Racism in today’s society An issue we haven’t yet escaped
+OPINION, page 5 University of Wisconsin-Madison
UW Softball looks to stay hot on challenging west-coast trip +SPORTS, page 8
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Thursday, February 28, 2013
Late-night food carts concern restaurants The Vending Oversight Committee heard complaints from local restaurant owners about food carts operating near their locations at night, and discussed possible solutions Wednesday. Currently, late night Madison vendors are allowed to park on Library Mall, the 300 block of West Johnson Street and the 100 block of West Johnson Street, according to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4. Cortney Palm, who owns Pita Pit on State Street, said food carts parking in front of her restaurant is an issue. “It really has affected our late Meghan Chua/cardinal file photo
State Sen. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, a coauthor of the bill, voiced his support Wednesday night.
State Senate passes divisive mining bill By Jack Casey The Daily Cardinal
The Wisconsin state Senate passed the controversial mining bill by a one-vote margin Wednesday night after a lengthy, contentious debate, setting up a vote in the state Assembly later in the week. The 17-to-16 vote was on party lines with the exception of state Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, who sided with the minority Democrats against the bill due to lingering concerns that the mine the bill would help create could be detrimental to the environment in northern Wisconsin. The main debates throughout the day centered on wetland protections, the time period regulatory agencies such as the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the Army Corps of Engineers would have to complete assessments on a potential mine and the taxes that would be levied against
mining companies under the proposed bill. State Sen. Tim Cullen, D-Janesville, who wrote an alternative Democratic version of the mining bill along with state Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, introduced a number of the Democratic amendments. Both senators have been leaders in the opposition to the Republican bill. Each of the amendments Democrats introduced throughout the day were tabled in the same 17-to-16 vote after senators from both sides of the aisle debated their necessity. The debate, which stretched from 11 a.m. to approximately 9 p.m. Wednesday, rehashed many of the arguments made for and against the bill in past months. Most Republicans support the bill, which is designed to ease the state’s mine permitting process, for the economic revitalization they say northern Wisconsin would experience if min-
ing is reintroduced to the area. However, Democrats have consistently opposed the bill citing loosened environmental regulations, specifically related to wetland and waterway protections. As the Senate session drew to a close, Democratic legislators, joined by Schultz, stood to give closing statements reinforcing their opposition to the bill. Jauch said the bill should not be considered a victory for anyone. “Nobody wins tonight,” Jauch said. “The future doesn’t win. The legislature doesn’t win. We can do better.” But state Sen. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, who authored the bill, defended the legislation, saying the jobs it would help create would overshadow any complaints about a lack of bipartisanship. “This is the first step in the rebirth of the mining industry,” Tiffany said.
night business,” Palm said. “It’s not like a typical business where it’s down a couple of blocks, it’s like 15 feet outside of our door.” Steve Lawrence, owner of the Fried and Fabulous food cart, proposed several alternative locations for food carts to park and serve customers. Lawrence said he is willing to compromise with restaurants, but committee members said they would have to review his suggestions before coming to a conclusion. Verveer said a big problem
food carts page 3
Student leaders announce finalized ‘Revelry’ location Student leaders announced at a press conference Wednesday that Revelry, a university-sponsored event to celebrate the end of the academic year, will be held at Engineering Mall and Union South plaza May 4. Revelry is a music and arts festival held for students to celebrate the end of the year in a “fun and safe environment,” according to Revelry Public Relations Coordinator Bess Donaghue. The group announced tickets are set to go on sale April 8. Donaghue also said even though the event is not meant to be a Mifflin Street Block Party alternative, Revelry will be a safe way to celebrate the end of the year at a university-sponsored event, and alcohol will be served to students over 21.
“We believe that there is a better way to celebrate the end of the year than Mifflin,” Donaghue said. Student leaders originally planned to take money from student segregated fees to fund the event, but after receiving criticism they decided to fund the event entirely through fundraising and sponsors. Sponsors for Revelry include the UW Police Department, UW Housing and University Health Services. The budget for the event is $100,000, which will mainly go toward artist fees. Revelry is still working on obtaining a permit in order to block traffic on Randall Street for the event, but they are not expecting any problems in obtaining it,
revelry page 3
Bad River Band criticized for wastewater treatment plant By Andrew Haffner The Daily Cardinal
A conservative research group used data from a 2009 New York Times report to criticize the mismanaging of a wastewater treatment plant run by the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, which has recently expressed vocal opposition to a proposed mine near its reservation as members say it will damage waterways. According to the Environmental Protection
Agency data cited by the 2009 report, the Bad River Band wastewater treatment plant committed 241 violations of the Clean Water Act between 2004 and 2008, the most in the state of Wisconsin over that period. Among these were multiple instances in which excessive levels of EPA regulated substances, primarily E. coli and phosphorous, were found in the water released from the facility, as well as multiple incidents of non-
reporting from plant managers. The report brought to light Tuesday by conservative research group Media Trackers, bears even greater weight as the state Legislature debated the controversial mining bill this week. State Republicans eager to pass the bill responded to the report by questioning the Bad River Band’s dedication to their waterways. “Instead of condemning the
waterways page 3
April wang/the daily cardinal
Revelry Public Relations Coordinator Bess Donaghue announces the official location of Revelry, a festival to take place May 4.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”
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hi 32º / lo 18º
Thursday, February 28, 2013
An independent student newspaper, serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison community since 1892 Volume 122, Issue 94
News and Editorial edit@dailycardinal.com Editor in Chief Scott Girard
Managing Editor Alex DiTullio
News Team News Manager Taylor Harvey Campus Editor Sam Cusick College Editor Cheyenne Langkamp City Editor Melissa Howison State Editor Jack Casey Enterprise Editor Samy Moskol Associate News Editor Meghan Chua Features Editor Ben Siegel Opinion Editors David Ruiz • Nikki Stout Editorial Board Chair Matt Beaty Arts Editors Cameron Graff • Andy Holsteen Sports Editors Vince Huth • Matt Masterson Page Two Editors Rachel Schulze • Alex Tucker Life & Style Editor Rebecca Alt Photo Editors Grey Satterfield • Abigail Waldo Graphics Editors Angel Lee • Dylan Moriarty Multimedia Editors Dani Golub Science Editor Matthew Kleist Diversity Editor Aarushi Agni Copy Chiefs Brett Bachman • Molly Hayman Matthew Kleist • Rachel Wanat Copy Editors Kayla Schmidt • Corinne Thornton
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Board of Directors Jenny Sereno, President Scott Girard • Alex DiTullio Emily Rosenbaum • John Surdyk Erin Aubrey • Dan Shanahan Jacob Sattler • Melissa Anderson Stephen DiTullio • Herman Baumann Don Miner • Chris Drosner Jason Stein • Nancy Sandy Tina Zavoral © 2013, The Daily Cardinal Media Corporation ISSN 0011-5398
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Friday: partly sunny hi 25º / lo 10º
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Read this column for a surprise
2142 Vilas Communication Hall 821 University Avenue Madison, Wis., 53706-1497 (608) 262-8000 • fax (608) 262-8100
tODAY: chance of snow
andy holsteen a hol lot to say
T
his week, we will investigate our minds. I want to see exactly what you’re all made of. I’m insanely funny, yada, yada, yada. Keep going. Are you not entertained? Well, I guess this is the time for you to stop reading then. I hate you. Wonder Bread tacos. I think I might have dueling ear infections. Gonorrhea, Burger King, termites, Angry Beavers, porn, bratwurst. This is the dumbest thing you’ve ever read in your entire life. Well, now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to business. I assume about 95 percent of people have already been weeded out of reading this based on that horribly boring first paragraph—so congrats, you’ve passed the test. The real purpose of this week’s column is to do a little social experimentation. See, you should be glad if you’ve made it this far because I’m
about to make your life a whole hell of a lot better. Here’s the deal: I’m going to give away a bunch of free stuff to the people who respond to this column first. Seriously, no strings attached; I’m going to do something really nice for you, and then you’ll never have to see or hear from me again. You can even be a huge asshole afterward if you want; that’s totally fine. All you have to do is read the following directions (see following). First, you aren’t allowed to partake in my gift-giving ceremony if you’re one of my friends or imaginary friends (nope, not even you, Mr. Yonkeyhoo). Also, if I have reason to believe that you just told all of your own imaginary friends, “Hey, some dipshit from the Cardinal is giving out free stuff if you just email him. Do it bro; it’s free stuff,” you shall be disqualified for cheating and banished to a life of eternal suffering because, as stated in paragraph three, sentence three of this legally binding document, in order to receive my blessings, you must actually read the directions. If you do tell your cohort, “Hey stupid, just read this
column and we can get some free stuff,” and said individual does in fact read this (I’ll be able to tell because I have psychic abilities so strong that I’ve been known to intentionally make taxidermies of all breeds spontaneously sob), then that’s OK. Oh, in case you were getting slightly scared, all gifts will be distributed at neutral, well-lit locations. Put down the mace. Now it’s time for the exciting part where I tell you what the prizes are. The first prize, of course, has to be a surprise bag. For anyone who doesn’t know about surprise bags, they’re just brown-paper bags filled with various objects that I find interesting, entertaining, exotic or useful (nothing illegal, incriminating or dangerous), duct-taped shut (so it stays a surprise, of course). The first person who emails me a synopsis of their favorite food of all time (including who makes it best—please don’t say your mom or grandma unless they’ll make me some) will receive this hodgepodge of goodies. If there’s a specific retailer that distributes paper bags you have a particular
affinity for, I’ll try to accommodate all requests, but I really can’t guarantee anything on that front. Next up is something a bit more certain. This one’s for all those cigar aficionados out there. Whoever emails me first with a detailed description of the most beautiful place they’ve ever been to will get a free cigar. Not a Swisher or anything like that. We’ll meet up and head to one of the local smoke shops, where you’ll be able to pick out whichever one looks best. Final thing: I will fork over three candy bars to the first person who emails me an in-depth portrayal of their most terrifying experience (this will make you feel a lot better, trust me). You will get to choose two of the bars and the third will be decided by me. I’d prefer not to do this at one of those specialty candy shops because I want us both to have maximal options. OK, that’s all. Just remember to follow my directions. More fun stuff to come soon. Make the subject of all emails “I LOVE STUFF” and direct them to Andy at holsteen@wisc.edu.
Try these strategies to get more Badger ladies you on your way to a full-blown study date with someone who has beauty and brains.
sarah olson será será
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t has been brought to my attention that the girls at this school are “too slutty.” According to a friend of mine, Badger girls “only want sex” and “aren’t interested in relationships.” I can understand why it might seem like this, especially with all the UW confessions “slutting up” our newsfeeds these days, but I don’t think it’s fair to say all femalebodied people on this campus are brazen, noncommittal she-wolves who just want to get it on. In fact, I think this insight is pretty misguided for obvious reasons. But I’m going to indulge my friend for a minute—and all relationshipseeking Badgers for that matter— because I understand how difficult it is when you’re looking for something particular, like a girl to cuddle and watch “Bridget Jones’ Diary” with, yet everyone you meet just isn’t that person. To help you out, I’ve compiled a short list of reasons that might explain why you may be having trouble finding the lovely lady you’re looking for and a few ways to tweak your strategy.
1. You’re looking in the wrong places
You aren’t going to find any swans in a barnyard. If you’re looking for a classy girl, you need to go where the classy girls are! Narrow your search to places like libraries, coffee shops and live-music venues. It may seem strange to try to pick up girls at the library, but if you’re looking for someone who’s modest, practical and driven (or in other words, not “slutty”), I’ll bet you she spends at least some of her Saturday nights studying. Grab a seat in the group study area at College Library and ask a girl, “Hey, can I borrow a pencil?” This pick-up line will put
2. You’re not asking the right questions
How many times has someone asked what your major is? Too many. A better question to ask is, “What are you involved in?” or “Are you in a student org?” These questions are great if you’re looking to start a relationship because they indicate a sense of passion and commitment—or lack thereof. A girl who can commit to a student org can commit to a relationship. Therefore, a girl in a student org, even if it’s the Badger Cheese Club, is going to be a winner. If you’re looking for something more relaxed, another great
question is, “Did you see Jenna Marbles’ video this week?” If a girl watches Jenna Marbles, then you know she’s totally awesome… and sexual. And who doesn’t want that?
3. You’re hammered
Alcohol is hindering your ability to play the game. When you’re hammered, you’re sending the wrong message… and I mean literally; your text messages suck. For example, consider this gem I received from a former-suitor: “Hey come over. Have kegs.” Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying classy girls don’t appreciate an invitation to free alcohol or partake in the occasional keg-stand (Well actually, that’s exactly what I’m saying). But the point is, this
text is a big red flag to the classy girl you’re trying to get. If you’re going for the girl, you have to be in the right mind. All’s not fair in love and war—sometimes you’re going to have to choose between Jack Daniels and Danielle. I’m not going to try to make an argument about whether or not the girls at this school are “too slutty,” but I will tell you there are definitely classy Badgers here. I know they may not be in the places one normally looks, but if you take my advice and tailor your strategy, I have no doubt you’ll be watching Bridget Jones in no time. Will you be at College Saturday? Wear your cheesehead and maybe you can make it a date! Email Sarah other suggestions at seolson5@wisc.edu.
news
Thursday, February 28, 2013 3
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Plan for Madison bus terminal moves forward A city transportation committee recommended Wednesday the city Council adopt plans to review possible locations that could accommodate an indoor bus station to serve buses traveling through Madison. The Pedestrian/Bicycle/Motor Vehicle Commission voted unanimously in support of a resolution approving an agreement between the city and the consulting firm Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc., which would allow the partners to move to phase two of a comprehensive downtown transit development plan. According to Ald. Satya Rhodes-Conway, District 12, phase two will include a study of the most suitable downtown sites for construction of a bus station, and proximity to campus will be one of the criteria. “A major consideration there is going to be is how accessible it is for students,” RhodesConway said.
She also said a bus terminal in the city is needed to decongest the current pick-up and drop-off point in front of Memorial Union. “They stop at the union, they stop at the gas station, they stop at the North Transfer Point but there is no place where one could walk inside and buy a ticket and wait for a bus,” Rhodes-Conway said. The resolution would allot $432,000 to phase two of the project, and funding would come from the federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant, worth more than $1 million, awarded to Madison several years ago. If the Council approves the resolution at its March 5 meeting, the city will create an ad hoc South Capitol District Planning Committee for the purpose of launching the South Capitol Transit-Oriented Development District Planning Study. —Melissa Howison
Student Council receives criticism for funding political conference trip The Associated Students of Madison Student Council received criticism from members of a democratic student group Wednesday regarding the student government’s use of student segregated fees to fund attendance to the Conservative Political Action Conference. According to the CPAC website, the conference was created to “rally conservatives, share strategies and promulgate and crystallize the best of the conservative thought in America.” Chris Hoffman, chair of the University of Wisconsin-Madison College Democrats, spoke in open forum against the use of student segregated fees in funding travel to the partisan conference, saying it violates ASM’s mission by affiliating directly with a political party. “This appropriation is a gross misuse of student segregated fees and should be rescinded immediately,” Hoffman said. Jake Hollnagel, chair of the LGBT Caucus for the College Democrats, agreed with Hoffman, saying the confer-
ence has a “discriminatory atmosphere” that goes against ASM’s discrimination clause. According to Hollnagel, several conservative LGBT organizations have not been allowed to attend the conference or have chosen not to participate in recent years. “Students deserve a more respectful and thoughtful government representing them,” Hollnagel said. However, ASM Chair Andrew Bulovsky said he doesn’t believe attending CPAC violates the ASM constitution. Bulovsky said students expressed interest in attending CPAC to learn how to better represent their views through training. “ASM’s mission is to educate students and to provide services to students,” Bulovsky said. According to Bulovsky, funds are taken each year from the travel line of the ASM internal budget to attend a conferences for training, such as the United States Student Association conference. —Paige Villiard
food carts
sively about,” Verveer said. “I think we’re finally close to addressing the concern of the restaurants.” The committee will meet again in March and Verveer said it will likely vote on the proposal. “I think it is a reasonable accommodation we can make for those inline businesses,” Verveer said. —Erik Thiel
from page 1
comes from the carts centralizing around the Broom Street area near popular late night locations such as Madhatters Bar. He also said the committee is close to reaching a compromise and plans to draft a proposal which will then be sent to Common Council for final approval. “This is an issue we’ve talked exten-
on campus
A swingin’ good time
The UW Jazz Orchestra performed Wednesday night in Mills Concert Hall. The ensemble is under the direction of Dr. Johannes Wallmann and featured trumpet guest soloist Russ Johnson. + Photo by Yihan Liao
ASM focuses Cellphone Reception campaign The Associated Students of Madison University Affairs Committee met Tuesday to discuss survey results from its campus Cell Phone Reception campaign, which aims to increase access to cell phone usage in problem areas on campus. According to University Affairs Committee member Callen Raveret, who is spearheading the project to increase cell phone reception in popular campus facilities, approximately 1,200 surveys were completed on the subject from Feb. 18 to 24. Raveret said the three places on campus where students most frequently used and encountered poor cell phone reception at were Union South, Dejope Residence Hall and university athletic facilities. Raveret said Union South is the “most logical” campus space to try and improve with the campaign because it is a “huge part of campus,” hosting events
Dance marathon to raise money for hospital University of Wisconsin-Madison students can show off their best dance moves at the fifth annual Wisconsin Dance Marathon Friday to raise money for the American Family Children’s Hospital. The 15-hour dance marathon organized by UW-Madison students offers free registration for students, though they must raise at least $100 for the children’s hospital to participate in the event. DJ Jorge Estrada will provide music for the marathon, but it will also feature performances by the Madhatters, UW Band,
Hypnotiq, UW Redefined, UW Dance Elite, Cheer Club and UW Surma. The first and last hour of the event are free and open to the public, but spectators must pay $20 for two-hour time slots to continue watching the event. The dance marathon raised $265,000 in the last four years and student leaders hope to raise another $100,000 this year, according to a statement released by the university. The event will take place from 6 p.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Saturday in the Great Hall at Memorial Union.
waterways from page 1
human error, according to Cyrus Hester, the tribe’s environmental specialist. EPA spokeswoman Anne Rowan said in a statement that although the Bad River Band is still not in full compliance, discharge quality and reporting violations have been resolved. Hester said improving water quality had been a tribal priority for years before the proposed mine became an issue. He also said that Republican accusations are diverting attention from the reality of the situation. “This is about a bill relaxing environmental regulations statewide and they’re turning around and pointing fingers at us,” Hester said.
proposed iron mine as anti-conservation, perhaps the Bad River Band leaders should first look at their own disregard for the environment,” state Rep. Erik Severson, R-Osceola, said in a statement. “It seems hypocritical for the Bad River Band to question the environmental protections of the iron mining bill while their own facility racks up more violations of the Clean Water Act than any other facility in Wisconsin.” But the tribe has been working closely with the EPA and the Indian Health Service to remedy the technical issues surrounding the plant, in addition to enhancing management stringency to eliminate
revelry from page 1 Wil Gibb/cardinal file photo
A city vending committee addressed local restaurant owners’ agitation toward late night food carts, which they said has affected their businesses.
such as Student Orientation, Advising and Registration. University Affairs Committee Chair Becca Buell agreed, saying it is a popular location for many people, from students to alumni. “Union South is a great area to be targeting because we have a lot of different parties and people that are invested,” Buell said. Upon researching how to best go about improving cell phone reception in these three spaces, Raveret said there was “little room to grow” within the athletic facilities and too limited of a portion of the student population using Dejope Residence Hall for either of those buildings to be the ideal starting point. The committee will continue its work and report back on the next steps of the campaign in later meetings. —Caroline Zellmer
according to Donaghue. Although Revelry leaders have yet to release any information regarding the
music lineup, they said their criteria for performers include “mass appeal, gender and cultural inclusivity, and a wide variety of music genres.” —Genevieve Globus
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Minus the Bear: a positive for Madison By Brian Weidy the daily cardinal
The Daily Cardinal recently spoke with Minus the Bear guitarist Dave Knudson as they geared up for their upcoming tour. In 2001, Knudson, along with lead singer Jake Snider, bassist Cory Murchy, keyboardist Matt Bayles and drummer Erin Tate formed Minus the Bear in Seattle, Wash. While the band has roots in Seattle, their sound is not directly influenced by Nirvana and Pearl Jam but rather, from a swath of different influences. “I was really into music before that whole [grunge] explosion happened,” Knudson said. “I was way more into like metal and thrash and stuff like that.” While Knudson’s musical influences may not have been directly impacted by grunge music, his attitude towards music certainly was a product of his surroundings. “The grunge explosion was pretty awesome in that it kickstarted a lot of people into seeing there were just regular dudes who could make music,” Knudson said. “I think it really opened our eyes to a lot of the DIY stuff, even though a lot of those records went on to be super huge and mainstream, it really started in basements.” In late 2012, the band released their fifth full-length album, Infinity Overhead, which led the band to their greatest commercial success to date. Two songs off the album, “Diamond Lightning” and “Toska,” demonstrate a technique of continuity that the band brought from their live show to the studio. “I don’t remember which came first, but all of us in the band, our favorite moment on the record is when those two songs kind of blend,” Knudson said. “I think we have always liked those types of things on records, when songs blur into one another and there are cool transitions, and we try and make cool transitions happen live between songs off different records, and I think this is just an opportunity to do this on an album instead of just in a live context.” Minus the Bear has created some remarkable studio outputs. However, they are a live band at Heart. Before the band hits the road, despite being more than a dozen years into their career, they still have a regimented practice schedule. “We have been down at the rehearsal space for the past week or so, just playing out the set list and playing whole songs,” Knudson
said. “We have quite a few with a back catalog ... at the beginning of each tour, [we] go through and pick out a bunch that we haven’t played in a while, relearn them.” Despite having such an expansive catalog, the band opts to use a very similar set list each night. “We will have a couple alternates, where, for some reason … some city likes some particular song, or references a body of water near that place, sometimes we will spice it up,” Knudson said. “For the majority of the tour … the big chunk of the set will be the same— you know with like lighting and things like that, it is much easier to have the set remain a little more similar so that way all those cues and that kind of stuff can remain kind of static.” During the band’s career, which has now surpassed a decade, they have had the ability to tour both around the United States and the world. While stateside, they are almost always well received; different countries provide different responses to the band’s music. “It kind of depends on the country. The UK is fairly receptive and we have had some really great shows there,” Knudson said. “Whereas some other places such as Germany and I think even Japan, like their music [are] more rigid, genre-specific varieties ... we don’t really fit into any of those genre specific labels and so it is a little more challenging for us in Germany or Japan.” While the crowds in certain places have not always been as receptive to the band’s music, Knudson and his fellow band mates have made an effort to sample all kinds of local cuisine. “There have been some really great ones and some really interesting ones,” Knudson said. “We played in Iceland maybe about seven or eight years ago … and the promoters took us to this traditional Icelandic restaurant where they served us petrified shark. That was one of the most disgusting things I have ever put in my mouth.” While the band had a rocky introduction to Madison, not getting their show off, Knudson hopes for a better turnout more than a decade since their first trip here. “Things have changed a little bit, so hopefully people show up this time, which I am sure they will,” Knudson said. Minus the Bear will take the stage at the Majestic Theater March 2 at 9 p.m.
Wish you could show the world your awesome photos?
NOW YOU CAN! The Daily Cardinal arts page is now publishing a “Photo of the Week” in print every Monday.
We will accept any subject matter, just make sure it’s THE BEST
Direct your weekly submissions to arts@dailycardinal.com by Sunday at 6 p.m.
Photo BY David Belisle
Minus the Bear return to Madison for the first time in over a decade March 2 at the Majestic.
opinion A different perspective on discrimination dailycardinal.com
David Ruiz opinion columnist
Y
esterday, this page featured an opinion column by veteran contributor Steven Nemcek. Steven very carefully dissected what he saw as failures in how the concept of white privilege is defined and taught to students. I purposefully avoid reiterating his points in this rebuttal as Steven is much better at explaining his position than I am. The problem with his attack on white privilege is a lack of perspective. Race in American culture is a unique phenomenon, it cannot be understood in bits and pieces so it must be approached in its entirety. Trying to understand race is complicated further because the discussion around race is a metaphor-free space. Comparing race to gender, disability, sexuality, hair-color, class or using a Mac vs. a PC is inadequate and reduces the issue. Because trying to tackle race in contemporary America at a sociological level is more appropriate for a Ph.D thesis than an opinion column, I’m going to try to start with some of my perspective on race, and white privilege. There was a time in my life I didn’t think about race much in terms of how it affected my life. This changed when I was 13, on vacation in the South. I was walking around loving life and listening to Maroon 5 or whatever I was into back then and someone yelled out to me “go back to Mexico!” My response— probably something about being
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Ecuadorian, not Mexican—got caught in my throat and I lowered my head and kept walking. I realized then, the friendly chiding that my friends doled out by calling me “Mexican” or “Beaner” (we’re still friends, the chiding went both ways I assure you) came from a place that might not be so friendly. I am not exaggerating when I say that having some random hick tell me to go back to Mexico changed my life. If the incident hadn’t happened that day, it surely would’ve happened soon after. If anything, I am extremely lucky to have gone 13 years without trying to contextualize the massive institution of race with my life experience. Since then I have experienced racism in a variety of ways and contexts. Most of it is benign and easy to shed, some of it is not. My sense of humor has absorbed all the times I’ve been mistaken for a service employee or waiter. I eventually laughed off being ignored at a Lexus dealership when I tried to get my second-hand Lexus serviced. It was harder to laugh off the presumption that I was only accepted into UW-Madison because of my race. It turns out, being one half of a mixedrace couple in rural Wisconsin can still draw a lot of long glances. These glances, eventually glares, still bug me in a way I can’t understand. I could keep going, for a really long time, but I’ll stop here and point out that I live a racialized life because of racism and racists, not because of my ethnicity. Back to yesterday’s column. First, I’ll go through the statistics that my colleague Steven uses, then approach white privilege in general. Steven uses the fact that non-white individuals are overrepresented in federal employment as an excuse
to declare racism over and all of the goals of the civil rights movement accomplished. Unfortunately, being a post-office worker or sweeping the floors at the Pentagon aren’t jobs that carry much institutional power. A better measure might be political positions; however, we must examine the whole issue of race not just the statistics. If one were to look at a map of the United States according to non-white percentage of the population, the South would look totally different from the mid-West, which would look totally different from the West Coast, because each region, each state, has its own unique set of racial politics based on ratios and local history. Looking at statistics of racial minorities in government representation without taking into account community makeup is weak rhetoric.
Ultimately, this ability to pass right under racial dialogue if you want, that is the real white privilege.
The second figure that Steven leans on is median household income by racial makeup, pointing out that Asian households make a whopping $75,027 as compared to the white household average of $62,525. What Steven neglects to do is go back and examine the overall representation figures, where he himself notes that roughly 5 percent of the U.S. population is Asian. Factors like immigration patterns, schooling and cultural influences can be strong enough
within the small Asian-American community to push its median income above the white average. Does this income figure mean that Asian individuals are actually at the top of the racial food chain? Hell no! This is just a small statistic in a sea of available figures surrounding race in America. AsianAmericans have their own history of being illegally incarcerated, openly despised and more recently, fetishized and commodified. The figures that Steven bases his entire argument around are weak and not indicative of any greater truth other than a basic misunderstanding of how race functions in America. Which leads me back to white privilege. Steven took issue with some of the examples used in an educational poster he saw which promoted the idea of white privilege. I think the poster’s quotes are perfectly accurate. Steven saw these posters not as an educational tool, but as a re-imagining of America, which is not what the posters were meant to elicit. One of the examples reads “Most of my teachers looked like people of my race.” Having teachers of your own race can be beneficial surely, but is really not necessary outside of an openly-racist society. But here is my situation: I have never had a teacher of my own race. I was taught Spanish in grade-school by teachers who had a worse grasp on the language than I did (in high school, I took German, but most of the Spanish teachers there were white too). What if I wanted to talk to someone about the issues I had contextualizing my race? The poster also lists “stories in the media about people from my racial group are mostly told by people from my racial group” as a white privilege. Readers, I ask you,
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name one Hispanic or Latino actor in my age group celebrated by his peers. Name one popular movie or TV show that features a race or immigration storyline with which I could identify. You ask, why is this important? It is important because the depictions of my race, and the popular definition of what it means to be 22 and Hispanic are controlled by people who don’t think about race everyday. It means when I watch TV and find no one that looks like me, it is impossible for me to imagine myself within a metric (for example, attractiveness) which is applied exclusively to people who don’t look like me. So, what is white privilege? White privilege is seeing a poster explaining white privilege, which in case you didn’t notice, is for white people, and demanding its removal. White privilege is not understanding that every non-white individual in America knows what white privilege is, even if they don’t know the name for it. White privilege is looking at a few paltry statistics, declaring racial injustice over and leaving the free market to sort out any remaining issues. The truth is, we are approaching a post-racial society, but we aren’t even close yet. There is veiled racism everywhere, but unless you’ve been trained to look for it—either through academics, or some hick’s dumb remark a decade ago—it’ll pass right over you. And ultimately, this ability to pass right under racial dialogue if you want, that is the real white privilege. A color-blind society already exists, but it has no racial minorities in its ranks. What do you think about racism and white privilege in America? Please feel free to send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
Letter: Idea of ‘white privilege’ prevalent in society Jessica Phan letter to the editor This letter is a response to a n a r t i c l e e n t i tl ed “ C l a im s of white pr ivilege a damaging farce” that appeared in Wednesday’s Daily Cardinal.
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teven’s argument about how white individuals should be favored because they’re the majority is ignorant. “No institutional discrimination is needed to explain why most business owners, government workers, college professors and students are
white. It’s because the majority is white, not because of some underlying racism.” Institutional racism exists because the majority is white. The market is obviously not colorblind, society is not colorblind, and race comes into play in many employment instances. Those who dominate the industry, the system, will choose who they want to work with. Steven wrote, “How can it be that students are taught it is a benefit to only have teachers with the same color skin as themselves or that a manager of a business is somehow unqualified because of the color of his skin? It cannot be.” I worked for a federal agency that focuses on equal employment. We run through hundreds of cases each day of racism and discrimination in employment practices. The reality is that white people dominate the market, corporations, businesses, and many professions, so it’s very much possible that employers will attribute certain types of races to work ethics or behaviors and make ridiculous assumptions based on someone’s race. Maybe Steven has never seen those experiments that test discrimination practices in employment or the hiring process. There are studies where people use typical white names and nonwhite names to apply for a job, and majority of the employers selected names that sounded more white. Our social construction has built up this idea of people of color and how people behave, act, speak because
they’re a certain color—so yes, race does come into play when talking about jobs and who’s on top. “The free market is colorblind and in modern society—where de jure segregation has been eradicated—I am willing to bet that in a few more generations these differences will evaporate.” This statement is completely false. This shows how unaware Steven is of his privilege. Segregation still very much exists, especially in education, charter schools, etc. Not necessarily systematic segregation, but it happens naturally because of the way people view race. So there is a preference for race in many industries. Equality doesn’t exist for everyone, as ideal as we want that to be, and a significant part of that is due to race and racism. I also take issue with the statistics that Steven uses. Personally, I have issues with statistics in general when they’re used incorrectly or in a biased way. These statistics can be use in any context to sway any opinion. There are huge issues with these statistics because it generalizes and lumps people together to support his argument, when in actuality, so many different types of people that fall into these percentages, especially blacks, Hispanics, and Asian Americans experience the institutional racism. What about every time a person of color walks into a store and gets strange looks like they don’t belong, or people suspect them of suspicious behavior. These actions or reactions
don’t occur as often if a white person walks into a store. This article is another example of how people of color have to make justifications for the things they do and validate their actions, the way they speak or look, every day. There are always racial assumptions about ‘oh it must be because she’s black’ or ‘it must be because she’s Asian’ to explain certain behaviors. White people are not constantly reminded every day that they’re white. People of color are constantly reminded of race because society is not colorblind and because race is so prevalent you have to be aware to survive. It’s like a survival trait. You don’t know because you don’t experience it. I think it’s ignorant of Steven to make these claims but have no idea of the experience that people go through. The most important step is being aware of the privilege that white people have. Or even other privileges—being male, being heterosexual, being abled. This is not to put any guilt on white people for having privilege. But I think the most important part is understanding the privilege, being able to deconstruct it so that one is able to become an ally and work towards ending racism. If one is unaware of the privilege they have, their actions and behaviors can negatively affect those who are disadvantaged. Please send all letters to opinion@ dailycardinal.com.
comics
How I met your hamster mother... Many hamsters only blink one eye at a time. dailycardinal.com
6 • Thursday, February 28, 2013
Today’s Sudoku
Finding someone to share their last donut
The Produce Aisle
By Jacob Densow densow@wisc.edu
© Puzzles by Pappocom
By Melanie Shibley shibley@wisc.edu
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.
First In Twenty By Angel Lee alee23@wisc.edu
Today’s Crossword Puzzle
Caved In
By Nick Kryshak nkryshak@wisc.edu
Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com
FLY HIGH ACROSS 1 Lindsay’s bionic role 6 African capital 11 Seller’s postings 14 Affair of the heart 15 Word before “battery” or “energy” 16 A thousand thou 17 End of a Hitchcock title 19 “2 Fast 2 Furious” actress Mendes 20 Dumfries denial 21 Follow, as in Simon Says 22 Like uncooked meat 23 Popular pet 27 What’s left 29 Beverage of McSorley’s 30 2002 Winter Olympics setting 32 Frisbee, e.g. 33 Kind 34 Item in a patch 36 Ball-bearing creatures? 39 Game show winnings 41 Sat through again 43 All over again 44 Church council 46 Old photo tint 48 Snake target 49 Highlands native
51 Big name in computers 52 Pasture 53 Hawks 56 “New and Improved!” might appear on one 58 Greeting from the past 59 Connecticut’s “Charter” tree 60 Water in Cannes 61 Indian lentil dish 62 Virginia and West Virginia, once 68 Banned bug spray 69 Coast Guard equipment 70 Bedding down? 71 Parliamentary vote, sometimes 72 Follow an event 73 Spring feast
1 3 18 23 24 25
DOWN 1 More than nudge 2 “Chasing ___” (1997 film) 3 End of a quest? 4 Unstable particles 5 Publisher’s blunder 6 Eruption coverage? 7 Container of fresh milk? 8 Like some nail polish 9 Spoke scratchily 10 Apollo’s sister 11 Large antlered beast 12 Backless couch
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26 8 2 31 35 37 8 3 40 42 45 47 50
55 7 5 63 64 65 66 67
Cabbage side dishes Wobble Acclaims Metal mixture Part of a river in Vietnam Abnormal breath sounds On the ocean Doused, firefighterstyle Places to pick up puppies Sight along the Mississippi Use choice words It croaks in a creek Became flaccid Do some nit picking? Wanted-poster listings Get emotional support from Rice milieu Beat around the bush Shirts’ opposites, on the court Adorable tot Fraternity letter Preposition in poetry “Just ___ water” Golf expendable Be on the side of caution?
By Seven WIshau wishau@wisc.edu
sports
dailycardinal.com
ryan from page 8 -tion and 63 percent of its defensive production, and those numbers naturally decreased with the loss of Gasser. However, Ryan still found a way to vault his squad into contention for a league crown in a conference that’s filled with top-tier teams and is the toughest it has been in quite some time. So how did Ryan do it? How did this squad prove the doubters wrong again? The reasons are endless. While the majority would think otherwise, Ryan has made the most of his available options offensively. Freshman forward Sam Dekker has transformed into one of the most consistent scorers off the bench in the conference. Jackson grows more confident with each shot. Junior guard Ben Brust has proven to be a true sharpshooter. Sure, the Badgers slow the tempo down significantly compared to other teams in the conference, as they sit near the bottom of the Big Ten in points per possession, but they still find ways to stay in games no matter who the opponent. However, this year’s squad has ridden the wave of its defense when it is needed most, just like Ryan’s 12 previous teams have done since his arrival. Of the top five teams in the league besides Wisconsin— Indiana, Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State—the Badgers’ defensive efforts have reigned supreme. Wisconsin has held these four opponents to 55.4 points per game, which is well below their combined scoring average of 74.7 points per game. While defense has been a consistent signature of Ryan, another signature may be dealing with adversity. During the 2005-’06 season, the team was faced with the suspensions of Marcus Landry and Greg Stiemsma due to academics, but the team still managed to stay afloat. Moreover, during the 2008-’09 season, the team endured a six-game conference losing streak—once again, the Badgers did not flinch. This season is no different, as adversity struck in more
west coast from page 8 weekend of games, UW is presented with a great opportunity to pick up some quality wins and solidify itself as a team to look out for down the stretch.
ways than one. In addition to Gasser’s season-ending injury, redshirt senior forward Mike Bruesewitz missed the start of the season with a gruesome leg injury and sophomore forward Frank Kaminsky was sidelined three games during a grueling part of the conference schedule. “Coach Ryan has built his entire program on consistency. He demands consistency from his players in practice. He demands it in the off-season. He’s a creature of habit and that helps create consistent behaviors. He doesn’t get too high after a win. He doesn’t get too low after a loss. He is unphased by injuries,” former Wisconsin Director of Basketball Operations Joe Robinson said via email. “That mentality has developed a belief in the entire program that no matter what happens, they will still be successful. Coach Ryan has confidence that every guy in the program will prepare in a way to be ready if they are ever called on.” Is my vote for Ryan as the Big Ten Coach of the Year biased in nature? Although I follow the team religiously, I predicate myself as a journalist on giving credit where credit is due, and all of the credit should be given to the job Ryan has done this year, surpassing everyone’s expectations for the 12th season in a row.
Big Ten standings
Note: Teams have three league games remaining 1. Indiana 2. Michigan State 3. Wisconsin 4. Michigan 5. Ohio State 6. Illinois 7. Minnesota 8. Iowa 9. Purdue 10. Nebraska 11. Northwestern 12. Penn State
12-3 11-4 11-4 10-5 10-5 7-8 7-8 7-8 6-9 4-11 4-11 1-14
*Top four teams will receive first-round bye in conference tournament (March 14-17 at United Center in Chicago)
“I think this weekend is really just going to be a test of character,” Healy said. “We’re really challenging our girls to take it one pitch at a time, one inning at a time, and one game at a time and hopefully put together a strong showing.”
wan mei leong/cardinal file photo
Senior first baseman Shannel Blackshear has drawn a teamhigh 7 walks through Wisconsin’s first 11 games this season.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
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Nuttycombe, relay team find success Wednesday Head coach Ed Nuttycombe was named the Big Ten Men’s Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year. Wednesday’s announcement marks the 22nd time the coach has won the award during his 30 years as the head man at Wisconsin. The Badgers have won 26 Big Ten championships under Nuttycombe—13 indoor titles, the latest of which coming this season, as well as 13 championships of the outdoor variety. The Badgers’ last outdoor Big Ten title came last season, which led the conference to deem
Nuttycombe the coach of the year in outdoor track and field ... The men’s swimming and diving 800-yard freestyle relay team set a school record with a time of 6:23.98, which put them in fourth place at the Big Ten Championships in Bloomington, Ind. The relay team, composed of three seniors (Michael Weiss, Dan Lester and Garrett Mulchrone) and junior Tyler Hines, qualified for the NCAA Championships March 28 in Indianapolis, Ind., with the record-breaking performance. vince huth / the daily cardinal
Sports
thursday february 28, 2013 DailyCardinal.com
Women’s Basketball
Softball
Badgers take to the west coast for trio of difficult matchups squad that has the ability to play tough against the top teams in the country despite not having the impressive record to show for it. “Missouri is one of the best teams in the country so if you’ve got a win against them, that goes a really long By Christian Blatner way,” said Healy, the third-year the daily cardinal coach. “It’s going to be a battle.” After sweeping the compeThe Badgers begin play in the tition last weekend in Orlando Easton Invitational Friday with and getting off to the best start an afternoon matchup against in school history, the Wisconsin No. 16 Stanford. The Cardinal softball team (10-1 overall) will are led by redshirt senior centravel to the Golden State looking ter fielder Sarah Hassman who, to continue its success against through 17 games, boasts a .352 some top-caliber competition. batting average. The Badgers open up Thursday Wisconsin will match up with a game versus against Cal State Cal State Fullerton Fullerton Friday before playing in the night to complete Easton Invitational its set of games with over the weekend. the Titans. Number of Despite the diffiThe Badgers will games before culty of traveling halftake the diamond UW reached 10 wins in each of way across the counSaturday to play Healy’s first two try and changing time No. 8 California and seasons zones, UW head coach C S U-B a ke r s f i e l d . Yvette Healy talked Wisconsin looks about the advantage to change its luck Number of of playing an exhibiagainst a Cal team games before tion game against Cal that has handled UW UW reached 10 State Fullerton before in the past, defeatwins this season starting tournament ing the Badgers in play Friday. 10 out of 11 match“It’s great experience for ups. Wisconsin’s aggressive us to get to face [the Titans] approach at the plate may be before the tournament starts to just what the team needs to kind of get our legs underneath knock off the Golden Bears. us and get acclimated to the “As a team we’re just trying field,” Healy said. “We’re look- to just hit the ball hard and ing to get out on the dirt and get put it in play and make things accustomed to the field before happen,” said senior first we kick off the tournament.” baseman Shannel Blackshear. Cal State Fullerton remains “I think that’s big and what’s two games under .500 with made us successful.” a record of 6-8 but enters Wisconsin will wrap up its Thursday’s matchup with weekend Sunday versus Cal confidence after defeating Poly, a team UW has beaten then-No. 7 Missouri Saturday twice in the three times they and No. 12 UCLA Tuesday. have met. Healy recognizes the With such a challenging importance of keeping her west coast page 7 team focused against a Titans
No. 8 California and No. 16 Stanford loom for 10-1 UW
shoaib altaf/cardinal file photo
Redshirt senior guard Tiera Stephen is the lone Badger who will be playing her final regular season game at the Kohl Center Thursday, where UW will host No. 20 Nebraska.
Wisconsin set to host red-hot Cornhuskers UW looks to improve Big Ten tournament seed with win over No. 20 Nebraska By Adee Feiner the daily cardinal
Having lost three out of its last four games, the Wisconsin women’s basketball team (3-11 Big Ten, 11-16 overall) looks to finish its regular season slate on a high note as Nebraska (11-3, 21-6) comes to Madison for UW’s final home game before the Big Ten conference tournament. The Badgers fell 54-52 at Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena last Saturday. A last-minute attempt to tie the score failed in the closing seconds, causing UW to drop its third game in a row. Sophomore forward Jacki
Gulczynski had a game-high 16 Wisconsin currently sits at 11th points against Northwestern and in the league and would compete junior forward Cassie Rochel against the No. 6 seed in the Big led all players with 14 rebounds. Ten Tournament, a spot currently The Badgers outrebounded the held by Michigan, should it not Wildcats 42-35 in Saturday’s loss. improve its seed over its last two Wisconsin will need those games. Kelsey said that in the seatypes of performances Thursday son’s final stretch, it’s time for the when it hosts the streakteam to refocus both physiing Cornhuskers, who will cally and mentally. bring a nine-game win “We’re going to streak into the Kohl Center. regroup and do what Kelsey knows her team we need to do to play will face stiff competition the game better,” Kelsey against a persistent NCAA said. “I think for us it’s tournament contender. more, not so much what “[Nebraska’s] playing the other team is doing, KELSEY very well. I think they’re but our mental lapses in playing more as a group,” critical times. I think we Kelsey said at a Monday press con- really need to focus in on that ference. “They’re really picking and really buckle down when it up their campaign to get into that gets tight.” NCAA tournament.” Thursday night will also be The Huskers will be vying for senior night, and redshirt senior the No. 2 seed in next week’s Big guard Tiera Stephen will be honTen Tournament. Nebraska is also ored in a ceremony following comlooking to complete a season sweep petition against Nebraska. of the Badgers, having won the last Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the match 70-52 Jan. 2. Kohl Center.
Ryan deserving as any for Big Ten Coach of the Year rex sheild rex’s higher education
A
s the news of junior guard Josh Gasser tearing his ACL in an October Saturday morning practice filtered around the Twitter world, the hearts of Badger nation sank. As both someone who follows the UW hoops program and a journalist, I wrote off this Badgers squad. While much had been endorsed about the development of redshirt freshman guard George Marshall during his redshirt season and the drastic improvement of sophomore guard Traevon Jackson, they simply could not duplicate
the experience and talent of Gasser—a two-year starter and one of three freshman to start in the Bo Ryan era. After an ugly home loss to Virginia in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge, my pessimistic attitude about this year’s squad grew. The point guard play was too inconsistent. The offense was not clicking. Ryan’s breadand-butter—stifling defense— was the furthest thing from stifling. However, 15 conference games later, Ryan has proved myself and the rest of the country wrong once again, which is why he should be a no-brainer selection for the Big Ten Coach of the Year award. According to teamrankings. com, Wisconsin returned 49 percent of its offensive produc-
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The Daily Cardinal Sports section’s top tweets: 2/21-2/27
We spend an inordinate amount of time on Twitter, so we’ve decided to justify that wasted time by compiling the week’s top tweets. They might be funny, they might be motivational and they might be none of the above, but as long as the tweets come from a past or current Badger player or coach, they pass the only prerequisite to make our list.
What do you think of this week’s top tweets? Is there another 140-character dispatch of goodness that should replace one of the tweets on this list? Tweet at us @Cardinal_Sports with your favorite tweets!