TOLZIEN TAKES CHARGE ON OFFENSE
l
ARTS
PAGE 5
Spring training begins with senior quarterback taking on new responsibilities
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Complete campus coverage since 1892
l
dailycardinal.com
The Daily Cardinal
The Urban Design Commission approved initial stages of the Edgewater Hotel expansion proposal 5-4 Wednesday, with Chair Bruce Woods breaking the tie, according to the Capital Times. Debate regarding the Edgewater Hotel proposal continued as Hammes Co., the developers of the expansion, demonstrated the additional changes they have made to their original project. “We’ve taken all the lessons we’ve learned from our meetings together, and we’ve slid the tower about 15 feet east,” said Ken Saiki, of Ken Saiki Design. The tower has been a point of contention throughout Edgewater Hotel debates because the neighborhood in which it sits does not allow buildings to exceed 50 feet in height. The developers claim the proposed height and size of the hotel is suited to the neighborhood. “Within its immediate context, it is appropriate to its abutting neighbors, [the height] is certainly appropriate with the scale of Madison,” said David Manfredi, of Elkus Manfredi Architects. In addition to refining their design, the developers determined 355 parking spaces will be required for the hotel expansion, which was cited the maximum. “Building more than 355 parking
spaces would be unwise, economically,” Amy Supple, the director of development for Hammes Co., said. Opposing residents in the area believe the neighborhood cannot accommodate the expansion and the tower. “The proposed expansion is not compatible with the neighborhood,” one resident said. Not every resident said that the hotel expansion would be bad for the neighborhood. Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, expressed worries that her district, which includes the Edgewater, is losing residents because they want to live somewhere with more amenities. “I do think that having this commercial site will help to keep people interested in the neighborhood and drawn to the neighborhood,” she said. One resident complained that the developers were using the words “downtown” and “commercial” interchangeably. He said that the Mansion Hill neighborhood is “downtown” Madison, but that does not make it a “commercial” neighborhood. The developers said the neighborhood and the city of Madison itself are already highly varied, and the expansion of the Edgewater would serve to increase that variety. “I think that’s what makes this neighborhood what it is—its diversity,“ Manfredi said.
Basking on Bascom
2010 Census Road Tour provides information for students By Kelsey Gunderson The Daily Cardinal
mifflin page 3
census page 3
New plans for Mifflin St. Block Party presented By Allison Geyer The Daily Cardinal
Plans for the 2010 Mifflin Street Block Party are beginning to take shape and include more live music, beer and bathrooms. After the party’s success in 2009, sponsor DCNY Pro is back to manage this year’s event. Co-owners Dave Coleman and Ny Bass addressed the Madison Street Use Staff Commission at their meeting Wednesday morning where they outlined new ideas for the upcoming event. “Last year’s party was very successful,” said Coleman. “This year we’re going to make some changes that we think will improve the block party even more.” The May 1 event will feature more entertainment with a second live music stage on Bedford
Street in addition to the one on Bassett Street. “The stage will help give idle people something to do and a place to be,” said Coleman.
“We think [open-air beer gardens] will help encourage responsible drinking.” Dave Coleman co-owner DCNY Pro
UW System gives update on $81 million payroll project The Daily Cardinal
alison bauter/the daily cardinal
Partygoers of legal drinking age will also be able to enjoy a new, open-air beer garden complete with a live DJ stage.
The U.S. Census Bureau provided students with key information about the 2010 Census Wednesday on Library Mall. The event was part of a Midwest road tour designed to educate different parts of the population on the 2010 Census. Brian Grady, an official from the Madison Department of Planning and Development, said students are a segment of the population that is less likely to fill out their forms. “We did this same event with the 2000 Census, and we found it very helpful just to get material out and to get people talking about it,” he said. Grady said all students, even non-citizens, should not be counted on their parents’ forms, but should fill out their Census forms based on where they are a majority of the year. For most students, he said, this is their off-campus apartments or residence halls. “Once you get the form in the mail, just fill it out for everyone in your apartment or house and then send it back in,” he said. Grady said students living on campus will receive their forms in early April and can
lorenzo zemella/cardinal file photo
By Alison Dirr
Students flocked to Bascom Hill in their green St. Patrick’s Day attire to enjoy Wednesday’s springtime weather.
PAGE 8
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Initial stages of Edgewater redesign OK’d By Hannah Shepard
SPORTS
l
Madison’s Romanian Film Festival offers satire and stark imagery
State lawmakers received an update Wednesday on an IT project meant to improve the payroll process at all University of Wisconsin institutions. This is the first phase of a larger project to overhaul the UW budget system. “The impact of this replacement has administrative functionality and affects each and every current employee of the University of Wisconsin system, all retirees and any potential employee of the system,” Tom Anderes, senior vice president for administration and fiscal affairs, told the committee. When the committee received a briefing in October, state Rep. Kitty Rhoades, R-Hudson, expressed concern that the project would not maintain its original budget. She cited millions of dollars
“wasted” on failed IT projects in the past. Anderes said Wednesday the project will adhere to its original financial plan as it has throughout the process. “There are points where we are looking at balancing the budget in terms of where we have excess dollars, and trying to offset some of that with where we may need some additional dollars,” Anderes said. The committee also followed up on the employment of Huron Consulting Group Inc., a private contracting group. State Rep. Gary Sherman, D-Port Wing, committee cochair, asked about the contractor’s ability to retain personnel for the project. He cited Huron’s recent earnings misrepresentation, reported in August, as a reason for concern. Anderes said to keep the project on track the state has had to
depend on the contractor for a “limited duration” to fill vacant positions typically held by state employees. He said employees working on specific segments of the project for only a few months tend to leave when they receive a better offer. State Sen. Pat Kreitlow, D-Chippewa Falls, a committee co-chair, further inquired about staffing challenges. He questioned whether the terms of pay or whether putting people under contract for longer terms were sufficient. “[The system should] not be used as essentially a public sector bargaining chip as people continually come out and say, ‘Well, I’ve got a better offer. What can you do about that?’” he said. According to Anderes, this is not a significant problem at this point, but one that must be watched vigilantly.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”
page two 2
l
tODAY: partly sunny hi 64º / lo 38º
dailycardinal.com/page-two
Thursday, March 18, 2010
An independent student newspaper, serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison community since 1892
Oh, the iRony of Apple’s iDiotic new iDeas
Volume 119, Issue 110
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 City Editor Grace Urban State Editor Hannah Furfaro Enterprise Editor Hannah McClung Associate News Editor Ashley Davis Senior News Reporters Alison Dirr Ariel Shapiro Robert Taylor Opinion Editors Anthony Cefali Todd Stevens Arts Editors Katie Foran-McHale Jacqueline O’Reilly Sports Editors Scott Kellogg Nico Savidge Page Two Editor Kevin Slane Features Editor Madeline Anderson Life and Style Editor Ben Pierson 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 Alison Bauter, Jessie Bell Kathleen Brosnan, Lauren Hodkiewicz Lauren Kelly, Tyler Weiss
friDAY: rainy hi 59º / lo 38º
jon spike academic misjonduct
T
here was a time in my life when I genuinely despised Apple. Sure, my reasons weren’t fantastic for hating them— almost every person walks around with those idiotic earbuds, they have a smug Justin Long in their annoying commercials and iTunes now makes me feel guilty for downloading music illegally—but they were reasons nonetheless. Now, however, I just think they are brilliant. Apple has proven it can literally sell anything as long as they slap a little apple on it. Their newest creation of either sheer genius or dark humor, the iPad, is even greater proof. Apple has become so cocky that they’ve chosen the worst name they could think of for their latest monstrosity. Like most others, when I first heard the name, I thought the iPad was something females stuck between their legs, not a tablet computer. However, I’ve learned that the iPad is
only the beginning of Apple’s campaign to see just how ridiculous they can be and still sell products. Just get a load of some of these new products Apple plans to release in 2010: iMate Are you sick of traversing the dangerous roads of real-life dating and keeping up with the pitfalls of an honest, human relationship? Don’t you wish your significant other could be modified and changed to your liking? Now you can stop wishing and start living with Apple’s iMate! The iMate is a humanoid robot that can be tailored to your specific wants or desires in a relationship! Using Apple’s iMate App Store, you can buy specific changes or upgrades to make your iMate the way you want it! Always wished your significant other was sexually attracted to your comic book collection? There’s an App for that! Want your girlfriend to look like an Asian woman peeling a banana? There’s an App for that! Ladies, ever wished your guy looked like Edward from “Twilight” and also periodically suck the blood from your veins? There’s an App for that!
iBrator Ladies, have you ever been frustrated by the fact that you couldn’t pleasure yourself to the beat and rhythm of John Mayer’s soothing vocals, catchy guitar riffs and racist sentiments? Have no fear... Apple has you covered! Introducing the iBrator, an mp3-playing vibrator that shakes, rattles and rolls to your uploaded playlists! Want to know what it feels like to have a Jonas Brothers orgy while they softly croon about how they are “Burnin’ Up”? Ever wonder what it would be like to handcuff Rick Astley to your headboard and make sweet love to him while he sings “Never Gonna Give You Up”? Talk about being Rick Rolled! With the new iBrator, all of your singer-related sexual fantasies will come true! Also comes with free bottle of iLube, the only lube that features a “shuffle” option. iTrap Waiting for the next big Apple gimmick that you can throw piles of money at while you get almost nothing in return? Start saving now for Apple’s iTrap, the next hip, trendy
gadget that gives you minimal features for an outrageous sum of money! The iTrap is perfect for anyone who wants to look like they can afford Apple products and appear smart enough to use them. The new iTrap doesn’t have any new features or enticing upgrades from the previous iPods, iMacs or iAnythings, but it does come with opportunities to spend more money! Using the allnew Apple Trapp Store, users can buy pointless applications, known by the hip name “Trapps,” to make themselves feel tech savvy and intelligent. Want to know how to disarm a simple pipe bomb? There’s a Trapp for that! Want to know how many drinks you’ll need to have before that 40-year-old single mother at the bar will appear attractive? There’s a Trapp for that! The best part? The iTrap connects directly to your bank account, so you can just sit back while the iTrap slowly drains your unborn child’s college funds! Fantastic! Want to sign up now to reserve your iBrator in advance? Contact Jon at spike@wisc.edu.
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, Graphic Designer Mara Greenwald Web Director Eric Harris Marketing Director Mia Beeson Archivist Erin Schmidtke The Daily Cardinal is published weekdays and distributed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and its surrounding community with a circulation of 10,000. The Daily Cardinal is a nonprofit organization run by its staff members and elected editors. It receives no funds from the university. Operating revenue is generated from advertising and subscription sales. Capital Newspapers, Inc. is the Cardinal’s printer. The Daily Cardinal is printed on recycled paper. The Cardinal is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. 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. Complaints: News and editorial complaints should be presented to the editor in chief. Business and advertising complaints should be presented to the business manager. 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
l
l
l
l
Board of Directors 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
New Beer Thursday New Glarus Brewing Co. Moon Man No Coast Pale Ale There’s an old Groucho Marx joke about expectations. “I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening,” Marx said, raising his brow. “But this wasn’t it.” At first glance, we had every hope in the world for New Glarus’ Moon Man No Coast Pale Ale. The name is just weird enough to create curiosity. It even pulls at our heartstrings by making a beer that we as Midwesterners can identify with, sandwiched between New Glarus’ stronger seasonal offerings. Unfortunately for New Glarus, Moon Man never finds its own complex identity. The first pour is foreboding. Moon Man is not the wonderful amber color one would expect from an American Pale Ale. APA’s are bold, floral accomplishments, ripe with pungent tastes that stand apart from other beers. Moon Man has all the initial flavors indicative
l
l
l
l
l
l
© 2010, The Daily Cardinal Media Corporation ISSN 0011-5398
For the record Corrections or clarifications? Call The Daily Cardinal office at 608-262-8000 or send an e-mail to edit@dailycardinal.com.
There ain’t no party like a GELATO PARTY!!!!!!!!!
Student organizations that place a black-and-white quarter-page or bigger ad by March 24 will be entered to win a free gelato party for up to 65 of its members, provided and served by Paciugo!
of standard APA tradition, it just feels as if they’re all watered down. It’s really hard to get past the translucent, Pabst-like gold coloration of the beer, and it’s even harder to get past how Moon Man never asserts its flavor. There is a disappointment in the color, and this disappointment permeates the whole Moon Man experience. The first sip is, well, it’s pretty meh. It seems New Glarus is sacrificing APA identity for a more drinkable beer. Sure, it’s smooth, but frankly, if you want to drink restrained (unremarkable, meak) pale ale, you probably should be drinking something else. The strong initial flavors drop off exponentially as the beer warms, showing Moon Man’s true colors. It’s hoppy to a fault, the flavors never really coalescing to make the hops part of the overall experience. Each
flavor seems unconcerned with interacting with the others. They come in at different points, and the hoppiness leaves a harsh aftertaste. Does this diminish New Glarus’ reputation? Absolutely not. They are still the quintessential, exclusive Wisconsin beer. Moon Man is their swing for the fences, meant to cut through the underwhelming springtime beer tradition. But it’s a swing and a miss. Best enjoyed when: You want to impress your out-of-state in-laws with a beer you don’t want to save for yourself. Best served: A pint glass shipped directly from Antarctica.
dailycardinal.com/news
Thursday, March 18, 2010
l
news
3
ALRC postpones vote on controversial alcohol ordinance
isabel Álvarez/the daily cardinal
Representatives from the U.S. Census Bureau visited UW-Madison Wednesday as part of the 2010 Census Road Tour to educate students about how and when to fill out their Census forms.
census from page 1 turn them in on April 12 and 13 to the front desk of their residence hall. According to Grady, it is important for everyone to fill out their Census forms, as these numbers are used to determine
mifflin from page 1 The garden will be set up on Mifflin Street at the old Planned Parenthood clinic and will be open from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. “We think that will help encourage responsible drinking, and it will give people who aren’t from the area a place to party,” said Coleman. Other changes include blocking off the 10-100 block of North Bedford Street and the addition of more outdoor rest-
federal funding for the community, and also Wisconsin’s political representation in the city, state and federal governments. “It is estimated that for each person not counted the community loses out on about $1,000 of federal funding per year,” he said. He said this money is used to
fund projects relating to public transportation, roads and hospitals. Grady said if students have more questions or misplace their forms, they can go to Memorial Union or Madison Central Library from March 19 to April 19 for more information and extra forms.
rooms to combat outdoor urination and party crashing. Commission members were receptive to the proposal, but raised concerns about the beer tent hours of operation, food vendors setting up on private property, and the dangers of blocking fire routes. “Any event that has stages, it’s consistently an issue,” Bill Sullivan of the Madison Fire Department said regarding fire routes being blocked. “We’re
past the point of education. We’ll be writing citations.” Coleman and Bass are expected to meet with Madison’s police and fire departments at a later date to further discuss plans for the block party. They will submit a formal application to the Parks Office this Friday. “We really just want to see the event be more successful, more fun and more safe,” said Coleman. “We want it to be something the city can be proud of.”
Madison’s Alcohol License Review Committee met Wednesday to discuss possible ordinances prohibiting employees from drinking on the job, as well as reviewing businesses seeking liquor licenses. The amendment to the Madison General Ordinances would prohibit employees from consuming alcohol while on the job in Madison area businesses. Mayor Dave Cieslewicz sponsored the ordinance, which was scheduled to be discussed at an ALRC meeting in January. Advocates of the amendment postponed the proposal after receiving complaints that the policy was too broad. As it was originally written, the amendment would prohibit employees from serving alcohol to
their family members. Cieslewicz has been revising the proposal so it would only affect owners, staff and contracted employees. Discussion of, and action on, the ordinance has been moved to a later ALRC meeting date in May. Revolution Cycles, a local bike shop, received a Class B beer license, though owner Jeff Fitzgerald said he did not expect it to increase revenue. The license will only allow the business to acquire one percent of its revenue from liquor sales. Underground Kitchen, which will occupy the former space of Café Montmartre, also received a liquor license with unanimous approval from the committee. —Sam Berg
Report: racial bias main cause of hate crimes in 2008 A new report specifically focused on analyzing hate crime statistics from the Office of Justice Assistance released Wednesday found that over half of all hate crimes committed in Wisconsin in 2008 were motivated by racial prejudice. Prior to 2008, the OJA included hate crimes in their general annual report on crime in Wisconsin, making this the first report of its kind from the OJA. Racial bias accounted for 59 percent of the 99 incidents classi-
fied as hate crimes, with the majority of those crimes motivated by anti-black prejudice. The next most frequent hate crimes were committed for reasons of bias against sexuality at 21 percent, religion at 9 percent, ethnicity at 8 percent, and disability at 2 percent. Seventy-five percent of hate crimes in the state were committed against individuals, and simple assault and vandalism were the most prevalent forms of crime, at 33 and 14 percent, respectively.
opinion Don’t lump student loans with health care 4
l
JAMIE STARK opinion columnist
L
dailycardinal.com/opinion
Thursday, March 18, 2010
ike Stephen Colbert’s coverage of obscure stories, I enjoy bringing under-discussed issues to light. In that respect, as students we should be particularly intrigued by the potential addition of student loan amendments to the fast-tracked health care bill. The health-care debate gives a new meaning to over-saturated coverage. It gives Americans a new political issue to be tired of besides the war in Iraq. Much less publicized, yet just as pertinent to students, is the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA). The bill would remove banks from their unnecessary job of processing stu-
dent loans. Banks only offer a false sense of competition in the student loan process. Rates and loans are still determined by the feds. Direct lending would make borrowing money more efficient and cheaper for our government. We shouldn’t be paying banks to disperse our money. The bill also makes financial aid more accessible for middleand lower-class students by simplifying FAFSA, lowering the minimum family income level required for aid and adding billions in Pell grant funding. Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa summarized the bill best, saying, “The federal government has been subsidizing these banks and wasting taxpayer money for far too long. It’s time to end it.” As I wrote last week, government expansion should not be taken lightly. But SAFRA actually helps make government more efficient by removing the middleman and benefitting taxpayers. It should be far less controversial
than the now-accompanying healthcare bill, in itself a necessary and progressive proposal. Talking heads seem to suggest the integration of the two bills will ensure their passage. Those who want student loan reform will end up approving health care, and those who endorse health insurance reforms will vote for SAFRA. But it works both ways. Those opposed to one idea may vote down both with a single “nay.” Such votes will help congressmen appear more principled as they vote against the bastardization of two important subjects. ASM Legislative Affairs Chair Adam Johnson has been advocating for SAFRA all year, but he agrees merging the two unrelated bills will hurt their chances of passing. “They’re throwing these two proposals on the pyre and burning both,” Johnson said. “There’s simply not enough votes.”
Republicans, like Rep. Tom Petri of Fond du Lac, who co-sponsored the original SAFRA, will vote against the overarching health/loan bill because of his disagreement with the health insurance reform, according to Johnson. Admittedly, both bills come out of the same Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to join in a bill deemed a budget bill. Although both SAFRA and health insurance reform will affect the national budget positively, both issues should be debated. Because it can be deemed a budget bill, Congress can use reconciliation to pass the health care bill in the Senate with only 50 votes, avoiding the 60 vote filibuster and, if necessary, utilizing Vice President Joe Biden’s tie-breaking vote. Since SAFRA already passed the House, trimming off the Scott Browninduced 60-vote threshold may ensure its passage, but it unfairly ties the future of student loans to the future of health insurance reform. Support from Obama’s team wouldn’t be surprising, as the president needs to boost his accomplishment image, despite having the highest legislative success rate of any president, including infamous armtwister LBJ, according to non-partisan Congressional Quarterly. This isn’t be the first time random policies are thrown together under the guise of an omni or monster bill, and it won’t be the last. But the importance of these separate issues makes it especially
egregious to silence debate on loan reform and hurt the chances of insurance reform. Regardless of the passage of the SAFRA bill or the health-care bill, UW-Madison will soon be switching to direct student loans from the federal government. Next fall, UW will join the Federal Direct Student Loan Program. Along with hundreds of other American universities, UW will accept Federal Stafford and PLUS loans directly from the national government, wiping out the need for banks and credit unions to disperse money from the government to students. Rising powers like India and China are rapidly pumping out more and more college grads. President Obama hopes the U.S. will have the highest college graduation rate in the world by 2020. If our government is dedicated to staying competitive, opening up secondary education to everyone and increasing the college graduation rate, steps like SAFRA are necessary. But pegging such a vital bill onto another vital bill diminishes the meaning of both and oversteps Congress’ primary job: thoughtful debate preceding the passing of legislation. Tying the two pieces of legislation together may prove a successful gamble. But the two should be passed as separate, meaningful issues. Jamie Stark is a sophomore majoring in journalism. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
view Cardinal View editorials represent The Daily Cardinal’s organizational opinion. Each editorial is crafted independent of news coverage.
power up professors’ paltry paychecks
U
W System employee salaries were released last week with few surprises and the same aggravating discrepancies. Ten system employees earned over $300,000. Chancellor Biddy Martin made more than UW System President Kevin Reilly by almost $23,000, and nobody outshone Athletic Director Barry Alvarez at half a million. Although he now occupies a more social and less rigorous role, Alvarez carries his good name deservingly to the bank. As the founder of our football success, he has an irreplaceable niche among alums as an adorable, donationcollecting teddy bear. And Martin gets a salute for bringing a woman into the top-earners mix. But the story as this list pertains to the UW System centers on professors, few of whom can reach even half of Martin’s salary. And with the state providing an ever decreasing piece of the budgetary pie, it may behoove UW administration to go after private donations to raise professor salaries. The average salary within the UW System for professors is $73,000. The average among their peers is $87,600. A difference of nearly $15,000 is not acceptable at a university that constantly competes with the likes of Michigan and Northwestern. Everywhere you look, you can see buildings financed with donations. Walking down University Avenue, everybody knows the story behind
Brothers Bar and Grill and the construction following it down the same block. Keep walking and you can’t miss Grainger Hall, where entrances are decorated with waterfalls and senatorial conference rooms. Keep walking and the list of planned or recently renovated and constructed buildings makes you proud of your campus’ efforts to stay modern and hopeful that you may be part of the class able to enjoy it without running into construction (until you reach what will be the new microbial sciences building and Union Whatever a few blocks later). But our campus, and the system as a whole, places too much emphasis on how buildings look to visitors while financially shafting those in charge of their attractive classrooms. True, it is considerably easier to raise money for a building than to fund a new professorship. But if we made even half the fundraising push to raise professor salaries as they do to create a new UW music school, at least some money would come in to ease the gap. Wherever the money comes from, shouldn’t a bigger piece of the pie go to those influencing and creating the product of this institution’s greater purpose: an education? Perhaps Biddy, Barry and co. should get their very highly compensated selves in gear. Start passing the hat around for a constantly overlooked worthy cause and pay professors what they deserve.
arts
dailycardinal.com/arts
Thursday, March 18, 2010
‘Glister’ lost in language By Victoria Statz THE DAILY CARDINAL
There is a lot of talk about connection and unity in John Burnside’s “The Glister,” but ultimately the plethora of quasi-intriguing themes are never fully developed, leaving the reader with too many superfluous passages, unoriginal plot elements, linguistic nuances and an overall sense of vagueness as the author becomes engrossed BOOK in his own manipulation of language, neglecting clarity along the way. The initial ideas behind the novel have potential: A condemned chemical plant literally and figuratively leaching toxicity, several unexplained disappearances of teenage boys and inexplicable diseases that kill sans discretion. There are interesting analysis-inciting themes/motifs as well, with extreme religious overtones throughout the piece overtly manifested in the division of the book into two sections: ‘The Book of Job’ and ‘The Fire Sermon,’ as well as topical discussions on sacrifice, the killing of innocents, resurrection and forgiveness. Among the others, Burnside starts investigating emasculation and gender relations, justice, connection/unity and death. From the beginning, this novel
proves frustrating, as the writing is literally poisoned with overused metaphors and typical plot characters and settings. It describes the sad state of a city divided into Innertown and Outertown, relating events of a dismal and failing small industrial town laden with suppressed, wronged workers. This commonplace setting becomes increasingly moreso with the addition of overused plot elements: “white-colREVIEW lar” versus “bluecollar,” political agendas, corruption, the evil rich businessman (Brian Smith), the incompetent and foundering policeman (John Morrison), and angsty teenagers in rebellion. As far as language is concerned, the policeman and the businessman go on and on, using tired metaphors and stale images intended to make their thoughts and struggles seem more profound, but instead they leave the prose ponderous, plodding and entirely overworked. At this point in this story, though, the novel takes an upward turn as Burnside introduces his main character, Leonard Wilson. The writing improves tremendously with less unnecessary rumination while the captivating, snarky cynicism of the boy drives the
story. The reader begins to feel partially integrated into the social strata of the town through Wilson’s description and participation in it. Interest subsides, however, with the addition of new characters such as the librarian, Wilson’s fellatiocrazed girlfriend and a gang of disturbing teenagers. The prose again becomes un-engaging and weighted down with over-exposition, trying too hard to create memorable lines and thought processes. At some points, the names of certain characters (Wilson, for example) and details about their lives are withheld until an irritating amount of time has passed, so the lack of knowledge is not suspenseful but exasperating. Also, the portrayal of the teenagers is altogether too stylized (lots of sex and obsession with death), and they come off as overly angstridden, playing character types instead of individual people. Overall, a considerable portion of the novel’s cogitation could be cut out, since much of it is redundant meditations on the same ideas simply paraphrased in order to facilitate some conceptualization of apparent mental transcendence. This excess makes the text very skim-able, which is ultimately not conducive for relating themes to the reader, leaving those themes haphazardly presented and immature.
Exploring this weekend’s Romanian Film Festival DAN SULLIVAN sullivan’s travels
T
oday, tomorrow and Saturday the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art will host an event that, despite being an annual occurrence, has a relatively small profile amongst even the film-savviest Madisonians: The Romanian Film Festival. The emergence of the so-called Romanian new wave, a young cinema born nearly 30 years after similar movements popped up throughout eastern Europe, is one of the more curious developments in recent film history. Whether “new wave” is the best name for this movement remains open for debate; the first film screening in the festival is a French documentary, “The New Wave of the Romanian Cinema” (screens 6:30 p.m. Thursday), whose title seems to imply that the movement itself has embraced its contentious moniker. Two movies are largely responsible for directing attention toward Romania’s flourishing film scene: 2005’s “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu” and 2007’s “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.” The former is a rigorously, relentlessly dark comedy that gets most of its kicks from an often uncomfortable absurdism; the latter was a kind of neo-realist horror film, a critique of former head of state Nicolae Ceausescu’s Stalinist regime conducted from the perspective of two frightened girls arranging a black market abortion. These two tremendously wellreceived works embody two key aspects of the new Romanian cinema: a satirical attitude toward Soviet-style bureaucracy and a desire to display the country’s scars from the Ceausescu years for the rest of the world to see.
Brutal and repressive as Romania’s recent political past may be, many native filmmakers seem to think that having a sense of humor is the healthiest way to move forward. Five of the eight films screening in the festival could be considered comedies, though some of them are so dry as to defy generic categorization. One such film is Corneliu Porumboiu’s “Police, Adjective” (screens 8 p.m. Thursday), which some Madisonians might have caught when it played in Memorial Union in February. “Police, Adjective” riffs on bureaucracy in an intensely deadpan manner—the occasional hysterics of “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu” are totally absent. The film’s use of long takes and lulls in dramatic action yields plenty of room for contemplation, which is particularly handy given its self-consciously philosophical subtext. The dry and the black are even more present in Andrei Gruzsniczki’s “The Other Irene” (screens 7 p.m. Friday). It might be a stretch to call this movie—about a melancholy mall cop, his aspiring man-eater of a wife and the aftermath of an abrupt tragedy—a comedy; though it genre-hops unpredictably, its elliptical narration and claustrophobic compositions remain constant and striking. “The Other Irene” draws a provocative parallel between the acts of mourning a loved one and solving a morbid mystery. Radu Jude’s “The Happiest Girl in the World” (screens 9 p.m. Friday) is more explicitly comedic, though no less painful to watch. Recalling the behind-the-scenes mayhem of Catherine Breillat’s “Sex Is Comedy” (2002), “The Happiest Girl” focuses on Delia, a slightly overweight high school student, and her sensationally unpleasant parents. Delia has won a contest to appear in a commercial for a never-named brand of orange juice;
the commercial’s consistently annoyed crew and the juice corporation’s obnoxious suits collaborate to stage a stuttering, silly ensemble comedy that has a hint of Robert Altman to it. While the film has no shortage of loathsome characters, its humorously maddening take on the power struggle between idiotic capital and hapless labor is worth a look. Although all the films included in the festival are historicist in one way or another, it’s Napoleon Helmis’ “Wedding in Bessarabia” (screens 4:30 p.m. Saturday), set in the Romanian part of Moldova, that most directly confronts Romania’s Soviet past. Following the madcap proceedings as a young dude from Bucharest ties the knot with a Moldovan babe, “Wedding in Bessarabia” juxtaposes the folksiness of tradition with the innovations of modernity, the personal with the political and the increasingly westernized Romania of today with the authoritarian Romania of yesteryear. (The groom’s jaded mother even waxes nostalgic for the Ceausescu period, offering an “at least the trains ran on time” line of argument.) This film, with its memorable personas, its flourishes of MTV-style editing and its happy ending, might hold the greatest appeal for anybody intimidated by the prospect of plunging into a national cinema they didn’t even know existed until very recently. There are several other films screening in the festival that I’m unfamiliar with, so I implore you to visit the festival’s website, http://uwromania. rso.wisc.edu/ROFILM/index.html, for more information. All the screenings are free to attend. Take my word for it: Young people and young cinemas are always a good combination. For more information, or further persuasion of why you should attend, e-mail Dan at dasullivan@wisc.edu.
l
5
comics 6
l
(Found) Ferret Fact: A small ferret may be able to squeeze through a hole just over an inch in diameter. dailycardinal.com/comics
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Today’s Sudoku Waking up for your 8:50 lab after St. Patty’s © Puzzles by Pappocom
Evil Bird
By Caitlin Kirihara kirihara@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.
Ludicrous Linguistics
By Celia Donnelly donnelly.celia@gmail.com
Crustaches Classic
By Patrick Remington premington@wisc.edu
Today’s Crossword Puzzle
Charlie and Boomer
By Natasha Soglin soglin@wisc.edu
Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com TAKING ONE’S VOWELS
ACROSS 1 Yellow-fleshed fruit (Var.) 6 Blow from a cat-o’nine-tails 10 Decides 14 Atmospheric layer of note 15 Johnny Cash’s “___ Named Sue” 16 Bride’s accessory 17 Glib responses 19 Alcohol burner 20 “Heart of Dixie” st. 21 “___ Peak” (Pierce Brosnan film) 22 Tin Man’s malady 23 Assay anew 25 In the neighborhood 27 Art colony of New Mexico 28 Coin-___ (laundromats) 31 Pope John Paul II’s homeland 34 Full of holes 37 Arm bones 38 Short salesman? 41 Indy happening 43 What a ref may count to 44 Watts of “King Kong” 46 Circle and octagon, e.g.
48 50 51 55 57 59 61 64 65 66 68 69 70 71 72 73 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Avoid being a no-show Bad thing to invoke ___ and crafts Silver-scaled fish Kind of walk Apple attachment All square Bobbsey twin Actress/singer Falana Portfolio hedges Citrus fruit similar to a grapefruit Deadlocked Elicit by reasoning “Hopalong Cassidy” actor William Certain sleep stages, in brief Fixed charges DOWN Andy Warhol style Rhododendron variety Picnic salad ingredient Something to give a cheerleader at 20Across? Pursues, as one’s way Cemetery expanse Help in a swindle French social philosopher Georges Aromatic herb of the mint family Including everything Bad-tempered
12 Altoids containers 13 Strip under the mattress 18 Buddhist enlightenment 24 Sixth sense 26 Two-door auto 29 “Top Chef” tools 30 Bite-sized Japanese dish 32 Refusal from a bonny lass 33 Restful room 35 Weigh in 36 Texas flag symbol 38 Gene material 39 Fill one’s bill with krill, e.g. 40 Beer gut 42 “I know you’re in there!” 45 Imaginary sea creature 47 Won at musical chairs 49 Spiffy-looking 52 Dry out 53 Medium’s condition 54 Has an inkling 56 Purplish shade 58 Better suited to the occasion 59 Yarn irregularity 60 Carry-out words 62 Agendum 63 Syndicate leaders 67 Mont. neighbor
Washington and the Bear
By Derek Sandberg kalarooka@gmail.com
dailycardinal.com
advertisement
Thursday, March 18, 2010 7 l
sports 8
l
dailycardinal.com/sports
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Football
Offense finally in good hands with Tolzien By Justin Dean THE DAILY CARDINAL
With the eyes of Wisconsin sports fans fixated on this weekend’s NCAA basketball tournament and WCHA playoffs, senior quarterback Scott Tolzien and the Wisconsin football team quietly began their spring practices this week. After last year’s hectic spring and fall practices which saw Tolzien emerge from relative anonymity to claim the starting quarterback job, the quiet is more than welcome.
This year’s practices will be more about building off the team’s success in 2009 rather than finding replacements for departed seniors, with nine of 11 starters returning for the Badger offense. For Tolzien, the spring practices will also be about building on his new role as a team leader. “I think with the role I had last year on the team and all the starts I got, I need to bring a little more leadership to the table because guys are looking for me to make plays, so
I have to lead by example but also be more vocal too,” Tolzien said. And with leadership comes confidence. Having a full season under his belt in which he completed 64 percent of his passes and led the Badgers to a 10-3 record, including a victory over the heavily-favored Miami Hurricanes in the Champs Sports Bowl, will certainly command increased respect in the locker room for Tolzien. But also having a full offseason to focus on orchestrating the Badger offense to perfection and not worrying about beating two other players for a starting position, as he did before last season, will be a major boon for the junior signal caller. “[Tolzien] is 100 times more confident, I think he’s developing a nice swagger in the pocket and that’s definitely going to carry over into the season.” Nick Toon junior wide receiver UW football LORENZO ZEMELLA/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO
LORENZO ZEMELLA/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO
Junior wide receiver Nick Toon said he has noticed a change in the confidence level of senior quarterback Scott Tolzien this spring.
“I’ve always been big on coming in and working hard every day and I don’t think anything changes this year,” Tolzien said. “I’ve got one more season left and it’s up to me to maximize that.” After watching Tolzien through the first three practices of the spring, junior receiver Nick Toon said he is already noticing the results of Tolzien’s offseason work. “Confidence is the first thing that comes to mind,” Toon said. “[Tolzien] is 100 times more confident, I think he’s developing a nice swagger in the pocket, and that’s definitely going to carry over into the season.” It certainly helps that Wisconsin
With senior quarterback Scott Tolzien, Wisconsin enters spring ball with a returning starter for the first time since 2006. is returning a bona fide starting quarterback for the first time since 2006, eliminating the need for skill players and offensive lineman to acclimate themselves to a new quarterback’s style. Senior wide receiver Isaac Anderson attested to that benefit, saying this offseason gave him and Tolzien a chance to become more familiar with each other’s strengths and weaknesses by watching film and working out together. Tolzien echoed Anderson on the importance of continuing to build team chemistry this offseason, which he said started in a much more festive mood than last year
This year’s Badgers far different from ’06 team BEN BREINER one breining moment
C
olumnist’s note: Yes it’s almost March Madness, yes the column name has changed but somehow it’s about hockey. Well here’s the thing, the Dance has been analyzed and overanalyzed with most points of view being taken. This column could throw out something outlandish with the hope it would grab attention or move over already traveled ground and get lost in the noise. Instead, it’s about hockey. Enjoy the column and the most wonderful two days of the sports year. There is always a need to find a point of reference for greatness. Everything in sports must be compared to something that came before, usually shoehorned into some archetype based on physical characteristics or even just the uniform a player or team wears. Every prolific shooting guard could be the next Michael Jordan (especially if he is 6'6" or inconsistent from 3-point range), every strong Packer team will inevitably be compared to the 1996 Super Bowl winners. In this unfortunate vein,
the current incarnation of the Wisconsin men’s hockey team is now being compared to, well, the only champion of recent memory, the 2006 squad that earned the Badgers’ sixth national title. Even at the start of this week, head coach Mike Eaves had to field the question: “With the success you guys have had this year, do you ever look at this team and see any comparisons or draw any comparisons to your national championship team? Do they remind you at all?” But when it’s all said and done, there is no comparison. It is not simply that these are different teams with different players (except for one). Stylistically they are near opposite and their journeys were far different. Eaves’ title team was built around defense, specifically the goaltending of Hobey Bakerfinalist Brian Elliott. The current Senator goalie allowed an absurd 1.55 goals per game, stopping nearly 94 percent of the shots he saw. To put it in perspective, this year’s squad has already allowed 95 goals. In 2005-’06, Elliott and backup Shane Connelly let through 79 all year. In contrast, this year’s squad is a bit more offensively oriented.
The champs had prolific scorers like Joe Pavelski and Robbie Earl, but they pale in the face of the depth of the current team. Four Badgers have surpassed 40 points this season and the team is second in the country scoring nearly four goals per game.
When it’s all said and done, there is no comparison.
At the blueline one also finds a gap in the character of the teams since Tom Gilbert was really the defensive core, filling the role of leader and best scorer. Juniors Brendan Smith and Ryan McDonagh form a yin-yang combination for the 2010 defensemen as McDonagh supplies all the little things, along with some of the biggest hits any Badger can dish out. Smith is hardly a physical presence, but does his work on the offensive end with adept puck-handling and a powerful slapshot which produced 15 goals this year. This year’s team has been
steady, rarely stringing together long winning streaks but never losing two in a row. The title team lost exactly two games before Jan. 20, but swooned for a few weeks when Elliott was injured. Only one player has had the chance to play for both teams, fifth-year senior Ben Street, so maybe he could enlighten the world on how the two incarnations are linked. “I think the fact that people are comparing them is just ‘cause we’re doing well, we’re high in the rankings, stuff like that. We’re both older, upperclassmen teams,” Street said. “The similarities kind of stop there.” And that is the point. The only way they’re the same is that both are/were good. This year’s team should be allowed to be itself, not some poor reflection of champions past. They deserve the right to carve out a new path toward what could be Wisconsin’s seventh title, not just a chance to follow the trail traveled by the previous six. They deserve at least that. Nothing more, nothing less. Feel like this is all incredibly presumptuous since the Badgers could lose at any point in the NCAA tournament? Tell Ben how he’s jinxing everything at breiner@wisc.edu.
because of the bowl game victory. “I think you can hit the ground running and you have a better taste in your mouth rather than a bitter taste after the Florida State game [in 2008],” Tolzien said. “But at the same time, this program is built on hard work and we’ve just got to keep up with that.” Tolzien and Wisconsin have plenty of hard work to put in before their September 4 season opener at UNLV, but with an abundance of returning starters under the leadership of an experienced starting quarterback, they’re already off to a great start.
WCHA Leaders Points Rhett Rakhshani (DU) Blake Geoffrion (UW) Jack Connolly (UMD) Justin Fontaine (UMD) Mike Connolly (UMD) Michael Davies (UW) Garrett Roe (SCS) Ryan Lasch (SCS)
35 34 33 33 33 32 32 32
Goals Blake Geoffrion (UW) Kevin Clark (UAA) Justin Fontaine (UMD) Joe Colborne (DU) Ryan Lasch (SCS) Jason Gregoire (UND) Rhett Rakhshani (DU)
19 18 18 16 15 15 15
Assists Derek Stepan (UW) Mike Connolly (UMD) Michael Davies (UW) Anthony Maiani (DU) Jack Connolly (UMD) Rob Bordson (UMD) Rhett Rakhshani (DU)
27 24 22 21 21 20 20
Goals Against Average Marc Cheverie (DU) Brad Eidsness (UND) Scott Gudmandson (UW) Alex Kangas (UM) Kenny Reiter (UMD) Brady Hjelle (UMD) Dan Dunn (SCS)
2.05 2.18 2.42 2.46 2.49 2.66 2.76