Weekend, March 5-7, 2010 - The Daily Cardinal

Toilets a haven for herpes? Hell no, according to our latest sex column.

DIRTY BIRD

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ACADEMY AWARDS PROGNOSTICATIONS Our staff cinephiles offer up predictions for the biggest night in cinema

ARTS

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Amy Giffin/the daily cardinal

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Complete campus coverage since 1892

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Weekend, March 5-7, 2010

State fails to receive first Race to the Top funds

By Cathy Martin The Daily Cardinal

Margaret Raimann/the daily cardinal

Badger Herald Editor-in-Chief Jason Smathers answered questions about the paper’s decision to run a controversial advertisement at an open panel held in Bascom Hall.

Panel addresses ethics of Holocaust-denial ad

By Kayla Johnson The Daily Cardinal

Approximately 150 UW-Madison students and staff attended a panel Thursday held in response to an advertisement on the Badger Herald’s website linking to a website denying the Holocaust.

Dean of Students Lori Berquam said the panel was an “opportunity to meet and discuss the impact that journalism ethics have on campus.”

The advertisement, which was first placed Feb. 22 and is contracted to remain on the website until March 17, has sparked much controversy on campus.

Jason Smathers, The Badger

Herald’s Editor-in-Chief, said although the ad was placed without his knowledge, he still defends it.

“We have a very libertarian advertisement policy. I can’t believe there are people on this campus that would see this advertisement and be swayed by it,” he said. “I am standing by what I did.”

Smathers said that under the Badger Herald’s advertisement policy, they will not print an advertisement that incites violence or constitutes a threat. He said the staff needs to revise the Herald’s policy to be more specific, but does not believe the adver-

Controversial section of alcohol ordinance repealed

By Taylor Harvey The Daily Cardinal

The Alcohol License Review Subcommittee on Downtown Alcohol Issues and Ordinances repealed the 365-day limit on finding a new tenant if property owners would like to retain their liquor licenses Thursday.

This section of the Alcohol License Density Ordinance has been repealed temporarily and will be discussed again in October when ALDO is due to expire.

Business owners have been outspoken about the time restriction because they claim it restricts the quality and number of tenants. Several have stated the poor economy is also detrimental to finding the right tenant early because it is harder for businesses to secure finances.

tisement threatened students.

Zack Zaban, a UW-Madison junior, said he feels UW’s reputation as a credible university is threatened by the advertisement.

“I would say I feel threatened.

First of all, I am Jewish. Second of all, I feel threatened as a student,” he said. “But it sheds a bad light on campus. It opens the doors to a bad identity and a bad reputation.”

Smathers said removing the advertisement would only encourage its sponsor, and that allowing the ad to be seen and ridiculed by students was the best way to panel page 3

Gov. Jim Doyle announced Thursday that Wisconsin will not receive first-round federal Race to the Top funding for public schools.

Wisconsin could have received $254 million through the U.S. Department of Education’s grant program, according to a release from Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. Race to the Top aims to finance educational reform especially in the nation’s lowestperforming schools.

This is specifically pertinent in the Milwaukee school district, which consistently ranks among the worst in the country, according to a statement.

Adam Collins, a spokesperson for Gov. Doyle, said that, though

the state submitted a reform plan, it did not demonstrate the ability to execute it in Milwaukee.

“If you look at the structure of Milwaukee public schools and the track record of Milwaukee public schools, it’s very hard to make a case that real reform and those real improvements in education are possible without a change,” Collins said.

Collins said Barrett and other officials have called for extensive restructuring of and leadership changes in Milwaukee’s schools, but the district and the state Legislature have not moved the efforts forward.

“The train is leaving the station,” Doyle said in a statefunds page 3

Gov. Doyle signs bill outlawing hallucinogenic drug salvia divinorum

By Ashley Davis The Daily Cardinal

Gov. Jim Doyle signed a bill Thursday outlawing salvia divinorum, a hallucinogenic herb.

The bill was originally authored by former state Rep. Sheldon Wasserman in 2007 when he learned of salvia’s potential to induce intense hallucinations when used recreationally.

“You can find out quickly, this has the potential for danger,” Wasserman said.

The legislation regulating salvia has since been re-introduced and passed in the Senate last month. Wasserman worked with Rep. David Cullen, D-Milwaukee, who was previously co-author of the bill and is now the primary author, to see

the bill become a law.

“We worked together on this thing to really make this happen,” Wasserman said.

The legislation prohibits manufacturing, distributing or delivering the active chemical ingredient and instates a maximum fine of $10,000 for violators. Wasserman said the legislation is directed more toward the distributor and less toward the user.

Business owners currently selling salvia maintain a different belief about the drug.

The owner of Amsterdam, the store located at 447 W. Gilman Street, says the shop has not had any problems in the ten salvia page 3

Seeing the sights

“I think there has been plenty of testimony between our last meeting that landlords and commercial realtors need more time to find appropriate, suitable tenants,” a board member said. “They work hard, they want the right tenants.”

“National clients are not welcomed warmly in Madison like they are in other places.”

John Berg realtor

Overall, the circumstances of aldo page 3

Isabel Álvarez/the daily cardinal

With Spring approaching, incoming UW students take the time to familiarize themselves by touring the campus with family and friends.

“…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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Weekend, March 5-7, 2010

An independent student newspaper, serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison community since 1892

TODAY: sunny hi 41º / lo 21º

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Cash rules everything around me (CREAM)

Volume 119, Issue 101

2142 Vilas Communication Hall 821 University Avenue Madison, Wis., 53706-1497 (608) 262-8000 l fax (608) 262-8100

News and Editorial edit@dailycardinal.com Editor in Chief Charles Brace Managing Editor Ryan Hebel Campus Editor Kelsey Gunderson Grace Urban City Editor State Editor Hannah Furfaro Enterprise Editor Hannah McClung Associate News Editor Ashley Davis Senior News Reporters Alison Dirr Ariel Shapiro Robert Taylor Anthony Cefali Opinion Editors Todd Stevens Arts Editors Katie Foran-McHale Jacqueline O’Reilly Sports Editors Scott Kellogg Nico Savidge Kevin Slane Page Two Editor Features Editor Madeline Anderson Ben Pierson Life and Style Editor Photo Editors Isabel Álvarez Danny Marchewka Graphics Editors Caitlin Kirihara Natasha Soglin Multimedia Editor Jenny Peek Editorial Board Chair Jamie Stark Copy Chiefs Anna Jeon Kyle Sparks Justin Stephani Jake VIctor Copy Editors Sam Berg, Kathleen Brosnan Min Sun Lee, Margaret Raimann, Lisa Robleski

Business and Advertising business@dailycardinal.com Business Manager Cole Wenzel Advertising Manager Katie Brown Accounts Receivable Manager Michael Cronin Billing Manager Mindy Cummings Senior Account Executive Ana Devcic Account Executives Mara Greenwald Kristen Lindsay, D.J. Nogalski, Sarah Schupanitz Graphic Designer Mara Greenwald Web Director Eric Harris Marketing Director Mia Beeson Archivist Erin Schmidtke The Daily Cardinal is published weekdays with a circulation of 10,000.

The Daily Cardinal receives no funds from the university. Operating revenue is generated from advertising and subscription sales.

All copy, photographs and graphics appearing in The Daily Cardinal are the sole property of the Cardinal and may not be reproduced without written permission of the editor in chief.

The Daily Cardinal accepts advertising representing a wide range of views. This acceptance does not imply agreement with the views expressed. The Cardinal reserves the right to reject advertisements judged offensive based on imagery, wording or both.

Letters Policy: Letters must be typewritten, double-spaced and no longer than 200 words, including contact information. Letters may be sent to letters@dailycardinal.com.

Editorial Board Charles Brace Anthony Cefali Kathy Dittrich Ryan Hebel Nico Savidge Jamie Stark Todd Stevens Justin Stephani l

ANDREW LAHR spare me the lahrcasm

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ash. Duckets. Cabbage.

Greenbacks. Only a substance of utmost importance in society would deserve so many titles. The other day I was sitting around doing some serious thinking, and I got to wondering about money, or a world without it, rather. Seriously though, think about it... it wasn’t around all the time, so some sly-thinking dude back in Babylon had to find something shiny, and convince some other schlub that it was worth as much as a horse or something. I imagine he’d make sure he had plenty of those shiny rocks laying around somewhere too, once it caught on (I heard Babylonian prostitutes were cheap and the cream of the crop).

Well it did catch on. Try to name one aspect of humanity that doesn’t involve money or the pursuit of money. Even the Pope’s got more money than God back in some ancient vault. Here’s their business plan: a billion and a half wealthy churchgoers seek-

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© 2010, The Daily Cardinal Media Corporation ISSN 0011-5398

Dunkaroos than they could eat.

My only consolation was that their parents may have or may not have loved them about 50 bucks worth every Monday for letting the dog out. The good news about being spoiled is that you always got the cheddar, and probably always will. The bad news is that, suddenly coming across money probably isn’t that exciting, especially when daddy’s platinum credit card seems like it just won’t run out, no mater how many martinis you throw at it.

For most of us, our quest to bow our heads and follow the scent of wealth is not quite so easy. Acquiring the money is generally agreed upon as a critical first step. Whether it be through firing a couple of downtrodden accountants whose wives are expecting their first child to boost your stock, or your skills in probability to win the Powerball while buying some tropical skittles, it makes no difference. Don’t ask “why you’re rich,” simply understand that “you’re rich”.

That’s the beauty of having loads of money! Once you have it, you don’t have to take shit from anyone about how you got it or what you do with it. Add a couple topnotch lawyers who just so happen

to love money as much as you to do and you’re golden! Gotta love that capitalism!

That emphasis on capitalistic society is actually very important.

It brings about a good point, especially if we’re going to be “thinking globally,” as we’re expected to here in Madison as well-rounded students. Embarrassingly enough, I often find myself more prone to “thinking continentally.” It’s much easier to just say “U2 sounds like shit in Eastern Europe” then get out a magnifying glass to try and dissect the impressive clusterfuck of tiny countries. Say I was successfully able to cross into North Korea without getting my Caucasian ass lit up by a half-million, brainwashed border patrols, somehow find a kid and hand him a dollar bill. What would happen? Who knows? I know this kid’s country sucks the big one because they don’t have any money, but I can’t help but feel a little jealous at the idea, as long as I can somehow still get my drunken crunch wrap supreme at Taco Bell every night.

Feel the same way and suddenly want to get rid of a lot of cash?

Email Andrew at aplahr@wisc.edu and some cash-transferral arrangements can be made.

sex and the student body

Hit me baby, one more time

ERICA ANDRIST sex columnist

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Vince Filak Cole Wenzel Joan Herzing Jason Stein Jeff Smoller Janet Larson Chris Long Charles Brace Katie Brown Benjamin Sayre Jenny Sereno Terry Shelton Melissa Anderson

ing eternal salvation + fear of eternal fire + collection every week = CACHING. The good things in life usually aren’t free, assuming you’re not leading a lucrative life of crime, and the things that are free usually end up sucking. You learn this quickly in life, and soon money and fun became interchangeable.

You know that feeling you got when you were a cash-free little kid, and for whatever reason, had more than a couple bucks in your hands? The thing with money is, the more you have, the higher your expectations, and most kids are dirt poor.

Any kid with big stacks of cash laying around throws up a serious red flag. Technically, you could have become a very successful and profitable Pokemon trainer in your spare time, and technically, I could also spontaneously combust within the next few minutes, but you won’t see me running to make any lastminute amends. The more likely and less interesting case is quite simply that they’re spoiled little shits. I remember the type... the kids who had all the best toys and gadgets as soon as they hit the commercials, whose lunches were jam-packed with more

The Dirty Bird

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THURSDAY: sunny hi 43º / lo 33º

I’m a 19 year-old straight guy who really likes getting a good spanking. The problem is, I can’t find any women who would actually like to spank me... Do you have any suggestions about where or how to meet women who could be into spanking young men on campus?

—Asking For It

While placing an ad á la “Hackers” is always an option (“Disappointed white male, crossdresser, looking for discreet friend to bring dreams to reality. Leather, lace and water sports.

Transvestites welcome.”), Madison offers an impressive scene for a smallish city. There are (currently) no kinky social organizations specific to the UW campus, but many students are able to meet people through local community orgs.

One of the first options for the college-age crowd is the Madison Area Whippersnappers. According to their website, madisonareawhippersnappers.org, MAW is a “pansexual kinky group for people 18 to 35 years old. We educate the younger sections of our local kink community in a comfortable environment and help build safe, non-threatening spaces for both education and socialization around Madison.”

The Whippersnappers have munches the first Saturday of every month, and an organizational meeting the third Monday of the month.

A munch is an informal gathering of kinky people, usually in a public setting. It’s an easy, casual way to meet people who may share your kinky interests.

Another good option is Satyricon.

Their website is satyriconmadison. org, and they describe themselves as “a non-profit, pansexual group in Madison, Wisconsin that supports the free and open exploration of safe, sane, and non-exploitative BDSM as practiced by consenting adults.” Unlike MAW, there are no age requirements or restrictions for Satyricon membership (except 18+).

Satyricon meets for munches the second Saturday of every month.

The reason I listed these two organizations first is because they

have an educational focus, and some readers may be interested in learning more about kink or specific techniques in addition to meeting people to potentially play with. Some kinky things can’t be learned from a book or through an online chat—to most effectively reduce the risk involved in an activity, sometimes we must be shown techniques by an expert.

If you know exactly what you like/want, there are many other events/organizations in Madison with a more exclusively social focus.

Use the Google machine to check out First Friday, Sabbat de Sade, Madison Kinky Crafters, Leather and Lace, or the MadTown Kinkfest for more on the local scene.

And speaking of using the interwebz, many sites are set up to allow for meeting people in your community. One particularly popular one is fetlife.com. Fetlife.com is free to join and currently lists 912 Madison kinksters. Another option which allows local navigation is recon.com, though this website caters exclusively to gay men.

Lastly, just because UW doesn’t currently have a kinky organization doesn’t mean that nobody does, or that one cannot be started. Kinky U is an educational and social discussion group at the University of Minnesota. The Kinky Cardinals can be found at Ball State, and Iowa State is home to the Cuffs. Information for starting a new UW student organization can be found at the Center for Leadership and Involvement website, http://cfli.wisc.edu/student_organizations.htm.

How come you can’t get herpes from a toilet seat if you can get colds or other viruses from a touching a doorknob?

—Germophobe

Not all germs are created equal, Germophobe—they differ in the ways in which they are transmitted and in how well they survive outside a host. Though it is possible for herpes simplex (types 1 and 2) to enter the body through a break in the skin, it most commonly gets in through the oral/genital mucosae (soft, moist tissues). Additionally, the virus does not remain viable outside the body for very long.

Generally, unless you’re vigorously rubbing yourself all over public toilet seats, it’s the tougher, keratinized skin of your butt that’s making contact.

This means a person who has herpes is not super likely to deposit virus on the seat in the first place, and even if s/he did, a) it would die shortly thereafter and b) it would be highly unlikely for the next person to position him- or herself in a way that put the virus in contact with the most infectable tissue.

Cold and flu viruses, on the other (hopefully washed) hand, can live for up to 48 hours on a hard surface like a doorknob, according to the Mayo Clinic. And since these viruses are typically transmitted through the respiratory epithelium, an absentminded nasal scratch deposits those doorknob germs right at their specific entrance to your body.

Thanks to AFI and Germophobe for their questions this week, and to all readers who have been writing—thank you! The sex column, like sex, is better when all parties are enthusiastically participating, so keep it coming—again, and again, and again.

Want more Britney Spears lyrics as headines in the future? Want to learn more refined spanking tips? Email Erica for all this and more at sex@dailycardinal.com.

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Weekend, March 5-7, 2010

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Assembly passes bill to create new office for small businesses

By Justin Eells The Daily Cardinal

The Assembly passed a bill on a unanimous vote Thursday that creates a new government office for small businesses. The bill aims to give small businesses a voice in Wisconsin’s business realm.

The Flexibility and Enforcement Fairness Act changes the rules of business regulation, giving small businesses more of a voice in the regulatory process and making it easier for small businesses to comply with regulations.

Danny Marchewka/the daily cardinal

Local shops like Amsterdam on Gilman St. will no longer be able to sell salvia divinorum after the recent legislation outlawed the substance.

salvia from page 1 years it has been selling salvia.

She said salvia is marketed as incense and works to facilitate a deep state of meditation. It was meant to be burned like regular incense and she said she has no knowledge of its misusage.

“If people are smoking it, we

panel from page 1 delegitimize it.

Lew Friedland, a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said choosing not to run an advertisement does not violate the First Amendment or principles of free speech.

“The First Amendment does not require a newspaper to run an advertisement whatsoever.

There is a difference established

funds from page 1 ment. “But because the Milwaukee School Board continues to cling to the status quo—and because the state Legislature has so far failed to make real reforms—Wisconsin is not on that train.”

Collins said one proposed reform is for the mayor to appoint the school superintendent to establish

don’t know about it because we are not selling it as that,” she said.

She also said her most loyal customers are age 40 and above and kids are not as interested in it.

Wasserman disagreed. “[Salvia’s] main use was to get high,” he said. “There was never any thought that it was anything but a recreational drug.” in law and tradition between First Amendment right and commercial speech,” he said.

Howard Schweber, a political science professor, said he feels the advertisement should be removed immediately.

“You made a mistake—you did a bad thing—clean it up,” he said.

Smathers said the Herald’s Board of Directors and two committees are currently looking to revise their advertising and anonymous comments policy. “clear accountable leadership” in the district. The state Legislature has passed several laws on education in the last year.

Race to the Top will accept a second round of applications in June.

Collins said Wisconsin would need a clear reform agenda in Milwaukee to have a second chance at funding.

Sixteen states from the original 40 applicants are now finalists.

“Almost every business organization is supporting this initiative because they know how important it is that we protect businesses in this state and that we have a stronger voice in advocacy for them in the regulatory process,” state Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, said at a press conference Thursday morning.

Barca said the bill is “changing the framework” of the regulatory process by helping businesses to stay in compliance instead of “taking the heavyhanded approach.”

State Rep. Donna Seidel, D-Wausau, advocated a related Senate bill seeking to “expand bonding for capital projects by local governments.” Seidel said the bill will allow local governments to issue tax-exempt bonds to fund projects with public benefits.

The Assembly also passed legislation that allows legislators to meet outside of Madison in cases of emergency. State Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, originally stalled the bill from passing, but lifted his objection, which allowed the bill to pass.

Obama selects UW-Madison professor to the National Board of Education Sciences President Barack Obama plans to nominate UW-Madison Sociology and Educational Policy Studies Professor Adam Gamoran to the National Board of Education Sciences within the U.S. Department of Education.

Gamoran is the current director of the Waisman Center for Educational Research at UW-Madison. He has also served

aldo from page 1 the 365-day time limit disabled property owners for performing their jobs with desireable adequacy.

The exceptional circumstances section of ALDO was discussed extensively as well, but no conclusion was made. Business owners claim that ALDO gives

as the chair of the Department of Sociology and as the interim dean of the School of Education.

“Adam Gamoran is among our nation’s leaders in education research,” Julie Underwood, dean of the School of Education said in a statement. “I am delighted that the Obama administration has recognized him with an appointment to this important position and that

Adam is willing to serve during such exciting times in education.”

The National Board of Education is an advisory board that reviews and regulates the policies proposed by the director of the Institute of Education Sciences.

The board consists of 15 voting members appointed by the President and approved by the Senate.

limited opportunity for new forms of entertainment to arise, such as bowling alleys and cinemas in the downtown area.

“National clients are not welcomed warmly in Madison like they are in other places,” John Berg, commercial realtor, said.

A major controversy lays in what percentage of alcohol sales

should be allowed in these venues to be considered “exceptional circumstances.” The subcommittee discussed the possibility of a window of leniency for the board’s discretion in regards to alcohol sales.

A benchmark number on sales as well as further policy will be discussed in the next meeting.

featuresmadison spotlight 4

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Weekend, March 5-7, 2010

Story by Stephanie Lindholm

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raffiti. Is it art or vandalism? The difference of opinion can be as close as two coats of paint, literally.

Traditionally, marking public or private property is considered vandalism, but as the Generation Y-ers grow restless and stigmas are replaced, a new phase of acceptance may have evolved.

Yet some still wonder whether this highly contested pop culture existence will have to be hidden from the general public.

Artists hope graffiti and tagging, the name for images or lettering painted or sprayed into public buildings, will be considered a higher expression of art, a postgraffiti stage of street art?

An Outlet for Expression Jon Hain, owner of Mother Fool’s Coffeehouse on Wily Street, believes that it can. Mother Fool’s Coffeehouse was granted permission by the city of Madison in 2001 to have a rotating wall with temporary graffiti art on the eastern side of their building. This piece is always temporary, as it is painted over monthly in the winter and weekly during the summer.

“Ever since I was young I’ve been intrigued by the aesthetic of graffiti art, but at the same time I’m annoyed by tagging and vandalism, so I thought that if we provide a place for graffiti then it would allow people to express themselves without vandalizing public or private property,” Hain said.

“The dominant culture really tries to suppress graffiti, it’s illegal and you get fined,” Hain said.

“We wanted to provide a place for people to express themselves.”

The wall at Mother Fool’s does not come without restrictions, though. Before the city approved the project, Hain, Don Wettach, a local artist, and the neighborhood

alderperson, Judy Olson, worked out a criterion for the artists using the wall. It included no violent imagery, no profanity, no commercial messages and no sexist or racist imagery.

Since the wall’s inception, there have been many artists who have contributed to the mural.

“The interesting thing to me is that we don’t usually know the artists,” Hain said. “They borrow our ladder and a trash bag and they just paint. They’re outside and we’re inside so we never really see them.”

Graffiti artist, Billy McCoi, has been contributing to the graffiti wall for about six years now, usually painting 10-20 murals a year.

“For doing your piece, [the wall] is great, because you don’t have to be looking over your shoulder for cops or for somebody who’s going to chase you down the train tracks,” McCoi said.

This artistic freedom, however, has been subject to negative criticism.

“People make the argument that [graffiti art murals] become a training ground for people to do graffiti,” George Hank said, Director of Building Inspection and Code Enforcement for the city of Madison.

In fact, Mother Fool’s graffiti mural has even been graffitied.

Hain said there have been times when local graffiti artists have tagged the mural, but added that it’s usually a result of a misunderstanding, where the person didn’t realize that there is a sign up process. “It hasn’t turned into a real problem,” said Hain.

“I don’t think graffiti will ever be legalized and I think the graffiti artists are going to be responsible for that,” McCoi said. “We don’t want it to be legal – that’s part of the thrill.” McCoi said graffiti is vandalism, but also a form of art.

Graphics by Natasha Soglin

“It’s just free. It’s a way to escape, you know.” McCoi said.

“Throwing a cigarette butt on private property can be considered vandalism. The stuff we’re doing is vandalism, too, and graffiti gets a bad rap, but it’s art.”

Criminalizing Graffiti According to Mike Verveer, who serves on the City of Madison Common Council, “Graffiti can be considered artistic by some, but if you are engaging in graffiti on a property that’s not your own, it’s considered vandalism in my opinion.” He added, “With the expense there is to remove it, it certainly is not a victimless crime.”

Graffiti and tagging is considered a misdemeanor under both city and state law, and if property damage is over $1000, the offense rises to a felony.

Like other business owners in the city, Hain explained, “When somebody tags our building, we get a ticket from the city for $100.”

The city of Madison operates under the Copayment Removal Program, which offers private business owners the option of either paying $100 to the city for removal or removing the graffiti themselves within a designated time period.

Removing graffiti costs the city around $170 to $190 every time a contractor is sent to a building with reported graffiti.

“It puts us in a somewhat uncomfortable position when directing business owners to remove the graffiti,” Hank said, “because we have it in the back of our mind that the owner is the victim.”

But, Graffiti can be expensive for both parties involved. Painting just one mural at Mother Fool’s costs on average $80, according to McCoi. Besides material costs, he also noted that the time put into each mural is extensive.

“People don’t realize how long it takes and how much work goes into it,” McCoi said.

Hank explained tagging, a sub-genre of graffiti street art that some describe as just someone’s initials or nickname, makes up the majority of graffiti problems in the Madison area.

“That’s not art... that’s just somebody putting his or her moniker on a wall,” he said.

But McCoi said that’s the whole point of this type of artistic expression. “Graffiti is all about fame – how many times you can put your name up on a wall.”

Hank has noticed this trend as well. He said the areas most tagged included high traffic areas, such as Wily Street, Washington Avenue and Johnson Street. “The people who are doing it are putting it in places where the most people will see it,” he said.

However, since Mother Fool’s Coffeehouse began the graffiti mural project, it has been tagged far less frequently. Before the establishment of the mural Hain recalled being tagged at least monthly.

McCoi also understood how tagging on small businesses, churches, schools, and government buildings can be bothersome.

However, he added, “Stuff that belongs to the city, like electrical boxes, street lights, and bus stops – that’s fair game. I can paint on that, I pay my taxes.”

“Our goal since we started was that other business owners would step up and make one of their walls a graffiti mural,” Hain said.

“Everyone agrees that this process helps to cut down on tagging.”

What’s Acceptable?

Graffiti has taken several forms, used different mediums and portrayed conflicting messages throughout its history.

“I do like train graffiti because

dailycardinal.com/features

I think it’s a neat way of expression as there is so much travel involved,” Hain said.

The folklore of locomotive graffiti dates back to the early 1920s, when tagging boxcars became a way for graffiti artists to track and date their moniker every time they encountered it. The continuity of particular tags and the tradition that follows gives graffiti artists a sense of community.

The city does not enforce graffiti restrictions on trains, as trains are considered federal property, rather than state or city property.

Hank said even chalking, a temporary type of graffiti art that uses chalk instead of spray paint can be considered illegal if it contains a commercial message.

Verveer said there has been progress for making chalking more acceptable. He remembered in the 1990s when all chalking was illegal.

“I thought it was absurd that kids couldn’t chalk hopscotch squares and play hopscotch on the sidewalk, so I changed the law and made it legal with city ordinances,” Verveer said.

Most graffiti art, however, is not washable, which makes it so controversial.

However, Hain mentioned a new type of street art called reverse graffiti, a method of creating temporary art on walls and other surfaces by removing dirt from the surface.

“Artists will go into really dirty subways stations with cleaning supplies and they make art in the grime,” Hain said, “They put up really radical messages in the dirt and dress like maintenance teams and the cops can’t bust them.

It’s kind of a neat idea, that you can create art by cleaning public space.”

This progressive form of reverse graffiti may someday replace the spray cans and paint of past graffiti art rebellion, but the debate still continues whether graffiti is truly a form of art, or simply a way to damage property. Whichever connotation graffiti takes, its impact, good or bad, is just as powerful as the bold messages and pictures painted throughout the city.

While the paint dries on Mother Fool’s wall, attitudes toward graffiti will continue to change just as quickly as a new message will coat the white brick each at the end of the month.

arts The 82nd Academy Award Predictions dailycardinal.com/arts

Weekend, March 5-7, 2010

The Daily Cardinal Arts Staff makes their Oscar predictions — who will win, who should win, who shouldn’t have been nominated and who got snubbed. Stay tuned for the Academy Awards on Sunday at 7:00 p.m. on ABC.

BEST PICTURE

BEST DIRECTOR

Who will win: “Avatar” Who should win: “The Hurt Locker” Who was snubbed: “Fantastic Mr. Fox”/“Two Lovers”

Who will win: James Cameron, “Avatar” Who should win: Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker” Who doesn’t deserve it: James Cameron, “Avatar”

Because “Avatar” made so much goddamn money and because, for reasons beyond me, James Cameron’s name automatically connotes prestige. The Academy bowed at the Altar of Cameron 11 times in 1997 for “Titanic,” which is, as anybody who has watched it recently can attest, offensively expensive garbage. 3D looks to be the new profitable thing in big-budget filmmaking; I expect voters to side with the film that will be remembered for having gotten the ol’ money-ball a-rollin’.

Kathryn Bigelow’s possible masterpiece is as unapologetically frank and spectacularly visceral as any movie released in 2009. Whereas “Avatar” only implies anti-imperialist and pacifist attitudes, “The Hurt Locker” keeps its eyes and ears to the ground, illuminating both the harsh existences known by troops serving abroad and the psychic consequences of fighting in an unjust war. It’s a small miracle that this film’s relentless physicality agreed with the Academy’s sensibilities in the first place.

“Fantastic Mr. Fox” has the combination of a star-studded cast, clip-friendly banter and a happy ending that usually revs up Oscar voters’ engines. Alas, it was an animated film (an incredibly impressive one at that), so it was disqualified from any serious consideration. James Gray’s “Two Lovers” is the most stylistically exquisite classical drama released in 2009, yet its February theatrical release ensured that it’d be all but forgotten come nomination time.

—Dan Sullivan

My pick for director this year was changed by a profile of James Cameron that Rolling Stone ran back in January—working with effects artists for “Avatar,” he described in detail how the blades of grass were moving in a way that didn’t seem believable as the wind from helicopter turbines above disturbed them— clearly, the look of “Avatar” was held to a higher standard largely to keep in line with Cameron’s vision for his film.

His passion and technical achievement will likely net him an Oscar win.

The fact that he made over a billion dollars on the deal probably doesn’t hurt either. However, the reality is that truthfully, his achievement was to make one of the prettiest, most visually stunning versions of “Fern Gully” the world has ever seen.

By comparison, Kathryn Bigelow (who divorced from Cameron in 1991) achieved much more with her gritty war picture “The Hurt Locker.” Bigelow made a taught, visually-inspired war film with five percent of the budget that her ex was working with for his blue kitty masterpiece. In short, she did everything a great director can do to elevate her film above the sum of its parts.

Cameron’s only true achievement was converting unlimited money and time into massive box office. His inevitable victory will be hard to swallow.

—Mark Riechers

BEST ACTOR

BEST ACTRESS

Who will win: Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart” Who should win: Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart” Who was snubbed: Nicolas Cage, “Bad Lieutenant”

Who will win: Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side” Who should win: Carey Mulligan, “An Education” Who shouldn’t be here: Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side”

The only thing that beguiles Academy members voting on Best Actor more than Daniel Day-Lewis are biopic performances, which have received four of the last five awards. With Day-Lewis out the field this year, the next logical bet would seem to be Morgan Freeman’s portrayal of Nelson Mandela, who oversaw South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy, presumably with some help from rugby, in “Invictus.”

Not so fast.

Freeman certainly seems to have been born for this role, and his transformation makes us realize there’s more to him than that tranquilizing voice. For a film that’s less concerned with national unity than watching Matt Damon tackle people, it’s hard to justify the award.

Instead, it looks like it will finally be the year of the Dude. Jeff Bridges’ performance as a worn-out county singer in search of redemption in “Crazy Heart” evokes Mickey Rourke’s gritty work in “The Wrestler” last year, and his natural style and surprising singing ability keep the film fresh and watchable.

As for the rest, George Clooney plays a troubled traveler in “Up in the Air,” and Colin Firth plays a gay college professor who loses his partner in “A Single Man,” and Jeremy Renner plays a detached James Dean type in “The Hurt Locker.”

Overall, it’s a solid bunch, though I would’ve replaced either of those latter three with Nicolas Cage, who finally got a chance to apply his awkward voice fluctuations, mannerisms and iguana-like disposition to a decent script in “Bad Lieutenant.”

Sandra Bullock’s performance in “The Blind Side” is surprisingly decent.

The role is more or less a Southern Erin Brockovich—tactless, fearless and flirting with the dangerously fine difference between Southern charm and bitchiness. Though Bullock’s part is miles above her ever-so-brilliant roles in “Miss Congeniality” and “All About Steve,” one must not forget the horrors of “The Lake House.” Just because she’s learning how to get past terrible romantic comedies should not get her an automatic bump to Academy Award winning status.

But unfortunately, that seems that it’ll be the case.

Meryl Streep naturally gave a fantastic performance as Julia Child in “Julie & Julia.” She mastered Child’s charm and warmth, even her bumbling antics.

But this is just kid’s stuff for the likes of her; wait till her next, probably more impressing feat for her next Oscar. Same goes for Helen Mirren in “The Last Station,” giving a powerful performance as Leo Tolstoy’s wife, but her ice-cold “Queen” will resound with the Academy for these awards.

Carey Mulligan has an Audrey Hepburn-esque elegance and sophistication in “An Education,” resounding with her wit and charm. And Gabourey Sidibe’s heartwarming resilience against abuse in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’

by Sapphire” is inspirational. Both are new faces on the Hollywood scene, and it seems they have proven their worth to be given more opportunities to shine with age and experience.

—Ryan Hebel

—Katie Foran-McHale

GRAPHIC BY CAITLIN KIRIHARA

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Who will win: Christopher Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds” Who should win: Christopher Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds” Who shouldn’t be here: Matt Damon, “Invictus” Sometimes the Oscars are so unpredictable that going into awards night, no one has a clue as to who will be taking home the golden statuettes. This is certainly not the case in the category of Best Supporting Actor. Christopher Waltz’s turn as the charming, irrepressible Colonel Hans Landa in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” is absolutely, 100 percent, without a doubt going to win the award. You’d be hard-pressed to find a single publication that says otherwise. Even though Waltz acted alongside such incredible characters as Melanie Laurent’s Shoshanna Dreyfus and Brad Pitt’s Aldo Raine, he outclasses them all with his alternations between festive giddiness and cold, vindictive cruelty as “The Jew Hunter.” Tarantino’s World War II revisionist history flick may not take home many other awards, but this one is a shoo-in.

Couple Waltz’s visionary performance with a few weaker nominees—including Matt Damon, who should have been nominated for Best Actor in “The Informant” and not for his brief turn in “Invictus”--and you’ve got the easiest Oscar to predict since last year’s Best Supporting Actor award, given posthumously to Heath Ledger for “The Dark Knight”. Couple that with 2007’s Best Supporting Actor winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men”), and you’ve got three of the easiest awards to predict in recent memory. As Hans Landa would say, “Ooooooh, that’s a Bingo!”

—Kevin Slane

Who will win: Mo’nique, “Precious” Who should win: Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air” Who was snubbed: Melanie Laurent, “Inglourious Basterds” Let’s not be under any illusions here, Mo’nique pretty much has this one in the bag. She has been the frontrunner ever since rave reviews started pouring in for her performance at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, and if she loses it will be an upset of epic proportions. It is hard to say Mo’nique doesn’t deserve the award. Her role as the mother of the titular character in “Precious” is the very definition of a powerhouse performance in a film hampered by sloppy direction.

However, in an ideal world the golden statuette would go to “Up in the Air’s” Anna Kendrick. Mo’nique may have been great in “Precious,” but there are several other actresses that likely could have knocked that role out of the park just as well (Viola Davis and Alfre Woodard come to mind). It is hard to imagine anybody imbuing “Up in the Air’s” Natalie Keener with the same corporate-yet-caring mentality of Kendrick, who constantly walks the trickiest of balancing lines. But we don’t live in an ideal world, because if we did Melanie Laurent would have been nominated for her career-making turn in “Inglourious Basterds,” even though she was improperly campaigned as a lead. She certainly would have made a better choice than the histrionic Maggie Gyllenhaal of “Crazy Heart,” who, while decent enough, could not hold a candle to the subtle determination of Laurent’s performance.

—Todd Stevens

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Impressing your wife : Statistically, married men tip better than bachelors. dailycardinal.com/comics

Weekend, March 5-7, 2010

Eating Only One Chip

Today’s Sudoku

Evil Bird

By Caitlin Kirihara kirihara@wisc.edu

© Puzzles by Pappocom

Ludicrous Linguistics

By Celia Donnelly donnelly.celia@gmail.com

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.

The Graph Giraffe

By Yosef Lerner

Today’s Crossword Puzzle

Crustaches

By Patrick Remington premington@wisc.edu

First in Twenty

By Angel Lee alee23@wisc.edu

Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com

head count ACROSS 1 “Agreed!”

5 Calm 11 “Capita” go-with 14 Cogito ___ sum 15 Absence of oomph 16 Wallach of the screen 17 Tower of London treasures 19 Went jogging 20 High-society neck warmer 21 Vain voyages?

23 He gets credits 26 Sargasso, for one 27 On the lam 28 Tread the boards 30 Wandered aimlessly 31 First half of an inning 32 Ilium 35 Dangerous places for Indiana Jones 40 Like wind and water 41 “Am I an idiot!”

43 No-Bob link 46 Mined find 49 Fiber from the Philippines 50 Joining word 52 “Growing Pains” star Joanna 53 Destroy en masse

5 Household title 5 56 Fury 57 Bullies 62 Honorific for McCartney 63 “The Odd Couple” film star 64 Big scallion 65 Barker and Rainey 66 Studio supports 67 Some are green with it DOWN 1 Mistletoe mo.

2 Leave the straight and narrow 3 Long trailer?

4 Small dresser 5 Punjabi prince 6 Compass pt.

7 Small flycatcher 8 “Animal House” frat man 9 Corn storage facility 10 Texas county 11 “... and that’s final!”

12 Expire 13 Went through a laundry cycle 18 “... ___ lender be” 22 Where competitors dig in their heels 23 Quite bright 24 Blood vessel obstruction

5 3M product 2 26 Filthy abodes 29 Ravel’s “Daphnis and ___” 30 Office flunky 33 Next-to-last Greek letter 34 Hollow-horned ruminant 36 Word of Grenoble gratitude 37 “We the people” source 38 Sour milk quality 39 Eve’s counterpart, poetically 42 Males 43 Penchant for cruelty 44 Spain and Portugal, together 45 Indy entrants 47 Creole cooking pod 48 Be cozy, in a way 50 Elemental building blocks 51 “It’s the ___” (“I’ve changed”) 54 Word with “rest,” “work” or “play” 55 Sears section 58 7’7” former NBA star Manute 59 Donne’s dinnertime?

60 Go “vroom, vroom” 61 Daydreamer’s limit?

Washington and the Bear

By Derek Sandberg kalarooka@gmail.com

opinion dailycardinal.com/opinion

Weekend, March 5-7, 2010

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Refusal of pay raises aid Feingold’s repute

Improvements needed to ensure clean water

By Stephen Collins THE GREEN ROOM

Last week, the Wisconsin State Journal published a set of articles on Wisconsin’s industrial animal farms.

The reason? It appears some of these farms, also known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, have been getting a free pass at the public’s expense.

In a number of instances over the past decade, the excess manure created by the farms has contaminated the drinking water in rural areas, causing rural residents to fall ill. It’s no accident these events have coincided with increasingly lax regulation on the part of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

And, sadly, with some easy reforms, these incidents likely could have been prevented.

On paper, it would seem that the people responsible for regulating CAFOs—the Wisconsin DNR— had a pretty good system in place.

All CAFOs above a certain size are supposed to acquire permits to dispose of the vast amount of animal waste they create, and the permits ensure that the farms dispose of the manure safely.

In practice, however, the permit system has failed. As part of their series of articles, the WSJ released an investigation on the CAFO permits, finding that the DNR has inadequately monitored farms’ animal waste after handing out permits. Moreover, the DNR has granted permits to every single farm that has requested one, and has failed to revoke permits from farms who break the rules. Thus, inadequate enforcement has made the permits increasingly meaningless.

The solution is simple: increase oversight of the permit system.

According to its website, the DNR “is dedicated to the preservation, protection, effective management and main-

tenance of Wisconsin’s natural resources.” I say, the DNR needs to put its money where its mouth is. One of the biggest reasons the DNR has struggled to regulate the CAFO permits is that the agency lacks sufficient resources.

While the number of permit requests has risen greatly, the staff responsible for the permits has stagnated. Adding employees could easily augment the agency’s ability to deal with the permits (and create a few jobs, too).

With Wisconsin low on funds and, as always, trying to address a large array of issues, some may wonder how we would pay for these added employees. One of the WSJ articles offers a reasonable answer: increase the fee for the permits. The fee currently stands at a mere $345, composing a tiny fraction of a large industrial farm’s overall expenses. Increasing the fee by, say, a couple hundred bucks—heck, even a couple thousand bucks—would do nothing to take away farmers’ competitive edge and provide the DNR with a significant increase in revenue.

And let’s not forget the potential costs of not adequately regulating manure; a fee of one or two thousand dollars costs much less than a lawsuit upwards of $80 grand—both for farmers, consumers and that previously unemployed Wisconsinite snagging a job at the DNR. To comply with permits, farmers may also want to use excess manure to produce natural gas.

This would give farmers extra revenue, reduce the risk of water contamination, and, as a bonus, help Wisconsin meet the renewable energy standard contained in the Clean Energy Jobs Act. Others have called for the state to shorten the initial permitting procedure and free up time for staff to actually monitor the manure lagoons popping up across the state. Under this proposal, WSJ reporter Ron Seely

says “the state would not be required to conduct an environmental assessment and hold a public hearing if the farm meets certain requirements.” Increased monitoring of permit-holding farms would certainly help. However, considering that the proposal was largely influenced by the Dairy Business Association, a lobbying organization for agribusiness interests, I remain skeptical of the “certain requirements” the proposal entails. Given the proposal would largely eliminate environmental impact assessments, it seems more aimed at accelerating the permitting process than protecting rural residents from unsafe drinking water.

And the last thing Wisconsin needs right now is more large-scale industrial animal farms. Wisconsin is becoming famous for its industrial agriculture, but not in a good way. In September 2009, the New York Times ran an article in its Toxic Waters series titled “Health Ills Abound as Farm Runoff Fouls Wells,” with Wisconsin featured front and center. Meanwhile, many rural residents are organizing to protest the spread of CAFOs in their communities (one such example is the Crawford Stewardship Project).

While Wisconsin’s dairy agribusinesses cite statistics about their contributions to the Gross Domestic Product, I’m left wondering who exactly this increase in GDP benefits. Is it the farm owners? Is it consumers? I have ideas, but I’m not really sure.

I do know, however, that it’s not the people getting sick from drinking contaminated water. With many hearings on the issue scheduled in the upcoming months, let’s hope the DNR cleans up its act.

Stephen Collins is a student at the UW-Madison School of Public Affairs. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

By Samantha Witthuhn THE DAILY CARDINAL

Year after year, senators and congressmen alike receive a small memo from their secretaries with an innocent smiley face or shooting star surrounding the words “pay raise”! A little victory dance around their cluttered desk and a few jersey shore fist pumps are thrown in celebration, but who do these representatives have to thank? You! Yes, taxpayers like you, your uncle Borris, and Grandma Rhonda unknowingly contribute to salary increases of those representing us in Washington D.C. The cleverly named “stealth pay raise system” has structured automatic pay increases given to members of congress every year for the past two decades. With all of the money flowing in and out of the pockets of congressmen, students suffering from tuition increases, and the recession as a whole, have yet to see these politicians deliver.

Wisconsin’s very own Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin, has been the only one to break from the pack and speak out against the pay raise system made up solely of taxes. His aversion to receiving annual salary increases tells American’s he understands that the growing size of his wallet is of little importance.

Feingold has collectively rejected $70,000 worth of pay increases and continually forced the issue onto the Senate’s agenda. Stating in his letter to Nancy Pelosi that, “ending automatic pay raises would also save roughly $80 million over 10 years,” Feingold understands the significance of showing struggling Americans that congress isn’t a profiteering business itself.

Though, through all of his determined efforts, rejection has accompanied his many inquiries.

The House recently turned down Feingold’s proposed bill, but his recent letter to speaker Nancy Pelosi shows constituents that he remains committed and that this is an issue of high priority.

As cliché as it sounds to say that politicians are nothing but greedy, tophat wearing men who constantly sniff

out the competition and only look to win the next ballot, I believe it would be an accurate assessment to claim that most of them are ignorant as well.

Feingold may be a charitable soul looking to advance the economy by giving back to Americans, but his public push to redirect the flow of tax money away from the wallets of those in D.C. may be more than just an act of generosity.

This particular senator knows what the voting public wants to see in its candidates and many in congress would benefit by taking a few hints from him. In this tough economic climate, a political figure who demands that hard earned tax money be used for something other than a congressman’s next pay stub is what many constituencies applaud.

By continually pressuring congress to put a stop to unnecessary salary increases, Feingold is essentially preserving his seat in the Senate. Turning down potential raises demonstrates loyalty to his constituencies and therefore pushes Feingold to become a much more appealing candidate to the voting public. Through all the corruption taking place in politics, honesty is a virtue that voters don’t overlook and clearly Feingold knows it. His drive to end yearly promotions is one that any smart congressman should adopt. Genuine candidates are valued among voters, so congressmen need to make a decision: Accept the bonus or show American’s they are committed to digging us out of this economic crater which would consequently increase their approval ratings.

While the answer seems obvious, most congressmen aren’t taking the bait. Whether Feingold is motivated to salvage taxpayer money for purely economic reasons or understands the lime light he is now shining in, it appears that his push to end to the “stealth pay raise system” gives this Wisconsin senator a leg up on the candidates now surrounding him.

Samantha Witthuhn is a sophomore majoring in political science. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

Dialogue needed to reconcile Proposition 8 vote outcome, love will prevail

By Daylon Cottingham MULTICULTURAL STUDENT COALITION

In 2008, we fostered in a new era of hope with the election of our first black president, Barack Obama. But we also fostered in a new era of bigotry for all gay and lesbian Californians with the upholding of Proposition 8, which was a proposition placed on the Californian 2008 presidential election ballot stating that marriage between a man and a woman is the only marriage that will exist in the state. The California Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage, and it had been in practice since June 16, 2008. The day after the election, it was overturned by a roughly 52 percent voting ‘Yes’ for Proposition 8.

In many states, Election Day had brought out the highest percentage of black voters in the presidential election in a long time. Demographers give many reasons for why this could have been. The black voters feel like they could relate to a black candidate better; black voters wanted

to make history; black voters just voted for him because he was black.

However, many demographers failed to ask, “Hey, could blacks be voting for this man because they actually like his policies?”

This is an example of modern day cultural imperialism: the blatant distinguishing of ideas that another culture could possibly exert the same power as one’s own. Even though I am black, this upsets me more as a human being, as it should any other human being. The demographics of Election Day with Proposition 8 demonstrated a majority of Latinos voted ‘Yes’, while whites were split almost even. However, the Los Angeles Times reports roughly 70 percent of the blacks who voted in California on Election Day voted ‘Yes’ for Proposition 8. I am not implying that just because you are black that you have to completely understand every social justice issue, and that all black people should be activists. I am merely stating that if any human being suffers any form of oppression, whether it is

cultural imperialism or marginalization, why they would want to do the same to anyone else doesn’t make any sense to me.

And why is the number so high in the black community? The dominant religion in the black community is Christianity. There are many Christians who strictly believe that The Bible condemns homosexuality. So, if this is the case, this can be a possible factor of why there is so much homophobia in the black community. Another reason is due to cultural taboos. A culture’s taboos can be influenced by religion, but also from those around them in the culture. In the past, homosexuality was something that was brushed under the rug, an issue that many blacks didn’t want to discuss.

However, it is being talked about more and more but sometimes in negative ways. One example is how the rapper Lil’ Wayne uses the term “no homo” almost to condone that a straight male can say or do things with another straight male that seem

stereotypically homosexual and it will be cancelled out by saying “no homo.”

It’s almost like knocking on wood.

A positive example, however, that people are influencing homosexuality in a better light was in a recent interview with Mo’Nique, “Love. That’s it; there is no special formula. People that have a platform, if they start speaking about love—we are creatures that latch on, may it be negative or positive. So imagine that if in all of the black churches they started saying, ‘Let’s love each other unconditionally.

Let’s not judge.’ That’s it! You can have members be openly gay! Not “Well, we think Troy is gay, but you know!

Yes, he switches, but we’re not gonna say nothing!”

I agree with Mo’Nique. This is not an issue that should be swept under the rug. The problems between identifying members of the LGBTQ community and the black community will only get better if they are talked about and no longer will there need to be an issue of having to work your life as a gay person

into your life as a black person. They can coincide. This message is universal to all ethnicities and all cultures. We all have different views and opinions that may collide with another aspect of our life.

But no one should feel like those views have to be ‘worked’ into their lives. Once this is realized, I believe that we can break the chains of homophobia, racism, sexism or other negative forms of oppression, in any community. In the end, we are all human beings and we all have feelings. In the words of my girl Mo’Nique, “Love. That it.”

Daylon Cottingham is a member of the Multicultural Student Coalition. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

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dailycardinal.com/sports

Weekend, March 5-7, 2010

Men’s Hockey

UW to face battered UM in regular season finale

By Ben Breiner the daily cardinal

These are far from your normal Gophers.

The Minnesota program traditionally is one of college hockey’s strongest, perennially competing for league titles and stocked with top talent. Although the talent is there in Minneapolis, the success has not been for the team the Badgers will face when they head up I-94 this weekend.

Wisconsin is looking to wrap up its regular season with a top-three finish in the WCHA against a Gopher squad currently sitting in seventh place

with an 11-13-2 record in the league.

Minnesota has won four of its last 10 games, but has been playing better of late and is in a position Wisconsin has found itself in at times.

“We’ve been in their shoes, you want to play your best hockey at the end of the year,” UW head coach Mike Eaves said. “That’s been their battle cry I’m sure. Not even being in their locker room, but being in a situation similar [to] that in a career, that’s what they’re saying and they’re starting to find their stride a little bit.”

Eaves refused to say that junior netminder Scott Gudmandson, who

lorenzo zemella/cardinal file photo

Scott Gudmandson is Mike Eaves’ “number one goaltender” for the Badgers’ series with Minnesota, and could earn that job for the playoffs.

has started the Badgers’ last four games, will be his goaltender for the postseason, simply calling him the “number one goaltender heading into Friday night.”

Gudmandson will contend with an attack that features 18 skaters drafted by NHL teams.

Under head coach Don Lucia, the Gophers usually look to get out in tradition and score quick goals, a gameplan that is still present despite averaging the seventh-most goals per game in the conference.

“They’re going to play the same style they always do. They are run-and-gun, a lot of skill, lot of offense, try and catch you sleeping and stuff like that,” junior defenseman Ryan McDonagh said.

“They’re fast and they know how to play well with each other so we’ve got to make sure we’re talking a lot, communicating and just keeping everything in front of us.”

On the other side, Gopher goaltender Alex Kangas will be dealing with the WCHA’s top scoring offense which should get its top scorer back from an injury. Senior captain Blake Geoffrion, who leads the conference in point and goal scoring, will likely be back after a concussion sidelined him for two games against Michigan Tech.

As for the talented Gophers’ overall struggles this year, none of the Badgers could point to a cause.

“I definitely would look at something like that and be like ‘how does it happen?’” sophomore center Derek Stepan said. “But then again it comes back to the WCHA being as good as it is this year. I don’t know, I wish I could explain it to you too, that’s kind of a riddle to me. But you’ve just got to come out and play, that’s the bottom line.”

With the postseason positioning and rivalry pride on the line, it certainly is.

Women’s Basketball

Purdue loss motivation in Tournament matchup

By Mark Bennett the daily cardinal

Big Ten Coach of the Year Lisa Stone and her Wisconsin women’s basketball team head into this Friday’s Big Tournament game looking to expand to new program horizons as well as gain some revenge.

The fourth seeded Badgers take on number five Purdue this Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The team is looking to improve its resume heading into a possible NCAA Tournament bid head coach Lisa Stone feels her team has already earned.

“I think we’ve done our work,” she said.

Revenge coming into this game motivates on multiple levels for the Badgers this Friday. Wisconsin, as just a seventh seed in the tournament last season, won two games and reached the semifinals before losing to Purdue in 2009. Additionally, after easily handing the Boilermakers at the Kohl Center earlier in the season, the Badgers took a tough 58-56 loss at Purdue three weeks ago.

Following that contest, many Wisconsin players hoped to have a third chance at the Boilermakers in the post season. Now, the team has that chance.

“After our second game [against Purdue] everyone left there with a sour feeling in our gut,” junior guard Alyssa Karel said. “Just knowing that we now have another chance to play them is a little bit of motivation.”

The Badgers have played Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament three times before and have never come away with a win. Although the Boilermakers are usually a perennial powerhouse and are a team that finished runners up in last year’s conference tournament Purdue ended this season with just a 9-9 conference record, 14-15 record overall.

Stone said she isn’t about to let down her guard however.

“They’re very dangerous,” she said.

“They’re a very experienced team in the Big Ten Tournament. We have to be at our best against one of the best teams in the league.”

From here on out, Wisconsin will be playing away from the Kohl Center, but that factor shouldn’t worry this

team. In fact, the Badgers have had their best road record in program history, going 10-4 in both opposition arenas and neutral sites. The team knows they have confidence going away from home this year.

“We come with the mindset that wherever we play it’s our house and it’s going to be our court,” Karel said.

“We’re going to come to the Big Ten Tournament with exactly that mindset.”

Although with post season and tournament play comes an added sense of urgency, the team is looking to approach their game against Purdue the same as any other contest.

“I think in years past, we’ve taken a different approach,” senior guard Rae Lin D’Alie said. “This year, everything is different so I’m sure we’ll be taking a different approach from years past.”

Stone said she agrees.

“Why change now? What we have been doing has been working for us and we’re staying the course,” she said.

Wisconsin’s game against Purdue Friday, and every Big Ten Tournament game will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.

Men’s Basketball

kyle bursaw/the daily cardinal

Jon Leuer was Wisconsin’s leading scorer with 18 points Wednesday. He will try to continue that production against Illinois.

Badgers look to avenge home loss against Illini

By Scott Kellogg the daily cardinal

The Badgers will travel to Champaign Sunday to take on the Fighting Illini as they look to finish the Big Ten regular season on a high note before beginning postseason play.

Earlier this season Illinois got the best of Wisconsin at the Kohl Center, defeating the Badgers 6356 and becoming the first squad under UW head coach Bo Ryan’s tenure to down Wisconsin on its home floor as an unranked opponent. Before that contest, Ryan was 51-0 against unranked teams at home.

Much has changed since that Feb. 9 contest. After defeating Wisconsin, the Illini improved to 9-3 in the Big Ten and were within one game of the conference lead.

But since beating the Badgers, Illinois (10-7 Big Ten, 22-7 overall) has dropped four of its last five games and is now fighting for its NCAA Tournament life.

On the other hand, No. 17 Wisconsin (12-5, 22-7) has a chance to enter the Big Ten Tournament with momentum, as the Badgers have won four its five games since falling to the Illini.

Despite playing this game on the road, the Badgers have reason to be confident this time around against Illinois, as they now have a healthy Jon Leuer. The junior forward did not play in the two teams’ first meeting, but has now played four games since returning from a wrist injury. And after starting slow in his first several games back, Leuer appears to now be back in shape after scoring 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor against Iowa.

“With every game, you get more confidence and experience,” Leuer said after Wisconsin’s 6740 win over Iowa Wednesday. “I didn’t play how I wanted to in the Minnesota game but it was the first game back. I was working the rust off and being a little tentative.

Now I’m playing with the guys and it just feels more natural and more fluid. It feels like our whole offense is in a rhythm and it makes it easier to play the game.”

Ryan said he also thinks Leuer is progressing well.

“I think each game he’s looked a little more comfortable in recognizing game speeds and reactions,” Ryan said.

The addition of Leuer should help out the Badgers Sunday, but they will still have to find a way to limit the offensive production of junior guard Demetri McCamey, who is scoring a team-high 15.1 points and averaging 6.9 assists per game and this season. And in the first game between these two teams, McCamey scored a game-high 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting, and hit some backbreaking shots for UW down the final stretch.

“It feels like our whole offense is in a rhythm and it makes it easier to play the game.”

Jon Leuer junior forward UW Men’s Basketball

Junior Mike Tisdale is also a player UW must keep an eye on.

Tisdale, a 7'1" center, is scoring 11.5 points per game this season, and hit 8 of his 11 shots from the floor earlier this season against Wisconsin.

Both Illinois and Wisconsin have been eliminated from the Big Ten title race after Ohio State defeated the Illini earlier this week.

With Wisconsin currently fourth in the conference and Illinois fifth, it is likely these two teams will turn around and face each other next Friday in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.

The game tips off at 1 p.m. on Sunday and can be seen on ESPN.