Uganda survivor of LRA violence speaks out Sponsored by Invisible Children, a student tells her story of hardships, murdered family members and resilient survival NEWS | 2
THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1969 Volume XLIII, Issue 116
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
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MPD: Zero tolerance at Mifflin party Following last year’s safety issues, police will strictly enforce all city regulations Leah Linscheid City Life Editor Madison city officials, University of Wisconsin students and Mifflin neighborhood residents considered multiple presentations concerning safety issues for the
upcoming block party at a meeting Tuesday night. The meeting, hosted by Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, featured presentations by the Madison Police and Fire Departments on how Mifflin Street residents can promote safety at their respective parties. MPD Lt. David McCaw stressed that city ordinances will be enforced at the block party and the department expects compliance from students. “The mantra from the Police Department will be
Other commonly cited tickets include a $177 fine for underage drinking, a $429 fine for possession of a fake ID and a $177 fine for urinating in public. MPD Sgt. Tony Fiore discussed the issues of hosting parties on Mifflin Street during the block party and said the department writes citations averaging $1,500 per resident for a house party. He added hosts of house parties at the block party may receive “amnesty,” which would greatly reduce
100 percent compliance, and that’s what we’re expecting from the people who come to Mifflin this year,” McCaw said. “All ordinances and issues will be addressed accordingly.” McCaw also provided estimates for the most commonly cited tickets at the Mifflin Street Block Party, including a $303 fine for open containers on the street, sidewalk or other public property; a noted change from last year’s event that permitted party-goers to drink in the streets.
Martin, Morrison killings hit home
enforcement citations to the hosts, by calling MPD to disperse the party if it has gotten out of control. “If the party has gotten out of your control, you need to make a choice, and one of those choices is to call the police and have them safely disperse the party,” Fiore said to residents of Mifflin Street. “I can’t promise that there won’t be any enforcement, but certainly any enforcement that comes out of your residence will be considerably less.” Associated Students
of Madison Legislative Affairs representative Maria Giannopoulos said city officials are advocating starting the block party at a later time in the day to lessen drinking and subsequent dangerous activity. She added students have the responsibility of ensuring the future of Mifflin by promoting a safe event this year. “Last year Mifflin did not go over so well, and we want to re-brand that and
MIFFLIN, page 3
THE BADGER HERALD PRESENTS an artsetc. spot on
Students, community members gather on campus to push back on racial inequalities Tess Keegan Herald Contributor In light of widespread public attention and outcry over the shooting deaths of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin of Florida and 20-year-old Bo Morrison in Slinger, Wis., earlier this month, members of the Madison community gathered on Library Mall Tuesday to push for racial equality. A crowd of about 150 students, teachers and community members joined together in support of Martin and Morrison and to spread awareness about their views on the issue of social inequality in relation to both cases. Martin, an African American, was shot and killed Feb. 26 by 28-year-old George Zimmerman, who has not been charged or arrested in the case. Zimmerman claimed self defense, though police reports show Martin
was unarmed and carrying only a bag of skittles and an energy drinking while wearing a hooded sweatshirt. Morrison was killed in Slinger after a homeowner found Morrison hiding on a back porch. Adam Kind, the man who fatally shot Morrison, was not been charged in the shooting. At the speak-out event, University of Wisconsin junior Tiffany Schroeder said Morrison was a close friend of hers, and she has felt frustrated as she feels the media has portrayed Morrison as a “young black criminal.” She described the “baby Bo” she had known since age nine, and shared anecdotes of Morrison and his calming qualities including “giant bear hugs.” “I never thought it would be like this. What has happened to Bo and Trayvon
INEQUALITIES, page 2
GROUP HELPS INMATES
HELP THEMSELVES
Wisconsin Books to Prisoners aids imprisoned population in prep for outside life Sarah Witman ArtsEtc. Editor Emeritus
Megan McCormick The Badger Herald
Christine Bohm, a friend of Bo Morrison, a Wisconsin teenager who was killed while intruding in a house in Slinger, Wis., asks rally attendees to consider the merit of the state’s Castle Doctrine law.
Like many other powerful objects, books have become the object of scrutiny by the Department of Corrections in Wisconsin. Most bibliophiles could attest to the strength of a book by means of its content, but the DOC has applied a different meaning. Regulation on these everyday objects has increased in state prisons over the past several years, out of concern they could be used to conceal weapons or illegal substances. Wisconsin Books to Prisoners Project, a group that operates out of Madison’s Rainbow Bookstore Cooperative, seeks to address this very issue. “We think, ‘What could be less
Sarah Witman The Badger Herald
Wisconsin Books to Prisoners was started in 2006 as a way to serve inmates asking for book donations. It now operates out of Rainbow Bookstore Cooperative on Gilman Street. threatening than a book?’” said Elizabeth Severson, a Madison retiree and Wisconsin Books to Prisoners volunteer. The group aims to place books directly in prisons, in accordance
with the institutions’ safetyoriented restrictions, Severson said. Inmates in Wisconsin prisons are restricted to 25 reading materials in
BOOKS, page 8
Courts will redraw maps after INSIDE legislators deny special session Ilona Argirion Herald Contributor A federal court will draw the district lines for two Assembly districts after legislators decided against holding a special session to redraw the maps. On Tuesday, three federal judges ruled to redraw election maps for two Milwaukee Assembly districts. In doing so, the court ordered the state and the groups suing it to deliberate in the coming days and to try to reach an agreement on how to reconstruct the borders.
If a consensus cannot be reached, both sides will have to file competing maps for the court to consider by next Tuesday, according to the court order. Senate Republican Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, and Assembly Majority Leader Rep. Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, said in a joint statement the court has affirmed 130 of 132 districts and every congressional district the Republican Party drew is constitutional. “We will work with the Department of Justice to submit
an alternative map that ensures the 8th and 9th districts meet the constitutionality already met by the rest of the districts,” they said in the statement. According to Andy Janssen, spokesperson for Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa, D-Milwaukee, a representative for one of the districts affected by the change, Republicans have refused to come back into session to fix the violations of the Voting Rights Act as it pertains to the two districts.
MAPS, page 3 © 2012 BADGER HERALD
165,000 fans. 250 DJs. 3 days. 1 Ultra.
The Badger Herald flexes its press pass at Ultra 2012.
ARTS | 5
Isreal: modern country or land under fire?
Megan McCormick, The Badger Herald
Don’t worry, they’ve got this.
Guest columnist Tomer Stein examines his homeland in an online feature.
The football team faced a rough offseason when it came to replacing six coaches, but the transition has been a smooth one so far through spring camp.
OPINION | ONLINE
SPORTS | 12