2012.05.04

THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1969

THEY’LL

STILL GO

BLOCK PARTY MIFFLIN STREET 2012 Friday, May 4, 2012

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Students who attend this year’s Mifflin Street Block Party will be met with a full force of police officers who will be fighting underage drinking with zero tolerance. The annual party has struck strong debate within the community after a dangerous event last year.

ADRIANNA VISWANATHA

event.

Mayor Paul Soglin said the new measures of increased police force, along with rules governing alcohol consumption and partying, are the result of a need for increased safety from both alcohol poisoning and physical violence or assault.

“While some folks may think we are pulling back too hard, I really hope we have fewer knifings and sexual assaults [at this year’s event],” Soglin said.

Still, he said the measures taken this year to curb what some have called the “drinking culture” of the block party are not the sole result of last year’s

City Hall Editor

The time has come for the much awaited and much debated 2012 Mifflin Street Block Party, when students and residents from throughout the region will be met with a very different atmosphere than in previous years.

City officials, Madison Police Department officers and University of Wisconsin students have worked throughout the year to ensure the 2012 Mifflin Street Block Party is safer than last year after record arrests and increased violence redefined the annual

MIFFLIN, page 4

What you need to know about Miff lin

Scattered T-storms

Officials: Mifflin tradition has life of its own

Photos by Lukas Keapproth The Badger Herald

While students could freely wander the streets with open intoxicants at last year’s Mifflin Street Block Party, doing so will be prohibited this year. MPD will be enforcing a zero tolerance policy.

RESIDENT PROTECTION PLAN New this year, the Resident Protection Plan outlines expectations for registered parties as follows: • • •

VOLUME XLIII, ISSUE 137

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No underage drinking Keep capacity to under 50 people No selling alcohol

POTENTIAL FINES •

Underage drinking: $177

•

Loud music: $177

•

Open intoxicants: $303

•

Selling alcohol without a permit: $681

Throughout its history of more than 40 years, the Mifflin Street Block Party has been considered a Madison tradition by many, but now others are calling for a drastic change to the event’s stigma.

The block party has come a long way since its beginning in 1969 as a Vietnam War protest. Despite this year’s effort to curb the event’s effects, officials said it may be a hard tradition to kill.

“Even if the city continues to discourage gathering on Mifflin Street, I think in the foreseeable future this day will still be seen as a party day,” Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said.

“This event has taken on a life of its

TRADITION, page 2

Reilly explores System’s future PART 1 OF 2 Sean Kirkby State Politics Editor

Jen Small The Badger Herald

UW System President Kevin Reilly admits there is a potential for enrollment caps and tuition spikes in the System’s future, but said such changes would only come in pertinent situations to protect the student body.

During the past year, University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly has led the UW System in the face of $300 million in funding and budgetary lapses.

The Badger Herald sat down with

Heroin epidemic leaves man to battle with regret Leah Linscheid City Life Editor Richard Koenig’s 65 years have been shaped by sorrow.

He is haunted by the ghosts of his military service in the Vietnam War. Now, Koenig is experiencing cycling emotions of grief and guilt over the loss of a friend he

loved for 26 years at the hands of a suspected heroin overdose.

“I miss her,” Koenig, a thin, unshaven man, said of Jessica Runstrom.

Runstrom died March 9 at the age of 56, several months after she and a roommate were treated for a heroin overdose that occurred at

their residence on Madison’s Pine Street. Koenig believes Runstrom’s death resulted from complications from the overdose.

Madison Police Department spokesperson Joel DeSpain confirmed an investigation into Runstrom’s

HEROIN, page 5

Reilly to discuss the impact of these trends and possible solutions being offered. Here are the highlights in part one of a two part series.

The Badger Herald: Do you see these cuts as a longterm trend? And where do you think the UW System should turn to for funding?

Kevin Reilly: It is a longterm trend. The defunding of higher education,

relatively speaking, in state budgets has been going on for a number of years across the country. It’s not just here. … There have been blips, but the long-term trend has been down.

We need to diversify our revenues, which we have started to do. We certainly are getting a lot more private dollars come in through fundraising and

development activities to help support more and more of our core education work.

Tuition has, unfortunately in my opinion, become a much bigger share of how we fund education for undergraduates. The trouble with that is if we keep pushing tuition up, we’re going to go against the access

REILLY, page 5

INSIDE Hadick reexamines popularity of ‘Twilight’ Here’s a hint: It’s not the vampires. The popular series relies on classic stories of romance.

ARTS | 7

Respect Mifflin to prove its worth

Leaving it on the field of glory

This Mifflin, don’t be an asshole. Educate yourself and help prove it’s worth keeping.

Gentle Clowns look to write their own legend, complete 2011-12 intra-newspaper sweep.

OPINION | 6

SPORTS | 10

© 2012 BADGER HERALD

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The Badger Herald | News | Friday, May 4, 2012

Events today 7:45 p.m.

Night Hike at Picnic Point Picnic Point parking lot

8 p.m.

UW Ensembles: Madrigal Singers Mills Concert Hall Mosse Humanities Building

Events tomorrow 1 p.m.

Wunk Sheek Spring Pow-wow The Shell

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Changes to bus routes criticized Tahleel Mohieldin Herald Contributor With considerable changes to the University of Wisconsin bus service on the horizon, Madison Metro Transit System presented proposed alterations to the system in a public forum Thursday night.

Madison Metro Transit Schedule Planner Colin Conn presented three proposals intended to decrease campus bus service by 10 percent, the equivalent of 3,200 service hours annually. The cutbacks are a result of a UW Transportation Services’ budget deficit.

The first proposal eliminates one of the two 81 bus routes that are currently operating, cutting back service hours by 1,700 hours and reducing the arrival times of the route from 15 minutes to 30.

Conn said along with one of the two other proposals, it would collectively contribute to Transportation Services’ goal to decrease transit service hours by 3,200 hours.

The second proposal eliminated one 85 bus service route after 10 a.m., changing the frequency of the bus’ arrival from 10 minutes to 20 after 10 a.m. The third combined a portion of the route 80 and 85 buses, changing some destinations and requiring different transfers.

Many of the attendees inquired about alternative means for fixing the deficit.

However, Transportation Services Director Patrick Kass said the department has exhausted all alternatives to decrease their services and cuts need to be made.

“We looked at what changes could be made that will have the minimal level of impact on these services,” he said.

Kass noted in the past, Transportation Services has increased cost of ridership and parking rates but was still faced with a large deficit.

Of the three proposals, the first was met with the most disapproval. Attendees were concerned about the impact cuts would have on safety.

“The Route 81 was sacred on campus, and we did not want to see cuts to that,” Student Transportation Board member Laura Checovich said.

She added that until a few days ago the board was not aware cuts to the Route 81 buses were even on the table. The route serves as a nighttime safe service for students.

Student representatives also raised concern that they were not involved enough in the decision making process because they have not been invited to the meetings between Madison Metro and UW Transportation Services.

After pressure from Student Transportation Board representatives and audience members, Kass agreed to open the next meeting between the two groups to students.

“It’s nice that they said it.

I’ll believe it when I see it,” board member Chase Wilson said.

Chairman of Mansion Hill Neighborhood and UW alum Jean Devitt echoed much of the concern over safety regarding the 81 proposal, but also raised concerns about what the changes would mean for disabled bus users.

Madison Metro Transit Systems General Manager Chuck Kamp said he did not anticipate the changes would have too large of an impact on disabled Transit System users’ ridership and that those who may be inconvenienced can register for a door-to-door service called Paratransit.

It is currently unclear which two of the three proposals will be implemented as they are still under review, but the changes will take effect at the start of the fall.

Potential Bus Route Changes Two of the following three options will go into effect Sept. 1

Route 81

Time between arrivals will increase from 15 to 30 minutes

Route 85 Time between arrivals will increase from 10 to 20 minutes between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Routes 80 and 85 Adjustments will be made on these routes to optimize service, with increase in Route 85 wait times.

SOURCE: University of Wisconsin-Madison News

Megan McCormick The Badger Herald

Gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett tells students he has taken the young population into consideration while making previous budgetary decisions.

Barrett fights for student vote with address on jobs Gubernatorial candidate holds roundtable on loan crisis, economy Mike Kujak State Politics Editor As the Democratic primary approaches, Milwaukee Mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett sat down with students at Memorial Union Thursday, saying graduates face a grim job market and that he is the strongest candidate to face Gov. Scott Walker in a recall election.

During the discussion, Barrett said the student loan crisis is not the only huge problem for students; they also face rising tuition and growing unemployment.

Barrett said when last year’s budget came out, there was a $15 million cut to Milwaukee’s budget. He said he was forced to make a choice between making people pay more for their health insurance or laying people off.

“I chose not to lay people off, and I was thinking about your generation when I made that decision,” Barrett said.

“If people are laid off, what do people in their 20s do?

They are just coming out of school, and they won’t

BADGER HERALD

be able to get jobs.”

Former Dane County Executive and gubernatorial candidate Kathleen Falk has also stressed the importance of solving the student loan crisis and released a plan earlier last week that said her campaign would fix it.

Falk’s plan would implement statewide consumer protections for students and parents and inform them of all the facts surrounding student loans and the strings that may be attached.

The plan also recommends leveraging federal resources and creating a debt relief pipeline for Wisconsin graduates. In the plan, Falk would work to assist graduates and families facing insurmountable debt by coordinating with the new federal Income Based Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness Plans.

“Her plan focuses state government on the student loan debt crisis,” Falk spokesperson Roshni Nedungadi said.

“It’s a crisis the state of Wisconsin can no longer afford to ignore. The stakes are far too high.”

Barrett also said the reason he has been the main target of Walker’s ads is because Walker’s campaign does not want him to face Walker in the general election because

TRADITION, from 1 own.”

Verveer said he believes this year will see a great improvement over last year in terms of the violence that occurred, but he is not optimistic the party will “die a natural death” after Saturday.

University of Wisconsin Dean of Students Lori Berquam said she understands the tradition of the block party but wants to see students embrace the tradition in a

they believe Barrett is the candidate who can beat them.

“If you turn on a TV and watch for more than three hours, you’re going to see an ad attacking me right now,” Barrett said. “There are four Democratic candidates, and they are all good. But you look at what the goal is and I’m the strongest candidate because Republicans are spending every penny they can to keep me out of the general.”

Walker’s campaign targeted Barrett in TV ad last week, criticizing his handling of Milwaukee’s poverty and unemployment.

The ad said Milwaukee was third in the nation for unemployment and fourth in the nation for poverty.

“Tom Barrett has failed in Milwaukee for eight years. Don’t let him take Wisconsin backwards,” the narrator said in the ad.

A poll released Wednesday shows Walker leading Barrett by one percentage point in a recall election, while Barrett leads all other Democratic contenders in the recall.

Walker leads Barrett 48 percent to 47 percent of all likely voters and 47 to 46 percent of all registered voters, which falls within the margin of error. Barrett also leads Falk 38 to 21 percent in the Democratic primary race.

way that does not involve heavy drinking. She said she would enjoy seeing a return to an event of political discourse and protest.

“In order to [have a different Mifflin], I think our students have to do that,” Berquam said.

“To really engage in the conversation means you have to put all sorts of things on the table.

When that could happen, there could be a different Mifflin. Until then, I don’t know.”

The Badger Herald | News | Friday, May 4, 2012

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The Badger Herald | News | Friday, May 4, 2012

GAB predicts record voter turnout Kylie Peterson Herald Contributor State election officials predict more than 1.3 million people will vote in next Tuesday’s primary election, the highest turnout in more than half a century for a partisan primary.

The predicted voter turnout is 30 to 35 percent, according to a Government Accountability Board statement. This percentage equates to between 1.3 million and 1.5 million of the state’s eligible voters.

“It’s hard to venture a guess on the turnout since we are in uncharted waters, but the GAB estimate seems reasonable based on turnout rates in other races,”

University of Wisconsin political science professor John Coleman said.

According to the GAB statement, the highest voter turnout in a September partisan primary in the last 50 years was about 28 percent in 1964.

Additionally, the highest turnout in the past decade was in 2002 with approximately 23 percent.

Wisconsin’s highest turnout was nearly 39 percent in 1952, the statement said.

“Generally, when the GAB comes out with a statewide prediction we tend to have a higher turnout for the city of Madison,” Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl said. “So we really don’t know what to anticipate for voter turnout, … but we are

prepared for a large number just in case.”

The public’s intense interest in the recall election may also prompt a higher turnout, GAB Director Kevin Kennedy said in the statement.

Still, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin Executive Director Andrea Kaminski said recent changes to voting laws may hinder some, particularly students, from voting in the upcoming elections.

Kaminski said college students leaving for the summer should “go out and vote on May 8” and request an absentee ballot from the Madison’s City Clerk’s office before the June 5 election.

“It’s really all about educating people about

their rights and what their options are,” Witzel-Behl said.

The primaries on Tuesday will focus on Republican and Democratic primaries for governor and Democratic primaries for the lieutenant governor along with four state Senate seats.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, Secretary of State Doug La Follette, Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma, and Mequon citizen Gladys Huber are the five Democratic candidates in the primary.

Madison citizen Arthur Kohl-Riggs will run against Gov. Scott Walker in a Republican primary.

Recall contenders focus in on jobs Tara Golshan Reporter Following a recall effort largely motivated by the repeal of collective bargaining rights for public employees, Democratic gubernatorial candidates have shifted the race’s platform to zone in on job creation as their primary looms in the near future.

Former Dane County Executive and gubernatorial candidate Kathleen Falk and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett both released television advertisements on job creation in response to a statistic asserting Wisconsin had the largest job loss above any other state in the nation throughout the past year.

Wisconsin for Falk released a television advertisement Wednesday as part of its $1 million campaign in the final days before the primary accusing Gov. Scott Walker of destroying workers’ rights and hurting job creation.

Falk’s spokesperson Scot Ross said Falk’s campaign is focusing on her record with

job creation.

“When it comes to Kathleen’s record, under Gov. Walker, Wisconsin had the most job loss, whereas under Kathleen Falk, her county had the highest rates of employment,” Ross said.

Barrett released a television advertisement May 1 in response to Walker’s call for Wisconsin to “stay the course” in order to see economic success.

Barrett’s ad alleged Walker’s “course” and his promise to create 250,000 more jobs have led to a loss of 24,000 jobs.

Jamie Rebman, spokesperson for gubernatorial candidate Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma, said the Vinehout platform has always been job creation. Rebman neither confirmed nor denied a shift in campaign focus.

Secretary of State and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Doug La Follette did not return requests for comment.

Although collective bargaining rights did spark the recall election process,

University of Wisconsin mass communications and political science professor Dhavan Shah said the jobfocused advertisements are a by-product of collective bargaining rights campaigns.

“I think the entire effort to reduce workers’ rights and essentially end collective bargaining was contingent on Walker’s claim to create jobs,” Shah said.

“The fact that Wisconsin has the worse job record per capita in the nation gives Democrats leverage with job creation.”

Shah said this shift to job creation and the effort to prime the issue are attempts to adhere to a wider spectrum of voters. As jobs are a signal of the state’s economy, the idea of “more jobs” reaches a broader group of voters, Shah said.

According to Shah, a limitation on collective bargaining rights does not affect everyone in the state, whereas a focus on job creation addresses voters beyond the public sector and consequently benefits the Democratic candidates.

“The record of job creation is so meager,” Shah said. “Priming the public on that issue will benefit democrats.”

However, Friends of Scott Walker spokesperson Tom Evenson said in an email to The Badger Herald this shift of platform focus is only a “desperate power grab” made by the Democrats.

According to Evenson, Walker is confident voters will not be convinced by the attack advertisements.

“Gov. Walker has the confidence of Wisconsin voters, and Democrats are running scared in this desperate power grab,” Eveson said. “The Walker campaign welcomes the focus on job creation.”

According to Evenson, under Walker’s leadership, Wisconsin’s unemployment rate is at its lowest point since 2008, and Wisconsin’s private sector has so far created 15,600 jobs in 2012.

He said this contrasts with Barrett’s record on jobs, as Milwaukee’s unemployment rate rose 29 percent under Barrett’s “reign as mayor.”

MIFFLIN, from 1 arrests and violence.

Instead, he said there have been incidents at past Mifflin Street block parties as well as incidents outside the block party that occurred because of the result of people drinking too much.

“Things started changing significantly in the mid1980s,” Soglin said. “It’s been a rocky road ever since — some years have been better; some years have been worse than others.”

UW Dean of Students Lori Berquam said she hopes to see a more controlled party this year, calling last year’s event a “debacle of open containers and unchecked unruliness.” She said her concerns lie primarily in safety in terms of both the amount of alcohol consumed and the prevalence of sexual assault.

Additionally, she said she worries about other physical assaults, including the stabbings that occurred last year in which one UW student sustained serious injuries.

Madison Police Department spokesperson Joel DeSpain said the police hope people will come to the party and enjoy themselves while being respectful and following the law.

“The biggest change is, unlike last year, people can’t consume alcohol on the streets and sidewalks,” DeSpain said. “It was a very dangerous party last year. Officers were injured.

Someone almost died from a stabbing.”

He said when he used to attend the party in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, the party did not feel dangerous.

The structure and political overtones gave the event more meaning. Without sponsorship or structure, he said it just becomes about drinking.

DeSpain said one of the major efforts by MPD this year will be controlling the number of people on the streets who are not connected to Wisconsin or the UW System.

“These aren’t just UW students; they are from other campuses and they’re down on Mifflin,” DeSpain said.

“My experience has been it’s not UW students primarily who create the most serious problems. … There’s pride in this school, and I think most people feel that.”

UW senior and Mifflin resident Jake Barreau said he signed up his house with the MPD protection plan for Mifflin residents.

The plan gives residents the opportunity to call the police if they feel a party in their house has gotten out of hand.

“My experience has been it’s not UW students primarily who create the most serious problems. ... There’s pride in this school, and I think most people feel that.”

Joel DeSpain

MPD Spokesperson

Barreau said he and his roommates attended the informational Mifflin Neighborhood Meeting Wednesday night and learned from police, fire department officials and student officials about the plan’s parameters.

“It really saves us in case something gets out of hand or there’s someone there we don’t want,” Barreau said. “As an attendee in past years, I haven’t worried about it, but last year it got kind of out of hand.”

Barreau said he has heard from many underage students that they are scared to go to the party because of the increased police presence and stricter rules.

He said he is reluctant to invite underage students to his own house because of the threat of fines. He expects more arrests overall at the block party.

“It’s a historical event, and I don’t want one year to tarnish the whole event for Madison,” Barreau said. “I think it has out grown this area. … It’s a Midwest thing. It’s too big for the Mifflin Street area, but we’ll see what happens this year.”

The Badger Herald | News | Friday, May 4, 2012

HEROIN, from 1 death is ongoing.

“She had a way of breaking down the walls I built from Vietnam,” Koenig added, tears crossing his face. He twisted a newspaper in his hand as he recounted his story.

“I connected with her.

How often can you find a soulmate in your life? I know we loved each other unconditionally.”

Koenig lived with Runstrom and her roommate for several months and acted as their caregiver.

According to Koenig, Runstrom battled with several illnesses, including emotional issues caused by traumatic events she experienced as a teenager.

At the age of 18, Runstrom was raped, he said.

“For her to have survived … ,” Koenig took a long pause. “She had this strength to survive that much during her lifetime.

Most people would have just broken. She was 18; can you imagine?”

To recover from the strains of caregiving, Koenig moved to Stevens Point shortly before Runstrom’s alleged heroin overdose.

“I keep having these regrets because I moved up to Point to recover from the caregiving, and I keep thinking what I could have done differently,” Koenig said. “Jessie would know if I was there, I would’ve stopped [the overdose.]”

Koenig estimated the overdose took place in late January, when Runstrom called police and told them her roommate was unconscious before passing

REILLY, from 1 and affordability goals that we have. We need, in Wisconsin especially, more students to be able to get into and through some university experience.

We’re behind the national average in terms of the percentage of people with a baccalaureate degree in the state. So part of our argument to the state is to say we don’t want to continue driving tuition up because the state money is going down because that is going against where we need to go as a state.

BH: Recently, you raised the possibility of an enrollment cap. Why would it be needed, and do you think that it will be implemented in the future?

KR: We’re concerned about quality. There is some relationship between the funding we have and the quality of the education we can provide. ... So, we certainly hope we don’t have to go there. Again, that would be, in my opinion, shooting ourselves in the foot because we need more college graduates.

On the other hand, nobody wants to see a situation where we’re producing more college graduates but they’re being poorly educated at UW. We certainly don’t want to go there. The quality of what we have to offer to our students has to be paramount.

BH: At the February Board of Regents meeting, Regent David Walsh raised the possibility of cutting enrollment. Is this being considered as a viable option?

KR: I think people have raised it and continue off and on as they see the kinds

out herself. Both survived the incident, Koenig said, but days later Runstrom suffered from a series of miniature strokes.

In February, Runstrom was admitted to Meriter Hospital to repair an obstructed colon. Medical officials kept her on life support until she died March 9.

According to Koenig, Runstrom had not used heroin prior to the incident, though she had taken prescription medications, including Vicodin and morphine, that friends had provided her with.

Koenig suggested Runstrom’s friends may have proved to be a powerful influence in her decision to use drugs to selfmedicate her pain.

“In 2010, … a friend picked Jessica up and said they were going to go shopping,” Koenig said. “This friend really manipulated Jessie. She came back and dropped Jessica off at the curb, and she could hardly walk. She fell down a couple of times.

I went out and helped her. … I looked at her pupils and they were dilated, and I worked with her for about eight hours, walked with her, gave her coffee and water, … and she finally came out of it. But her friend is a heroin addict.”

Koenig said he is convinced other friends may have been involved in the overdose incident that he believes led to Runstrom’s death.

Runstrom’s story is not an uncommon one. Madison is in the midst of what officials have called a “heroin epidemic.” According to Dane County reports, 132

heroin overdoses were documented in 2011, up from 84 in 2010. Twenty of those heroin overdoses resulted in the death of the user.

Officials have repeatedly said Madison has experienced an emerging profile of heroin users who drive when they are under the influence. According to Madison Police Department Lt. Brian Ackeret, a member of the Dane County Drug Task Force, these users often fall into a comalike unconsciousness while behind the wheel, compromising their safety and that of others on the road.

Runstrom did not fit this stereotype that has become all too familiar to Ackeret, but that is no consolation for Koenig, who said he has lost his best friend.

University of Wisconsin family medicine professor Richard Brown said heroin abuse often begins with the use of prescription medicine, particularly potentially addictive pain killers like Vicodin and opioids. As the pills become too expensive for users, they may often make the transition to heroin.

Brown added individuals with mental illnesses may utilize prescription medicine or narcotics to escape pain they may feel as a result of their condition.

“One reason that people may take an opioid could be to self-medicate,” Brown said. “If somebody is depressed, for example, heroin or Vicodin may help numb the emotional pain, and that can help get people started with abusing the medication.”

He added it is common

of cuts that the university has to absorb because regents, as the stewards for the university system, are very concerned about the quality themselves. So I think we’ll hear that come up again.

We certainly don’t want to go there, but I think to be good stewards we have to raise the possibility that if we have less resources to work with, at some point we are going to have to have less students.

Do we want to do that?

No. Would that be exactly the wrong thing to do for Wisconsin? Yes. But I think the people of Wisconsin and their elected officials have to say, “Okay. We understand that. Enough is enough and we have to help them get down.”

BH: Would you support a tuition cap?

KR: We have had for the last four years, we have kept tuition to 5.5 percent, which I would argue is a modest and, certainly predicable the way we’ve done it. We haven’t had huge jumps and flops back and forth in the way we handled tuition, so we want people to be able to plan.

Looking forward, I think it would be a mistake to cap tuition unless the Legislature said, “OK, we’ll give this amount of [General Purpose Revenue] reinvestment if you’ll cap tuition.” I’d love to have that conversation.

BH: Do you think the UW System should change the ratios on out-of-state and in-state students?

KR: I think we ought to have that discussion. My position is that when you look at, if you take UWMadison out of the mix, the last time I looked at this across all of the other

institutions in the UW System we had something like around 8 percent out-of-state students not counting the Minnesota students who come in under reciprocity.

So I said to the Legislature and the governor that is really too few for all the rest of the system. Why is it too few? Well, number one, educationally it’s too few. We want our kids in Wisconsin, who are the Wisconsin residents going to our institutions, to rub shoulders with more people from outside the boundaries of Wisconsin because, guess what?

They’re going to have to make a living with a lot of those people when they graduate from here.

So that’s part of the educational and job preparation process. The other good thing that outof-state students bring is more cash. Out-of-state students pay about three times what an in-state student does, and that extra money enables us to provide more seats for instate students.

So the position we’ve taken is we ought to look at that as long as we’re not displacing in-state students.

And Madison is the special case there where there is a regent policy that Madison is capped at no more than 25 percent out-of-state students.

On the other hand, if we can work to say we are going to increase the number of seats for in-state students in Madison, if you allow us to have additional out-of-state students whose higher tuition would allow us to create more seats in Madison, well then that’s a discussion worth having

for individuals to obtain prescription medicine through friends or family members.

Ackeret said several initiatives have been implemented both at the city and county level to combat the epidemic of heroin users in the area.

These initiatives are primarily targeted at drug distribution, including both medication prescriptions and other sources for obtaining narcotics.

“We’re working with some physicians groups that are looking at the amount of opiates that are being prescribed,” Ackeret said. “We’re trying to reduce the amount of drugs being prescribed and increase closer monitoring of patients to look for abuses.”

He added steps have been taken to increase education of drug users, particularly concerning the risks of needle exchanges and using narcotics while driving.

Despite Runstrom’s death, Koenig believes her spirit is still right there with him.

“Sometimes when I’m driving up to Point, I’ll swear Jessica is sitting right there, and I’ll carry on a conversation with her,” Koenig said. “Sometimes, I’m at a loss for words.”

Koenig expressed his hope that Runstrom’s story will dissuade others in a similar situation from using heroin to lessen their pain.

“The whole idea is to give a voice to Jessica,” Koenig said. “I know it is a heroin epidemic; I know the statistics bear that out. But human beings are dynamic, diverse, unique, priceless, vital human beings, and so was she.”

because in both of those instances, then you get the ability to create more seats for Wisconsin residents by having more out-of-state students here and you get the extra benefit of that cross-fertilization between our in-state students and people from around the county and around the world.

5

Reilly pledges part of income to poor Danielle Miller Herald Contributor A University of Wisconsin administrator has pledged a portion of his salary to poverty-fighting organizations after signing on with university faculty from around the country as part of a nation-wide administrator initiative.

UW System President Kevin Reilly signed on to the Presidents’ Pledge Against Global Poverty, started by former president of Texas Lutheran University Rev. Ann Svennungsen. The initiative works to enlist the help of current and former university presidents, chancellors and presidents emeriti.

The pledge requires participants to donate 5 percent or more of their salary to organizations fighting poverty on an international level.

According to a statement from the organization, 28 higher education leaders have pledged their support.

Reilly was recruited for the initiative by Svennungsen and said he is happy his family has been lucky enough to be able to contribute. “[My grandparents] faced pretty extreme poverty, and I now have a family two or three generations beyond me,” Reilly said. “It’s knowing the contributions to those in poverty can make [someone] able to survive.”

In the statement, Svennungsen said the initiative is just getting started.

She added university presidents hold “a distinctive platform as moral leaders.”

“Their commitment can help galvanize the collective will needed to address complex issues like extreme poverty. We look forward to growing momentum,” she said in the statement.

Svennungsen’s pledge

letter said society now has the resources to end extreme world poverty for the first time in history.

In his pledge letter to the initiative, Reilly said making the contribution to help fight extreme global poverty “is an extension of our role as educators.”

Having adopted two of their three children from Columbia, Reilly said he and his wife were able to experience first-hand the effects extreme poverty has on people’s lives.

According to Reilly, as part of their pledge, participants choose the organization or organizations to which their money is donated. He said he is currently working with his family to decide which organizations they will make contributions to.

He added he has previously donated to Heifer International and Doctors Without Borders and plans to give pledge money to those organizations but will “expand it a little bit as well.”

A statement released by the project organization said of the money donated to projects to fight poverty, half of the donation is guaranteed to be used in funding the chosen organization’s international anti-poverty initiatives. “[The goal is to] get their stomachs full and heads up off the ground long enough to see they have real potential,” Reilly said. “You do what you can and hope it has a positive effect for people.”

According to the website for the pledge, the initiative is based on the Millennium Developmental Goals of the United Nations.

The project’s objective is to cut the level of extreme global poverty in half by 2015. In Svennungsen’s pledge letter, she said this goal cannot be met without “courageous and sacrificial leaders.”

Opinion

Editorial Page Editor Taylor Nye oped@badgerherald.com

6

The Badger Herald | Opinion | Friday, May 4, 2012

Herald Editorial For the love of Mifflin Depending on whom you talk to, tomorrow is either a lively celebration

by University of Wisconsin students, or a black eye on Madison’s otherwise pristine public image.

This board is inclined to the former, while city government and UW administration the latter. Those planning to attend the Mifflin Street Block Party must play an active part in determining the fate of the event for future years.

Without considering many of the factors that likely precipitated the violence at last year’s event, the city has resorted to arbitrary, if not draconian,

and counterproductive measures. This move is highly indicative of the city and university’s short institutional memory of the annual bacchanal.

These measures are aimed at either rolling back attendance or bringing about an end to the event once and for all. The UW Police Department’s withdrawal of law enforcement assistance and Mayor Paul Soglin’s vocal opposition to the event are only increasing costs and reducing the structure and safety at this year’s block party.

The responsibility for a successful event rests on students –– both Mifflin

residents and attendees –– to fill the role of adults tomorrow.

The fact that administration and officials have set expectations so low should not be understood as permission to act in such a fashion. If the event is to continue, students need to prove administration and the city wrong.

Students at this university already hold themselves to a higher standard by virtue of being Badgers. This responsibility can and should translate to tomorrow’s event.

This means respecting law enforcement and those living on the street. This means enjoying oneself

without taking part in the gross generalization of another culture. But most of all it means respecting fellow students looking to take part in the event, both this year and in the years to come.

It’s simple enough: Don’t be an asshole.

Educate yourself as to the expectations of police, drink plenty of water, avoid mixing liquors, know your limits and, for the love of Mifflin, do not hurt anybody, yourself included. Respect the event because administration and city government do not. It is on us to prove Mifflin is worth keeping.

Alex Brousseau

Signe Brewster

Adelaide Blanchard

Ryan Rainey

Taylor Nye

Reginald Young

Ryan Rainey

Editorial Board Chairman

Editor-in-Chief

Editor-at-Large

Managing Editor

Editorial Page Editor

Editorial Page Content

Editorial Board Member

Weekly non-voting Community Member Hannah Somers | Associated Students of Madison Legislative Affairs Chair Editorial Board opinions are crafted independently of news coverage.

Liberal arts’ versatility key, not acknowledged Hannah Sleznikow Columnist In the world of higher education, the merit of a liberal arts education is in question. From an English major to a philosophy major and everything in between, the question that surrounds the liberal arts approach to education remains: What can you do with it? How can a liberal arts degree bridge the gap between college and the real world? And how can this broad-based education serve to elevate America’s discouraging economic predicament?

Only 54 percent of Americans ages 18 to 24 are currently employed, according to a 2012 study released by Pew Research Center. This statistic, accurate since 2010, is the

lowest it has been since the government began collecting data in 1948.

Certainly, it would seem that unemployment is nearly as much the norm as employment among a large number of young Americans.

This harsh reality forms the foundation of the debate surrounding the worth of a liberal arts education. After all, with unemployment on the rise, why are so many colleges and universities promoting a comprehensive approach to education rather than seeking to cultivate specialized, career-targeted skills among their students?

Certainly, this is a legitimate question to ask in light of the current economic recession. However, a liberal arts education arguably provides the critical skills necessary to succeed in today’s job market via a broad-based curriculum spanning diverse disciplines.

These skills include, but are not limited to, writing, verbal communication, interpersonal skills, reading comprehension and critical

thinking skills. They are cultivated through an approach that is intended to expose students to a vast array of subject matter in order to establish a framework of cultural and human understanding.

Through this, students are able to develop diverse viewpoints and interests.

Indeed, a liberal arts education is premised upon the objective of making students well-rounded individuals.

So how does this translate into the real world? Why does it matter whether college graduates are wellrounded or not? The answer is that well-roundedness translates into versatility in the job market. College graduates that have studied a wide range of disciplines are likely to be able to fill in gaps that exist between more specialized fields. For every engineer or scientist seeking to publish his or her research, there must be an editor to review that work. For every large corporation seeking to globalize, there must be

translators to overcome language barriers. The current American job market requires candidates that are willing to adapt, rather than wait for a field-specific position. Liberal arts college graduates have the potential to be these individuals.

For example, a college graduate with an English degree is likely to have strong written and verbal communication skills.

Excellent communication skills are arguably one the most critical criteria for job candidacy in today’s job market. Bearing this in mind, there is a broad range of careers that would likely be an ideal fit for this candidate. Although the most obvious choices would be a career in writing or teaching, the broad-based nature of a liberal arts education is arguably far more advantageous than it is limiting.

In contrast, a college graduate with a business degree has worked toward developing skills specific to business-related fields,

whether marketing, finance or entrepreneurship.

Certainly, many jobs exist in business fields. However, due to the specificity of a business education, college graduates entering the job market with business degrees are likely to have less versatility compared to those with a liberal arts degree.

In terms of wages, a study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that wage differentials between careeroriented majors and liberal studies majors were almost completely eliminated within 10 years after graduation.

Having said this, it is crucial to bear in mind that specialty study, whether in engineering, business, education, etc., is essential in order to develop job candidates ready to serve critical roles in society.

However, liberal arts graduates serve equally important roles because of their ability to bridge the gaps necessary to maintain, elevate economic and societal functionality.

By no means should we as a society ever discount the value of specialty education and training, just as we should not condemn a liberal arts education. Instead, we should seek to recognize the value of having options that account for varied interests and strengths among students. One educational path will not suffice to cater to the needs of all students and eventual employees.

Students that choose to pursue a liberal arts education should embrace the direction they have chosen by using their broadbased education to their advantage. By emphasizing versatility rather than specificity, a college graduate with a liberal arts degree can find a niche for themselves in the job market. It is time that we stop viewing a liberal arts education as a limitation and start viewing it as a path to new opportunities.

Hannah Sleznikow (hsleznikow@wisc.edu) is a senior majoring in political science.

Insights gleaned from fake Dems Ryan Plesh Columnist What does it mean to be a “fake” politician?

I have to think that Machiavelli did not envision this when he wrote “The Prince.” The Republican Party of Wisconsin has managed to field six of their own to run as Democrats in primaries across the state this year.

Initially, their motivation was simply to be on the ballot for the primaries so that all general elections would be held on the same day.

Otherwise, without a primary challenger, some general elections would be held earlier on the same day as the other primaries, thus ensuring high Democratic voter turnout for the general elections. However, now some of those “fake” Democrats are planning to actively campaign for the primaries.

At first hearing this, it sounds totally ridiculous.

My first thought was: How is it fair for

politicians to pretend to be something they are not? Then I laughed at myself.

The open primary system in Wisconsin, which allows any registered Wisconsin voter to vote in any primary he or she wants, has created some interesting drama this year. At least in theory, the “fake” Democrats have just as much chance of winning as their bona fide counterparts because any eligible voter in the state can vote for them. Furthermore, because of this open system, the Government Accountability Board decided in their favor by letting them run precisely because Wisconsin does not require official party affiliation to run for a party’s nomination.

While this all may seem adverse to the democratic process at first, it really does not impinge it in any significant way. At worst, it effectively turns the primaries into general elections. So what?

Every registered voter is allowed to vote in them, and if the Democrats are too lethargic to even get out and support their candidates in the

primaries, then they deserve no defense. The primaries should be no problem for them, and if they are, then they were never going to win the general election in the first place.

Furthermore,

At worst, it effectively turns the primaries into general elections.

So what? and perhaps more importantly, the primary system is a sham anyway, and this exposes that to some extent. What does it even mean for a candidate to run as a Republocrat? To begin with, I don’t want to be so dismissive as to say that there is not a dime’s worth of difference between the parties, but it would be tough to get someone to take more than a quarter for it. Second, running as a legitimate Republocrat basically means that a candidate agrees to tow the party line and say the right things, and in exchange he gets funding and support from other candidates.

Why, though, do we continue to limit

ourselves to only two stifling options? This is the perfect opportunity to field a third option.

We have heard since last summer how fed up every one is with both parties; well, this would be the perfect opportunity to demonstrate that.

The leniency of the open primary system in Wisconsin permits an opening for unorthodox candidates to get on the ballot without having to sell their souls to either party.

Some people are up in arms about a Republican running as a Democrat, but what difference does it really make? It is still the same old game: one party gaming the system in order to beat the other. If we want to change the way things run in this state or just have a more productive conversation by having a more diverse field of candidates, now would be the time to find and support a candidate without ties to either party. If we cannot do that, then we get what we deserve: Republocrats.

Ryan Plesh (rplesh@ wisc.edu) is a senior majoring in philosophy and physics.

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.

ArtsEtc.

ArtsEtc. Editor Lin Weeks arts@badgerherald.com

7

The Badger Herald | Arts | Friday, May 4, 2012

Area group helps LGBT teens find peace through plays Proud Theater showcases series of skits in year-end show ‘Beyond’ Seung Park ArtsEtc. Writer Proud Theater, an arts organization dedicated to helping lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teenagers find peace through creative means, will kick off its yearend play, titled “Beyond,” at Memorial Union from May 3-5.

The play, which is composed of original skits produced by the teenage members of Proud Theater, speaks out on issues faced by the LGBT community. Skits can range from humorous, to dark to, occasionally

thought-provoking, said Callen Harty, community outreach coordinator for Proud Theater.

“The culminating show at the end of the year is the compilation of pieces the [teens] have created throughout the year,” Harty said. “We take the best pieces and create a show of 20 to 30 skits.” The bulk of the selections are theatrical pieces, but members occasionally submit written word submission as well as their self-composed music,” he said.

All of the skits presented

by Proud Theater are based on real-life experiences, Harty said. “We gather the youth together every week and trade theatrical pieces on their own life stories,” he said. “All of them are original.”

The average age of a

Proud Theater participant is around 15, although the organization has allowed kids as young as 12 to participate in its theater program. “Typically, the youth in our group tend to be more activist,” Harty said.

“They also want to be in a group with other kids who understand them.”

Although there are adults employed with Proud Theater, Harty said the role they play in the creative process is minimal. “As adults, we need to guide that [creative] process,” he said.

“But since it is created by the youth, they have more say in our organization.”

The program attracts both teens interested in professional theater and those who just seek a place to be free, Harty said. “We have kids who have never, ever done theater before,”

he said. “They are often incredibly shy, but they want to be part of the creation process.”

For 2012, the members of Proud Theater wanted to create a unique experience.

“The title is a reference to 2012 supposedly being the end of the world,” he said. “What if someone came from another planet and the whole world was ... destroyed?”

The annual themes vary depending on current events. Although humor is always a part of the yearend show, outside factors can determine what topics the students choose to cover. For example, the year Wisconsin decided to ban gay marriage saw an uptick in the number of serious skits being presented, Harty recounted.

The enormous amount

of creativity, coupled with a never-ending lack of material, keeps Proud Theater going, Harty said.

“We’ve been doing this for 13 years, and we haven’t come close to running out of usable material,” he said.

“There have been lots of really powerful skits and powerful pieces, in different years and for different reasons,” he remembered.

One production particularly stuck out in Harty’s memory. In a skit titled “The Gauntlet,” a character who is being bullied displays his inner wounds by wearing a velcro vest. Every hurtful word the bully says is added to the vest, and the play culminates with the main character throwing off his vest and walking away. “He was carrying those hurtful words, symbolically and

literally, wherever he went,” Harty recounted. “It was very powerful and moving.”

“We put on a very highquality production,” he added. “All of the mentors have been involved in theater for years. Not only do we want to help them share their stories, we want to do it in high quality.”

Proud Theater was founded in 1999 by a 15-year-old girl named Sol Kelley-Jones, who partnered with Harty to create a theater company that would speak for LGBT and racial justice. Proud Theater was the end result of combining her passion for theater with her support of LGBT rights.

“The goal was to change the world through theater,” Harty said. “We’re a very unique theatrical and youth organization. We’re basically non-hierarchical.”

Jones sings songs of tormented love With murderous hands, prolific musician plays varied tales of ‘Little Broken Hearts’ Bennet Goldstein ArtsEtc. Reporter “She hates a lot of things that I do but she’s my woman, boy. My woman, and do you know why? Because she needs a man, a real man — not some gutless boy” — “Mudhoney” (1965).

Recalling the conflict between an abusive husband and his wife in the film “Mudhoney,” Norah Jones’ (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar) fifth solo album Little Broken Hearts ponders the tension between infidelity and selfconsuming desire. Jones adopts the image of the femme fatale by recreating the film’s theatrical poster on the album’s jewelcase.

Although her starlet features suggest girlish innocence, Jones’ pursed lips and gritted teeth reveal her sinister intentions. To her talent for plucking black and white piano ivories and coils of guitar wire, Jones adds murder and chloroform.

Born to renowned sitar player Ravi Shankar, Norah Jones has traveled far since her debut. Her first album, Come Away with Me (2002), garnered eight Grammy awards, placing Jones firmly into the American jazz canon. However, Jones has consistently demonstrated her talent for thriving in multiple music genres. With The Little Willies, Jones performed country ballads;

with the late Ray Charles, blues standards; with Talib Kweli, hip hop jams. Her work is prolific. Nearly every year, Jones has released an album, either solo or collaborated. She has made multiple cameo appearances on television and starred in a feature-length film.

Many reviewers have described Jones’ darkening tone within her lyrics.

However, it would be a mistake to view her gravity as one-dimensional. Jones’ previous solo album, The Fall (2009), addressed heavy themes in humorous ways, comparing the follies of passion to “Chasing Pirates.”

In the track “Man of the Hour,” Jones concludes that the ideal man is, in fact, a dog. Similarly in much of Little Broken Hearts, she imbues humor into sadistic lyrics by delivering them playfully.

Jones follows a classic narrative arc — each track pushes the story along. Act one begins with the scene of Jones’ departure from a burnt-out romance in “Good Morning.” Yet, even as she recognizes its clear failure, she is also attuned to her reluctance to make the decision to leave: “And maybe powerful actions/ Or powerful feelings/ Will keep me from going,” Jones admits. She has revisited this issue multiple times, as her “thoughts on leaving/ Are back on the table.”

Photo courtesy of Blue Notes

Whether on piano or guitar, Norah Jones mines deeply felt themes of failed relationships and romance for emotion and dark humor. Her new album follows a traditional arc, as each song moves the story.

Jones finds resolve in her anger, expressing it in the title track “Little Broken Hearts.” But while she ponders this feeling during “Say Goodbye,” Jones experiences guilt like a repeated blow to the face. She admits to her indiscretions and describes parables learned through infidelity. “Well, it ain’t easy to stay in love/ If you can’t tell lies.” Neither she nor her partner leaves their relationship untarnished.

Jones’ internal conflict continues to saturate the second half of the album, at times appearing bipolar.

When she finally does leave

during the song “Out On The Road,” she concludes that the only way to escape destruction is to remove any trace of her relationship altogether. This includes the original source of her partner’s temptation: his mistress, “Miriam.”

The haunting climax of Little Broken Hearts is Jones’ moment of vengeance.

She becomes sociopathic, singing of the happiness that murdering Miriam will bring: “Oh Miriam/ That’s such a pretty name/ And I’ll keep saying it/ Until you die/ Miriam/ You know you done me wrong/ I’m gonna smile when/ You say

goodbye.”

Little Broken Hearts explores a messy conjunction of feelings.

Jones applies truisms and tropes to her experience, making them personal and shamelessly public. She is able to transform them into cohesive patchwork.

Jones clearly did not enjoy the experience, yet the album still revels in her selfdestruction. Spun through her breathy alto, Jones has fallen and effectively dragged the listener down with her.

By the end track, “All A Dream,” we are dazed without a resolution to

Jones’ pain. One thing remains clear, however.

Like Sidney Brenshaw in “Mudhoney,” Jones knows she can never fully detach.

“You never hurt/ Someone who wants to learn/ To be your slave.”

LITTLE BROKEN HEARTS Norah Jones

THE BADGER HERALD PRESENTS CLASS CRITIC

Success of ‘Twilight’ saga no mystery: classic romantic tropes Tim Hadick Class Critic Columnist You either hate it or love it. The series that has grossed more than $2 billion at the box office is set to release its fifth and final film this fall.

Yet, even during this long lull between parts one and two of “Breaking Dawn,” it seems like you can’t sit in a dining hall without hearing the word “Twilight” at least once while you’re there.

“The Twilight Saga” has a massive following of Team Edwards and Team Jacobs that has led to its cultural and economic influence across the world. But what is it about “Twilight” that made it into the multi-billion dollar franchise it is today?

As films, each piece of

“The Twilight Saga” has many aspects of an attractive indie flick. Set in a very hipster area of the country, there’s an air of carefully thought-out artistic direction throughout each film meant to bring audiences into an alternative lifestyle. Shots of beautiful Washington forests and coastlines are set to music just obscure enough to be considered not-mainstream but still by well-known artists with wide fan bases to keep soundtrack purchasers feeling like part of a community. The films master creating a mood of peace and suspense at the same time. Even during battle sequences there is a calm that is almost unsettling and gives audiences a shiver, as if Edward had just touched them with his icy hands. This adds a level of depth that is subtle, albeit not unique, but that’s almost sensual and helps maintain the flow of the films.

Complaints about the “Twilight” series stem

mainly from its plot and how it relates to traditional images of vampires and relationships. Edward’s sparkling skin has been the butt of countless parodies in all forms of media. The emotional ups and downs of Bella and Edward’s relationship are also hammered on, but there is an appeal in why they are attracted to each other. Edward is attracted to Bella because of her “scent,” something inside her — i.e. her blood, but this could also be read as her essence — and not because she is the most stunning woman in the room.

Being the awkward kid at school and suddenly having someone as “hot” as Edward not only come to your rescue but trust you enough to reveal all his secrets is very appealing. Edward is strong, sophisticated and can provide for her.

This does open the discussion as to whether “The Twilight Saga” is a parallel for an abusive relationship in

which Bella is dominated by Edward. Graeme McMillan highlighted a very eyeopening list by LiveJournal user kar3ning in io9 in which kar3ning blatantly states Edward is controlling Bella.

Kar3ning has many good points, including how Edward has thrown Bella across a room, but the fundamental fact that Edward is a vampire is ignored. Things are very different for Bella as a human who often must trust Edward’s judgment because she is in his world.

As a participant in a human/ human relationship, Edward would have a lot of explaining to do for his actions. But the series’ plot details how Edward is guiding Bella into a different world; as a vampire, he must take the lead because of his lack of weaknesses Bella could exploit. This is not “Fright Night” — Edward loves Bella and is not trying to use her for his own purposes.

The evolution of Bella and Edward’s relationship was

purposefully modeled after the ideals of the Mormon religion by novel series author Stephenie Meyer.

Bella and Edward abstain from sexual intercourse until after they are married, and both of their struggles against natural urges are clear with Bella’s longing stares at Edward and his battle against his lust for her blood.

While a majority of readers aren’t Mormon, abstinence in the series can be seen as a form of respect. Both are willing to wait until after they are married because of the potentially disastrous effects of Edward’s monstrous thrusts. Their abstinence is, to an extent, blatant religious propaganda, but the flipside — Edward waiting for Bella’s sake — is selfless and touching.

Behind many of the more ridiculous plot points in “Twilight” is the love triangle in which Bella finds herself with Edward and Jacob. Being fought over by two beautiful people,

both of whom you can imagine having a meaningful relationship with, has a very strong appeal, if some massive emotional drawbacks as well. Bella probably couldn’t have gone wrong with either option, but she chooses brains over brawn in the end.

The acting in the series is nothing special, but it does play to the blank-stares-andopen-mouths-are-sexy craze.

Really not much else to talk about in this department, so let’s wrap this up.

In the end, “The Twilight Saga” is written on basic romantic principles under the guise of a serious look at vampire politics and interactions. The appeal is visible — all the “Twilight” movies are easy to get sucked into, but some obviously take to it more than others.

Tim Hadick is a sophomore majoring in Japanese and journalism. You can email him at thadick@badgerherald.com or tweet him @RealCollege.

Comics

Hello, Mifflin! Goodbye, Dignity!

Noah J. Yuenkel comics@badgerherald.com

8

The Badger Herald | Comics | Friday, May 4, 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: The Police Horse Slap Shuffle (and subsequent arrest)

CLASSIC YOURMOMETER

HERALD COMICS

PRESENTS

K

A

K

U

R

O

baby@badgerherald.com

STEPHEN TYLER CONRAD

yourmom@badgerherald.com

LAURA LEGAULT

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.

C’EST LA MORT

paragon@badgerherald.com

PARAGON

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

DIFFICULTY RATING: Getting out alive sober

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

MADCAPS

HERALD COMICS 1

2

madcaps@badgerherald.com

MOLLY MALONEY

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bagged

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BUNI

pascle@badgerherald.com

RYAN PAGELOW

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CROSSWORD

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vegetables

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35 Part of a

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Flintstone’s yell

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36 Consumes

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impolitely

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43 Winged 39

44 Gas unit

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RANDOM DOODLES

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random@badgerherald.com

ERICA LOPPNOW

45 Pirates’

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hangout 46 Starbucks has one

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60 61

49 Get a divorce

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50 Make right

Puzzle by Joe Krozel Across 1 Pet subject 9 Presents itself 15 “My

PRIMAL URGES

primal@badgerherald.com

ANDREW MEGOW

pleasure” 17 Dubious

letters 41 “The Black Cat” writer’s inits.

42 “Yesterday,” e.g.

claim after

47 Really tick off

crying wolf

52 Funny

18 They may be

55 Let go to pot?

carted around 56 1991 Jackie 19 Defense option

MODERN CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT

DENIS HART

mcm@badgerherald.com

Chan film 60 Sign

20 Enough, to

words often

Étienne

accompanied

22 Grammar subject 23 Guamto-Tahiti dir.

25 Common canal locale:

THE SKY PIRATES

COLLIN LA FLEUR

skypirate@badgerherald.com

spot?

37 Unlikely

of store

27 Much paper,

in 1970s

originally

tyranny

28 Compassion

7 Giant among Giants 8 Words before

30 Formed

department

congress

9 Drop ___ (be 31 N.B.A. great suggestive) 10 Dreaded believer?

symbol 61 Megillah book 62 One may get printed

table 12 Not peruse 13 Actress Watson 14 Admitted to a doctor’s office

Down 1 One of the

16 More or less follower

Pointer Sisters 21 Mrs. F. Scott

one’s business

3 They’re in the

and others

40 Old English

one another

Fitzgerald

wails

29 33-Down, for

problem or

2 Some vaults

39 Weeps and

colloquial?

6 First name

place to take 38 Promise, e.g.

51 Sign of a nar26 Rather

Thomas 32 Pirates’ hangout

rowing path 52 John Paul II, e.g.

53 “Beowulf” or “Gilgamesh” 54 See 5-Down 57 “Tell Me More” broadcaster 58 Runner with a hood 59 Valuable stuff in a pocket

by an airplane 11 Put under the

Abbr.

29 Great red

Down, kind

first draft

22 Like many

4 Kind of

monograms

porridge

on clothing

5 With 54-

24 Arrange for

Get today’s puzzle solutions at badgerherald.com

Rocky the Herald Comics Raccoon™ Can’t drink in Mifflin Street, can’t be in the backyards or on the porch of a stranger’s house.

But the cops didn’t say anything about being under the porch.

Sometimes there are distinct advantages to being a raccoon.

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

9

The Badger Herald | Classifieds | Friday, May 4, 2012

EMPLOYMENT

FOR RENT

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Positions are available in the food service department which includes our concessions stand and sub shop. If you are interested and would like to fill out an application please stop by the gift shop and pick one up or you can download an application on our website www.vilaszoo.org and drop it off at our food stand.

Spacious four bedroom near Kohl Center. Newly remodeled with loft and large porch. Laundry, heat, and water included!

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Classifieds

FOR RENT

Signing over lease in Lucky Apt. for NEXT SCHOOL YEAR $895/mo for single bedroom in 4 bedroom apt. Female roommates. Contact 847 373 1730 or pselman@wisc.edu for info SUMMER SUBLET: large one bedroom in a two bedroom apartment at 619 W. Mifflin St. for Summer 2012. Great location, excellent management company, easy-going roommate. $400/month OBO. Available 5/21/12. Email bdmiller2@ wisc.edu for more details.

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Sports FIAMMETTA, from 10 past several years.

Seau’s suicide links him with two other former NFL players who have taken their own lives in the past 15 months.

Former Atlanta Falcons safety Ray Easterling committed suicide in April, while ex-Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson shot himself in the chest in February 2011.

Prior to his death, it was reported Duerson texted family members a request to have his brain tissue examined for the damage found in other retired players.

Three months later, Duerson’s brain was found to have the same trauma-induced disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, as more than 20 deceased players.

Regardless of where the debate — both Slate’s and the overall dialogue on player safety — goes, conversation on the matter is the most pressing need for football.

The circumstances of Seau’s death, with a gunshot to the chest, immediately echoed those of Duerson’s. They also pushed the current debate over player safety to an all-time high. Since Commissioner Roger Goodell took over in 2006, a variety of rule changes have been implemented, including tightened regulations on legal tackles and the shortening of kickoffs to make returns safer.

Helmets and other player equipment have also undergone rigorous and repeated testing to ensure the highest safety possible in such a violent sport.

Nevertheless, more than 1,500 retired players have brought legal action against the NFL, claiming the league hid the dangers of concussions from them. More than 100 ex-players filed a new suit Thursday, including former Atlanta Falcons All-Pro running back Jamal Anderson.

All of these circumstances are tragic causes for legitimate and much-needed conversation. Tuesday evening in New York, Slate/Intelligence Squared will hold a debate with the motion “ban college football.” In support will be Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Friday Night Lights author Buzz Bissinger and The New Yorker’s Malcolm Gladwell.

Against the motion will

be former NFL defensive end and broadcaster Tim Green and Fox Sports national columnist Jason Whitlock.

The debate has been scheduled for some time, making its timing suddenly intriguing given Seau’s death. At the forefront of the debate will be the significant medical issues facing the sport, though other issues such as institutional corruption and whether collegiate athletes should be paid will also come into play.

Of course, college football isn’t going anywhere any time soon.

In all likelihood, it won’t ever be “banned.” More likely — or at least more feasibly — a serious backlash spurred on by concerns over player safety and compensation will drive corporate sponsors away and ultimately diminish the sport to the level of boxing, horse racing and rugby.

At least, that’s how other writers more established and in-theknow than myself have theorized the demise of college football. Back in February, four days after Super Bowl XLVI, Grantland even ran an article by two economists with the headline, “What Would the End of Football Look Like?”

The article attempted to explain how such demise might come about through, obviously, an economic perspective.

It was, unsurprisingly, met with widespread criticism.

Regardless of where the debate — both Slate’s and the overall dialogue on player safety — goes, conversation on the matter is the most pressing need for football. Specific reforms, whether that means the elimination of kickoffs and/or helmets or something else, won’t come today, tomorrow or next week.

As a student journalist who hopes to one day join the real, meaningful discourse on the topic, I’m hopeful such conversation on the safety of football grows both in popularity and intelligence. Twitter arguments or any other simpleminded back-andforth might generate headlines, but that’ll be it.

Though the Slate debate might, to some, seem radical, it’s a tremendous step in the right direction.

Let’s hope more come afterward, for the sake of the sport, its players and its fans.

Mike is a senior majoring in journalism.

Have any thoughts on player safety in football?

Feel free to share them with him on Twitter @ mikefiammetta.

MICHIGAN, from 10 average of 1.86 — 40 points better than the next contender. Their ace, Haylie Wagner, is widely considered the best pitcher in the conference with a league-leading 1.46 ERA and league-high 25 victories.

The Badgers’ offense will surely have its hands full but is looking beyond the tough competition.

With some hot hitting lately, junior third baseman Shannel Blackshear has now eclipsed the .300 batting average mark, the seventh player to pass that mark.

Though some robust pitching is on the weekend slate, the UW offense is ready for a battle.

“We’re just going to have to put the ball in play and also work the count,” Mueller said. “If you get to

DIRTIEST, from 10 Gentle Clowns are poised to exert dirty bird-crushing dominance.

“The options to fill the cleanup spot are honestly a bit overwhelming right now,” Rainey said. “You could put in a classic like Addie “Snuggles” Blanchard, but I’m not sure if she really cares to show up after dominating the past couple years. Personally, I think Taylor Nye looks like our best choice. She strikes out less than an athlete at the KK and can really drive the ball with the best of them. Plus her strike zone is smaller than Nick Korger’s GPA.” Usually, cleanup duties would by default go to the greatest Clown of them all, Signe Brewster, but the leader of the blue and white has mysteriously vanished once again from the ranks of the Herald office.

Brewster could not be reached for comment.

Pitching on the mound for the Gentle Clowns will be fan-favorite and bluecollar legend, Associate Sports Editor Ian McCue. McCue was drafted out of his Jamestown, Va., high school by the Washington Nationals in 2009. His fastball rivals that of Jennie Finch —

two strikes, and you battle eight pitches off, maybe you strike out. But the more we make them throw, the better off we’ll be.”

It has been some time since the Badgers played a nationally ranked team — they lost to Oklahoma State 1-0 March 18 — so the excitement level about this weekend has definitely increased. Michigan will be the first ranked team to play at Goodman Diamond this season, so the Badgers are anxiously waiting to see how they stack up.

“Our hitters are excited about the challenge,” head coach Yvette Healy said. “Everybody loves to play the best teams in the country, and when you get a top team like Michigan to come to your place, it’s very fun.”

Wisconsin will look to continue is remarkable home winning streak of

13 games, adding to the program record with each victory. A pair of wins would set another program record with 35 total season victories.

A series victory would not only help their Big Ten standing, but would also provide a great boost to the Badgers’ NCAA tournament resume.

Wisconsin has not qualified for the 64-team field since 2005 and currently ranks 46th in the national RPI, good for second-best in the Big Ten. Having not defeated a top 25 team yet, dropping anything more than one game would represent a serious blow to UW’s postseason chances.

Wisconsin will definitely have the home crowd behind them, with extra incentive, as Sunday is also senior day. Usually a designated player, Karla

Powell is the lone senior on this year’s Badgers squad.

Above all, her teammates and coaches want her to end her career at Goodman Diamond with a big victory.

“It would be huge,” Healy stated. “She has given a lot to the team and the program. It would be tremendous [to win] and help her put her stamp on the program.”

Powell was a First-Team All-Big Ten selection last season and has spent the majority of 2012 battling injuries, finding little time in the lineup. Her teammates will be ready to see her perform against the Wolverines Sunday, hoping for a little senior day magic.

“You want to win for her in the first place, and then you want to see her excel,” Mueller said. “She hasn’t hit a home run all season, but I have a feeling it’s coming.”

whom he dated for several years — while his changeup evokes the deceptive “super slow-mo” pitch in the classic computer game “Backyard Baseball.”

“Yeah, I played against Russell Wilson in minor league ball last spring,” McCue scoffed as he sipped some Beer 30 with a patronizing tone. “After I was done fanning him I could see why he stuck with football. I’d be in the majors by now, but I blew out both of my knees playing pickup basketball with Mike Fiammetta last semester. Guy plays as dirty as he looks.”

If McCue’s reconstructed knees can’t hold up or the brash pitcher is already comatose from his notorious pre-Mifflin training, the Gentle Clowns have a plethora of other “Stretch Armstrong” aces, including Lin “Sanity” Weeks and Eric “Billiard” Wiegmann.

Wiegmann, a gangly engineer who fantasizes about the day Chicago’s sports teams will win a championship, is excited to try out his newly perfected Cobra pitch. With rumors of the Cobra’s development brewing for months, Wiegmann showed off his new pitch to a select group of friends in a workout

Thursday.

The Dirty Birds know they are in for a long afternoon, especially after Managing Editor Nico Savidge announced he would be limited to the bench once again this year. Early reports indicate he sustained minor facial scratches in a fit of rage after confusing the Herald’s annual satirical issue with the actual Daily Cardinal.

underperforming relievers.

“It’s not so much about skill,” DC Editor-in-Chief Kayla Johnson said. “We believe good things come in small packages in all aspects of our work. We can only hope Kleist finds the confidence to get the ball across home plate.”

While the Gentle Clowns have a solid roster, some key faces may be missing due to injury. Sean “Wolfman” Kirkby is out (full moon), Elliot Hughes is probable (Keystone Light/Asian Kitchen-induced hangover), Kelly Erickson and Leah Linscheid are questionable (Milk Duds overdose) and Reggie Young is doubtful (hemorrhoids).

Former supreme leader of the journalism school, Professor James Baughman has agreed to oversee the affair. Baughman wanted to make clear that he would not pick favorites since he was officiating the game, but did indicate that if the Daily Cardinal’s daily coverage is a sign of the potential outcome, the Gentle Clowns have nothing to fear.

“I just want to call a fair game,” Baughman said. “Sure, I can control their grades in the end, but I don’t need anyone to get mad as a wet hen.”

“I just want to call a fair game. Sure, I can control their grades in the end, but I don’t need anyone to get mad as a wet hen.”

James Baughman

Professor

“I may or may not have realized my mistake while brushing my teeth,” Savidge said. “I may or may not have lost control of my toothbrush.

No one can confirm that the bristles caused my injury.”

Matt Kleist is expected to step on the mound for the Dirty Birds with a reported 8.63 ERA, but the Daily Cardinal is making sure they stock up a cadre of

Sports Editor Elliot Hughes sports@badgerherald.com

10 | Sports | Friday, May 4, 2012

SPORTS

What a bauss.

Former Badger and NY Ranger Ryan McDonagh racked up 53:17 of ice time Wednesday.

UW hosts Michigan

Wisconsin welcomes conference leader this weekend in key Big Ten title race matchup Sean Zak Softball Writer With just six games remaining, the Big Ten softball title race is finally starting to take shape, and for the first time in program history, the Wisconsin Badgers will have a major say in how it ends.

Although the Badgers currently reside in a tie with Iowa for fourth place, they trail Nebraska and Purdue by just a half game each and conferenceleading Michigan by a single game. A successful weekend would do wonders for the Badgers’ standing, so Michigan’s trip to Madison is perfect timing.

The Badgers will open play with a doubleheader against the Wolverines Saturday, followed by a single-game finale Sunday afternoon.

Following last weekend’s tough showing against Purdue, Wisconsin used three mid-week victories to rebound as it heads into this weekend’s set. The Badgers’ grueling series in West Lafayette, Ind., is far from mind now as Wisconsin feels it is mentally prepared to compete with the top team in the conference.

“It’s all about the mindset,” sophomore outfielder Mary Massei said. “Even though last

weekend was a hard loss for us, it didn’t faze us at all. We’re ready to get right back to what our goal is.”

At the beginning of the season, the goal was not necessarily to win the Big Ten championship, but as the schedule progressed, Wisconsin worked its way near the top. On April 2, the Badgers were 3-3 and in the middle of a heap of mediocre conference teams, but as the weeks wore on and the wins poured in, the conference title came into focus.

“After we swept Minnesota, I think a lot of things started clicking,” sophomore first baseman Michelle Mueller said. “We started to realize that we have the team to do it this year.”

Michigan will bring a heavy dose of prowess to Goodman Diamond throughout the weekend.

The Wolverines have spent a large majority of the season in the top 25 national rankings and currently sit at No. 23.

Michigan has won the last four Big Ten regular season titles, and any team standing in its way of number five will surely get a run for its money.

The Wolverines possess far and away the league’s best ERA, with a team

MICHIGAN, page 9

Megan McCormick The Badger Herald

Currently batting .341 and knocking in 25 runs so far this season, sophomore first baseman Michelle Mueller has been a key contributor to the Badgers’ productive offense in 2012.

Gentle Clowns face dirtiest of birds Badger Herald looks to cap off legendary 2011-12 sweep with sweet, sweet victory Carl Golden Everybody’s Friend When words fail to decide disagreements, the human race has found a much more primal way to decide its differences. It’s a sport riddled with has-beens, glory-seekers and drunk college students as both sides struggle to hack away at a slow moving ball the size of a grapefruit.

Yes, the game of softball can heal all wounds and open existing ones as well.

In a classic showdown, the Gentle Clowns (1-0) of The Badger Herald will square off in softball against the Dirty Birds (0-1,000) of the Daily Cardinal Friday afternoon at the illustrious and goose-crap ridden haven that is Vilas Park.

After passing down a historic 19-13 victory in the intra-campus newspaper football game this past Zhao Lim The Badger Herald fall, the Gentle Clowns The Gentle Clowns of The Badger Herald will look to capitalize on their dominance gracing the football field last fall with another beat down of the notoriously lackluster DC softball lineup. hope to cement their total

domination over their “Little Sisters of the Poor” on campus.

Associate Copy Chief Sarah Witman isn’t taking this challenge lightly. After training for this past fall’s BH-DC football game by benching with the likes of mega-hulks Chris Borland and Mike Taylor in the weight room, the junior has taken a more subtle approach to preparing for this year’s softball rivalry.

“Just taking plenty of creatine, HGH, muscle milk and I also had some gene therapy over spring break,” Witman screamed over the whine of an industrial blender, beside which laid a few questionable syringes.

“I’m really irritable right now and may be growing a handlebar mustache. I’ve been hitting up the SERF, getting ready to become a human pain machine.”

While Witman struggles to keep her rage contained within her small yet powerful frame until Friday afternoon, master architect of the Saints’ bounty program and chief strategist Ryan Durkin Rainey has worked diligently to make sure the

DIRTIEST, page 9

Seau suicide inspires much-needed debate Mike Fiammetta Mike’d Up I never knew Junior Seau, nor did I know much about him as a person prior to this week.

I was well aware he was an All-Pro linebacker who spent several seasons (13, to be exact) with the San

Diego Chargers. There, he forged an identity as a talented, relentless linebacker that persisted throughout the duration of his 20-year career.

Seau entered the NFL in 1990, the year of my birth. Consequently, I was much more familiar with the latter half of his career.

When Seau, after a threeyear stint with the Miami Dolphins, signed with the New England Patriots in 2006, I remember questioning the wisdom of acquiring a then-37-year-old linebacker who seemed to

be at the end of his career.

Yet Seau proceeded to play the next four seasons with the Patriots, remaining a solid contributor, especially for the first two.

His “veteran leadership” was consistently displayed beyond the typical usage employed by sportswriters everywhere, as Seau was one of those players who wore his emotions on his sleeve and didn’t have to tell people how much he loved the game.

Wednesday morning, Seau was found shot to death in his home in

northern San Diego County.

Police said Seau’s girlfriend found him unconscious with a gunshot wound to his chest, with a gun found nearby. No suicide note was found, but by Thursday night the medical examiner’s office had ruled Seau’s death a suicide.

A near lock to join the Hall of Fame, remembrance of Seau highlighted his brilliance as a player who was beloved by teammates and coaches — consistently observed over the course of his two decades in the league. As several news

reports this week have recalled, Seau’s trademark intensity manifested itself from his first days in the league, as he was ejected for fighting in his first exhibition game as a rookie.

Those closest to Seau almost unanimously shared testaments to his ebullience off the football field — a trait that isn’t hard to see in him but one that might’ve been obscured by his identity as a pro football player. Wednesday, USC’s athletic department — Seau’s alma mater — released a poignant tribute

video showing highlights of his college career paired with his ukulele rendition of the great Eric Clapton song “Wonderful Tonight.”

Fittingly, the footage of Seau’s ukulele performance was shot the day of the Trojans’ spring game less than a month ago.

Seau’s unfamiliar off-field persona quickly formed an unfortunate parallel with the unseen dangers of the sport, which have garnered a much wider media presence over the

FIAMMETTA, page 9