There’s trouble in Milwaukee County paradise. Challenger Lena Taylor inferred in the original on-line chat that Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker was “kicked out” of Marquette University.
Q: Gabe Bosler of Tosa – Ms. Taylor: I have heard that the reason Scott Walker got kicked out of Marquette is because he plagiarized. Any truth to that?
A: Lena Taylor – Thanks Gabe for getting involved in this online discussion. I don’t know if there is any validity to Walker being kicked out of school, nor is that the issue. I believe getting an education is a very important issue, especially in a county where less than 20% of residents have higher education degrees. In a global market where 75% of the emerging jobs are projected to be in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, we have to take education more seriously. Because we lead in
drop out rates and lowest graduation rates, we need a leader who can lead and inspire change in the area of education. When employers say there is a disconnect between the jobs they have and the number of qualified and educated people to fill them – we need leadership to help fill that disconnect.
Here’s the cleaned up version JSOnline.com has active.
(Normally I wouldn’t link to a pdf of the transcripts, but since the paper altered it, and the topic is election related, I’ve made the judgment call that it’s fair use.)
Lots of people, even elected, don’t have degrees. Mayor Jeff Speaker, City of Brookfield, doesn’t have a four year degree, and according to the US Census 49% of Brookfield residents have a four-year degree or higher.
The really interesting detail is that Journal Communications opted to alter the online transcript.
H/T Badger Blogger
7 responses so far ↓
1 Shawn Matson // Apr 1, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Is the one you posted the original? Because in the original she doesn’t infer that he doesn’t have a degree. She avoids it. In the one on JSonline.com, she clearly does.
Which one is truth?
2 Cindy Kilkenny // Apr 1, 2008 at 6:24 pm
They are both the truth. The question in italics originally appeared in the chat transcript which is the pdf file. (The degree question is also there.)
Then, JSOnline removed the “kicked out” question and continues to offer a sanitized version.
I admit this post lacked clarity. There are two issues: 1) JSOnline changed the transcript; 2) degrees for elected and the percentages in which the population they represent hold degrees.
3 Shawn Matson // Apr 1, 2008 at 6:32 pm
ergo the changed transcript is not truthful if it was altered?
4 Cindy Kilkenny // Apr 1, 2008 at 6:36 pm
I think I would argue that both exhibit the truth. One version has an original question and answer missing.
5 Shawn Matson // Apr 1, 2008 at 7:06 pm
but since it’s supposed to be a transcript of the events that took place, it is dishonest in that it is missing part of the event that took place.
6 Cindy Kilkenny // Apr 1, 2008 at 7:08 pm
OK. I’ll buy that.
7 Dan Harland // Apr 1, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Interesting about Speaker not having a degree… He was previously a Police officer, right? (I think my younger brother actually had him for D.A.R.E). I wouldn’t expect a police officer to have an 4-year degree, but think that to hold public office you should have some sort of advanced training in some area relevant to your service. My biology degree would be meaningless in the public eye compared to years as a public servant. Food for thought.