The Pointer UW-Stevens Point Student Newspaper
Students and faculty members have varied opinions on Governor Scott Walker’s re-election, ranging from praise to shock.
“I was surprised he won, but in general he has improved Wisconsin’s economy,” said history major Josh Rosenkranz. “Cuts had to be made somewhere and unfortunately they were made in education. My tipping point for supporting Walker came down to economic reasons.”
Student Government Association Vice President Katie Cronmiller said 12 percent of University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point students took time to vote last week, trumping other universities in Wisconsin by almost double the amount. According to USA Today, Walker won the election by almost six points.
“I figured Walker would win, but I thought it would be much closer,” said John Blakeman, a professor and chair of political science.
Blakeman said Wisconsin has a looming budget deficit and Walker will have to figure out a way to balance it. For students this may not mean immediate raise in tuition, but other negative effects may procure.
“I figure tuition will be frozen for the next four years,” Blakeman said. “However, no revenue means the system is threatened with a quality issue. If there’s no income, then the quality will surely slip.”
Students are also curious about how this re-election will affect families and future students.
“I was really upset when I heard Walker won,” said an anonymous student. “Because of Walker, my uncle can’t negotiate with the union so he’s required to work overtime. If he doesn’t come in, it counts as an unpaid sick day.”
Political science Professor Dennis Riley discussed how it is suspected Walker will be a possible contender for the Republican Party’s 2016 presidential nomination.
According to the Stevens Point Journal, Walker said he is focusing on putting together a legislative agenda and any decision of running in the presidential election “will have to wait.”
“I believe that Walker was better suited to be governor than Mary Burke,” said an anonymous source.
“Unfortunately, in this two-party system, the only way to be effective when voting is to choose the lesser of two evils.”
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, this was the most expensive midterm election in America, costing almost 4 billion dollars.
“It’s pretty disgusting how much money was spent on this election,” said an anonymous source. “Honestly, I think there’s a serious flaw in the system.”
Sophie Stickelmaier
Reporter
sstic520@uwsp.edu
