Tuesday, January 27, 2015 - The Daily Cardinal

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Tuesday, January 27, 2015

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Professor and PETA respond to lab closure

By Phoebe Kiekhofer THE DAILY CARDINAL

GREY SATTERFIELD/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO

MPD Chief Mike Koval announces the creation of liaison Mental Health Officer positions for each police district.

Madison Police Chief Koval introduces mental health plan

By Irene Burski THE DAILY CARDINAL

Stressing the need for immediate action in the city, Madison Police Department Chief Mike Koval announced at a press conference Monday his initiative to combat mental health illness.

“I can’t wait anymore,” Koval said. “I’m tired of the rhetoric. I’m tired of the political posturing.”

The initiative, which creates five liaison Mental Health Officer positions, will assign one officer each to each Madison police district, according to Capt.

Kristen Roman.

“We want to do more ... because, frankly I haven’t seen a lot of assistance coming to me from the state or the country or through other means.”

Mike Koval police chief MPD

Roman described the five officers as a team that is knowledgeable about available mental health services and support systems in the community. Their role will be to support people from their district with mental illness, or with mental illness in their families.

“Each of them brings with them an array of experiences from previous careers and their time in patrol,” Roman said.

“This is something that they are

F.Stokes

drawn to.”

Koval said he envisions MPD extending upon this type of engagement.

“We want to do more … because, quite frankly I haven’t seen a lot of assistance coming to me from the state or the county or through other means,” Koval said.

While the Mental Health Officer positions will focus much more concretely on mental illness issues, Koval noted that all police officers were qualified for crisis intervention.

“Each and every Madison police officer, detective and command staff has gone through profound and extensive crisis intervention training,” Koval said.

“Rest assured, you’re going to have a very capable and caring individual working your case.”

According to Koval, the five chosen Mental Health Officers were hand-picked from competing applicants.

“They’ve got skin in the game,” Koval said. “This matters a great deal to them as well.”

Estimating conservatively that police work more than 2,500 crime incidents pertaining to mental health annually, Koval emphasized the necessity of new Mental Health Officer’s positions.

“As a sign of the times, we’re finding more and more people who are either undiagnosed, undertreated, or not getting any treatment at all and it’s creating all kinds of implications for family and for community,” Koval said.

Hip-hop artists bring ‘positivity’

UW-Madison announced the closure of its controversial cat laboratory Friday, citing the retirement of neuroscience professor Tom Yin, 70, as the reason.

Yin ran experiments studying cats’ hearing abilities for more than a decade, which included deafening the cats and installing cochlear implants in their ears to test their abilities to localize sound. This drew criticism from animal rights activists.

Yin and his faculty hired a professional from the Bionics Institute in Australia to teach them how to surgically install cochlear implants in the cats’ ears.

“We essentially got the foremost authority in the world on cat cochlear implants to help us,” Yin said.

He added that the lab photographed the process to learn the correct way to do it.

The experiments drew allega-

tions of mistreatment of cats, leading to several protests and outcries from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Animal rights activists at PETA now believe their protests against Yin’s work played a substantial role in the closure of the lab, PETA’s director of lab investigations, Justin Goodman, said.

“If anything, I wanted to keep the lab open just so PETA wouldn’t say that.”

Tom Yin retired professor UW-Madison

In 2013, PETA protested against Yin’s experiments, including running advertisements on Madison Metro buses depicting photos of the cats during the cochlear implant surgeries.

Goodman said he believes the lab closed for several reasons,

including Yin’s retirement, but that public pressure from PETA’s protests contributed to the lab’s closure.

Yin said he decided to retire more than a year ago when his National Institutes for Health research grant was up for renewal. He refuted claims that PETA’s actions played a role in the closure of the lab, calling them “absolutely false.”

“If anything, I wanted to keep the lab open just so PETA wouldn’t say that,” Yin said. He added PETA has no evidence that they closed his lab.

Yin recognizes PETA’s standpoint as a “viable stance,” but says his work’s impact on a small number of animals is worth advancing general understanding and stimulating medical innovation.

“We think this information about how the brain works is important to possible future improvements in the human condition,” Yin said.

Legislative Affairs Committee discusses rumors surrounding biennial budget

By Laura Grulke THE DAILY CARDINAL

The Legislative Affairs Committee began the semester Monday discussing the upcoming budget and its suggested effects to the UW System’s funding along with rumors of UW-Madison becoming a public entity.

Although concerns about system changes branch purely from speculation until Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal is revealed Feb. 3, the Committee expressed fears of a system-wide base budget reduction of $150 million.

The Committee voiced particular concern with the possible flexibilities the UW system would be granted if it became a public entity, especially shared governance flexibility. This would limit the amount of shared

committee page 3

EMILY BUCK/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Legislative Affairs Committee Chair Tom Gierok speaks about the upcoming budget and its speculated effects for UW.

Mayoral hopeful Resnick talks new plans for Madison Democratic mayoral candidate, Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, announced part of his “bold” list of ideas for Madison on his website Monday.

According to Resnick, his priorities include making the city a leader in digital innovation and ending homelessness.

The young candidate stressed his involvement in Madison’s Digital Technology Committee,

+ ARTS, page 4

which recently finalized plans for a city-wide accessible LTE/4G network for all Madison residents.

“If our city is committed to promoting equity and economic opportunity, we must … close the digital divide that leaves too many Madisonians without affordable or reliable access to the internet,” Resnick said in his plan.

Another focus includes halting chronic homelessness in

Second semester slumpin’?

Madison by the end of 2016, and in the meantime, improving the sheltering system through partnership with the Homeless Services Consortium and Continuum of Care agencies.

“Matching resources and supporting projects designed to provide permanent housing to the chronically homeless is in the best interest of all Madisonians,” Resnick said in the release.

+ OPINION, page 6

“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”

almanac 2

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Wednesday: snow

hi 32º / lo 19º

hi 34º / lo 28º

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

An independent student newspaper, serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison community since 1892 Volume 124, Issue 55

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Editor-in-Chief Jack Casey

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News Team News Manager Adelina Yankova Campus Editor Bri Maas College Editor Ellie Herman City Editor Irene Burski State Editor Andrew Hahn Associate News Editor Laura Grulke Features Editor Gilly McBride Opinion Editors Max Lenz • Cullen Voss Editorial Board Chair Haley Henschel Arts Editors Allison Garcia • Conor Murphy Sports Editors Jack Baer • Jim Dayton Almanac Editors Dylan Anderson • Andy Holsteen Photo Editors Emily Buck • Thomas Yonash Associate Photo Editor Will Chizek Graphics Editor Cameron Graff Multimedia Editor Ian Zangs Science Editor Danielle Smith Life & Style Editor Claire Satterfield Special Pages Editor Haley Henschel Copy Chiefs Theda Berry • Kara Evenson Jessie Rodgers • Paige Villiard Copy Editors Andrew Edstrom • Ellisa Kosadi Social Media Manager Madison Schiller

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Did you just say my name?

Myra Hopper guest columnist

H

ey, did you just say my name? I could’ve sworn I just heard someone say “Myra,” which as you might know, is not the most common of names.

So as you know, yeah, I’m kind of a big deal. But that doesn’t mean you can all just call my name because you want a candid shot of my face so you can make it your new cover photo. Whenever I enter or exit a building, it’s a barrage of “Myra,” “Myra,” “Myra,” “MYRA!” It seems like everywhere I go, I hear my name. Usually it’s in a tenor, and kind of oscillates around my inner

ear for a few seconds before I realize that I’m hearing someone say my name again.

Sometimes though, it comes in the form of a frightening female baritone—like “M-yy-y-y-r-r-r-r-r-r- a- a-A-AA-A.” The gradual crescendo is certainly off-putting.

I just don’t believe you’re all calling to your friend with a name basically the same as mine who just happens to be standing in a place where I might confuse you addressing them from afar for you saying my name.

When I react to people saying my name, they always look at me with this mildly confused, but also annoyed,

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glare. They try to deny that they said anything at all. But I know. I hear my name at least 270 times a day. So trust me, I know when someone has said it. There. I just heard it again. Stop saying my name!

Once in a while I’ll give people the benefit of the doubt if they can explain themselves. “Myron” and “Maya” both sound phonetically similar to “Myra.”

Those names aren’t particularly common either though, certainly not enough to make up for the hundreds of times I hear my name every day. I just don’t believe you’re all calling to your friend with a name basically the same as mine who just happens to be standing in a place where I might confuse you addressing them from afar for you saying my name.

I’ve already explored the option of a name change. In fact, I’ve changed my name 11 times now, from Emily, to Sarah, to Michelle, to Gabby, to Alexandria, to Becky, to Nicolette, to Bethany, to Michelle (again), to Sandra, to Circe, to Myra. As you might have guessed, changing my name so far has not stopped people from saying it constantly. I’m thinking next I might try Ichabod, which doesn’t sound like anything else.

I don’t get why you all feel an impulse to call my name. I really just don’t get it.

THERE! I heard it again! I’m alone in my studio apartment writing this and people are still trying to get my attention.

Yeah, I’m special. But this is too much!

Tell Myra her name at mrshopper2939@hotmail.com.

Almanac Classifieds

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Cars & Vehicles

Aquarius Instinct—May the power of the oceans guide you to better tomorrows and brighter todays. Almost nothing holds more bearing on our physical world, and how we live day to day, than constellations. If you would like to aquire my Aquarius instinct, please email zorb a n o rb 65 3 9 @ e t h e r m a i l . com. I will accept stock in Google, four ruby-colored shards of bark, an allexpenses-paid trip to Peru, a great vibe, a rosemary bush, 45 acres of property in Jackson Hole or an instinct of equal or greater value.

Quickie Scooter—No, this is not a Razor Scooter, you know, the one thing that all the cool kids had when we were 11. This is a Quickie Scooter, the one thing that indicated who was the biggest loser in the entire school, since only parents who don’t care about the well-being of their children get them a Quickie Scooter for their golden birthday. It wasn’t even much less expensive than an actual Razor. But everyone sure as hell can tell it’s not one. If you want your child to go through the same utter humiliation I did, email Jackyjimboyno462@ hotmail.com.

On this day in history...

Editorial Board Jack Casey • Jonah Beleckis Haley Henschel • Cullen Voss Max Lenz • Michael Penn Kayla Schmidt l

Board of Directors Herman Baumann, President Jack Casey • Jonah Beleckis Jennifer Sereno • Stephen DiTullio Brett Bachman • Janet Larson Don Miner • Phil Brinkman Jason Stein • Nancy Sandy Corissa Pennow • Victoria Fok Tina Zavoral

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1302—Dante Alighieri is exiled from Florence. He spends the rest of his life passing through hell.

1606—The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators involved with the Gunpowder Plot begins. Too bad no one remember, remembered to line up a getaway caravan.

1961—Soviet submarine S-80 sinks. All hands are lost. Other body parts wash up on shore after a few weeks.

2006—Western Union discontinues its telegram service, causing mass unemployment among Pony Express riders.

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committee from page 1 governance on campus in the interest of project timeliness, like in construction, Legislative Affairs Committee Chair Tom Gierok said.

Committee members say a cut in shared governance would reduce student influence in college affairs.

“It would take away a lot of our voice,” Finance Committee Chair Madison Laning said.

The Committee also discussed an upcoming bill that would change how segregated fees are approved.

Currently, students are free to choose how segregated fees are allocated without approval by the Chancellor.

Sen. Rick Gudex, R-Fon du Lac, will introduce a bill at the end of the week aiming to amend how this process works, Gierok said. It is mainly intended to give the Chancellor final approval over the budget.

Gierok said the Committee will reconvene on the issue and talk about further action.

Shared Governance Committee Chair Morgan Rae ended the meeting with plans to reintroduce the Responsible Action Bill, which aims to spread campus drinking guidelines to off-campus areas.

The bill would offer immunity to people involved in alcohol-related emergencies to encourage health and safety, Rae said.

Rae has worked on writing and gaining momentum for the bill since 2012 but has encountered problems with conflicting state law.

The bill was introduced last session in the assembly and the senate, but was not taken any further. The bill is projected to be reintroduced in late summer, but Rae said she hopes it is sooner.

“We have a meeting with [Rep.] Ballweg, we’re going to try getting the language of this bill with all the amendments in it as soon as we can,” Rae said.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015 3 l

MPD body camera study funding approved

By Alex Bernell THE DAILY CARDINAL

Madison’s Board of Estimates agreed to allocate $30,000 to research citywide public opinion regarding the use of body cameras by Madison police, as well as to determine the benefits from the use of such cameras.

According to Madison Police Chief Mike Koval, out of the $30,000 allocated to the research project, $10,000 will be for site visits, $17,000 for consulting services, $1,000 for spreading awareness and $2,000 for printing for these needs.

However, Koval acknowledged that these numbers are crude parameters and that $17,000 for consulting is “probably a minimum.”

Ald. Denise DeMarb, District 16, said the committee is hoping they will know the results of the research and how to proceed before the 2016 budget is announced. Chief Koval said that should this occur, he hopes to begin using body cameras in a concentrated area by the spring of 2016.

He stated that a good area for this to occur is south Madison.

He also said he wants a project manager who is hired by the city and does not want the project led by police to

GREY SATTERFIELD/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Madison Mayor Paul Soglin argues there must be a clear objective for the proposed police body camera research study funding at Board of Estimates Monday night. avoid potential attempts to tailor the results.

Although the committee’s decision to allocate the $30,000 on research was unanimous, some said they would be reluctant to sign a bill requiring Madison police to use body cameras.

“I am not sold on cameras to the solution of much of anything,” Ald. Lisa Subeck, District 1, said. “The more [the Board of Estimates] discuss it

the less and less I am sold on it.”

Subeck also expressed concern that the $30,000 is just for research and does not begin to address the expense of providing body cameras.

Mayor Paul Soglin also said that the committee has not clearly defined an objective for the research, which is a problem.

“Is our objective body cameras?” Soglin said. “I hope it is not.”

Echoing Subeck’s and

Soglin’s comments, Koval voiced concern about the efficacy of body camera use.

“I am concerned that cameras are becoming my industry’s flavor of the month,” Koval said.

However, Koval did go on to express his willingness to accept the study’s findings.

“If the study’s findings are that the project [body cameras] create stronger trust bonds then [sign me up],” Koval said.

Gov. Walker’s out-of-state travel draws Democratic ire State Democratic leadership criticized Gov. Scott Walker Monday, accusing him of “kicking the can down the road” by ignoring the state’s budget deficit while he explores a potential 2016 presidential run.

“The Scott Walker running for president sounds a lot different than the Scott Walker who promised to be our governor for the next four years,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate said in a teleconference.

“He’s leaving a disaster behind while he runs for the next office.”

The criticism comes on the heels of Walker’s appearance at the Iowa Freedom Summit on Saturday, where he joined Republican heavyweights including Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in addressing conservative voters.

Walker then flew to California to speak at a fundraising event organized by

Charles and David Koch, Koch Industries executives and longtime Walker supporters.

“We need to make sure the governor is focused on our state because it appears he’s out of state, wearing rosecolored glasses regarding our current economic situation,” Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, said.

Shilling called on Republicans to take action to fix what the Legislative Fiscal

Bureau, the state’s non-partisan financial office, projects to be a $283 million budget shortfall.

“Right now the deficit is at $283 million and that’s about three times what the [budget repair] trigger is,” she said.

“We need to act on this rather than say its going to fix itself.”

A spokesperson from Walker’s campaign did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment.

—Andrew Bahl

Elections board chairman defends GAB to Legislature

By Jane Roberts THE DAILY CARDINAL

ON CAMPUS

Winter blues A UW-Madison student braves a snowy and icy campus on his way to class Monday. + Photo by Dana Kampa

Government Accountability Board members have been closely involved in overseeing investigations into Gov. Scott Walker’s recall campaign, Board Chairman Judge Gerald C. Nichol wrote in a letter to Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, Thursday.

The letter came in response to comments Vos made during an interview with NBC15 last week, where he was quoted as saying, “We know that [GAB staff ] were involved in the John Doe investigation with district attorneys in Milwaukee. We know that they hired investigators to go and do that work without the authority of that GAB board of judges.”

The GAB is a nonpartisan agency that oversees the state’s election, campaign finance, lobbying and ethics laws and was notably involved with John Doe investigations into whether Walker’s campaign illegally

coordinated with conservative groups during recall campaigns in 2011 and 2012.

The letter referenced the same NBC15 report, which paraphrased Vos as saying that staff members, including GAB Director Kevin Kennedy, “have taken charge, instead of running ideas past the deciding board of 6 judges.”

“Among the most important tasks... providing the public with detailed information to assist in making informed decisions.”

Kevin Kennedy director GAB

Nichol, who was appointed to the board of judges by Gov. Jim Doyle in 2008 and Walker in 2012, refuted Vos’ claim and said that his criticisms are “just not true.”

“Although the Board appreciates the staff and its dedication, the Board has always

been informed, and has acted with proper oversight,” Nichol said in the letter.

While Nichol noted that there is room for improvement in the GAB’s performance, as outlined in a recent legislative audit of the board, discussion of changes should be based on “the agency’s true record of accomplishments, not on unsubstantiated allegations.”

In his testimony to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, Kennedy said he was grateful that the audit highlighted areas for the GAB to work on going forward.

“Among the most important tasks in our democracy are ensuring fair and honest elections, ensuring that everyone plays by the same rules and providing the public with detailed information to assist in making informed decisions,” Kennedy said in his testimony.

When asked for his response to Vos’ letter, Kennedy said “that the letter speaks for itself.”

Vos could not be reached for comment for this article.

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Tuesday, January 27, 2015

dailycardinal.com

By Paul Blazevich THe Daily Cardinal

There is only one word that may sum up the hiphop performance in The Sett Saturday evening: positivity.

It was the type of Sett show to which I have grown accustomed. A small attendance for an up-and-coming artist who deserves more than a free show in a subpar venue.

With an energetic opening by two fellow alumni of Madison Memorial High School, TussleMat and Arthur Saint, the evening was off to a good start. For being one of the first shows these two rappers have performed, they did an impressive job with their lyricism and youthful stage choreography. Despite the lack of high-quality sound engineering in The Sett, these two young artists still managed to perform with what seemed like no recognition of the poor audio quality. TussleMat and Arthur Saint are just two examples of the growing collective of local hip-hop artists to look out for in the future of the Madison music scene.

After a short hiatus, F.Stokes took the stage. Endlessly referencing Madison and his upbringing in this area, the local artist was off to a somewhat routine start to another small town hip-hop show. But as soon as F.Stokes began, he took his set in a completely fresh direction. Similar to TussleMat and Arthur Saint, F.Stokes used positivity (and perhaps a few beers) to make due with the small number of attendees that he had.

After his third song, F.Stokes

Thomas Yonash/the daily cardinal

F.Stokes, a Madison native, brought his hip-hop show to The Sett Saturday night, sharing stories of his upbringing. had the whole crowd sit on the ground as he sat in a bar stool just in front of the stage and told the story of his young adult life: being raised in Madison, moving to New York to pursue a career in music, becoming broke and homeless and finally,

moving back to the Midwest in order to take advantage of a few measly gig offers. F.Stokes then segued into spoken word among the group of sitting concertgoers, then conducting the next five songs in the middle of a throwback, rap-battle style cir-

cle on the floor of The Sett.

As F.Stokes moved everyone up onto the stage to finish the concert, TussleMat and Arthur Saint continued to watch alongside and interact with the main act. F.Stokes made due with what he had that night, as did

the openers. Both acts had more fun than any artist I’ve ever seen perform in The Sett and let positivity reign through every song. Even if this show was just a launch pad for these artists, it is an evening on campus that I will not soon forget.

Lost definition of art in society of Top 10 lists and awards ALex lovendahl all love

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he current value of American art to its curators is to be ranked and categorized for “Best of the Year” consideration, to find its way into a gallery or museum or to “go viral.” We have made art a competition.

This is not true, though it is permitted. The last time I saw my roommate from my freshman year, we discussed 2014’s Games of the Year, a tradition we’ve reduced in scope since 2010. We came to concordance upon Blizzard’s collectible card game “Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft,” a game we’ve each played for countless hours.

Rather than discuss its nuances or celebrate our other favorites, he proceeded to list off the year’s releases and determined whether or not we had enjoyed each before we parted.

This weekend, I saw Studio Ghibli’s “The Wind Rises,” the conclusion to a quest to watch every film by the acclaimed animation studio. It was the film I had expected; that is to say, it brought me greater joy and deeper sorrow than I could have imagined. Little could

be said that would be enough for this love story about the power of beauty. Yet I then swiftly found myself escaping acquaintances and already discussing why it hadn’t won “Best Animated Feature” and the prospected chances of Isao Takahata’s beautiful “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” for this year’s Academy Awards.

“Art consumption culture allows those authors not seeking to win awards to slip into obscurity.”

Is this art? To idly discuss how our tastemakers will evaluate the life stories and myths of our heroes? To chart against other valuable expression, as every year-end list demands?

And does that mean you’ll drag your feet to play “80 Days” or “Style Savvy: Trendsetters” because they’re not making these placements? Because the fact that “Style Savvy” might be inferior to 2012 contemporaries like “Journey” or “The Walking Dead” doesn’t relate to the fact that it’s a fantas-

tic life sim and fashion game, unlike any other.

The truest problem of this kind of ranking is found in the discussion of this year’s Academy Awards and the “Selma snub.” The conversation is a larger act of erasure than the nominations themselves.

Nominating DuVerney for best director or Oyelowo for best actor would not change the fact that American film audiences have ignored a black perspective in 2014. Films like “Belle,” “Top Five,” “Dear White People” (playing this weekend at WUD Film’s Marquee) and “Snowpiercer” have been brushed aside to make “Selma” the only film representative of people of color.

Art consumption culture allows those authors not seeking to win awards to slip into obscurity. Our obsessive ranking and canonizing leaves us rereading “The Great Gatsby” six thousand times rather than celebrating 21st century fiction. And, worse, when we do pay attention to modern art, we place more value on our own taste response than the content of the art itself. When we do this, we stifle the expansion of our understanding of human experience and we

smother what can only be seen if it winds up on a curator’s list of “hidden gems.”

This problem is exacerbated in video games because they come in so many forms. If you really want to test your tolerance for “ranking culture” (as well as your own patience), take some time to listen to the Giant Bombcast’s Game of the Year deliberations. Every year they’ve catalogued the process in podcast form; determining a Top 10 and an eventual Game of the Year has never taken less than three hours, forcing discussions that compare the value of “Animal Crossing” and “BioShock.”

“Is this art? To idly discuss how are tastemakers will evaluate the life stories and myths of our heroes?”

It’s insanity. The end list is a mess of what was argued for well and what beat out its competitors in the same “category;” “Mario Kart 8” may knock “Super Smash Bros.” off the list because they’re both by Nintendo, reducing hundreds

of people’s isolated work to one identity and ignoring the fact that the two games are alike in multiplayer mustached plumbers alone. This is how it’s done everywhere that considers accolades to be worth a conversation rather than anonymous voting, the populist decision almost always trumping that with a real identity. As someone who’s participated in similar deliberations and made his own Top 10 list, I can state that the cutoff is arbitrary and the final decisions are almost always a bit embarrassing two years later.

Every week, too many games, movies and albums to play them all. This is why reviews and accolades began; to filter these down to a manageable sum of content. But it’s come to define the way we approach art. So what I’m asking for is the following: Go buy a game like “The Sims 4,” “Deadly Premonition,” “Mini Metro” or any other game that is missing curators’ wrap ups.

Go see “Inherent Vice” while it’s still in Madison. And, please, spend more time considering every aspect of the art you celebrate other than “Do I like this? Would it make my Top 10?”

dailycardinal.com

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

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Expectations meet reality in films based on history Austin Wellens alls wellens well

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o as a film and history major, the issue of “historically accurate” films has been on my mind lately, what with “American Sniper,” “Selma,” “Foxcatcher” and “The Imitation Game” all being largely talked about movies.

But it winds up being just part of a larger conversation I’ve had a few times recently, so to talk about this issue I’m going to talk about something else.

Full disclosure, I haven’t actually seen “American Sniper,” but I’m not interested in the film itself as much as everything that’s been going on around it.

By all accounts it’s a brilliantly made and acted, affecting film.

But from there, opinions diverge, with both pro- and anti-war readings placing it somewhere on the spectrum from armed forces recruiting film to elegy for the high costs of war and those who pay them.

And while the artists involved have mostly tried to deflect or downplay any political stances it may have (director Clint Eastwood stated that any antiwar message would be present in the impact war has on families at home, and star Bradley Cooper has said it’s about creating a portrait of a complicated man), the way the film has been presented strikes me as being…less like that.

Take for example the fact

that most every piece of advertising I’ve seen for the film has Cooper posed in some way near or wrapped in an American flag.

Take the hyper-emphasis on his story as that of “the deadliest sniper in US history.” Divorced from the content of the movie, however you choose to interpret it, it’s being delivered in alignment with a certain view of the war, the man and the issues surrounding them, a view distinctly nationalistic and excited by the idea of the military and combat. Take the title of the movie; if what they were looking to promise to the audience was an examination of the effect that war and sacrifice have on the lives of the people closest to them, they could have easily called it “Sniper” and let the fact that he was American speak for itself. “American Sniper” implies there is something profoundly different about the way American soldiers serve from the way that say, Canadians or Britons do.

“And oftentimes, when a film makes us uncomforable or upset or unsure, it’s because it’s challenging us.”

I’m not saying anything here about the merits of the film itself; again, I haven’t yet seen it. What I’m saying is that this holistic branding with the emphasis placed on it being a

true story and with everything about the way they’ve chosen to get people interested affects the way people approach the movie, and weigh on the preconceptions that we all, always, carry into every movie we see, and that invariably color the way we wind up thinking about the film.

This becomes important when we start looking at the ways people have been reacting to “American Sniper.” On the more positive end, there are the reactions from veterans who have gone to see the film together and cried, feeling represented by what they saw on the screen, like a film had finally gotten right what they went through and how it has affected them.

That’s true, emotional catharsis, and is beyond politics.

On the other hand, there have been some very ugly, violent responses, including hate speech directed toward Muslims and open, unrepentant justification of war and the destruction it causes. In both cases, the responses are based in whatever the viewers were carrying with them, whether it’s personal experience or a militaristic view of a group designated as an enemy and an other. And in the second case, the film’s presentation as a purely patriotic true story may be washing away some of the nuance of reality that is actually present in favor of a simple, jingoistic interpretation (and the two never ever go together).

Whether or not the trappings of the film sanction or

encourage these reactions, they’re a part of the way we experience films because they directly influence what our expectations are going in. And that baggage we carry in is sort of a fundamental part of how we watch movies. It’s why we expect “quirk” and dryness and primary color palettes from Wes Anderson films, and it’s why we expect “based on a true story” films to adhere to our own understanding of history.

“This collision between our preconceptions and what we see is nothing more than how we react to the movie.”

But obviously no film, not even a documentary, is ever going to be “objective” or purely factual. They present inherently subjective realities, and can only ever speak to individual, specific points of view—not saying facts aren’t important, just that fictionalizations are inherently not fact, and so unless they’re radically revising, like, the actual events, they’re good.

So for a film like “American Sniper” to be targeted so directly at a certain attitude toward the military, certain concrete notions of nationalism and a simple, pure truth when the man and the issues it portrays were so much more complicated than that, is a disservice to the film being presented and to the people watch-

ing it. There’s just too much at stake, and reality is far too messy.

It deserves to be understood as a film about what it’s like to be a soldier, in all its personal and individual complexity.

Similarly, there’s been a lot of (irrelevant and bogus) backlash against “Selma” for its portrayal of LBJ, because its representation of history didn’t line up with that of some viewers. Which is one hundred percent, utterly and unequivocally, beside the point. The point is to tell the story of the Civil Rights movement from the perspective of the people making the film; it’s the entire reason why we make and watch movies, to experience things we haven’t and understand a little more about people in general.

This collision between our preconceptions and what we see is nothing more than how we react to the movie. It’s every emotion, yawn, flinch, smile and tear we go through in those two hours or so. And oftentimes, when a film makes us uncomfortable or upset or unsure, it’s because it’s challenging us; sometimes challenging our most closely held convictions or ideals. This is uncomfortable. The only way to really deal with it is to check our reactions against our expectations; to not just think about how the movie made us feel a certain way, but why.

This is how we get understanding of new ideas and learn more about each other, the world and our place in it, etc. etc. Which is sort of why we bother with all this stuff in the first place.

RECORD ROUTINE

Cotillon blends nostalgia with fresh and bold twist ALBUM REVIEW

Cotillon Cotillon

By Brandon Danial the daily cardinal

Inspiration is a key component to the development of music. Aspired youngsters have always taken to their instruments and tried replicating the songs of their heroes. A small handful will be successful in recreating that sound and, in some cases, will take the next step of making a sound of their own.

Cotillon’s self-titled debut delivers an assortment of tunes and styles, served with modern flavor while simultaneously remaining bound by its musical influences, reflecting the history that gave lead man Jordan Corso his inspiration as a musician.

Cotillon does a brilliant job of blending old-school and newschool rock, emitting waves of nostalgia, while continuing to sound fresh and bold. Each song reveals a little bit more about Corso and the musical

background he’s integrated into his own style. The first half of “Asteroid” is contained within a hypnotically simple guitar rhythm, accompanied by similarly rhythmic spoken word. This section borrows from one of rock’s most popular riffs, made famous

by Bo Diddley and later popularized in George Thorogood’s “Bad to the Bone.” “Holding You Back” comes straight out of the ‘80s heartland rock scene, akin to a John Mellencamp or Bruce Springsteen melody. The addition of an organ and saxophone in “Call Me Up” is a nod itself to classic rock legends and their adamant use of these non-traditional instruments.

Corso’s added flair helps modernize Cotillon, helping deter it from sounding like rehashed material. “Infection” is fast paced and reckless, replicating a genuine punk rock aura, until a sudden change of pace turns the once rowdy anthem into a psychedelic daydream of echoing vocals and guitars.

There is much to be appreciated from Cotillon’s debut. It’s a treat for listeners with a firm grasp of history, but should be equally enjoyed by those with contemporary preferences.

Rating: B+

Want to write for Cardinal Arts?

Contact us at arts@dailycardinal.com and Attend the recruitment meeting this Friday at 4:00 in 2195 Vilas

opinion 6

l

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

dailycardinal.com

Dump the second semester slump Lilly Hanson Opinion Columnist

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here is no set definition to describe the difference between first semester and second semester. When trying to craft my own definition I searched the very trustworthy site of Urban Dictionary only to find this definition: “Pertaining to the students in their second semester of the school year, it is the act of doing poorly on one’s assignment, paper and or tests. This does not just go for schoolwork, can be done in all facets of life also.”

When coming back from winter break to begin second semester at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, there is no change of scenery. The squirrels on Bascom Hill are as present as ever and the Humanities building is still as confusing as it always has been. It brings to mind the question: While the setting remains the same, does our

mindset change between first semester to second semester?

It is said that a victim of second semester often displays symptoms of apathy, procrastination with the realization that it­­­­­—be ‘it’ school, sports, whatever—doesn’t really matter anymore. Those affected with second semester can be found laying in bed, on Facebook, at a party or anywhere that requires the least amount of work possible. The most important question to those in second semester is:

Does it really matter?

At UW-Madison, there seem to be few suffering from this second semester bug. Many students discuss how they are more organized this semester, or they brag of how this will be the semester that they do all the assigned readings and receive a 4.0 GPA. If anything, students have even more motivation to succeed now that they understand the ropes.

Now that syllabus week is over and students are beginning to sink back into the

routine of college, it seems that more library chairs are taken and more lecture halls are filled. Maybe it is because freshmen now understand that you do have to go to the library to do well in class, and going to lecture is a good idea (no matter how many times your roommate brags that they are skipping class).

Perhaps I am speaking from a freshman bias, but I no longer stare at every homework assignment and ask myself, “What am I doing?” I think that second

Graphic by Cameron graff

semester is not the time to do poorly, but instead do better than the previous semester.

There may be times during second semester when one reverts to their old ways of skipping readings and not opening their backpack until Sunday, but I believe the definition of second semester needs to be reevaluated. Maybe students try to hold off their procrastination methods until the third or fourth week. And maybe students do try harder to succeed and achieve a 4.0, but they somehow continue to do poorly on assignments, papers and tests.

Yes, I am still too afraid to go to my professors’ office hours without a buddy and I still don’t know if I should leave two seats or one between me and another student in lecture halls, but I do know that I will be one of many striving not to fall into the typical definition of a second semester student.

Lilly is a freshman writer for The Daily Cardinal. What is your take on returning to classes after winter break?

We’d like to hear from you.

Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

Liberals: It is time to go back to the drawing boards Tony Castagnoli Opinion Columnist

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he recent murders of satirists in France have awakened the world to how seriously religious extremism threatens the principle of free speech. Now, liberals need to capitalize on this awakening with messages that reflect the critical need to preserve this basic human right in pressing times. Sure, the word “capitalize” may initially come across as hypocritical, particularly when many liberals favor a system of socialism (for legitimate reasons, in

my opinion), but these ideologies are not motivated by any profit, nor any prophet. Don’t get me wrong—my heart bleeds as much as Jane Fonda’s circa 1972, however, I have come to terms that as liberals, we often find ourselves in a community with too many soapboxes and not enough…soap consumers?

(I would say “too many Chiefs and not enough Indians,” but I wouldn’t want to be on the same level as the Washington Redskins).

So liberals, make these messages shorter, sweeter and even more to the point. Get back to the drawing boards, literally. Nobody wants to hear what you have to say as much as they want to know what you see. Fortunately, conservatives

Comic by tony castagnoli

who want to challenge the left via cartooning will fall short in their wit because in reality, conservatives appear to be better at simply following marching orders. Now, can some-

one please do a caricature of Rebecca Kleefisch? Preferably one that distinguishes her from a Barbie doll?

Tony is a junior majoring in landscape architecture. What

is your take on his stance that liberals should draw more cartoons? We’d like to hear your take on this issue. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

Stay informed on the go.

Follow us @dailycardinal

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Today’s Sudoku

Tuesday, January 27, 2015 • 7

There are no cities to love © Puzzles by Pappocom

Solution, tips and computer program available at www.sudoku.com.

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.

Today’s Crossword Puzzle

Courses

START SOON

REGISTER TODAY union.wisc.edu/wheelhouse

DIG ME OUT

ACROSS 1 Distort or buckle 5 Store away 10 Kind of report or tradition 14 Ingredient in lotions 15 Its walls withstand a lot of pressure 16 Lead-in for “trooper” or “sol” 17 Start rolling, at work 20 Magic act segment 21 Dutch Guiana, now 22 A woman of refinement 24 Cygnet’s mom 25 Actor Mineo 26 Bark sharply, as a pup 29 Shooter’s target, often 31 Banned crop spray 33 Related to the ear 35 Fret and fume 37 Uneven, as a leaf edge 41 Take flight 44 Insect’s final stage 45 Be laid up with 46 Move with a mouse 47 Grand total 49 Proceed along a route 51 CIA operative 52 Man-mouse link 55 Emmy winner

Reiner 57 Climactic time in Westerns 59 Disparage 62 Type of doll or economics 66 Be given an advantage 68 Fashion designer Saint Laurent 69 Hammock holders 70 Doing nothing 71 Fiddling Roman tyrant 72 Cubic meter 73 Play elements?

DOWN 1 You may earn it 2 Some drinks on tap 3 Campus recruiting org.

4 Clutch, for one 5 Like some shotguns 6 Ship’s weight unit 7 They may be graphic 8 Font for holy water 9 Extreme dislike 10 Admit customers 11 Indian princes 12 It excites a sense 13 Manufacturer’s tag 18 Brightly colored fish 19 Delay the progress of 23 Early part of one’s

life 26 “Pic-a-nic” basket seeker 27 Checkout-line unit 28 Stuffable bread 30 Cousin of “harrumph” 32 Did not step lightly 34 Gear elements 36 A lucky number 38 Shared between us 39 Click, as fingers 40 On pins and needles 42 Summer holiday (with “the”) 43 Columbus, by birth 48 Choral compositions 50 French or revolving 52 Future mom’s doc, briefly 53 Actor who played Superman 54 Take in, as trousers 56 Divulge without thinking (with “out”) 58 Like a rare baseball game 60 “Don’t take ___ hard!”

61 Weapon with a bell-shaped guard 63 Carpentry groove 64 Word after “Exit” 65 Poetic dedications 67 The “p” in rpm

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tuesday, January 27, 2015 DailyCardinal.com

Press Conference

UW looks to get past injuries, losses

By Ashley Maag the daily cardinal

Overcoming challenges was the key theme among three Badger head coaches at Monday’s press conference. The men’s basketball team has had to deal with multiple injuries this season, but look to overcome them.

For men’s hockey and women’s basketball, wins have been hard to come by. With only two wins and seven wins, respectively, these two teams are looking to turn things around in their upcoming games.

Men’s basketball

The Badgers (6-1 Big Ten, 18-2 overall) are headed to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes for the second time within 11 days. Coming off an intense overtime victory over Michigan, the Badgers look to use that momentum heading into this Saturday’s game.

The Badgers defeated Iowa in their last meeting by a wide margin and played an incredibly efficient game. However, playing teams a second time is not always the same or as simple according to head coach Bo Ryan.

“I don’t think I would use the term ‘easier’ but they’re more familiar and they have to execute,” Ryan said about playing the Hawkeyes again. “What’s the most important is what your team is doing to get ready.”

“Doesn’t matter where we are in the standings. It’s always competitive, hard fought, and it will be much the same this weekend.”

Mike Eaves head coach men’s hockey

Wisconsin has also been dealing with injuries this season, previously with Traevon Jackson and Frank Kaminsky

wil gibb/cardinal file photo

The Badgers are dealing with the absence of Traevon Jackson, who’s out for at least another month with a foot injury. and most recently with Sam Dekker. Dekker had his hand cut in the game against Michigan, and glue was used to seal the wound. Ryan made a light-hearted reference to the New England Patriots and the deflated football controversy when discussing Dekker’s hand injury.

“Is that like under-inflated balls, they’re easier to catch if you have stick-um or glue?”

Ryan joked.

While the focus has been on Bronson Koenig in light of Jackson’s injury, other players have had to step up and maintain consistent play. Ryan cited Josh Gasser as one of those players who has continued his reliability, praising his defense in particular. Even with the injuries, the Badgers look to keep up their winning this Saturday as they take on Iowa.

Men’s hockey

Wisconsin (0-5-1 Big Ten, 2-153 overall) has been struggling all season long, and Michigan proved

to be another tough bout for the Badgers this past Friday and Saturday. Trailing 4-1 in Friday’s game, the Wolverines proceeded to score six straight goals to win 7-4, then scored another six goals Saturday in a 6-0 shutout.

Heading into this weekend’s series against Minnesota, the Badgers will be playing the Gophers for the second time this season. The last time these two teams met they split the series, with the Badgers winning the first game in a shootout and losing the second.

“It’s going to be a competitive series, always is,” said head coach Mike Eaves. “Doesn’t matter where we are in the standings. It’s always competitive, hard fought, and it will be much the same this weekend.”

The Badgers are looking for some consistency that has not been there this season as they take on the Gophers. Consistent wins would be a great start for the Badgers.

“Having a win against a rival would do great things for our confidence,” Eaves said. “More confidence, more consistency, and more wins would do won-

ders for the team.”

Women’s basketball

Wisconsin (3-6 Big Ten, 7-12 overall) has lost its last three games against Big Ten opponents. Having the top three most improved scorers in the conference in Nicole Bauman, Tessa Cichy and Dakota Whyte, the Badgers look to bounce back from this streak with a victory against the Ohio State Buckeyes this Thursday.

“Unfortunately we are not seeing the results in the win column, but I am pleased with the progress that we have made in the areas that have troubled us throughout the course of the season,” said head coach Bobbie Kelsey.

The Badgers have struggled offensively in the post with Michala Johnson out. Kelsey is confident that Cassie Rochel and Malayna Johnson are more than capable of stepping up, and believes these players need to shoot more frequently.

With the number of turnovers down and scoring up, the Badgers look to keep improving as they head into Thursday’s game ready for a win.

thomas yonash/cardinal file photo

Nicole Bauman leads UW in scoring, but Wisconsin has lost four of its last five Big Ten games.

Bryant’s all-star selection shows flaws in voting system rushad machhi breaking shad

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hey say numbers never lie, but sometimes they couldn’t be further from the truth.

Before his season ended due to a torn rotator cuff, Kobe Bean Bryant’s respective points, rebounds and assists per game were 22.3, 5.7 and 5.6.

“Wow Shad, those are incredible numbers, especially for a 36-year old superstar coming off a couple major injuries, that guy definitely deserves to be an allstar starter!”

No, confused random person, no he does not. Let me throw another number out there: 37.3 percent. That’s Kobe’s shooting percentage on 20.4 field goal attempts per game.

While that success rate would definitely garner MVP attention

in the MLB, this is the NBA, and 37.3 percent is in what I like to call “Rubio range,” in reference to Ricky Rubio, who for a large chunk of last season challenged the worst shooting percentage in NBA history.

“So a player like Kobe who is approaching “Rubio range” has no shot at making the allstar team, much less starting it, right? World hunger no longer exists as well, right?” Sadly, my dear reader, both of those statements are incorrect. While I have no quick fixes to the latter issue, I do have an easy solution to fixing the first one: Eliminate the fan vote.

When a top-three MVP candidate in James Harden gets left off the NBA all-star starting five in favor of a player like Bryant, a pretty obvious problem exists.

Harden is having the best season of his career, leading the league in scoring at 27.6 points per game, while adding in 5.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists per contest. He also is nowhere near “Rubio range,”

shooting a crisp 45.5 percent from the field.

Harden has also carried the Rockets to a fourth-place ranking in the Western conference, despite Houston’s second best player, Dwight Howard, missing a substantial chunk of games.

While Harden has always been heavily criticized for his defense, the dude has the fifth-highest defensive win shares total of the season at 2.6. Harden certainly is not the fifth-best defender in the NBA or anywhere close to that, but he definitely has improved from being a league-wide laughingstock on that end.

While Harden will most likely replace Bryant as the Western Conference’s starting shooting guard, the mere fact that it took a torn rotator cuff for that to happen indicates that a change to the process needs to be made.

All-star voting across all sports has almost exclusively been a popularity contest, and the NBA is no different. However,

unlike the NFL, being an NBA all-star actually matters. Players love competing in it, and unlike the NFL, most of the athletes selected actually do participate.

It no longer makes sense to let the selection of an important event like this be up to popularity, where for the first time in his career James Harden had more fan votes than his former Houston teammate Jeremy Lin. While Bryant might be the most egregious selection this year, the fact that Lin had the ninth-most fan votes out of any Western Conference backcourt player, and over double the amount Mike Conley Jr. collected is just mind-boggling.

We Americans love to vote, it’s what we fought for way back in 1776, but Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban points out that we don’t really care about voting for the NBA all-star game.

It’s time to do away with an already bad system.

Cuban proposes that coach-

es and GMs should choose the whole roster, and while I think that’s a great start, the real voting committee should include knowledgeable sports writers like Zach Lowe and myself (I’m only kidding about one of those literary geniuses).

This would expand the voting base and help prevent mistakes that even prime NBA talent evaluators like coaches and GMs can make (cough *Joe Johnson* cough).

While fan voting makes a few viewers of the NBA feel more included, if the system’s broke, it’s time to fix it, and with Kobe Bryant earning another all-star starting nod, the system is in dire need of repair.

Are all-star selections that celebrate great careers like Kobe’s a mistake? Or should season stats alone determine who makes the squad? What would be the best way to fix the voting system?

Email machhi@wisc.edu to share your ideas.