THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1969 THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2011
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Bleach’s years of experience say this: the key is simply showing up pagee 14
VOLUME X XLII, LIII, L I ISSUE 139
NEWS | RECALLS
ARTS |FEATURE
UW-Oshkosh professor tries to b’gosh Sen. Randy Hopper page 2
Watch out T-birds Independent film revives classic black and white look, rips ‘50s leather-jacket grunge from grave page 10
Players speak out against women’s tennis coach Pressure to follow strict rules damaging athletes’ physical, mental health Tom Sakash Statistics Editor Several members of the University of Wisconsin women’s tennis team have come forward to The Badger Herald illuminating issues with the team’s head coach, saying his actions have put the players’ health at risk. According to phone interviews with four players, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, head coach Brian Fleishman places strict limitations on what they eat and how they train,
which has forced several behavior, certain players girls to surrender to have battled with anorexia because of Fleishman’s unhealthy lifestyles. “Honestly, we’re constant focus on their controlled through fear, diets. Associate Athletic which is a coaching mechanism that a Director Justin Doherty said the athletic lot of coaches department was can implement not aware of the successfully, but the situation and that bigger issue here every head coach is that it has been goes through a decided on our team rigorous review that [Fleishman] has process each year issues with food,” by senior members one of the women Fleishman of the athletic said. He also According to several department. members of the team, reiterated the university’s Fleishman has instilled fear commitment to its athletes’ into his players, which has safety. “The welfare of student afflicted serious physical and mental damage on athletes is and always many of them. Through his will be one of our most
top priorities,” Doherty said. “That remains to this point.” The players say several team members have sought out psychological treatment to heal the wounds inflicted on them and that players have started taking antidepressant and antianxiety medications due to the stressful environment created by Fleishman. One member of the team remembers watching a teammate deteriorate right before her eyes. “I saw emotionally how her relationship with Brian took a toll on her,” she said. “She started getting anxiety attacks after he sent her an email that her
game wasn’t up to par. He threatened that she had to do a lot of extra workouts and from that she got an eating disorder, she became bulimic and got worse and worse throughout the year.” According to several members of the team, in addition to players, Fleishman’s actions have affected assistant coach Audra Cohen. Members of the team approached Cohen after they had noticed a change in her health and appearance. “She was going through a very difficult time dealing with how Brian was running the program,” one player said.
Cohen declined to comment on the matter. Several players believe Fleishman himself has an eating disorder. They say he is “obsessed with working out” and that he won’t eat in front of the team on road trips. They insist, because they are around the coach and his lifestyle on a daily basis, that his eating habits are forced on the team. “He’s always looking for someone to put in his doghouse,” one player said. “There was never a time when he wasn’t trying to go after an individual.” The players say they
SPEAK OUT, page 13
Proposal to regulate landlords postponed Legislation has been stuck in city process since last year; would stipulate when owners can show units Sasha Hayman City Reporter After a slew of controversial commentary and testimony regarding a rental-showing ordinance designed to push back the amount of time before a landlord can show an apartment, a city committee concluded the long-standing controversial proposed ordinance needed further discussion. Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, has several times gone before the city’s Housing Committee to propose an ordinance that would limit landlords’ ability to give residence tours to the second half of leases. Currently, landlords are allowed to show properties after one-fourth of the lease has expired. Maniaci’s ordinance was met with an immense amount of controversy among leasing officials
who felt limiting tours would cramp landlords’ business and add stress to students’ search for housing. Since the January committee meeting when the committee last discussed the proposal, it has been revised multiple times; it is now in its seventh version. The current version differs immensely from the original, focusing on lease renewals. The ordinance language passed by the committee Wednesday says a landlord may not offer a lease renewal to a current tenant until one-fourth of the lease period has passed. The tenant would then have thirty days to accept or reject the offer, during which time the landlord could not lease the property to another prospective tenant. Housing Committee member Ald. Scott Resnick,
Matt Hintz The Badger Herald
UW law student Scott McGowan tells the city’s Housing Committee he opposes a measure that would push back the earliest point a landlord can show an apartment. District 8, said the Council neither accepted nor rejected the proposal but sent it back to the Housing Committee to work on the issues and continue discussion. “I honestly think we need to provide students more time to take a look at their lease and their
renting situation,” Resnick said. In February, the Student Tenant Education and Mediation program was instituted — partly in response to concerns about Maniaci’s ordinance — to serve as an informational program to better inform students about the renting
process, both before and during their rental. Bill White, one of STEM’s legal instructors, said he believed the problem at hand is localized and creating legislation in response to it would have citywide implications. “Feelings run strongly
on both sides of this,” White said. “Students have as much right to live in quality housing as everyone else in the city.” Scott McGowan, a University of Wisconsin law student, also opposed
LANDLORDS, page 2
Upset student government takes on appointments to committees Council passes only 1 item, passes no new legislation in session Katherine Krueger Campus Editor
‘I RUVV YOUUUU!’ Matt Hintz The Badger Herald
With the weather finally feeling like spring in Madison, some students are venturing into the outdoors to enjoy the new warm temperatures. This student in the Lakeshore neighborhood played with a dog to blow off some steam before finals.
As members of the student government convened Wednesday night, a gridlocked council spent the evening debating one appointment and took up no new legislation. Tensions arose before the Associated Students of Madison Student Council meeting began as accusations of open meetings bylaws and claims of members feeling personally attacked for their role in the nominations process circulated. While the meeting was scheduled to begin later than usual at 9:30 p.m. in the wake of Chair Allie Gardner not posting an agenda outside the ASM office on time, representatives ended up with a slim one hour and 45 minutes to only approve the Nomination Board’s Student Services Finance Committee appointments and take up no new legislation. Cale Plamann, a member of SSFC, said the
© 2011 BADGER HERALD
agenda item to reconsider appointments to SSFC by the Student Council, made on Sunday, was not only illegal, but would also defy the removal process for committee members laid out in the ASM bylaws. Representative Sarah Neibart added these new appointees have not served their terms and there is no just cause to remove them. She said these individuals also have the right to a trial in front of Student Judiciary. As debate over the possibility of removing the item escalated, Student Council member Clay Thomas said he raised the original idea to reconsider because he was uncomfortable with the way representatives rushed through the appointment process. “People didn’t know what was going on, this is not the way we’re supposed to do it,” he said. Thomas also said it was inappropriate to close open forum and he had received personal threats relating to removing the item from the agenda. The item was removed by a vote of over twothirds of the council.
Controversy also flared when the council attempted to begin the process of approving the appointments for SSFC, Finance Committee and Student Activity Center Governing Board made by the Nomination’s Board three-day interview process. Representatives questioned the board’s interview process when it was revealed several of the total nine members were not present for all interviews or votes, which members contended came as a result of stricter time restraints for the internal process. During an interview with The Badger Herald, board member Johnny Koremenos said the group held meetings in the SAC on Monday from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., which violates ASM open meetings laws dictating that a meeting is considered closed after midnight. Nominations Board member Tom Templeton said the group’s process did not follow the normally followed procedures and characterized
STUDENT COUNCIL, page 5