Gerrymandering Opponents Describe Fight for Non-partisan Political Boundaries

In 2011, Dale Schultz was a Republican state senator from Richland Center and he voted for a plan created by Republicans to draw new boundaries for legislative districts in Wisconsin that helped the party grow and solidify its control of the legislature.

It’s a long-standing practice in politics. In different times and places, both Democrats and Republicans have tailored district lines to favor their party. It’s called gerrymandering.

Schultz, who left the legislature in 2015, and a former state Senate colleague, Democrat Tim Cullen, who also left office in 2015, have come to call it an abuse of power.

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October

rural road surrounded by trees with fall colorsI welcomed the recent tips on the Faculty Blog about how law students and law professors might survive the problems and stress of the pandemic.  However, the thrust of the tips seemed to be that we just have to get through or move past the actual and symbolic October of our lives.  Poets, by contrast, have over the years been more inclined to say we should savor October and stretch it out in our consciousness.

Printed below is what the poet Robert Frost had to say about October.  The grapes mentioned in the final lines, I think, are all of us.  We could be richer in mind and spirit if October lasted as long as possible.  With “hearts not averse to being beguiled,” we could better take on the challenges life has thrown our way.

October
by Robert Frost

O Hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not adverse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes’ sake, if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost–
For the grapes’ sake along the wall.

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Sanity Maintenance: A Guide to Surviving October

“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” This Lenin quote has never felt more appropriate than in our past week of October. If you’re feeling completely overwhelmed, burnt An image of fall in Door County, Wisconsinout, ready to pack your bag and get outta Dodge—you’re not alone. As a 3L who frequently questions “why was I born during this time period?” I have begun compiling a list of things that make me feel better on those days that everything seems, well, just too 2020.

  1. Look back to cura personalis. Care for the whole person. More than ever, now, we need our motto. We can cling to this truth when there’s nothing else to hold onto. Take care of yourself in whatever way you can.
  1. Go for a walk outside on campus to look at the fall leaves. Walk to the MU Starbucks if you need an easy, quick destination. I am happy to walk with anyone who would like to go. I can also provide a list of drink recommendations, as I have challenged myself to try something new every day for the past few months and a sizable amount of the new things have involved food or drink.
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