THE UNIVERSITY OF W WISCONSIN’S ISCONSI INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1969 Vollu Vo Volu ume me XLIII, XLI LIII II, Issue Issue Is sue 49 su 4 Volume
Friday, November 11, 2011
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Basketball jones
Recent legislation provides sweeping expansions in landlords’ rights. How can you protect your security deposit? | 4
Lost and Found
Senior point guard Jordan Taylor returns to lead a Wisconsin team with an all-new look in the frontcourt. | 8
| FEATURE
Nick Prueher prepares his Found Footage project for its bloody matchup with Davy Rothbart’s Found Magazine. | 6
City to seek input for ’12 block party Ally Boutelle City Editor The Mifflin Neighborhood Association met Thursday to review safety concerns on the Mifflin Street Block Party and begin plans to collaborate with students, along with reviewing several development projects in the Mifflin area. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the association is interested in collaborating with students as conversations
about the future of the block party begin. Verveer said the Associated Students of Madison will combine with Capitol Neighborhoods, Inc. and the Mifflin West District to hold a series of meetings that will be open to the public. The first meeting, Verveer said, will be held sometime between Thanksgiving and University of Wisconsin final exams. A tentative date has been
set for Dec. 8, Verveer said. The meeting’s location is currently undetermined. Madison Mayor Paul Soglin had scheduled a discussion with city officials to kick off the Mifflin discussion, Verveer said, but the meeting was cancelled because of budget proceedings. It will be rescheduled for sometime within the next two weeks. The neighborhood association also discussed plans for the possible relocation of the Mercury
Café. The restaurant’s proposed new venue is on the 200 block of North Frances Street. Mercury Café owner Vasili Kallias said the café’s location on East Mifflin Street was severely damaged by the June fire in the neighboring Capitol Apartments building. Verveer said if the proposal created by Kallias and his partner Ed Tallard, owner of Tallard Apartments, goes through, two adjacent old houses on the 200 block would be
converted. The front house, facing North Frances Street, would become the restaurant’s new location, while the house in back would be rented out to tenants, Verveer said. Kallias said he and Tallard would consider the possibility of tearing down the houses and rebuilding in the future, but did not have current plans to do any demolition. The project has become controversial because it would require adjustment
of current zoning, Verveer said. “It’s not a slam dunk because the entire block, with the exception of the Nitty Gritty, is zoned residential,” he said. “They want to zone it commercial.” Kallias said he wants to get the project moving “as soon as I can”. The association also reviewed the plan for a 12-story student high rise on West Johnson Street,
BLOCK PARTY page 3
Bar admission rule questioned Ally Boutelle City Editor
Courtesy of Andrea Brubaker
Neha Suri was a senior at the University of Wisconsin when she died from bacterial meningitis in Feb. 2010. Suri was studying political science and journalism, and at her memorial, chairs from both departments pledged they would start a scholarship in her honor. Suri is warmly remembered by her friends and neighbors.
Student’s memory honored in 5K Olivia Demarinis News Reporter A 5K race in Minneapolis will help build a scholarship founded in honor of an athletic and beloved University of Wisconsin senior whose tragic death shook the University of Wisconsin campus over a year and a half ago.
On Feb. 2, 2010, UW senior Neha Suri died from bacterial meningitis. This weekend, a Run/Walk in her memory in will raise money for a UW scholarship created in her honor. Bacterial meningitis is a severe but rare infection that causes damage to the brain and spinal cord.
On Jan. 25 2010, Suri was rushed to the hospital and was put in an induced coma as of Jan. 26. After a week in critical condition, she passed away the afternoon of the Feb. 2. A memorial service for her was held in Lathrop Hall the day after her death, where over 100 students, along with family members
and faculty members including Dean of Students Lori Berquam and former Chancellor Biddy Martin mourned the loss. “[It is] evident that she didn’t just visit this school,” Martin said at the service. “… [Suri] managed in a relatively short time to make
NEHA SURI, page 2
The city’s Equal Opportunities Commission took action Thursday against a bar policy which requires a driver’s license for entry, citing possible prejudice and discriminatory practices as reasons to fight against the policy. In addition to the concerns about discrimination raised by the bar policy, commission members worried the policy was not being consistently enforced. Lucía Nuñez, director of the Department of Civil Rights, said there is no current ordinance that addresses uniform bar admittance or discrimination that may take place when bar security determines who to allow in. Multiple commission members were concerned not having such an ordinance could lead to bars that have adopted the policy not universally asking for a driver’s license for admission. Rather, the members said, bar security could require a license from some prospective patrons while allowing others to slide by. Members are concerned security could
make those decisions on the basis of race. Members said they understand and respect bars’ rights to have admittance policies like dress codes, but feel universal application is paramount for equality. EOC Executive Committee President Coco Bustamante said admissions guidelines are necessary, but should be enforced fairly. “The police have standard protocol for how they establish age and identity,” she said. “That should be clear and easy to apply to admission.” Ald. Brian Solomon, District 10, said it would take a “solid six to eight months” for a potential ordinance about universal enforcement to go through the city process. In the meantime, commission member Brian Benford suggested the commission create a subcommittee to raise public awareness and take action against the policy. The commission motioned to create the subcommittee immediately. Benford and members Sean Saiz and Katherine Cramer Walsh volunteered as members. City Alcohol Policy Coordinator Mark
BAR ADMISSION, page 3
Controversial student org funding method introduced Katie Caron Campus Reporter The leader of the Student Services Finance Committee unveiled a plan to bring back the controversial Campus Services Fund to provide funding for student organizations seeking contract status. SSFC Chair Sarah Neibart presented a new direction for the contract status debate, which includes eligibility for segregated fees and introduced an idea to bring back the Campus Services Fund. The CSF, which was proposed last year but was not implemented, would provide a separate funding process for student organizations which have sought or currently seek eligibility and work independently of the General Student Services Fund realm. Last week, the committee addressed the ongoing issue of how to fund groups that have
been granted eligibility. This would particularly affect the Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group, as they have requested contract status but have yet to obtain it. Neibart said she had been thinking of reintroducing the CSF as a last resort and it is a viable solution to problems regarding contract status groups. “This is not the solution to every problem within SSFC, but this is the solution to the problem at hand — contract status,” she said. Neibart said the CSF would in no way be SSFC’s “baby,” because SSFC deals more with GSSF than with CSF. The Associated Students of Madison Student Council will primarily make decisions regarding CSF. Neibart said the CSF would involve a bidding process for services that do not fall within GSSF funding.
If a group believed it could offer a service that does not exist at the University of Wisconsin, it could gain funding through a process where student organizations would debate that service’s worth on campus. SSFC Rep. David Vines asked why the committee could not just edit what exists in SSFC bylaws to work more efficiently for contract status groups. Neibart said SSFC does not have the authority to create an internal process, according to UW Legal. Rep. Cale Plamann said this process would be effective in that it would target services rather than specific figures in the bidding process, thus avoiding viewpoint neutrality violations. Neibart said a finalized draft of the new CSF will be ideally introduced during Monday’s meeting. She also addressed the opposition the CSF faced last year. Groups including
Malory Goldin The Badger Herald
SSFC Chair Sarah Neibart speaks during Thursday night’s meeting, where the Student Leadership Program’s budget was decided and PAVE presented their budget for next year. Neibart spearheaded the initiative to bring back the Campus Services Fund back as a funding option. WISPIRG, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán, and the Multicultural Student Coalition feared the GSSF would become undervalued with the
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introduction of the CSF, Neibart said. Because the two processes would be separate and SSFC will always be primarily concerned with direct
student services, this shouldn’t be a concern, she added. WISPIRG Chair Matt Kozlowski said in an
STUDENT ORG, page 3