2012.03.08

Andrew Bird takes flight in latest record Tired of others breaking it for you? Chicago-based singer-songwriter urges listeners to “Break it Yourself.” ARTS | 7

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Thursday, March 8, 2012

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ASM presses Ward on Adidas contract Chancellor says mediation period needed in putting company on notice Jackie Allen Campus Life Editor In a meeting with the University of Wisconsin student government Wednesday night, Interim Chancellor David Ward spoke to several student concerns over recent administrative debates regarding student tuition increases and the upcoming mediation period with the athletic apparel manufacturer Adidas.

In early February, Ward decided to move into a mediation period with Adidas to address an ongoing allegation that an Adidas-subcontracted factory owner failed to pay thousands of workers after the factory closed, violating UW’s code of conduct in the process.

Shared Governance Chair

Beth Huang, stating some student government members assumed the code of conduct was broken by Adidas, asked Ward why he chose to enter into the mediation period.

Ward said Wednesday he entered the period in part because he received information that suggested UW could be sued for breaking the contract with Adidas.

“I got information that suggested that even though the report indicated there were breaches, we could be sued,” Ward said. “It could bring the code of conduct into a court case and my worry was … it would be a problem if Adidas won that case.”

Ward added a mediation period is an obligation of putting the company on notice, but he decided to move it before putting the company on notice to protect the university before a potential court case could arise.

According to Ward, if the mediation goes nowhere or is not successful, then UW can notify Adidas of a violation. If UW’s

case is found to be stronger in the mediation period, however, Ward said Adidas may then be forced to pay the workers their severance pay.

When Huang asked how open Ward would be willing to make the mediation process, he responded he would like the period to be as open as possible.

However, Ward added that the mediator, jointly chosen by UW and Adidas, decides how open to make the process.

“What I’m hoping is that through mediation we first of all prevent an aggressive litigation against us that could threaten us and be very expensive and somewhat embarrassing,” Ward said.

ASM Chair Allie Gardner also rose concerns over a suggestion by a UW committee to raise tuition in an effort to help retain faculty, adding ASM’s official stance currently is that they do not approve of differential tuition increases, and are interested in other private Megan McCormick The Badger Herald

ADIDAS, page 5

Chancellor David Ward met with members of student government Wednesday to address widespread concerns about UW’s Adidas contract.

UW restructuring task force unveils HR goals Mike Kujak State Legislative Editor A special task force on University of Wisconsin System Restructuring unveiled its basic policy goals behind the system’s new Human Resources Design Project at the Capitol on Wednesday.

Alan Crist, UW System associate vice president

for human resources, and Darrell Bazzell, UWMadison’s vice chancellor for administration, presented before the Special Taskforce on UW Restructuring Wednesday to start discussions over how UW’s Human Resources Design Project differs from the HR changes occurring in the UW system.

The redesign of UW

System HR department is in the second phase to overhaul the system after legislation included in the Wisconsin budget last year gave the system authority to create its own HR system outside of the state government.

A large portion of the discussion was over future compensation plans and flexibility options.

Bazzell said while he did not have a direct answer to compensation plan reform, the project’s main goal would be to bring consistency to the department.

“For those of you in the Legislature, there seems to be a fairly uniform system here. In the UW System, it is very different,” Bazzell said. “What if nearly a

third of your workers were operating under a set of rules that you had no ability to change or bargain with? We need to bring all our employees under one umbrella.”

When asked about what the budget for this project may be, Bazzell said people are working on their own time to develop the project and at this time did not

expect any significant costs.

Bazzell also addressed UW’s design’s team’s efforts to create a more efficient HR system and said an important objective was to meet the unique needs of the Madison campus.

“Maybe it’s efficiency; maybe we might want to just call it more responsive

RESTRUCTURING, page 2

Diversity Committee alleges VPN breach Jackie Allen Campus Life Editor

Megan McCormick The Badger Herald

Resolutions from the University of Wisconsin student government’s diversity committee claim other chairs and members of the student government failed to remain neutral in their decisions regarding a multicultural campus organization, prompting calls for an internal investigation.

According to the resolutions, Student Services Finance Committee Chair Sarah Neibart violated an Associated Students of Madison bylaw by failing

Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs hoped to mobilize students to turn out for Obama, providing a crucial part of the president’s supporters.

to make reasonable efforts to ensure the full committee was compliant with viewpoint neutrality requirements.

The resolutions also state the Student Judiciary failed to take necessary action in voiding the committee’s proceedings with MCSC’s eligibility process and denied ruling SSFC committed any viewpoint neutrality violations.

The Diversity Committee called on ASM Student Judiciary Chief Justice Kathryn Fifield and Vice Chief Justice Nicholas Checker to be removed

DIVERSITY, page 5

Obama reps make campaign stop INSIDE

Officials urge UW students to get out, vote in wake of new voter ID laws Julia Skulstad Herald Contributor Officials from President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign made a stop in the University of Wisconsin Memorial Union Wednesday as part of a nationwide tour.

Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and National Field Director Jeremy Bird highlighted the President’s accomplishments and the campaign’s challenges in Wisconsin as part of the “Greater Together Student Summit Tour.”

“The unfortunate thing is that we now have a more difficult challenge,” Bird said, referring to a Wisconsin law that

requires voters to present identification at the polls.

“Because of laws that have been passed here and across the country, it’s even more difficult for young people to vote.”

With this campaign, Bird said he hopes for better organization to bring more young voters to the polls to take the 58 percent of young people who turned out to vote in the state of Wisconsin in 2008 and bring the rate up to 65 or 70 percent.

Bird said for this campaign it is important to counteract the added challenges of voter ID laws by considering them as an opportunity to talk to people about why they must register to vote.

Gibbs said the president’s key reform issues — like the economy, health care legislation and the war in Iraq — will be instrumental in his re-election.

According to Gibbs, Obama’s accomplishment in reversing unemployment trends throughout the past 23 consecutive months of positive job employment has helped the country to begin to come out of the economic crisis.

“In order to get younger voters as excited as they were in 2008, we must explain what is at stake for the country and for them,” Gibbs said. “There are lobbyists with special interests all over this country and all up and down Washington that are

hoping you’re distracted in November … and they’re hoping that you’ll stay home.”

Gibbs said the loss of all the reforms Obama has enacted while in office, if an opponent in the upcoming presidential election were to take office, would roll back all the progress and reforms that have been made on issues such as health care and tax breaks.

College Republicans Chair Jeff Snow said he believes the Obama campaign made this stop in Madison because they want to repeat the last election’s performance of young

OBAMA, page 5

© 2012 BADGER HERALD

Kony campaign ignores Africa’s complexity The Kony 2012 campaign that has recently surfaced on social media sites is well-intentioned, but ignores Africa’s complexities.

OPINION | 6

Go get your skin-tight Under Armour

DOJ will appeal voter ID decision

Wisconsin hosted its pro day Wednesday and we’ve got a notebook of the day’s happenings.

Officials say choice to allow “illegitimate and fraudulent” votes diminishes the value of legal ballots cast.

SPORTS | 10

NEWS | 5

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The Badger Herald | News | Thursday, March 8, 2012

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UDC refers 100 block decision to later date Leah Linscheid City Life Editor

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A Madison city committee again chose to refer its decision of initial approval for controversial renovations to State Street’s 100 block to a later meeting, but did give the proposal tentative support.

After listening to presentations by the Block 100 Foundation regarding the proposed alterations to the State Street renovations and testimonies of several downtown citizens, the Urban Design Commission ultimately did not vote to approve the plan. The commission instead chose to provide the foundation with support for the concept of its project with further investigation.

“It is not an initial approval in the traditional sense, but it is a signal that if other things can be resolved in a positive way, the project may move forward,” UDC Chair Richard Wagner said.

The decision to refer comes after the Landmarks Commission chose in an earlier meeting not to vote on the approval of the landmark Schubert Building demolition, which would leave space to create an open garden area.

UDC members discussed several controversial aspects of the Block 100 Foundation’s proposal, including the planned demolition of the Schubert Building and the Fairchild/Stark Building to create the garden.

Block 100 Foundation Project architect Eric Lawson said the garden space, which would be located at the corner of Fairchild Street and Mifflin Street, would create an open area that would enhance the neighborhood.

Lawson added he hoped to gain the initial approval of the garden area but would continue to be open for discussions concerning the area’s architectural aspects.

“We’re hoping for approval of the massing of this concept, the idea of the garden space, but not the actual design,” Lawson said. “Are will willing to talk? Yes, but that’s what we’re looking for.”

Lawson said while the foundation would support moving the Schubert Building to create space for the garden, it was not willing to keep the building in its current place.

Metropolitan Place Condominiums Board of Directors President Mary Kolar said a survey distributed to the condo

residents found that 92.9 percent of residents were in favor of the Block 100 Foundation’s proposal to renovate State Street.

Kolar added the garden space was one of the more appreciated aspects of the plan, in her opinion.

Block 100 Foundation members presented other changes to their plan to renovate the 100 block of State Street that addressed concerns voiced by UDC at its last meeting.

Doug Hursh, another designer for the 100 block plans, said alterations to the proposed development’s homogeneity were taken into consideration, following UDC’s suggestions. He presented renderings that suggested breaking the development building into three separate heights.

“We’ve heard comments about architecture of the building being too heavy,” Hursh said. “The idea was to take what was flat and break it up … so instead of one large element, we broke it down to three major elements of varying heights.”

Lawson also addressed UDC’s earlier recommendations and said a potential restaurant on the first floor of the development would have entrances both on State Street and Fairchild Street.

While an Assembly committee has approved a bill making major changes to landlord-tenant relations, the Legislature may not pass it this session because of time constraints.

The bill, which would make changes to laws governing landlord tenant relations such as no longer allowing cities and states to prohibit landlords from pursuing eviction of a tenant, passed the Assembly Committee on Housing on a party-line vote, said Rep. Leon Young, D-Milwaukee, who serves on the committee.

Rep. Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, one of the members of the committee who voted for the bill, said the law is very important since it better defines the relationship between landlord and tenant. “[The bill] puts common sense reforms in place that eventually will bring down costs for rent,” Steineke said.

He said the bill allows landlords to hold on to property left by tenants for only 30 days before they can get rid of the items. He added that oftentimes, most of the tenants just leave behind “miscellaneous junk,” and that this part of the bill removes this “undue burden” placed on the landlord.

However, Young said he voted against the bill because it seemed to give landlords an upper hand in their relationship with tenants.

“Well, overall, it’s just a bad bill,” Young said. “It’s just a bad policy because it takes away tenants’ rights

and gives more power to landlords.”

He also said the lease makes it difficult for tenants to get the security deposit back.

Young added the committee voted for a substitute amendment, modifying many parts of the bill. He said all members voted for it except for Rep. Janet Bewley, D-Ashland.

He said the amendment addressed a few concerns raised at the public hearing; for instance, removing portions of the bill having to do with requiring the tenant to write a landlord for a problem before being able to go to an elected official with a request for help.

However, he said while the amendment improved the bill, overall he still believed it was a “bad” bill.

The future of the bill is still in question over whether it will pass in the Assembly or not.

Steineke said he does not know whether lawmakers will take up the bill before the session ends. He said the last scheduled Assembly meeting is next Tuesday, and if they do not address the bill then, it will probably not be covered this session.

He added if the bill does not get a floor vote, it will have to be reintroduced, passed through committee again and then passed on a floor vote in next year’s session.

Young said Democratic lawmakers on the committee are hoping the bill will not come up for a vote and plan to do what they can to delay the bill and prevent its passage.

“It’s getting late in the legislative session, and they are going to have to pass it within the next two weeks,” Young said. “It will also have to not only pass the Assembly floor, but go through the Senate floor as will. We’re hoping we can delay and kill it.”

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Megan McCormick The Badger Herald

UW Vice Chancellor for Administration Darrell Bazzell said the UW System has the freedom to develop unique HR policy.

RESTRUCTURING, from 1

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design,” Bazzell said. “But in terms of things we can streamline, like payroll or vacation schedules, I think you’ll get some more cost savings simply by putting in more common business practices.”

Crist said according to terms laid out in the state

budget, the new UW System human resources must be in place by July 1, 2013. He was confident the project would be completed on time.

When Rep. Pat Strachota, R-West Bend, asked if the project teams were using any other university models to develop the system, Bazzell said the group looked to the University of Virginia, which went through a similar process, and a number of other institutions when forming the department’s goals and policies.

Sen. Sheila Harsdorf, R-River Falls, asked Crist how much disparity there is among the pay between the campuses and if this is an issue that should be addressed with the payment plan.

“There was a commission that found there were significant differences between pay amongst the campuses,” Crist said.

“We’re all competing in different markets, which

“For those of you in the Legislature, there seems to be a fairly uniform system here. In the UW System, it is very different,” Darrell Bazzell

Vice Chancellor for Adminstration

is essentially what’s impacting the differences in those salaries.”

Crist said the project, ideally, would like to give chancellors the flexibility they need to address their compensation issues at their campuses.

He added one of the most important compensation issues for Madison would be reforming the merit pay system so exemplary work throughout the system could be rewarded appropriately.

The Badger Herald | News | Thursday, March 8, 2012

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The Badger Herald | News | Thursday, March 8, 2012

Walker announces job-specific employee training New grant program designed to teach workers skills that employers need Sean Kirkby State Politics Editor A new grant program seeks to begin closing a gap between the skills employees have and the skills employers need by funding a partnership between technical colleges and businesses.

According to a statement, Gov. Scott Walker announced the creation of Wisconsin Workforce Partnership Grant Wednesday at campaign stops in La Crosse and Schofield.

“The goal is to tailor employee training to specific employers, which will help

both those enrolled in technical colleges and the businesses in area communities,” Walker said in a statement. “Closing the gap between jobs and available workers needs to be a high priority, especially in the area of manufacturing, where career opportunities are growing.”

He said his office is working with the non-profit Wisconsin Covenant Foundation and the Wisconsin Technical College System to make “substantial” developments in workforce training and job placement.

The three-year-long, $4 million pilot program will provide grants to technical colleges partnering with businesses that are looking to hire workers with advanced training degrees.

These degrees will help workers get the family-sustaining jobs they want, Amy Kerwin, spokesperson for Wisconsin

Covenant Foundation, said.

Kerwin said the grants seek to expand degree programs either through increasing the number of students involved in programs, for example from 15 to 30, or by expanding the curriculum to better meet the need for jobs in the private sector.

She said technical colleges can apply for as many applications as any institution can, as long as each proposal has a corresponding business.

She added a business could also apply for multiple grants by partnering with a Madison technical college, as well as a technical school in Milwaukee.

Morna Foy, spokesperson for the Wisconsin Technical College System, said the program is a great start, but she believes one program cannot solve the whole job skills gap employers currently face in the

work market.

“We’re excited to show how we can work with business,” Foy said. “[These grants are] a pipeline, and we’re looking for interest in the programs that can be funded with these dollars.”

She said the money would go toward issues of capacity and increasing the number of people involved in technical college programs.

She said a job skills gap currently exists, since over 100,000 people are on state unemployment while open job positions in newspapers and online are increasing, and technical colleges can help employees fill that gap.

Ken Starkman, dean of the School of Applied Technology at Madison Area Technical College, said in an email to The Badger Herald that the plan will help facilitate the

partnering between area manufacturers and college.

“The governor’s announcement affirms the reality that manufacturers continue to struggle to find highly skilled workers who are trained to fill jobs in advanced manufacturing,” Starkman said.

“Partnerships between area manufacturers and Madison College help close that gap by providing students the knowledge and training they need to fill the skilled positions that are key to our economic recovery.”

According to the statement, up to $750,000 will be rewarded for each grant over three years. The Wisconsin Covenant Foundation will choose who will receive the award based on a number of criteria, including how many jobs and degree holders the proposal will create.

Wisconsin Workforce Partnership Grant • Three-year, $4 million pilot program to boost skills training for jobs • Aimed at rapid development of degree or certificate programs at technical colleges • Seeks to create a direct link between technical colleges and businesses with advanced manufacturing needs.

Open forum encourages critique of UW advising Lauren Tubbs Herald Contributor University of Wisconsin students shared their experiences and opinions on the current system of undergraduate advising at an open forum Wednesday afternoon in Bascom Hall.

UW recently named Wren Singer, the previous director of the Center for the FirstYear Experience, as the director of undergraduate advising — a new position funded by the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates.

Singer said the goal of this new position is to find ways to provide better training and technology to the advisors at UW. She added the reason for the forum was to obtain student ideas and experiences to help accomplish those goals.

“We need to get a better understanding of what

students are and are not happy with when it comes to advising,” Singer said.

The students at the forum shared their personal advising experiences. One student said her advisor was not able to give her information on which classes to register for due to her multiple majors, adding she almost had to take an extra year of classes because of it.

Singer addressed this as a problem that needs to be fixed by broadening the range of knowledge advisors have on multiple schools and majors at UW. “This idea about interdisciplinary advising and advisors not being able to talk about things outside their expertise is presenting a problem as well,” Singer said. “Advisors have a lot to learn and are under pressure to get it right and are thus hesitating to learn more, but

they probably need to.”

Marissa Mullins, a senior in the School of Nursing, said she attended the forum because she and some of her friends had experienced some frustration with the lack of consistency and communication in the current advising system.

Mullins added the size of UW makes it difficult for advisors and students to form the relationship necessary for good advising.

“It’s hard in a school this large to find and stay with someone you connect with,” Mullins said. “In my experience I once found an advisor really helpful but I wasn’t able to stay with them. You just end up getting passed along [to a new advisor].”

Singer agreed with the issue of having too many students for too few advisors.

She added when some

Megan McCormick The Badger Herald

Director of Undergraduate Advising Wren Singer brought students together to share their opinions about undergraduate advising. advisors have lots of students, they find it difficult to do a good job and focus on each of their students.

“The interpersonal relationship aspect of it is where the most improvement could be gained,” Singer stated.

Singer also pointed out the 24 newly-hired advisors and

new technology programs, designed to help advisors keep track of their students and their advising histories, will help decrease the number of students each advisor has.

Singer added this decrease in number of students per advisor will allow for more personal relationships

between students and advisors to form, making the whole advising process easier for both parties.

“If you have a good relationship with someone, you will have a good feeling after the encounter with them, even if it wasn’t as productive as you wish it could have been,” Singer said.

The Badger Herald | News | Thursday, March 8, 2012

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DOJ to appeal recent voter ID injunction Cogan Schneier Herald Contributor Plans to appeal the controversial injunction a Dane County circuit judge placed on the voter ID law have been announced in the days following his decision.

Department of Justice spokesperson Dana Brueck said in an email to The Badger Herald that the DOJ plans to appeal Circuit Judge David Flanagan’s decision on grounds the law is constitutional.

“Illegal and fraudulent votes dilute and diminish the legitimate votes of qualified electors,” Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said in a

statement. “It is proper and legal for the state to require a person appearing at the polls to prove that he or she is, in fact, the eligible, registered elector whose vote is to be cast.”

To combat the decision, the Republican Party filed a report Wednesday to the Wisconsin Judicial Commission, requesting it investigate Flanagan for allegations that he signed the recall petition against Gov. Scott Walker.

Republican Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Ben Sparks said 31 states currently require a form of photo identification to vote, and the law is for the protection of

voters.

Sparks also said the decision made by Flanagan was a highly partisan one.

“This was simply another instance of a Dane County liberal judge trying to legislate from the bench,” Sparks said. “[Flanagan] signed the recall petition against Gov. Walker, so this represents a clear bias and a blatant conflict of interest.

He goes and makes public his political opposition to a defendant over a case which he is presiding.”

University of Wisconsin political science professor Barry Burden said Flanagan was appointed to the court by Republican Gov.

Tommy Thompson despite allegations that Flanagan signed the recall petition against Walker.

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, said in a statement the voter ID law disproportionately affects seniors and minorities.

“Instead of passing legislation that makes it harder for citizens to exercise their constitutional right to vote, the Legislature should focus on job creation measures that will get Wisconsin back on track,” Pocan said in the statement.

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate said in a statement the voter ID law could cause harm to

the traditions of strong voter participation in Wisconsin.

Tate added Wisconsin law should work toward increasing voter turnout instead of disenfranchising it.

According to Burden, studies show that although the voter ID law does not seem to have a large impact on overall voter turnout, it does negatively impact groups including minorities and students.

Burden added Flanagan’s decision has had a motivational effect for Democrats in the Legislature and could have strong implications for the potential recall elections this summer.

“It has a more symbolic

value,” Burden said.

“Democrats this week finally feel like they’ve managed to stem the Walker agenda.

This might create energy for Democrats going into the recall to turn out voters.”

Burden said the injunction will affect the presidential primary elections April 3, but it is unclear if the law will take effect for the summer recall election.

Burden also noted there is a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the ordeal due to the high number of cases involving the voter ID law. He added it could be months before the trial reaches appeals courts or the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Legislators react to mining bill’s death with surprise Leopoldo Rocha Reporter The Senate’s Tuesdaynight rejection of a bill that would have relaxed restrictions on ore mining in Wisconsin brought varying reactions by those who had been working both on advancing and stopping the bill.

On Tuesday night, the Senate rejected an amendment to the bill that would ease regulations on the iron mining industry by a 17-16 vote, sending the bill back to the Senate Organization Committee for further consideration.

Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, was the Republican who joined 16 Democrats to defeat the bill.

Gogebic Taconite LLC, the mining company that was ready to build a mine in northern Wisconsin, said in a statement later that night

ADIDAS, from 1 sources of funding.

“When I think of differential tuition increases, I think of professional schools and some masters programs where you could make a small increase,” Ward said. “I think a blanket statement on differential tuition is not prudent.”

Ward added many higher education institutions are

OBAMA, from 1 people at the polls.

Snow said he believes more students will support Republicans if they win them over with a solid economic message about what kind of job environment they will need to get a job and how much debt they’re going to have to pay off in their future.

DIVERSITY, from 1 from their positions for intentionally neglecting their duties.

In an email to The Badger Herald, Checker said he believes there is no doubt the resolutions will be defeated by the student government.

However, he said he also believes the process is hurting ASM’s standing in the eyes of the administration. “(Diversity Chair) Niko [Magallon] plans to throw these petty and inane resolutions at the chancellor during the coordinating council meeting and, consequently, waste everyone’s time, instill an image of student incompetence, undermine everyone else’s work, and tarnish ASM’s reputation,” Checker said.

Checker added MCSC has exhausted the ASM appeal process and can formally appeal its viewpoint neutral complaint to Interim Chancellor David Ward, but instead are using ASM’s Diversity Committee to advance their grievance “in a disturbing manner.”

In a coordinating council meeting Wednesday night, Fifield said she is unaware of the means the Diversity Committee could use to

it “[got] the message,” and they will no longer pursue building their mine in northern Wisconsin.

The Sierra Club, an environmental group who pushed for the rejection of the bill because of the threats it would pose to the environment and the quality of the drinking water, released a statement that “applauds” the departure of the mining company.

“Gogebic Taconite has now demonstrated its true bottom line by packing up rather than allow the public to have input and control over the destructive mining proposal,” said Sierra Club Mining Committee Chair Dave Blouin in the statement.

Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, had been working with Schultz in order to find a compromise that would pass the Senate and the

Assembly, according to a statement he released.

Jauch said the Senate did not reject reforms on mining and that sending it back to committee would “continue the effort to reach a compromise.”

Jauch added he was surprised by the company’s decision to end its construction plans given a recent conversation with GTAC’s president.

“Mr. [Bill] Williams’ remarks are inconsistent with a conversation I had with him the night before, where he never indicated that GTAC’s bottom line was passage of the Assembly Bill,” Jauch said in the statement.

Last week, the mining company made an agreement with several construction-related unions that as many jobs as possible would go to Wisconsin workers,

facing critical points in terms of their tuition policies and are considering efforts to keep undergraduate student tuition low.

Ward also heard updates regarding ASM’s inability to come to a consensus on the Multicultural Student Coalition budget, which would then go to the Chancellor’s office for approval. However, Huang added she is wary of giving

Ward the authority to decide how student segregated fees are spent.

“It’s a very scary thought about what happens to student power, what happens to student autonomy, when these kind of issues arise,” Huang said.

“Not because I’m afraid of the debate among students, but I am afraid of what happens when we are squabbling in front of administration.”

UW political science professor Donald Downs, an adviser on The Badger Herald’s board of directors, said with the event, the president’s campaign is hoping students will turn out to vote like they did in 2008.

“If students vote a certain way now, they’re more likely to vote that way for a while,” Downs

said. “Students turn out less than people who are older, so you kind of have to encourage them.”

Bird added he believes people must be educated on the issues now so they will know how to vote in the November election.

“We will let them win if we just take it and say ‘Oh this is too difficult; it’s too difficult to vote,’” Bird said.

investigate the matter, adding she believes the committee’s attempts to remove her from being chair would be illegal.

While she said she believes SSFC was “lazy” in terms of their error on budget waivers, Fifield said the mistake does not mean the finance committee is unable to make future decisions.

She added SSFC and SJ are the prescribed student government committees to make their respective decisions.

In a letter to Coordinating Council members, finance committee member Justin Bloesch said he supported the Diversity Committee’s resolution to grant MCSC another eligibility hearing.

Bloesch said the finance committee committed a viewpoint neutrality violation by dismissing MCSC’s assertion that a $250,000 spending cap and waiver would endanger its effectiveness as a student organization.

Neibart said in the meeting Wednesday she has remained viewpoint neutral. She also urged members to speak with her about the resolutions.

“If MCSC wants to appeal their decision it’s their prerogative,” Neibart said. “But we have to follow our processes or we’re nothing.”

according to Paula Gilbeck, a spokesperson hired by the group of five unions.

Gilbeck called the agreement “historic” and said it would have been a great source for new jobs in Wisconsin.

Many Wisconsin unions largely have supported Democrats since Gov. Scott Walker’s law last year stripping collective bargaining for the state’s public employee unions.

Gilbeck said the unions were

currently in disagreement with the Democrats on this issue because the unions “put aside partisan politics” and are interested in jobs.

According to a Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development report, the two counties affected by the mine, Ashland County and Iron County, had unemployment rates of eight percent and 10.4 percent, respectively, in December 2011. Those are among the highest

unemployment rates in Wisconsin’s counties.

Andrew Welhouse, spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, cited that as one of the main reasons the bill needed to be passed.

“There was a shovel-ready project to go,” Welhouse said.

“When 17 members of the Senate voted against it, they voted against real jobs in the real world.”

Editorial Page Editor Taylor Nye oped@badgerherald.com

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The Badger Herald | Opinion | Thursday, March 8, 2012

Opinion

Wis. health care cuts: healthy or not? Kony idea ignores Africa’s complexity

Health care cuts are inevitable, create more liberal medical market

Austerity would take from those most in need of support

are two of the five most profitable in the country, posting profits of nearly 20 percent. Of course, that’s not the only cause, but it’s an important one.

Cutting some health care Joe Timmerman funding may actually help to bring these prices Columnist down in the long run. If In an ideal world, each health care companies and every person would know that they can have access to cheap, charge as much as they high-quality health care. like and the government Unfortunately, that’s will pick up the tab no easier said than done. A matter what, then they quote from an influential might do something paper on health care crazy, like post a 20

by Gerard F. Anderson, percent profit margin.

Uwe E. Reinhardt, Peter On the other hand, if S. Hussey and Varduhi the market is liberalized, Petrosyan sums up the the companies will situation be forced well: “… the to price United States When compared competitively. spends more With to other countries, incoming on health care than any the U.S. spends revenues of the other significantly more falling for [Organization state, the on health care — the for Economic government close to twice as has to Cooperation and much as some. make cuts Development] somewhere. countries While some spend, without would providing argue for more services than the deficit spending during other countries do.” economic downturns, There are ways to that is a national issue address this — but they because Wisconsin’s do not involve states constitution requires throwing more money a balanced budget. at the problem. For this Considering the high reason, Wisconsin would rate at which health care be better off in the long costs are increasing, term not passing the some cuts to government proposed legislation to health care spending are reinstate BadgerCare inevitable. funding. As shown by the “Fixing” health care in OECD, when compared to the U.S. is a monumental other countries, the U.S. task that will require spends significantly more significant action on on health care — close to the national level. It’s twice as much as some. a travesty that some Research and analysis Wisconsonites may have indicate that this is difficulty getting health largely due to the simple care as a result of Gov. fact that health care costs Walker’s proposed cuts. more in the U.S. However, reinstating the There are a number funds that have been cut of reasons for this, but would only be a short a significant one is that term and expensive bandproviders of health care aid solution. services and products have significant pricing Joe Timmerman power. In fact, the ( jptimmerman@wisc. pharmaceutical and edu) is a freshman majoring medical device industries in math and economics.

So where can the money come from? How about the tax “giveaways” being funded by the Walker administration?

Of course that is out of the question, because Christin Wiegand the second corporations Staff Writer are forced to pay, they’ll pull their support from We’ve all heard the the Walker campaign. saying “Take from the Without support and rich and give to the corporate funding poor.” Gov. Scott Walker’s down the road, what proposed health care will become of Walker’s cuts, however, are campaign for reattempting to do the election? It surely will opposite. Under his new lose money, and Walker health care plan, $500 may or may not be remillion would be taken elected. from BadgerCare and And of course there Medicaid health care is the argument that plans. making health care This is similar to less available will taking candy from a force pharmaceutical baby. While I agree that companies to drop their yes, cuts do need to be prices to make their made, health care is not drugs more affordable where said cuts should to those who need come from. Is taking them. Still, the question money from the sick arises: How many going to make them any of the sick will need healthier? to die before prices No. In fact, the are made affordable opposite will occur; those enough for the general struggling with lifesick population? A threatening conditions sick person is a sick such as cancer will be person with or without kept from receiving government funding. the care they need.

That being said, does it How many people will really seem fair to take need to die funding because they from those can’t afford who need Does it really all the help the proper care before seem fair to take they can government no funding from get, officials matter how those who need much they realize that budgetary all the help they do or don’t cuts can’t can get, no matter receive? come from Being how much they do sick isn’t health care?

With the or don’t receive? something proposed that can be budget cuts, readjusted an estimated 64,000 to fit the constraints of people would lose health a budget; people won’t care coverage. Half of become less sick because them would be children. they can’t afford the All of them would be health care. How, then, is citizens of Wisconsin it fair to take from those that pay their taxes and who really have nowhere are entirely within their else to go? rights and have eligibility to receive BadgerCare.

Christin Wiegand Yet, with the proposed (cdwiegand@wisc.edu) cuts, the care they is a sophomore with an deserve is withdrawn. undeclared major.

Drinking culture needs change Spencer Lindsay Columnist The University of Wisconsin made headlines a couple weeks ago when it was named the fifth-best value of public colleges in America by Princeton Review. The university gave itself a pat on the back for this, as it should have. However, we also came out as the 14th best party school in America.

Now, I am not opposed to a little partying and drinking, but I realize that the extent to which Badgers do it is ridiculous. I think we as a campus should slow down.

I am not asking the campus, Madison or America to put any new restrictions in place or implement any new policies to stop college kids from drinking. It’s ridiculous that men are forced to register for the draft before they can legally have a beer.

I think it’s ridiculous that high schools across America can completely change a kid’s life because he was caught

drinking. It’s absurd that marijuana is a Schedule One drug and cocaine is not. It’s ludicrous that our campus, at times, actively seeks out students that have been drinking or smoking.

I’m not challenging the fact that we have students go to detox every night of the week, nor the fact that our dorm’s drinking policy is less one of “don’t drink” and more one of “don’t get caught.” I’m just saying we need to change our drinking culture.

Anyone who lives in Sellery or Witte is all too familiar with nights when the entire floor is up until four in the morning talking as loudly as they can in the hallway, causing mischief or barfing in the bathroom. Now having this experience once or twice can be a great bonding experience for a floor, but when it happens every night of every weekend without fail, it becomes obnoxious and unhealthy.

There is a joke I’ve heard about this campus, that you leave Madison with “a piece of paper and a touch of alcoholism.”

Unfortunately for many students, this is true.

There are plenty of people on my floor that have started to develop alcoholic habits. While I

understand that college kids are going to drink, the rate at which we do it is ridiculous.

I have tried vigorously to convince a few people on my floor to go to coffee shops or free concerts on the weekends. I have yet to find a group that will abstain from drinking with me on Friday and Saturday nights in favor of a tamer alternative.

There are more ways to have a good time than drinking and scouring Madison for house parties.

As a freshman, my experience at Madison leads me to believe that a very large number of students here spend most of their weekend nights drinking. In the Southeast residence halls, it is nearly impossible to avoid the culture of drinking over the course of any given weekend. I am not saying alcohol is an evil intoxicant that should never touch your lips until you are over 21, but in a city as interesting as Madison, there are plenty of other fun things to do over the weekend that don’t seem to get the attention and priority that partying does.

The last thing I want is for this article to be misconstrued into an argument for more

restrictions on drinking.

I am instead arguing that we as a student body need to change our culture of drinking.

Why is it that there are more people at any given party than at the Rathskeller on most weekend nights? Why do so many students choose to spend their time drinking in the dorms and trying to find addresses than going to coffee shops and restaurants?

We as the next generation of UW students have an opportunity to change this. I’m not saying we can’t party, but throw in a trip to an art museum some weekend, throw in a trip to Coffee Bytes every once in a while, go to a concert whenever you feel like it. You’ll find mixing things up a bit more than just drinking Jack instead of Captain will not only be fun, but make you feel like you are accomplishing something and maybe even maturing.

Do what you will this weekend, but I think I know how I’m going to spend mine. If you need me I’ll probably be at some coffee shop on State Street.

Spencer Lindsay (sclindsay@wisc.edu) is a freshman majoring in political science.

Ryan Rainey Managing Editor As soon as the ticking clock that signals the end of Invisible Children’s newest 30-minute documentary hit the zero mark, I realized a few minor things in my life inevitably would change between March 6 and April 20.

Primarily, I realized my social media feeds would be cluttered with goodintentioned American friends who want to see the “Kony 2012” campaign succeed. Since I live in Madison, it also became clear that radical leftists and disgruntled rightwing skeptics would react with equal disgust at the campaign to arrest Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, but for different reasons on each end.

University campuses quickly will become the front lines of the battle between Kony 2012 loyalists and its critics. They should be.

On Wednesday alone, I saw angry reactions from far-left students that Invisible Children’s crusade against Kony was just another disturbing example of cultural and political imperialism. The overwhelming Westernness of the group’s leaders only added to their disappointment. On the both the left and the right, I also noted the usual worry of slacktivism, a pejorative term for the phenomenon of only sharing a cause’s content but not actively participating in it.

The answer to this skepticism lies, like most complex issues, somewhere in the middle. I cannot pretend to be an expert on African issues, but in the aftermath of this week’s video, I’ve come to a few conclusions about the current status of our conversations about the global south.

Despite the incessant conversation about heightened global sensibility western Europe and the United States continue to have, we still talk about Africa in general terms.

In the “Kony 2012” video, this was especially evident when Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said “[Invisible Children] realized that these African children and families were invisible to Washington policy makers, so they decided to make them visible.”

These kind of statements are the reason so many Americans ask themselves if Africa is a continent or country. When we discuss Cambodian genocide or Rio de Janeiro’s most notorious favelas, we never say “Southeast Asian killing fields” or “Latin American shantytowns.” Those regions have reached a level of

popular understanding, mostly because of films like “Slumdog Millionare,” “The Killing Fields” and “City of God.” We understand more about Asia, Latin America and the Middle East because of our heightened economic ties with those regions.

But we still fail to grasp the complexity of African countries.

It’s not unfortunate that globalized mass media can educate western audiences, albeit imperfectly, about the problems facing many nations. But it is unfortunate that our understanding of Africa still is limited to charity videos that make the entire continent appear to be a monumental mass of inferior governmental, economic and social systems that have plunged every subSaharan state into war and squalor.

Invisible Children sends the right message of human empathy and compassion with their demand for Kony’s arrest, but many of these positive effects are offset by a perpetuation of generalizations and misunderstandings about the African continent that lead to a belief in the superiority of Western social and political norms.

When I finished watching “Kony 2012,” I wanted to fly to Uganda and go to war with Joseph Kony. I wanted him to die the same way I wanted Osama bin Laden to die after Sept. 11. And I even posted, regrettably, that “good versus evil is a real thing.”

After sleeping on the video, though, I realized I had fallen into the same rhetorical team as George W. Bush. His earnest compassion for many African nations unfortunately led to the same promotion of intervention that ignores non-western concepts of political sustainability that could be effective in African countries.

My experience is only one out of what must be thousands of cases of ambivalence and moral confusion over the issue. The new blog Visible Children, which offers a particularly scathing critique of the Kony campaign, understands this ambivalence.

And that’s why universities are such special tools for understanding some of the most difficult issues facing the world.

So much about the antiKony campaign is good and humane, but much of it also is troubling. University of Wisconsin students should participate in the campaign and continue to apply pressure to remove his evil from the region he contaminates. Buy an action kit. Call your congressperson.

But after we wake up on April 21, students also should take the initiative to focus on more innovative measures to end and prevent the worst of human crimes.

Ryan Rainey (rrainey@ badgerherald) is a junior majoring in journalism and Latin American studies.

Concept courtesy of Alicia Yager

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ArtsEtc.

ArtsEtc. Editor Lin Weeks arts@badgerherald.com

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The Badger Herald | Arts | Thursday, March 8, 2012

Xiu Xiu depressing as ‘Always’ in new album Eighth album bears familiar melancholy, morbid curiosity, satisfying themes Joe Nistler ArtsEtc. Staff Writer Everyone knows a pessimist — a lamenter of everyday life that can’t find the bright side of a desk lamp and then asks you to turn it off so it doesn’t hurt his eyes. Generally they are a guaranteed buzz-kill and the last person you want to listen to. Pessimist Jamie Stewart, however, is of a breed far beyond the realm of the gloomy cynic.

Better known as the creator of Xiu Xiu, Stewart broods and rages in his eighth studio album, Always, and dumps out fragments of a mind so fed up with the world, it’s endearing.

Stewart’s macabre subject matter weaves together bizarre threads of sorrow, apathy, filth, Photo courtesy of Polyvinyl Records murder and virtually every San Jose-based Xiu Xiu members Jamie Stewart and Angela Seo present eerie, negative reality in a manicmacabre lyrics as well as sounds with the band’s newest studio album ‘Always.’ depressive episode set

to music. Perpetually on the verge of tears, agony trembles through his voice, erupting occasionally into rage via psychotic moaning and yelling. The outbursts produce garbled groaning alongside abstract poetic rants, equally garbled.

Given the topics he covers in the album with bandmate Angela Seo, his tremulous voice and outbursts are not much of a surprise. In “Gul Mudin,” for instance, he fumes about the Maywand District murders in Afghanistan, where a group of American soldiers brutally murdered civilians, posed for photos with the corpses and kept fingers as trophies.

The murders were real-life tragedies and an example of the evils and terror that man is capable of, but such atrocities deeply affect Stewart’s own ruminations, where they stew and boil over to his introspective tracks.

“A sliver of bone could get caught in your throat; well, silence is golden/ A shot of bone sticking out of your arm; well, blood is beautiful,” he bellows in “Hi,” the album’s opening

track. Objectively speaking, when the “bright side” of a compound fracture is being able to see the blood, professional counseling might not be a bad thing.

Then again, if he’s the only one affected, his fury could be construed as a wakeup call to humanity. Art was never meant to be PG. Although bizarre and grotesque, the window Xiu Xiu opens into his decrepit world is infectious, in the same vein as a gore-addled horror flick — cringeworthy, but hard to turn off. It’s listenable too, thanks to band mate Angela Seo’s synthesized hooks and crunchy drum machines.

In sync with the bipolar vocals, the melodies and ambience cut across several genres. From electro hooks to chaotic noise rock to weeping acoustic guitar, the duo clearly are no amateurs.

One minute, a slurring, sorrowful piano raises goosebumps and makes you want to curl up in a ball and stare at the ceiling; this is “The Oldness.” The next, an electro-pop hook sends you to an imaginary dance floor; it sounds like even

Stewart may have found some lighthearted hope. But then you realize that you’re smiling and humming along with “I get up, get up, and the day is ruined again.”

Gradually, you discover just how uncomfortable a smile can feel.

Always is not for listeners of exclusively feel-good music, though it does have its pop moments.

Side effects of listening may include decreased appetite, nausea and severe pessimism. Chaotic noise tracks like “I Luv Abortion” may even provoke seizures, though that result is uncommon. But for openminded listeners intrigued by the drastically weird, Xiu Xiu’s Always will exploit a morbid curiosity you never knew you had.

ALWAYS XIU XIU

Musician Andrew Bird ‘breaks’ barriers himself No longer spring chicken, artist presents best effort in 20-year career Kevin Kousha ArtsEtc. Staff Writer Andrew Bird is nearly 40 and has been a professional musician for almost 20 years. His career has not been riddled with hiatuses, endless side projects or significant drama of any kind. He has never gone more than three years without releasing an album.

With every release he pushes his musical abilities a little further while keeping certain patent sounds, creating one solid record after another.

Break It Yourself is strong for all the reasons that Bird’s other releases have been, yet it stands out because Bird’s style is not just aging, but maturing, along with him.

To the relief of his

current fans, Break It Yourself still features the carefully constructed violin melodies of early albums.

Whistling solos abound as well. Much as he did in his last album, Bird fluctuates between familiar sounding tracks and adventures away from his zone of comfort.

As such, Break It Yourself can only fully be enjoyed by the intent listener. Pulling apart the layered sounds, witnessing the seamless transition between ideas and analyzing Bird’s clever lyrics are all part of the experience. While his songs are accessible to the casual listener as well, dedicated listening reveals the thought present in each track.

“Desperation Breeds” leads off the album with the unusual violin work found in earlier Bird tracks.

Occasionally, however, it goes on tangents, experimenting with less familiar sounds. “Danse Carribe” starts in familiar territory again but goes into a melody more at home on

Paul Simon’s Graceland, and then into a Celticsounding period of violin riffing. Such fluctuation between familiarity and experimentation is found throughout Break It Yourself.

Naturally, not every track hits the mark. Yet, in the greater context of the album, each track has its place. While not as moving, even weaker tracks still feel as though they belong.

Through it all, however, Bird manages to tie everything together and keep it in one piece. Even with tracks going off in unexpected directions, sometimes with less success than others, there is an undeniable coherence to Break It Yourself, stronger than any album Bird has made before.

Like many musicians, Bird’s voice has started to lose some of its power with his age. This shouldn’t be seen as a detriment to his music, however. From the beginning of the album, there are the occasional

Photo courtesy of Mom+Pop Recods

Singer-songwriter-instrumentalist Andrew Bird’s “Break it Yourself” proves the musician is only improving with age. instances where Bird’s voice sounds hollower than before, almost strained at times.

Yet it suits the sound.

Many of the tracks have heavy reverberation, creating a sense of emptiness, and the sound of Bird pushing his voice past its limit just a little adds to this atmosphere. As with the rest of his music, he never pushes it too far, always using it in just the right amount.

This is the real draw of Break It Yourself. As a well-trained musician,

Bird’s clever lyrics and crafty music were always out of place with younger counterparts, though it has also been a significant component of his success.

Today, his words sometimes take a more serious turn, and his songwriting skills have become even stronger.

Over the course of his career, Bird has managed to find the middle ground many musicians search for.

He maintains a familiar sound that keeps away few listeners, yet he has his own style that makes each song his own. Break It Yourselfis

his most successful effort so far. Heady, observant, witty and moving, Break It Yourself is Bird’s strongest offering to date.

BREAK IT YOURSELF

ARTSETC. PRESENTS PAPER RADIO

Go beyond bloodcurdling screams, take chance on metal

Regen McCracken Paper Radio Columnist Many aspects of metal, punk, hardcore and other aggressive genres of music turn off the average listener.

Unintelligibly screamed lyrics, playing speed, inherent aggression, violent subject matter, perceived occult and Satanic themes and overall loudness all contribute to keeping these cacophonous genres (hereafter referred to under the umbrella term “metal” for simplicity’s sake, even though this lumping is incredibly incorrect and ignorant of the wide variety of aggressive music) out of the mainstream and to pushing would-be listeners away.

Thanks to this obscurity, these genres of music do not get the fanbase, recognition, critical praise and understanding that they deserve. On the contrary, metal is possibly the most misunderstood

genre of music in today’s soundscape, mainly because a large portion of people cannot get past the aggression that permeates much of metal as a genre; unfortunately, what these listeners don’t realize is metal has much to offer to those who give it a chance.

The biggest complaint that most listeners have with metal is related to the extreme vocal style employed in a large majority of aggressive music known as “screaming” (though there are a wide variety of vocal techniques that fit under this broad term).

Most listeners shy away immediately when they hear these harsh vocals; they dismiss the sounds as pure noise for the sake of it. Since screaming is so prevalent in metal, beginning to enjoy it will take quite a bit of conditioning.

Though the origins of screaming have been mostly lost to the ages, it was perhaps popularized by the aptly nicknamed Screamin’ Jay Hawkins of “I Put a Spell on You” fame.

Other blues artists adopted the technique both for volume and emotional

reasons. These justifications persist today for many bands that use harsh vocals; just as a singer such as Christina Aguilera may use crescendos to emphasize strong emotion and feeling in lyrics, metal vocalists may utilize screaming.

This is not true in all cases, as screaming has largely become the norm in aggressive music styles.

Still, aside from expressing emotion, screaming has another use: vocal instrumentation.

Screaming, when used as an instrument, reinforces or complicates rhythms in music. Perhaps the vocalist screams to match percussion strikes, bass lines or rhythm guitar playing, or perhaps the vocalist’s cadence further adds to the chaotic cornucopia of rhythms that populate intense, heavy music.

Whatever the application, listeners can think of screaming as a kind of loud poetry; this analogy works out particularly well since lyrics are, by definition, poetry set to or sung/screamed in music.

Some listeners tend to dismiss screaming as a notalent instrument; they

may think that screaming is something anyone can do, and, while true in the typical sense of the word, screaming as applied to music is not as easy and, when done improperly, can seriously injure one’s vocal cords. The talent that it takes is not exactly comparable to any other instrument in the world of metal, but it does further one of the hallmarks of the metal genre: Metal musicians are extremely talented.

Even an average listener that has never before heard a metal song can listen to nearly any random track and hear that the musicians have huge amounts of talent.

The guitarists are able to play extremely fast while utilizing a bevy of advanced playing techniques, such as sweep picking (also known as economy picking), tremolo picking, twohanded tapping (sometimes incorporating all eight fingers) and more. Bassists typically also employ these techniques, and many of them play a combination of pick and fingerstyle, which is truly incredible due to the blistering tempo at which much of metal is played.

The timekeeper of these insane tempos is the drummer (in combination with the bassist). Of course, to keep the tempo, the drummer must play incredibly fast and accurately, all while incorporating advanced fills and techniques such as blast beats, double kick (bass) drumming, single-handed rolling and a plethora of polyrhythms.

Vocally speaking, aside from screaming talent, metal (and especially the other genres lumped in with it for the purpose of this column) typically has anywhere from average to jaw-dropping singing chops, usually hitting somewhere near amazing.

Perhaps most importantly, nearly every metal band writes its own music.

Songwriting may be the most difficult part of being a musical artist; just look at all the popular artists that have professional songwriters do it for them.

Metal compositions are typically extremely dense and technical — comparable in that regard to jazz and classical compositions — and, as a result, writing is no easy task.

The talent that is almost inherent in the majority of metal artists is perhaps the widest window of opportunity for a non-metal listener to enter the world of aggressive music. After all, we as a society value talent in nearly every aspect of life. Why should music be any different?

Metal has the potential to be an extremely rewarding genre for all people thanks to the same aspects that make it so challenging to get into. A taste for dissecting difficult and dense music, once acquired, can never be sated by simpler songs again. All prospective listeners need to do is give metal a fair, open-minded listen; the worst that could happen is gaining a greater appreciation for talent and variety.

Regen McCracken is a junior intending to major in journalism. He has a love for video games, metal, jazz and all things that make one think.

He also writes and performs his own music while not writing these ever-interesting columns or studying himself to sleep. Send him questions and comments at rmccraclen@ wisc.edu.

Comics

Now Printed on 60% Kosher Beef Noah J. Yuenkel comics@badgerherald.com

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The Badger Herald | Comics | Thursday, March 8, 2012

WHAT IS THIS

SUDOKU

HERALD COMICS

PRESENTS

S

U

D

O

K

U WHITE BREAD & TOAST

toast@badgerherald.com

MIKE BERG

NONSENSE? Complete the grid so that every row, column and 4x4 box contains 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E and F. What? You still don’t get it? Come, on, really? It’s not calculus or anything. Honestly, if you don’t know how to do a sudoku by now, you’ve probably got more issues

TWENTY POUND BABY

DIFFICULTY RATING: You can taste the ethics

HERALD COMICS

PRESENTS

K

A

K

U

R

O

baby@badgerherald.com

STEPHEN TYLER CONRAD

YOURMOMETER

LAURA “HOBBES” LEGAULT

C’EST LA MORT

PARAGON

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HOW DO I

KAKURO?

I know, I know. Kakuro.

Looks crazy, right?

This ain’t no time to panic, friend, so keep it cool and I’ll walk you through. Here’s the low down: each clue tells you what the sum of the numbers to the right or down must add up to.

Repeating numbers?

Not in this part of town.

And that’s that, slick.

paragon@badgerherald.com

The Kakuro Unique Sum Chart Cells Clue 2 3 2 4 2 16 2 17

DIFFICULTY RATING: Go ahead. Lick the page.

MOUSELY & FLOYD

Possibilities { 1, 2 } { 1, 3 } { 7, 9 } { 8, 9 }

3 3 3 3

6 7 23 24

{ 1, 2, 3 } { 1, 2, 4 } { 6, 8, 9 } { 7, 8, 9 }

4 4 4 4

10 11 29 30

{ 1, 2, 3, 4 } { 1, 2, 3, 5 } { 5, 7, 8, 9 } { 6, 7, 8, 9 }

5 5 5 5

15 16 34 35

{ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 } { 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 } { 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 } { 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 }

6 6 6 6

21 22 38 39

{ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 } { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 } { 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 } { 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 }

7 7 7 7

28 29 41 42

{ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 } { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 } { 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 } { 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 }

8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44

{ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 } { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 } { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 } { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 } { 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 } { 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 } { 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 } { 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 } { 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 }

ehmandeff.tumblr.com

CLASSIC MADCAPS

HERALD COMICS 1

2

3

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PRESENTS 5

14

pascle@badgerherald.com

21

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24 29 34

30

13

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51

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36

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random@badgerherald.com

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ERICA LOPPNOW

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RANDOM DOODLES

7

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RYAN PAGELOW

6

15

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BUNI

madcaps@badgerherald.com

MOLLY MALONEY

55

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Puzzle by Stu Ockman

PRIMAL URGES

primal@badgerherald.com

ANDREW MEGOW

MODERN CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT

THE SKY PIRATES

COLLIN LA FLEUR

DENIS HART

mcm@badgerherald.com

skypirate@badgerherald.com

Across 1 Nursery rhyme vessel 5 Candy used to be seen on it 9 Like a celestial body 14 Oscar Wilde poem “By the ___” 15 Ingredient in traditional medicine 16 Uncertain 17 Start of a Confucian aphorism 20 Man’s name that’s Latin for “honey” 21 Not so great 22 Arm raiser, informally 23 Like the gang, in an old song 25 Single, e.g.

28 Accept eagerly, with “up” 29 A goner 31 Dig it 32 Work assignments 35 TV network

36

37 40 41 42 43 44 46 47 49 53 54 55 56 60 61

that broadcast live from Opryland USA Two-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Nykvist Aphorism’s middle Draftable Tick off Journalist Howell Actor Wheaton Medgar ___ College Number twos, for short Some galas Accustoms Place for family portraits Together, in Toulon Suffix with manager Aphorism’s end Beau Call ___ (stop

62 63 64 65

play after service) “Am ___ only one?”

Terminals in a computer network Minuscule issues Word with china or chop

Down 1 Cheese city 2 Staggering 3 Probably 4 Joke follower 5 Not being such a daredevil, say 6 Place for many a hanging 7 Brings along 8 Speed: Abbr.

9 Guinness superlative 10 “La ___ du jeu” (1939 Renoir film) 11 Music featured in “A Clockwork Orange” 12 “___ tu”

Get today’s puzzle solutions at badgerherald.com

13 Faulty: Prefix 18 One who’s working out of pocket, informally?

19 “Elf” co-star, 2003 24 Co-creator of “The Flintstones”

CROSSWORD 25 Curse 26 Memorable 2011 hurricane 27 Sights at Occupy protests 30 More 32 Stores 33 “Pagliacci” clown 34 Turns 36 Mushroom stem 38 ___ jolie 39 Chicago’s Saint ___ University 44 Fishermen with traps 45 Browning piece 48 Hindu princess 50 Bad demonstrations 51 Prefix with -meter 52 Time out?

54 ___ fruit 56 On one’s ___ 57 When doubled, Miss Piggy’s white poodle 58 N.H.L.’s Laperriere 59 Start of an alphabet book

Rocky the Herald Comics Raccoon™

Why can’t I order this beer to-go?

They’re all gonna go eventually.

That is a pee joke.

To place an ad in Classifieds: Roshni Nedungadi rnedungadi@badgerherald.com 257.4712 ext. 311

9

The Badger Herald | Classifieds | Thursday, March 8, 2012

ATTENTION

FOR RENT

If you used Yaz/ Yazmin/ Ocella birth control pills or a NuvaRing Vaginal Ring Contraceptive between 2001 and the present and developed blood clots, suffered a stroke, heart attack or required gall bladder removal, you may be entitled to compensation.

Call Attorney Charles Johnson, 1-800-535-5727

Large 2 bedroom apartment across from Camp Randall. 38 N. Breese #5, New Kitchen, Hardwoods, Larger Bedrooms, includes HEAT. Please visit tallardapartments.com for pictures/ layout. 608-250-0202.

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Classifieds

Large 2 bedroom flat at 518 S. Mills. Large Bedrooms, LR and DR, hardwood floors, large front porch. Please visit tallardapartments.com for pictures/ layout.

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New kitchen, free laundry in apt. New LR carpet/ hardwood floors, central air, furnished, porches. $1350. 835-2637 Spacious four bedroom near Kohl Center. Newly remodeled with loft and large porch. Laundy, heat, and water included! Parking available. Call 235-7753

FOR RENT

Do you love working outdoors, are able to work in a fast paced environment and have great customer service skills? The Henry Vilas Zoo is hiring 30-40 individuals for the upcoming summer season. Positions are available in the gift shop and food service areas. If you are interested and would like to fill out an application please come to our job fair on March 9th and 10th 10am- 4pm in the Visitors Center at the zoo.

SC to Ben- We tangoed at Kanopy Dance at a free tango lesson earlier this year. I never got your number, not to mention your last name, and have regretted it ever since. Leave me a message on the chalkboard of 240 Van Hise with the name of the friend I was with and your last name if you’re interested in seeing me again. -Cassie

like I am a stalker.

I promise I am not.

You are just attractive and I would like to get to know you.

-brown haired girl

SC to the cute jimmy johns guy today. not only was my food delicious, but your smile was contagious. and even though you said you go to MATC, we can still make it happen.

-the bschool girl

2nd chance to Yuli. A good friend told me you like to cuddle.

Let me be your Arabian teddybear. From Momo

2nd chance. You were a beautiful brunette, with glasses. You got off somewhere on state st. riding the 6 at about 9:30 p.m on Wednesday. (sorry new here). Before you got off we caught eyes. I know I don’t know you, but if felt like we did. There was a pause between the both of us when you waved, and then I waved. Anyways you got off way to fast for me to say anything clever. I was soooo tempted to jump off the bus after you. I really did just move here, and maybe you were mistaken me. I don’t know. Either way, I hope you see this and we can remedy this missed connection. I am semi confident you will be looking for this. If not, I can only hope to run into you again.

SC to Nate E. You are in my physics class and sat next to me at church a few weeks ago. You are so cute.

ASO to not knowing how to start a conversation without feeling

SC to jake who i’ve got such a major crush on. maybe you aren’t interested, but i still think you’re really cute. let’s watch bms together sometime. ;)

Second Chance to the guy at Hugo who I made a fortune teller toy with-- I should have written a kiss from me under every flap because that’s all I really wanted.

Second Chance to the guy whose bed I sat on eating marshmallows and peanut butter together on Friday night. You are a man after my own heart.

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FOR RENT 2 Bedrooms near Camp Randall starting at just $842/ month! Heat Paid. Parking available. Great location! Please call Randall Park at (608) 251-2715 to schedule a showing.

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SC to Anna, the really cute and nice girl I met at the SAC who is studying for the MCAT. Didn’t get a chance to ask for your number, but would love to get the chance to talk to you again.

Sports COACHES, from 12 And no lead is a safe lead.

“We were down 15 on Saturday night and came back and won on an away court,” Northwestern head coach Bill Carmody said of his regular season finale against Iowa. “Ohio State was down [15 against Michigan State] on an away court [Sunday] and came back and won.”

The seeding of the tournament may not even be an accurate portrayal of the momentum behind every team.

Fifth-seeded Indiana is currently the hottest squad in the league, winning eight of its last 10, including four straight.

Two seeds below is Northwestern, a bubble team with plenty of optimism but one that has not won back-toback games since early February.

Meanwhile, Michigan State ended the year by dropping its final two games.

The league has been so tough on its members that, speaking the morning after its final loss, Izzo said it turned what should have been the “most celebrated” of his six regular season titles into one of his more “disappointing” ones since Michigan and Ohio State found elbow room to force the three-way split.

“It should be … our most

celebrated one because of that exact reason, and yet I guess in a sick sort of way, at least for another six-toeight hours, is one of my more disappointing ones because of not being able to finish the job,” he said.

Conventional wisdom would hold that a bye in any kind of tournament would be invaluable. It certainly sounds nice for the Big Ten tournament, where the unlucky teams are tasked with winning four games in four days in order to take the crown.

And if there’s anyone who knows about firstround byes in this conference, it’s Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan, who has never participated in the opening round of the tournament in his 11 years in command of the Badgers.

But even Ryan has gathered the benefits of playing in the first round.

When a team doesn’t know who it’s playing the day before tip off, he explained, it can be tricky to prepare. Depending on when practice facilities in Indianapolis are available, the team might not even get enough time to practice.

And sometimes playing a full game in the opening round makes for better preparation for round two than an inadequate practice.

Two teams without

a bye made it to the semifinals in last year’s tournament.

One of them, then-No. 6 Penn State, went to play in the championship game before losing to Ohio State.

“It’s hard that way,” Ryan said of the bye.

“There are coaches that have told me they love playing the first day when they won because they felt so much more comfortable the second day because of what you don’t get on the court as far as practice time.”

Indeed, one would be hard-pressed to find a team without a bye that didn’t believe it could, at least, do some damage in the first two rounds, if not run the four-day, fourgame table.

Purdue head coach Matt Painter simply pointed to last year’s Big East tournament, in which Connecticut won five games in as many days to take the conference title and then went on to win the requisite six games to take home the national title.

“I think there’s a lot of teams that feel if they can get through a round or two that they can win it,” Painter said, whose team faces Nebraska Thursday.

“I think that’s the issue of getting starting and feeling good about yourself and getting a win underneath your belt.”

The Badger Herald | Sports | Thursday, March 8, 2012

10

Taylor deserves 1st team selection Nick Korger Korger’s Korner When the Big Ten released the names of its first team honorees on Monday, one thing in particular stuck out. Of the five spots on the all-Big Ten first team, four were unanimous between the media and the coaches of the conference. However, at the last guard spot, there was a difference of opinion.

The media selected Penn State standout Tim Frazier, while the coaches selected Wisconsin’s Jordan Taylor.

Let’s look at what both sides saw.

The media most likely selected Frazier because of his statistics. Frazier is obviously one of the most athletic and explosive guards the conference has. With a lightening first step and a smooth floater in the lane, it’s no surprise that Frazier is the second best scorer in the conference. Posting 18.6 points per game, Frazier’s average only trails behind unanimous first team allBig Ten honoree John Shurna of Northwestern (19.8). Frazier’s aggressive driving style has also led to the junior guard leading the conference in free throws

TAYLOR, from 12 Badgers did win the tournament in 2008, the year before Taylor arrived in Madison, but since then, a pair of four-point losses and last year’s 36-33 fiasco at the hands of Penn State have bounced Wisconsin out in the first round.

“It’s been some ugly games for us down there since I’ve been here,” Taylor said. “Obviously, we haven’t won there since they won in ’08. It’s just been some ugly games, but sometimes you’ve got to find a way to win ugly games. We haven’t been able to do that.”

Last season’s nightmare at the hands of the Nittany Lions was the lowest scoring game in the 14year history of the Big Ten Tournament — and it wasn’t even close. The game’s combined 69 points shattered the previous low of 85, set by none other than Wisconsin against Michigan in 2008.

But that’s not to say the Badgers haven’t brought talented teams to the tourney each year. Last season, a 13-4 conference record earned Wisconsin a No. 3 seed in Indianapolis.

In each of the prior two seasons, UW finished No. 4.

To hammer home the promise this year’s squad holds, 17-year strength and conditioning coach Scott Hettenbach made a special presentation of sorts to the

made, connecting on 155-of197 attempts (78 percent).

He also posts a conference best 6.3 assists per contest.

Frazier contributes the greatest percentage of any Big Ten player to a team’s total offense. Penn State currently ranks second- tolast in the Big Ten with a total offensive output of 61.9, meaning Frazier’s 18.6 points per game account for 30 percent of Penn State’s scoring on average per night (that’s not even attributing total offense with Frazier’s assists).

And don’t worry about his defense; Frazier’s got PSU covered with 2.3 steals per game, good for second best in the conference.

With all of those terrific numbers, it seems easy to understand what the media saw in the Penn State standout. But, the coaches differed from the media and selected Taylor, most likely for different reasons.

Taylor’s stats are down from last year. While Frazier is tops in most offensive categories, the Wisconsin point guard’s average points per game output is down to 14.6 from the 18.1 he averaged just a year ago. Last year, Taylor had the nation’s highest assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.83. Now, Taylor currently ranks 15th in the nation with a ratio of 2.63. His productivity has fallen statistically, which is probably what the media saw when they voted Frazier over him for first

team honors. However, they didn’t take in a few of the stats that matter most.

Taylor inherited a team that graduated three starters from the previous year. Keaton Nankivil, Jon Leuer and Tim Jarmusz combined to average 31.9 points a game. When looking at total offense (in 2011 the Badgers averaged 67.9 points per game) these three senior starters made up almost 47 percent of the total offense per game just a year ago. Besides replacing that scoring, Taylor had to lead a team that groomed three new starters this year, while the departure of his entire starting frontcourt (especially the NBA talent of Leuer) allowed opposing teams to focus primarily on shutting him down.

The job of a point guard is to lead his team, and Taylor undeniably has done that. While the Badgers struggled early in the conference season — losing three straight at one point in Big Ten play, including two consecutive home losses to Iowa and Michigan State —Taylor led the Badgers to a fourth place finish in the Big Ten. Taylor’s continued greatness with the ball helped bolster Wisconsin against the conference, as his assist-to-turnover ratio this season is the Big Ten’s best, while Frazier’s is currently eighth in the league.

From a point guard standpoint, Taylor is

players this week. “[Hettenbach] came in and he said, ‘The last three years, we obviously haven’t gotten any wins down there.’

He showed us the last time they got some wins down there, they won the whole thing,” forward/center Jared Berggren recounted. “He came in, he showed us the [championship] ring and said, ‘This is what we’re capable of; this is what we’ve been working for.’

“That’s our goal, that’s our mindset going into this weekend. We’re going to go down there and try to win the championship.”

As always, winning the title has been the players’ outwardly stated goal this week.

But with a little prodding, some of the Badgers’ additional motives for finding success this weekend rose to the surface.

“I’m personally really playing for [Taylor] and Rob [Wilson],” guard Josh Gasser said in reference two UW’s only two seniors. “Obviously for the whole team and all the fans and everything, but just seeing how hard them two have worked — Jordan, especially — it would just mean a lot to me to be able to see him hold up the trophy because he deserves it. He’s worked harder than anyone around and he’s good as anyone around.”

But not all parties in attendance at practice this week shared those

sentiments.

Perhaps anticipating an overreliance on the notion of needing to get Taylor and Wilson some wins this weekend, assistant coach Lamont Paris quickly attempted to quell much of the “do it for the seniors” talk.

“I don’t think it is in their minds at all, to be honest with you,” Paris said. “What if we had won every Big Ten tournament game since these guys had been here?

Then the question would be, ‘Well there’s pressure on you; every other team has won every single Big Ten game.’ It’s a game that we have to play. We’re going to lace ‘em up and whoever’s in front of us, we’re going to let our hair down and play basketball.”

Regardless, Wisconsin agreed on one obvious goal for this weekend — win some games and establish momentum as the NCAA tournament draws near.

Paris insisted this year’s squad has the maturity and coaching to ensure a focus on winning one game at a time, an idea that could pay dividends in a conference tourney that is regarded as one of the most wide-open in years. “[Winning] is definitely important to me,” Taylor said. “It’s my last chance to win in the Big Ten, the last experience in the Big Ten. It’d be huge, especially, if we go down there and try to win the whole thing.”

probably the best of any in the conference, and thinking about the Badgers this year without the star on the floor is stomach churning. Badger fans and coaches throughout the Big Ten alike can recall moments when the Wisconsin offense stalled, only to be bailed out on some amazing shots with the shot clock buzzer ringing after Taylor’s quick release.

In a year in which many doubted how the Badgers would finish, Taylor has remained consistent and helped lead this team to success in a year where the Big Ten, top to bottom, was perhaps the most competitive it has ever been. When it came down to it, the coaches recognized that Taylor is the heart that pumps the blood

through this Wisconsin team’s body. Without the seasoned leadership and consistent play of Taylor, it’s safe to say the Badgers would not have finished in fourth place or with 20-plus wins.

Simply put, the difference in picks comes from two different aspects. The media tend to weigh the statistical output of Frazier at a higher importance than wins.

While Frazier had a terrific season personally, that did not translate to his team’s overall success, as PSU went 12-19 overall and 4-14 in the conference. However, Taylor finished with a higher assist-to-turnover ratio than Frazier and led his team to a uncontested lock for another NCAA tournament berth (238, 12-6). Although his statistics

are down, Taylor has his team rolling into the conference tournament courtesy of a three-game winning streak.

At a position on the floor where efficiency is everything, Taylor had the better season.

In a sport where winning is everything, Taylor had more to his name. Statistics won’t put Frazier and Penn State in the tournament, but the efficient play and leadership of Taylor will put Wisconsin in the Big Dance, vindicating the coaches’ decision to pick Taylor over Frazier as the right one.

Are stats more important to you than winning? Hold on there, stats major; email Nick at nkorger@badgerherald.com and tell him why he’s right or wrong on choosing Taylor.

11

The Badger Herald | Sports | Thursday, March 8, 2012

Sights, sounds at UW pro day Budmayr suffers setback with arm; Toon, Wilson flash big numbers Elliot Hughes Sports Editor Roped off onlookers silently watching from afar; the occasional brief and quiet oohs and aahs; the sight of football players dressed in a full regalia of Under Armour.

It must be pro day.

Former members of the Wisconsin football team hosted a multitude of representatives from NFL teams Wednesday at the McClain Center practice facility. Players ran 40-yard dashes, bench pressed 250 pounds and did various position drills all in preparation for the 2012 NFL Draft, which begins April 26.

Plenty of people attended the event — be they friends and family, professional scouts or current members of the Badgers — to watch multiple NFL careers take off.

But the biggest news of the day didn’t involve anyone going pro. UW head coach Bret Bielema told the media Wednesday that quarterback Jon Budmayr experienced a setback regarding his throwing arm, which he initially injured in summer camp last year and kept him sidelined throughout the entire 2011 season.

The setback, Bielema said, is expected to keep the quarterback out of spring camp.

“Jon has encountered some other issues now that have come up that are probably going to restrict

him from all of spring ball,” Bielema said.

Budmayr, who will be a redshirt junior next season, is expected to compete for the starting position in 2012. He was Wisconsin’s likely starter a year ago until Russell Wilson transferred to the Badgers.

Bielema also mentioned injuries will limit the participation of redshirt senior Curt Phillips in the spring and incoming freshman Bart Houston in the summer.

That leaves redshirt freshman Joel Stave and redshirt sophomore Joe Brennan to man the offense in the spring.

Bielema said Phillips “will be doing more” than what he initially thought in the spring, but that Houston will undergo an operation to remove a cyst from his shoulder.

“Nothing they’re overly concerned about,” Bielema said of Houston.

Toon wins big at pro day Before and after the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, the biggest question surrounding wide receiver Nick Toon was his speed.

His 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame is a nice fit for the professional level and his knack for avoiding the use of his chest when catching passes impresses scouts.

But his 4.54 second 40yard dash time at the combine was lackluster and seemed to be the biggest thing holding back Toon from an improved draft stock.

Things changed Wednesday, however.

After two tries, the receiver said he ran the 40 in 4.4 and then 4.43 seconds — a major improvement from the combine.

“Hopefully nobody has any more questions regarding my speed,” Toon said.

Wilson sharp in passing drills Along with his downfield targets, quarterback Russell Wilson rarely missed a beat Wednesday.

The 2011 Griese-Brees Big Ten Quarterback of the Year winner threw passes for nearly a half hour and completed 53 of 57 passes with wide receivers and backs running routes across the field.

Scouts tested his footwork and asked him to throw on the run several times.

None of his targets — which included Toon and fullback Bradie Ewing — dropped a pass. His four incomplete passes were all the result of overthrown balls.

Wilson was a marksman from short and midrange, with the majority of his passes hitting his targets at chest height or higher.

However, several of Wilson’s deep passes didn’t quite hit his receivers in stride, as they had to slow down in order to make the grab.

The most persistent question following Wilson is his 5-foot-11 stature, but the onetime Heisman Trophy candidate insisted his height makes no difference.

“My height’s not a factor,” Wilson said. “I think I had three balls batted down (at the line of scrimmage) all season.

There’s not that much of a difference if I was 6’1” or 5’11” to be honest with you, playing behind the offensive line you play behind.”

Konz stays jolly Still recovering from his injured ankle sustained back in midNovember, Peter Konz elected only to take snaps at center for

Wilson during passing drills.

The 6-foot-5, 315-pound center said he’d participate in drills sometime in April, when he’s healthier.

Nevertheless, Konz has had a brief run of bad news. At the combine, the expected late first round pick produced just 18 bench press reps of 225 pounds.

But when the subject was broached, Konz managed a laugh before adding that he hopes to get up to at least 22 reps

by April.

“I read in the paper that it was pedestrian and I don’t think the guy who wrote it could do 18 either,” Konz said as he burst into laughter.

“Those things kind of stick with you. The important thing for me is that I’ll redo it in April.”

Former Michigan center, and fellow draft prospect, David Molk also made a few ripples in the headlines recently when he told AnnArbor.com he was faster, stronger and smarter than Konz.

But Konz seems to be over it now.

“I was surprised. I just didn’t expect another Big Ten guy to say something like that,” Konz said. “But that’s ok, Taylor Swift said ‘People throw rocks at things that shine.’”

Zeitler’s interviews impress scouts After the combine, guard Kevin Zeitler’s draft stock appears to be on the rise, and one substantial reason for that is his performance in interviews with various team representatives.

Zeitler, who put up 32 bench press reps at the combine, felt he impressed scouts, and Bielema said he had heard the same.

While in Indianapolis, Zeitler also had a chance to impress Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson.

“I was walking back from a hotel across the street, I was getting stretched out by my trainer, and I saw a guy with really white hair outside the hotel,” Zeitler said. “I was like ‘That has to be Ted Thompson,’ but I wasn’t entirely sure so I just kept walking and [we] kind of like stared each other down.

“And I walk by, he’s like ‘Zeitler, you’re not going to stop and say hi to me?’”

Thompson attended Wisconsin’s pro day along with scouts from the New York Giants, Cincinnati Bengals, Washington Redskins, Tennessee Titans and New Orleans Saints.

Zeitler also said he and tackle Josh Oglesby also ran a few drills with a member of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Henry shows what he’s got Despite being a first-team all-Big Ten selection last year, safety Aaron Henry didn’t receive an invitation to the combine, nor did he ever get an explanation as to why not.

But Henry didn’t seem too bothered by that Wednesday, who was happy with his 4.53 40yard dash, 39-and-a-halfinch vertical leap and 16 reps on the bench press.

“When I went to the East-West Shrine Game, I had the scouts I met with, which was like 12 of them, all of them kept saying ‘We’ll see you at the combine,’” Henry said. “My answer to that was ‘Sir, I wasn’t invited to the combine.’ When they heard that, all of them had a shocked look on their face and then they just said, ‘Well, we’ll just see you at Wisconsin.’

“And to come back here on my home turf, for the last time and running in these conditions … I wouldn’t of had it any other way.”

Sports Editor Elliot Hughes sports@badgerherald.com

12 | Sports | Thursday, March 8, 2012

BIG TEN TOURNAMENT

JARED SULLINGER

SPORTS

WISCONSIN FRI. 2:30 P.M. ESPN

PENN STATE/INDIANA

Thursday’s Games 10:30 a.m. | BTN 8 IOWA VS 9

ILLINOIS

Winner plays Michigan State

ROBBIE HUMMEL

25 min after IOWA/ILL | BTN

4:30 p.m. | ESPN2

25 min after NW/MINN | ESPN2

5 INDIANA VS 12 PENN ST.

7 NU VS 10 MINN

6 PURDUE VS 11 NEBRASKA

Winner plays Wisconsin

Winner plays Michigan

Winner plays Ohio State

TREY BURKE

DRAYMOND GREEN

JOHN SHURNA

Wild, Wild Midwest Either way you spin it Over the course of the 2011-12 season, surprising outcomes have been commonplace in the Big Ten. Parody means a league is either filled with bad teams or quality teams, but when it comes to the Big Ten, look no further than its nation-leading RPI of .5799.

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Big Ten coaches expect unexpected in Indianapolis ELLIOT HUGHES | SPORTS EDITOR In Division I men’s basketball, the phrase “March Madness” is generally reserved for the NCAA tournament.

But among the dozen Big Ten coaches, nobody’s kidding anybody. The Madness of March is sure to begin Thursday for the Big Ten in Indianapolis when the 15th edition of the conference tournament tips off at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The 2011-12 season has been a memorable one for the Big Ten, with the conference emerging as the country’s deepest league and a multitude of surprises and upsets keeping its fans guessing from game to game.

“It was so balanced we thought four or five losses would win it, and that’s what happened,” Illinois head coach Bruce Weber said in the Big Ten coaches teleconference, referring to Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State tying for the regular season title with five losses apiece.

“It’s a tough league, one-through-12. I think everyone would agree with it.”

There are plenty of ways to describe

the Big Ten as a league of giants in college ege basketball. The conference leads the he nation in RPI with a mark of .5799 and has five teams in the top 25 — more than any ny other.

Five teams rest in the top 15 of the two wo major polls — again more than any other her conference — and as many as seven or eight teams could reach the Big Dance.

“You look top to bottom, if it isn’t thee best, it sure is the best of the 27 years I’ve been here,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said.

And now the much-anticipated time has finally come for the intraleague competition to reach its peak in n Indianapolis.

If the 2011-12 season demonstrated ed anything, it’s that no team is safe from om another. Nine-seeded Illinois has handed ed losses to both No. 1 Michigan State and No. 3 Ohio State. No. 10 Minnesota has topped ed No. 5 Indiana, and No. 8 Iowa has beaten en No. 4 Wisconsin twice.

COACHES, page 9

Taylor still searching for 1st win at Big Ten tournament Through four of the finest seasons a point guard has ever compiled at the University of Wisconsin, there are very few things Jordan Taylor doesn’t have.

Individual accolades have come in the form of preseason All-American awards, Big Ten Player of the Week honors and two consecutive all-conference first team selections. Collectively, Wisconsin has compiled a 72-26 record over the three years Taylor has been the team’s primary point guard. Last season, the Badgers returned to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008.

Taylor’s steady leadership and top-dog disposition maintain UW’s streak of 11 have helped main top-four nishes in the Big Ten, straight top top-fou fou ur finishe weekend Badgers head to the and this weeke end the B conference tournament to ournamen in Indianapolis another rst-round bye. with yet anoth her first-r while Badgers can enjoy an But wh ile the Ba practice on its own extra day of pra court cou urt while IIndiana and Penn State Sta ate battle for the right to play pla ay them, one very noticeable failure refuses to be swept fa ailure ref under u the proverbial rug woven by Wisconsin’s identity as one of the conference’s most consistent conferen teams.

Taylor, in four years, has haas never won w the Big Ten tournament. to ournamen In fact, he’s never even eve en won a single game on the conference’s stage. The confeerence’s biggest b TAYLOR, page 10