2012.03.27

THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1969 Volume XLIII, Issue 115

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

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SSFC eliminates SAFE cab in budget Members say usage is in decline, while others cited recent campus safety issues Katie Caron Higher Education Editor A committee of the University of Wisconsin’s student government voted to cut a campus transportation student service during their Monday meeting, with members expressing agreement on its

inefficiency but disagreeing on the timing of the decision.

In a vote of 5-3 —with five abstentions— the Student Services Finance Committee cut funding for the campus Safe Arrival For Everyone taxi cab service, which was budgeted at about $140,000 for the past fiscal year.

SSFC Vice Chair Chase Wilson, who is also a Student Transportation Board member, said the service should be cut because it is a redundant service, given the operation of the SAFEbus and SAFEwalk programs.

He said ridership has also decreased each year, with a 30 percent decrease in usage from fiscal year 2010-11. For the current year to date, there has been an 18 percent decrease in the number of rides compared to the same period last year, according to a SAFE operations report.

Wilson added over 10 percent of the monthly ridership is comprised of SAFE walkers in the program getting rides home.

“The actual usage is very slim, and I’d call it very inefficient compared to the bus system,” Wilson said.

“We’ve also heard of a lot of problems in terms of administering the service.”

Rep. Laura Checovich said another aspect to consider is the fact that much of the money paid by students for the service goes to University of Wisconsin Transportation salaries rather than back to students.

Checovich, who also serves on the Student Transportation Board, ultimately voted against the motion because she said she believed interested parties needed to be more time required to make a change.

Reinvestment initiative to include interiors for Union theater, play circle, Hoofers area Campus Life Editor Wisconsin Union Council members voted to approve the direction of multiple interior designs for the Memorial Union Reinvestment project, paving the way for construction on the project to begin this summer.

The interior renderings of the project represent a general direction for the design, featuring new interiors for the Union theater, play circle, lobbies, Hoofers facilities and sunset lounge, presented by Union Design Committee Student Project Manager Colin Plunkett.

Union members reviewed, questioned and ultimately approved the designs for each space individually, with some raising concerns on how the new plans would match the traditional Memorial Union design. “[With some of them, you just don’t feel like

you’re in the Memorial Union anymore,” member Jeff Haupt said. “I know you’re just looking at small snapshots, but I’m assuming that was heavily taken into consideration when picking out this stuff.”

Some Union Council members, however, added the exact plans for the redesigns are still being decided and will be voted on later.

Wisconsin Union Director Mark Guthier said while the committee attempted to keep the spaces consistent with the Memorial Union, the project also offered the opportunity to design completely new areas, such as the play circle.

“I think that the play circle is probably the space where we’re going to entirely restructure it … so it could potentially be entirely different,” Guthier said. “But I like that you’re bringing that up, because I thought we tried hard.”

The interior plans included suggestions for

SSFC, page 3

Police call for end to Mifflin

Wis. Union OKs phase one project Jackie Allen

other more cost- effective cab services available to students without the cab service.

SSFC Chair Sarah Neibart said this change will be included in the overall segregated fee budget decision to be submitted to the Board of Regents by April 1.

Neibart also informed the committee she is working on her appeal regarding the non-allocable segregated fee budgets for the Wisconsin Union and Recreational

However, she said that when combined with the sixcab limit, students do not appear to use the service as a standard or regular form of transportation.

SSFC Secretary Ellie Bruecker said she agreed there are problems with usage and inefficiency, but with recent reports of crime and sexual assault on and near campus, she said she did not want to sacrifice any program for student safety.

Rep. Cale Plamann said he did not see cutting the service as a safety issue, because ultimately there are

Officials call for student input, some say event is historically ‘inevitable’ Adrianna Viswanatha City Hall Editor

Courtesy of the Wisconsin Union

In one rendering of the newly approved interior designs, Union Design Committee Student Project Manager Colin Plunkett emphasized positive responses from students on the designs, but one committee member questioned whether the new space would still resemble the familiar design. flooring and wall designs, as well as tentative materials and color schemes. Plunkett said other specific details for the interiors, such as the furniture, are yet to be decided.

Plunkett added many of the spaces received a positive response from students.

“I think this is a great

Hand-to-foot combat A member of Madison Choi Tae Kwon Do spars with a partner during a practice on Monday night.

The student club encourages members to grow as individuals in a non-competitive environment.

Andy Fate The Badger Herald

example of … having students stand up and say this isn’t doing it for the Union and pushing the architects,” Union Associate Director Hank Walter said.

Plunkett said one of the biggest goals of the project was to include students, which he said has been accomplished by students participating

in campus forums and surveys, as well as sitting on Union governance bodies.

Plunkett added he was pleased with the committee’s approval of all of the design directions so far.

“I’m very pleased with it just because of

UNION, page 3

Madison Police Chief Noble Wray informally announced his opposition to the Mifflin Street Block Party and his desire to eventually shut the party down permanently on Monday.

Wray told the Wisconsin State Journal of his wishes in an interview this week. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said while this announcement is not far removed from what Wray and the Madison Police Department have been saying for many years concerning the party, many officials acknowledge that the event is somewhat inevitable.

“The party started in 1969 by neighborhood residents, most

MIFFLIN, page 3

Student leaders arrested at D.C. protest on student debt ASM chair, two other officials taken in for trespassing at Sallie Mae offices Jackie Allen Campus Life Editor Washington, D.C. police arrested three University of Wisconsin students who serve or have been elected to serve in student government positions during a protest against rising student debt outside a prominent student loan lender.

Associated Students of Madison Chair Allie

Gardner, Student Services Finance Committee Rep. Tia Nowack and newlyelected Maxwell Love were arrested outside of Sallie Mae’s offices in the city’s Northwest section.

The protest, part of the nationwide United States Student Association’s lobby day, was part of a multimonth process where students attempted to have a meeting with the Sallie Mae CEO. Student Council recently voted down a proposal for ASM to fund a USSA membership for UW. SSFC Chair Sarah Neibart said Gardner went to the conference on funds from the United Council of UW Students,

which is partly funded by student funds. The travel costs of the conference for ASM Chief of Staff David Gardner, Rep. Libby Wick-Bander, Nowack and Love were paid for in the ASM internal budget, which is funded by student segregated fees, she added.

Love told The Badger Herald the doors of the offices were locked when they arrived outside the Sallie Mae offices on Monday , prompting students to sit outside on the sidewalk for an hour.

According to Nowack, when the students continued to be refused

ARRESTS, page 2

INSIDE The final countdown

High Court hears health care case

The Badger Herald Editorial Board endorses an unexpected candidate for County Board’s District 5 position. Find out which on page 4.

The United States Supreme Court began proceedings on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act in the start of what will likely end up being a landmark decision.

OPINION | 4

NEWS | 2

© 2012 BADGER HERALD

2

The Badger Herald | News | Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Events today 7-9:15 p.m.

Tales from Planet Earth Film Festival Various locations across Madison, check website for details

8-9:30 p.m.

DLS Spotlight Series: Coffee with TED Talk

TODAY

TOMORROW

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

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57 35

55 37

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60 43

scattered thunderstorms

partly cloudy

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cloudy

AM clouds, PM sun

High court hears health care act testimony Mike Kujak

Redamte Coffee House

State Legislature Editor

Events tomorrow

Jacob Kacamarowski

9:30 p.m.

Starlight Cinema: Bodies in Motion

The United States Supreme Court began a three-day process of oral arguments over whether an almost 150-year-old law should bar them from considering whether the government can require Americans to purchase health insurance on Monday.

The court opened its arguments with a debate over whether it has the authority to issue a ruling on the law, since its penalties for not carrying insurance have not come into effect yet.

Under the AntiInjunction Act, a law passed in 1867, a tax cannot be challenged until someone actually has had to pay it.

Health reform penalties do not start until 2015. The court-appointed attorney Robert Long argued the

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tax law blocks them from hearing the case.

“The Anti-Injunction Act imposes a pay first, litigate later rule that is central to Federal tax assessment and collection,” Long said in a transcript of the hearing released by the court. “The act applies to essentially every tax penalty in the Internal Revenue Code.

There is no reason to think that Congress made a special exception for the penalty.”

However, justices on the court seemed doubtful the law would serve as a roadblock to deciding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Ginsberg said the Anti-Injunction Act does not apply to penalties that are designed to induce compliance with the law rather than to raise revenue.

She said the law would not raise revenue because no one would be willing to pay the penalty for it.

Chief Justice John Roberts agreed with Ginsberg and said it “seems to make no sense to separate the punishment from the requirement,” when referring to the penalties imposed by the law on Americans who refuse to purchase health insurance.

UW political science professor Donald Downs, a Badger Herald adviser, said he expects the court to rule it as a penalty and if that happens, the court will continue hearing the other arguments later in the week.

Downs added if the court were to rule the individual mandate a tax, then the case would be on hold until the tax comes into effect in 2015, though he said he doubted it would come to that.

Today the court is scheduled to hear arguments on the constitutionality of the individual mandate and another part of the act requiring states to expand their Medicare programs.

The court will also hear arguments regarding a number of other aspects of the act Wednesday.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, said she will defend the Affordable Care Act and its individual mandate, according to a statement released by her campaign.

“A mandate that brings everyone into the insurance pool helps spread the risk, thereby keeping costs down and ensuring that every individual has access to affordable, quality health care,” Baldwin said in a statement. “I oppose attempts to weaken or repeal the health care reform law.”

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson also released a statement before court heard the oral arguments and said the country is suffering from “Stockholm Syndrome,” or being held hostage by “idiotic precedents that have robbed us of our freedom.”

Supreme Court hearings A guide to the basic issues being discussed in the review of the Affordable Care Act. Is the law a tax?

The court must decide whether a requirement to obtain health insurance or face a penalty equates to a tax.

Is it too soon to rule on the challenge to the law’s insurance requirement?

Under the Tax Anti-Injunction Act of 1867, the law cannot be challenged until it is enacted.

Is the law’s insurance requirement constitutional?

If not, can the rest of the law stand?

The court must determine if Congress has the authority to require Americans to obtain health insurance. If not, s this portion “severable” from the rest of the law?

Conservative enters race against Kleefisch Sean Kirkby State Politics Editor A northeastern Wisconsinite declared his intentions to run against Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch in a likely summer recall election, joining a growing field of other Democratic candidates.

Bruce Berman Berman, a former supervisor on the Marinette County Board and a contract truck driver, announced Friday he plans to run against Kleefisch. He said he brings the background and the experience to complement any of the candidates running for office.

“Most of the candidates running are coming from Milwaukee and Madison,” Berman said. “Wisconsin

is too diverse, and we need more candidates from throughout the state so we’re not just getting influence from the two largest metropolitan areas.”

Berman defined himself as a conservative Democrat who is fiscally, and on some moral issues, conservative.

For instance, he said he does not support abortion except in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is in danger.

He said that there has been “class warfare” going on for a while, and Wisconsin has become a center stage for it.

“I’m a fiscal conservative, but I do believe in treating employees and people fairly,” Berman said. “There are other ways of generating money without hurting families and our neighbors.”

Although he has not run for a statewide office before, Berman said he has

served in union leadership for 12 years and on the Marinette County Board of Supervisors for six

“We need more candidates ... so we’re not just getting influence from the two largest metropolitan areas.”

Bruce Berma

Lt. gov. candidate years. He also ran, and lost, against former Republican Assembly Speaker John Gard in 2004.

He said Gard broke a statewide spending record, raising more than $220,000, compared to the $17,500 Berman raised.

Despite outspending him 12-1, Berman said he still defeated Gard in the city of

Marinette and tied him in Marinette County.

He added he was not discouraged by the amount of money that would come against him and gubernatorial candidates.

Berman said he worked in a particle board factory for many years before losing his job to “unfair labor trade practices with China.” Since then, he has worked in a piston factory and later in in asphalt factory to get his commercial driver’s license so he could become a contract truck driver.

“I feel a lot of people know where I’m coming from and can associate with my experiences,” Berman said. “I’m not far from everyone.”

He also said he sees Mahlon Mitchell, current president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin, who has also declared his intentions to run, as an

ARRESTS, from 1 for a meeting with Sallie Mae, they sat outside on the sidewalk. While security guards told them to move, police officers later arrested them for trespassing and misdemeanors.

Nowack added the protest was nonviolent and the police were respectful, with no formal charges filed. All three were released after being processed and held for about six hours.

“We protested because the student loan mark reached $1 trillion,” Love said. “It’s more than credit card debt … so we decided to take the action which ultimately ended up in arrests for misdemeanors.”

Nowack added there were about 200 students involved in total in the protest, with about 50 students from 14 different states participating in the

“extremist.”

However, Stephanie Biese, a spokesperson for Mitchell’s campaign, said Mitchell will bring needed leadership back to Wisconsin.

“We’re not going to shy away from confrontation,” Biese said. “[Mitchell] is not a career politician, and he is not typical. He does not have an extremist agenda.”

Milwaukee private investigator Ira Robins, who is also running for the office, wished Berman the best of luck in his bid and added Berman does not seem to be picked by “special interests.”

The campaign for Gov. Scott Walker, which handles inquiries for Kleefisch’s campaign, did not return comment. Mitchell and Robins currently are the only other Democratic candidates who have declared their intentions to run.

sit-down at Sallie Mae. Police ultimately arrested 36 people.

According to Love, the students were sitting on the sidewalk, although police said they were on private property.

“I think the day was really successful,” Nowack said. “It’s really important that our representatives are hearing from us, and they refuse to meet with us.

That’s a real shame.”

Nowack said a total of four students came with ASM for the lobby convention, with more students coming with United Council.

The day of meetings and events was part of a joint action and lobby day, Nowack added, as part of a culmination of learning about the legislation and training on lobbying.

Other events during the day included meeting with Rep. Tammy Baldwin and Sen. Ron Johnson to lobby for a senate bill which could help reduce student loan debt. Love said Johnson cancelled on the meeting. He added he believed the cancellation indicated Johnson’s office did not want to hear from students.

The meeting with Baldwin was meant to take place after the protest at Sallie Mae, Love added.

The average student loan debt is about $25,000, with student loan debt at UW over that amount, Nowack said. She added she believes this shows Wisconsin students are being hit harder than other institutions throughout the nation, making it more important for students to get involved.

The Badger Herald | News | Tuesday, March 27, 2012

MIFFLIN, from 1 of whom were [University of Wisconsin] students,” Verveer said. “If this party was mainly for and by UW students, I don’t think we would have anywhere near the amount of problems we saw at last year’s event.”

However, Verveer said Wray acknowledged Mifflin is an “inevitable annual event,” and it would be very difficult to end the popular block party.

Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said he believes it would be easier said than done to shut down the block party permanently due to the negative feedback that would arise from students.

“After the hard work that’s been put in by [Associated Students of Madison] students and neighborhood leaders and the mayor’s office, I’m disappointed [Wray] is not looking toward these grassroots groups for guidance in where this event is going,” Resnick said.

He said MPD is still largely concerned with the substantial instances of underage drinking, large crowds and the generally unsafe environment that pervade the block party.

ASM Legislative Affairs Chair Hannah Somers said she does not want to jump to conclusions about Mifflin’s future.

“I think it’s too early to say such a thing,” Somers said. “I definitely understand that last year was not the kind of block party we want to see happen again, but there is a group of students, city staff and police working together to make the party better.”

Somers said the success or failure of this year’s block party would be a major indication of what happens in the future regarding the event.

He also said he does not think the party would be shut down without alternatives first being considered.

UNION, from 1

SSFC, from 1

the amount of student involvement,” Plunkett said. “Students have been very vocal … so I’m really happy with that, and I think it’s space for students to enjoy for the next hundred years to come.”

He added while the designs and the interior have now been completed, Union members still have to approve where building occupants will go while the renovation is in progress.

According to Plunkett, the budget for the project is $52 million for phase one, which includes the west wing of the building, a renovated fifth floor and about $33 million for the second phase, which has yet to be designed.

Sports. She said UW System President Kevin Reilly will have 10 business days to decide if he will dismiss or approve the appeal and that if he dismisses it she will take it straight to the Board of Regents.

She said if the regents end up denying the appeal, she would sue them, with funding for the legal council to come from United Council.

Neibart also said the next steps in the reaction to a letter to Ward containing an informal appeal of SSFC’s decision not to fund the Multicultural Student Coalition are in Ward’s hands.

Neibart said she would file an appeal if Ward overrules SSFC’s decision.

3

Opinion

Editorial Page Editor Taylor Nye oped@badgerherald.com

4

The Badger Herald | Opinion | Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Herald Editorial An endorsement As you pack your bags, dust off your beer bong and head to the polls, one question must certainly be burning in your mind: Which candidate do you vote for in the Dane County District 5 election? This board says neither.

The first candidate, Leland Pan, demonstrated he has a broad and deep understanding about what the County Board does. However, he has a past filled with immaturity and has not proven himself to be the leader a District 5 representative needs to be.

The other candidate, John Magnino, has shown himself to be mature

likely be ineffective. Since quality representation is unlikely to come from a student, the best course of action is to change the tradition that the seat be reserved for students.

Few students even turn out to vote for County Board, and those who do are often under-informed and likely to cast votes haphazardly.

By changing the tradition of only student representation in the seat, the currently weak student voice will not disappear but instead be focused on a representative that is more likely to be effective, respectful, mature and

enough for the County Board. Yet, it has been clear that Magnino does not know the reality of most of what the board does.

Neither Pan nor Magnino deserves your vote. Traditionally, the District 5 seat has been filled by a student.

This is a great idea in principle, but the historical quality of student representation on the board has been lackluster at best.

Student representation is important, but in the case of County Board, the past has shown whatever student assumes the seat will

Alex Brousseau

Signe Brewster

Ryan Rainey

Editorial Board Chairman

Editor-in-Chief

Managing Editor

knowledgeable of their role.

Students currently have representatives like Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, and Dane County Board Chair Scott McDonell that represent student areas and effectively advocate for them. If a strong and suitable enough student candidate does emerge, the seat will still be open.

Instead of choosing a candidate, students should rid themselves of the tradition of an only-student seat on the Dane County Board and focus on electing an effective representative instead of just a student.

Adelaide Blanchard

Taylor Nye

Reginald Young

Jake Begun

Editor-at-Large

Editorial Page Editor

Editorial Page Content Editor

Editorial Board Member

Editorial Board opinions are crafted independently of news coverage.

Newspaper ethics not contest of popularity ACA ensures health care LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Ryan Rainey Managing Editor Twenty-five journalists from Gannett newspapers signed petitions to recall Gov. Scott Walker.

So did I. Oops.

Since I am a journalist — or at least am in training to be one — I can sympathize with the Gannett employees who were revealed to have signed petitions earlier this week. According to the popular journalism blog on jimromenesko.com, Gannett did not disclose the names of the news employees who signed the petitions. But but the good folks at the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Appleton Post-Crescent and the Fond du Lac Reporter (is there an anti-Walker germ in Lake Winnebago?) decided to run front page columns deriding the decision as a lapse in ethical judgement.

Regardless of some efforts to staunchly defend either Gannett or the employees who signed the petition, a few important revelations about the currently muddled state of journalistic ethics become clear when viewing the case.

First, the employees should have been more professionally savvy than to sign a petition given the intense commitment to objectivity the company places on its employees.

Considering the status of the newspaper industry today, no small-market media outlet wants to be perceived as biased, and Gannett is no exception.

But Gannett’s reaction to its internal crisis also

suggests a disappointing moment for Wisconsin newspapers: They’re afraid of their readers.

None of the news employees said to have signed the petitions were covering the recall, nor were they involved in any statewide political coverage, the newspapers said.

Instead of acknowledging the ethical complexity of their employees’ individual and unique decisions to sign petitions, they made a rigid judgement about a difficult issue.

That means the armchair media critics who couldn’t even tell you who Bob Woodward is have won.

Journalists are, just like

Gannett’s reaction to its internal crisis suggests a disappointing moment for Wisconsin newspapers: They’re afraid of their readers. everyone else, complex Americans who make difficult decisions on a regular basis. We’re not robots — especially not the liberal or conservative models some think are programmed by George Soros and the Koch brothers.

Instead, we’re equal actors in society who want to participate in the democratic process just like any other Wisconsinite.

Does that mean journalists can participate in activism?

No. But it does mean that if we want to see an election happen, or if we want to have a small, non-activist say in an issue that affects our friends and families, we’ll relish the opportunity to do so. Any true journalist, regardless of personal

political beliefs over which they have little control, will swear an personal oath to fairness and equalopportunity sourcing.

Signing a recall petition is not an indication of political ideology. A conservative reporter disappointed with even one of Walker’s policies could have signed the petition just as easily as a liberal one, just as anyone could have signed a petition in a parallel universe where Tom Barrett is governor. I made my own decision as a University of Wisconsin student disappointed to see what I believe to be unnecessarily excessive cuts to my university. But that does not mean I will support any candidate in the race, especially since I have no partisan affiliation.

Every journalist who signed a recall petition has a different story to tell about why they signed it, and I suspect most of them are valid.

Gannett’s case only shows a rising lack of confidence in the current state of newspaper journalism.

Just as technologies have evolved, so too have ethical attitudes about how journalists should convey their own personal biases in their reporting.

Whenever people ask me why newspapers are seen as old-school in today’s hyperinstant news market, I’ll point to the Gannett recall case as an example.

Journalists never have been and never will be popular people, but they should always attempt to be credible. Gannett’s commitment to credibility is admirable, but the company shouldn’t confuse it with a commitment to popularity.

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

The Affordable Care Act was signed two years ago and has provided millions nationwide with expanded access to key health benefits. In particular, the act ensures young people entering the workforce or changing jobs will be covered by allowing them to stay on their parent’s plan until the age of 26.

Young people are traditionally the most likely to be uninsured, and in 2009 they were the highest percentage of any age group to be without health insurance. As I, and many of you, anticipate graduation this spring, I know that I can remain on my parent’s health insurance until age 26 if my ideal job prospects don’t pan out.

Furthermore, I know I can take a position with fewer benefits to gain the experience needed to qualify for a better job in the future.

Unfortunately, I was one of those who developed a medical condition that still affects me today. The condition developed two years ago and forced me to take a semester off from school. I spent a lot of that time bedridden and slowly recovering. During that time, the only thing that kept me going was the knowledge I could keep trying different medications until I overcame the illness.

Finally, I started getting better and only the after-effects are still with me today.

Knowing how this illness came so suddenly, it is a relief to know that when I graduate and continue my career, I will still be able to remain on my parent’s health care insurance, so I can continue with my hopes and dreams that I thought were gone when the illness began. I can continue to

do what I thought was impossible during that semester off as I continue to train for the Ironman in Madison next September. It is through Obama’s Affordable Care Act that I am reassured I can continue to pursue my aspirations.

However, I know I am not alone with this reassurance; today there are an additional 2.5 million young people with health coverage.

In Wisconsin alone, more than 27,000 young adults have gained insurance through staying on their parent’s plan.

The law also means no one can be denied coverage based on preexisting conditions; from cancer to diabetes, you can no longer be denied healthcare coverage based on a pre-existing condition.

In Wisconsin, this has provided health care to more than 1,000 people who were previously uninsurable.

While many Wisconsin families previously faced bankruptcy in deciding to pay for health care, rent or food, health care reform today is allowing more people to stay on their feet while getting the health care they need to stay healthy.

For students and other young adults, health care reform means we have health insurance, despite the countless other changes we will inevitably experience following graduation. This health care policy has changed my life for the better. Now is not the time to take away something that has helped so many.

Steve Hughes (sehughes@wisc. edu) is a senior majoring in political science. He is a youth ambassador for Organizing America-Wisconsin and the founder of the Young Progressives.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “If you haven’t cursed out a New York Times reporter during the course of a campaign, you’re not really a real Republican.”

-RICK SANTORUM, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE The GOP presidential hopeful from Pennsylvania uttered this statement during an interview this week on the program “Fox and Friends.” He was defending a comment he made earlier in the week, when New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny asked him if he had said during his speech that Mitt Romney was, “The worst Republican in the country.” Santorum blew a gasket, demanding the reporter “Quit distorting [his] words.”

Santorum continued, “If I see it, it’s bullshit. C’mon, man. What are you doing?” His eyes were scary. You know who hasn’t cursed out a New York Times reporter lately? Every other Republican currently campaigning.

C’mon, man!

Your Opinion · Send your letters to the editor and guest columns to oped@badgerherald.com. Publication is based on space and takes into account relevance and quality. Letters should be sent exclusively to the Herald. Unsigned letters will not be published. All submissions may be edited by the Herald for length and style. Reader feedback on all articles and columns can be posted at badgerherald.com, where all print content is archived.

Comics

Tuesday: Nature’s Monday Noah J. Yuenkel comics@badgerherald.com

5

The Badger Herald | Comics | Tuesday, March 27, 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 3x3 box contains 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

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 than this newspaper.

TWENTY POUND BABY

DIFFICULTY RATING: Could there be any worse day?

HERALD COMICS

PRESENTS

K

A

K

U

R

O

baby@badgerherald.com

STEPHEN TYLER CONRAD

YOURMOMETER

LAURA “HOBBES” LEGAULT

C’EST LA MORT

PARAGON

yourmom@badgerherald.com

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: It’s like Wednesday without the midweek hope

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 }

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pascle@badgerherald.com

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ANDREW MEGOW

MODERN CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT

THE SKY PIRATES

COLLIN LA FLEUR

DENIS HART

mcm@badgerherald.com

skypirate@badgerherald.com

33 Material for a military uniform 35 Vassal 37 Peculiar 38 Tom Cruise’s “Risky Business” co-star 42 Fury 43 Mtn. stats 44 Sonnets and such 45 Big cake maker 48 Paneled rooms, often 49 Igor player in “Young Frankenstein” 54 Audibly amazed 57 Old nuclear regulatory org.

58 Modern prefix with mom 59 What the starts of 18-, 24-, 38- and 49-Across each won 63 Navy noncom 64 “Fifteen Miles on the

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Puzzle by Caleb Madison

PRIMAL URGES

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Across 1 “OMG ur so funny!”

4 “You flatter me too much!”

10 Vatican locale 14 “Who ___?”

15 Complain 16 Any of the singers of the 1973 #1 hit “Love Train” 17 Something to hang your hat on 18 “Platoon” director 20 “That tastes awful!” comments 22 Leandro’s partner in a Handel title 23 Camel refueling spots 24 Comedian who voiced the lead role in “Ratatouille” 28 It gets flatter as it gets older 29 Little blobs on slides

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BUNI

madcaps@badgerherald.com

MOLLY MALONEY

___ Canal” 65 Necessary 66 Symbol of sturdiness 67 Blue-green shade 68 Sends to the dump 69 Soph., jr. and sr.

Down 1 Drink greedily 2 Ω 3 “Star Wars” weapon 4 Gold, in Guadalupe 5 State capital whose main street is named Last Chance Gulch 6 Vice president Agnew 7 Saves for later viewing, in a way 8 2000 Beatles album or its peak chart position 9 The “p” of r.p.m.

Get today’s puzzle solutions at badgerherald.com

10 Spin on an axis 11 13-Down, south of the border 12 Neck line?

13 11-Down, north of the border 19 Unaided 21 Feed, as a fire 25 Like much of Pindar’s work 26 They might be hawked 27 Kind of radio 30 Sci-fi physician

47 48 50

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played by DeForest Kelley Leading man?

Ben & Jerry’s competitor ___ Kross (’90s rap duo) Juno, in Greece Bob of “How I Met Your Mother” N.Y.C. summer hrs.

“If I Could Turn Back Time” singer, 1989 German car Sonata part Brew named for a Dutch river Nordic native Edict Rowdy ___, “Rawhide” cowboy Fights that go on and on For face value Crannies Help in crime Actor Richard Most of Turkey is in it Stat that a QB doesn’t want to be high: Abbr.

Corp. honcho Mag. staff

Rocky the Herald Comics Raccoon™ With this early warmth and rain it’s shaping up to be an epic mosquito season.

Wisconsin skeeters treat DEET like a ‘roid-raging brawler treats pepper spray.

Hit them with it and they just shake it off with a “COME AT ME, BRO!”

ArtsEtc.

ArtsEtc. Editor Lin Weeks arts@badgerherald.com

6

The Badger Herald | Arts | Tuesday, March 27, 2012

‘MDNA’ jubilant, wry Madonna Bennet Goldstein ArtsEtc. Reporter “The ‘Queen’ is back, the ‘Queen’ is back!”

Since the February release of Madonna (Madonna Louise Ciccone)’s first single “Give Me All Your Luvin,’” Madonna fans have been plastering the internet with this proclamation. But the biggest question is “Since when was Madonna ever ‘gone?’”

Today marks the release of Ciccone’s 12th studio album, titled MDNA. After a four year wait, listeners can relax: This album, unlike Hard Candy (2008), meets the high standards set by Ciccone’s Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005).

Barbra Streisand aside, Madonna is the prototypical example of the most successful professional working in the American music industry.

Holding a Guinness World Record in top sales, Ciccone has sold over 300 million records. Her work spans over three decades, and her image is — as she once jokingly said to her daughter — “timeless.”

MDNA is distinct within Ciccone’s portfolio for its unique take on what it means to be a reactionary.

Ciccone doesn’t just stab at things to be political, but

also to be self-reflexive. It is Ciccone’s irony that makes MDNA so entertaining and a delight to listen to.

Audiences often remark that the focus of Ciccone’s attention is, unfairly, Lady Gaga (Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta).

The album does, in part, respond to Germanotta’s Born this Way (2011). But it does more.

The feud over artistic originality between Ciccone and Germanotta is as overstated as each artist’s self-professed Catholic guilt. Fans have pitted themselves into camps, ceaselessly arguing over which woman holds the rights to various iconography: Do the cone-shaped brazzieres in “Express Yourself” belong to Ciccone, or are Germanotta’s machine gun breasts in “Alejandro” violent enough to distinguish themselves?

Is such a debate useful or even possible? Ciccone plays with this idea throughout the album.

The most obvious example of idea piracy is in Ciccone’s song and music video “Girl Gone Wild.”

Ciccone references iconic Germanotta moments.

However, she does so on a grossly exaggerated scale: “bare-assed gay” vampires, “black inkblots” of farewell tears and “hula hoop”

gyrating while in chains.

The sex appeal in which Germanotta finds her persona is ruined. Ciccone’s icy sarcasm at its best.

The album is a collection of images and of sounds.

Ciccone collaborates with well known electromagnets: Grammy-winning producer William Orbit, distinctive DJ Benny Benassi and playful singer Mika (Michael Holbrook Penniman). They stamp the album with unremitting synthesizer beats and trance instrumentals.

Gunshots and porn conga rhythms grace Ciccone’s sultry trashiness in the track “Gang Bang.”

More jubilant are the pop truisms of the upbeat tracks “Turn Up the Radio” and “Superstar.”

The latter track contains a distinctively sugarcoated refrain: “I’m your biggest fan, it’s true/ Hopelessly attracted to you/ You can have the keys to my car/ I’ll play you a song on my guitar/ Ooh la la, you’re my superstar.” Very 1990s. If it weren’t Madonna, we might think she’s being serious.

Superficiality is not the only quality reflected in MDNA. Ciccone’s GoldenGlobe-winning song “Masterpiece” helps close the album. It reminds us that Ciccone has depth and can be vulnerable. Subtly though. A counterpart to

Germanotta’s raw honesty, the two share a tortured sadness.

Throughout, MDNA returns to examinations of imitation. Germanotta is not Ciccone’s only target. MDNA globalizes its critique of artistic ownership by shameless and excessive borrowing from well-known stars: Kylie Minogue’s quicksilver high-heeled dancers, M.I.A’s t-shirt and Wayfarer-sunglasses combo, Beyoncé Knowles’s windswept hair. Plus, a cover of The Rolling Stones’s “Some Girls.”

Ciccone even channels Rihanna’s Good Girl Gone Bad seductiveness when she whispers “I want so badly to be good.”

The “Queen” lives between albums through the stagecraft of the artists she references.

Whether or not it was Ciccone’s intention, MDNA highlights the fallacies of claiming ownership over ideas.

MDNA

½

Madonna

THE BADGER HERALD PRESENTS CHEW ON THIS

Beer tourney yields surprising results

Sam Stepp Chew on This Columnist Happy March Madness, everyone! This time of year, we begin to see a plethora of spinoff brackets come out, ranging in theme from restaurants to bands to clothes. The majority of these brackets, however, focus on food and drink.

This year, my friends and I decided to jump on the drink

madness train with one of the most common types of brackets: beer. Our bracket consists of 64 unique varieties of beer submitted by our friends and ranked according to the frequency with which they appeared on each friend’s list.

There was no rhyme or reason to the pairings or the selection — just a list of all the brews we could think of.

Ten of us gathered at my friend Josh’s house for the first blind beer test. Earlier that day, Josh had gone out to Woodman’s and purchased a plethora of random single beers for the test. His fridge was packed. He served up each pairing to us in two shot glasses — one pink

and one blue. We were supposed to taste, then on the count of three hold up the shot glass that held our favorite beer. We would then guess which beer we had just tasted, and Josh would reveal the truth, often to many exclamations of shame or surprise. What ensued was an eye-opening experience about the powers of branding.

“What?! I hate Fat Squirrel!” wailed my lager-loving roommate after she realized she had just voted for the brown ale over Sprecher Amber.

A little bit later, another friend had the opposite experience when she discovered she hadn’t voted for one of her favorite beers of all time.

“I mean, I like Mad Town Nut Brown, but I can’t believe I didn’t vote for Riverwest Stein!” said a mortified Suzanne Liebergen.

Personally, I had the same experience when one beer that was tepid and a little too ripesmelling was paired up against what I was certain was a domestic like Bud, Miller or Coors Light. “What the heck?” I thought, “I like domestic beers” and I placed my vote.

The verdict came down. When the smoke cleared, the horrific truth was revealed: I had voted for none other than Leinenkugel’s Honey Weiss, one of my most hated beers. The loser? Blue Moon — a beer I had thought was one of my favorites. On one hand, this result was comforting because it meant Honey Weiss was no better than bottomshelf Bud Light. On the other hand, it meant Blue Moon was not at all as good as I thought it was, and maybe those cool, artsy commercials had done more work on me than I’d hoped.

Another tasting issue that kept coming up was the fruity beer controversy. Should we vote for that sweet New Glarus Unplugged Cherry Stout or the apple cider-esque Strongbow? Sure, they are alcoholic and delicious, but they just

don’t taste like beer.

One taster suggested a solution: Vote for that beer which you’d more prefer to drink an entire pint, not just a little shot glass. Sure, one little sip of Leinenkugel’s Berry Weiss is refreshing and wonderful, but for many drinkers the heady berry taste would get to be too much by the 16th ounce.

The only universally hated beer was Wild Blue, a blueberry-infused lager, which tasted like very sharp, carbonated Froot Loops cereal milk.

For some, the intense sweetness might be appealing, but I couldn’t even finish my whole shot glass. Plus, the bottle warned of possible blueberry sediment on the bottom. Gross.

We also found that smelling the beers before we tasted them sometimes affected the results. Before one tasting, my roommate made a face and told me to smell my beer. I did, and up wafted the skunk you find in green-bottle beers like Heineken or Peroni. When it came to voting time, those who hadn’t smelled the beer voted for it, and she and I were among the few who voted against the culprit — clear-bottled Newcastle Brown Ale. At the end, we decided to have a little fun with a blind domestic beer taste test: Bud Light against Coors Light. Both beers were fairly awful, but one beer was a little more acrid than the other and ended up losing. The smooth winner? Coors.

Tonight, we have our second round of tastings, and I have to say I’m nervous. Will I vote down another beer a fancy commercial seduced me into liking, like Blue Moon? Will the power of a blind taste test again obliterate the influence of powerful branding like that of Leinenkugel’s? Will a skunky or weird smell once again betray an okay-tasting beer with a good reputation?

Only the beer madness bracket will tell.

Sam Stepp is a senior majoring in journalism.

Comments, questions, recipes, suggestions? Email her at ssstepp@wisc.edu.

Photo courtesy of Lionsgate

In the new movie starring Jennifer Lawrence, a futuristic dystopian society relies on an elaborate survival tournament between children as a twisted form of entertainment.

‘Hunger Games’ intensely dark Highly-anticipated adaptation of Suzanne Collins novel favorably faithful to source Bess Donoghue ArtsEtc. Staff Writer Fans of “The Hunger Games,” originally a book series by Suzanne Collins, have anxiously awaited the release of the film since the trailer took audiences by storm last fall. In its final issue of the year, Entertainment Weekly called the preview the best three minutes of film in 2011.

To make it simple, the film excellently matches the action and intensity of the trailer and treats audiences to two-and-a-half hours of dark and emotional entertainment.

Although the novels were written for a younger audiences, the issues tackled in “The Hunger Games” are appropriate for audiences of all ages.

The film is set in a postapocalyptic world in which 12 districts must each offer a male and female human tribute between the ages of 12-18 to the Capitol in penance for their revolts 74 years previous. Upon arriving in the Capitol, the tributes are placed in an arena where they must fight to the death until one lone victor remains. This battle, called “The Hunger Games,” is televised around the world and provides an exciting, but rather disgusting, form of entertainment for citizens of the post-American country Panem.

Katniss Everdeen, the film’s main character, brilliantly portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence (“Winter’s Bone”), solely supports her mother and sister in District 12, often crossing boundaries to illegally hunt to provide food for her family and district.

When her sister’s name is drawn to participate in the games, Katniss volunteers as tribute to save her sister, and her hunting skills from living in District 12 become key to surviving the games.

This particular female character has immense strength.

Lawrence’s reactions, as Everdeen, to the cruelty and uncanny attitude of the Capitol toward the games is stirring. Stanley Tucci (“Easy A”) comically narrates the games as TV host Caesar Flickerman, whose over-the-top enthusiasm and optimism for the tributes is ironic considering 23 tributes will be killed in a matter of days.

Casting for the film was phenomenal. Elizabeth Banks (“Our Idiot Brother”) plays the chaperone for the tributes of District 12. Her blitheness for the games is unsettling, but she is still an interesting character with her outrageous costumes.

Woody Harrelson (“Friends with Benefits”) is Haymitch Abernathy, the experienced but alcoholic mentor for the tributes who was once a victor at the games but whose drunken state makes him unpredictable as well as comical. Classic actor Donald Sutherland (“Horrible Bosses”) plays the chilling President Snow, whose old age makes him disinterested in change and always wanting powerful control.

Of course, no young adult movie has ever been successful without the romance add-on of a love triangle. Liam Hemsworth (“The Last Song”) is introduced early in the film

as Gale Hawthorne, Katniss’ hunting friend, with whom there is obvious chemistry.

However, his presence in the film is limited after Katniss must go compete in the games.

The second dominant male character is Peeta Mellark, portrayed by Josh Hutcherson (“The Kids Are All Right”). Mellark serves as the male tribute for District 12, creating a bond and eventually an alliance and romance between Peeta and Katniss. The chemistry between and Lawrence and Hemsworth was strong immediately, whereas Lawrence and Hutcherson seemed to struggle for the duration of the film.

A main topic of debate after seeing the film is whether or not “The Hunger Games” was true to the novel.

Needless to say, though the storyline was consistent and the characters portrayed well, there were some differences, both negative and positive.

The gore associated with the book was reduced extensively, with little violence and blood shown onscreen. Of course, this may have been an industry issue in which the filmmakers were attempting to gain a PG-13 rating for a larger audience.

However, considering the film revolves around a reality TV show, the minimized savagery took away that sense of reality readers of the book enjoyed.

While the film does lack that potence, Director Gary Ross (“Seabiscuit”) used the artistic ability of film to his advantage, including handheld camera shots for some intense scenes. Ross also fleshed out some story lines to provide excellent foreshadowing for the next film. His creativity with the book’s extensive settings and decor are brilliantly brought to life with the use of color and excellent special effects.

Unlike the book, the film is also not solely from the perspective of Katniss, but also includes discussion at the Capitol, events occurring among the districts and the occasional comments from Tucci as the show’s host.

These additional moments nicely provide extra depth to the film.

The release of “The Hunger Games” this past weekend was expected to perform well at the box office, taking in $155 million.

However, it was not predicted to set new box office records, including best weekend released for a non-sequel film and coming in third overall for weekend release gross behind “The Dark Night” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.”

What clearly sets this film apart from other adapted blockbusters is the powerful sense of emotion this film stirs in audiences. This is a film full of hurt, anger, anxiety, excitement and love. The multiple storylines ranging from politics, family and romance make the film appealing to many audience demographics. The film may not have appealed to everyone, but the odds of your enjoyment for the film are ever in your favor.

½

THE HUNGER GAMES

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

7

The Badger Herald | Classifieds | Tuesday, March 27, 2012

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Sports BATTLE, from 8 throwing, the individual time, nothing [where] we got live bodies moving around,” Bielema said at his Monday press conference.

“He has continued to make good strides.”

Meanwhile, Budmayr has continued to struggle with neurological issues in his shoulder and elbow that have plagued him for the past year and are just beginning to be diagnosed by doctors.

“Last week, at the end of the week, [Budmayr] got some indication as to what they feel might be the problem, “ Bielema said.

GRIT, from 8 gotten smarter managing hitters and containing hitters.”

After the series, Van Abel boasts the Big Ten’s best batting average for the second straight week.

Her .478 average was part of a seven-game hit streak and .556 average from the weekend prior in Santa Barbara, Calif. She failed to get off a hit in both of the doubleheader games but came out strong in the finale.

Van Abel was the catalyst for the offense in the third and final game of the series as she finished 2-for-3 and scored the first run for the Badgers, and Healy had nothing but praise for her center fielder.

“She’s probably one of the most fun kids to talk about,” Healy said. “I saw Maria just last year as a senior, and she’s the type of person when you meet her, you know she is going to be successful.

“I heard from Bret [Bielema] and from Bo [Ryan] and all of

HUGHES, from 8 defenses from 2002-05.

Grant and his counterpart last season, James Starks, are too much of the same brand of running back and are rather unexceptional.

Neither are particularly fast, strong or agile. They are, however, hardworking and smart running backs, which is why they averaged 4.2 and 4.3 yards per carry last season, respectively, and combined for 1,137 yards.

But they just don’t keep defense on their toes enough.

Jacobs is not by any means an elite ball carrier, but he would offer a change of pace from the 6-foot-2, 218-pound Starks and fix the short-yardage issue. He would be a big reason the offense would stay on the field longer and keep Green Bay’s porous defense on the sideline.

The only hold-up in this

“He is actually at the Mayo Clinic this week getting some second opinions for him to move forward, and hopefully [they are] on the right path there for him.”

Considering the bad luck the Badgers have suffered from over the last few years regarding quarterback injuries, many have begun to question whether Bielema needs to make it a priority to recruit more quarterbacks.

Since his first season as the Badgers’ head coach in 2006, Bielema has made it a point to recruit only one quarterback each year.

“I made a conscientious decision my first year

the coaches here and Barry [Alvarez] about recruiting Wisconsin kids and finding some great overachieving type players. The minute I met Maria, I said, ‘This is a kid who is going to be successful.’ She is smart, well-spoken, great attitude

“I think that is the future of this program, to find some of these great Midwestern players.”

Yvette Healy

Softball Head Coach and a hard worker. She had everything in place when we recruited her.

She has had a huge learning curve, and it is all attributed to how hard that kid works.”

Healy hopes she can find other players similar to Van Abel in future recruiting.

“I think that is the future of this program,” Healy said. “To find some

deal (besides Thompson’s general disinterest in free agency) might be Jacobs’ price tag. Jacobs and the Giants couldn’t reach an agreement over the size of the running back’s pay cut

I’ve been waiting for the Packers to make some sort of splash at running back for a while now. I’ve never seen them draft a running back in the first round of the draft or bring in a name with weight. and part of the reason why Thompson doesn’t bring in free agents is because he figures they’ve been let go for a good reason and are, in general, too expensive.

But Jacobs has been without a job for nearly three weeks while other running backs like Michael Bush, Mike Tolbert,

that we were going to sign one quarterback and one tailback every year,” Bielema said. “Obviously, the predicament that you get in is if you have two quarterbacks, or in our situation, three quarterbacks, that didn’t work out because of injury. … [But] it provided an opportunity like what we saw with Russell [Wilson].”

The time for the younger quarterbacks in the group — redshirt freshman Joel Stave and redshirt sophomore Joe Brennan — may come sooner than they know.

Bielema expects they will continue to improve with

of these great Midwestern players and stick with them and grow from the inside out instead of looking at everything from just the West Coast.”

The team has not played a home game yet this season, and the Badgers’ head coach says she has learned a lot about the team so far this season and thinks that this past series against Iowa is a sign of significant progress for the program.

“We have not gotten over the hump for beating some of the big-time teams yet,” Healy said.

“We have not gotten over the hump to get a ton of momentum leading into Iowa, so that was a critical weekend for us to put together some wins.”

Healy added that the biggest thing to take from this weekend is the confidence and the ability to win on the road. She also is starting to see more grit and toughness in the players along with the will to win through the time, effort and emotion the players have put into the game.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Peyton Hillis have found homes. And, if enough time passes, Jacobs will slash his price.

But something would still probably have to possess Thompson in order to give Jacobs a call — and despite him being available since early March, there are no reports of that happening.

Grant could also sign with another team. But he’ll obviously hear the Packers out before doing that.

Thompson’s system has proven to be effective, but standing pat with Grant and letting Jacobs would go would be a missed chance at making the Packers better. With him, the offense could traverse any obstacle.

Elliot is a senior majoring in journalism. Would you want Jacobs in the backfield for Green Bay? Let him know at ehughes@badgerherald. com.

time, especially with the uncertainty of the current quarterback situation,

“I made a conscientious decision my first year that we were going to sign one quarterback and one tailback every year.”

Bret Bielema Head coach

in the areas of on-field communication and reading the game.

“I just want to see the composure in the huddle, being able to communicate, … and that has been outstanding,” Bielema said. “I think both of them [look good]; even the players around them have noticed that right away.”

Next season will also be the first time in the last few years that the Badgers will look to new starters at the kicker and punter positions. Last year’s starting kicker, Philip Welch, graduated this year as the Big Ten’s leader in extra point field goals made (207), a tough shadow for any new kicker to overcome.

As a result, the coaching staff has made it a focus to make sure redshirt sophomore kicker Kyle French and redshirt freshman punter Drew Meyer are prepared for the type of pressure they will be forced to face on a regular basis next fall in the Big Ten. “We try to create as many pressure situations as possible. [French] was four-for-four [a couple of days ago],” Bielema said.

“It’s all about trying to create as much pressure as possible in scenarios; nothing is going to be like 80,000 fans next fall, but you can try to do your best [to replicate it].”

Sports Editor Elliot Hughes sports@badgerherald.com

8 | Sports | Tuesday, March 27, 2012

SPORTS

All-American once again For the 2nd year in a row, senior guard Jordan Taylor earns All-American honors.

QB battle continues Budamyr gets 2nd opinion at Mayo Clinic, Phillips struggles with lingering knee issues Nick Daniels Sports Writer

As is the case with any college football team, spring football can be a crucial time for the coaching staff as it tries to find the puzzle pieces to replace the holes left by graduating seniors. This will be an especially difficult task for the reigning Big Ten champion Wisconsin Badgers, as fans expect nothing less than continuing to compete at the highest level regardless of the personnel head coach Bret Bielema has available.

One position that has already sparked plenty of preseason discussion has been the quarterback Megan McCormick The Badger Herald position and who will be Redshirt sophomore Joe Brennan has only completed six passes in his lone year on the field, but he could be Wisconsin’s starter next year due to injuries to two upperclassmen. chosen as the replacement

for one-and-done starter Russell Wilson.

Both of Bielema’s top recruits, redshirt junior Jon Budmayr and redshirt senior Curt Phillips, have dealt with significant injury problems over the past year that are just beginning to improve and leave a huge question mark at, arguably, the most important position on the field.

Phillips, who is recovering from the most recent of a string of knee problems, including ACL tears that have forced him to the sidelines the last two seasons, is just beginning to practice and has yet to do any drills with the regular team. “[He] has been involved moderately with the

BATTLE, page 7

Healy pleased with grit, road mentality Badgers take 2 out of 3 from Hawkeyes in Big Ten opener as road stretch ends Chris Caporale Sports Writer The Wisconsin softball team (13-10) moved to 2-1 in Big Ten play as players returned home after defeating Iowa (1117) Sunday by a score of 5-4, handing the Badgers the series victory over Iowa after they split the doubleheader Saturday.

The final game of the conference-opening series for Wisconsin was also the highest-scoring game. The

Badgers had impressive performances from freshman center fielder Maria Van Abel and right fielder Marissa Mersch.

The team has not been successful when playing Iowa in the past, and the history of the Iowa program is also something to admire.

Even after the two wins this weekend, the Badgers are 11-29 all-time against Iowa.

“Iowa is just a legacy program,” head coach Yvette Healy said at her Monday press conference.

“They’ve got four World Series appearances and 16 NCAAs. We knew we would have our hands full. We are pretty evenly-matched to them, and to come out with two out of three is great for our young club and our

young pitchers.”

All three of the games were close, one-run contests.

Starting pitcher Cassandra Darrah threw complete games in all three of the games against Iowa. She gave up only five earned runs in 20 innings of work, and the sophomore was also able to survive a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh inning to end the game.

“They are great; they are doing a great job with helping managing the ball, keeping it in the park, but we are still a low strikeout team,” Healy said. “We are going to have to work really hard. I think they have just UW Athletics

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Pitcher Cassandra Darrah gave up just five earned runs on her way to throwing complete games in all three of her starts against Iowa.

Jacobs perfect piece for Packers’ backfield Elliot Hughes Look Hughe’s Laughing Now As general manager of the Green Bay Packers, Ted Thompson wields the awesome power of

assembling and designing Wisconsin’s beloved professional football team.

The architect of Green Bay’s 2010-11 Super Bowlwinning team, Thompson is basically the supreme football being in the Dairy State. He is The Creator.

And what is especially special about this Wisconsin football god is he remains humble and elects to apass on using certain powers. He opts not to take advantage of

free agency — only plucking away veterans (mostly journeymen) here and there to fill in a minor role or two — and leaves the other 31 teams scrambling to catch the big fishes in hopes of contending for a Super Bowl.

That’s about as best as I can do to romanticize the snowy-white haired Thompson. But yes, seeing him ink center Jeff Saturday last week was as refreshing as taking a seat on the

Terrace during such an abnormally warm spring.

The closest thing I can compare it to is when Darth Vader decides to strangle people with his mind.

There’s no other way around it: That’s a pretty badass thing to do. And part of the reason why it’s badass is because Vader doesn’t abuse it. Same with Thompson and his power.

When they go ahead and use it, everyone’s careful to

watch.

So, knowing full well that Thompson uses a draft-centric management style and that I don’t want to ruin my glamorized vision of him, I still must voice my advocation for bringing running back Brandon Jacobs to Green Bay (besides, Vader strangled a subordinate of his not once, but twice in “A New Hope,” so why can’t Thompson go for two higher-profile players?).

Of course, the Packers still could re-sign Ryan Grant, which is the most likely course of action Thompson will take.

Grant’s been a fine player in Green Bay, rushing for over 1,000 yards twice (he came 44 yards shy in 2007). He also told ESPN 540 two weeks ago that resigning with the Packers is his “ideal situation.”

I’ve been waiting for the Packers to make some sort of splash at running back for a while now. I’ve never seen them draft a running back in the first round of the draft or bring in a name with weight.

This offseason, there are more pressing concerns that warrant a larger investment. Running back takes a backseat.

But for two years nowk, short-yardage situations have been killer for Green Bay’s otherwise first-rate

offense.

If you asked the Packers’ offense to drive to the moon, it could probably get there for you. But ask it to move the ball one- to-three yards, and suddenly the line of scrimmage becomes loaded with landmines and bear traps.

With Ryan’s contract up and Jacobs on the market, the Packers have a chance to end that stumbling block.

Jacobs will turn 30-years-old by the time the 2012-13 season kicks off, but he’s a 6-foot-4, 264-pound battering ram that knows how to negotiate the trenches and earn whatever an offense needs, be it a first down or a touchdown from inside five yards.

He would be a role player in Green Bay, but obviously that would be fine with him. He’s split carries his entire career with Ahmad Bradshaw and Derrick Ward while playing for the New York Giants.

The size and brutality Jacobs employs would also finally give the Green Bay backfield some diversity for the first time since Ahman Green, Tony Fisher and Najeh Davenport ripped through

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