'Right of Way' - Volume 50, Issue 14

STUDENT MEDIA AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018 · VOL 50 Issue 14 · BADGERHERALD.COM

Right of Way

Officials look to balance mitigating climate change with providing equitable service as marginalized communities are pushed to the edges of the city, limiting their physical and social mobility.

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UW experts weigh in as Republicans in state Legislature attempt to restrict gubernatorial power.

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WISCONSIN HAS BEEN ‘FOXCONNED’ OUT OF PROMISED JOBS

As many of the original Foxconn development promises fall through, many wonder if Wisconsin will see any benefits from the factory

WISCONSIN BADGER CLAIM BIG TEN RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP SPORTS

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The club rugby team defied the odds this season to claim their second ever Big Ten Championship.

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Future job, promotion prospects for UW graduates look favorable

With economy improving since Great Recession and older generations retiring, UW graduates in good position for finding work

by Grady Gibson City Editor

In light of favorable unemployment numbers and economic growth prospects in Wisconsin and throughout the country, economists are saying the job market is favorable for college graduates.

In Wisconsin, the unemployment is at 3 percent for the ninth month in a row, a state record. Additionally, private sector jobs are up by 32,000 from the previous year.

Scott Hodek, an economist with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, is optimistic about the prospects for recent graduates.

“The outlook is very favorable — probably the most favorable we have seen in a very long time,” Hodek said.

Hodek said there are two main factors contributing to the favorable economic outlook for recent college graduates.

The first factor is that the United States has enjoyed a growing economy since the Great Recession. While the rate of economic growth

has not been as high as that seen during the 1990s, which saw as much as 5 percent gross domestic product growth per year, there has been 3 to 4 percent GDP growth in recent years.

The second factor contributing to the favorable economic outlook is aging demographics, Hodek said. The “baby boomers” were the largest generation America has ever seen, and now that group is retiring.

Hodek said economists initially started to see some of that generation retiring around the Great Recession, but that number has grown even larger as of late, with the trend continuing to intensify.

“If you look at things in terms of occupations, you always see new jobs added,” Hodek said.

“But in addition, the number of jobs from these retirees that need to be filled dwarf even the new positions. So, even in industries that are not necessarily growing or are mature and have hit a stable employment level depending on occupation, you still see a lot of openings.”

Hodek further explained that these job openings have manifested themselves in fields like education and protective services, like

police and firefighters.

Nathan Barker, director of marketing and communications at SuccessWorks, said the favorable economic conditions in Wisconsin are only part of the equation in the optimistic prospects for University of Wisconsin graduates. Opportunities offered by the university to develop career-related skills can’t be overlooked in the success enjoyed by UW students’ after graduation, Barker said.

UW hears from companies in Wisconsin and around the country that they want more students with well-rounded skills, Baker said.

The university makes efforts to help students develop those skills, with SuccessWorks as a branch of that effort for the College of Letters and Science.

“If a student graduates with just the education, with just the academics, a lot of times what they lack is the experience they need to have tried out different careers or to be ready for an entry-level job on day one,” Barker said. “So what we emphasize with students is that by engaging with SuccessWorks early on through our programs, through events, through

internships that we can help connect students to, students are going to get that necessary experience so by the time they graduate, they can hit the workforce with confidence and with a sense of what kinds of opportunities they want to go out and seize.”

Hodek also commented on the immense opportunity the generation currently graduating from college will have for moving up once they find work, as positions held by older generations are being vacated.

Hodek said much of what makes a recent graduate stand out for promotion is “nonroutine ... skills” like decisiveness, critical thinking, adaptability and flexibility — skills that best fit the “exponential” rate of change in the technology-dominated workplace, Hodek said.

Additionally, Hodek said focusing on the ability to “get in there and keep learning” will make a college graduate’s chances for promotion better.

“This generation will see promotional opportunities, the likes of which we have never seen,” Hodek said.

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Photo · Despite losing 1,600 private sector jobs, prospects for graduates are optimistic.

Aaron Hathaway The Badger Herald

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UW to streamline research funding, partnership application

University argues difficult application process implemented to protect research subjects, follow government guidelines

such as the creation of the Office of Business Engagement, Golden said. OBE, led by Amy Achter, connects business and industry with the resources needed The University of Wisconsin is ranked to advance business, according to sixth in the nation for research, but recent their website. allegations have “We are making a illuminated difficulties concerted effort to make some businesses face it easier for industry when applying to work partners to work with with UW researchers UW,” Achter said. or receive funding and OBE helps companies other support. connect with whatever Exact Sciences, a resources they need, research company including talent, based in Madison, sponsored research, alleged that the and opportunities for university implements philanthropic activity, considerable “red Achter said. One OBE tape” and bureaucratic effort includes making hurdles when it easier for businesses companies try to to find what they are partner with it for looking for from UW. research purposes.

In addition to their Robert Golden, dean stated mission, OBE of the UW School of offers a number of Medicine and Public services for companies, Health, did not deny including professional this, but also said it’s development not necessarily a bad opportunities and tips thing. on how businesses can “I wouldn’t call them increase their visibility accusations — I would on campus. call it a well-established “The new Office of fact that we, like most Business Engagement is universities, are a part of that solution — complex, cumbersome not the entire solution, bureaucracy to work but we are trying to with,” Golden said. give our partners one “I say that with way of getting into recognition that our the university, to help difficulties were them navigate the created for all the right complexities that exist reasons.” here,” Achter said.

This process was Photo · Plans for a smoother application process will be implemented “very soon” for comapnies interested in research and funding partnerships.

Through OBE and the put in place to protect continued study of the research subjects and Courtesy of Bryce Richter current processes’ faults, follow all applicable University Communications UW hopes to further federal and state improve the system until guidelines, Golden said. it is useable and protects But Golden said he one study found 50 percent of applicants that UW’s Institutional Review Board is the rights and privacy of research subjects, recognizes changes could be considered to had given up in attempting to receive aid more concerned with avoiding liability Golden said. make impactful scientific advances. or research assistance from UW because of than properly assessing the risks human These changes are necessary because Golden said the benefit of working with the difficulty of the review process. subjects may face. research is essential to UW, Golden said. corporate researchers, both for UW and However, the university has been Golden, however, said he sees the “[Medical research] is one of our core their partners, is the greatly increased attempting to “streamline” its application wellbeing of subjects and patients as a very elements,” Golden said. “It is one of the potential to help people — something process, Golden said. high priority. things that defines us as one of the leading Golden sees not only as an opportunity, “I would say [companies that have “[We cannot] in any way give up the research-intensive universities.” but a necessity. given up] should come back and give us safety and protection of subjects,” Golden Though changes have not yet been “Our ethical obligation is to take all the another chance,” Golden said. “We are said. “That is more important than implemented, Golden expects to see “real incredible intelligence, energy, enthusiasm in the process of doing a lot of changes, anything else.” change” by the spring semester. and dedication of our faculty, staff and of creating some new processes that will UW has begun to implement changes,

by Rena Werth Reporter

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students, and use that to discover new ways through medical research to improve the health of people in Wisconsin and beyond,” Golden said.

Despite the potential positive outcomes,

make it easier and speedier to get projects approved here. We are creating some new positions and taking a look at some ways we can be much more user-friendly.”

The same study found a perception

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Republican attempts to limit executive power may prove unsuccessful Evers begins transition amid Republican attempts to limit gubernatorial power following his upset victory over Walker

by Mary Magnuson State Editor

Since his election nearly a month ago, Gov.elect Tony Evers has been building his transitional advising team. Concurrently, incumbent Gov. Scott Walker and state Legislature Republicans have made attempts to limit executive powers before Evers takes office.

Though Republicans have been discussing several measures at length for the past few weeks, University of Wisconsin public affairs professor John Witte said they all may prove unsuccessful.

Republicans don’t have cause for concern in the state Legislature, considering they still hold a heavy majority in both the Assembly and Senate.

When Evers enters office, Witte said his main power will be the legislative veto. While the state Legislature can devise as many laws as they want, Evers can veto them if they don’t align with his platform.

Evers will also reserve the power to veto budget decisions and other administrative matters, which can have significant effects. Witte described the gubernatorial veto as one of the strongest in the nation, in many ways because of changes made under Walker. And while Republicans haven’t been able to alter specific gubernatorial powers as outlined in the state Constitution, they’ve made big strides through legislative action.

“The powers are there … It’s the strongest veto of a governor of the United States,” Witte said. “[Any other] changes [to the governorship] would require constitutional changes. And [the Republicans] haven’t been able to effect constitutional changes. Legislatively, they’re accomplished a lot of changes.”

Evers will likely not have the same luxury of working with the state Legislature, Witte said.

Some specific changes Republicans have been discussing include changes to voter ID laws, changes to Medicaid and changes to the election date.

Witte said the rescheduling of election dates is one of the most disconcerting changes because it could give an advantage to certain candidates. “[The election date change] is a huge issue. The primary date is in April so that their [Supreme Court] candidate ... will not be alone out there, but will rather be part of the presidential primary,” Witte said. “They’re talking about creating a whole new date for that election alone, and changing the primary date to March. That would be a major issue.”

UW political science professor Barry Burden discussed several other tactics the Republican Party might use to limit Evers’ power, including removing some appointment powers, limiting his ability to review agency regulations and shoring up laws he might oppose.

Considering the overwhelming majority in the

state Legislature, Witte said pushing support for policies like Medicaid work requirements could be one of the Republicans’ most effective tactics because they don’t yet have to contend with Evers’ veto. However, such a course of action would still require significant mobilization.

In the eight years Walker has held office, Burden said the governorship has only become more powerful.

“The governor’s office has generally become more centralized and powerful during Walker’s eight years in office,” Burden said. “This is mainly because of actions taken by the state legislature to give the governor more authority and remove some autonomy that had been previously granted to state agencies and local communities around the state.”

Now, Republicans are trying to reverse these powers and rethink their approach. That includes

efforts to limit gubernatorial power to regulate state agencies.

Witte said Republicans should focus on their legislative powers, since that’s where they have the most sway and because fewer of their attempts lie in administrative rules and regulations.

As Evers continues appointing his staff, Burden said he will have to think strategically about how to approach the Republican-controlled state Legislature.

“Gubernatorial transitions are intense because they require the incoming executive to build a team of trusted administrators, hire effective staff and establish priorities for the next legislative session,” Burden said. “The Evers team is likely thinking about how to make good on campaign promises and finding ways to work with the Republicancontrolled legislature.”

“The governor’s office has generally become more centralized and powerful during Walker’s eight years in office” Barry Burden UW political science professor

Photo · UW experts say Republican efforts to limit executive power may come to an unsuccessful end after Evers takes office and gains veto power.

Daniel Yun The Badger Herald

December 4, 2018 • badgerherald.com • 5

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DeVos proposes changes to Title IX, sexual harassment definition New proposal’s redefinition of sexual assault corrodes trust in survivors, gives undue credence to accused, opponents say

by Gracie Groshens Reporter

“In the time of #MeToo and #TimesUp, with all the growth our country is continuing to achieve to stop sexual assault and harassment from growing, this is particularly offensive to us at the Rape Crisis Center,” the RCC statement said.

RCC added that the current administration should instead look for new efforts to end sexual assault on campus and find avenues to make reporting sexual assault less daunting. According to RCC, DeVos is doing

“I am hoping that the university will take as strong a stance as possible against the changes,” Thornley Parisi said. “I hope they’ll use their discretion to their fullest ability to make sure that the rights of victims are still paramount.”

Additionally, under DeVos’s proposal, accused individuals would be allowed to appeal and cross-examine their accuser through an intermediary. The RCC believes DeVos’s proposal shows extreme distrust

In the face of intense backlash from many sexual assault prevention organizations in Wisconsin and throughout the country, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos recently proposed changes to Title IX protections which redefine sexual harassment.

DeVos’ proposed the Title IX changes in mid-November. According to a U.S. Department of Education press release, her proposal will “provide clarity for schools, support for survivors and due process rights for all.”

The most prominent modification in the proposal is a change in the definition of sexual harassment.

According to the Rape Crisis Center, sexual harassment is defined under current Title IX protections as “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature.”

DeVos suggested modifying the definition to “unwelcome conduct on the basis of sex that is so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the school’s education program or activity.”

The Dane County Rape Crisis Center said the difference is that the new definition would make it more difficult for victims to prove that their experience falls under the term “sexual harassment.” Under the new rule, if a victim were to return to school, the sexual conduct isn’t technically denying their education — so it would no longer be considered sexual harassment.

According to the Rape, Abuse Photo · The new proposal’s critics allege the changes give greater rights to accused and corrodes trust in survivors. and Incest National Network, 11.2 percent of college students Daniel Yun are victims of rape or sexual The Badger Herald assault. However, only about 20 percent of sexual assault cases on campus are reported, the opposite. in victims and opens an opportunity for releaving the overall percentage of student RCC Executive Director Erin Thornley traumatization of survivors. survivors to be much higher.

Parisi said the RCC believes the proposed University of Wisconsin spokesperson The RCC opposes all of DeVos’ proposed changes will be a deterrent for victims to Meredith McGlone said the university is still modifications to Title IX, claiming the report sexual misconduct, and that the DOE trying to understand how the changes may changes will actively discourage victims — would backtrack progress made in the rights affect the UW System and procedures on specifically students — from coming forward of victims on college campuses. campus. and reporting assault.

6 • badgerherald.com • December 4 , 2018

“UHS Survivor Services will continue to provide no-cost, confidential support to UWMadison student survivors of sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, domestic violence and/or stalking,” McGlone said.

UW Chancellor Rebecca Blank said Friday that the university has developed timely policies and practices — including effective prevention, survivor support and accountability efforts — to ensure the campus is free of harassment and violence.

Additionally, UW’s Title IX Task Force will review DeVos’ proposal and investigate the significance of the proposed changes, UW System spokesperson Heather LaRoi said Friday.

LaRoi stressed the UW System is committed to promoting policies and practices preventing sexual assault and misconduct.

Ian Henderson, director of systems and policy at the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said his organization’s biggest concern is that schools will be let off the hook from addressing sexual harassment occurring at their institution.

“It seems that the proposed rule changes really don’t have survivors’ interests at heart,” Henderson said. “It’s more about educational institutions and relieving them of responsibility.”

Unitypoint Health Forensic Nurse Examiner Program, a program partnered with UW Health that works with victims of sexual assault begin the healing process, reported that the proposed changes would essentially move any progress regarding the rights of survivors backward.

FNE described how during a time where society is trying to support survivors, the proposed changes would be detrimental to the progress being made in the fight for equalities for victims.

Public comment on the proposal opened on Thursday. Anyone can submit comments to the DOE and to DeVos until Jan. 28 of next year.

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PHOTO

The 30th Anniversary

of The Smashing Pumpkins Photo · Sold out at The Sylvee after ending their ‘Shiny and Oh So Bright’ tour, these rock legends were joined by Drab Majesty, alter-ego Deb Demure.

Anna Walters The Badger Herald

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Children of color to gain education in STEM fields through UW program New program looks to motivate young students to pursue medical professions through lessons, hands-on experiences

by Ben Baker Reporter

With the launch of the Ladder Program at the University of Wisconsin, a new chapter in education opened this month in Dane County.

The culmination of a year-long project driven by the UW Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, the Ladder Program aims to provide students of color from the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County with a hands-on learning experience in medical fields.

The UW School of Medicine and Public Health worked closely with the University of Minnesota to bring the Ladder Program, inspired by a program of the same name and nature at UMN, to Madison. Alex Gagnon, the vice president of school-based education at the Dane County Boys and Girls Club, said UW aims to educate young students on campus.

“It’s really a diverse curriculum …

It covers a broad range of content from biology, to neuroscience, to radiology, to cardiology, to orthopedics,” Gagnon said.

“We know our students have an interest in this sector, and we hope this continues to motivate them to pursue their aspirations.

We want students to be able to dive into content that fascinates them.”

The Ladder Program teaches students a specific lesson in medicine during a session, and each session will cover a new topic in the medical field, Gagnon said.

But Brian Gittens, associate dean for human resources, equity, and inclusion at UW Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, said the Ladder Program includes more than teaching young people facts and figures related to medicine. It also explores the various paths students can follow to enter the medical field, and discusses the value of hard work, perseverance and dedication.

“A big part of our role is diversity and inclusion … [the students] get to interact with a diverse group of people and get a sense that, ‘This is for me, too … ’ It’s about breaking down barriers to education,” Gittens said.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Jasmine Zapata, a pediatrician, preventative medicine and public health doctor who founded both the Beyond Beautiful International Youth Empowerment Movement and the Wisconsin Ladder Program.

Zapata said she worked closely with Renee Circhlow, founder of the UMN 8 • badgerherald.com • December 4, 2018

Ladder, while starting the program in important,” Gagnon said. “We’re trying to Madison. create that.”

“It’s key to see mentors in the fields of That peer mentorship is intended by It’s really a diverse curricuscience that look like you … I did not get to design to provide students with concrete, lum … It covers a broad range meet any doctors of color until I was well relatable role models and inspire children of content from biology, to into my high school and college years,” of color to pursue their ambitions in both neuroscience, to radiology, to Zapata said. “I’m so excited that we get to medical and STEM fields, Zapata and water that seed and provide that fertile Gittens said. cardiology, to orthopedics. ground [for children of color].”

For now, the UW Ladder Program The Ladder Program, still in its pilot year, is primarily focused on middle school Alex Gagnon plans to hold sessions on a monthly basis for students. However, the program is both the next year and intends to take feedback projected and intended to continue aiming Vice president of school-based education, and make necessary changes between year even more content towards elementary and Dane County Boys and Girls Club one and year two, Gagnon said. high schoolers as it grows, Gagnon said.

Additionally, the Ladder will begin “We want kids to see that a career in considering possibilities for growth both medicine is exciting and impactful and in the number of enrolled students and the something they can achieve … and that we scope of the program itself, Gittens said. are rooting for them,” Zapata said.

“We’ll explore expanding after the second year,” Gittens said.

“We’re hoping to have twice as many or three times as many kids enrolled.”

Zapata said the Ladder Program is in the process of making partnerships with several organizations in Dane County.

However, some of the expansions to the Ladder Program described

by Gittens and Zapata may come from the ground up, given the structure of the program itself.

The program is built on the idea that students will start learning in elementary school and continue through high school, at which point they may return to it and serve as mentors and role models for the next generation of students, Gittens Photo ·. UW School of Medicine and Public Health launches new medical field program aimed toward young students of color. The program said. will provide hands-on experience in the medical field.

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The Front Bottoms to mesh with Manchester Orchestra at The Sylvee

Both groups hope to further bring new wave of indie, emo energy during their “A Black Mile to the Surface” tour stop in Madison

by Ashley Evers ArtsEtc. Staff Writer

The indie folk group, Manchester Orchestra is back in Madison on their new tour, “A Black Mile to the Surface,” featuring American, indie-rock act The Front Bottoms.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Robert McDowell, the lead guitarist of Manchester Orchestra, who gave me some insight into the group’s current tour and creative process.

McDowell grew up a little north of Atlanta. His hometown had a very diverse music scene, with a large emphasis on hiphop.

McDowell said he’s been lucky to build friendships over the years in Atlanta, and explained that “like most music scenes, it’s based on relationships and meeting people.”

His humble words carry over into his own musical career. Early on, McDowell and his bandmates were on the former side of this relationship.

He mentioned the most important byproduct of the guidance he received from his musical community is that it kept him out of trouble.

McDowell and his band have been fortunate enough to have wiser, older mentors tell them the “‘dos and don’ts’ of the music industry and how to have longevity in their career,” he explained.

Now, McDowell said he gets to help steer bands who are starting off.

McDowell’s personal music taste is composed of influences from various genres, such as oldies, hip-hop and pop music. McDowell is attracted to strong melodies and appreciates a well puttogether song.

“A good song doesn’t have to be a certain genre, it just has to be a good song with quality melodies and quality lyrics,” McDowell said. At his core, he just appreciates a nice indie power-pop band.

Being from Atlanta, McDowell and his family grew up seeing “The Nutcracker” and various iconic musical acts at the Fox Theatre. Now, earlier on his tour, he and his bandmates had the opportunity to play this iconic venue.

“Being on stage and looking up and seeing the artificial sky that looks real to me … it is something I can’t describe but I feel blessed to have looked up at it,” McDowell said.

After having the honor to take the stage

at this historic venue, he and the rest of the group got to “come full circle and see the beauty and the history of it.”

The group also had equal respect for The Ryman in Nashville.

“Getting to play venues of that caliber has just been my childhood dream and my childhood musician dream,” he elaborated.

When asked about their relationship with The Front Bottoms and their shenanigans on the road with them, McDowell enthusiastically explained that every night has been a fun experience with them.

He described the dynamic between The Front Bottoms and Manchester Orchestra and work well together musically, as The Front Bottoms bring a full-energy set, while Manchester Orchestra appears gloomier at times.

“There is nothing more fun than going to watch one of your favorite bands on stage at a bar with a bunch of your friends … anytime you’re feeling down just walk onto The Front Bottoms’ stage and have a beer!”

McDowell said, laughing.

As a group, Manchester Orchestra are very proud of their album A Black Mile To The Surface, which they put out last year.

With A Black Mile To The Surface, they knew they wanted to incorporate futuristic

sounds with folk, old-school vibes. They started it and worked for eight months until they couldn’t possibly add anything more to the record. It took a lot of fine tuning from every member.

“With every record, you want to try and set a bar at an unreachable place and go as far as you can with it,” McDowell said.

The group did everything they could to achieve this project goal. McDowell explained that the group traveled to many different places in the country to find the inspiration to do that and create what they released.

The ensemble now has to determine how to use this process for another project after their tour is over. They hope to start with a fresh mission statement that guides them on where they want to go with their new record.

Determining how to execute this has always been the group’s biggest struggle, but it can be super rewarding when goals like that are achieved.

Tickets are still available for Manchester Orchestra and The Front Bottoms at The Sylvee’s box office or on their website. The performance will be Wednesday, Dec. 5.

Millions violently protest overbearing student loan debt in ‘Killenials’ Novelist Marty Beckerman calls attention to impending doom of society if college graduates continue to be neglected financially

by Jake Zinda ArtsEtc. Staff Writer

Marty Beckerman’s latest work, “Killenials,” is as aggravating as it is insightful, weaving together some of the most common stereotypes of both baby boomers and millennials in a novel crossover.

Beckerman brings the nationwide issue of student debt to the forefront of national security in an action-filled story. The book raises many quality points, highlighting the country’s generational gaps and the hypocrisy of older generations in almost every case as they try to wrangle their own past into the present, making it applicable to a new generation.

This cycle is never-ending, rearing its head anytime a new generation begins to reach an age where their words carry meaning and they finally have the chance to change things they view immoral. By understanding the cycle always repeats itself, better dialogue may follow across the age gap and make everyone happier.

The book centers around the life of Olivia Oldman, an adjunct professor at Logan Frost University, where she went from student to professor and followed in the footsteps of her father, the school’s dean

After Olivia’s introduction, she heads to a meeting under the impression she is finally going to receive her coveted tenure-track status, now able to start making money that will allow her to create her own life. Olivia had been living with her dad ever since she graduated because of the overwhelming amount of debt that has been strapped onto her like a military pack.

Nothing was standing in her way until the picture shatters and the dean announced there was no room in the budget to grant any professor tenure that school year. As with many people of Olivia’s generation, she drowned her sorrows in alcohol.

After being woken up naked next to another adjunct professor in the staff lounge by the dean and other faculty, the situation for Olivia only continues to get worse. A bomb planted by one of her students is detonated when the Dean kicks the box containing it, and it’s not long before a fullon hostage situation brings in the FBI and other federal government officials as they try and quell the rebellion that has sprung up. This task becomes infinitely more difficult when Olivia — acting as the de facto leader of her group of students — broadcasts a revolutionary speech to one of her student’s 18 million Instagram followers, leading millions across the country to stage their own

protests.

After the book takes that blood-soaked and thrilling turn, readers are given plenty of opportunities to reflect within themselves about their own college experiences and their mounting student debt, and can see the incredibly complex relationship between baby-boomers and millennials.

One of the smaller symbolic moments in the book comes when the student who planted the bomb, Caleb, takes off his jacket to reveal a suicide bomb hidden underneath it. The symbolism contained here is that often the amount of student debt the average individual must take on can feel like a suicide vest of its own. The only way to get it off is to slowly feed their money into the machine until it is satisfied.

Student debt can ruin lives and hold graduates back as they try and kick-start their own lives.

It is true that the costs of education have been ballooning at a frightening rate while the relevant value of those degrees earned has remained relatively stagnant. In a constantly-evolving workspace, degrees earned just 10 years ago can now be useless, and everything an individual has been working toward can be altered forever because of a technological advancement.

Throughout the course of the book, it is revealed that Caleb lost both of his parents at a young age and had a childhood most would be scarred from.

This trauma helped to warp his perspective of the United States, the wars the country fights and where it chooses to pay attention when it comes to the casualties left in its wake. “Killenials” makes it clear the situation can occur to anyone, anywhere — highlighting the importance of understanding and establishing empathy to the belief that no one ever truly knows what someone else is going through until they have walked in their shoes.

“Killenials” both frustrates and enlightens readers. The beginning of the book can be very difficult to read and difficult to follow. But as the story progresses and the characters develop, an intelligent dialogue is introduced at a timely junction within society. Characters in the book come from all walks of life, and Beckerman brings a unique voice to each one, — their strengths and weaknesses telling their own stories throughout the piece.

“Killenials” is recommended for adults and college-aged individuals alike, as it touches on relevant subjects for both generations in a format neither overwhelming nor dense.

December 4, 2018 • badgerherald.com • 9

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‘Dolce Stil Novo’ performance premiers ‘sweet new style’ in Madison

Li Chiao-Ping Dance presents an innovative, female-focused, multidisciplinary event inspired by 13th century Italian literature

by Tolu Igun ArtsEtc. Editor

As guests of Dolce Stil Novo entered the Masonic Center Auditorium Saturday afternoon, a barefooted woman greeted each individual warmly to the show as she shared instructions to sit anywhere they would like, provided they take caution when stepping near the dance floor. This friendly face was none other than Li Chiao-Ping, founder of Li Chiao-Ping Dance (LCPD).

For the first time, LCPD presented “Dolce Stil Novo” — “a feast for the senses” of dance and theater to Madison connoisseurs and newfound appreciators of the arts alike.

LCPD is a Madison based non-profit organization whose mission is “to support, produce and promote original inventive, and thought-provoking contemporary choreography.” Through their Dec. 1 performance, the company continued to fulfill this mission — allowing audience members to reflect on the intention behind each piece of the program.

Dolce Stil Novo which is Italian for “sweet new style” refers to a 13th-century Italian literature style of poetry where the main themes are love and introspection.

Parallel to the methods of Italian poets, this female-focused show derived its inspiration from contemplating the concept of women and celebrating them in return via a perplexing combination of various art forms.

The multidisciplinary performance featured five acclaimed artists — fashion designer Emily Popp, lighting designer John Frautschy, musician Julia McConahay, visual artist Chele Isaac, and artistic director and choreographer Li Chiao-Ping.

In addition to these roles, Popp, McConahay and Chiao-Ping played physical parts in the performance accompanied by several company members, guest artists and student dancers from the University of Wisconsin.

Because of the knowledge brought from collaborating artist professor Patrick Rumble, the essence and significance of Italian culture were displayed subtly, yet significantly throughout “Dolce Stil Novo.” Rumble specializes in the history of numerous Italian disciplines, including Italian cinema, literature, culture and society at UW. The first piece represented this Italian connection with musical accompaniment “Mercè, dilette amiche” from the opera “I vespri siciliani”

by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi.

But before this song began, complete silence filled the auditorium space as the women who took the dance floor displayed playful, yet powerfully partnered choreography intermixed with featured solos and non-synchronization — setting the tone for the near ninety minute performance.

This first dance was followed by UW MFA candidate Emily Popp’s 100 Pound Dress, a garment weighing in at exactly 104.5 pounds which sat on the dance floor waiting to be

Photo · Lauren John shares a serious look moving across the dance floor.

John Maniaci/John Maniaci Photography

Photo · Lauren Gibbs, Elisabeth Roskopf and Liz Sexe perform “Nuts and Bolts” (2017) together.

John Maniaci/John Maniaci Photography worn by six people, including Popp. The individuals modeled the dress by walking carefully across the floor, stretching apart at times to show off its various segments to the audience as an audio recorded explanation behind the piece played along.

“The stories are there, but I don’t know what they are. So I can only try to feel them with my body and not necessarily understand with my mind,” Popp said.

The five other models removed themselves from the dress — wrapping Popp in the hefty material, sewn together earlier in 2018, she is still feeling to understand.

Popp’s fashion exhibit was followed by the premiere of a number of distinctive pieces, including “reDress/age” performed by five UW student dancers, “Enchanting Girl,” and “Woman of the Year” featuring audio from “100 Women challenge: Breaking the glass ceiling” by BBC News.

“It sounds like, in many cases, women aren’t just hitting a glass ceiling, they might also be climbing a broken ladder,” the narrator posited.

The theatrical aspect of this number was performed animatedly by Liz Sexe who managed to build the ladder back together, stripping away the traditional women’s business clothing and high heels she wore which allowed her to present a newfound sense of freedom.

A similar sense of freedom or liberation emulated from the dances to follow, accompanied by beautifully colored lights which lined the dance floor as well as the wings from above.

The visual art component of the show developed throughout in “Three considerations before choreographing the End” — a three part video that began to seem more connected as each figure was displayed, being further interpreted and understood by audience members as the final numbers neared.

In the last two premiered pieces, “Endgame” and “Fortuna”, McConahay rocked out on her fiddle as she played musical accompaniment to those dancing while she graced the dance floor — serving as another creative, interactive element to end the show on a high note (literally).

“At times, we focus on the negative, what is not working, or disappointing, or infuriating.

But, let’s focus on the positive: your health, education, home, job, food, and clothing. What good fortune! Dear Fortuna!” Chiao-Ping wrote at the end of her message from the artistic director. This message was well-received from audience members whose approval through applause echoed across the room following each number.

Through the power of movement and dance, LCPD proved how so much can be said without actually saying anything. The earnest performance was joined by moments of comedy which led to such a highly intimate, enamorfilled ending.

For those who missed the real-time, thoughtprovoking experience of the program, “Dolce Stil Novo” is part of a larger work expected to premiere in the spring of 2020.

ARTSETC.

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Craigslist Kicker: Charlie Berens to bring Manitowoc Minute back After graduating in 2009, Wisconsin’s very own comedian continues to ‘Keep ‘er Movin’ with ‘Oh My Gosh!’ tour stop at Shannon Hall Friday night

by Ben Sefarbi ArtsEtc. Editor

University of Wisconsin alumni often do well for themselves following college graduation. Some have become educators, politicians and scientists, while others go on to become professional athletes. One alumnus, however, has found success through roughly 60 seconds of YouTube comedy. His name is Charlie Berens, and he’s the stereotypical Wisconsinite who hosts the comedy series “Manitowoc Minute.”

Now going on almost 40 episodes since June 2017, the show parodies local news broadcasts by replacing hard news headlines with packed punchlines, beerdrinking forecasts, tavern shout-outs and Chicago Bears trash talk.

“The Craigslist Kicker” is a fan favorite segment, featuring ridiculous listings from the online marketplace, resulting in comical commentary from Berens. The kicker is that Berens actually purchases these items.

“That’s where I got this old, 1982 Volkswagen Rabbit, ‘Getting 45 miles to the gallon there guy.’” Berens said, switching over to his anchor accent to properly show appreciation for his trusty automobile.

His jokes can now be seen live on campus at the Wisconsin Union Theatre in Shannon Hall, delivered in the former UW students’ signature camouflage jacket. Berens will perform traditional stand-up before launching into his character full of Sconnie overtones known all over the state.

Beyond what fans can find on YouTube right now, Berens will incorporate stories and videos from his “Craigslist Kicker Road Trip” into his set.

“We took that around the state to explore Wisconsin from a different perspective,” Berens said.

The Midwest dialect Berens conjures up every week mainly comes from life experiences living with his family in Elm Grove, roughly 30 minutes west of Milwaukee. Coming from a clan that includes 11 other siblings, the dozen’s second-oldest admits state stereotypes get factored in to his final product, jumping off into finding all the nuances within to keep surprising the audience.

“Comedy is all about surprises,” Berens said. “If you just beat a dead horse — which is already established in brats, cheese and the Packers — it doesn’t surprise anybody. If you embody it and find all the layers of the Wisconsin onion, there’s so much more that people relate and connect to.”

Before Berens became a Wisconsin celebrity, he was in the news business. He

ventured to places like Dallas, Washington and Los Angeles as an entertainment or local news reporter.

That’s where Berens got the inspiration for Manitowoc Minute, an anchorman with an accent which executives didn’t exactly prefer in local news. When Berens was first in Los Angeles, he reported from the red carpet, then went to producing digital content for local stations under 20th Century Fox. Exciting Hollywood glamour? Not quite.

Rather, it was “kind of boring,” as Berens remembered it.

Like seemingly every producer in Los Angeles, Berens performed stand-up at night. It was from his sets that he began to develop and later applied the character who Badgers see behind the anchor desk.

Half of the comedy Berens plans to perform will be presented in the classic stand-up format which he says everybody can relate to.

Berens said everybody knows somebody from Wisconsin or the Midwest, or at the very least hates somebody from the region.

It’s easy to find the comedy, because Berens tailors it so that having simple background knowledge is all it takes.

The “Oh My Gosh!” tour has been well received so far, and Berens hopes the support continues. The positive reviews even extend beyond Wisconsin. He spent the summer working on the material, making the show one that can tour the country and find a connection with everybody, not just Wisconsinites.

“Comedy is all about surprises ... If you embody it and find all the layers of the Wisconsin onion, there’s so much more that people relate and connect to.”

Charlie Berens There are strong fan bases of the Manitowoc Minute outside America’s Dairyland. Berens hopes to hit Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan. He’s even hopeful about tour stops in Denver and Tennessee.

The comic’s travels don’t stop there, as Berens has also spent time on the West Coast since leaving UW. “I do stand-up in Los Angeles quite a bit.

I introduce the character differently because there’s a different highway to get it to

Photo · Charlie Berens 1982 Volkswagen Rabbit, which he purchased from Craigslist during the fan favorite segment, “The Craiglist Kicker.”

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons people out there,” Berens said.

Closer to home, Berens’ upcoming show won’t be the first time he’s taken the Manitowoc Minute to campus. In Jan. 2018, he was in Madison for his “Keep ‘er Movin” tour before returning a few months later to give the UW School of Journalism and Mass Communication commencement speech. It’s no coincidence that if Berens is on tour, he comes to Madison.

He was disappointed he didn’t get to go to a Badger football game this season, though he didn’t miss much.

“We lost the axe, what the hell? But I love Madison,” Berens said. “What is three times a year too much?”

Berens said he always has fun when he’s back in Madison, and that getting together with old college friends makes it easy for him to put on a strong show.

The comedian is pleased with how much the city has changed and is impressed it continues to progress.

But the city has changed in ways he didn’t anticipate. Last week, after turning a street corner, Berens was surprised to see five buildings lined up behind one another where he expected to see just a one-way street.

“It’s like someone was playing the Sims when I wasn’t there,” Berens said. “Someone came and built an entire town on my town.”

When Berens isn’t doing stand-up or transitioning between important stories during segments with catchphrases like “Keep ‘er movin’,” he tinkers with side projects. Though Manitowoc Minute has taken off and remains his focus, Berens has plans currently in various points of development which he hopes are received well in the entertainment industry.

“I have a couple fun sketches that I’ve been working on that will come out in some videos soon,” Berens said. “I’m writing a couple pilots and pitching some of those out.”

The 2009 graduate teased events planned leading up to his show. The surprises include a launch party for Beren’s very own brew from the Ale Asylum, appropriately titled “Keep ‘er Movin’.”

Special guest Hank Chen, currently cast in Amazon’s Emmy-winning “Transparent” and TV Land’s “Lopez,” will open for Berens. The variety show will run about 60 Manitowoc Minutes at Shannon Hall Friday, Dec. 7, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $15 for UW students, with $45 meet-andgreet tickets also available.

“Everyone should leave with a smile on their face,” Berens said. “You’re hearing that from a very unbiased source, I have no reason to tell you that.”

December 4, 2018 • badgerherald.com • 11

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Inaccessible public transportation limits employment, affordable housing options for Madison’s outskirts Bus rapid transit looks to provide a solution to inequity and pollution, but a lack of funding and emphasis on transportation impedes progress

by Peyton David Managing Editor

“The bus is late,” said the man at the bus station at the intersection of East Washington Avenue and Thierer Road.

He said the words cooly, as if the six had a reputation for running behind.

He pointed to the time chart on the inside of the hut. “It was supposed to come at 1:58,” he smiled and gestured down the road. “When it’s coming, we should see it turn off of Independence Lane.”

It was probably the panicked look in my eyes that told him to reassure me, that no, I wasn’t going to miss the bus.

Or maybe it was the game of human frogger he saw me play across the four lanes of East Washington. Either way, he was right. The bus took a right off of Independence Lane and shortly came to our rescue.

The next one was 20 minutes out, which would’ve made me late for an interview.

Had I missed it, I had the option to take an Uber, providing expediency for a cost. I have options in how I travel.

But the same luxury isn’t afforded to everyone.

The low-income communities in Madison are one such group. Eric Sundquist, director of State Smart Transportation Initiatives, said these communities are being pushed to the outskirts of the city.

Though housing is more affordable there, this suburbanization of poverty breeds unequal access to transportation and in turn, inefficiency and unequal access to schools, jobs and health options, Jessie Lerner, who oversees development and partnership at Sustain Dane, said.

But this disproportionately affects marginalized communities.

Citywide, 11.5 percent of people have to travel for longer than 45 minutes, according to the Madison Department of Transportation. For black people, that number rises to 26.7 percent, and to 19.6 percent for low-income people.

For white people, that number is only 9.7 percent.

When low-income individuals are pushed to the outskirts of the community, they have limited access to jobs because there isn’t a quick, efficient transportation system in place, David Trowbridge, transportation and policy planning manager for the city, said.

“Transportation affects every single person every day,” Lerner said. “Having a multimodal transportation system, where we’re not relying on a vehicle, is what helps level the playing field and gives people access and choices to whatever their needs are.”

While adequate transportation can mitigate social inequities, it’s also the leading contributor of greenhouse gas emissions, a force wreaking havoc over the city, the nation and the world at large.

As the city looks to balance the effects of climate change with fostering social equity, transportation is at the forefront of the conversation.

The environmental impacts and beyond Hidden in a plethora of articles about Black Friday savings and Thanksgiving leftover recipes, the White House released the fourth National Climate Assessment, which found transportation contributes the highest amount of greenhouse gases over any other sector.

Sixty percent of those emissions are from light-weight vehicles, like cars, according to the EPA. 12 • December 4, 2018 • badgerherald.com

Satya Rhodes-Conway, senior outreach specialist for the Center of Wisconsin Strategy and mayoral candidate, said the only way to effectively reduce emissions is to get at the center of the problem: transportation.

“If you are looking at sustainability and reducing climate emissions, you have to look at the transportation sector,” Rhodes-Conway said. “Otherwise you’re just not touching a huge contributor.”

Those who have a choice in how they ride, or choice riders, have different options in transportation, usually live downtown and have frequent, convenient and fast service, Robbie Webber, SSTI senior associate, said. Those who don’t have a choice in transportation, on the other hand, are referred to as lifeline riders. These riders usually live in places where bus stops are fewer and further in between.

Sundquist said choice riders tend to use their own vehicle. In turn, the city will have more congestion and air pollution and will lose out on public transportation fees.

But those who can’t afford a car are stuck, Sundquist said.

“They’re limited in places they can apply to work and actually work,” Sundquist said. “They have huge personal burdens … They may not be able to get to school or food stores.”

Additionally, those who live on the outskirts of Madison often face a tradeoff between affordable housing and transportation access, which Sundquist said is “a big mismatch.”

The cost of housing tends to be cheaper off the isthmus than in downtown Madison. But when factoring in transportation costs, individuals who live in these more affordable areas oftentimes spend more than those who live downtown, according to the housing and transportation index.

“You give people more opportunities when they don’t have to rely on a car,” Webber said. “It’s just pulling them down by a weight in the water.”

And while ride-hailing options, including Uber and Lyft, reduce the need to own a car, they eat away at transit ridership, Sundquist said. Thus, it erodes funding from the transit system and adds to emissions.

When families on the outskirts do have to rely on cars, they may have to drive longer because they’re further away from everything. That in turn contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, Sundquist said. It’s essential to develop schools, stores, grocery stores and other necessities close together so people don’t have to rely on only one type of transportation.

“If you live in these neighborhoods, you have a very low percentage of jobs in the regions that are within a half an hour or 45 minutes,” Trowbridge said. “We hear stories of people living in these neighborhoods and it takes them 90 minutes to two hours because they have to transfer.”

Systemwide, about 18.9 percent of all riders transfer buses. For white people it’s 14.9 percent, black people 48.4 percent and low-income 34.3 percent.

The bus system in place now is inefficient, especially outside of the transfer points, Webber said. Outside those transfer points, there may only be weekday hours, or peak hours.

“If you live on the edge of town, you probably have one bus. It may only run during peak hours and maybe, if you’re really lucky, it runs once an hour during off-peak,” Webber said. “Maybe it runs on weekends, maybe it runs at night. If it doesn’t then you’re totally screwed. If you miss that one bus, you have to wait an hour. That makes your

travel time really long.

The solution would seem to be better coverage and more frequent service, but the funds are limited, Webber said.

But the fact of the matter is it’s difficult to provide coverage to those who live in the urban sprawl, Sundquist said.

Funding for transportation isn’t unlimited, and it’s often cheaper to provide more frequent busing to a smaller space where there are more people than it is to extend service, Webber said. “[Transportation] is critical to all sorts of different pieces of daily life,” Rhodes-Conway said. “And so the accessibility, the convenience, the cost of transportation all play a huge role in … whether there’s an equitable opportunity.”

Rapid riding The man sat next to me on the bus and our conversation volleyed back and forth for the whole 40 minutes it took me to get from the bus stop to my apartment.

He’s taken the six every Friday to get from his house on West Washington, transfers buses around the Capitol and takes the bus to the mosque on East Washington. And then he does the same thing to get back.

He also told me he shattered his foot playing soccer a while back and hasn’t been able to work since.

I’m able bodied, which is a fortune I don’t think about very often. Plus, living in downtown Madison, I’m within less than 0.1 miles from seven bus stops and a B-Cycle station. If I weren’t able bodied, I would have options.

On the outskirts, where development is spread out, accessibility to public transportation is more limited. This partially has to do with not having enough place to store buses and a lack of funding for more routes, Ald. Zach Wood, District 8 said.

The Madison bus system is currently set up for people who commute downtown, Rhodes-Conway said. But the system isn’t set up to move people from downtown to jobs on the periphery, further widening the gap.

Setting up an equitable metro system leaves the city with choices to make. Like many cities, Madison has tried to maintain a balance, Webber said.

The city can set up transit for either choice riders or lifeline riders to fulfill either environmental or equity goals respectively. The city is trying to maintain both options despite lack of funding, Webber said.

But because service doesn’t extend past city limits into neighboring cities like Middleton and Fitchburg unless those governments pay for service, Madison cannot adequately balance environmental and equity goals.

Bus rapid transit could be a solution to that.

BRT is a bussing system that would have limited stops and quicker service, connecting people from their homes to their closest bus stop. Madison plans to pilot BRT so it first runs from the east corridor to the west, where there’s job density and more choice riders. BRT looks to address both climate and equity goals, Trowbridge, who leads Madison’s project, said.

It would have its own lane and traffic signals, which would allow it to travel quicker, reducing idle times and speeding up travel time, Trowbridge said. Additionally, it would come every 10 to 15 minutes.

The first public hearing for BRT will be held Dec. 12 at Madison Public Library from 6 to 8 p.m.

“If we really want to … double [ridership] like the mayor says he wants to, we really have to do something like

bus rapid transit. Something that really provides the fast service,” Trowbridge said. “If you’re driving now, there’s really no incentive to ride the bus unless it’s much faster.

You do see some cost savings, but is it worth an hour extra each way? We really need to work on that.”

While there’s enthusiasm at the city level, financially there isn’t much interest in increasing transit at the statewide level, Trowbridge said. Plus, funding from the federal government is stagnant, which makes for an intense competition for grants between different cities interested in expanding transportation.

There’s interest out there to eventually expand transportation outside Madison. But regional planning and intergovernmental cooperation is necessary.

Pushing the boundaries The Metro doesn’t stop on Monona Drive, an entity of the city of Monona.

It just moseys its way down the road until it’s back in the city of Madison.

Some call it petty, others call it a lack of regional transit authority. For municipalities that pay for transportation, like Fitchburg, Middleton and Verona, the bus will run to the requested amount of service the city — or in Verona’s case, Epic — pays for, Webber said. Monona has its own transit system which isn’t part of the Metro.

Wisconsin is the only state in the Midwest that doesn’t have an RTA, something taken away by the Walker administration, Webber said. This affects the way transportation in the region operates.

“If you have a regional transit authority, or some other sort of mechanism to provide [funds] … there’s ways that communities have figured this out and have really seen their systems grow,” Trowbridge said. “We can’t just create an RTA, the state needs to give us authority, which is a problem because we have these legislators up north who have no clue what transit is. They just think it’s wasteful for cities and don’t really get how it helps cities grow sustainably.”

Madison’s population grew the most of any municipality in the state last year, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. Fitchburg, Sun Prairie and Verona were also among the top ten gainers.

With the growth the city has seen, there’s a vast need for a more comprehensive transportation system to maintain and improve Madisonians’ quality of life and livability, Lerner said.

With new leadership, Trowbridge is hopeful that an RTA is in the cards, allowing for service to surrounding municipalities where need is high.

“This intergovernmental agreement model is just very short-sighted and very difficult to sustain,” Trowbridge said. “These communities are under levy limits as well, and they can’t afford to always have the level of transit they need. They have other needs, they’re growing.”

Right now, the focus is to help pay for the first phase of BRT. Historically, a pattern of funding shortages and lack of emphasis on transportation is evident across the state.

Dane County has looked at a commuter rail, streetcar and a high speed rail, Webber said. The high speed rail was supposed to connect Chicago to Milwaukee to Madison to the Twin Cities, a project which the state got $810 million for and Gov. Scott Walker rejected in 2010, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.

At a local level, the city bought a few electric buses as a

nod to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, and they’re still looking to add regular buses for additional routes, Wood said. But a few years ago, Madison’s federal grant proposal to add additional storage for buses was beat out

by Milwaukee’s proposal to build streetcars.

“There are more good projects across the country asking for that money than there is money available,” Wood said.

“Not every project that deserves the money unfortunately is going to get it.”

Rhodes-Conway said there hasn’t been enough attention at any governmental level to transportation initiatives.

In an upcoming local election season, where all of the seats for city council and the mayor ’s office are up for grabs, positive change for transportation initiatives could be in the limelight.

When there’s a political will, there’s a way Mayoral candidate Rhodes-Conway said sustainable, rapid transportation is a top priority for her. “[Rapid transit] is one of the very short list of things that determine the path that Madison goes on and what kind of city we’re going to be,” Rhodes-Conway said. “If we don’t invest in rapid transit now, traffic just gets worse, it gets harder and harder to get downtown, it gets more discouraging … just a whole cascade of problems.”

Changes start when politicians have the political will, or the courage to reallocate funds from one priority to

Source: Madison Transportation Department

another, Rhodes-Conway said.

“We’ve been talking about bus rapid transit in this community for 30 years,” Rhodes-Conway said. “I don’t see any big red rapid buses on the street.”

Right now, the city has “picked the low-hanging fruit,” Webber said. They’ve turned old rail corridors into bike and walking paths and put cut-throughs between apartment buildings. But in terms of tangible reductions to car traffic on the roads, the city has yet to pick that apple.

For example, new construction on roads like Monroe Street saw an addition of a lane during rush hour traffic to and from the city, with the three lanes switching off, Webber said. But during peak times, pedestrians have three lanes to cross instead of two and no bike path, which prioritizes parking and moving cars. This helps neither environmental nor equity goals.

That priority lies within the constituents’ commitment to and awareness of sustainable transportation. And with reports of how climate change is increasingly shaping the way of the future, it’s time for local action, Lerner said.

“What I think about is, how do we build a transit system that makes people’s lives easier and that speaks to the woman who is trying to get a job and misses her job interview because she missed the bus and the next bus doesn’t come for an hour,” Rhodes-Conway said. “That shouldn’t happen.”

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Wisconsin workers have been ‘Foxconned’ out of promised jobs Though deal proposed slew of factory jobs, most of them may now actually be filled by internally-hired engineers

by Julia Brunson Columnist

In the wake of the Wisconsin gubernatorial race, Governor-elect Tony Evers is working to significantly reform many of the state government’s policies.

Somewhere near the top of his list is the Foxconn Deal that doomed Gov. Scott Walker ’s reelection.

It is no longer a question of determining its salvageability. Rather, Evers is tasked with pursuing an infinitely more difficult task — getting Wisconsin out of it, if even possible.

“Foxconn Fatigue” has never been more real. Despite Walker ’s best efforts, it has grown increasingly difficult to think of the tax credit/subsidies/ incentives exchange with the electronics giant as anything even remotely resembling a deal.

It is important to make this distinction: A deal is an exchange between parties. There are mutual benefits. There is at least a benefit.

Wisconsin is tired. It shouldn’t be partisan to claim that we have seen next to no benefits from Foxconn.

When places like New York and Virginia win bids for Amazon’s second global headquarters at a far lower rate, boasting higher salaries and confident returns on investment, the salt isn’t just rubbed in the wound — it’s ground into it.

The Foxconn deal might have been tied inextricably to Walker, but we are still — even after he leaves — stuck with its terms. As lawyers struggle to figure a way out, past negotiations continue to have an impact on our state. Everyone is tired of hearing about it — voters, readers, myself included. We are tired of hearing how our state is doomed, because to think in terms of pollution, flooding, and irreversible damage to our ecosystem is to accept the deal — baby and all.

Even excluding the incalculable losses to our natural environment, Wisconsin is still $2.85 billion in the hole from subsidies. Yet, the word hole suggests we tripped suddenly and fell into this mess.

But this wasn’t a hole — it was a Walkerapproved ramp.

A small minority of Wisconsinites hold on, clinging even tighter as the situation worsens. They believe in the deal. They believe in its promises, regardless of how many are twisted, or flat-out broken, at every stage of this demented process.

Why is that?

Days before the gubernatorial election, when the future of Wisconsin was uncertain, the Wall Street Journal broke a devastating story — the 13,000 jobs 14 • December 4, 2018 • badgerherald.com

Photo · The Walker administration’s promise of a Wisconsin manufacturing renaissance powered by Foxconn’s new factory gets hollower by the day.

Courtesy of Flickr user Prachatai promised would not be filled by Wisconsin workers, but by foreign workers. The real kicker — 90 percent of them were probably never going to be assembly jobs in the first place.

With a nail-biting election a few days later, the news largely flew under the radar. But many forget that last year, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported by 2022, approximately 5,000 jobs would be classified as “operators,” or assembly line positions. Out of the 13,000 jobs promised, nearly 40 percent were decent, well-paying factory jobs — jobs that were dangled in front of Wisconsin workers.

Today, the number of prospective operator jobs has been greatly reduced — to a measly 10 percent. The other 90 percent would be foreign engineers from Foxconn, hired to fill a talent gap in Wisconsin.

So if the deal was to provide Wisconsin with 13,000 jobs, in exchange for an ungodly amount of money and the well being of our environment and we only get a fraction of the promised jobs, then what the hell are we still doing in this deal?

Much has been written about the deindustrialized Midwest — thousands of pages have been devoted to the towns in the Rust Belt that industry “left behind.”

And for Wisconsin, one aspect of Walker ’s Foxconn deal appeals despite its faults — the return of the great, city-building industry of the past.

Because, at its rural core, Wisconsin is nostalgic for a time when a good “factory job” was enough to support a family and buy a home. We refuse to see the bad terms of a deal as a barrier to that dream. We refuse to believe that era cannot, by some force of will, return.

But this isn’t that era. Today’s companies play by different rules. They are lured into states. They are fickle — they lay off workers and cut factories as quickly as they relocate. They don’t care about Racine, Wisconsin, or the old factory towns that litter the Midwest, hoping for a return of the pre-Rust Belt era. They give our universities grants and research funds because they are leeching the very lifeblood from our state. And we’re paying them to do so.

The Foxconn deal is beyond force of will. We are in a deep, deepening hole. So let go of the shovel, Wisconsin, and start trying to climb out.

Julia Brunson (julia.r.brunson@gmail. com) is a senior majoring in history.

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Democrats must build base to overcome Republican obstructionism

Only meaningful response to Republican stonewalling is to build broad, popular support for a progressive vision in Wisconsin

by Sam Palmer Associate Opinion Editor

around. It is an idealism of procedure, a fetishization of compromise that implicitly suggests it doesn’t matter what policy is implemented as long as it is bipartisan. It’s what happens when centrist liberals — not the actual left — have nothing left to offer but a paler version of Republican policy.

That’s a huge problem. Unless Evers changes his tune and gets serious about realizing some sort of progressive vision,

Democrats should be realistic in their response. Vos and the GOP are wellpositioned to foreclose any ambitious policy projects for the next two years. So Democrats need to identify the problems they want to address right now and put in the rhetorical work to link those problems to the Republicans. Don’t go after the Republicans for being “divisive” — go after them for how they’ve made the

They may still have been breaking down voting booths somewhere in Wisconsin when Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, started talking about limiting the power of the executive branch.

It’s funny that politicians often seem to be at their most philosophical after a loss. It’s no wonder, then, Vos was in such a hurry to muse on the centralization of state power. When he asked rhetorically “Geez — have we made mistakes where we granted too much power to the executive?” the tone was dorm room political science. It’s actually sort of bizarre he took the time to cloak it in such language. Can anyone say, in this political moment, that he wouldn’t have gotten away with it if he just released a statement saying “We don’t want Tony Evers to have power?”

Nevertheless, it should go without saying that Vos is looking to prevent the newly-elected Evers from doing anything.

So how should the Democrats respond to this sort of legislative skullduggery?

For starters, they probably shouldn’t do what Evers is trying to do. His victory speech gives you an idea. Laden with tropes about “not picking political fights” and “moving forward together,” it should sound eerily familiar for anyone who paid attention in the Obama Photo · With Republicans digging in, Democrats must plan for the future and carefully construct popular base to build real power. presidential years.

A newly-elected executive Montana Leggett who wants to reach across The Badger Herald the aisle — while the Republicans flaunt their intention to thwart him at he doesn’t have a prayer at beating back state a cesspool of corporate rule. No one every turn.

Republican policy gains, never mind but hand-wringing liberals cares about We know how that ended. The position implementing his own. But let’s assume, “division” — they care about the ways that Obama took and Evers seems intent on for the sake of argument, that Evers and their lives are getting worse. Talk about taking is idealistic and disastrous in a very the Wisconsin Democrats are competent. how they took a hatchet to the rights of particular way. It is not the sort of idealism We’re back to the question we started with working people — the people who could that lays out a political vision for a better — how should Democrats play ball when and should be the Democratic base if they world or gives people something to rally the Republicans are digging in? functioned as a left-wing party should.

Democrats should use the next two years to lay out a vision for a better Wisconsin, one that functions for the farmers and workers, not the manufacturing executives. From investing in smalltime dairy farming to promoting trade unionism, there is space to build a vision of Wisconsin for the many.

The Democrats must painstakingly build — or, rebuild — a political base, making their case directly to voters. They must lay the groundwork. Indeed, they must do the job of the left-wing party, which is to present an alternative vision to the right’s hellscape — not to manage expectations.

Democratic maneuvering over the next two years will determine the extent to which they will actually get a chance to govern.

The time should be spent not simply squirming under Republican obstructionism but strategically, carefully building a plan to take actual power with a broad mandate.

To be honest, that won’t happen. Evers and his colleagues are simply not bold enough and not well-organized enough.

The reality is that Democratic governorship may be just a flash in the pan, not a sign of things to come. But things don’t have to go that way.

Maybe Evers and the Democrats will chart a new path. Maybe we’ll have to do it on our own.

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

“do The the

Democrats ... must job of the left-wing party, which is to present an alternative vision to the right’s hellscape, not to manage expectations.

”

badgerherald.com • December 4, 2018 • 15

OPINION

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Common Council candidates lead way for youth representation

As leaders finally begin to look like their constituencies, Madison cannot discount the impact of young leadership

by Ethan Carpenter Columnist

At a first glance, news of the two freshmen candidates running for the campus seat on Madison’s Common Council might raise eyebrows — and not without reason. Two aspiring alders sitting below the legal drinking age is far from the norm for U.S. politics. The average age of a member of the current session of Congress is approximately 60.

For District 8, however, which encompasses all University of Wisconsin students currently living in University Housing, young candidates have been the norm. Current Ald. Zach Wood, citing a desire for young candidates to step forward as a reason for vacating his seat, is just 25 and was a UW senior when elected.

While 2018 did bring a historic wave of candidates outside traditional demographics — women, people of color and members of the LGBT community — here in Madison, this is no new phenomenon. Rather, it’s simply the notion of an elected official representing their community — that the city’s significant student population should have a representative on Common Council who understands the issues students face.

Both candidates are well aware of this.

In her announcement, candidate Avra Reddy wrote that “no decision in city hall can be made about us, without us,” and “a student representing students” has been a slogan of Matthew Mitnick’s campaign.

Would-be politicians this young are often met with skepticism and oftentimes contempt by older and more conservative demographics. Dennis Prager, a radio

host invited to speak in April by campus conservative group Young Americans for Freedom, was met with applause when he gave barbs such as, “You know what you learn from teens? Nothing! You know what I did as a teen? I listened!” For all their pointedness, these criticisms of youth advocates are far from factual.

Running for office alone is a commitment of time and effort which demands discipline, and all of the aforementioned candidates have a history of community involvement serving as stark disproof to claims young people cannot be ready to serve as serious elected officials. UW student Kat Kerwin was a member of ASM and an anti-violence organizer during her time at school before running for city council in her home of Providence, Rhode Island. Reddy has two elections’ worth of experience working to support the

Photo · Freshmen candidates in Madison’s eighth district could continue the important tradition of youth representation and leadership in local government.

Alice Vagun The Badger Herald

Democratic Party. Mitnick is the president and founder of the campus chapter of the International City/County Management Association. All of these activists stand on solid foundations of civic engagement.

If a question still lingers, it isn’t over the number of young people in Madison.

Rather it’s, “Why not more young people everywhere else?” More broadly, it could be asked as “What needs to be done to make our government look more like the people it represents?”

Structurally, we can lower the economic barriers keeping those not particularly wealthy out of office. As a significant time commitment with part-time pay, the position of alder is closed to those who need to work full-time to support themselves. Shrinking the Common Council and raising the pay could allow for additional candidates from traditionally poorer demographics to run and win.

Socially, each one of us must fight the norms overlooking qualified candidates because of their age, gender, sexual orientation or race. In September, the police were called on Shelia Stubbs, a newly elected Wisconsin State Assembly member, on suspicion of drug dealing while she was canvassing. While this is a single, widely-reported incident, it points to a level of cultural prejudice doubtlessly pushing away many people who would make capable civil servants — and no one policy can instate tolerance.

Rather, clearing the way requires a community to consciously support those struggling against prejudice day-today. From the ballot box to the streets, the fight against gerrymandering, disenfranchisement and a culture of criminalized behavior are continually waged, and voting, volunteering and donating are all small, easy ways one can contribute to a more vibrant government.

In stepping aside to allow a new voice to take his place, Wood showed an admirable understanding of the role of a representative. Experience is valuable, and those who have served in office have their place in leadership — but sometimes the best way to use the influence one has gathered is to elevate new leaders. As the students of UW weigh the exciting opportunity to decide which fresh voice to send to the Common Council, what we must remember is that these chances for fresh voices are more than just ours to wait for, but also ours to create.

Ethan Carpenter (emcarpenter2@wisc. edu) is a sophomore majoring in political science.

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Editorial: UW must protect assault survivors when Title IX does not Legislative attempts to provide vague conditions to vital Title IX protections must be resisted at the university level

by The Badger Herald Editorial Board

In the past year, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has made one thing clear: she feels that survivors of sexual harassment and violence have it too good.

To be sure survivors aren’t the recipients of unfair advantages, she repealed the Obama-era Dear Colleague letter, raised the legal standard for schools to conduct investigations and narrowed the definition of sexual harassment.

DeVos claimed these changes were made to clarify policies related to Title IX, as well as the role institutions are expected to play, to better protect both the accuser and the accused.

In practice, these changes only help the latter.

Perhaps the most significant change in DeVos’ proposal is the redefinition of sexual harassment as “unwelcome conduct on the basis of sex that is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the recipient’s education program or activity.” This adds ambiguous conditions to the more encompassing definition of “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature” as implemented under the Obama administration. Essentially, it asserts that any instance of sexual misconduct must impede on one’s education before it’s taken seriously by authorities.

This change is insulting and appalling.

DeVos and the Department of Education should not be implementing policies mandating that a student’s education

suffers before their voices are heard. Their job is to improve education, not impede it, and policies should be written to allow administrators to get ahead of the problem instead of waiting for it to get worse.

But from the rest of the changes, it’s clear that silencing survivors’ voices is essentially the principal outcome.

According to The New York Times, the Department of Education estimated that under current policy, colleges and universities investigate an average of 1.18 cases of sexual harassment each year. Under the proposed policies, the department estimated that figure would fall to 0.72 investigations — and not because sexual harassment would become less common.

With one in five college women

Photo · With attacks on Title IX protections raining down, the University of Wisconsin must hold strong to its commitment to protect the rights of victims.

Kirby Wright The Badger Herald

experiencing sexual assault, and even more experiencing sexual harassment, 1.18 investigations per year is already far too low. Those in authority should not be implementing destructive roadblocks which lower that already unsatisfactory figure.

At UW, this topic weighs heavier in the wake of Alec Cook’s sentencing, Quintez Cephus’ trials and the recent resignation of UW professor Harvey Jacobs. As evidenced in those three incidents alone, authorities should be making it easier for survivors to seek justice.

These policies discourage survivors from speaking up, and only serve to protect the accused. That doesn’t increase campus safety — in fact, it makes the campus more dangerous because it ignores the root of the problem. The root of the problem is not that survivors are accusing people of harassment — the root of the problem is that people are harassing other students.

Betsy DeVos is not protecting students — she is protecting institutions. So, it’s on the institutions to protect us.

As UW students and members of this community, we charge the UW administration with upholding its commitment to keeping its students safe.

On Nov. 16, the UW System released a statement in response to DeVos’ proposal which declared it to be “committed to policies and practices that prevent sexual violence and harassment. We will be reviewing today’s announcement with our existing Title IX task force to take into full account the implications of the proposed rules.”

That’s nice, but it’s nowhere near enough. The university administration owes its students more assurance of protection and safety than a two-sentence hollow platitude.

Moving forward, UW administration must defend the welfare of its students by protecting survivors who come forward, creating a safe environment for others to do so, taking accusations seriously and holding perpetrators accountable for their actions.

The onus is on the university administration to take every survivor seriously — not just those deemed serious enough or which deleteriously impact the university’s image.

All UW students deserve to be safe on and off campus. If the government is going to implement policies which threaten that safety, then the university must step up.

The Editorial Board serves to represent the voice of The Badger Herald editorial department, distinct from the newsroom, and does not necessarily reflect the views of each staff member.

badgerherald.com • December 4, 2018 • 17

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Wisconsin Badgers claim Big Ten Rugby Championship over OSU Badgers came out victorious following last minute score for thrilling 20–13 victory against Ohio State Buckeyes

by Adam Blackwell Sports Writer

The University of Wisconsin club rugby team has taken the 2018 Big Ten Rugby Championship, their second championship in school history. In doing so, they’ve put an end to Indiana’s dominance at the top of the Big Ten Rugby Conference.

The Hoosiers, whose rugby program is bankrolled

by Indiana Alumni and current Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, had won the Big Ten Rugby Championship four of the previous five seasons.

But Indiana’s run at the top was halted this season at the final between undefeated Ohio State and the Badgers, whose only defeat came at the hands of the Buckeyes earlier in the season.

The final, played three weeks ago at the Chicago Blaze rugby complex, ended with the Badgers coming out on top 20–13. In the match’s last moments, with the score tied at 13, Wisconsin winger Jacob Kaplan crossed the line for the second time in the game to score the match-winning try.

Wisconsin captain Luke Henricks, who is in his fourth year playing for the Badgers, said winning the championship in front of fans and former players

was a special moment for him and his team.

“It meant the world,” Henricks said. “We had a lot of alumni, former teammates and players that were there. You could see the tradition of the guys who came before us. It meant a lot.”

Ticket to Colorado goal for Badgers Rugby Sevens It’s 10 p.m. on a Wednesday night and around 60 young men of all shapes and sizes flood into the Read...

Having suffered their only defeat of the season to the Ohio State Buckeyes, a 22–17 loss away from home back in October, the Badgers knew they faced a tough task in the final.

Second five-eighth Ben McColgan, who hails from New Zealand and is in his first season playing for the Badgers on a study abroad program, said the previous loss prepared them for what they were up against in the final.

“We were confident, but we weren’t overconfident,” McColgan said. “Everyone trained hard in the prior weeks, and we knew we could handle them.”

Part of the Badgers success this season was due to the influx of overseas players who had many years’ experience playing rugby abroad. To go along with

talent from within Wisconsin and throughout the U.S., the Wisconsin team boasted players from New Zealand, Singapore and Belgium.

The experience of the overseas players was something the Badgers’ Australian head coach Scott Adlington saw as an invaluable asset to the side.

“We had the benefit of being able to bring in players from overseas who have a very strong understanding of rugby,” Adlington said.

One of those players is Lachie Davison, a New Zealander who played at center outside his fellow countryman, McColgan. Davison said Adlington was more than willing to call on their unique perspectives and experiences when necessary.

“With guys coming from different regions, we all kind of had different understandings and different inputs with drills and how to run things,” Davison said. “Scott was good in that aspect. He was open to us making suggestions and adjustments.”

Adlington, who was in his first season as head coach after running the sevens program for a number of years, said working hard on the basics and giving his players the tools to play what was in front of them was key to their success this season.

The ability to think on their feet and adjust was

vital in the final when they were confronted with wet and muddy conditions underfoot, something they weren’t necessarily expecting.

“We just adjust. We play what’s in front of us,” Henricks said. “We had a talk at halftime and we said, ‘Look, if the hands aren’t working, just run it straight ahead.’”

Teams from Big Ten rugby conference often employ a physical and confrontational style of rugby, using their big forwards to rumble the ball up the middle of the field. Wisconsin, however, often finds themselves outmatched in size, despite having some large players of their own.

Adlington said that while they aren’t afraid to use the forwards themselves, the Badgers have a game plan more focused on spreading the ball out wide to the backs and finding holes in the defense.

“We’ve always found that we need to find ... and have a little more skill level,” Adlington said. “[Competitors] tend to bash it up through the middle more than we do.”

The Big Ten Championship victory means the Badgers will advance to a national playoff in April of next year, likely to be held at the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.

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Kicking the stigma: How kickers are viewed in and out of locker room Kicker Rafael Gaglianone, punters Connor Allen, P.J. Rosowski share their experiences playing for Wisconsin football

by Lucas Johnson Managing Editor

It’s 8 a.m. on a Tuesday morning in the McClain Center, and Wisconsin football spring practice is underway.

The defensive line takes shifts bowling over blocking dummies, exploding violently from the three-point stance while their coach demands more effort on every play.

Cornerbacks and safeties line up along the sideline with their backs to midfield. On their coach’s signal, they sprint backwards, turning their shoulders to the left or right after a few steps. Any lapse in exertion in snuffed out without question — you either practice hard or don’t play at all.

Wide receivers and quarterbacks are settled in their own corner of the field. The quarterbacks hold the ball in front of them as if to mimic a center, jolting it to their chest as they back-pedal and deliver strong throw after strong throw to receivers who run their routes with as much intensity as an in-game scenario.

Out of bounds and brushed to the side are the kickers. One stands several meters behind a fellow teammate who’s ready to snap the ball to the waiting kicker. The ball is snapped, spinning through the air into outstretched hands. The kicker rotates the ball, seam-side up, dropping one hand in preparation for the eventual kick. He takes two steps forward, raising the hand no longer gripping the ball for balance, and drops it towards his kicking foot.

But his legs stays dormant. Unlike the rest of the team during practice, it appears to the untrained eye that the small squad of kickers hone their ability to prepare for a kick, but never actually let loose.

It’s easy then, by that measure, for the average football fan to make assumptions about the difficulty of a kicker’s job or to assert that the physical taxation or preparation they undergo is significantly less than the average position player. It’s almost as though two independent groups of athletes exist on the same team. There are the football players, and there are the kickers.

But what other position is characterized by scrutiny in the same way a kicker is? If a kicker performs well, they seem to be doing the bare minimum.

A field goal sails through the uprights.

“Great,” a fan might think. “Not as good as a touchdown, but we’ll take it.”

They seem to be the butt of every footballrelated joke. “You took a kicker in what round?” a fantasy football team owner may ask.

20 • badgerherald.com • December 4, 2018

Even the most consistent kickers in football history, the Stephen Gostkowski’s and Adam Vinatieri’s of the world, are not celebrated players in the eyes of fans — they’re functional players. In game-winning scenarios, their contribution is recognized, but only for a moment.

But in scenarios when the game is on the line and a kicker’s attempt sails wide, they become public enemy number one. No other position is so lopsided in the criticism it garners. If you’re an exceptional kicker, you’re meeting expectations. If you miss one kick, you’re bombarded with incomparably vile and biting remarks.

And the kickers at Wisconsin are aware of that pressure, which is why they say their preparation is no less demanding than the rest of the team. Rafael Gaglianone, Wisconsin’s place kicker and school record holder for career field goals, knows his position is respected within the locker room.

“When it comes time for a game it’s not like [teammates are saying], ‘Oh that guy only shows up on Saturdays,’” Gaglianone said. “We’re doing everything [the rest of the team] is doing, we’re in the weight room when they’re in the weight room.”

Earning your teammates’ respect makes the existence of a publically overlooked position that much easier, but the culture around kickers appears to be changing, and understanding their job as told by them is a valuable first step to moving away from ridicule.

Internal Reputation Apart from Gaglianone, punter Connor Allen and backup punter P.J. Rosowski control the remainder of kicking duties for the Badger special teams.

Practice for the kickers does not begin with the rest of the team, Rosowski said. The group generally punts, kicks and stretches in a separate facility, only rejoining the team at the close of practice to participate in kick return drills for the special teams unit.

The metaphorical line between the “team” and the “kickers” would seem to be strengthened by this phenomenon — players who practice elsewhere would naturally feel far-removed from their teammates. But a minor relocation during practice doesn’t equate to being othered on this football team.

“Even though we’re out there for a couple plays a game we’re working just as hard as everybody else,” Allen said.

There’s no spectrum of what it means to be a teammate for Wisconsin football, Gaglianone said. As long as you’re devoted

and authentic, the rest falls into place.

“Just be yourself, you don’t have to try and fit into a preconceived notion or the idea of what it’s like to be a football player,” Gaglianone said. “If you’re yourself and you’re truthful to what your values are people will appreciate that.”

More than just a show of realness, these players are genuinely interested in broadening their football horizons beyond the sphere of kicking. Rosowski, who shares an apartment with linebacker Ryan Connelly, said the two often discuss the opposing offensive schemes Connelly studies during the week, as well as what the linebacking corps has been focusing on recently.

Rosowski said the more he knows, the better a teammate he’s able to be.

“It’s good to try and get yourself into the game rather than separate yourself as a kicker,” Rosowski said.

While the collective identity of the kickers isn’t separate from the team, they still spend an exorbitant amount of time together, and their competitive nature is hard to contain.

“We’ll compete on just about anything,” Gaglianone said. “At camp we had a lot of time between practice and meetings so we’d go to the ping pong table, pool, whatever it is we’ll compete.”

Allen said sometimes light-hearted competition and practice can overlap.

“Ultimate specialist” is one such game, combining every aspect of their position. The kickers starts on the goal line, each snapping the ball as far as they can. Wherever their respective snaps stop rolling, they punt.

After the punt comes to a halt, each player must take a field goal. Allen said punter Anthony Lotti and place kicker Zach Hintze are forces to be reckoned with.

But the essence of their dynamic can be reduced to fundamentals. Each kicker emphasized how central criticism and advice are to their stints in practice. If a player recognizes a fault in another’s motion, they have no fear to point it out. Their dedication to preparation is no different than another position player.

“We’re just like everyone else … we can be a loose group but that doesn’t mean we don’t work hard,” Gaglianone said. “If we’re dancing and having fun it’s because we did a good job and prepared well.”

A Shifting Perspective While the sport may never see a day when a kicker is revered in the same way as a quarterback, their reputation among casual football fans has seen a relative boost.

Thanks to personalities like Los Angeles Rams punter Johnny Hekker and former Denver Broncos punter Marquette King, both of whom have combined exceptional kicking with bright personalities, punters and kickers were granted their moment in the spotlight, albeit briefly.

Hekker, in a video with Dude Perfect, the trick-shooting YouTube sensation, wore a shirt reminding viewers “punters are people too.” King made it a habit to be as quotable as possible, delivering memorable one-liners like, “Nobody’s better than me, nobody looks better than me, and it’s whatever.”

While these pros made it a point to stand out from the crowd, much to the delight of football fans nationwide, Rosowski said there is more to standing out than being outspoken.

“Kickers and punters are definitely becoming more athletic, there are guys who take better care of their bodies,” Rosowski said. “They do all the little things right rather than, before, they used to just be guys that had strong legs.”

That training regiment, like the rest of the team, is devoted solely to self improvement, and team improvement by extension. That process, as told by Rosowski, is lost on the majority of football fans. Since the portion of the game is so technique drive, and approaches to executing a kick don’t vary stylistically, that appreciation can be harder to attain.

“Everything that goes into [kicking] is so precise that when you do it well, it’s not as though it’s a miracle,” Rosowski said. “But it takes so much repetition and so much practice that people don’t understand how much goes into it.”

Yet in the face of such a high-pressure position, and one where failure is treated far more aggressively than success, there are those still eager to land a kicking job.

Rosowski said he’s consistently in contact with young athletes from his community and encourages them to make football their athletic priority.

“I think it’s a great transition,” he said.

Among kickers, kicking is a celebrated tradition. It’s a position that affords instant gratification for a job well done, even if only within the confines of their team. Wisconsin kickers are proud, skillful, devoted and eager to foster the next generation of their position.

“Dream big,” Allen said to the hypothetical next generation. “Don’t let those dreams go away, you never know what’s going to happen.”

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Men’s basketball: Nate Reuvers next in long line of Badger big men

With Happ graduating this year, Reuvers will look to continue improving in post to fill eventual front court vacancy

by Danny Farber Sports Editor

Starting forward Nate Reuvers has quietly been having a stellar season for the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team. Perhaps overshadowed by the scalding hot start of D’Mitrik Trice or the always impressive play of Ethan Happ, Reuvers has been a developing presence for the Badger frontcourt.

On the year, Reuvers is tied for the Big Ten lead in blocks with Maryland forward Bruno Fernando and Michigan center Jon Teske with 18 total. That being said, Reuvers has this lead playing in only 18.8 minutes per game, over six fewer than Fernando and Teske, and dominates the Big Ten lead in blocks per 40 minutes with 4.26. Compare this start to last year, when Reuvers had 26 total blocks over the course of the entire season with 2.2 per 40 minutes.

A large part of this may be Reuver ’s weight gain this year. The forward, standing at 6 foot 11, bulked up from 215 pounds last year to 240 pounds coming into this season. This has allowed Reuvers to be more physical on the defensive side and increase pressure on inside shots.

“I’m able to hold my ground and you can contest shots a lot better. Before they would be able to back me down right to the rim but now I’m able to hold my ground and make them take a tough shot,” Reuvers said.

His most impressive performance came in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament versus Stanford, where Reuvers tied Brad Sellers’ Wisconsin record with nine blocks in a single game.

Facing some early game turnovers, Reuvers staunch defense kept the Badgers in what could have been a much tighter matchup than the 62–46 result.

While Reuvers was happy to tie the school record he was most proud about his ability to back up and help his teammates after some defensive mistakes in the contest.

“Helping my guys out when they get beat and playing help defense that’s something we talk about all the time. When one guy breaks down another guy’s going to step up,” Reuvers said.

If he keeps up the current pace, Reuvers could break Sellers’ single-season mark of 60 blocks as well. Assuming a 35 game season, Reuvers would finish with 70 blocks on the year, though those numbers are certainly inflated from his

performance against Stanford.

Offensively, Reuvers has also been impressive, shooting 50 percent from deep while increasing his point totals slightly from 5.3 to 6.8 per game.

Despite this, Reuvers still has limited playing time with the team, getting around 20 minutes per game compared to his counterpart Happ who will play over 30 a

“In

the coming years, especially next year without [Happ], someone’s gotta step up and I think I can fill that role” Nate Reuvers Badger forward

contest. But with Happ graduating at the end of the year, Reuvers’ turn at the helm of the Badger frontcourt will likely come sooner rather than later.

In recent history, Badger big men have been the face of the Wisconsin basketball program, from Jon Leuer to Frank Kaminsky to Ethan Happ. These are enormous shoes for Reuvers to fill — both literally and figuratively — but the sophomore realizes that his play style differs from his predecessors.

Leuer and Kaminsky were cut from a similar cloth as Badger big men, with solid footwork and perimeter shooting.

But Kaminsky, arguably the best player in program history, was the total package for the Badgers. Dominant inside and out, Frank the Tank could work the post and nail a deep three with ease.

Happ departed from this mold a bit.

Though he has some of the best — if not the best — footwork in college basketball, the forward’s inconsistencies in developing a jump shot or in hitting free throws have caused problems for the Badgers in floor spacing and late game situations.

Reuvers praised Happ’s inside play

and hopes to use him as an example for improving his own post moves.

“A lot of the moves [Happ] does in the post I can’t even do those yet. Just being able to watch and see how he gets his position definitely helps me in making moves by myself,” Reuvers said. “I think in the coming years, especially next year without him, someone’s gotta step up and I think I can fill that role.”

Though he can’t play inside or rebound quite as well as Happ, Reuvers’ shooting abilities at forward have been an enormous asset for Wisconsin offensively this year.

Reuvers’ threat from mid-range and deep has drawn bigger defenders away from the basket, giving Happ more opportunity to score down low.

While this is an especially helpful compliment for Happ, who lacks outside scoring abilities, Reuvers’ presence will improve the entire team’s inside efficiency even after Happ’s departure.

It would be unfair to put the expectations of past Wisconsin greats on Reuvers’ shoulders, but if he can sharpen some of his existing skills the future looks incredibly bright for the young forward.

Photo · Reuvers and Happ account for 33 combined blocks and each rank top five in the Big Ten. Daniel Yun The Badger Herald

December 4, 2018 • badgerherald.com • 21

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Wisconsin is not a wooly mitten, must stop calling self such Michigan takes the title of most mitten-y state easily, leaves Wisconsin with identity crisis in changing world

by Angela Peterson Banter Editor

Wisconsin and Michigan continually find themselves at odds, be it in athletic competitions or in friendly battles over which is the best three-syllable state. While some may invest emotion into these trials, the competition is, for the most part, in jest and does not hold serious consequences.

There is one battle where this assumption isn’t true — the great mitten kerfuffle.

For years, many confused people from Illinois, after hearing their roommate is from beautiful Richland Center, Wis., have watched as they hold up their left hand in an attempt to explain that it is in the bottom seam of “the mitten.” This metaphor is derived from the supposed mitten-esque nature of the state. Despite the seeming originality of being a mitten, Michiganers (Michiganites?, Michiganitizans? Never mind, I looked it up, it’s Michiganians) have also used this tool for years, claiming

their Upper Peninsula is a second mitten in the process.

Only one state can claim to be the true mitten of the Midwest. Upon further analysis, Wisconsin’s claim falls short.

Mitten possesses the same first two letters as Michigan, making the terms more closely related. And while it is true that Wisconsin starts with the same letter as wool, the prime material in making mittens, it’s hard to ignore the Michigan alliteration.

After running a winter tourism advertisement featuring Wisconsin as a mitten in 2011, even the Department of Tourism noted that Michigan is the true “Mitten State.” It’s true — Wisconsin willingly gave up the title to Michigan already. It seems as though there’s nothing left to fight for in the great mitten turf war.

My proposed solution, however, is one no Cheesehead can argue with. Wisconsinites should literally take a block of cheese, cut it out in the shape of Wisconsin, and carry it around with them at all times as a

handy reference tool. This allows for geographic precision, and the mold which develops on the cheese represents the staleness of trying to show geographic accuracy on one’s person instead of just pulling up a Wikipedia article showing where Manitowoc is.

Until then, Wisconsinites must resign the mitten usage to Michiganians, and put actual mittens on their hands since it’s freezing outside.

Courtesy of Pixabay

Hard Lives: Flickering light requests understanding, companionship Frequent outbursts of flickering make for difficult, isolated life for office light as many try, but fail to relate to struggle

by Angela Peterson Banter Editor

One may think they lead a hard life. Tests, papers, and the water which consistently spills from one’s Cup Noodles when trying to microwave the supposedly non-microwavable styrofoam cup plague the lives of many students daily.

Hard Lives, The Badger Herald’s newest column, seeks to put one’s troubles in perspective by showcasing the plights of various lives being lived, albeit often by inanimate objects.

Today’s feature takes a look at Bertha, a fluorescent light in The Badger Herald’s humble office which struggles to find motivation to exist every day.

Q: Start us off with a good vibes response, what are the positives in your life?

A: One could say I have too many positives in my life. You see, the key to electricity is the flow of negatively charged electrons, which I do not have happening constantly. Because of this, I often flicker on and off.

Q: Oh ... Well, that puts my interview a little bit off track. Tell us more about these flickers. Are they similar to flickers of dreams?

A: In short, no. They are pretty nightmarish. I’ll be vibing one second and then the next I will flicker and worry I might expire. It’s absolutely terrifying.

Q: How do these flickers impact the world around you?

A: For most of the staff at the office, my flickers are a small annoyance. They’ve become accustomed to my little episodes and don’t even notice them sometimes. For others, the outbursts constantly strike fear into their hearts. I heard one editor read John Hersey’s Hiroshima one too many times and contemplate if the office is under nuclear attack every time my flickers are just a bit too bright. It makes me a little insecure.

Q: Does this insecurity impact your relationships with the other lights in the office?

A: They usually understand I’m just not as developed as them yet. Sally, the bulb right next to me, will usually eat my lunch of electrons with me. She’s been really understanding through this difficult time, but lately, she’s been chilling more with Jeff, who live two bulbs over. I blame cuffing szn.

A: I’ve been single my whole life. I guess no one wants to show old Bertha love and compassion Q: Why do you sometimes refer to yourself in the third person?

A: I get it from one of the editors, she constantly refers to herself in third person, especially when chatting about bicycle laden escapades.

Q: Huh, weird. Is that weird?

A: Yeah I think so.

Q: Any final insights on your challenging life?

A: I watch over so many jovial students and yet I sit here to wallow in my spareness. Even they make fun of me sometimes if I’m having a particularly troublesome day. It’s just hard to get everyone to understand why I do what I do and I’ll always be different, but I’m working through it one flash at a time.

Photo · Bertha, the office light, sits away and awaits her next outburst of flickering Angela Peterson The Badger Herald

Q: Wait, you’re single? You’re lit and literally have so much firepower. I constantly worry the office is going to actually catch on fire because of you.

November 27, 2018 • badgerherald.com • 23

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