Tuesday, April 6, 2010 - The Daily Cardinal by The Daily Cardinal

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OPINION

dailycardinal.com

By Alison Dirr the daily cardinal

EMily Julka/the daily cardinal

Fans gathered to watch the NCAA men’s basketball tournament championship game at State Street Brats Monday night. In a hard-fought match between perennial contender Duke and mid-major upstart Butler, the Blue Devils defeated the Bulldogs 61-59.

Cieslewicz ‘moves on’ from Fiore, plans to rebuild Central Library on site The Daily Cardinal

The Madison Public Library Board met Monday to discuss a proposal to rebuild the Central Library at its current location, 201 W. Mifflin St. The Madison Public Library Board originally planned on constructing

a new library on West Washington Avenue through Fiore Companies, using the current Central Library for hotel redevelopment. However, two weeks ago city officials and Fiore Companies failed to reach an agreement on a nearly $2 million budget discrepancy in the construction pro-

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Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Group threatens Doyle in letter

Duke-ing it out

By Daniel Tollefson

cess. Failure to settle the dispute prompted the city to consider renovating the existing site. At the meeting, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz presented an outline of the construction dispute between the city and Fiore Companies to the central library page 3

Nelson Cho/the daily cardinal

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz discussed library rebuilding plans at a briefing early Monday before giving a presentation at the Common Council meeting in the early evening.

Gov. Jim Doyle received a letter from an anti-government group last week that saying he would be removed from office if he did not leave within three days. The Associated Press reported that the Guardians of the Free Republics have sent similar letters to more than 30 other governors, and the FBI expects all 50 governors to receive a letter. “We are not aware of any immediate or credible threats of violence as part of this group’s plan,” Leonard Peace, Wisconsin FBI public affairs specialist, said. “[We shared information] with our federal, state and local partners to ensure they are equipped with the tools they need to better recognize behaviors and other indicators consistent with other homeland security threats to prevent violence or criminal acts.” Carla Vigue, spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Administration, said in an e-mail that Doyle’s security detail is aware of the letter and

closely monitoring his safety as usual. At least two other states have increased security after receiving the letters, according to the AP. Although the group’s website discourages members from taking action, this will not prevent all violence, according to Peace. “There’s always the concern that something like this could incite others to react,” he said. The Guardians of the Free Republics believe the U.S. government is dominated by corporations. The fringe group opposes taxation and refers to the United States as the United States Federal Corporation. “The Restore America Plan is the strategic mechanism for restoring the lawful institutions of earthly government across the land lawfully, peacefully and honorably, in a manner that reflects the desire of the sovereign People to be governed by consent, according to contract, and without hypothecation of their God-given labor to money vultures, war profiteers and the world’s secret banking cartels,” the group’s website says.

UW System schools wish to increase number of grads By Estephany Escobar The Daily Cardinal

University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly set goals for UW campuses to increase the number of graduates by 30 percent over the next 15 years. Education is part of UW System’s Growth Agenda for Wisconsin, a long-term plan that would increase Wisconsin’s economic competitiveness, according to the UW System. “If we are going to climb out of this economic [downturn] we think higher education is part of that ladder,” David Giroux, UW System executive director of communications and external relations, said. The plan aims to increase the number of undergraduate degrees at UW-Madison from 26,000 to 33,700. According to UW System, by 2025 there would be a cumulative gain of 80,000 more graduates under the new plan. Giroux said the UW System should increase the number of Wisconsin graduates to obtain rates similar to national averages. “If we keep doing the same, we would slide even further back. That shouldn’t be acceptable to anyone,” he said.

According to a release, Reilly said increasing the number of graduates would benefit the state’s economy. “That broadens the tax base, lowers the individual tax burden, enriches local communities and allows more people to enjoy a high quality of life,” he said. Associated Students of Madison Vice Chair Tom Templeton said the plan’s success would depend on state and federal funding. “It’s a great plan and a great idea but it’s not feasible unless we get appropriate and adequate funding and resources … in order to balance those out,” he said. UW-Madison political science professor Donald Downs said reaching these goals with the current budget may concern professors because they might result in a possible decrease in tenure positions granted and a potential increase in the number of professors receiving lower salaries. Downs also said that increasing the number of Wisconsin graduates could lower UW-Madison’s academic standards. The UW System and Board of Regents will meet in Fond du Lac Thursday to discuss further plans.

“…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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Tuesday, April 6, 2010

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

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

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

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 l

For the record Corrections or clariﬁcations? Call The Daily Cardinal ofﬁce at 608-262-8000 or send an e-mail to edit@dailycardinal.com.

WEDNESDAY: rainy hi 59º / lo 36º dailycardinal.com/page-two

An open letter to the crook who stole my bike

Volume 119, Issue 117

2142 Vilas Communication Hall 821 University Avenue Madison, Wis., 53706-1497

TODAY: thunderstorms hi 71º / lo 48º

ERIN KAY VAN PAY hail to the v.p.

’m so mad, I could spit. You, my friend, are what we used to called a, excuse my language now, whippersnapper. A fucking whippersnapper. Who do you think you are, going out into the dead of day, stealing a bike right in the middle of a mildly busy street? You must be a n00b bike robber. I hope your bicycle thief ringleader, I imagine his name to be either Bubba or Thor, has taken you into his dank lair cluttered with handlebars, chains and little honky horns and beaten you over the head with a basket for your ill-conceived audacity. In fact, I hope it’s the very basket that you stole along with my bike, and I hope Thor kept the one bag of groceries from Fresh Market that I can fit in there

without making permanent left turns, and that the bag is filled with flaming poop. Not that I buy flaming poop all the time, just on holidays (family tradition). Just know, dear friend, that I am looking for you or your skid mark trail, and I use skid mark very literally in this sense because the bike you happened to steal has rusty brakes, and also a keen sense to go out whenever someone who is not its owner mounts it. In fact, one time we found my friend Marty half-unconscious in the bike lane outside of Brothers, and at ﬁrst we thought he was just being Party Hardy Marty, but then he told us the last thing he did before he got knocked out was think about my bike. Maybe it’s the fact that I have voodoo dolls of potential bicycle thieves of the greater Madison area in my room (and they’re all guys with mustaches, it’s kind of weird), or maybe it’s the Eddy Merckx autographed photo that I have clothespinned to my chainstay to make my

bike sound like a Vroom-Vroom Cycle, but the point is that the bike is magical, or at least haunted by my spirit of disapproval. When I find you, you perpetrator of transportation thievery, you don’t even want to think about thinking about what I’m going to do to you. Okay, fine, I’ll tell you. When I find you, I’m going to pinch you right in the rump. And then I’m going to give you a penectomy with the knife in my sink from the time I made the peanut butter and margarine sandwich (big mistake, don’t try it). And if you don’t have a penis, I’ll construct one to perform a penectomy on. And then, heartless goodtimes-stealing knave, I’m going to do something so unthinkable that you can’t even think of it... wait. Yeah, that’s right. I’m going to call your mom. And at the end of the call, when she is not only a little T.O.’d by someone interrupting “All My Children,” but also completely and utterly

ashamed of her delinquent child, I’m going to tell her to be sure to let your father know. And your Nana. Looks like Nana’s not going to be making you Funfetti cake with Oreo frosting for your birthday this year! Or if she is, she’ll have to send it to the county jail, and I’m sure by the time it reaches your cell it’ll be all smooshed with bites taken out of it. Oh, did I mention that your cell is in jail? Because it is, and you’re not getting out until you either return my faulty-but-lovable bike, the piece of the porch you took with it or the basket, which I yearn for so dearly. Until we meet, I will continue to search endlessly on both Craigslist and within the numerous racks of campus, complain, and get my rump-pinching fingers in shape. Consider yourself warned, Mustachio. If you stole my bike and want to return it to me for fear of penectomies, just e-mail it to VP at evanpay@wisc.edu.

dailycardinal.com/news

Neumann and other GOP members align with Tea Party Mark Neumann has begun aligning himself with members of Wisconsin’s Tea Party movement and plans to attend a Tea Party event in Madison hosted by Americans for Prosperity and Tea Party Express Tuesday. According to Chip Englander, Neumann’s campaign manager, Neumann agrees with Wisconsin Tea Party members’ beliefs in lowering taxes and reducing the role of government. “Mark agrees with them that limited smaller government is better government and that we

central library from page 1 Board, explaining why a compromise could not be reached.

“It’s more important to do this right than to do this quickly.” Allen Arntsen member Madison Public Library Board

According to Cieslewicz, selling the current building to Fiore Companies for redevelopment was a critical component for funding the construction of the new

need to reduce wasteful spending and balance the budget,” he said. “The Tea Party is a diverse group across the state. He’s actually fighting sort of alongside them when it comes to cutting spending and returning us to constitutional principles.” Although the Tea Party trends conservative, Wisconsin members’ close alignment with Neumann and the Republican Party of Wisconsin would be a break from the Tea Party’s antimainstream political stance. Englander said core values of the

Tea Party fit with some of the values held by conservatives. In recent weeks, high-ranking conservative figures in Wisconsin have begun to seek support from the Tea Party movement. Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Reince Priebus and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., spoke at a Tea Party convention held in March. Englander said the details of Tuesday’s event “are still being worked out” and would not comment on whether Neumann plans to speak at the event. —Hannah Furfaro

library. But in Fiore Companies’ most recent construction proposal, the offer to buy the current site was withdrawn, resulting in a $2 million gap in funding. “We believed we could bridge that gap … but we couldn’t get there, and so it’s time to move on,” he said. Cieslewicz emphasized the need to move swiftly into the rebuilding process because current construction costs are historically low. Cieslewicz estimated that rebuilding the current site would take only two years, but constructing a new library could have taken more than 50 months. He said if development is delayed any longer, the Board would have to fight for money in future state budgets that has

already been allocated to them. “We can produce a building that is in every way every bit as good, if not better than the other proposal ... but delay is deadly.” The majority of the board showed support for Cieslewicz’s proposal, but some members still had concerns. Board member Allen Arntsen proposed delaying the resolution for reconstruction of the current site until all other options for a new building had been completely exhausted. “It’s more important to do this right than to do this quickly,” he said. The Madison Public Library Board will continue to discuss the status of the Central Library redevelopment project.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

news

PETA files suit against UW By Beth Pickhard The Daily Cardinal

Members of the animal rights group People for Ethical Treatment of Animals will file a lawsuit Tuesday against the UW System Board of Regents for not releasing documents concerning eye-movement research on monkeys and cats. According to the lawsuit, PETA filed the suit because UW-Madison did not release videotapes and photos they wished to obtain to ensure university research projects complied with the national Animal Welfare Act. Kathy Guillermo, PETA vice president, said in a statement that Wisconsin citizens have a right to know UW-Madison conducts ethical research. The Wisconsin Open Records law allows the public to obtain research studies.

“UW has squandered millions of taxpayer dollars to conduct these cruel and wasteful experiments, and now it apparently wants to throw away more money trying to hide what went on,” Guillermo said. “People have a right to know how their tax dollars are spent, especially if someone could be using the money to break the law.” UW-Madison officials told PETA they withheld documents to provide academic freedom to researchers, the lawsuit stated. “Any such records constitute unpublished proprietary research data,” university officials said, according to the lawsuit. Additional university officials could not be reached for comment as of press time.

Report details UW Athletic Board’s input in coach hiring decisions UW-Madison should change its policies for hiring athletic department coaches, according to a Faculty Senate ad hoc committee. The report, commissioned to ensure that the Athletic Board was complying with Faculty Policies and Procedure guidelines, found the Board was “largely in compliance” with its policies and “not a passive rubber stamp” to the athletic director and coaching staffs involved in hiring decisions. However, the committee, composed of seven UW professors, called the Board’s hiring oversight

policy “ambiguous.” Currently, small subcommittees or the Athletic Department make many of UW’s hiring decisions without full Board approval, as in 2005 when Bret Bielema was selected as the new football head coach. The report recommended a change requiring a vote from the full board for “any hiring actions or recommendations made by a … subcommittee of the board.” Although the change would give the Board veto power, its vote would not have to take place before announcements to the press, according to the recommendations.

spring career fair

4 Tuesday, April 6, 2010 l

dailycardinal.com

Don’t panic: Follow our guide to I’m graduating ... now what? success as you look for a job Cover letters 101 - make yourself stand out to employers with these tips and strategies Address your letter to a real person whenever possible for that personal touch (prefixed with “Mr.” or “Ms.” of course). l

Keep your word count somewhere between a rambling aside reserved for last-minute essays and your TA evaluation comments. Aim for 300-500 words. l

Don’t just list skills, match them to the job description. Saying you have “experience managing budgets using complex formulas across multiple Excel worksheets and graphically representing the data” sounds better than “I know Microsoft Excel.” l

Tailor your letter by saying why you admire something specific the company is known for or why you will contribute to overcoming prominent industry obstacles. If you can reference current projects the company is working on, even better. l

Be enthusiastic and show you’ve given a lot of thought to why you want to work at this specific company. l

Show, don’t tell, your best attributes. Anyone can say they are “passionate,” “hard-working” and “a leader.” What have you actually done?! l

Seduce from the start with a memorable lead. A generic lead (“Please consider me for the position of ….”) misses a great chance to show off your creative writing skills. Don’t go over the top of course, this is a cover letter, not a Faulkner impersonation contest. Lead sentences that describe one of your particularly relevant experiences or skills can be very effective, though. l

A poor economy does not mean a lack of opportunities for the savvy graduate The poor economy means employers have a more diverse range of applicants to choose from, but also means many employers are being presented with candidates who might never have applied earlier. Smaller and mid-sized companies are thus on the look out for more unique applicants as they realize they might not get the opportunity of such a wide applicant pool in the future. l

As the baby-boomer generation gets older, more and more retirees continue to need replacements and the recession is spurring many to retire early. Government and other public sector jobs are particularly in need of younger workers. l

Talk yourself up without bragging. Position yourself as the lucky recipient of the good experience you’ve had.

Employers in a struggling economy are looking for applicants who can tailor their skills to the employers’ needs. Job seekers need to be able to show how their skills and experiences can benefit an employer during a tumultuous time for many companies.

Find a friend to read the letter to you so you catch all the lame clichés, sentence fragments, awkward word choice and unprofessional diction.

Some of the companies that are now hiring are those that have largely weathered the recession and are looking for applicants that have shown they have the same ability to overcome the current economic challenges.

Personally proofread. Believe it or not, spell-check is not prefect.

Remember: Just because the current outlook is bleak doesn’t mean you should settle for the first company you interview for, as employers are looking for candidates who can stay with the organization for the long-term. You don’t want to hate a job you may be at for the next three to five years.

(http://www.liberalartsadvantage.com contributed to this list)

Top skills employers look for Communication skills : Strong work ethic: Works well with others: Initiative: Analytical skills: Computer skills: Flexibility/adaptability: Interpersonal skills: Problem solving skills: Technical skills: Detail-oriented: Organizational skills: Self-confidence: Leadership skills: Tactfulness: Friendly/outgoing personality: Creativity: Strategic planning skills: Entrepreneurial skills/risk-taker Sense of humor:

4.6 4.5 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.2 4.1 4.0 4.0 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.6 3.4 3.2 3.0

( 5-point scale, with 5 ranked as extremely important and 1 as not important) Why it matters for L&S majors: Employers are more often looking for general skills and critical thinking abilities that show you can adapt to the job rather than technical skills they can teach you later. Source: National Association of Colleges and Employers Research: Job Outlook 2009

GRAPHIC BY JENNY PEEK/the daily cardinal

REMEMBER TO STOP BY: UW-Madison April Career Fair - Wed. April 7 - 1:00-4:00 p.m. Tripp Commons, Memorial Union Sponsored by L&S Career Services and Wisconsin Alumni Association

GRAPHIC BY NATASHA SOGLIN/the daily cardinal

arts Unveiling gets unconventional dailycardinal.com/arts

JUSTIN STEPHANI j.j. dilla

ollapalooza releases its full lineup today, and for some diehard fans and annual attendees, that makes today something of a holiday. To take advantage of this anticipation, summer music festivals across the board have been creative in their unveiling methods. First it was Bonnaroo, and now Lollapalooza represents the extreme. Apparently, the new thing for festivals to do if they want to be cool and exclusive is reveal their lineups in some creative way—or in the case of Pitchfork, lengthen the process and aggravate future attendees. Festival announcement time is an exciting time of the year. Summer plans to drink excessively begin to develop, and you plan on seeing all the bands you’ve been freaking out about over the last year. However, This year started off with disappointment as several festivals are taking this summer off, undoubtedly because of tightened monetary belts. So shows at Tempe, Rothbury and Pemberton festivals, as well as the regionally favored 10,000 Lakes Festival, were some of the ﬁrst let-downs. Now, the big festivals where the shows must go on have been trying to come through in big ways.

Coachella was one of the first out of the gate, and while it could have gone unnoticed without a creative unveiling, the underwhelming lineup held intrigue, in its Sunday headliners, which included “Thom Yorke ????” Since then we have discovered it to be a supergroup by the name of Atoms For Peace, who will play the same day as Pavement and the Gorillaz—maybe the stereotypically coolest day of headliners out there. But it was only after that when things got real. Bonnaroo unveiled its lineup over the course of a day, revealing one group every five minutes on its MySpace page. It was a cool idea because it all went down in one day and the cuckoo clock animation was sweet. But again, with standard acts filling in an expected list of new indie hits, fans were left with a notably varied, but ultimately underwhelming lineup. Pitchfork Music Festival joined the mix by revealing only a handful of bands, mostly headliners like LCD Soundsystem, Raekwon and Pavement, before tickets went on sale. Not too surprisingly, they sold out of weekend passes in three days and have only revealed a handful more names to continue the tease (Freddie Gibbs!) since then. But so far the names have not disappointed (Freddie Gibbs!). Lastly, and most annoyingly, Lollapalooza revealed its lineup one

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

PHOTO COURTESY ARTS & CRAFTS PRODUCTION INC.

Broken Social Scene will be one of the bands featured at The Sasquatch! Music Festival. After dealing with all of the festivals’ bizarre unveiling techniques, Sasquatch! has been the one to deliver a truly great lineup. letter at a time over the last week, so fans can ﬁll their Wheel of Fortunelike lineup card. This has music publications reporting everybody’s speculations on what could ﬁt in the blanks, such as what “_ o _ _ _ i _” can mean (gotta be Hot Chip, right?). Fortunately, full lineup is unveiled today, putting an end to this method before it gets too annoying. Unfortunately, the headliners were released a few weeks ago and they are the most disappointing acts of the year thus far.

Surprisingly, the biggest winner has been ﬂying well below the radar way out on the west coast: The Sasquatch! Music Festival will be by far the most rewarding experience for those willing to make the 1800-mile road trip to Washington state. With names like My Morning Jacket, Broken Social Scene and Wale to keep casual indie fans happy—along with a plethora of the most happening bands around—a huge disappointment is unlikely; and the festival avoided huge mainstream bands—so, in a word, consistency is what they brought for fans of

indie music. Ultimately, however, bands are hitting the road to play as many festivals and shows as possible in an attempt to make some money in this ﬁckle music industry. So to throw a rare public service announcement at readers: Go to any music festival and see as many shows as possible to support the entertainment and artform you love. God knows I will. Do you think the Lollapalooza headliners are great? Explain why to Justin at jstephani@wisc.edu.

comics 6

No worries here! The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certiﬁed kosher. dailycardinal.com/comics

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Meh.

Today’s Sudoku

Evil Bird

By Caitlin Kirihara kirihara@wisc.edu

Ludicrous Linguistics

By Celia Donnelly donnelly.celia@gmail.com

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

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

The Graph Giraffe Classic

By Yosef Lerner comics@dailycardinal.com

Today’s Crossword Puzzle

Crustaches

Charlie and Boomer

By Patrick Remington premington@wisc.edu

By Natasha Soglin soglin@wisc.edu

Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com FROM WHERE?

1 5 9 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 23 24 25 28 30 33 35 36 37 41 42 43 44 45 48

ACROSS Parts of shirts or sofas Farmer’s pride Whopped, biblically Pool table boundary Snake dance people More than sprinkles The facts, for short Pronto, in a memo What the sun does Good Time Charlie Plaintiff Runner’s assignment Taro-derived dish Kind of paper Crib sheet user Joined a poker pot List beginning, often Potato salad or cole slaw Top dog, so to speak Tummy problem Bucket conveyor’s load Paintbrush material Space writer Willy A Windward Island Running has three

49 50 52 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 21 22

Olympic slider Add some color Exemplary one ___ Joe’s Belligerent Greek god Normal start? Liquid for pickles Ancient character Appliance with a cord on a board Two-legged support Fast breaker On SS, perhaps DOWN Nutmeg covering Indian queen Offend slightly Blackthorn fruits Variety of beetle Forum platforms Aquarium ﬁsh Alaskan engineering triumph Jumped Fabric with a wavy pattern Vote out Two topper Shape of some hooks Go one better than Word with “instrument” or “control”

25 Vatican-related 26 Chilling 27 Suffering from poison ivy 29 William of the Clinton Cabinet 30 Book cover information 31 “___ a Grecian Urn” 32 Fork-tailed shore birds 34 Get with great effort (with “out”) 36 Pig’s place 38 Do without 39 Nursery supplier 40 Seriously silly 45 Destroyed on the inside, as by a ﬁre 46 Wise goddess 47 Gas station choice 49 Treeless plain 51 Swinelike animal 52 Garment on the Ganges 53 “Take ___ from me” (“Here’s my advice”) 54 False alternative 55 Steak order 56 Horse gait 57 Five-digit extension 58 Companion of ﬂow

Washington and the Bear

By Derek Sandberg kalarooka@gmail.com

opinion Texts and tweets unlikely to be our demise dailycardinal.com/opinion

KATHY DITTRICH opinion columnist

espite claims that texting and twittering are making us dumber, recent studies have shown that the opposite is actually true. A study partially funded by the British Academy concluded that, contrary to popular belief and media claims, text messaging is actually helping to make young people more literate. The theory is that texting, and more specifically its use of abbreviations, requires what researchers call phonological awareness, “the ability to detect, isolate and manipulate patterns of sound in speech.” Phonological awareness is critical for literacy, making it a core aspect of learning. In contrast to hysterical concerns that the use of “r,” “u” and “L8r” will infiltrate and destroy academic writing and English as we know it, research suggests texting is helping younger generations develop crucial reading and

Editorial Cartoon

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

writing skills to change the way we think about literacy. In the 21st century, reading and writing will no longer be confined to classroom settings or print newspapers and the explosion of texting, e-mailing, blogging and online interaction will (and probably already has) resulted in the most literate generation to ever grace planet Earth. Young people today are writing and reading every single hour of every single day. Conservative estimates claim that the average American highschooler sends 50 to 100 text messages a day. While it’s true that verbal communication has decreased, texting has not rendered today’s youth illiterate.

One hundred and forty character Tweets do not necessarily make us dumber.

Young people are constantly checking e-mail, sending and receiving messages, following

friends and celebrities on Twitter and checking baseball statistics, all of which require reading and writing (not to mention information processing). This daily interaction with and dependence on reading and writing skills has increased the importance of reading both socially and economically in American society. As Timothy Shanahan of the International Reading Association explains, “A generation ago, a teen who couldn’t read well could still participate pretty fully in the social conversation among peers. But with so much written chatter, being able to read and write have become definite social advantages... when it comes to conversation, shopping or work.” While the type of reading and writing required to text or Google search is different than that of academia, panic and paranoia, that @ symbols and LOLs will infiltrate academic writing are unfounded. As research and experience has demonstrated, young people are capable of switching between text lingo and academic writing easily. This ability to identify audience and intent has to be recognized as a strength

By John Liesveld opinion@dailycardinal.com

unique to this new generation of writers. Knowing for whom one is writing, and for what purpose, is an important skill as a writer. Twenty-ﬁrst century technology and the Internet have allowed writing to enter our daily lives in ways it never did for our parents. While writing used to be focused around and limited to academic assignments and thank-you cards, our generation incorporates writing into our daily routine. For many college students, the ﬁrst thing they do in the morning is check their e-mail or send a text message.

While it’s true that verbal communication has decreased, texting has not yet rendered today’s youth illiterate.

It is important that the positive effects of and possibilities created by texting or Twitter be recognized in addition to the challenges they pose to the English language. Literacy in this country is undergoing a massive transfor-

mation, a transformation that we are not just witnesses to but participants in. Our generation has the opportunity to define what role reading and writing will play in our daily lives and in American culture, and while the literacy of the 21st century may not look like that of the 19th or 20th, it is no less important or serious. One hundred and forty character tweets do not necessarily make us dumber. Rather they require that we be more resourceful and creative. Phonetic abbreviations challenge our brains to think critically and analyze meaning in a different way. These changes and challenges in reading can be for the better. Writing and reading have changed drastically in the last 100 years and the next century is sure to witness just as much, if not more, change. However, this doesn’t mean that we are losing the ability to read and write. In fact, just the opposite is true, as reading and writing become integral and crucial parts of daily life. Kathy Dittrich is a senior majoring in English and French. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

sports 8

dailycardinal.com/sports

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Given previous success, Badgers are villains against RIT in Frozen Four

Softball

NICO SAVIDGE savidge nation

LORENZO ZEMELLA/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO

Letty Olivarez has carried most of the pitching load for Wisconsin so far this season. The Badgers will host South Dakota State Wednesday.

Offensive issues lead to sluggish start for UW By Jessica Bell THE DAILY CARDINAL

For a season beginning play in the sunny states of Arizona, Florida and California, the Wisconsin softball team started with a dreary 8-20 record overall, earning them 10th place in the Big Ten conference. The team has suffered four inconference losses so far, dropping their series against No. 22 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan, the latter by a combined score of 23-0. The Badgers played the Buckeyes March 27, losing the first game 6-4 and the second 12-4. Although an unfortunate outcome for the team, junior outfielder Jennifer Krueger became UW’s all-time stolen base leader with 42 career stolen bases in the series. Wisconsin continued to fall on April 3 as they were shut out in both games of a doubleheader against Michigan. While errors in the field were minimal for the Badgers, the problems lay in their offense. In the majority of the games, the bats were connecting but too many players were left on base for the Badgers. Wisconsin has only managed 117 runs this season despite boasting 177 hits. The number of runs by the team’s opponents, 170, nearly surpasses the Badgers’ total hits. Strikeouts were also a common occurrence for the team; 26 strikeouts took place in the four conference games alone. Although the team has been able to hold a lead when it gets off to a good start, the Badgers generally struggled to come back after trailing early. Wisconsin began their season in February with six loss-

es, including two shutouts, in Arizona State’s Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. The losing streak continued until the second game of the Blue & Gold Felsberg Memorial in Miami. The 5-4 victory against Florida Gulf Coast stretched out into eight innings, but Wisconsin stayed in it to claim the victory. That win was the ﬁrst of a three-game winning streak for the Badgers, who ended with wins over Bethune-Cookman and Florida International in Miami. In Santa Barbara, Calif., the Badgers began the Gaucho Classic with two back-to-back losses, while rain prevented the team from playing their final three games in Santa Barbara. Later in California, Wisconsin lost two of the three games they played in the San Diego Classic. They did, however, slaughter San Diego 12-1 in five innings. The Badgers came out of the Mizuno Classic in Stillwater, Okla., with a winning record of 3-2, overtaking Rutgers University and beating Prairie View A&M in a pair of impressive games. After the Mizuno Classic, Wisconsin slid into a five-game losing streak until they finally won their second game against UWGreen Bay on April 3. Following a 12-11 loss against the Phoenix, the Badgers had an exciting sixth inning and rallied in 10 runs to win the game 13-4. The potential is there for Wisconsin, and the upcoming 12 home games will hopefully begin another winning streak for the team, as the Badgers play their first home games Wednesday against South Dakota State at 4 and 6 p.m.

t’s the perfect Cinderella story: the small hockey program comes to the NCAA hockey tournament as an unheralded underdog from a weak conference, playing in a bracket that features the powerhouse many experts picked to win the national title. Despite those doubters and long odds, however, the team rallies to not only defeat that heavilyfavored squad, but earns itself a trip to the Frozen Four. Just like that, the little school that could is two wins away from a national title. That’s the situation the Rochester Institute of Technology finds itself in as the team heads to Detroit for the Frozen Four. The Tigers were a No. 4 seed that knocked off No. 1 seed (and national title favorite) Denver in the East Regional before taking down New Hampshire to win a spot in the NCAA semifinals. Like Bemidji State last year, RIT is the darling of the Frozen Four, the kind of team that wouldn’t surprise you if it had Emilio Estevez behind the bench and Air Bud in its lineup. So as Wisconsin gets ready to face the Tigers in the national semifinals at Ford Field Thursday, they had better throw out all their love for the underdog. Nobody rooted for the MonStars in “Space Jam” or Drago in “Rocky IV,” but that’s the position Badger fans are in now while their team fights for a national title. As sports fans, we’re naturally

drawn to good storylines, and those hardly ever involve the favorites doing just as well as they should. All four No. 1 seeds making it to the Final Four in the NCAA basketball tournament a couple of years ago? The Yankees winning the World Series last fall? Who the hell cares. We want to see little George Mason take down mighty Connecticut, the Cardinals in the Super Bowl and the Devil Rays in the World Series. Denver fans probably wanted to see some small program go to the Frozen Four this year, but they would rather it come at the expense of another No. 1 seed. Sure, a No. 4 in the semiﬁnals would be great—as long as it was Alabama-Huntsville or Vermont, not RIT, who crushed the Pioneers’ title dreams. It would be nice to see the Tigers win a national title: that would be great exposure for college hockey as a sport and it would be a heck of an ending to a season that deserves the Disney treatment. But this year, when Wisconsin has such a great shot at the championship, Badger fans will not be kind to the underdog. Obviously there isn’t going to be a Wisconsin hockey fan out there that puts aside the team they have been cheering for all year to root for RIT, but maybe people will have a soft spot for the program. That’s just the way we’re wired: to cheer for the small team everyone counted out. Badger hockey fans must face facts—Wisconsin has a proliﬁc hockey history dotted with All-Americans, NHL superstars and, yes, six national titles. Right now, they’re the bad guys, and they do not want to end up on

the wrong side of history. One blogger commented that the Badgers will essentially play a road game at neutral Ford Field, since everyone there will want RIT’s run to continue, and they’re right. Miami and Boston College fans will not want Wisconsin to move on, partially because the Badgers winning means playing a (theoretically) better team in the championship game, but more because the Tigers’ great story will have ended and the historically great programs will be back on top again. Maybe if the Badgers played the RedHawks or Eagles for a national title that would be a better hockey game, but would it be a better story? Surely RIT being 60 minutes away from the championship would make it higher up on SportsCenter than two legendary programs facing off. Unless it’s your team, cheering for the favorite is counterintuitive. It’s like rooting for someone in Stanford’s Band to tackle Cal’s Kevin Moen in “The Play,” for Dennis Eckersley to strike out Kirk Gibson instead of his walk-off home run in the 1988 World Series or for Northern Iowa’s Ali Farokhmanesh to miss the three that doomed Kansas just a couple of weeks ago. This weekend, however, Wisconsin fans must be ready to embrace the villain’s role: crushing RIT’s hopes and moving one step closer to a seventh title. Put simply, they will have to hope Mike Eaves, Blake Geoffrion and Brendan Smith were the kind of guys who cheered for the Yankees—not the Bad News Bears. Nico has no fear of the underdog, is that why he will not survive? E-mail him at savidgewilki@wisc.edu.