Tuesday, April 16, 2013 - The Daily Cardinal

Avoiding classic scheduling crises

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University of Wisconsin-Madison

Nathan Latona of Tera Melos talks about the band’s new album, X’ed Out

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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Explosions interrupt Boston Marathon UW students in Boston race confirmed safe

By Meghan Chua the daily cardinal

University of WisconsinMadison students who were at the Boston Marathon Monday are confirmed safe after two powerful explosions near the finish line left over 100 injured and three people dead, according to local authorities.

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said in video footage of a press conference Monday the explosions occurred at 2:50 p.m. EST between 50 and 100 yards apart.

Twenty minutes before the explosions, UW-Madison junior Abby Studinger finished running her first Boston Marathon in around 3 hours 50 minutes.

“I’m thankful that I finished,” Studinger said. “But it’s really hard to think about all the people that were coming in behind me.”

At a Monday evening press

grey satterfield/the daily cardinal

Students react to news of explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday, which left three dead and over 100 injured. The FBI, state and local authorities are continuing to investigate. conference, Davis said there is no suspect in the investigation, but “there are people that we are talking to.”

Special Agent in Charge Rick DesLauriers said at the press conference the FBI will collaborate with local and state officials to investigate.

DesLauriers called the case “a

potential terrorist investigation.”

“We will work diligently to … gather all the facts and bring those who are responsible for this crime to justice as swiftly as possible,” DesLauriers said.

Davis also said a third explosion, which occurred at the John F. Kennedy library in Boston, is likely unrelated to

the explosions at the marathon.

The incident may have been related to a fire.

At least 11 individuals associated with UW-Madison were registered to run in the marathon, including at least two faculty and two students, based on a cross-reference of the race registration list and

Students explore campus sexuality climate

By Tamar Myers the daily cardinal

As the Associated Students of Madison kicked off Diversity Week Monday with a day devoted to sexuality, students discussed ways to improve cultural awareness of sexual identity issues on the University of WisconsinMadison campus.

Mikaela Walin, a member of the sex education organiza-

tion Sex Out Loud, said she believes society as a whole is often uncomfortable with sexualities that differ from traditional gender roles.

“Unfortunately we still live in a culture where there is a lot of silence around identities that might not meet that socially constructed norm,” Walin said. “People still aren’t able to be completely open about their identity in all fac-

ets of life.”

However, Walin said the UW-Madison campus has made positive strides toward acceptance of different sexualities through student organizations that promote conversations about sexuality.

Roxanne Meyer, co-president of the Ten Percent Society, a social organization for students of diverse sexual orientations, said the univer-

sity has also done well in its inclusion of sexual orientation in nondiscrimination policies.

Both Walin and Meyer said they believe prejudices surrounding sexuality can be counteracted through raising awareness.

“I think the more people know, the less likely they are to … discriminate,” Walin said.

Walin said she would like

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ASM sexuality awareness events see low attendance Approximately 10 students attended events Monday to discuss sexuality awareness on the first night of the Associated Students of Madison Diversity Week.

ASM Diversity Committee Chair Mia Akers said although the event did not receive the turnout she had hoped, she remains optimistic for the week’s other events.

The LGBT Campus Center and Sex Out Loud provided workshops discussing sexual awareness while the Ten Percent Society, another LGBT student organization, provided a screening of “Saving Face,” a film explor-

ing reluctance to go public with issues of sexuality.

“I thought [the movie] touched on a lot of intersectionality, from sexual orientation to culture to race and ethnicity, which sometimes aren’t captured by mainstream media,” Akers said.

Student organizations, including Badgers from the Heart, Gluten Free Badgers and Badgers for Developmental Disability, will host events exploring disability awareness Tuesday. Disability Day will conclude with a panel of speakers from the McBurney Center. All events will be held in the Humanities Building.

savannah stauss/the daily cardinal

Student representatives from Sex Out Loud lead a Pleasure Workshop during Monday’s ASM Sexuality Day.

UW-Madison directory.

Finishing times for the marathon were listed for Madison registrants affiliated with the university.

Additionally, Wisconsin Track Club President Matt Mixdorf said none of the club’s current members ran in the marathon, and alumni of the club who ran were safe from the explosions.

UW-Madison senior Lauren Ayala, who also finished her first Boston Marathon this year before the explosions, said she had a great race.

“There’s [an] incredible feeling that you have, and I feel like I can’t even really celebrate it,” Ayala said. “It’s just such a tragic day.”

Studinger said learning about the explosions from people at the train stations, where transportation had been shut down, was a “surreal” experience.

“I know personally that I’ve been looking forward to this day for a really long time— years—and how hard people worked to get here,” she said.

“It’s really, really unfortunate that someone could take it away like that.”

UW officials will consider posthumous degree for deceased student University of WisconsinMadison senior Henry Mackaman may receive a posthumous degree from the university after dying from bacterial meningitis last week, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

Mackaman had taken enough credits at the university to graduate with an economics major in the spring but was planning to stay for a fifth year to complete an English double major, according to the State Journal.

A student must be a senior in his or her final semester of course work or have earned at least 90 credits to be considered for a posthumous degree, according to the office of the Secretary of the Faculty’s website, as well as be enrolled in a degree program and in good academic standing.

The university recommended Mackaman’s posthumous degree, but it must be approved by the registrar and the chancellor before being awarded to Mackaman’s family, according to the State Journal.

“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”

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hi 56º / lo 37º

wednesday: chance of rain hi 44º / lo 43º

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

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Dreamin’ big for summer 2013 jacklin bolduan a bold move

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ell ya’ll, it looks like it’s happening. School is almost out, and once again, most of us are all but moving into the campus libraries to bang our heads against our laptops—or whatever it is we do there. As the deadlines come rolling in, some of us will graduate, while some are relieved to have made it through freshman year and some are just excited to have more free time to drink beer. As I look to my summer plans and try, as I do every year, to make this the best summer of my life, I once again find myself making plans I probably won’t keep.

Every year, I’m like, “Oh yes, I’ll have time to read my favorite professor’s dissertation. Then cry.”

Or, “Gosh, I just cannot wait to finally try all of those refreshing, quinoa-filled, berry-infused sum-

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mertime antioxidant recipes. What a healthy cook I will become.” Or my favorite, “I will finally become the runner society is pressuring me to be. I will buy more stretchy clothes in bright colors, which will look amazing against my beautifully even summer tan. I will glide like a frickin’ gazelle as I effortlessly propel myself around the shores of Lake Mendota each new summer morning.” And there’s always this: “I will have a 30-hour a week job, where my coworkers are funny, but not racist or homophobic. I will never work weekends, and I’ll have so much money I will just start paying off my student loans.

You know what, my friends’ loans too. I will have so much money and time to buy pitchers of the finest summer beer for all of my friends on the Terrace. Like four times a week. I will endlessly pat myself on the back.”

Of course, as I write this, I still believe I’ll do these things. Why? Because I have, like, goals and stuff. And these are things adults do, which I have to start practic-

ing if I’m going to be any good at adultness. Of course, there are like 10 days out of the whole summer when I actually do these things. When it happens, I’ll feel so accomplished and sleep like a tired puppy lulled me to sleep by the summer breeze. But, if you’re anything like me, when I wake up with nothing to do on a 98-degree day in a house with no air conditioning, these things become a challenge.

These are moderate goals, but hey, it’s summer. Do I really need goals?

When it’s so hot outside you can’t imagine what you might do when you get out there but die immediately, there are a lot of incentives to stay inside. I mean there’s probably

cereal, which you can easily eat for every meal, Netflix and ice. Oh, also a bed. Plus you’re already lethargic, even though you’ve just gotten a full night’s sleep because the heat is weighing you down and you feel like a whiny toddler who doesn’t know what they want. After a season or two of “Mad Men” (which you don’t think is as good as everyone thinks, but you’re watching the whole series on Netflix because why not), you start to feel guilty about not being outside. It’s like, summer and stuff, you should be eating Summer Shandy-soaked quinoa as you run 15 miles around the lake, which you forgot you can’t swim in because the blue green algae will infect your lungs and you’ll die.

So, this summer I’m hoping not to watch another season of a crappy TV show and to eat less cereal and buy a sports bra. These are moderate goals, but hey, it’s summer. Do I really need goals?

How much cereal will you eat this summer? Tell Jacklin at jacklin.bolduan@gmail.com.

Failing to craft the perfect course schedule

Business and Advertising business@dailycardinal.com Business Manager Jacob Sattler Office Manager Emily Rosenbaum Advertising Managers Erin Aubrey • Dan Shanahan Account Executives Lyndsay Bloomfield • Alyssa Boczkicwicz Tessa Coan • Madi Fair Zachary Hanlon • Elissa Hersh Will Huberty • Jordan Laeyendecker Hannah Klein • Paulina Kovalo Danny Mahlum • Eric O’Neil Catherine Rashid • Ali Syverson Marketing Manager Caitlin Furin Copywriters Dustin Bui • Bob Sixsmith

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rachel schulze rache jam

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ome say creating the perfect schedule is an art. Erm, I wouldn’t call it an art as much I’d call it an ordeal. You start off thinking you can craft a masterpiece, but just when you’re about done, something doesn’t fit right, and instead of a masterpiece, you end up with a mandatory Friday power lecture in Ag Hall.

The process begins with a look at the DARS report, which happens to be written in hieroglyphics. But fortunately, the ol’ DARS is available in two decodable formats: old-school cryptic and user-friendly 10-page list.

After a close and careful reading of what all I need to take, it’s time to go shopping. Item one on the agenda: courses I need to take to complete my major. Next fall, the discussion for one of my core requirements will meet at—I kid you not; I have a screenshot to back me up—4 a.m.. I sincerely hope Student Center is just being its janky self and that this is a mistake. Otherwise, let’s hope the TA is a morning person?

Once the major requirements are down, it’s time to fill in the holes. And here’s where I, without fail, walk right into the classic schedule trap: the allure of a course offered at the perfect time. It’s held in the early afternoon Tuesday and Thursday. The professor teaching the class is both renowned and beloved, like a really cool grandpa.

But for some reason, there’s a ton of open seats. Why? Its location.

Term after term, I have made this schedule blunder, finding myself sprinting down University, leaving a mess of angry bicyclists and (extra) cranky bus drivers in my wake.

One semester, I briefly considered taking a political science course held at the Natatorium.

The Nat is not only the last hitch-

ing post on campus before a bunch of cow fields, but it’s also an athletic facility, so I couldn’t wrap my head around how a poli sci class had been scheduled in there. Was there not some dingy basement in Humanities open at this time? What about that horrible lecture hall in the chem building where you risk life and limb scaling up to your seat? Would swimming be incorporated into the curriculum?

After enrolling, unenrolling and re-enrolling in said poli sci course, it’s time to shop for some final gen eds. For me, this means science for non-science majors.

Option one: a class where you pet baby farm animals. Possible risk? The class could meet in an unheated barn.

Option two: a course that requires you to spend the semester raising a pet rock. Classes like this aren’t for me. While I would

totally get a kick out of raising a rock named Mildred, classes like this pick up halfway through the semester, and my poor performance proves I am, in fact, dumber than a rock.

I guess that leaves the Friday power lecture in Ag Hall….

Do you have a pet rock named Mildred? Maybe she can offer Rachel some schedule advice. Email Rachel about it at rmschulze@dailycardinal.com.

news

Tuesday, April 16, 2013 3

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Jane Goodall visits Madison, shares activist experiences

By Rachel Wanat the daily cardinal

Since 1986, when she assumed an activist role, renowned British primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall has not remained in the same location for more than two or three weeks.

Making a stop in Madison Monday, Goodall offered her experiences as a scientist and researcher at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center as part of the 7th annual Nelson Institute Earth Day Conference.

Goodall cited the reading of a second-hand copy of “Tarzan of the Apes” during her childhood as the moment her dream to go to Africa and live in the jungle began, which was made possible by her mother, whom Goodall credits with fostering her scientific curiosity.

This scientific curios-

ity is something Goodall has worked to instill in young people through The Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots program, which she created in 1991 as part of an effort to empower 12 young students who saw problems in their society and wanted to improve them.

Students’ projects must aim to improve the environment, animals or people.

Today, Roots & Shoots has a presence in over 130 countries and works to bridge the disconnect Goodall said exists between human intellect and compassion.

“How could we, with this intellect, be destroying our only home … we only have this one, precious planet,” Goodall said.

Goodall also said getting involved with Roots & Shoots is the best thing a college student can do at a big university to contribute to environmen-

tal sustainability.

“It’s my greatest reason for hope,” Goodall said. “[The youth] choose projects they’re really passionate about, and that is why it’s working.”

University of WisconsinMadison sophomore Molly Minster said although Goodall highlighted serious challenges facing the environment, “there was still this inspiring message on how we can make a difference on our Earth and preserve it for future generations.”

Paul Robbins, director of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, noted the audience of approximately 2,000 people was mostly students, which he said contributed to the event’s success.

“If hope is about young people and the hall was filled with young people, then the day went well,” Robbins said.

jane thompson/the daily cardinal

Renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall speaks with students and community members about her foundation.

State, student leaders review legislative agenda Two Wisconsin state legislators visited with the Associated Students of Madison Legislative Affairs Committee Monday to discuss ongoing collaboration between student and state government leaders.

State Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, and state Rep. Melissa Sargent, D-Madison, spoke with committee members about Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal, focusing on recent Joint Committee on Finance hearings where students lobbied to place a tuition cap back into the state budget.

However, Risser said he is “not too confident” the hearings mean much, adding he is disappointed the JFC chairman has not permitted committee members to ask questions during hearings and limited speaking time.

Risser said he believes the legislature may leave a decision on the issue of a tuition cap to the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents and encouraged students

to shift their focus to the board if that is the case.

According to Risser, the current goal should be to give anyone the opportunity to afford a college education.

The legislators also spoke about the Responsible Action and Student Regent campaigns that have been drafted into bills and are beginning to circulate for co-sponsorship. Both campaigns were spearheaded by members of the Legislative Affairs Committee this semester.

Risser said he has “great hopes” for both, especially the Responsible Action bill, which has gained bipartisan support from state Rep. Joan Ballweg, R-Markesan, as well as the endorsement of the Tavern League of Wisconsin.

Sargent agreed, saying it is “exciting” to see agreement in the legislature on these issues.

She also stressed the continued importance of the “youth voice” in the state.

—Cheyenne Langkamp

courtney kessler/the daily cardinal

State Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, and state Rep. Melissa Sargent, D-Madison, discuss state legislation with students.

Monona Terrace representatives express need for hotel expansion

taylor galaszewski/the daily cardinal

Medics loaded a man into an ambulance after he crashed his moped into a pickup truck on University Avenue Monday.

Moped driver crashes into truck at University Avenue and Park Street A moped driver who crashed into the rear of a pickup truck on University Avenue in front of Grainger Hall Monday did not sustain life-threatening injuries, according to a Madison Police Department officer.

Police responded to the traffic accident at approximately 4:30 p.m., and an officer at the scene said the injured moped rider may have suffered a broken leg but was conscious and talking when medics loaded him into an ambulance.

The pickup truck driver said the moped rider crashed into his rear bumper while traffic was slowing down to stop at the North Brooks Street intersection light. One witness said it appeared the moped rider was trying to brake, but he did not have sufficient space to slow down enough to avoid a collision.

Police were unable to identify at the time whether or not the moped rider is a University of WisconsinMadison student.

sexuality from page 1

Meyer said. ASM Diversity Chair Mia Akers said the committee heard similar desires from students in a February roundtable event about ethnic studies.

Meyer said she would also like to see UW-Madison pay greater attention to the needs of members of the trans* community, which includes anyone who identifies with a gender different from the one they were born with, by requiring gender-neutral bathrooms in new buildings.

to see incoming freshmen taught about sexuality at Student Orientation, Advising and Registration sessions “to express this idea of sex positivity … that we are a campus of over 40,000 individuals, so there are over 40,000 sexualities and sexual orientations.”

Students could also be exposed to sexuality topics by revamping the mandatory ethnic studies requirement to include sexuality topics,

Representatives from the Monona Terrace and the Judge Doyle Square development project presented at a city meeting Monday the revenue generating opportunities a proposed downtown hotel could bring to Madison by drawing new clients to host conventions at the Terrace.

Judge Doyle Square encompasses two downtown blocks between Capitol Square and Lake Monona.

According to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, a new hotel is the only stipulation in the Judge Doyle request for proposals that developers must include in the designs they submit, due April 30. The committee will then begin the interview process and select one design to recommend to Common Council for approval in either July or August.

According to a report prepared

by Madison accounting firm BakerTilly, the total number of conventions and conferences booked at Monona Terrace increased by approximately 115 percent from 2000 to 2002.

Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center Executive Director Gregg McManners attributed the booking and subsequent revenue increase to the Hilton Madison Monona Terrace hotel opening at 9 E. Wilson Street in 2002.

McManners said a new hotel on Judge Doyle Square would combat the current problem of limited hotel space to accommodate customers who are inquiring to book conventions and conferences at the Terrace. He added conventions and conferences make up 10 percent of the Terrace’s annual event booking and 50 percent of its yearly revenue.

“The fact of the matter is we’re underserved by our current hotel as it presently stands,” McManners said. “It gives us no room for growth, and in fact, it leaves a lot of attendees trying to find a place of the quality and quantity that the Hilton can provide.”

—Melissa Howison

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Tera Melos reinvented with ‘X’ed Out’ ourselves as a new band with [Patagonian Rats].”

And it’s hard not to agree with Latona on this front, as X’ed Out not only sounds completely different than Tera Melos’ other albums, the band has made significant personnel changes that have greatly affected them stylistically.

One thing I had to ask Latona about was why the band decided to name all of the songs on their

photo courtesy of Tera Melos

Tera Melos’ newest release, X’ed Out, which doesn’t feature the crazy riffing of past records, once again shatters expectations.

By Andy Holsteen The Daily Cardinal

Recently, The Daily Cardinal spoke with Nathan Latona of the pioneering math-rock and experimental band Tera Melos about their upcoming album X’ed Out, which is set to release April 16.

“We don’t want to make any record twice, that’s just not fun.”

Nathan Latona bass guitarist Tera Melos

When listening to X’ed out, it quickly becomes obvious it is not in the same vein as past Tera Melos records; the absurd riffing and incalculable time signatures of past releases are certainly not the center of attention. More so, there is a nuanced feel to their new record.

“This seemed like some territory that we hadn’t covered yet that we [felt] like we could cover well,” Latona said. “It was kind of exciting to do that.

We don’t want to make any record twice, that’s just not fun.

We went into this with kind of a different thought process like ‘Let’s not over-think a lot of these parts.’”

Maybe the most notable song on Tera Melos’ new album is the final track “X’ed Out and Tired,” which is mostly acoustic guitar and features no drums or bass guitar. Latona expressed he is particularly enthusiastic about this song.

“As far as [the] song that I’m excited for people to hear, I’m going to go with the last song on the record, it’s called ‘X’ed Out and Tired,’ because that is even more so definitely something that we have never done before,” Latona said. “It’s an acoustic song. I think it’s our take on an acoustic song. I don’t think it’s going to be too shocking to anybody, but I’m really curious to hear what people think because at one point I

think we tweeted ‘Oh there’s an acoustic song on the new record,’ and it got met with like a really confused response.”

Since there is a stark difference between the songwriting on X’ed Out and past Tera Melos releases, it seemed appropriate to ask Latona if the band was planning to play older material on their upcoming tour. Latona said they were currently trying to figure out exactly what songs to prep for their tour with TTNG. “I myself am really excited to play new stuff,” Latona said. “It’s going to happen to every band from here to the end of time: people are going to want them to play their old stuff, right? You know at this point, I’m not even sure what people mean when they say ‘old stuff,’ because we’ve had so many different, short little eras of the band that if somebody says ‘old stuff,’ they could just mean our last record, not even anything off our first record because we kind of established

self-titled album “Melody” 1-8, respectively, especially since one of the songs on X’ed Out is titled “Melody Nine.”

“When we wrote and were recording to put out our first record it was at a time when the trend for a lot of bands, and it seems like it still is even, it was long, funny song titles that have nothing to do with the song,” Latona said. “And that was our reaction to it, ‘Okay,

we’re going to do the total opposite of this and make this like the most generic sounding song [titles] ever—Melodies 1-8.’ And we just thought it would be funny to continue with ‘Melody Nine.’”

Although X’ed Out is not necessarily the same as past Tera Melos albums, it offers songs with lots of potential for “replayability,” even for those who aren’t hardcore math-rock fans.

opinion Doubting America’s economic downers 6

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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Mike Brost opinion columnist

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recent Gallup poll found 53 percent of Americans think China has the world’s No. 1 economy; less than a third think America has the leading economy. In 2000, just 10 percent of Americans misidentified China as the world’s leading economic power.

A January poll conducted by the Democratic-leaning firm Public Policy Polling found Americans hold colonoscopies, used car salesmen and even cockroaches in higher esteem than Congress.

The perception of American economic preeminence has fallen internationally, too. In reality, though, America maintains an economy more than twice the size of China’s while it has a

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population less than one-quarter the size of China’s. Perhaps more telling than Americans’ belief that their economy is second to China’s is the fact that most Americans view Chinese economic gains as zero-sum— that is, at America’s peril. “[America’s] debt is rising, its population is aging in a budgetthreatening way, its schools are mediocre by international standards, its infrastructure rickety, its regulations dense, its tax code byzantine, its immigration system hare-brained—and it has fallen from first position in the World Economic Forum’s competitiveness rankings to seventh in just four years,” read the cover story in an issue of The Economist magazine last month.

American pessimism, to be sure, is largely the result of a decade of economic stagnation and political malaise. The recovery from the Great Recession, after all, has been mostly jobless. In the face of dire economic straits, Washington has responded with partisanship and paralysis. For the last century and a half, the governing system the founding fathers envisioned—a

type of government deliberately designed to frustrate legislative progress—enabled broadly shared economic growth. In the past decade that system has stymied and stratified growth.

The American Society of Civil Engineers grades America’s infrastructure as D-plus work.

Coincidentally, that’s the same grade Americans give Congress. OK—I made that up.

Actually, Congress would kill for marks that high. Gallup puts Americans’ approval of the job Congress is doing at a paltry 13 percent. And a January poll conducted by the Democratic-leaning firm Public Policy Polling found that Americans hold colonoscopies, used car salesmen and even cockroaches in higher esteem than Congress. Amazingly, the electorate voted to maintain essentially the same balance of power in 2012.

Fareed Zakaria, a political scientist, columnist and author, has rightly noted the rapidly changing global balance of economic power is not the result of American decline, but rather the “rise of the rest”—countries

like Brazil, India, China and economic preeminence in the South Africa transforming from tech-fueled economic boom of impoverished to middle income the 1990s. Now many of the colnations. America has maintained lege-aged are sure that they will the world’s dominant economy see America reach its economic since 1871, but the stage is set low point in their lifetime. for America to lose Despite widespread that designation—and pessimism there are soon. When adjusted bright spots: America’s for price differences higher education is secbetween countries, America’s new ond to none; its immiChina is projected to competetivegration system, once eclipse America as the ness ranking, reformed, will once again world’s No. 1 economy down from foster broad-based ecoin 2016, according to one only four nomic growth; it remains years ago the Organization for the most innovative Economic Cooperation country in the world and and Development. its population is aging The amount of When you ask col- times larger at a rate far slower than lege-aged students the Chinese most developed countries what they think the population is and China. future is for China and than America has reached America, many offer America’s a critical juncture, and a bleak prognosis: how it responds to the America is on the road rapidly shifting global to economic decline, The amount of balance of economic times larger while China is set on a the American power will determine path toward seemingly GDP is than its role in the 21st cenever-increasing pros- China’s. tury economy. But the perity. Of course, they notion America is on can be forgiven for the road to irrelevance making such bleak predictions. is, quite simply, a myth.

Our generation has witnessed Please send all feedback to opinAmerica reach a high point of ion@dailycardinal.com.

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Seeking a middle ground in the affirmative action debate Zac pestine opinion columnist

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ithin the spectrum of most social issues, I fall into the moderate-left or the firmleft camps. But there is one very salient issue of our time to which I often waver: affirmative action.

In principle, I wholeheartedly agree with the concept of affirmative action. There are certain minority groups the American social and legal constructs are inherently prejudiced against. It is only fair that those students who are just as hardworking as anyone else, but who have not received the same advantages growing up as their more privileged counterparts, are given every opportunity to succeed in this country. The question that arises from the affirmative action debate is to what extent it should be taken.

As an aspiring law student, I frequent the website

Lawschoolnumbers.com to see what schools people with similar scores to mine have been offered admission.

When people create their profiles for this site, they are able to identify themselves as URM, or underrepresented minority (which generally refers to Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans). I have fastidiously studied the scores on this site for a number of years now, and have taken note of the fact that admission to law schools is astonishingly easier if you are a URM.

Like everything else in life, college and graduate school admission should be a meticulous case-bycase process.

For instance, as a Caucasian Jew from the suburbs, with my GPA, I would need at least 5-6 points higher on the LSAT to even be waitlisted at Harvard Law. For those unfamiliar with law school parlance,

every point makes a big difference, and those 5-6 points are an exorbitant amount.

Simultaneously, there are a plethora of URM students who have scored 3 points lower on the LSAT than me, and have lower GPAs than my own, who have been accepted to Harvard Law, most likely with some sort of scholarship offer.

Now, affirmative action really is a beautiful program for a cornucopia of reasons. First, it gives those slighted by extant racism in our country access to some of the most prestigious institutions available. It is not the case that some races are inherently smarter than others.

We are all human beings. But some races and ethnicities are most often born into environments that offer significantly better education than others, and no one should be faulted for being dealt a 2/7 offsuit.

Shifting the balance of power and allowing for equal opportunity is a fundamental tenet of American democracy, and affirmative action embodies those ideas.

Furthermore, affirmative action not only benefits under-

represented minorities, but it allows students from mostly homogenous backgrounds to meet and make friends with those who don’t look like them, effectively breaking down stereotypes and allowing for growth as a person. Interacting with those belonging to a different race, ethnicity or religion provides an experience you will never be able to obtain by taking an ethnic studies course. Whatever your thoughts may be on the recent Brad Paisley/LL Cool J collab “Accidental Racist,” their dialogue in the song is made possible in universities throughout the country because of affirmative action.

With that said, many schools have quotas for underrepresented minorities and give them three legs up in the application process. This in itself can be an extremely detrimental form of accidental racism. The person with a 173 on the LSAT is most likely significantly more qualified for Harvard Law than is the person with a 160, and by putting them alongside each other in class, the people more qualified to be there may associate the underrepresent-

ed minority with not being as qualified or as intelligent as the majority of white folks.

Second, the term “URM” in itself is stigmatizing and somewhat dehumanizing. We are all people, and while our backgrounds must surely be taken into account in assessing qualifications and the overall landscape of the student body, these measures should not be so draconian as to potentially create two different classes of students at the same institution, with classes largely dependent on race.

So I think what I waver on is not the concept of affirmative action, for this institution should be unquestioned. But the extent to which it is administered is sometimes taken to the extreme. Like everything else in life, college and graduate school admission should be a meticulous case-by-case process. While one’s background should play a large factor in admissions decisions, it shouldn’t be large enough as to where it could be detrimental to that individual.

Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

Letter: Victim blaming undermines ‘From victim to advocate’ article Campus Women’s Center Letter to the Editor

On April 4th, the Daily Cardinal ran an article on sexual assault titled “From Victim to Advocate.” The piece addressed the prevalence of sexual assault on campus and the pervasive rapesupportive culture through the personal story of a UW student.

While we, the Campus Women’s Center, commend the Cardinal for running the piece, the article unfortunately became a part of the issue that it was attempting to

confront, that of victim-blaming and slut-shaming. The second sentence in the article states “A member of the crew team and ‘very religious,’ she rarely drank and planned to remain a virgin until she married her then-boyfriend of four years.” While true of this survivor, the framework set up by this sentence suggests to the reader that the survivor was a “good girl” who did not “deserve” what happened to her.

When discussing sexual assault it is extremely important to note

that the victim is never at fault.

Their drinking habits, appearance and religion are irrelevant.

The sentence implies that some victims of sexual assault may be “asking for it” and can be blamed more than others. The opening of the article contradicts the message we believe the Cardinal was attempting to convey: that sexual assault under any circumstances is unacceptable.

We hope The Daily Cardinal continues to address issues like sexual assault on campus in a

thoughtful and responsible manner. That includes accompanying any articles with campus resources such as The Dean of Students Office or the Rape Crisis Center. The Rape Crisis Center has a 24-hour hotline that can be reached at 608-251-7273, additionally they have an office on the 6th floor of the SAC. The Dean of Students provides additional support and services during normal business hours at 608-263-5700.

By continuing to address issues such as sexual assault

in a responsible manner, The Daily Cardinal has the potential to positively impact campus and make it a safer and more welcoming environment for all students. We appreciate your efforts and look forward to continuing a productive conversation about sexual assault on campus in the future.

Get more information about the Campus Women’s Center at campuswomenscenter.com. Please send all feedback to opinion@ dailycardinal.com.

comics

Environmentally sound! “Reverse Graffiti” is cleaning off dirt from certain areas of the wall rather than using spray cans to create their masterpieces.

dailycardinal.com

Today’s Sudoku

Wisconsin cheese on crackers

Tuesday, April 16, 2013 • 7

Eatin’ Cake

Classic

By Dylan Moriarty www.EatinCake.com

© Puzzles by Pappocom

Caved In

By Nick Kryshak nkryshak@wisc.edu

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

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

First In Twenty By Angel Lee alee23@wisc.edu

Today’s Crossword Puzzle

Washington and the Bear Classic

graphics@dailycardinal.com

By Steven Wishau wishau@wisc.edu

Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com THIS LITTLE PIGGY AND A CUPCAKE

ACROSS 1 Carpenter’s supply 6 Eastern housemaid 10 Carrier for needles and pins 14 Out of one’s element 15 Glass rectangle 16 Corporation emblem 17 Unable to speak 19 Dunderhead 20 Science of light and vision 21 Mississippi’s state flower 23 “Bio” or “nano” follower 25 Keister 26 Contraction that gives trouble to many 29 Cross word?

31 Hindu wise guys 35 Copy a kitty 36 Santa’s landing site 38 “A Bell for ___” (Hersey novel) 39 Ancient Greek tragedy 43 Flynn of “Robin Hood” 44 Geometric calculation 45 A day in Spain 46 Oscar-winner Martin 48 Inner city eyesore

50 Ending for “employ” or “honor” 51 Sicilian volcano 53 Attack like a turtle 55 Starbucks order, perhaps 59 Petroleum-packed peninsula 63 Big blowout 64 In a tense state 66 Airborne irritant 67 Run in place 68 “___ la vista” 69 Hebrides island 70 Jury member 71 Fur trader John Jacob DOWN 1 Post-WWII alliance 2 Straddling 3 “It ___ what you think!”

4 Not phony 5 Alien transport, perhaps 6 Unusually intelligent 7 Hobble severely 8 What the sympathizer lends 9 Beats around the bush 10 Legendary goldladen land 11 Word with “kit” or “belt” 12 Type of tangelo 13 Very small amount

1 8 22 24 26 27 28 30 32 3 3 34 37 0 4 41 42 47 49 52 54 5 5 56 57 8 5 60 61 62 65

Do an usher’s work Mogul governor Great ruckus Force forward ___ firma Bound by oath They don’t just sit around Old Bea Arthur TV series Concave belly button Carbonated drinks Gasoline, diesel, ethanol et al.

Middle-of-the-road Bring cheer to Places with hot rocks Take off the steamer Mrs. Washington Parenthetical comment 100 equal a Serbian dinar Bacon go-with Dropped like an anchor Broadway presentation Eye lecherously “Pike’s Peak or ___!” “... and ___ the fire” The first “Mr. Shirley Temple” Yon maiden fair

Evil Bird Classic

By Caitlin Kirihara graphics@dailycardinal.com

Sports

tuesday april 16, 2013 DailyCardinal.com

Softball

Badgers look to bounce back at home against UW-Green Bay Wisconsin makes home debut after last week’s series was rained out

By Blake Duffin The daily cardinal

The Wisconsin softball team (7-5 Big Ten, 29-8 overall) will return home Tuesday afternoon for the first time this season.

The Badgers will battle in-state rival UW Green Bay (9-18 overall) in a double-header beginning at 3 p.m.

Tuesdays games mark the first of a seven game home stand, providing cooperation from the so far inconsistent Wisconsin Spring weather. “It’s great to be home,” head coach Yvette Healy said in Monday’s press conference. “I’m sure the ice fishermen aren’t happy, but the softball team is thrilled to be back in Madison, and we’re excited to get seven in a row [at] home right now. So that’s our focus.”

UW is coming off of back-toback series losses to Minnesota and No. 22 Nebraska after starting the season off hot.

Nonetheless, Healy is optimistic about the team’s performance thus far. “The last two weekends have been tough,” Healy said. “To take one game at each of those on paper doesn’t look great, but we were thrilled to take one from Nebraska.”

Green Bay is not off to the best start, but like Wisconsin, have had some tough non-conference matchups, including a close game against No. 4 Alabama.

UW-GB also played another Big Ten team in Illinois and lost 3-6.

The Badgers swept Illinois in a three game series earlier this year in Champaign.

Offensively, the Phoenix’s top performers are all fresh-

man in Marissa Michalkiewicz, Kelli Hutchinson and Alyssa Johnson. Michalkiewisz, the Appleton, Wis., native is currently batting .375 and is also leading the team with 15 RBIs. Close behind, Hutchinson is batting .303 while Johnson is at .300. Shutting down this young trio of offensive performers will be vital for UW’s success Tuesday afternoon.

As for Green Bay’s pitching, the Badgers will have to be prepared for whatever is to come.

Unlike many teams Wisconsin has faced this year, UW-GB does not have a stand out pitcher.

They have four different pitchers that have all had around the same degree of success. Senior pitcher Allison Goecks leads the Phoenix in outings and has recorded a 4-6 record, while sophomore Lauren Danner leads the team with a 2.30 ERA. Whoever the Badgers see on the mound, they will have to produce runs. In four of Wisconsin’s last six road games, it has been held to two runs and under. UW will look to rekindle the spark behind the plate that they had early on in the season.

According to Healy, hitting has been an important piece to their success so far. “The offense has done a nice job.

We’ve got some lefties in the lineup that are giving us a nice boost, good strategy.”

Wisconsin junior outfielder Mary Massei currently leads the team in hitting with an outstanding .430 batting average and 28 RBIs. The Badgers stellar pitching will continue to play a crucial role in the team’s success in the upcoming home stand.

Green Bay will undoubtedly see action from UW’s top upperclassmen pitchers junior Cassandra Darrah and senior Meghan McIntosh.

Wisconsin currently stands in fifth place in the Big Ten conference as they head into Tuesday’s game.

Badger athletes react to Boston Marathon tragedy In light of the events at the Boston Marathon Monday afternoon, we have compiled tweets from several current and former Badger athletes to get their perspective on the situation. If you have seen any other powerful tweets on the tragedy in Boston, lets us know about them by tweeting at us @cardinal_sports.

To read SPJ award-winning columnist Matt Masterson’s thoughts on the events in Boston go to dailycardinal.com