas-sion for being a strong representative for students.”

But other student government officials, like former Student Association Chief of Staff Scott Dettman, were sad to see Mamarchev leave UWM.

“When I learned that Dr. Mamarchev had been fired, I was utterly shocked,” said Dettman. “Over the past two years, I have gotten to know Dr. Helen quite well and have had nothing but positive experi-ences in every encounter. I can’t help but feel that the students at UW-Milwaukee have lost an incredible mentor, advocate and friend. She will most certainly be missed.”

Jay Burseth, the president of the Student Association, says that while he was aware of the strained relationship between Mamarchev and student govern-ment, he was looking forward to collabo-rating with her this year.

“I really liked her as a person, but I didn’t get to meet with her very much be-cause she was let go shortly after my elec-tion,” said Burseth. “I know there were a lot of issues with her. Many members of the SA didn’t appreciate her very much. I had no issue with her and looked forward to working with her.”

However, some students not involved in university governance say they were unaware that Mamarchev had been fired. The Post asked random students if they knew that Mamarchev was let go, and what they thought the university’s duty to no-tify students was.

Angela Lang, a junior majoring in inter-national relations, says she didn’t know about the chancellor’s decision until the Post asked her about it.

“I didn’t know she was fired, this is my first time hearing it,” said Lang. “You don’t really hear too many instances of adminis-

trators being fired. My first reaction was ‘oh, I wonder what happened.’”

Jessie Mayer, a senior majoring in early childhood education, also told the Post that she wasn’t aware of Mamarchev’s dismissal. Mayer admits that she did not know who Mamarchev was, but says that the university could have notified stu-dents about the situation.

“I think sending an e-mail would have been good,” said Mayer.

Theater major London Burt, who also didn’t know that Mamarchev had been fired, thinks alerting the entire campus would have been unnecessary.

“What probably should have been done was a notice posted in her office,” Burt said.

Finding a replacementDean of Students Jim Hill was ap-

pointed on July 1 as interim vice chan-cellor for student affairs, but the loss of Mamarchev is complicating the already short-staffed division. With the vice chan-cellor seat now open, as well as the direc-tor of student activities position unfilled, Hill and Associate Dean of Students Tom McGinnity are managing the job duties of four positions – vice chancellor for stu-dent affairs, dean of students, associate dean of students and director of student activities – though Hill says that a decision is imminent on the director of student ac-tivities position.

Hill says that Santiago has not yet started the formal process of finding a replacement for Mamarchev, but that the Chancellor could create a search commit-tee to interview and narrow a pool of ap-plicants. Burseth told the Post last week that he would welcome Hill as the new vice chancellor for student affairs.

“[Hill] displays professionalism and di-plomacy on behalf of the students in the administration,” said Burseth. “I certainly admire and respect him as a human being and hope that I can work with him further this year.”

Chancellor Santiago did not respond to questions and a request for comment. UWM spokesman Tom Luljak and senior officials in the Division of Student Affairs declined comment. Helen Mamarchev did not respond to repeated interview and comment requests.

MARMACHEV Continued from page 1

UWM administration redacted specifics on “inaccurate and inflammatory” remarks in records obtained by the Post.