Thursday, March 24, 2022 - The Daily Cardinal

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Thursday, March 24, 2022

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Final letdown - Men’s Basketball +Sports, page 4

Fishy situation +Almanac, page 5

Candidate yet to announce platform

By Jackson Mozena ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Jeff Hynes, a University of Wisconsin-Madison student, is running unopposed to replace Elena Haasl as the Dane County District 5 supervisor. Despite his imminent assumption of the position after the April 5 election, the Hynes campaign has provided no information regarding the candidate’s policy platform or qualifications.

Dane County’s fifth district encompasses a majority of the UW-Madison campus and is predominantly populated by students. District 5 is currently represented by Elena Haasl, a UW-Madison senior, who declined to run for a second term in office after being elected to the position in 2020.

The Hynes campaign has not yet released a website or made any public social media posts to promote his candidacy, which leaves Hynes’ ambitions as a public official ambiguous. Hynes has declined to respond to several inquiries made

by The Daily Cardinal.

The District 5 position was not initially uncontested; Shawn Scott, a 2011 Madison Area Technical College graduate, was disqualified after failing to file the appropriate paperwork.

Hynes currently attends UW-Madison as a senior where he studies pre-law; he has also served as a vice president for the university’s Pre-Law Society. No organization associated with the university or otherwise have publicly announced an endorsement of Hynes at this point in time.

The College Democrats of UW-Madison, which endorsed Haasl’s campaign in 2020, did not respond to requests for comment.

Haasl has been in contact with the Hynes Campaign.

They provided some assistance regarding Hynes’ election efforts, but explained that these actions have been largely informal.

“I actually reached out to him.

He didn’t reach out to me,” Haasl told the Cardinal. “I’m not really helping out with his campaign,

I’m more so just advising and giving him pointers on how to run a campaign and what he needs, especially his policy platform.”

Haasl added that they are vaguely aware of the policies which Hynes wishes to pursue as a county board supervisor, but was unable to describe any details regarding specific goals he hopes to achieve while in office.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have any information on his policy platform,” Haasl said. “I think he stands for a lot of social justice causes, but I also know he sought out after the police union’s endorsement and wants to put more money towards the jail. I don’t have his policy platform on that, that’s just what I heard from other supervisors… I hope he has a good structure in place and will be committed.”

Haasl has previously opposed providing additional funding towards the construction of a new Dane County jail facility and has been a critic of law enforcement agencies located in the county.

Another representative of the student-majority campus area, District 8 Alder Juliana Bennett, has also voiced opposition to continued efforts to construct a new jail.

Haasl elaborated that they have encouraged Hynes to make efforts to make his policy platform more available to the public in order to ensure the interests of District 5 residents.

“I’ve been reaching out to see how things are going or making sure he’s on track,” Haasl stated.

“He says he’s really busy, but I’ve told him he has to respond to newspapers and have [his] policy platforms flushed out because that’s the most important part of running a campaign.”

When asked about their impressions of Hynes, Haasl explained that they hope that he will serve as an effective public official, but expressed uncertainty regarding Hynes’ ability to assume the role as District 5 supervisor.

“I hope that he will [serve effectively],” Haasl said. “It seems like he already has connections on

the county board, so hopefully he will be able to catch on and be an effective representative for his

COURTESY OF JEFF HYNES

Hynes runs for District 5 unopposed. district. But, [I] can’t say for sure.”

Elections for Dane County Board supervisors are scheduled to take place on April 5. Hynes is one of 29 supervisor candidates to run unopposed in their respective districts.

Third annual Black Arts Matter Festival hosted at Union

By Beth Shoop STAFF WRITER

Former University of Wisconsin-Madison student and slam poet Shasparay, had a goal — she knew she needed to create a platform to be able to showcase, celebrate and engage with contemporary black artists.

To achieve this dream, she formed and hosted the first Black Arts Matter Festival (BAM) in 2019. This year’s festival, the third-ever BAM, will be held at Memorial Union and will include a plethora of different events such as discussion panels, performances and a high caliber poetry slam competition.

The festival began March 23 and will continue until March 26.

During her time as an undergraduate in The First Wave Scholarship Program at UW-Madison, Shasparay was given a platform to develop and explore her art.

“I was privileged enough to be in that program,” Shasparay said.

“There were other artists in the community that weren’t getting that platform because they weren’t [in the program].”

This lack of access for Madison artists and other artists across the country is why she decided to establish the Black Arts Matter Festival.

“I wanted to engage with

community artists here that weren’t a part of First Wave and also engage all of the world arts community,” Shasparay emphasized, noting that she wants to help artists “leave an imprint” in the community.

Shasparay is a jack of all trades when it comes to art, but she specializes in slam poetry. Her passion for slam started as a teenager when she stumbled upon a suggested YouTube video that showed someone performing spoken word.

“I immediately wanted to see more,” Shasparay said. “So, I did a deep dive and kept watching and watching and watching. I just saw all these amazing poets, and I decided

that’s what I wanted to do.”

The poetry competition at BAM will include a series of rounds where artists present poems of activism to a panel of judges.

As the rounds continue, artists will be eliminated. Eliminations will be extremely difficult as all of the artists are of a high degree of talent and were handpicked by Shasparay herself, she said.

“Everyone in this slam is dope and respected in the art form,” Shasparay noted. “If you were invited to this slam, it means that you’ve done things for your community or the slam community — you’ve shown up and you’ve been recognized as

COURTESY OF MAWHYAH VIA WISCONSIN UNION THEATER

The third ever Black Arts Matter Festival is continuing to be held on campus

someone who is constantly working and honing your craft.”

Memorial Union has been selected as the location for the festival as the goals of the Union perfectly align with Shasparay’s inspiration for the festival: celebrating Black art and culture.

“The union is all about supporting students and building community,” Wisconsin Union Theater Director Elizabeth Snodgrass said. “The goals the Union Theater has set forth in the last couple of years around making space for our Black community and Black artists is perfectly aligned with this festival and Shasparay’s reasons for founding it in the first place.”

Both Snodgrass and Shasparay explained why they believe holding this event and advocating for Black arts and artists is of the utmost importance.

“Unfortunately, this country is rooted in and built on a history of oppression of Black people,” Snodgrass said. “Historically, the richness and beauty of blackness, Black culture and Black art is too often overlooked.”

Snodgrass highlighted her belief that the Union Theater should “represent and present arts of many disciplines and cultures, but Black art is a priority,” given the institutionalized racism Black community members face.

“This is a time where I think more people, maybe not enough

people, but more people are listening, paying attention, and wanting to make a difference and make change,” said Snodgrass.

Shasparay reiterated this view, emphasizing that to her, it is crucial to provide opportunities and spaces for Black artists, especially given the pain and suffering caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Questions of, ‘what is necessary?’ have led to theater spaces closing down and arts communities taking lots of hits,” Shasparay stated.

“Prioritizing Black artists and Black art is my way of responding to the climate and the conditions that we are in now.”

“We artists have suffered, there have been losses, so it’s important to continue to have these platforms for artists,” Shasparay continued.

Aside from the slam poetry competition, Shasparay will be performing a portion of her oneperson show for body politics followed by a discussion regarding fatphobia, body image, identity and self-love.

There will also be features of interdisciplinary artists including comics, music, dance and more.

The music headliner for the festival is the Grammy-nominated female rapper CHIKA. “I want to reiterate, this festival is for everyone,” Shasparay said.

“We are celebrating Black Arts and artists, but everyone is welcome.”

“…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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Thursday, March 24, 2022

An independent student newspaper, serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison community since 1892 Volume 131, Issue 21

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News and Editorial editor@dailycardinal.com Editor-in-Chief Addison Lathers

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Businesses concerned over new bus plans

By Gina Musso FEATURES EDITOR

Decorated with cheese shops, antique stores and unique bars, downtown Madison’s iconic State Street connects Capitol Square to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Today, as community members explore State Street, they may encounter the 10 traditional-sized bus stations that accommodate the five Madison Metro Transit bus routes on the street. However, by 2024, the public bus system in Madison and on State Street will likely look very different.

In January, Metro Transit released a draft plan to expand public transportation on State Street and throughout Madison in the next two years. As the final redesign plan will be voted on by the end of Spring 2022, business owners on the historic Madison strip are concerned that plans to add 60-foot-long buses and up to 70-foot-long bus shelters through the city’s bus rapid transit, or BRT, redesign will expand transportation at the cost of the street’s unique atmosphere.

Metro Transit’s proposed redesign costs $160 million — with $107 million of the funding from federal sources — and will include service to 30 new stations that will run east-west through downtown and to the UW-Madison campus. Metro Transit plans to eliminate bus service to lower State Street and maintain just two bus stations on State Street at the intersections of Gorham and Johnson, both of which are slated to be 50 to 60 feet long and 10 feet high.

With State Street’s role as a center for shopping, dining and community gatherings, Metro Transit’s plan has stirred criticism among several community members.

Emma Stepien, the manager at lifestyle boutique Madison Modern Market, operates her storefront just steps from the proposed State and Gorham bus shelter and has lived and worked downtown since moving

to Madison in 2007. While Stepien feels that the city needs an efficient public transportation system in order to support the growing population, she has “reservations” about the BRT operating on State Street.

“While our downtown is in a transitional phase as the city continues to grow and has been impacted by the effects of COVID-19, State Street and the Capitol Square are in need of creative solutions to keep the historic neighborhood thriving,” Stepien said. “I feel that running the BRT down State Street and the Capitol Square treats these areas more as a thoroughfare than a destination.”

Stepien is concerned that the gravity of the buses and shelters will alter State Street’s role as a hub for commerce, pedestrians, cyclists and events.

“Do 60-foot articulated buses routed via State Street every two and a half minutes enhance the pedestrian and cyclist-friendly feel that downtown Madison has become uniquely known for?”

Stepien said. “Will downtown events, which attract individuals from the entire city, be cut back or no longer exist due to BRT routes needing to maintain consistency? Currently buses are rerouted downtown 70 plus days, or 20% of the year due to special events downtown.”

Operating a few doors down from Madison Modern Market is Jazzman, a clothing store which has operated on State Street for over four decades. Jazzman owner Paul Strong supports the expansion of the bus system, but would rather see Metro Transit avoid State Street when planning bus routes.

“Jazzman, we’ve been here since 1980 and seen a lot of changes on the street,” Strong said. “This street I don’t think really needs to have the buses right on it. If they were just on an adjacent street I think that would be close enough for riders to get to and from where they have to go. I am for public

transportation, but I really wish there was an alternative route versus State Street.”

Strong echoes Stepien’s concerns that using State Street for bus traffic may alter the culture of the area.

“There’s a large amount of pedestrians and activity on State Street, and the buses seem to add another dimension to it,” Strong said. “I think the shelters would be too large, the buses too large for the street with all the restaurants, shops, pedestrians and all the other activities that happen on State Street.”

Despite pushback from community members and Madison City Council’s proposed capital budget amendment to consider alternate routes, Metro Transit officials maintain that BRT will provide more direct and faster access to locations throughout Madison. Mick Rusch, spokesperson for Metro Transit, expects that BRT will expand access to State Street and reduce traffic in the area.

“The number of buses on State Street will be just 60% of those traveling in the area before COVID-19, with service no longer on the lower end closest to campus,” Rusch said. “A majority of the BRT fleet will be electric which cuts down on noise, vibrations and exhaust fumes.”

Beyond State Street, Rusch anticipates faster boarding and

quicker travel times for riders and increased accessibility for individuals who face mobility challenges, along with other benefits throughout Madison.

“Studies have generally shown that bus rapid transit increases employment near stations,” Rusch said. “In addition it fosters redevelopment, increases property value and, most importantly, increases transit usage.”

Moving forward, Metro Transit is scheduling meetings for community members to learn more about the plan and share feedback. They are also planning to release a survey to collect the public’s response.

Stepien and Strong maintain that Metro Transit should consider routes other than State Street as city officials plan for the redevelopment, which is set to be implemented by the summer of 2023 and operating by 2024.

“While I recognize that BRT has the potential to connect our city and bring our community together, I believe Madison Metro, Madison Department of Transportation and city officials are not looking at the bigger picture of how this would dramatically alter the character of the downtown,” Stepien said. “I strongly feel there are alternatives that could do so without sacrificing the experience of State Street.”

GINA MUSSO/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Current bus shelter takes up space on State Street, demonstrating concerns.

Gas station owner charged with benefits fraud

By Charlie Hildebrand CITY NEWS EDITOR

The owner of a gas station on Williamson Street in Madison was charged last Tuesday with illegally using FoodShare cards to buy merchandise to sell in his store.

A criminal complaint charged Mavi Kuldip Singh, owner of Willy Street Mini Mart on 1130 Williamson St., with felony trafficking food stamps and misdemeanor public assistance fraud. An employee, Jeff D. Joe, faces the same charges but a lesser degree of the food stamp trafficking charge.

FoodShare recipients allegedly sold some of the balance on their cards to Singh for cash until the owner realized he was under investigation.

Some FoodShare card owners told investigators they usually got back less than 50 cents on the dollar for the balance that was on their cards.

The complaint describes transactions made on the cards between April 2019 and April 2021. FoodShare benefits spent on

the eight cards by Singh, Joe or others associated with the store totaled $18,960.

FoodShare cards allow lowincome Wisconsin residents to buy nutritious food. Investigators found that Singh used about 26 of these cards to make bulk purchases of soda, milk and bottled water at Woodman’s grocery stores between August 2020 and January 2021.

One FoodShare recipient said her ex-boyfriend sold the balance on her card at the Willy Street Mini Mart every month. The recipient claims she didn’t even know she had a card until Dane County told her she had state health insurance and FoodShare.

The investigation found that the only phone numbers used to check the balance of her card over the span of a year belonged to Singh and Joe. Another recipient said he believed Singh was taking advantage of people by taking all of the benefits off of their cards and only giving them half of their value. The man said

NELSON LU/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Gas station owner allegedly purchased FoodShare cards for half their worth. he unknowingly received COVID benefits on his card, but Singh used them all without telling him.

In an interview with 27 News at his Williamson Street gas station, Kuldip Singh said the other man who is criminally charged, Jeff Joe, is responsible for the fraud. “He was using my phone and buying stuff,” Kuldip Singh said.

But transactions and surveillance footage from Woodman’s stores showed Singh

using FoodShare cards to make purchases. Singh told 27 News that he bought a small number of food stamp cards from a handful of people who owed him money.

Singh denies allegations that he purchased FoodShare cards, claiming his business of 12 years is run without food stamp trafficking. “Not here, never here,” he told 27 News.

Singh and Joe are scheduled to appear in court on April 4.

news Jewish Arts conference addresses identity Thursday, March 24, 2022

dailycardinal.com

By Rachel Hale STAFF WRITER

The George L. Mosse/Laurence A. Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies will host its 8th biennial Conney Conference on Jewish Arts from March 27 to 30 at the Pyle Center. This year’s conference will address the changing landscape of Jewish arts amid a generational shift toward inclusivity.

With 36 speakers from as far away as Bogota, Columbia and Paris, this conference is set to be the largest in its history.

“One of the things that that we are foregrounding in the theme this year is about inclusion, about a fluid understanding of Jewish identity, about the politics of Jewishness as we come to understand that through the arts specifically,” Douglas Rosenberg, the director of the conference and founding director of the Conney project said in an interview with The Daily Cardinal.

“Jewishness is not monolithic.”

Started in 2004, the Conney Conference on Jewish Arts uses art to depict Jewish identity throughout history. The project’s website states an interest in broadening this topic across different periods of history, geographic locations and levels of religiosity — through the “visual cultures of art making, scholarship, literature, music and other art related practices.”

In the time since the last conference, held in 2019 in New York, conference organizers understand that the world has changed considerably, with events like the George Floyd protests and the pandemic shifting the way artists view identity. Douglas said he thinks a “sense of urgency” to address the effects of these events is part of what prompted more than 65 submissions — over twice the typical amount — to present at the conference.

“It’s not just an urgency for Jewish people to talk about Jewish things, it’s for Jewish people to really start to define and redefine a commitment to social justice,” Rosenberg said. “There’s a whole slew of people entering the discussion that are considerably younger and have a considerably different idea of what Jewishness is for them.”

Part of the theme will represent a commitment to including interpretations of Jewish identity from a variety of perspectives on race, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic class and religiosity. The art forms discussed at the conference include graphic novels, dance, theater, music and literature.

Featured lectures will include Laurence Reese’s “Btzelem: Towards a Transgender Torah,” Robert Brandwayn’s “Memory, Interdisciplinarity and Geographical Diversity in Jewish Latin American Art”

and Jessica Friedman’s “Choreographing Blackness, Jewishness, and Questions of Universality: Janet Collins’s Biblical Modern Dances,” among others.

This year’s keynote speaker, Aimee Rubensteen, told the Cardinal that she is looking forward to Adam McKinney’s performance and Leora Fridman’s lecture on “Fear + Expression in Contemporary Jewish Art Practice.” Rubensteen is a curator for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, an art historian and a writer, as well as the founding art editor of PROTOCOLS, a journal featuring art and writing from across the Jewish diaspora.

Her lecture, “Today is Tomorrow’s Archive: Building Scaffolding for Jewish Art,” focuses on some of these projects.

“My talk will explore a framework of time where past, present (and) future converge by focusing on three multimedia artworks that I commissioned for PROTOCOLS. I’ll describe how these artists integrate their past and future into the present in their art through performance, recipes, poetry, photography and collage,” she said. “Drawing from ‘queer time’ and ‘crip time’ literature, I’ll discuss how temporality is integral to understanding Jewish art, archives and the stories we tell.”

Rubensteen’s lecture will conclude by focusing on Web3 in relation to the expansive

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PHOTO COURTESY OF BETH SHADUR VIA CONNEYPROJECT.WISC.EDU

Conference explores meanings of Jewish identity.

possibilities for the future of Jewish art. View the full schedule of conference events here.

Honoring Marv Conney’s legacy Marv Conney, one of the donors for whom the conference is named along with Babe Conney, passed away last March at the age of 94. Georgetown professor Ori Soltes will give his lecture “Transcendent and Interdisciplinary: Butterflies in Holocaust and Post-Holocaust Imagery” on Tuesday in honor of the family.

Conney’s son, David Conney, will represent the family on a Zoom call following Soltes’s lecture. Last May, he said Marv’s goal in creating the Conney project was to “look at Judaism in America through contemporary music, Broadway, film, television, dance, literature and painting — and how each art-form can tell a Jewish story. And in America, of course, a Jewish story, at its essence, involves the American dream, optimism, opportunity, diversity, tolerance, social responsibility, social justice, resilience and survival.”

Madison’s search for a homeless shelter, explained

By Gavin Escott STAFF WRITER

A location for a new permanent men’s shelter has officially been chosen, Dane County and Madison leaders announced on Wednesday.

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and Dane County Executive Joe Parisi stated at a joint press conference that the shelter’s location would be 1902 Bartillon Dr., just off of Highway 51 and next to Reindahl Park on Madison’s Far East Side.

“Today, the city and the county embark on a serious and sustained effort to build a permanent, purposebuilt shelter for men experiencing homelessness here in Madison,” the mayor proclaimed.

The 2.1-acre location is the former site of Callahan’s Sports Pub, which the city bought last October. The site was chosen for its access to amenities such as transportation, food outlets, job training/education opportunities and the proposed Imagination Center, said Community Development Director Jim O’Keefe.

According to O’Keefe, the shelter will have spaces to help people experiencing physical or mental health issues, as well as resources addressing mental health or substance abuse, with some services on-site and connections to others in the area.

“This is not intended to be a warehouse for homeless men but a resource to connect them to housing,” O’Keefe explained.

Rhodes-Conway echoed this, highlighting how the shelter would be designed and built for the people it would serve.

“We are purposely building a shelter to give people a place to go and to connect to services and to connect to permanent housing, so we get to start from the ground up to think about what this population needs and how to design that into the building,” Rhodes-Conway said. “That, I think, is actually the most exciting thing about this project. Madison has never experienced this.”

“We don’t have anything like it,” she added. “In fact, I don’t think

we have anything like it in the state of Wisconsin.”

Karla Thennes, the executive director of Porchlight Solutions to Homelessness, a nonprofit that has operated temporary housing shelters for the city, said that she would work with the mayor to invite people experiencing homelessness to participate in the planning process.

“We’re going to have a committee of folks with lived experience involved in making decisions on what this place looks like,” Thennes said. “Who’s better to say what’s needed besides the folks who use it? So we’re excited to get all that going.”

The shelter will accommodate 200 to 250 men while offering showers, restrooms and potentially laundry services. The city has allocated $9 million for construction, including $3 million already committed from Dane County, $4 million from the city, and $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding, but the final cost won’t be known until the design work is further along.

O’Keefe admitted the project might face potential pushback from the community, but hoped the largely positive experiences at previous temporary sites would minimize community concerns, adding “we’ve had very few complaints.”

Brenda Konkel, the current board chair of the Homeless Services Consortium, which represents local service providers, welcomed the proposal.

“We applaud the city’s and county’s commitment to this project and look forward to helping bring about an intentionally built space equipped to serve men experiencing homelessness with the dignity they deserve,” Konkel said.

This announcement is the latest development in a two-year search, described as “exhaustive,” to locate a permanent men’s shelter after the pandemic shuttered long-time shelters in downtown church basements that had provided a haven for the homeless for over three decades.

These makeshift shelters, such as

the one in the basement of Grace Episcopal Church on Capitol Square, were crowded and wholly unsuited for social distancing.

In March of 2020, the City created temporary shelters for men at the Warner Park Community Center on the North Side. The city also used $2 million in COVID-19 relief funding to construct tiny homes at 3202 Dairy Dr. and began contracting with local hotels such as the Madison Plaza to house the homeless. In December 2020, the city transferred the homeless men from Warner Park to the city’s former Fleet Services Building at 200 N. First St. This was intended as a short-term solution as the First Street facility is slated to become the $16.5 million Madison Public Market with renovations beginning this summer.

The struggle to find a permanent location site has seen two other location proposals fall through. In fall of 2020, plans to buy a former child care center at 4111 East Towne Blvd. and convert it into an interim men’s shelter were dashed when the seller backed out, and, in early 2021, a proposal from Rhodes-Conway and Parisi to spend $2.1 million for a property that formerly held Savers and Gander Mountain store at 2002 Zeier Rd. failed to pass the council.

In a meeting last October, the Common Council voted again to buy the Zeier Road property, this time with available city funds, which passed 14-6. Rhodes-Conway announced Wednesday that the First Street temporary shelter would move later this year to the Zeier Road property until the permanent shelter at Bartillon Drive is completed.

The Zeier Road temporary site will be operated by Porchlight Inc., which ran the previous temporary shelters at Warner Park and First Street, and will offer many of the same services.

Madison has budgeted $600,000 toward equipping the 31,500-squarefoot building with showers, restrooms and other interior modeling, and will be finished by the time renovation begins on the First Street Facility later this summer. Officials said that this site

wouldn’t be a full-service facility as the Bartillon Drive shelter would be.

At that same October meeting, the council approved the $855,000 purchase of a fire-ravaged tavern at 1902 Bartillon Dr. for unspecified “options to address homelessness.”

Until Wednesday’s announcement, it wasn’t clear that Bartillon Drive would be selected and other locations continued to be considered during closed-door meetings with council members, leading some to express consternation they weren’t fully informed of Mayor Rhodes-Conway’s decision on Wednesday.

District 17 Alder Gary Halverson bemoaned the lack of communication in a public post, saying he found out about the new location “at the same time everyone else did, at the press conference.”

“We don’t operate government in a vacuum,” said Halverson, who represents the neighborhood where the facility would be. “The mayor doesn’t get to sit on the fourth floor and decree something and have it happen.

The fact that we weren’t notified that this was coming or even invited to the press conference is unacceptable.”

Council President Syed Abbas, who represents the district containing the proposed permanent location, made clear that he doesn’t necessarily oppose the placement of the men’s homeless shelter at Bartillon Dr. but took fault with the process and the way it was handled. “By not inviting us, she purposefully cut the community voices out.”

In an interview with News 3 Now, the mayor rejected this narrative, pointing out that the alders had been part of closed-session discussions with the city’s finance committee where Bartillon Drive was proposed as an option.

“The city council and Alder Abbas, in particular, have already delayed this project for a year based on trying to find the perfect site which, we knew then and we know now, doesn’t exist,” Rhodes-Conway said. Alders hadn’t been invited because she knew the announcement would be sensitive,

adding that for a big project like this her actions were appropriate.

Halverson pushed back against this, saying “the fact that it’s a sensitive issue doesn’t mean we get to do it in darkness, doesn’t mean we get to hide it from the public. What’s going to happen is going to happen, but we need to have this dialogue publicly.”

In his post he seemed to prefer the existing temporary location on First Street due to its proximity to downtown. “We have heard repeatedly from current and former homeless individuals that this community gravitates to the downtown area where they have had support from many organizations.”

“At the end of the day, there’s no perfect location,” Rhodes-Conway said. “There are only a bunch of imperfect choices and I think we settled on the best compromise.”

During her biweekly briefing Thursday, Rhodes-Conway asserted there would be an “extensive” public input process going forward and maintained that the alders had been and would continue to be in the loop.

“We’re just at the beginning of a very long process, and I find it frankly surprising that alders are acting like they don’t know that there’s a long process ahead of us and there will be plenty of opportunities for them and all of our constituents to weigh in,” Rhodes-Conway said. She added that her office would reach out to the affected districts to organize public meetings about the temporary shelter location at Zeier Road and the permanent location at Bartillon Drive.

The mayor has introduced a resolution to the Common Council seeking approval for the site with a vote on it planned for next week.

If approved, the facility could begin construction in early 2023, with design work consuming the rest of the year.

“It will be transformational,” Rhodes-Conway promised. “This truly represents a pretty big step for our community in really thinking about how do we serve this population and deliver what they need to get stable and get their lives back.”

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Thursday, March 24, 2022

dailycardinal.com

Miserable showing end UW’s season

By Justin Alpert SPORTS EDITOR

The Iowa State Cyclones (11) beat the Wisconsin Badgers (3) 54-49 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

In Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum, which was once again filled to the brim with Wisconsin fans, the Badgers failed to sustain any offensive production throughout the contest and ended their promising 2021-22 campaign.

Wisconsin, surely hoping for a faster start after trailing 9-2 against Colgate on Friday, avoided such an early deficit. Even so, the Badgers didn’t enjoy much offensive success in the first half against Iowa State. The teams remained close and Wisconsin held a 22-17 lead with five minutes remaining.

Then, with 4:37 on the first-half clock, Badger point guard Chucky Hepburn injured his ankle and exited the game for good. It’s unclear exactly what injury the freshman sustained, but he required help off the court and was later sporting crutches and a walking boot.

Hepburn had shot 0-for-3 with two rebounds before going down.

The Badgers looked poised to take a one-point lead into halftime when a defensive breakdown allowed Iowa State’s Caleb Grill to make an uncontested layup as time expired, giving the Cyclones a 27-26 advantage.

With Hepburn officially ruled out, Wisconsin then turned in a dismal second-half performance.

Guards Jordan Davis and Jahcobi Neath played 11 and 22 minutes in the game, respectively, while totaling four points. Not only do they lack Hepburn’s playmaking ability, their inability to convert wide-open shots was glaring and made it easier for Iowa State to focus its defense on Johnny Davis and Wisconsin’s other capable scorers.

It took nearly eight minutes for the Badgers to reach 30 points. Tyler Wahl narrowed the deficit to 38-34 with nine minutes remaining, but that was as close as Wisconsin would get to tying the game.

Wisconsin shot a dreadful 29.8 percent from the field and made only two of its 22 three-point attempts.

The Cyclones deserve credit for their tight interior defense, and they were clearly willing to foul (as they did 25 times) rather than yield easy baskets in the paint. That said, the Badgers’ horrendous shooting is the main reason their season ended so soon.

Davis finished with 17 points, although nine of those were free throws. He shot 4-of-16 from the field and 0-of-7 from three-point range, and his late-game magic against Colgate never really showed up this time. The guard tallied nine rebounds, four steals and two blocks, but he did turn it over four times.

Brad Davison was Wisconsin’s second-leading scorer with 12 points and seemed to be on the ground more often than not. In his final game as a Badger, he drew several Iowa State fouls while committing four fouls of his own. Wisconsin needed a huge game from Davison after Hepburn went down and he delivered a solid, albeit unremarkable performance.

The Badgers successfully contained Cyclone guard Izaiah Brockington, who shot 4-of-15 for a modest 10 points. It was senior guard Gabe Kalscheur, in fact, who gave Wisconsin fits. Kalscheur, despite averaging only 9.1 points per game during the regular season, put on a show with 22 points, four rebounds and a pair of steals. His 10-of-19 shooting performance made all the difference for Iowa State, which shot 34.5 percent as a team.

It’s worth wondering whether Hepburn’s injury changed the outcome of Sunday’s game—the point guard was undeniably a catalyst for

Wisconsin’s offense in his freshman season. No matter, the favored Badgers had every opportunity to

make some easy shots and move on to the Sweet Sixteen.

Instead, it will be Iowa

State moving on to face 10-seed Miami, which just toppled twoseed Auburn.

TAYLOR WOLFRAM/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Brad Davison had little room to work with versus Iowa State.

TAYLOR WOLFRAM/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Chucky Hepburn on the floor after his first-half ankle injury.

Crushing losses during West Coast road trip

By Donnie Slusher SPORTS WRITER

The Wisconsin Badgers men’s tennis team (6-7) underwent two rough losses during Spring Break, ending with 6-1 defeats in both matches in San Diego. The first, to the Harvard Crimson on March 15, followed by the San Diego Toreros on March 17.

The Wisconsin Badgers entered the week sitting at 6-5, coming off of a nerve-wracking victory against Western Michigan, in which Senior Sebastian Vile triumphantly secured the game point. The win over the Broncos was the first match in Nielsen Tennis Stadium after nearly a month of traveling. However, it’s right back on the road for the Badgers, who are set to play their final non-conference opponents of the regular season.

On March 15, the Harvard Crimson entered with an impressive 8-2 record and a national rank of 13, making for Wisconsin’s toughest competitor of the season — at least on paper.

Wisconsin started off competitive in doubles play despite ultimately losing the point. The day’s first match

involved Wisconsin’s Jared Pratt and Tim Dzhurinskiy, who fell to Harvard’s Ronan Jachuck and Harris Walker, 6-2.

The Badgers evened up the score after Leonard Soha and Mihailo Popovic defeated Henry von der Schulenburg and Steven Sun, also 6-2 in Popovic’s first match of the season, back after months battling a wrist injury. However, the Crimson claimed the doubles point when Wisconsin’s Sebastian Vile and Robin Parts fell 7-5 to the No. 20 ranked duo of Brian Shi and Daniel Milavsky.

For the singles competition, this was Wisconsin’s first match of the season against multiple opponents ranked in the top 50. The Badgers lost to all three. Pratt was defeated

by Schulenberg (6-2, 6-2), who ranks #23, while Huber fell to Shi (6-2, 6-4), who sits at #29.

Lastly, Soha came up short against Walker (3-6, 6-4, 1-0), ranking #35.

Sebastian Vile was the only Badger to claim a point in the singles competition. Vile fell behind early in the matchup, dropping the first set (2-6) before fighting back to finish

off Harvard’s Steven Sun in the three-set match (6-4, 1-0).

The Badgers couldn’t stay competitive, and the match ended 6-1 in favor of Harvard.

Following the blowout loss to Harvard just two days prior, the Badgers were set to face San Diego on March 17. The Toreros entered the match on a fourgame win streak, sitting at 10-2 on the season and ranked No. 26.

Once again, the Badgers couldn’t secure the point in doubles play. Wisconsin’s Vile and Parts fell to San Diego’s August Holmgren and Gui Osorio by a score of 6-4. Shortly after, the Toreros’ Will Davies and Sacchitt Sharrma defeated Soha and Popovic, also by 6-4, capturing the early point for San Diego.

The only Badger to claim a victory in the singles section was Tim Dzhurinskiy, who fought back against No. 106 Marvin Schaeber after dropping the first set (3-6, 7-5, 1-0; 10-8).

Dzhurinskiy’s triumph over Schaeber was his first ranked victory of the season.

The Badgers’ recent star, Sebastian Vile, also battled for three rounds but was eventually

defeated by David Norfeldt (6-4, 1-6, 0-1; 4-10).

The rest of the matches were relatively quick and easy for the Toreros. Pratt unsuccessfully battled against the No. 6 ranked singles competitor in the nation, August Holmgren (6-4, 6-4).

Soha fell to Osorio by a lopsided score (6-0, 6-1). Sharrma defeated Huber (6-4, 6-2). Lastly, Davies took down Popovic (6-3, 6-4).

Ultimately, the San Diego match ended in a less-than-

stellar 6-1 loss.

Everything considered, the trip to the West Coast turned out quite disappointing for the Badgers. They will look to rebound in the coming weeks against some familiar foes, as all of Wisconsin’s nine remaining regular-season matches are against Big Ten opponents. The Badgers will first face off against the Michigan State Spartans on Friday, March 25, before staying in-state to play the Michigan Wolverines on the 27.

ISABELLA KELLERMEIER/THE DAILY CARDINAL

The men's tennis team huddles before a match.

almanac Lent causing local Filet-O-Fish population to near dangerous low dailycardinal.com

By Mackenzie Moore ALMANAC EDITOR

Following a drop in hamburger sales on Fridays due to the Catholic tradition of Lent, 1965 saw the FiletO-Fish hit McDonald’s fast food restaurants nationwide. Nearly 60 years later, the menu item is still going strong — unfortunately, a little too strong.

Filet-O-Fish, which primarily inhabit the Wisconsin River, are reaching a dangerously low population. Whereas the numbers reached a high of 200,000 in the summer of 2020 due to a sharp increase in nihilism, now that the number of practicing Catholics has rebounded, the population is projected to dwindle to 15,000 by the

Thursday, March 24, 2022

time Lent ends on April 14.

“The sandwich has lived in these waters since I was a boy,” said Mazomanie fisherman Gary Newman. “Us normal folks have only ever been allowed to fish for them if it’s catch and release — the fishing rights belong to McDonald’s suppliers. Still, seeing less and less of those majestic creatures bobbing just below the surface breaks my heart.”

While there are Filet-OFish in other parts of the world, the Wisconsin River population has been counted as the most significant. Therefore, the news has prompted McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski to respond.

“This simply can’t continue. As

one of the most treasured items on our menu, the Filet-O-Fish population must be allowed to flourish,” began Kempczinski’s statement. “To combat this, McDonald’s has committed to creating a facility in which FiletO-Fish will be able to breed freely, allowing the species to be the force that it was just a year and a half ago.”

Kempczinski stated that once the numbers have reached a satisfactory level, the sandwiches will be reintroduced to the wild.

Given that the menu item has a gestation period of 10 minutes, repopulation is not expected to take long. The future is looking bright for the Filet-O-Fish and, in the words of Justin Timberlake, “I’m lovin’ it.”

Stepping on the soapbox: Linguist edition (part I)

CONTRIBUTOR

By Anupras Mohapatra CONTRIBUTOR

I am a bonafide linguist. An expert in the field. The greatest today (sorry Chomsky). After all, I took one single linguistics course and barely scraped by with an A (in my defense, my mental health in the fall of 2020 was held together by goo). Linguistics majors have been shaking since.

They can’t lace my boots. They can barely look me in the eye as I tower over them with my humongous brain — and often literally as well.

With all that being said, it is time to engage in a tipsy tirade. I’ve drank a lot of my favorite IPA. It is called “Schwa.” More, uh, popular than you know. So, uh, now I must get on my soapbox. Enough “uh’s” for the day. It is time to set the record straight when it comes to how language SHOULD work. It is not hard!!!

1. Iraq. Iran. Places Americans are no stranger to. After all, these countries power the white suburban savior complex. However, have people ever stopped to recognize how to pronounce these countries’ names right? Iraq and Iran are not Apple products. Miss me with that iRaq and iRan pronunciation, especially when you can nail words like Rathskeller and Bratwurst and Lederhosen. Non-white proper nouns shouldn’t have to cater to your lack of linguistic ability.

5

Courtesy of elsie.hui via Creative Commons

Girl Scouts announce they will be accepting crypto

By Jeffrey Brown

Courtesy of JeepersMedia via Creative Commons

l

This morning, the Girl Scouts of America announced troops nationwide will be accepting crypto currencies as payment for their infamous cookies.

The announcement reads: “Alright, fuck it — we’re doing crypto.

We’re not entirely sure if anyone cares about this shit anymore, but fuck it, right? Who gives a shit if this bullshit collapses; we have so many motherfucking cookies. And we got a new one this year? Have you seen this bullshit?

It’s fucking good though. Anyway, go find your cookie dealer and she’ll be happy to take whatever bullshit

coin you have as long as you have four or five dollars worth of it. I don’t know how much our cookies cost these days. God knows it’ll be good for you morons to get out of the house and interact with real people for once.”

The statement continued, “Just don’t show the kid your stupid fucking NFTs. We have supplied every girl scout with a fuckton of pepper spray that she has been instructed to use if you show her your goddamn ape collection.

These bitches will not hesitate to fuck you the fuck up the instant she sees your dumb fucking pixel art that your dumb ass dropped five fucking figures on.

We weren’t expecting those little shits to be

so goddamn trigger happy with the pepper spray, but holy shit, I didn’t used to get night terrors. What else? Oh yeah, we’re working on a watchlist for everyone who doesn’t buy at least three boxes of Thin Mints. No, don’t ask questions. Just go buy some cookies if you don’t want to worry about it.”

With the dip in sales last year due to COVID19, the Girl Scouts may be hoping this move into crypto will send cookie sales, dare I say, to the moon! At the time of writing this, Bitcoin is half of what it was worth four months ago.

Are the Girl Scouts buying the dip, or will this decision bite them in the Do-Si-Dos? Only time will tell.

2. On a similar note, countries ending with -stan. -Stan is derived from Persian and essentially means “land of.” But leave it to y’all to say -stan like stan, the word used to describe hormonal Twitter teens salivating over someone like Harry Styles. You’re cool, Harry, but this mispronunciation ruins everything.

3. This point isn’t aimed at any person. Instead, it is just the English language being weird.

Why in THE WORLD does “slip” transform to “slippery” and not “slippy?” If “mess” isn’t “messery’’ and “run” isn’t “runnery,” why is “slip” “slippery?” I didn’t register this as weird until it was pointed out to me back in 2020. I haven’t been able to forget since. Brits informally use the word “slippy” — I say we steal something from them for once.

4. Compressing words while texting is great. I have only ever interacted with a handful of freaks — I mean that in the best way possible — who use perfect spelling and grammar in EVERY text. Most of us use acronyms quite frequently. However, let’s be judicious with their use, PLEASE. What’s jfc, kmt and fwiw?? No, I won’t ttyl lmao, smh. I want to be able to read sentences, not alphabet soup. Think of acronyms as icing for sentences. The right amount is awesome, but too much icing ends up ruining the dessert — as tempting as it may be to overdo it.

It seems my buzz is wearing off and I must rest. Off the soapbox I go. I don’t feel as persnickety anymore. The Brits say pernickety. Couldn’t be me. I will be back with more — you better believe it.

If you are guilty of any of these transgressions, I hope you won’t be anymore.

Otherwise, I WILL be having words! You don’t want to mess with the greatest linguist of our time :)

Courtesy of U.S. Army Garrison Casey via Creative Commons

We're always looking for more funny and insightful writers, you can send your submissions and any comments or questions to almanac@dailycardinal.com. All articles featured in Almanac are creative, satirical and/or entirely fictional pieces. They are fully intended as such and should not be taken seriously as news.

arts Six poetry books to read in 2022 l

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Thursday, March 24, 2022

dailycardinal.com

By Maddie Urlaub STAFF WRITER

“Call Us What We Carry” by Amanda Gorman Following her election as the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, Amanda Gorman published her first collection of poetry with her book, “Call Us What We Carry.” This collection covers topics such as racism, COVID-19, the relationship to history and more. Gorman dives into her poetry with words that hit close to the heart of anyone reading.

Her connection to events that are affecting people all around the world makes for an extraordinary collection of poems. “ H o m e Body” by Rupi Kaur Rupi Kaur is not new to the poetry field with her other works “milk and honey” and the “sun and her flowers.” “Home Body” is her most recent publication which uses a series of poems and minimalist drawings to relate what Kaur interprets the home and body to be. The artwork paired with her poems are like sprinkles to a cake in that they do not take away attention from the poems themselves. Her poetry collection is nothing short of understanding and vivid.

Trigger warnings: sexual assault, depression

“Night Sky with Exit Wounds” by Ocean Vuong Ocean Vuong is not only a poet but a novelist and songwriter as well. His first full-length poetry collection, “Night S k y

with E x i t Wo u n d s ” p o r t r ays an original interpretation of what it means to be an existing human through love, time

and memory. This book won the T.S. Elliot prize in 2017.

Vuong’s writings are fiercely vulnerable with a touch of elegance that can be seen by

anyone reading his poems.

Trigger warnings: death, domestic abuse “Good Bones” by Maggie Smith In the summer of 2016, Maggie Smith went viral for her poem, “Good Bones.” A year later, she published h e r poetry

book with the same title.

Smith plays with the idea of understanding the world in all its glory and the pain that follows. She is not afraid to mention subjects such as experiences with

motherhood, mental illnesses and ethics. Since the release of “Good Bones,” Smith has gone on to write another poetry book called “Keep Moving” (2020).

“Love & Misadventure” by Lang Leav New Zealand novelist and poet Lang Leav published her first poetry collection “Love & Misadventure” in 2013. Leav’s writing in this poetry collection covers topics such as love affairs, complicated emotions and trust. Using poetry techniques like structure, rhyme and enjambment, Leav is able to weave together words in a minimalist yet beautiful way. Her carefully crafted poems are raw and honest.

“Curbs” by Divya Victor Critically acclaimed for her poetry about the events following the 9/11 attacks, Divya Victor’s poetry book “Curbs” is a must-read. She dives into the details of the attacks and assaults immigrants and Americans had to endure after 9/11. Her poetry is not scared away from the post-9/11 political events of Americans who were involved in wounding people due to racial and religious differences.

Eye-opening, educational and heart-breaking are only a few words to describe Victor’s work “Curbs.”

Trigger warnings: violence, death PHOTO COURTESY OF BALJIT SINGH/WIKIMEDIA

Rupi Kaur calls on poems and minimalist drawings in her latest publication, "Home Body."

Hippo Campus delivers great performance on new tour

By Hope Karnopp PODCAST DIRECTOR

Concerts are some of the best memories I have made in Madison, and Hippo Campus’ performance at The Sylvee was one of them.

Hippo Campus made Madison the first stop on their new tour, which comes after the release of their LP3 album earlier this month. While their new songs off of this album are undoubtedly quality music, the sold-out crowd responded best to the classics that felt like a throwback to the golden years of indie rock.

The band’s opener, Jelani Aryeh, was nothing short of impressive. His stage presence and the drummer’s energy roused the crowd, which was almost necessary on a Thursday night during midterms season.

Aryeh said that it was not only his first time on tour, but his first visit to the Midwest, which he described as “cold as sh*t.”

The crowd shouted along to the final song, “Stella Brown,” proving that he already has

significant recognition.

My friend described him as “wholesome” — the kind of artist that you want to cheer on.

His ability to blend genres, maintain an ethereal vibe and share personal lyrics was a perfect transition into Hippo Campus, though the set transition did take a while.

I don’t think I’ve heard an audience scream so loud when the band finally took the stage.

The first thing that struck me was frontman Jake Luppen’s vocal range, which was infinitely better live than on recordings.

I have never been able to memorize this band’s intricate lyrics, but it was more enjoyable to simply take in Luppen’s talent than it was to try to sing along. He was extremely likable, showing up in an understated Apple T-shirt and joking about the “robot mic.”

The band as a whole had a really strong sound. I kept waiting to hear more from their trumpeter DeCarlo Jackson. He finally had a moment to shine in the encore, but I would have

loved that layer to be brought up a little.

The crowd was the most excited for Hippo Campus’ classic songs like “Way it Goes,” “warm glow” and “baseball.”

I could see a few groups of millennials in the balcony shouting and dancing along with even more energy than the main floor. I could appreciate the new poppier songs like “Ride or Die,” but it was clear that the audience thrived off of the nostalgia of late 2010s indie rock.

It seemed like Jelani Aryeh and Hippo Campus felt so much joy in performing.

Hippo Campus said they were nervous, but they did not show it. Playing live seemed natural for them, and I definitely came out of this concert with a greater appreciation for this band. Hearing their songs will bring me back to my memories of this concert, which are incredibly positive despite being surrounded by what felt like some of the tallest people in Madison.

Grade: A-

HOPE KARNOPP/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Kicking off their new tour in Madison, indie rock band Hippo Campus played a passionate show, fueled by what they called "nervous" energy.

Interested in writing for the Daily Cardinal Arts Desk? Contact Seamus at seamus.rohrer@dailycardinal.com or Rebecca at rpearla@dailycardinal.com

opinion China geopolitically benefits in Ukraine dailycardinal.com

By Bea Millan-Windorski STAFF WRITER

As geopolitical tensions escalate in Eastern Europe, many point to Russia — the main aggressor in Ukraine — and the United States, the historic protector and patron of Europe in the post-WWII era, as the actors most likely to benefit from the conflict. Since the 2014 invasion of Crimea, the West has engaged in numerous discussions surrounding Russia’s imperial ambitions in former Soviet satellite states, where many view the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a challenge to U.S. hegemony in the region.

However, the most important player is often missing from these discussions. Due to the convergence of China’s political and economic ties to both Russia and Ukraine, and Western sanctions pushing Moscow closer to Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping is poised to emerge as the primary beneficiary of the current Ukrainian crisis.

With Russia’s full-scale attack entering its third week against Ukraine, sanctions levied against Moscow have increased steadily. NATO and the United States recognize economic sanctions, along with military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, as the most effective means of condemning Moscow without direct military intervention.

The Chinese government has yet to enact any economic repercussions against Russia, walking

Thursday, March 24, 2022

a tenuous line between their historic relations with the Kremlin and the U.S. threatening sanctions against Beijing if they choose to back Russia.

The impact of these sanctions cannot be understated, as even Russian President Vladimir Putin has acknowledged the difficulties his country is facing as a result.

“Our economy will need deep structural changes in these new realities, and I won’t hide this — they won’t be easy; they will lead to a temporary rise in inflation and unemployment,” Putin stated.

Additionally, Carmen M. Reinhart, the World Bank’s chief economist, stated that Russia is at risk of defaulting on its debt.

Due to the US and its international allies blocking Russia’s access to gold and foreign reserves, the country is cut off from global financial institutions.

With increasing international pressure restricting Russia’s economy, Beijing emerges as the only option for relief. On Feb. 4, Xi and Putin codified their alliance as a friendship with “no limits.” Furthermore, China relies on Russia for a large portion of coal, oil and gas imports. This economic interdependence would be challenged if Beijing joined the growing dissent against Putin. With Moscow having nowhere else to turn, China is poised to enjoy the largest share of economic activity from Russia.

At the same time, European countries will be forced to seek out

energy alternatives to Russian oil as the conflict continues to inflate prices. A turn to renewable energy in the West ensures that Russia will not be the only country to increase its economic dependence on Beijing, as China is “the leading supplier of solar panels, lithium batteries and various rare earth metals,” needed for green energy.

China also has much to gain

natural resource deposits, agricultural industry and defense industry all make Ukraine an advantageous partner.

Beijing’s ties to both countries have not gone unnoticed.

Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief stated that “it must be China” who brokers peace in the UkraineRussia conflict.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL KAGAME

from a geopolitical lens. Beijing has close ties not only to Russia, but also to Ukraine due to its foreign direct investment in the country through its massive Belt and Road Initiative. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy enthusiastically stated in June 2021 that Kyiv could serve as China’s “bridge to Europe,” thanks to their infrastructure cooperation. Additionally, Ukraine is the second-largest arms supplier to China, second only to Russia. The country’s strategic location, large

China has shown its willingness to facilitate peace, with foreign minister Wang Yi telling reporters, “China is willing to continue playing a constructive role in urging peace talks and is willing when necessary to work together with the international community to launch required mediation.”

If China can emerge as the only country able to administer peace in the region while simultaneously having the economic influence to restrain Putin, Beijing will pose a serious challenge to U.S. hegemo-

l

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ny in Europe and the world stage as a whole. Xi has a legitimate opportunity to succeed where U.S. President Joe Biden has struggled with America’s erratic foreign policy, marked by vague overtures of the fight against autocracy to NATO regarding the conflict and a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Beyond scoring a “win” against the United States in the realm of peace-making, China also serves to benefit from international attention being drawn away from Southeast Asia to Eastern Europe.

With Western attention and resources focused on Ukraine, Beijing may find a unique opening in their continued tensions with Taiwan and their positioning in the South China Sea. As Xi prepares for his third term as President of China, he is in a precarious but conceivably beneficial position with the war in Eastern Europe. Despite facing pressures from the West to sanction Russia, China still stands as Moscow’s only corridor to economic relief. Moreover, by playing both sides, China serves to benefit from a potential explosion of development in renewable energy.

Beyond jockeying for economic dominance, China has a serious opportunity for proving legitimacy in diplomacy and power projection in the geopolitical realm.

Read more at dailycardinal.com

The detrimental effects of the politicization of COVID-19

By Natalie Suri STAFF WRITER

The relentless political rhetoric around mask mandates has shifted our focus away from the actual problem. There are countless stories about heated school board fights over whether or not masks should be an issue of student choice. Pandemic precautions have become more about an individual’s stance on freedom than what most of us prioritize in principle: people’s health.

With the credibility of its pandemic policies at stake — and given its access to health and scientific resources — The University of Wisconsin-Madison was right to revoke the mask mandate on March 12. Though approaching the precaution with a more scientific mindset, the university is using its unique position to help shift the focus away from frivolous political rhetoric and toward public safety.

When the Delta variant was surging in early January of 2022, there was a daily average of 1,407 cases and 190 hospitalizations. Now there are around 60 cases per day and 47 hospitalizations. Dane county is now considered to be in the “low” level according to the new CDC metrics based on the number of hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients. The CDC guidelines for communities in the low area state that individuals should “wear a mask based on [their] own personal preference, informed by [their] personal level of risk.”

The personal freedom debates often arise when individuals do not believe that the precautions are needed to keep them safer.

UW-Madison policies should reflect the CDC guidelines that correspond to the state of the virus in our community so that the relationship between public health and the purpose of the policies is more likely to be seen as credible.

Even as the mask mandate will be lifted, some pandmeic policies will still be in place. The university is still providing COVID-19 vaccinations to its students and staff, and is distributing masks and antigen tests to people for free. Additionally, the UW-Madison campus population is 95-96%vaccinated.

With these resources still available, there is no reason for UW-Madison to be overly cautious because the risk that members of the university community will contract COVID-19 is minimally different from the risk that they will contract any other similarly contagious disease.

“There probably is no perfect time to make these decisions. There has to be a bit of a trade off and the time is now right to make this decision,” says Dr. Nasia Saptar, Associate Dean of Clinical Trials and a professor at the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, in the recent campus forum on mask mandates.

If it were not safe, we would not have a conversation about removing the mask mandate given the professional opinions and public health data taken into account. Many UW-Madison faculty, such as Saptar, are experts on COVID-19 transmission and have been at the forefront of understanding this virus.

As further confirmed by John

Zumbrunnen, Vice Provost of Teaching and Learning, the university will continue to defer to the guidance of medical professionals, adapting policies as needed.

The university is utilizing its ability to keep its community safe and the wealth of knowledge that it has access to increase the effectiveness of campus pandemic policies.

By my observation, the only time of the night when all students in the Bradley basement put on their masks in the weeks leading to Spring Break was when a house fellow or campus employee was in the vicinity.

This is in contrast to the beginning of the term, when I noted almost all Bradley residents wearing their masks, a time when cases were relatively high and full time in-person schooling was pending.

As the school year progressed, the sense that students needed to comply with the mandate decreased.

I heard about the Delta variant from the news a few days after the first breakout cases. I could not tell from the behavior around me. The policies were the same before the surge of the delta variant as they were during despite the higher public health risk.

There seemed to be no increase in the seriousness with which the average student behaved with regard to the policy despite the increased gravity of the situation. The connection between the state of the pandemic and the purpose of the policy was no longer clear like it was at the beginning of the year so Bradley residents began to see masks as more of a nuisance and less of a safety precaution. Consequently, they

PHOTO BY DRAKE WHITE-BERGEY

began to wear them only when they thought they would be caught.

Any precaution that wants to seriously promote student health needs to shape student behavior beyond just the areas that the university can control. The mask mandate did not carry much weight outside of university facilities as the majority of late night gatherings do not involve masks.

It would be more effective for virus prevention if students saw precautions less as daily annoyances and more as measures of the state of the pandemic and guidance on how they should behave accordingly. A precaution is only effective when people follow it and people are unlikely to comply if they do not understand how their safety is on the line.

The prevalent freedom of choice versus regulations rhetoric around pandemic precautions makes it seem as if we have two options: to live as if we are in a pandemic or not. People need to understand that there is not going to be a day when the pandemic is completely behind us. If the case

numbers and hospitalizations rise drastically this March, the mask mandate will be reinstated to keep campus safe.

UW-Madison has an obligation both from an educational and safety standpoint to sift through the misleading political jargon and respond to the pandemic in ways that best protect our safety both in the short and long term. The best way to shift the focus away from the frivolous personal freedom debates and instead toward an understanding that policies should reflect the ever evolving state of the pandemic is through scientific pragmatism not blanket requirements.

It is about time that we make the distinction between the scientific facts surrounding our health and our political stance.

Natalie (Nat) Suri is a freshman double majoring in History and Political Science. Do you agree with UW-Madison’s decision to revoke the mask mandate? Send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com.