'Free & Fair' - Volume 50, Issue 10

STUDENT MEDIA AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2018 · VOL 50 Issue 10 · BADGERHERALD.COM

Free & Fair

In the wake of Russian interference throughout the 2016 election, experts weigh in on the security of Wisconsin voting systems and the vulnerability of social media platforms leading up to the November midterms. pg. 12

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Ahead of midterms, UW experts share their perspectives on the education platforms of Wisconsin’s gubernatorial candidates.

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SINGER PREACHES SELF LOVE

Amara La Negra addressed social media usage, progressive movements and embracing onself.

Herald Public Relations Public Relations Director Social Media Coordinators

Aidan McClain Jill Kazlow Izabela Zaluska

Herald Advertising Advertising Director Advertising Executive

Jacob Bawolek Patrick Williams

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William Maloney Matt O’Connor Riley Liegel Jacob Bawolek Aidan McClain Peyton David Emilie Cochran Lucas Johnson Aly Niehans Izabela Zaluska Kristin Washagan Patrick WIlliams

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The Badger Herald Editorial Board shares its candidate choices for gubernatorial, U.S. senate, attorney general and state assembly.

FORMER MLB COMMISSIONER BUD SELIG TALKS LEGACY

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Selig used to run professional baseball during its most contentious time period —now he teaches history part-time at UW

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UW sees increase in international graduate student enrollment

Despite nationwide drop, UW has been an exception to a wider trend thanks to academic opportunity, experts say

by Gretchen Gerlach City Editor

While fewer international students are choosing to pursue professional degrees in the United States, the University of Wisconsin is an exception to the national trend.

According to a report by the Council of Graduate Schools, enrollment among international graduate students is down for the second year, but there has been a slight increase in enrollment at UW. The research institution saw an increase in international graduate student enrollment from fall 2016 to fall 2017, with a rise from 671 students to 725.

Parmesh Ramanathan, Associate Dean for the UW Graduate School, said pinpointing an exact reason as to why UW is bucking the trend in international student enrollment is hard, but he hopes it has something to do with the unique programs and opportunities offered at UW. “We have been increasing the number of masters programs targeted towards international students,” Ramanathan siad. “The programs are designed to attract the interest of students working towards professional degrees.”

Roopa Rawjee, Assistant Dean of Students and

Director of International Student Services, said international students are focused in many areas of study. Every year the university sees an ebb and flow of majors depending on students and their interests, she said.

Because UW is known for its high quality of education as a research institution and professional school — a factor that international students are keenly aware of — research focused degrees in sciences, education, business and economics are common, Rawjee said.

The institution’s location, how it ranks among other schools and the cost of living and tuition are all additional factors that international students weigh when considering whether to pursue a degree in the U.S., Rawjee said.

“Madison wins out by far in terms of cost effectiveness and in terms of education,” she said.

While the Council of Graduate Schools did not identify one specific reason for the nationwide decline in international graduate students, there is speculation that the U.S.’s current political climate and immigration policies may be a deterrent for prospective students.

Recent news articles about restrictions on travel and employment authorization have caused

concern for international students and their families about investing in an American education, Rawjee said. Students see a lot of negative press about immigration, and many would rather study in countries where they feel safe and are offered better opportunities.

Ramanathan acknowledged that US politics may have something to do with the decline, but also pointed to the availability of visas and the cost of living in the U.S. as other possible impediments.

“If they choose to study in the U.S., many students have to come on visas that do not allow them to work,” he said. “Many have to support families based on fellowship or assistantships from the university they study at.”

Securing a visa and supporting a life in the U.S. are just some of the many challenges international students face. While many challenges are similar to those of domestic students, including health, finances and family responsibilities, being uprooted from their home country can pose additional challenges, like adjustment to American culture and English language proficiency, Rawjee said.

Rawjee explained that some international students feel added pressure and responsibility, as individual achievement and success is tied to

family in many international cultures.

Because of these factors, international students tend to be very focused, hard-working and less involved in extracurricular activities, Rawjee said.

“We see many international students who do not fit into [this] stereotype,” though, Rawjee said.

“We continue to see smart, talented, motivated students who are engaged in many activities and take advantage of many opportunities available at UW Madison.”

Post-graduation plans are also necessary for international students to consider, as they must decide whether to return home or stay and work in the U.S., Rawjee explained. The decision to return home for work is highly dependent on the economy in an individual student’s home country, she said, and how difficult it will be to get employment authorization in the U.S. “Student’s do not want to struggle,” Rawjee said. “They will go where they have the best opportunity.”

According to Rawjee, total UW international graduate and undergraduate students come from 130 countries, with many coming from China.

Other top countries include Malasia, India, South Korea and Indonesia.

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Experts assess education policies of Walker, Evers ahead of midterms UW professor believes Walker has flipped on education, preaching to invest more money into the system after ‘backtracking’

by Nuha Dolby Reporter

Throughout Walker ’s tenure as governor, he has frozen tuition at all of the UW System campuses for six years in a row, with plans to extend the freeze for an additional four. This marks the first multiyear tuition freeze in UW System history.

But Witte said this policy has an unintended consequence that concerns

Dresang said Walker, backtracking from previous statements, also appears to now be in favor of the state funding two-thirds of K-12 education, which is something former governor Patrick Lucey introduced and former governor Tommy Thompson held onto before it was dismantled by successor Jim Doyle, Dresang said.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers and Gov. Scott Walker have been battling it out in the 2018 gubernatorial election, with education being a topic of contention.

Dennis L. Dresang, Professor Emeritus of Public Affairs and Political Science and founding director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs at University of Wisconsin, considered Walker ’s history in the education sector to be very divisive.

When Walker first took office, he noted public school teachers as being overpaid and underworked, Dresang said.

Dresang cited Walker ’s 2011 Act 10 as a piece of legislation which has received media and general public attention, both previously and again during the current election.

The act, among other things, limited collective bargaining rights of teacher unions and redacted funding for public education. Dresang said it served as a key point of contention between Walker and those in the public education sector, with teachers’ health care costs soaring and a lawsuit being filed this past February, claiming Act 10 violates free speech.

“There were big demonstrations Photo · Education has been an contentious topic for Walker and consequences could follow because of flipped opinions. and protests,” Dresang said.

“People were very concerned Joey Reuteman about public education generally The Badger Herald under Walker, but more specifically the divisions he was creating by depicting teachers as the people from both the Democratic side and Evers, Dresang said, has always been in enemy.” within his own party. favor of this policy.

Where this comes into play in the 2018 “Traditionally in the state of Wisconsin, When it comes to Evers, Dresang said election, Dresang said, is how he believes Republicans have been the people who he has certain blocks of support that have Walker has altered his positions. Over wanted to put money into the roads,” Witte kept him in office as Superintendent. the years, Dresang said Walker had been said. “Democrats have tried to raid road “Evers is superintendent, a nonpartisan backtracking on public education, whereas funds in order to do more for social issues. job ... Having said that, Evers, like a lot of he now wants to put more money towards I-90 is even downright dangerous — the predecessors, is in office primarily because the issue. accident rate there has doubled in the past he gets the support of teacher unions and John Witte, Professor Emeritus of few years.”

Democrats,” Dresang said. “It’s, in fact, Public Affairs and Political Science at UW Witte said this issue becomes more more partisan than the Constitution would and Faculty Affiliate at the Institute for relevant when conversations arise about lead you to believe.”

Research on Poverty, said that Walker ’s where tuition funding could go. If tuition He added that Evers supports both position on higher education is obvious. costs are raised, that money could be investing more into the UW system “His policies on higher education seem put towards fixing the roads which is and allowing people to refinance their pretty clear,” Witte said. “He’s tried, in his something he claimed many people from student loans, statements corroborated by administration, to keep tuition constant.” different political sides want accomplished. Evers’ campaign site.

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Dresang believed a lot of the interest in education funding in the state comes from sources other than concerns about the classroom.

“I think that people’s feelings are driven [more] by what’s happening ... with funding, and it’s related to property taxes,” Dresang said. “The main way we fund public education is through property tax: how can we fund public education without property taxes going through the roof?”

Witte said it was important to note that Evers has been involved in the K-12 establishment for his entire career, which is why people within the establishment think very highly of him.

Tony Evers discusses school funding, future of WI public school system Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tony Evers discussed school funding in an interview while his opponent and Republican incumbent Gov. Scott Walker Read...

Witte added that another challenge for Walker is the fact that he is running for re-election for his third term, which he stated is not an easy term to win.

Regardless, for some, the candidate’s individual policies, education or otherwise, may have little to no effect on how they vote, Witte said. He stated some people will not be swayed and different regions of Wisconsin will vote for the types of candidates they would vote for typically.

This means the North Shore will sway towards Walker, while Madison will swing Evers, Witte said. It is a small fraction — “maybe 5 percent” — of the undecided voters who Witte believes will decide this election.

Witte also added both Evers and Walker have run relatively neutral campaigns, making it harder to tell who has the edge. “[The ads] have been fairly issueoriented, [they] haven’t been direct attacks on each other ... They’re upstanding characters, but neither is a rockstar out there,” Witte said. “Nobody’s got that flamboyant personality that would attract people to them like moths to a lightbulb.”

The gubernatorial election, along with the Class I U.S. Senate seat and other state and local elections, will occur Nov. 6, 2018.

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Voters to answer referendum questions on marijuana legalization Public opinion data to be gathered during midterms from 16 counties in state could be used to lift or increase marijuana restrictions

by Veronica Kuffel Reporter

During the 2018 midterm elections, Wisconsin voters will participate in the national debate of legalizing medical and recreational marijuana by answering referendum questions at the polls to determine statewide policy.

In 16 Wisconsin counties and two cities, voters will have the opportunity to answer referendum questions on their ballots come Nov. 6. Marijuana is currently only available for people with a seizure disorder and updated documentation — outlined in the CBD-only bill. However, the results from the referendum will influence how the state government addresses marijuana.

Democratic Representative Melissa Sargent has been an advocate for medical and recreational uses of the product. Back in July 2017, Sargent proposed a bill to bring legalization to state Legislature, and continues to work with other like-minded Wisconsin politicians to promote it.

“I am very much in support of

legalization,” Sargent said. “I think the most dangerous thing about marijuana in Wisconsin is that it is illegal.”

A recent Marquette law school poll shows that regardless of party affiliation, 60 percent of Wisconsin residents support legalizing and taxing marijuana. Sargent is interested to see how this data will compare to the referendum results.

While not all questions will be the same across the 16 counties, they will address the major details of the debate. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the following counties will see these referendum questions.

Milwaukee, Dane, La Crosse and Rock will discuss legalizing marijuana for adults ages 21 and older for personal use. Single ballot questions will ask about taxing and regulation of sales.

Brown, Clark, Forest, Kenosha, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, Marquette, Portage and Sauk will have questions referring to possible medical use only.

Eau Claire and Racine will have legalizing

recreational and medical uses as well as taxation on their referendums. Racine voters will also have one additional question about the decriminalization of marijuana. Finally, Waukesha will answer questions about marijuana for medical purposes.

According to Sargent, these are advisory referendums, which means they are only taking polls on the public’s opinion. While they won’t lead to any immediate changes, the questions will help legislators Photo · Questions will revolve around legalizing medical marijuana, recreational craft new laws usage and taxing. associated with marijuana and even Marissa Haegle consider passing The Badger Herald Sargent’s proposed bill.

Several studies have revealed the Sedgwick worked for a 501c law firm over benefits of medical marijuana in treating the summer that is approaching marijuana mental illnesses such as anxiety and legalization from a business perspective.

“My one hesitation is that there’s no depression. It’s also proven to be a safer way to properly test for DWI’s, and that’s a alternative to addictive painkillers like opioids, and marijuana could lead to a huge problem for me,” College Republicans drastic decline in Wisconsin’s current member Sara Sedgwick said.

But while marijuana could provide new opioid crisis. economic opportunities to Wisconsin, the But College Republican Representative Charles Mueth suggests that this could new market creates tension on the state’s famous beer distributors. According to lead to an entirely new problem.

“I think there are cases when medical Sedgwick, legalization of marijuana would marijuana helps people, but there are other lead to a large decline in alcohol sales, and the brewing companies would suffer great painkillers out there where for recreational losses with the competition. And as one of use, they’re not allowed,” Mueth said.

As for recreational marijuana use, Wisconsin’s major exports, this could create Sargent and many other legislators complications within the state’s economy.

The referendums will voice the Wisconsin find that marijuana could cause large public’s overall opinion of marijuana, and economic stimulus from taxes and could provide well-paying jobs to Wisconsin research from the Marquette Law School workers. Less dangerous than cigarettes showed that results may lean toward and alcohol, Studies from the University legalization.

Because voters answers will be of Notre Dame show that people are more anonymous, political affiliation will play likely to use marijuana than to drink less of a role in answers. alcohol. The study was on the substitution “I think it’s past time that we join the 26 effect which found that people choose other states around the country, many of marijuana over alcohol. them bordering the state of Wisconsin, and According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, this decreases remove the prohibition of marijuana on our state and invest in true economic stimulus the likelihood of drunk-driving accidents.

College Republicans member Sara in our community,” Sargent said.

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UW researcher reflects on stem cell breakthrough 20 years later As anniversary approaches, UW professor James Thomson recounts success of stem cell derivation within embryo

by James Strebe Campus Editor

Few people will have the same highprofile chance to influence the world as directly as University of Wisconsin’s James Thomson. Most people will never see their names printed in textbooks or see their work have an influence on politics.

This was the case for Thomson, who made news around the world in Nov. 1998 when he and his team became the first to derive human stem cells from an embryo. Thomson said that he didn’t have time to revel in his accomplishment.

“You’re just so concentrated on getting things out and all the stress involved in that and knowing the press storm that was going to follow it,” Thomson said. “You’re more concentrated in the moment. Afterwards it’s pretty satisfying, but during the actual [process], not as much.”

Thomson is just as muted when he talks about the state of stem cell research 20 years after his breakthrough. Several human

clinical trials with stem cells have begun or have very nearly begun, but Thomson said that it’s not surprising that stem cell treatment has not progressed beyond this point.

Given how novel stem cell treatments are, 20 years seems like a reasonable time frame, Thomson said.

“The press overhyped the timeline,” Thomson said. “Everybody thought this would lead to cures tomorrow, but that’s not how cures work.”

Dennis Clegg, a professor at University of California Santa Barbara, is among those who have begun human clinical trials using stem cells. Clegg is working to create a treatment for Age-Related Macular Degeneration, the leading cause of blindness among people over age 50.

AMD results in the death of retinal pigment epithelium, a support cell for the eye’s rods and cones, which causes blindness. Clegg and his team have discovered how to grow RPE, which will ideally stop and reverse the effects of AMD.

Currently, Clegg’s research is in the first phase of human clinical trials and the lab-grown RPE has been implanted in 15 patients. It was Thomson’s breakthrough that made this trial and others like it possible, Clegg said.

“I think a lot of people advised him, ‘don’t do it, it’s too risky, it’s too political,’ but he went ahead and did it and it’s made all these approaches to helping patients possible,” Clegg said.

Thomson’s breakthrough was seen by some people as controversial. Pope Francis has publicly condemned the use of embryonic stem cells because deriving embryonic stem cells requires the destruction of the embryo.

Thomson said he experienced some of this controversy firsthand. Thomson’s paper was published in November and

by January he was testifying before the Senate.

But the experience was a remarkably positive one, he said. Former Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, who brought Thomson to Washington had done his homework on the subject and asked very relevant questions, Thomson said.

Ultimately, the senator became a public champion of stem cell research.

Thomson also met with Tommy Thompson, who was Wisconsin’s governor at the time. After the two met, Thompson publicly supported stem cell research during his State of the State Address, though he has somewhat modified his position as of 2011.

Dr. Lorenz Studer is studying the effectiveness of stem cells as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease, a nervous system disorder that affects movement. In Parkinson’s disease, neurons in the brain begin to die and break down, resulting in an inability to produce dopamine within the brain.

Studer and his team have generated around 10 billion clinical grade neuron cells using embryonic stem cells. Studer said that he hopes a single injection of these cells into the brain of Parkinson’s patients would be enough to restore their dopamine levels to natural levels for the rest of their life.

Studer likened stem cell therapy to gene therapy, which had resulted in massive breakthroughs for immune system diseases — after nearly 30 years of research. Studer cautioned against reading too much into early breakthroughs before they had been applied to a large population.

Photo · Thomson succeeded in his research amid ethics controversy.

Jeff Miller Courtesy of UW Communications Despite the possibility of setbacks in the years to come, Studer said he remains optimistic about the potential of stem cell medicine. In the future, he imagines that stem cells will lead to treatments for degenerative diseases, the ability to create large, stem cell-generated tissue structures and advancements in preventative medicines. Already, stem cells have proven to be most useful in creating human cells and tissue for research, such as drug screening and safety, Thomson said. While Clegg said that it’s important to be realistic about the limitations of research, but he remains an “eternal optimist.”

“I mean, the sky’s the limit,” Clegg said.

“Imagine: you could make brain cells and treat Alzheimer ’s or Parkinson’s, you could create heart cells and treat heart disease.

There are just so many different approaches and we’re just in the beginning phases of this research and I think we’re going to see amazing advances in the near future.”

Thomson said that he expected the coverage to die down after a few months, but the controversy and the press that came with it stuck around. Thomson said that talking to the media hasn’t gotten any better, but he has gotten really good at not talking to the media. Thomson said that now that things have finally settled down, he can appreciate the accomplishment.

“It’s really only now I can look back and say, ‘well that was nice, glad it’s over,’” Thomson said.

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A Candlelight Vigil for Pittsburgh

Photo ¡ Hundreds of students and community members gathered on Library Mall Monday to share messages of unity and solidarity to combat anti-Semitism in response to the massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue which left 11 dead.

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New strain of Wisconsin yeast used in ‘wild’ lager, UW research University to partner with Wisconsin Brewing Company in effort to develop new lager, collaborating with staff, students

by Azul Kothari Reporter

Nowadays many people don’t enjoy their beer warm, but for most of the past couple thousand years, warm beer was the norm, according to Kirby Nelson, a brewmaster at the Wisconsin Brewing Company. After all, the predominant yeast species used at the time to brew beer, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, thrived primarily at room temperature and above.

That all changed in the 15th century, when a mystery South American yeast species combined with S. Cerevisiae to make the yeast hybrid that produces lager, the most commonly consumed type of beer. Unlike its parent species, the hybrid performed well at low temperatures, a game changing advantage, according to University of Wisconsin geneticist Chris Hittinger.

The cold temperatures at which lager was

“[S. Eubayanus]

has turned out to be quite important because it was the missing link of lager brewing.”

Chris Hittinger University of Wisconsin geneticist

brewed significantly reduced undesirable microbial contamination that had previously existed in warm brew beers, resulting in a crisper, cleaner flavor profile.

In 2011, UW researchers at the Hittinger Lab and their collaborators achieved a major scientific breakthrough when they successfully identified the mystery strain of yeast that hybridized with S. Cerevisiae so many years ago, a distantly related Patagonian species known as Saccharomyces Eubayanus, Hittinger said.

Then, a few years later, the researchers isolated a strain of S. Eubayanus right here in Wisconsin.

The local yeast strain, found in Sheboygan, may not seem like much, but it sits at the front of major innovation in the world of lager brewing. In an unlikely partnership between UW researchers and Wisconsin Brewing, the two groups are using S. Eubayanus to make Wisconsin’s first ever ‘wild’ lager, and the 8 • badgerherald.com • October 30, 2018

second of its kind in North America. educate the public and learn more about the lager project this semester after working at “[S. Eubayanus] has turned out to be quite natural world. the Hittinger lab over the summer. Miller says important because it was the missing link “First and foremost, we are driven by that working in a lab gives her perspective of lager brewing,” Hittinger said. “That’s discovery and teaching us about the planet on the differences between research in an why people are interested in brewing with it we live in, but we do pay attention to when academic setting and research in the private now. All lager brewing uses the interspecies the discoveries we make have practical sector. hybrid, but nobody really used the pure wild implications,” Hittinger said. “We try to make “In a lab setting you’re really zoomed in version of it.” sure that when we have discoveries that have and get to see unique features on a smaller According to Beeritey, a beer enthusiast potential for application out in the real world, scale, but in industry you have to be way blog, lagers are made by first extracting we have partners who can use them in a fair more practical,” Miller said. “There you have an enzymes and sugar-filled liquid from way that benefits the local economy and the to think of a lot more variables because you’re barley to produce wort, a precursor to university system.” going to make a beer that someone’s going to beer. Next, the wort is prepared and thrown The collaboration between UW and drink. Your goal is different.” into a fermentation vessel with yeast, allowing Wisconsin Brewing has opened the In the lab, Miller works as a liaison between it to ferment at a cool temperature. door for many students to participate in the lab and industry, while at the brewery, she For the most part, the process for brewing research. In fact, Wisconsin Brewing’s works as an intern, assisting with the research beer with wild yeast is not much different relationship with the university began with and design of the wild lager brewing process. from brewing with the domesticated, an 18-student fermentation studies class Hittinger predicted that the public will hybridized yeast used in lagers around where individuals from Wisconsin Brewing react to the wild lager like any other consumer the world, Nelson said. However, once the taught students about the beer brewing product. Some individuals will love it, while ingredients are inside the fermentation vessel, process, said Nelson. The students were then others will avoid it. the fermentation process for the wild yeast given the opportunity to design and brew “What’s the attractiveness of wild lager? strain follows a slightly different path. their own beer.

It’s for someone who wants a little more than Wild yeast consumes less sugar than their As the relationship between the university just something cold in a can that they can slug domesticated counterparts, and release and the company evolved into the wild lager down at party,” Nelson said. “Here’s “smoky, clovey” flavors into the mix, resulting research arrangement, students continued to something that’s really different: it’s got in a sweeter, more distinctive taste, Hittinger be involved, Nelson said. serious historical precedent, and there’s said.

Junior Caroline Miller joined the wild nothing like that in the market right now.”

Currently, the wild lager is two weeks into its fermentation process at Wisconsin Brewing.

Nelson said he is still unsure of how the beer will turn out.

“People keep on coming down to me and asking, ‘How is this beer going to taste?’ and I tell them ‘I don’t know, it’s kind of up to this yeast,’” Nelson said. “Two weeks in, I like the flavor. It’s got a slight Belgian ale characteristic in it.

It’s pretty drinkable, but it’s not done.”

As a matter of policy, Hittinger said his lab assigns all intellectual property to UW’s designated intellectual property agent, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, as a means of ensuring that the university system and the public own the rights to the research conducted in the lab.

Currently, WARF maintains the intellectual property rights to the Sheboygan yeast strain, Hittinger said.

Although collaboration Photo · Lager is two weeks into its fermentation process with Wisconsin Brewing Co. and students assisting with research and between the private sector design of the final product. and UW research does occur, Hittinger described the goal of The Badger Herald Archives his lab’s research as primarily to

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Water inequality gets its time in limelight during ‘Displaced Horizons’

Third event funded by The Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies grants rare look into disparity of resource from broader perspective

by William Lundquist ArtsEtc. Staff Writer

The scarcity and inequality of water is not an issue frequently talked about in America, as the vast majority of people in our country have no problems accessing clean water. For the most part, water is taken for granted where we live.

While regions in Palestine are only receiving 100 liters of water per day, hundreds, if not thousands of people in Los Angeles are lounging in their backyards, not even using their swimming pools.

“Displaced Horizons,” a multimedia project funded by The Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies, challenges the notion that water should be taken for granted and explores issues of water inequality around the world through a variety of artistic mediums.

The third and most recent event hosted by “Displaced Horizons” emphasized the use of music to explore the meaning of water and featured a concert-long performance of one piece.

The seventh-floor gallery of the George L. Mosse Humanities building supplied chairs and pillows for everyone to sit on, but the event was more well-attended than the organizers had planned. Many stood around the performers while the musicians were in a circle facing one another. Different pieces of artwork reflecting an aspect of water hung on the walls accompanied by infographics conveying water scarcity statistics.

On either side of the room, videos were projected on the walls, played on a loop. The videos displayed drone shots of both flowing waterfalls and dry landscapes affected by drought or water scarcity.

The musicians were situated in the middle of the room, with the audience dispersed around them, sitting on pillows. This created an intimate but comfortable setting which made the performance feel informal and allowed the audience to relax. Many closed their eyes while listening to the music, accentuating a clearly intentional decision to make the event seem less like a concert and more like a collaborative project exploring the social and political issue of water scarcity.

The music that took up the majority of the event was bizarre and hardly sounded like music. The score featured an upright bass, saxophone, full percussion set, clarinet and flute. Each instrument was heavily used to create its own, unique sound, ideally representing water. Notably, each instrument’s sounds flowed into the next, and the sound never fully stopped, bringing the concept of water to life. To emphasize the flow of the music, the sound would crescendo, quickly becoming softer, and then replaced by another instrument before fading out.

The music was quite dissonant and abstract throughout. Yet while each instrument was doing something radically different, there still seemed to

be a cohesiveness to the performance. The music had a mysteriousness to it, and while listening, the setting felt like a jungle or somewhere deep in the wilderness, with all the foreign sounds fading in and out of earshot.

Composer Rob Lundberg spent a lot of time researching the subject matter of his music: water.

He tried to experience it in many different settings to fully understand how water influences sound and gather inspiration from it. He said he would bring his bass down into the bottom of a well and play there. Lundberg spent a lot of time sitting by streams, waterfalls and dams taking notes of water patterns and sounds.

With the music he wrote for the “Displaced Horizons” event, Lundberg wanted there to be an end result to his process. “[The goal was to] take all the ideas about water and water infrastructure and express them sonically,” Lundberg said.

The most compelling aspect of the event was not the music, but the other ways in which “Displaced Horizons” contributors explored the issue of water inequality and the political systems which leave their own mark on the issue. One of the events main organizers, Alexandra Lakinde, described the work that “Displaced Horizons” has been doing.

“We have been working in multiple contexts — musical, sociological and topographical,” Lakinde said.

Her statement was reflected by the variety of ways water scarcity was presented, both through images, as well as maps and infographics.

One of the cartographers for the gallery was present at the event and wished to remain anonymous due to the political nature of their work, but provided some context for their maps displaying the water disparity in Israel. The cartographer then drew comparisons to water disparities in Palestine and Gaza.

In a system of what the cartographer referred to as “water apartheid,” Israel’s government is drilling deeper wells in Palestinian villages than they do in their own, depleting the water table and creating uneven access to water. Furthermore, the Israeli military shattered a water pipeline supplying a Palestinian village with fresh drinking water and irrigation for farms. According to the cartographer, these two cases are clear illustrations of unequal access to water.

“Displaced Horizons” is undoubtedly an ambitious project, spreading awareness about water inequality through many different forms of art. It was probably one of the most unique events a student can attend on campus all year, due to the bizarre musical performance being paired with an important global issue. The event will make onlookers question how they think about water, and the alarming injustices being done to those who deserve access to clean water.

Entertainer Amara La Negra talks colorism, social media impact ‘Love and Hip-Hop: Miami’ star discusses physical insecurities, proudly embracing her own Afro-Latin background while advancing career

by Emilie Burditt ArtsEtc. Staff Writer

Amara La Negra discussed her struggles as an entertainer in the Afro-Latin community Thursday in University of Wisconsin’s Memorial Union.

La Negra is a philanthropist, model and actress, who appears in the show “Love and Hip-Hop: Miami.”

In Latin, “Amara” means “eternal beauty,” La Negra said. The name also means “cinnamon skin,” which she said makes it the perfect name for herself.

La Negra grew up in the entertainment business. She said her mom entered her in beauty pageants as a kid, and she finished her first pageant at age one. La Negra worked as a backup dancer, acted in commercials for Disney, sung and modeled — all at 27-yearsold. La Negra credits the success to her mother.

“Thanks to [my mom], I’m here today,” she said.

La Negra said with her social media following she can make her voice heard.

She wishes more artists would be more vocal about issues that impact in their communities.

Anyone can make a difference, La Negra said. She explained people can unite their forces and their knowledge through peaceful means to make a change.

“You have to be a part of the movement,” La Negra said. “People will listen if you talk.”

La Negra said wishing for change is not good enough. She thinks social media has made people lazy, but she thinks the platform can be used thoughtfully. For example, La Negra said it is okay to complain about President Donald Trump, but asked, “What are we doing to stop it?”

“If you want to see a change you need to be part of the change,” La Negra said.

La Negra makes sure to give everything her all, partly because she said women like her aren’t given the same opportunities because of their looks. For a long time, La Negra hated her “thunder thighs” and “big butt.”

She said she wanted to look like the models in the magazines, meaning she wanted to be long, thin and have a flat stomach.

It’s about building confidence, La Negra said. For La Negra, she said her hair is her energy and her crown. She changes it a lot, but only lets her mom touch it. La Negra said it’s not about the products, it’s about the energy. She doesn’t care if there are a few hairs out of place — she likes it for how it is.

La Negra overcame her insecurity — although she mentioned it still exists — by accepting who she is. That meant accepting her curves and the texture of her hair. La Negra said if someone says they don’t like her, she thinks “I didn’t ask you.”

The woman of many talents won’t ask anyone for a comb or shampoo. For almost everything, La Negra feels she can do it herself. She said she’s a self-starter and brought her own success.

“Stay in your lane,” La Negra said.“I got this.”

La Negra said it’s easy to lose oneself and their identity by caring about what people think, so she tries not to. She also said we don’t always know what someone has experienced, so it’s important to “breathe it out,” if someone is ignorant.

A lot of negative feedback La Negra receives revolves around the color of her skin. La Negra said colorism still exists, and with everyone having access to smartphones, hurtful people have the power to exploit it on social media.

La Negra said she’s been told — sometimes through social media comments on her work — that she’s too black to be Latina or too Latina to be black. She’s even been told she couldn’t be both.

But La Negra said she knows who she is, which is both black and Latina. She told the audience she has no question about this. La Negra doesn’t care about society’s beauty standards — she knows she’s beautiful.

“If nobody tells you you’re beautiful, you better know that you are,” La Negra said.

At the conclusion of her on-stage interview, La Negra gave an appropriate performance for the audience, singing a few of her songs, including “Insecure.” There was a backdrop for the audience to see the lyrics, and she encouraged everyone to stand and dance with her — embodying the inclusive spirit she’d preached all night.

October 30, 2018 • badgerherald.com • 9

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‘The Everyday Feminist’ presents ideas with compassionate dialogue Wisconsin Union Directorate hosts discussion coordinated with art gallery at Memorial Union encouraging engagement with topic through activism

by Melissa Simon ArtsEtc. Associate Editor

The Wisconsin Union Directorate collaborated to sponsor “The Everyday Feminist: Doing the Dishes” art gallery, which was displayed in Memorial Union’s Main Gallery this weekend. WUD organized an accompanied dynamic discussion, “Let’s Talk Feminism,” to debrief with artists Kate Schaffer, Jaymee Willms and Melissa Dorn about their intentions behind the art and their general beliefs about feminism.

Xinyuan Yang, Associate Event Director of the WUD Society and Politics committee, said WUD provides those with a voice a valuable platform.

“As a member of WUD, I hoped to provide the platform to give people a better understanding of feminism and the great ideas and positive attitudes surrounding it,” Yang said.

Schaffer distributed two handouts at the beginning of the discussion to help inspire and spark ideas. One included personal writings from Ana Mendieta, a Cuban American performance artist, sculptor, painter and video artist.

The paper read, “It is only with a real and long enough awakening that a person becomes present to himself, and it is only with this presence that a person begins to live like a

human being … I know that it is this presence to myself, this self-knowledge which causes me to dialogue with the world around me by making art.”

Mendieta’s inspiring words convey the strong influence that art exercises in society.

Her words explain how art is the result of a spiritual activity of man and its greatest contribution is to the intellectual and moral development of man.

The second handout was extracted from “Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches” written by Audre Lorde. The chapter is titled “Poetry is Not a Luxury” and describes poetry as a means of communication and eventually a way to initiate action.

Lorde states, “For women … poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence.

It forms the quality of light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first made into language, then into idea, then into more tangible action.”

It’s important to get in the habit of performing small tangible acts to make a change in the world, Schaffer said. People should focus on changing personal aspects of themselves in order to become better humans.

For example, being conscious of the language and words you use, such as the correct pronouns to identify a person, is one small step to making the world a more sympathetic place.

Though relatively small, the discussion

was fervent and educational. The artists led the conversation, but everyone had the freedom to share their own opinions and express their beliefs at any point.

Willms explained the power of active everyday participation by reminiscing about a conversation she had with Schaffer as they created and decorated posters for the most recent feminist march.

Willms’ poster contained bright pink bubble letters with sparkles, while Schaffer simply used a black sharpie to convey the message.

Whether it’s grand and screams feminism or simpler and to the point, everyday action comes in all different forms. At the end of the day, all action matters and contains valuable meaning.

Willms discussed the importance of humanizing people who perform a service for you because it will “open a door.” For example, customers at restaurants should always ask their server what their name is as an effortless act of respect.

The artist said people should show others they are appreciated and that they value them for taking the time to invest in you emotionally. Just saying thank you holds

weight because emotional labor is something that’s not prized. Thanking people becomes an act of feminism, Willms continued.

Dorn’s comments reflected on her personal experiences and focused on the necessity to allow women to make decisions for themselves, rather than dictating and forcing “good intentions” upon them.

Dorn’s understanding of feminism includes being supportive of everyone around you. She spoke about how crucial it is to acknowledge your mistakes if you ever notice you made someone feel “less than.”

The combination of the three artists and those who attended the discussion contributed to a zealous conversation about feminism. The art gallery inspired people to make a change in the world and the discussion debriefed on specific action to move forward with.

Art is one way to give activists a voice to make a statement and a difference in this world. Art can help send important messages to others about prevalent issues in society. Though the art gallery is no longer open at Memorial Union, the inspiration left on those who had the opportunity to see it remains.

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Good boys of Madison assemble for first annual Dog Costume Parade

Celebrating Halloween not limited to mammals with two feet as event brings joy to both canines, humans alike on Monroe Street through rain

by Eleanor Bogart-Stuart ArtsEtc. Staff Writer

As children and parents prepare for upcoming Halloween festivities and college students wind down from the excitement of the weekend, this past Sunday marked the first time in history that the canines of Madison had a day of their very own to participate in the fun.

The first annual Dog Costume Parade took place at Monroe Street on Oct. 28 for a brief, but exhilarating hour. The slight drizzle and grey skies did nothing to hinder the infectious smiles on the faces of both dogs and dog owners as they made their way from Michael’s Frozen Custard stand to the MadCat pet store.

“It was not easy to get Molly

into that costume. There were a lot of treats needed for that.”

Erika Eisman Service dog owner

Although the parade was relatively small, the dogs made up for it with their wild costumes and high energy. Tiny terriers, massive retrievers, and even a wiener dog in a baby carriage all came together for an amusing jaunt down Monroe Street.

“I’ve had Baxter for three years. I thought this was a great opportunity to show off his costume while contributing to a great cause,” Kasey Schneider said, owner of mixed-breed Baxter.

All participants in the parade had to pay an enrollment fee, all going to the Dane County Humane Society. The humane society is an organization that, according to their website, “provides refuge, healing, and new beginnings to over 9000 companion, farm and exotic animals.”

Those who did not bring a dog to the parade were still welcomed with open arms — and paws — by the participants. After petting through most of the procession, there was a heartwarming family who caught my attention because of their matching Wizard of Oz costumes.

Father and daughter Erika and Nelson Eisman were dressed as the Scarecrow and Wicked Witch of the West, respectively.

Their Shiba Inu, Suki, was dressed as Dorothy, while their Scottish Terrier, Molly, dressed up as Toto.

“It was not easy to get Molly into that costume. There were a lot of treats needed for that,” Erika Eisman said.

While Molly seemed uneasy in her getup, Suki the Shiba Inu was natural in her blue gingham dress. As it turns out, Suki only models dresses in her free time.

Her full-time job is working as a service dog for Eisman. She was found at HiJinx, a Shiba Inu breeder based solely in Madison.

“We actually are friends with the owners of her brother. We meet up with them all the time and they get to have playdates,” Erika said.

Erika’s father also happens to volunteer at the Dane County Humane Society. He explained that they take in animals not only left behind by their owners but ones that would be put down at kennels or shelters. The society takes in any and all creatures.

While meeting the rest of the dogs, it was easy to see how much each pet meant to their “parent.” All of the dogs, big and small, played vital roles in the owner ’s lives which were eagerly explained.

“Those who did not bring a dog to the parade were still welcomed with open arms — and paws — by the participants.”

The dogs’ value didn’t have to be justified, you could see it with your own eyes. The canines’ small walk through the neighborhood not only brought joy to the owners, but to the people of Madison.

Both adults and children on Monroe Street were grinning from ear to ear by the time the parade had passed through.

If there’s one thing to take away from the parade and its diverse and fascinating participants, it’s how important dogs are to people whether it’s acting as a service dog or just bringing a little bit of joy into our lives on a day to day basis.

The Dog Costume Parade is one of the few times during the year that humans can return the favor.

Photo · Father and daughter Erika and Nelson Eisman were dressed as the Scarecrow and Wicked Witch of the West, respectively. Their Shiba Inu, Suki, was dressed as Dorothy, while their Scottish Terrier, Molly, dressed up as Toto.

Eleanor Bogart-Stuart

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Securing democracy: New technology, training methods aim to combat potential breach of 2018 Wisconsin midterm

Following Russian hacking attempts in 2016, Wisconsin officials look to upcoming election as first true test of improved voting technology and security systems

by Aly Niehans Print Features Editor

“Russians are looking for every opportunity, regardless of party, regardless of whether or not it applies to the election, to continue their pervasive efforts to undermine our fundamental values,” Dan Coats, director of national intelligence, said in August.

This statement followed almost two years of claims of Russian interference in the already controversial 2016 presidential election, claims that were quickly corroborated by evidence collected by both the FBI and CIA. Not only did these two independent organizations agree the Russians had intervened in the election, both the FBI and CIA concluded they did so with the intent of helping then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump secure victory.

Whereas 48 percent of those who voted in the 2016 election cast their ballots for the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, about 46 percent voted for Trump.

While the crux of democracy lies in the ability of the majority of the electorate to freely choose its officials, the electoral college threw a curveball to Clinton, political pollsters and the American people. Compared to Clinton’s 232 electoral college votes, Trump received 306.

Consisting of 538 electors, the electoral college adds an extra layer to American democracy, with a majority of 270 votes required to elect the President. Each state is entitled to a number of electors equal to the number of members it has in the House of Representatives plus two for each Senator.

Most states have a “winner-take-all” system that awards all electors to the candidate who won the majority of the votes, including Wisconsin.

This “winner-take-all” system was the decisive factor in overriding the popular vote in favor of Trump. Because he won several swing states, including Florida, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Trump received all of their votes in the electoral college.

Wisconsin, a predominately blue state in recent history, turned red in 2016, with more than 47 percent of the vote going to Trump.

However, Trump’s Wisconsin victory hinged on just 22,748 votes, or 0.76 percent of total votes cast.

In an election marred by accusations and evidence of attempted Russian hacks into voter registration databases and other voting technology, 22,748 votes is, for many, a number almost too small for comfort.

U.S. intelligence agencies say there is no evidence that vote tabulations were hacked in Wisconsin, a key swing state. This conclusion is reiterated by independent investigations conducted

by The Washington Post, which examined recount data that showed voting technology in Wisconsin treated candidates Trump and Clinton the same.

Theoretically, if there had been a hack to benefit or harm one candidate during the actual counting of the votes, the voting machines would have systematically over- or under-counted one candidate’s ballots more than the other.

But top election officials say Wisconsin’s voting systems were and still are vulnerable. Many of these officials point to simulations at an annual cybersecurity conference last July.

By the end of the conference, every piece of equipment used throughout the voting process, including systems similar to those in place in Wisconsin had been breached in some manner.

A hacker’s toolkit Attempted or successful Russian hacking did not begin, nor will it end, with the 2016 election. Ted Gerber, University of Wisconsin sociology professor and member of the UW Center for Russia, East Europe and Central Asia, said the Russian government had flexed 12 • badgerherald.com • October 30, 2018

its cyber muscles almost a decade prior to the 2016 election. “[Russia] had trial runs and they were very involved in Ukraine’s elections, in Georgian elections … in Montenegro and Hungary. A lot of this stuff started with the cyber attack on the Estonian government back in 2007,” Gerber said. “They’ve been pioneers at using web-based attacks and social media in order to influence elections in other countries.”

In 2016, these web-based attacks manifested in three main forms: Efforts to infiltrate political campaigns to expose sensitive information, probes of electoral systems to collect voter data and fake advertisements or profiles on social media platforms to spread disinformation within the American public.

These three main methods exploit an array of targets, including the Clinton campaign, social media users, the Democratic National Committee and voter information data.

As early as September 2015, the FBI contacted the IT department of the DNC, warning them that at least one computer had been compromised by Russian hackers. Six months later, Clinton campaign chair John Podesta received an email purportedly from Google, informing him another user had attempted to access his account and instructed him to click a link to update his password.

Podesta clicked the link and was redirected to a malicious website, where he changed his password, allowing hackers to access his emails and tunnel into the internal network of the Clinton campaign.

In this particular hack, and around 3,900 others, the Russian hackers were using a technique referred to as “spear-phishing,” a derivative of a more general “phishing method.”

Dave Schroeder, UW information technology strategist and cyber subject matter expert, said phishing is an all-encompassing term for the spam emails a person receives asking them for a changed password or to click on a link to receive an undisclosed prize.

“Phishing is very easy, you could do it yourself, anyone could do it,” Schroeder said.

But spear-phishing, he said, becomes more sophisticated and targeted. Instead of sending out mass emails hoping for a couple of clicks, hackers use spear-phishing to hone in on people or institutions from which they wish to extract specific types of information.

“Spear-phishing is when you’re actually targeting a person or an organization with customized emails for them, which might be something they’re expecting to get or it might look very legitimate,” Schroeder said. “Now, can you tell that these things are illegitimate if you really examine them? Yes. But it’s difficult for a person, whether it’s a senior official or someone who’s part of a campaign, to be able to tell that.”

In contrast to oftentimes blatantly fake or malicious phishing emails, spear-phishing attacks capitalize on something drilled into the heads of politicians, campaign workers and the general public: maintaining a secure presence online. Using different and inventive passwords for different accounts, keeping the passwords secret and other security measures are of utmost importance in today’s digital age.

If someone attempted to access a campaign manager’s account, as the fabricated email to Podesta claimed, the Clinton campaign would risk having their privacy and classified information compromised. The Russian hackers knew and exploited this precautionary tendency, successfully gaining access to Podesta’s email and to sensitive information about the Clinton campaign which was later published on Wikileaks, Schroeder said.

Following the infiltration of Podesta’s email and the successful hack of the Clinton campaign, Russian hackers turned their attention to the DNC, where hacking groups “Cozy Bear” and “Fancy Bear” tunneled into the DNC computer system. “[Fancy Bear and Cozy Bear] successfully got someone’s

credentials who was affiliated with those organizations so that they could get into the internal networks and access things they wouldn’t normally have access to just as an outsider,” Schroeder said.

Schroeder said Fancy Bear and Cozy Bear are examples of Advanced Persistent Threats and that these threat networks have been around for almost a decade, dating back to the 2008 RussoGeorgian war.

In addition to hacks of political organizations and campaigns, the Russian hackers probed the electoral systems of 39 states in 2016. In Illinois, the hackers attempted to delete or alter voter data.

Through their infiltration of software used by poll workers and voter information databases, hackers accessed information to use in their sophisticated social media campaigns of misinformation.

Deepening the divide A third front for Russian hacking and disinformation attacked the American electorate through sophisticated and targeted social media campaigns. Schroeder said because social media platforms profit from ad revenue, foreign actors are able to exploit this system, easily purchasing ads to spread certain ideas. In the vast majority of cases, there is no one vetting these ads for truthfulness. “[The Russian ads] were designed to get people angry, maybe to incite people to do or not do something, make them disgusted enough that they’re just going to stay home from the polls,” Schroeder said. “Or [the ads] were to get people to vote a certain way, to change their minds or just to get people to become disgusted with the entire political process.”

UW journalism professor Young Mie Kim, a leading expert on targeted political advertising and the Russian social media influence in 2016, elaborated on the Russian strategy for their disinformation campaign.

“If we analyze the Russian themes, they’re divisive issues: abortion, LGBT issues, the gun race, immigration, nationalism … the Russians exploited the existing cleavages in our society,” Kim said.

Instead of running a more traditional propaganda campaign that focuses on promulgating and pushing a certain agenda, the Russian disinformation campaign was targeting both ends of the political spectrum, Kim said. The disinformation campaign pitted the two political extremes against one another, creating a salient “us versus them” attitude voters carried with them to the polls.

The Russian social media presence also served as a way to distract and guide the public opinion to focus on certain issues rather than others.

“You can think about it as sort of a pollution. There’s so much information out there, so if we just think about the Russian disinformation campaign overall compared to all other media outlets, it might just be a small fraction,” Kim said. “But it’s like poison; you drop it in the water, and you pollute the entire system.”

In Wisconsin, a crucial swing state, this poison seeped into

voter’s Facebook and Twitter feeds as Russian hackers attempted to pollute public opinion. Kim said both Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, historically Democratic strongholds, were targeted

by Russian hackers and ultimately turned red in 2016 by a “razorthin margin.”

In these states, targeted Russian ads appealed to the identities of voters: their race, their political affiliation, their beliefs on social issues, Kim said.

“We found that almost 87 percent of anti-immigration ads were targeted at whites,” Kim said. “On the other hand, non-white voters received voter suppression ads telling them to ‘boycott the election, do not vote.’”

In the aftermath of the surprising social media presence and influence enjoyed by Russian groups, Kim reiterated the importance of transparency by the government and by social media companies.

Facebook launched a political ads archive, has started requiring advertisers to provide documentation proving they are based in the U.S. prior to purchasing ads and has added a “paid for by” disclaimer attached to political ads. These are all steps to ensure political ads are not purchased by foreign actors looking to influence public opinion to their benefit.

But these measures are just a first step toward true transparency.

Legislation regarding tech transparency stagnates in Congress, and the FEC has yet to provide a consistent set of regulatory guidelines, Young Mie Kim Kim said.

“Google, Twitter and Facebook, all UW journalism professor three major tech platforms, have some transparency measures that they didn’t have before and [have added] political ad archives,” Kim said. “But their policies are all different. What defines political ads [is] all different. So without consistency, it’s really hard to utilize that.”

If we analyze the Russian themes, they’re divisive issues: abortion, LGBT issues ... the Russians exploited the existing cleavages in our society.” “

Under lock and key As Wisconsin looks to the midterm elections next week, election security becomes a sensitive topic for voters looking to cast ballots in truly fair and free elections.

Incumbent Republican Governor Scott Walker has largely shied away from the issue of Russian interference in American elections.

Walker’s campaign did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Wisconsin election security going into the midterm election.

Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Tony Evers has also not publicly spoken on the issue very much. In an email to The Badger Herald, Evers’ campaign addressed Wisconsin voter security and processes.

Britt Cudaback, deputy communications director for Evers’ campaign, said protecting the right to vote hasn’t been a priority for Walker.

“We deserve a governor who will put government back to work for the people of Wisconsin, and we have to start by making sure our elections are secure and that every Wisconsinite has the opportunity to participate in our democracy,” Cudaback said.

Although neither gubernatorial candidate’s platform has been particularly concentrated on improving election security, Wisconsin elections were not immune from Russian hacking attempts in 2016.

Reid Magney, public information officer for the Wisconsin Elections Commission, said in 2016, there were two scans of Wisconsin firewalls with IP addresses linked to the Russian hackers.

“Nine million times a year, somebody somewhere around the world scans the state of Wisconsin’s firewalls looking for a potentially open door,” Magney said. “In 2016, two out of those 9 million scans came from an IP address that the federal government thinks is associated with the Russian government.”

These two scans did not target the Wisconsin Elections Commission, a government organization responsible for facilitating elections in the state. Instead, these scans targeted the Department of Workforce Development, probably to look for a backdoor into election data, Magney said.

These probes of Wisconsin data targeting the extraction of voter information happened in conjunction with the widespread Russian disinformation campaign on social media.

“These anonymous groups, including Russian groups, clearly targeted battleground states like Wisconsin [by] talking about identity, talking about values, targeting specific people and how they’re thinking to either suppress the vote or to encourage turnout,” Kim said.

While there are nervous tremors within the cybersecurity community about the security of Wisconsin voter information and election technology, Magney and the Wisconsin Elections Commission maintain that voters should have nothing to worry about come election day next week.

Magney said Wisconsin was taking measures to secure elections from potential hackers even prior to the 2016 election through “cyber-hygiene scans” conducted by the Department of Homeland Security. These scans help secure systems connected to the internet from weak configurations and vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers.

Following 2016, Wisconsin doubled down on efforts to secure its elections equipment and to improve the training of employees who interact with the equipment and voter information systems.

On the technological front, the voter registration system database has been encrypted, making the data meaningless to any hacker who could potentially access it.

Moreover, computers with access to the internal network now have multi-factor authentication. This means that, in addition to requiring the standard username and password, a FIDO key is required. A FIDO key resembles a USB drive, and must be plugged into the computer in order to gain access to its interface.

Finally, enhanced monitoring systems have been put in place.

In April, Congress appropriated $380 million to be distributed to states to improve election technology and security. Wisconsin received $7 million. This money, Magney said, has been predominantly used to establish six new positions focused on cyber security and for training Wisconsin clerks on using the existing system more safely.

“One of the big things we’ve been concentrating on is training Wisconsin clerks, the people who use our system, for everything from making sure they don’t fall victim to email phishing attacks, that they use good passwords, that they take the steps necessary to protect the system,” Magney said.

A large critique of Wisconsin voter systems comes from a simulation run at DEFCON, one of the world’s largest hacker conventions, called the Voting Village. In this village, participants attempted to hack more than 30 pieces of election voting equipment, most of which were identical or similar to systems still in use across the country.

By the end of the four-day conference, every piece of equipment in the voting village had been breached in some manner.

Magney, however, maintained that the Voting Village simulation at DEFCON is not as applicable to Wisconsin elections as critics have claimed. In this simulation, the election machines used were touch-screen Accuvote PSX machines, Magney said. In Wisconsin a similar model is in use, but it has a few unique and crucial differences to those used at DEFCON. Wisconsin machines use something referred to as a “voterverifiable paper audit trail,” which means that, although voters are using a machine with a touch screen to select the candidate they are voting for, their votes are also recorded on paper within the machine. Once a voter selects their candidate, they are able to confirm that what is marked on the paper within the machine is correct before finishing the voting process, Magney said.

In addition to the voter-verifiable paper audit trail, the machines used are “hardened,” meaning they are not connected to the internet, and are therefore more insulated from potential hacking attempts.

Finally, unlike the systems that were breached at the Voting Village, Wisconsin voting technology is kept under strict surveillance before, during and after the election.

“Before every election we do what’s known as logic and accuracy testing, to make sure that the machines are correctly programmed. All of the machines are sealed with number security seals; they’re kept locked up,” Magney said. “After the election, there are a large number of security procedures in place ... that ensure nobody is tampering with the results.”

While promising 100 percent security for an election is impossible, Magney said Wisconsin systems are much more prepared to handle potential hacking attempts come the midterm election.

Schroeder, however, cautioned that even a perceived infiltration of things such as campaign websites or pages where voting results are listed pose a real threat to election security and American trust in the democratic process.

“As soon as you have something like [one of these sites] hacked, a lot of the nuance and complexity of ‘well this isn’t really the voting system itself, this isn’t really the vote count’ kind of gets lost, because what people are going to hear is that these results were changed on the official website,” Schroeder said. “It all comes back to trust and integrity.”

Finding common ground With midterm elections just around the corner, the political landscape of Wisconsin hangs in the balance. Both the College Democrats and College Republicans view this upcoming election as crucial to the future of Wisconsin.

While they want to see different results come with Nov. 6, both Charlie Meuth, UW College Republicans chair, and Sam Schwab, UW College Democrats press secretary, agreed the issue is an important one heading into the midterm elections.

Schwab calls the initiatives the Wisconsin Elections Commission has implemented with the federal money it received a “step in the right direction” for the security of Wisconsin elections.

Meuth echoed this sentiment, and said any “attempted interference by any foreign governments into the integrity of our elections should be taken incredibly seriously.”

Wisconsin and other states have been tasked with improving election security, social media platforms with improving their transparency and accountability to their users, in two short years.

The 2018 midterms will be the first real test of these improvements, and the first chance to see just how big of a first step these institutions took toward remedying the slew of problems they were confronted within the 2016 election.

October 30, 2018 • badgerherald.com • 13

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The Badger Herald Editorial Board’s 2018 midterm endorsements In such a pivotal election year, the Editorial Board proudly endorses the following panel of esteemed candidates voting process accessible to all Wisconsinites, allowing all voices to be heard. According to Evers’ campaign website, this can be done, quite simply, by following in Oregon’s footsteps, where all eligible voters are automatically registered.

This would undo the registration process enacted by Walker under Wisconsin Act 23, which confuses many hopeful voters during the registration process.

By automatically registering voters, voter turnout will hopefully increase and allow more voices to be heard in elections — something that did not happen in the 2016 election under Act 23. An estimated 11,700 to 23,000 people did not vote in 2016 because of confusion over voter ID requirements, University of Wisconsin political science professor Kenneth Mayer said.

Evers is also dedicated to listening to and protecting those in the LGBTQ+ community — unlike Walker with his anti-

Gubernatorial: Tony Evers (D) It’s time for a change in the governorship of Wisconsin. Someone must bring new ideas and values to the state, and that person is Tony Evers.

President Donald Trump may have visited Wisconsin Wednesday to support Scott Walker, but the blue wave has the potential to elect a new state governor, with recent polls showing Democratic nominee Evers — the state Superintendent of Public Instruction — has a small lead over Walker.

Walker — who has held his position for eight years — has a history of opposing humane, compassionate policies. He enacted Wisconsin Act 23, a voter ID law which led to lower voter turnouts and has an extensive history of anti-LGBTQ+ policies.

One of Evers’ goals is to make the

U.S. Senate: Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin)

Designed by Emma Grezebach 14 • October 30, 2018 • badgerherald.com

If 2016 taught us anything, it’s that we should believe our politicians will behave in victory just as they behaved on the campaign trail. For all his flaws, Trump has been true to his word on one thing — that the presidential candidate would not be much different than the president.

Now, in 2018, Wisconsin voters have the opportunity to apply that lesson in a variety of races, including the battle for U.S. Senate, which pits incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, against state Sen. Leah Vukmir, R-Brookfield.

That both Baldwin and Vukmir will behave in office just as they have behaved on the campaign trail is well understood and anticipated. For Baldwin, this board takes comfort in that thought. For Vukmir, not so much.

Vukmir’s campaign has made national headlines on several occasions, but not for reasons any campaign should be proud of or that any potential voter should be impressed by.

In May, Vukmir’s campaign labeled her opponent as playing for “Team Terrorist” after Baldwin voted against Gina Haspel’s confirmation as CIA director. For that remark, she received a “Pants on Fire” dishonesty rating from PolitiFact. It was just one of three such ratings she has received in her career.

The PolitiFact point can’t be overstated. As of Oct. 25, Vukmir has received 12 ratings from the independent political fact-checker. None of them are labeled as “True,” and only three are labeled as “Half True” or “Mostly True.” The rest — 75 percent of all her PolitiFact ratings — have been

LGBTQ+ past. Even in 2018, Wisconsin still has not passed anti-discrimination laws to protect LGBTQ+ youth, according to the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ rights group.

Educating young Wisconsinites so they can propel our state and country in a positive direction is important, and Evers’ history in the educational system shows he knows what actions must be taken to make this a reality. Evers’ mission to increase investment in early childhood education will provide students with an appreciation for inclusiveness and diversity — something that’s much needed in our state, especially after Walker shredded education funding at an unprecedented level and cut UW system funding by $250 million over two years with his 2015-17 budget.

It’s time for a change in Wisconsin, and Evers’ substantial policy goals and inclusive ideology is exactly what Wisconsin needs. labeled as “False,” “Mostly False,” or “Pants on Fire.”

Putting any ideological and policy disagreements aside, voters — future constituents if that candidate is victorious — have the right to demand truthfulness and transparency from those seeking high office.

Vukmir has shown herself as more than just uninterested in honesty — she’s shown herself as willing to actively attack and corrode the vital trust that must exist between a people and their government, all in the name of a win that would serve only to further polarize an already divided electorate.

Not that ideological differences are inconsequential, though. A senator’s outlook on their role as a member of the party in power has to matter, especially considering the man who currently resides in the White House.

Despite her early declarations that Trump is “offensive to everyone,” Vukmir has since put aside her obvious reservations and has fully devoted herself to singing his praises at all times and on all issues. In the primary debates, Vukmir declined to criticize Trump on any issue. That’s not what Wisconsin needs from its senator.

This state needs — this state deserves — representatives who stand up for its interests and its people, not another Republican willing to be cowed at every turn by a president who has shown himself lacking the moral and political leadership we’ve come to expect from our elected officials.

But attacks on one’s opponent don’t necessarily equate to an endorsement, so

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enough about Vukmir. Baldwin is worthy of an endorsement in her own right, Vukmir’s faults aside.

Baldwin, like any politician, has had her mistakes. In 2015, she was reported to have failed to act on instances of malpractice at a Tomah Veterans Affairs medical clinic, in which a veteran died after being over-prescribed opioids.

But what sets Baldwin apart from other politicians, and what makes her worthy of this endorsement and of reelection this November, is how she’s worked to improve the situation.

In the aftermath of the incident, she worked personally with the family of the deceased veteran to pass a law establishing better opioid prescription guidelines at Veterans Affairs medical clinics.

What we can’t expect from our politicians is perfection, or that we’ll always agree with them, or that they’ll always make us proud. But what we can expect — indeed, what we should expect — is that our politicians will be honest with us, that they will strive to fix their mistakes and that they will stand up to any and all attempts to undermine centuries of hard-earned progress in establishing the democracy we’re all blessed to live in.

This board believes we can depend on that from Baldwin because her record in office and on the campaign trail has shown her to embody those values. Vukmir, to her credit, has been honest on one thing, and one thing only — she’s just not that kind of politician.

For Wisconsin’s next senator, that just won’t do. Not ever, but definitely not now.

OPINION

facebook.com/badgerherald “He has marginalized career attorneys by cutting them out of the loop, by micromanaging their work and by basically disrespecting them as attorneys,” former Assistant Attorney General Josh Greene said. “And if the message is, we don’t want people to stick around in the Wisconsin Department of Justice, this is an excellent way of accomplishing that.”

Compounding his incompetence as a leader, Schimel has been at the center of a recent controversy in which around 6,000 rape kits were left untested in Wisconsin evidence rooms, a surplus Schimel didn’t feel the need to address until it was revealed to the general public. In true character, he denied the existence of a surplus at all.

Schimel most commonly attacks Kaul as an outsider, saying his time in Washington D.C. and Baltimore make him too far removed from Wisconsin issues. While Kaul has not tried a criminal trial in Wisconsin, his time as a federal prosecutor in Baltimore included frequent handling of drug, criminal and gang-related cases. In a state riddled with opioid, heroin and meth usage, Schimel’s claim that Kaul will be lost in the infinite nuance of a Wisconsin criminal case is baseless.

Kaul currently works for the international law firm Perkins Coie, focusing his energy on voting rights and spearheading an

Attorney General: Josh Kaul (D) When 14 former Department of Justice employees held a news conference to express their distaste with the management of the government branch, citing current Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel as the epicenter of their unrest, that’s a clear signal change in leadership is in order.

When those 14 individuals belong to a group of 45 who have all endorsed Schimel’s opponent, Josh Kaul, ahead of the Nov. 6 midterm elections, their word should be taken seriously. And when 61 former state assistant attorneys general have announced they support Kaul in his pursuit to be the principal legal officer in the state, those numbers mean something.

Josh Kaul is the right fit for Wisconsin, and not just because Schimel’s execution of the position faces harsh criticism. Rather, because Kaul is qualified, passionate and determined to reestablish an expectation that the attorney general is to prioritize the interests of state residents, not special interests.

While Schimel boasts a four-year term as Wisconsin attorney general, more than qualifying him for a second term on paper, the searing comments from those who worked closely beside him tell a tale of a man plagued by his own ego.

State Assembly: Shelia Stubbs (D)

Designed by Emma Grezebach

Before Shelia Stubbs, Democratic candidate for State Assembly, ever had politics on her mind, she lived her life immersed in activism.

Community was — and still is — a central tenant in Stubbs’ life, both politically and personally. Years before she was elected to the Dane County Board of Supervisors, Stubbs and her mother founded the NAACP Madison Branch Youth Council. This commitment to community advancement outside the political sector shows Stubbs’ passion for public service and making Madison a better place for everyone.

Within the political sector, Stubbs’ is even more esteemed. After beating a three-term incumbent for her seat on the Dane County Board of Supervisors, Stubbs was reelected six times. Not only has her presence on the board added much-needed representation, but Stubbs’ success as supervisor proves what an effective leader,

effort to overturn restrictions on Wisconsin’s early voting process.

Kaul refuses to be complacent with Wisconsin’s voting legislation and recognizes the importance of facilitating access to the polls. A candidate virtuous enough to protect the sanctity of the vote deserves ours.

Schimel, conversely, defended Gov. Scott Walker ’s decision not to hold special elections for two legislative seats, even in the face of a Dane County judge and an appeals court that both said the state law clearly necessitates it. There’s a certain irony present in a candidate who claims to be “law enforcement’s choice” for attorney general but turns a blind eye to the law at contentious moments.

Between his experience confronting issues common to the unseen pockets of Wisconsin and his unwavering commitment to easing the public’s access to the polls, Josh Kaul is the candidate best-suited to advise the Wisconsin government in critical legal matters.

Designed by Emma Grezebach

representative and advocate she will be for state Assembly District 77.

This track record shows Stubbs is in touch with our district’s greatest, most relevant issues. Stubbs was responsible for implementing mandatory sexual harassment training for all county employees, not only raising the standards of behavior for Dane County government, but making it a safer workplace.

Through her experience as a parole and probations officer, Stubbs understands the complexity of the issues facing the criminal justice system. Though the Dane County jail is being updated, the renovation ignores systemic problems within our criminal justice system. Recidivism is high in Wisconsin, more so for people of color. In fact, the communities in which they reside are over-policed and over-jailed, which only compound systemic inequalities.

Wisconsin’s high rate of black imprisonment compared to lower white imprisonment characterizes one of the worst black/white incarceration disparities in America. Not only is Stubbs experienced within the criminal justice system, but she’s also responsible for initiating the development and implementation of measurable equity goals in county government. Given that Wisconsin is often called the worst place to raise a black child

in America, or to be black in general, Stubbs’ experience and activism make her the leader we need to bridge the gap in incarceration rates, improve racial equity and move Madison and Wisconsin forward again.

Racism does not overlook those running for office, however. Last month, while Stubbs, her mother and daughter were canvassing, she was stopped by police after a local resident had called and reported her for dealing drugs. An experience like this is outrageous and humiliating, yet Stubbs handled it with the utmost grace and dignity. Though her canvassing days are done, Stubbs left the situation only further motivated to mend Madison’s racial tensions.

To explain the situation to her daughter, Stubbs said “Mommy’s working hard to make this a better community.” And that’s exactly what Madison needs — a mother, a fighter, an advocate. As a dedicated social organizer with a breadth of experiential knowledge of the Madison community, Stubbs will work to heal the city’s racial divides, improve our criminal justice system and add much-needed representation to Wisconsin’s government. For these reasons, The Badger Herald Editorial Board proudly endorses Shelia Stubbs for Wisconsin State Assembly.

badgerherald.com • October 30, 2018 • 15

OPINION

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Municipal campaigns addressing global issues serve integral purpose Madison can endorse a denuclearization campaign which, while small in scale, plays a crucial role in fostering long-term solutions

by Sam Palmer Associate Opinion Editor

Relatively speaking, the world has walked itself back from the precipice of nuclear war. 2018 is not 1962 or 1983. Not least because the Soviet Union has been swept from the geopolitical chessboard and the U.S. now stands peerlessly astride it — we no longer stand with our collective finger hovering a millimeter above the “delete civilization” button. But that does not mean the issue of nuclear disarmament should slip into the background of political discussion.

For one thing, it can be clearly seen the current geopolitical state is likely temporary. There has never been a time in recorded human history where a hegemonic global power has lasted forever, and few signs suggest that the U.S. will be the first. Just look at our politics — in the post-Cold War era, our heady 1990’s victory party was cut short by September 11, our brutal adventures in the Middle East and the Great Recession.

We have cultivated a state of paranoia, wherein any lack of deference to the American-dominated global order is perceived as an almost existential threat.

North Korea, for example, is a nation that is halfway across the world from us, and manifestly has no genuine interest in attacking the U.S. — the actual residents of the Korean peninsula have repeatedly attempted to forge peace despite being routinely undermined by U.S. sanctions and diplomatic intrigue. The actual power differential between the U.S. and North Korea is almost cartoonish, and yet we have been involved in a decadeslong campaign of bluster and threats designed just to bring them to heel.

The U.S. has 1,600 actively-deployed nuclear weapons — enough to cause absolutely catastrophic damage to the entirety of life on Earth. Imagine then, if America’s grip on world politics was actually threatened. In that case, if a credible challenge to American political dominance emerged, the problem of those nuclear weapons would become very real indeed.

Let’s not forget, the U.S. once contemplated using nuclear weapons against Vietnamese people fighting for their own country against French colonialists in the First Indochina War. Optimists could say they didn’t end up doing it, but the point is that when the U.S. feels like its interests are threatened, the powers that be don’t feel much of anything 16 • October 30, 2018 • badgerherald.com

like a moral compass. The longer we wait to dismantle our nuclear weapons, the more we tempt fate.

“ As with all politics that push up against the assumptions of the status quo, nuclear disarmament will only succeed if it becomes a demand.”

That is why the question of Madison endorsing nuclear disarmament matters. A common critique of municipal campaigns like Back from The Brink, which has been attempting to build support city-by-city for nuclear disarmament since 2017, is that they don’t have a specific goal outside of

“pressure.” In a strict sense, this is true.

There is no number of signatory cities that will trigger some sort of automatic nuclear climbdown.

Madison’s endorsement is certainly not likely to directly cause a reduction in the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Come on, we’re not even the largest city in Wisconsin.

What is important is building the political awareness and, crucially, the political organization to move towards a future where nuclear disarmament won’t be a polite request or the subject of a concerned citizen’s letter to their representative. As with all politics that push up against the assumptions of the status quo, nuclear disarmament will only succeed if it becomes a demand.

In building toward that goal, local campaigns have a dual significance. Firstly, they can essentially act as low-stakes trial runs. They allow organizers to build infrastructure, tactics and support that can be called upon when the movement turns

its focus towards a larger-scale campaign.

Secondly, immersing people in the issue of nuclear disarmament right now means they have time to gain a deeper understanding of the problem’s intricacies. As the movement progresses, hopefully so too does their political education. They will be increasingly able to properly contextualize their single issue and link it with other political struggles. In this way, the base of support may broaden and deepen.

The City of Madison should endorse nuclear disarmament. But much more importantly, the people of Madison should begin to organize around the issue and integrate it into their political visions. They should see Madison as a good place to start and work towards bringing the demand for a future without nuclear weapons into larger chambers than City Hall.

Sam Palmer (spalmer4@wisc.edu) is a senior majoring in biology.

Photo · Relatively small campaigns which aim to tackle global debates still operate as powerful tools of public education, regardless of how immediate their impact may be.

Marissa Haegle The Badger Herald

OPINION

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Point Counterpoint: Walker vs. Evers to lead as governor College Republicans: Walker’s record should earn him a third term

College Democrats: Evers determined to right Walker’s wrongs

The recent title of a New York Times article, “Democrats want to Beat Scott Walker.

But the Wisconsin Economy Is a Hurdle,” perfectly sums up the gubernatorial election in Wisconsin. While Democrats are struggling to combat Gov. Scott Walker’s 8 years of positive reform, Walker continues to look forward to policies that will keep strengthening Wisconsin. The state’s economy has grown exponentially over the past 8 years. Economic indicators such as the lowest unemployment rate in state history and rising wages that have outpaced national wage growth, make it difficult to support Tony Evers, who would take Wisconsin backward and put Wisconsin’s comeback in jeopardy.

Walker has taken care of Wisconsin’s hardworking families, cutting taxes by $8 billion for since he took office. For the first time since 1931, there is no state property tax. Evers is on record as saying “everything is on the table” when it comes to taxes, and still hasn’t given voters any specifics on just how much he will raise taxes by. Wisconsin simply can’t afford increases in taxes and spending, and it’s incredibly concerning that Evers refuses to reveal how much he will tax Wisconsin families.

Tony Evers has also claimed that Wisconsin’s priorities have been “out of whack” under Governor Walker. Saying this completely disregards Walker’s track record of prioritizing Wisconsin schools, families and communities.

Walker has made more actual dollar investments in K-12 classrooms than ever before, including a historic $11.5 billion in state funding for K-12 education. He also increased Sparsity Aid for Wisconsin’s rural schools. Scott Walker cares about Wisconsin’s students, which is why he wants to expand youth apprenticeship programs to middle school students, helping them prepare for success. Walker’s record and educational statistics, such as Wisconsin currently being in the top ten states for high school graduation rates in the country and having the highest average ACT score for those states that require 100% of students to take the test, proves that Wisconsin’s priorities under Governor Walker have been the opposite of “out of whack.”

Tony Evers has focused his career on fighting for Wisconsin students, schools and teachers. Meanwhile, Wisconsin Republicans like Gov. Scott Walker have worked on behalf of corporate interests to push a right-wing agenda.

Evers will be the change Wisconsin has been looking for. He watched as the Walker administration consistently made cut after cut to Wisconsin’s schools and knew that he needed to bring his lifetime of experience as an educator to the Governor ’s mansion. As governor, Evers will be an unwavering advocate for Wisconsin students. He has a proven record of fighting for better education for all Wisconsinites his entire professional life.

Evers was elected as State Superintendent three times — a position which has given him responsibility for thousands of students and educators.

Fixing our education is his first priority.

He plans to increase funding for public schools, to benefit not only students but also our hardworking educators. He intends to increase investments in both our technical schools and the UW System, bringing UW back into the top five research schools in the country — a drop that occurred after Walker ’s budget cuts.

He will also work to allow Wisconsinites to refinance their student loans at a lower interest rate. Evers is not just talk — his experience and action as state superintendent ensure he will stand up for education by protecting the interests of Wisconsin’s students and teachers.

With the passage of Scott Walker ’s disastrous Act 10 in 2011, teachers across the state watched their wages fall substantially and their median benefits decrease by 18.6 percent. This includes a reduction in pension and health insurance benefits for K-12 teachers. After the 2011-12 school year, 10.5 percent of teachers have left the profession in Wisconsin and since then the exit rate remains at an alarmingly high 8.8 percent. Where would we be in our society without public school teachers?

Under previous democratic leadership, tuition for the UW system had risen by 118% over a decade. Upon taking office, Walker froze UW tuition for in-state students for 6 years. This tuition freeze has helped the average UW student save over $6,300. Walker plans to freeze tuition for another 4 years, continuing to make college more affordable for students. Walker has also proposed a tax credit of up to $1,000 per year for 5 years for college graduates who live and work in Wisconsin, giving them incentive to stay in the state.

Evers, as State Superintendent of Public Instruction, was recently caught plagiarizing sections of his budget plans. Schools, colleges and universities hold students to high standards in terms of academic integrity. The State Superintendent should be held to the same, if not higher, standards. He even admitted plagiarism occurred, yet has no plans to discipline the staff involved.

As State Superintendent, Evers also refused to revoke the license of a middle school teacher caught watching pornography in the classroom, highlighting his weak leadership.

If he won’t revoke teacher licenses for bad behavior and plagiarizes important proposals, how can we trust Evers to lead Wisconsin?

During his 8 years in office, Walker has proven himself as an exceptional leader. His bold, conservative reforms have sparked Wisconsin’s comeback. If elected for a third term, Scott Walker will ensure Wisconsin keeps working. He also wants to help make child care affordable by providing a tax credit for working families. He has a goal of helping seniors stay in their homes, reducing student loan debt and connecting students to careers.

Walker needs your support to keep moving Wisconsin forward. His track record speaks for itself, brightening the future of Wisconsin. For more information on Walker, visit his website, and for information on voting, go to myvote. wi.gov. Every vote counts.

Kennedy Borman is a senior studying political science. She is also the Vice Chair of College Republicans.

What kind of future do we want for public school students? As governor, Evers will be committed to increasing investments into our public school system and restoring respect and professionalism towards our hardworking public school teachers.

Evers plans to work across the partisan aisle to improve Wisconsin for everyone.

He will implement a sustainable, long-term fix for how we fund our roads, increase funding for public transit which Wisconsin is in dire need of an overall investment in infrastructure to improve our state and provide new jobs.

He also will be an advocate for the environment and Wisconsin’s natural resources. Evers believes all Wisconsinites have the right to breathe clean air, drink clean water and enjoy all of our state’s natural beauty without pollutants from plants like Foxconn.

Walker will be remembered for enacting the largest cuts to education in our state’s history, gutting our unions, suppressing voters and for the infamous “Scottholes” littering Wisconsin roads. Evers will stand up for Wisconsin families, students and the thousands of hardworking people that move this state forward. He will look to the people of Wisconsin, not corporate interests, to make policies that will improve access to quality health care coverage and a good education.

Evers will protect Wisconsin’s land and drinking water, which have been ravaged by a Walker rollback of environmental protection regulation. He has spent his entire life fighting for the future of Wisconsinites. It’s time to bring this fight where it is needed the most.

On Nov. 6, stand with students, educators, workers and Wisconsin families and vote Tony Evers for Governor.

Sam Schwab (sschwab2@wisc.edu) is a junior majoring in political science and English. He is also the Press Secretary of the UW College Democrats. badgerherald.com • October 30, 2018 • 17

is year, h t e c ffi o the to f n i o d 3 / e t 1 c , e s l ill be e ntative e w s s e l r a i p c e R ffi f 80,000 o he entire House o t including d 36 Governors.

Senate, an

Not registered? No problem, in Wisconsin, you can register on Election Day and then vote. Get all the information you need at i.vote.org/WisconsinEDR

© 2018. Vote.org is a 501(c)(3) registered non-profit organization and does not support or oppose any political candidate or party.

SPORTS

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Basketball: New-look Badgers emphasizing conditioning, defense Early showings at red and white scrimmage could be preliminary signs of an improved Badger defense after down season

by Adam Blackwell Sports Writer

Defense and physicality are two things that often go hand in hand on a basketball court. And judging by the Wisconsin men’s basketball team’s offseason, they are seen as two key ingredients in bouncing back from an underwhelming past season.

When Wisconsin basketball fans descended on the Kohl Center for their first chance to see their team in action this season, in the form of the annual red and white scrimmage, the team had a chance to put their offseason work on display.

Speaking after the scrimmage, Head Coach Greg Gard acknowledged the progress the whole squad has made physically.

“I think all the guys have taken steps forward physically,” Gard said. “Some guys have added more, some have trimmed it back a little bit, so I think everybody physically is in a better position.”

As the players warmed up prior to tip off the significant physical gains made by sophomore center Nate Reuvers stood out.

Reuvers, who appeared in 28 games including 15 starts in his freshmen season has added 25 pounds to his frame since last season, with the 6-foot-11 center now tipping the scales at 240 pounds.

With a few extra pounds on his side, Reuvers is looking to be more imposing on the defensive end.

“This year if I get caught behind a guy I can probably hold my ground, as opposed to last year behind the guy it’s probably a basket,” Reuvers said.

Reuvers also showed flashes of his improved offensive potential in the scrimmage, as he posted six points on a very efficient three of four shooting from the field.

The Badger big man’s built out frame helped him low in the post and when driving to the basket.

“It definitely helps, especially when you’re driving in and you’re not getting knocked off your line,” Reuvers said. “I’m able to hold my post-ups a lot better.”

Along with Reuvers, Brevin Pritzl had a strong focus on his physical conditioning during the offseason. Nutrition has been

a major point of emphasis for the junior guard.

Over the summer, Pritzl took nutrition classes and worked closely with team strength and condition coach Erik Helland.

Learning how to replenish energy properly in order to recover quickly and fully was a major learning point for Pritzl.

“You have to eat the right way,” Pritzl said. “So I’ve kinda taken some time with Erik, we’re getting used to what we’re doing and that way I know what I have to put back in my body every day.”

All of this attention put on physical condition isn’t just for the beach muscles, it points to the team’s desire to be a more effective defensive team than they were a season ago. With many pointing to their defensive woes as a reason for their underwhelming record of 15 wins and 18 losses.

You have to go back more than 20 seasons to see a higher opponent points per game and field goal percentage than their marks from last season. The Badgers gave up 66 points per game and a .459 field goal percentage to their opponents.

Star forward Ethan Happ, who this week was named to the Preseason AP All-American team (the fourth Badger to receive the honor), said that improving on the defensive side of the ball is what is going to allow them to be competitive this season.

“We need to be one of the best defensive teams that Wisconsin has seen in a while,” Happ said. “Last year was not what we needed and the win-loss column showed.”

There were certainly signs of an improved defense in the red and white scrimmage as the combined field goal percentage of 34 percent was as much down to tight defense as rusty shooting.

And while a preseason inter-squad match may not be the best test of how a team is shaping up defensively, Gard was encouraged with what he saw.

“I thought defensively you can tell where most of our time has been spent and what we’ve emphasized,” Gard said. “I thought that might be the best defense that’s been played in an inter-squad game in a long time in terms of no easy baskets.”

Football: After injuries to secondary, new faces thrive as replacements For a Wisconsin secondary that has struggled to stay healthy, motto for new movement has been “next man up”

by Matt Ernst Associate Sports Editor

The Wisconsin defensive backfield has been decimated by injuries so far this season, but that has not been a concern for backup safeties Eric Burrell and Evan Bondoc. The motto for this season in the Wisconsin football secondary has been about brotherhood, sophomore Burrell said.

“Next man up is the key,” Burrell said.

“Look to my left and right and see [my teammates] out there, that’s okay. Whoever it is.”

With injuries to starting safeties freshman Scott Nelson and senior D’Cota Dixon, who have both been out since

Bondoc is one of the leaders in the “room ... [Bondoc] has proved the doubters wrong. ” Eric Burrell Badger safety

the Oct. 13 game against Michigan, the secondary has had no choice but to step up in their absence.

Two of the players that have managed to make the leap have been Burrell and Bondoc.

Burrell, in particular, has been very impressed with the way Bondoc has handled his increased responsibility in his senior season.

“Bondoc is one of the leaders in the room,” Burrell said. “He’s been here the longest. [Bondoc] has proved the doubters wrong. I’m proud of him. He’s waited his turn and he’s made the absolute most of it.”

Bondoc has now had interceptions in two straight games against Illinois and Northwestern, after receiving no playing time prior to the Michigan game. He has stepped up to every bit of the task that defensive coach Jim Leonhard has had for him.

Bondoc has felt that the secondary being such a tight-knit group has been key in their ability to pick up each other ’s slack.

“Being on the same page is something that we do a good job of as a group,” Bondoc said. “All cohesive and working together to have everyone prepared and ready to play. We are learning from each other. Plays that we see before, we correct them. We try not to make the same mistakes.”

One thing that Bondoc and Burrell could easily agree on was how important Dixon is to the team, both as an on-field player and a leader.

“D’Cota is the leader of our room and sets a high standard. We wanted to make him proud out there,” Bondoc said.

“I learned everything from D’Cota. He talks to me every day, everywhere. We learn from each other,” Burrell said.

Evidently, Dixon is an essential piece to this secondary, even when he’s not on the field. Younger and less experienced players have been learning from him and the results have proven that. Though Dixon will be graduated next season, it’s comforting to know that his wisdom will still be felt by the younger members of the

secondary like Burrell.

It’s unclear when Nelson or Dixon will return, but fortunately, it feels like the secondary is in good hands in their absence. In the last two games, the secondary has held the Illinois passing offense to 90 yards and three interceptions and Northwestern to 167 yards and three more interceptions.

This is an encouraging development for a group that two weeks ago gave up 38 points to Michigan and forced no turnovers. It does feel like the unit is hitting their stride, which is good news considering the team has a very important stretch coming up.

They are now one game behind Northwestern in the Big Ten West standings having lost the tiebreaker matchup. They will need a strong finish to have any chance at winning the Big Ten West and playing in a third consecutive Big Ten Championship game. Time will tell if Burrell, Bondoc and the rest of the secondary are up to the task.

October 30, 2018 • badgerherald.com • 19

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Former MLB commissioner Bud Selig sees game as “metaphor for life”

Selig oversaw professional baseball during the game’s most dynamic, tumultuous period and left a historic mark

by Danny Farber Sports Editor

One of University of Wisconsin’s most notable alumni is the former commissioner of Major League Baseball and current commissioner emeritus Allan “Bud” Selig. Selig now lectures at the university for the history course “Major League Baseball & American Society since World War II” alongside history professor David McDonald. In a conversation with the commissioner, he discussed baseball’s place as a microcosm of American culture and his own legacy in the sport’s history.

On baseball as a social institution When looking at sports’ influence in society, baseball has been second to none in American culture. The sport has been a battleground for civil rights, immigration and a number of other issues that mirror social movements around the country.

“It’s hard to write the history of this country in the last 100 years without mentioning baseball and its many ramifications,” Selig said.

Among the most pertinent examples of baseball inducing social change was Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier and how its influence extended far beyond the playing field, Selig said. Robinson preceded both Brown v. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and even prominent African-American leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. have pointed to baseball as a catalyst for social progress.

But in the modern era, baseball seems to be parallel with significant events in America as well. Instances like the commissioner’s decision to resume the 2001 baseball season following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks would become a symbolic gesture of patriotism for the country.

facade at Yankee Stadium. But this history would be not only incomplete but entirely different without the state of Wisconsin — with Selig being a very large reason that history continues today.

Selig, who attended UW for his undergraduate degree, originally had no intent to involve himself in baseball. The commissioner worked at his father’s auto dealership and had ambitions on returning to UW to teach.

“When I was here many years ago I wanted to be a history professor,” Selig said.

But when the Braves broke Milwaukee baseball fans’ hearts and abandoned the city in 1966 for Atlanta, a seemingly untapped southeastern market, Selig took action. He soon became the leading figure in bringing baseball back to Milwaukee, which he accomplished in 1970 after purchasing and moving the Seattle Pilots to the city and renaming them the Brewers.

When asked what his fondest memories were during his time in baseball the commissioner responded without hesitation.

“Bringing the Brewers to Milwaukee and then playing in the [1982] World Series,” Selig said.

The Brewers’ 1982 World Series appearance is

[Baseball] plays this “dynamic and dramatic American society.”

Bud Selig Former MLB Commissioner still the only pennant the team has earned in their franchise’s history. This is a feat Selig is especially proud of as Milwaukee has always needed to compete with bigger market teams like Los Angeles and New York.

Though the Brewers fell short in this year’s NLCS, the commissioner was impressed with the team’s ability to exceed expectations late in the season.

On his legacy as commissioner But despite being a hometown hero in Milwaukee, Selig remains a controversial figure on the national stage.

Labor strife and steroid testing were two of the

”

without mentioning baseball and its many ramifications

”

Bud Selig Former MLB Commissioner

“[Baseball] plays this really dynamic and dramatic role in American society,” Selig said.“[Resuming the season] was really interesting and baseball played a far more dynamic role than other sports.”

20 • October 30, 2018 • badgerherald.com

most stark increases were “inThe Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. There were just 12 Venezuelan born players in 1992 compared to 111 in 2015 while participation from the Dominican Republic increased from 62 players to 158 during that time period.

hard to write the history of “thisIt’scountry in the last 100 years

On bringing the Brewers to Milwaukee We often think of baseball’s history as being centered around the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field, the Green Monster at Fenway Park or the

really role in

biggest hot-button issues during Selig’s tenure as commissioner, which began in 1992 following Fay Vincent’s resignation.

One of the events Selig reflects back on with some disappointment was baseball’s last labor strike — which cut short the 1994 MLB season, starving baseball fans of a World Series.

“I’m proud of the fact that we now have 27, 28 years of labor peace,” Selig said. “We’ve had some heartaches — we lost the World Series in 1994 and we had a lot of strikes before that.”

Baseball’s current collective bargaining agreement is set to last until 2021 giving MLB the longest stretch without a lockout out of the four major U.S. sports leagues.

A criticism of Selig was his inability to get steroid testing approved until the 2003 season, a measure the players’ union rejected for many years prior.

But Selig touts that MLB’s current performanceenhancing drug testing is the most comprehensive in all of professional sports.

Photo - Selig was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017.

Danny Farber The Badger Herald

While baseball’s testing system is far from perfect, the number of blood and urine tests the league conducts is increasing annually.

Under Selig’s leadership, baseball also expanded into the global sport that it is today.

According to Baseball Almanac, foreign participation in MLB increased from 15.4 percent at the start of Selig’s tenure in 1992 to 27.5 percent when he retired in 2015.

The starkest increases were in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. There were just 12 Venezuelan born players in 1992 compared to 111 in 2015 while participation from the Dominican Republic increased from 62 players to 158 during that time period.

When asked if he has any regrets from his life in baseball, Selig says he has none.

“Baseball is a metaphor for life,” Selig said. “We have our ups and we have our downs. We don’t always do things perfectly and I’m the first to admit that. But overall, it was pretty good.”

SPORTS

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Badger hunting club an oasis for conservationists, outdoorsmen The student organization is a place for Badgers to come together and connect over their shared love of nature and hunting

by Jessie Gutschow Sports Writer

Hunting has been a way of life throughout the history of mankind. From hunting and gathering for survival to a cherished family tradition passed down from generation to generation, hunting has remained the most natural way to obtain fresh, organic meat.

While today the practice of hunting for sport is heavily scrutinized, for many it is still an extremely important aspect of everyday life. To be a hunter is so much more than simply shooting an animal. It requires a unique respect and reverence for nature that can only be found through hunting.

Fred Bear, a celebrated TV personality and author also known as “Papa Bear” to much of the hunting community, once said, “Go afield with a good attitude, with the respect for the wildlife you hunt and for the forests and fields in which you walk. Immerse yourself in the outdoor experience. It will cleanse your soul and make you a better person.”

The Badger Hunting Club gives its members the opportunity to get out of the city and into nature.

Currently, there are 37 members and club president Lucas Olson says those numbers are only rising.

“Last spring for us was really successful all in all; especially on the conservation front,” Olsen said. “But hunter numbers [in the community at large] are declining ... One of the big things hunters need to step up and do is teach new people how to hunt, and that’s something we really try to do.”

Hunting currently accounts for around two-thirds of all conservation funding in the U.S. according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and as hunter numbers decline, so does the amount of money that goes into preserving wildlife.

“When you’re hunting, you’re sort of connecting with nature on a different level than you would doing other things,” Olsen said. “I’ve always participated in other outdoor activities but it never feels quite the same as when you’re hunting. Hunting just has a different feeling.”

The Badger Hunting Club tries to share this tradition with the student population at UW by taking students hunting for the first time, bringing in guest speakers to share the importance of good hunting ethics and providing opportunities and ways in which students can help better the world they live in through conservation.

Many at UW from urban settings were never given the opportunity to hunt growing up. However, as you move further north, you begin to see the deep-rooted tradition come to life.

Olsen said he vividly remembers growing up in a small town in Wisconsin where nearly everyone he knew was an outdoorsman.

“It wasn’t an uncommon conversation to have ... when we’d go to church on Sundays it was normal to hear folks ask one another what they were seeing or if they’d had any success hunting over the weekend,” Olson said.

The tradition of hunting brings families and communities together and teaches important life lessons. Olsen said that hunting has helped shape him into the

person he is today.

“I think hunting taught me a lot about the uncertainty of life ... each hunt I equate to a life story ... you try some things and [they] doesn’t always work out in your favor and sometimes you can do all the right things and still take a shot and miss,” Olson said.

Being an outdoorsman is a way of life that many people misunderstand and are quick to judge. But it’s a passion that is difficult to describe to someone who has never had the opportunity to experience it. Of course, there will always be people who smear the image of hunters today but The Badger Hunting Club does an extraordinary job educating its hunters and reminding them of the importance of fair, ethical hunting.

“You know there [are] a lot of great hunters doing a lot of great things out there and they’re not asking for any credit for it,” Olsen said. “They’re interested in the long-term well-being of the animals they’re pursuing ... I mean hunters are just a group of really really good people.”

Women’s hockey: Mark Johnson now all-time winningest WCHA coach Johnson’s tenure has been the most succesful in team history, raising program to new heights among Badger sports

by John Spengler Sports Writer

With a 3-1 home victory over MinnesotaDuluth on Oct. 14, head coach Mark Johnson officially entered the record books as the winningest women’s hockey coach in NCAA history with 465 wins.

Coach Johnson has undoubtedly enjoyed the most successful tenure in the history of Badger hockey, amassing not only an unprecedented number of wins but also four national titles and 12 frozen four appearances during his 16 years as head coach.

This consistent appearance at the nation’s most competitive tournament has only heightened as of late, as the Badgers have appeared in seven of the last eight installments of the NCAA tournament.

Most importantly, however, Johnson has directed the development of the most successful individual performers the team has ever witnessed. Since Johnson took over the reins in Madison, he has coached all 10 of the program’s leaders in total point scoring.

Furthermore, he has directly recruited eight of those 10 players. The ability to bring in and develop the best of the best individual prospects

is fundamental in cultivating a successful team — Johnson has and continues to perform this to perfection.

Stand out freshman Sophie Shirley, a Johnson recruit, experienced his ability to develop and improve his players for the first time this year.

“Coach Johnson has been great thus far,” Shirley said.“Everything he says you want to swallow it up and take as much knowledge in as you can. We really respect him as a coach.”

It is without question that Johnson’s unique abilities as a coach directly brought about the continued success of the women’s hockey program. While past regimes were no strangers to victory, Johnson has effectively ushered in a new era of dominance that remains unrivaled by any other Badger sport.

Johnson was no stranger to success prior to accepting the role as head coach, as his own hockey career was defined by stunning success, including a myriad of accomplishments with the Badgers.

In the 1970s, under Bob Johnson, Mark’s father, he won WCHA rookie of the year for the first time in Badger history, took part in a national titlewinning team and became the school’s all-time leading scorer.

Perhaps most famously, Johnson scored two of the four goals during the miracle on ice that saw an amateur U.S. team take down the seemingly invincible Soviet Union.

This set of accomplishments would certainly allow for one to rest on their laurels, however, coach Johnson had other plans in mind.

“I’ve had my day in the sun playing and coached a long time. This is about giving back to the game and helping others, helping out the players we’re working with right now,” Johnson said per University of Wisconsin Communications.

While his days as a player may be finished, coach Johnson’s potential victories are anything but limited. At just 61 years of age, Johnson has a chance to build up his record of success with the Badgers. While he’s made it clear that the players are his absolute focus, another university record looms in the near distance.

After a flurry of recent wins against University of Minnesota-Duluth and Princeton, Johnson is only 31 games behind former men’s hockey coach Jeff Sauer for the most wins in school history in any sport.

Hypothetically, Johnson could achieve this milestone this season.

Between 26 regular season games and six potential combined playoff games in the WCHA and frozen four tournaments, the Badgers could acquire 32 wins before the year is complete. This is highly unlikely, however, and it’s probable coach Johnson will continue to pursue his recordbreaking career next season.

It’s clear that the lasting success of the Badgers under coach Johnson has been enjoyable. In a post-game presser with UW Athletic’s Andy Baggot, Johnson described that he has “… had a lot of good people and certainly had a lot of good players and some great teams. It’s been a fun ride.”

This successful ride shows no sign of stopping, as the No. 1 ranked Badgers have continued their dominance to start their 2018-19 campaign for a national title.

It remains to be seen what this year ultimately holds in store for the Badgers, but expectations are undoubtedly high for Johnson and his squad.

Despite their past achievements, a recently attained No. 1 ranking in the nation and an extensive win streak mean that a national title would be the only way the Badgers and Johnson could completely fulfill their potential as a dominant force in the hockey world.

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Spooky story corner: The final spookdown The thrilling conclusion of a five part serial delivers spooks, morals

by Angela Peterson Banter Editor

spooky story corner

When we last saw Suzy and Tim, they had escaped the chamber of doom. They now are face-to-face with Jon, armed with a full cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and ready to seek vengeance against the pair. But the two have a plan.

Suzy and Tim turned away from each other, feigning fear in front of Jon. “I’ve got you now, you despicable pair,” Jon said. “No one needs either of you to function.

Suzy, your papers do not need to be read. Tim, you have no more papers to write. It’s time to say goodbye.”time in terms of no easy baskets.”

Jon’s coffee transformed from browned mocha bliss to a searing red slime. He positioned himself into a prime throwing pose, ready to seal Suzy and Tim’s fate with one splash of the liquid.

“You might have thought this here was coffee, but think again. This slime will freeze you both in your spots and force y’all to rot here for the rest of all time,” Jon said, incorporating a newfound southern twang into his typical

proper vocabulary.

Jon hurled the liquid at Suzy and Tim, yet the stream of slime paused before any harm could be done. While Jon was busy lecturing and practicing how he will bore countless students once he receives his doctoral degree, Suzy used Tim’s tip to construct a new vortex back into reality. Apparently, if she started actually taking notes, new worlds opened up to her. Get it? It’s like that metaphor about knowledge.

“Hey Jon, remember when the entire class forgot to do the last night’s reading?” Suzy asked.

“You insolent child-adult-person, yes I do, it was many a day,” Jon replied.

“Well, we feel a lot more gratified now, it’s time to take some notes!” Tim exclaimed.

Suzy and Tim hopped through the portal as Jon ranted about how much his students grind his gears, completely ignoring the duo’s escape.

Open Houses Have Begun!

A bit disgruntled, the pair landed back in Humanities 3650, this time to a spot on the aisle that was not occupied. Suzy decided it seemed perfectly rational to stay in the aisle seat despite no students filling the middle section of the row as she was still spooked by the Ghost of Midterms Past.

“Well Suzy, thank you so much for getting me out of that lair,” Tim said. “It’s nice to feel a rush of oxygen and see so many students ready to learn once more.”

“No Tim, thank you,” Suzy said. She snuggled up with Tim in a gesture of affection which no student has felt towards a pencil since 1969.

The class began as many students pulled out their laptops to take notes. A shiver tingling down her spine, Suzy tucked her laptop away.

Those vibes, she decided, were lost to midterms past.

Epilogue: Where are they now?

Suzy is loving her companion animals class and is happy to see a completely green screen on her DARS. She continues to use Tim for notes.

Tim is considering upgrading his eraser to one of those lit smiley face designs.

Jon splits his time between the underground and his discussion section, never failing to cancel his office hours at least once a month for a little torture.

Students still follow Suzy’s guideline to sit on the aisle seats in lecture halls even when the middle is open as a precaution to avoid spooks, even though this is inconvenient to late-coming students.

The Ghost of Mid-terms Past continues to haunt students to this day, are you next?

Herald Halloween Haikus

Ragstock is quite full Of students on a search for Devil horns and leis My costume this year Is a great combination Of sad-looking things

I miss the old days When candy corn filled me up Instead of midterms Pumpkins are rad fruits They are not lame vegetables Because they have seeds

Freakfest was quite loud The Badgers tried to sluMber Yet no rest was found

“Addresses?” She asked No I replied with some gloom ‘Twas a lonely night

I am shivering Spooky scary skeletons Make my spine tingle October 30, 2018 • badgerherald.com • 23

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