Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - The Daily Cardinal by The Daily Cardinal

Gone fishin’ for answers

A new perspective on gun control

UW-Madison researchers study paddlefish migration patterns

+OPINION, page 6

+SCIENCE, page 4 University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Freakfest ticket sales higher than last year By Meghan Chua The Daily Cardinal

Frank Productions, the producer of Freakfest, has sold more tickets for admission to downtown Madison’s 2012 Halloween party than it did last year at this time, a company representative said at a press conference Tuesday. With rap star Mac Miller and electronica collective Big Gigantic headlining the main stages at this year’s event,

Charlie Goldstone from Frank Productions said more tickets have been sold before the event than were purchased ahead of time last year. “We’ve gotten a really good response from community on that talent,” Goldstone said. Tickets cost $8 if purchased in advance from businesses on State Street, or $12 if purchased from ticket booths in the area

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City to reroute traffic Saturday The city is implementing alternate traffic routes for postgame travel on Saturday in anticipation of traffic delays that could result from crowds leaving Camp Randall from the 2:30 p.m. Michigan State football game after city officials begin gating off State Street at 5 p.m. to prepare for Freakfest. Traffic on Johnson Street will detour onto Bassett Street to West Washington Avenue and take the outer loop of the Capitol square to avoid the street closure, according to a City of

Madison release. Additionally, vehicles cannot turn left from Regent Street onto North Park Street. Madison Police Department Lt. Dave McCaw said the streets will be very crowded, but encouraged drivers to be patient and plan more time for travelling. “Here, we’re pretty used to driving from A to B without a whole lot of interference,” McCaw said. “On [Saturday] it’ll just be more like a big city.“ Meghan Chua/ The Daily Cardinal

Abigail Waldo/the daily cardinal

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., explains his economic policy positions to students at Union South Tuesday. Following his speech, four student representatives debated economic policy.

Sen. Johnson speaks before student debate By David Jones The Daily Cardinal

Graphic by Dylan Moriarty

Criticism of HR redesign continues at public forum By Cheyenne Langkamp The Daily Cardinal

Around seventy-five campus community members filled the Memorial Union’s Great Hall on Tuesday to discuss issues with proposed changes to the University of Wisconsin-Madison personnel plan. One of the goals outlined in the plan is to improve university employee recruitment, but many attendees said they had concerns about how the plan might end up harming senior UW-Madison employees.

Linda Meinholz, a university accountant for over 18 years, criticized the university for creating “quick wins” for new employees under the new system. According to Meinholz, the possibility of a new employee earning more than her under the new plan feels like “age discrimination in a blanket.” Gary Mitchell, president of a local state employees union and current classified staff member,

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U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., spoke about economic issues and their importance in this year’s election at Union South Tuesday prior to a debate between members of a student panel representing different political opinions. Johnson criticized President Barack Obama’s economic policies, arguing his tax policy and healthcare legislation have limited job growth and added to the national deficit. “Unfortunately for all you young people, for the nation,” Johnson said, “President Obama took the wrong path.” He argued Obama’s plan to raise taxes on wealthier Americans would not raise enough revenue to offset spending deficits. “President Obama has this concept—the American econo-

my’s like a pie—and his solution is let’s divide up that pie,” Johnson said. “The conservative solution is let’s grow the pie—let’s grow the economy, let’s make sure everybody’s piece of that pie is larger.” According to the first-term Senator, “the federal government is so far removed, it is not accountable” to citizens for increasing the deficit so much. Following Johnson’s opening remarks, four students representing four political viewpoints continued the economic conversation, debating some of Johnson’s remarks and general economic policy issues as they relate to students. University of WisconsinMadison College Democrats publicity chair Austin Helmke said the biggest issue for voters this election is “jobs, jobs, jobs” and that Obama’s policies, including the

Affordable Care Act, help struggling families and the economy. “Healthcare costs are out of control,” Helmke said. “You’ll see once we put in place President Obama’s model, we will be able to reduce our costs and that will have a large impact on our longterm debt problems.” But UW-Madison College Republicans public relations director Ryan Hughes disagreed, saying Republican Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan’s budget plan is the best way to address long-term debt problems and provide a stronger way for the economy to grow. “What he’s doing is saving programs that are otherwise going to go bankrupt,” Hughes said. Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA and repre-

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UW students receive 14 Fulbright study abroad grants A group of University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty and students won grants from the 2012-13 Fulbright Scholar Program, an organization that gives grants for study abroad and teaching abroad opportunities. The grants provide recipients with funding for a complete year of study, teaching or research abroad. The program is sponsored by the U.S.

State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, along with contributions from participating countries’ governments. Three graduate students were awarded Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad grants, 14 students received Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants and four faculty members were awarded CIES Fulbright

Scholar Program grants. Since its inception, the Fulbright Program has provided approximately 310,000 students, teachers, artists and scientists opportunities to study, teach and research abroad. UW-Madison is consistently among leading U.S. research institutions that produce Fulbright recipients, according to a statement released by the university.

“…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 73º / lo 61º

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

An independent student newspaper, serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison community since 1892 Volume 122, Issue 39

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Editorial Board Matt Beaty • Riley Beggin • Alex DiTullio Anna Duffin • Nick Fritz • Scott Girard David Ruiz

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Thursday: t-storms hi 72º / lo 34º

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Election 2012: Battle of the sexiest Alex Tucker sex columnist

edit@dailycardinal.com

Today: partly sunny

eing the sex columnist is a hard job. I always have to be on my game. And I mean always. Even during presidential debates. I was answering a particularly smexy article while trying to watch Mitt and Barack going at it and so naturally I thought of, well, the two of them going at it! Classic Alex. As this played out in my mind (you don’t even want to know), the wheels began to turn in full motion. I began to think of which one is the true hottie and I really couldn’t decide! Not objectively, anyway. I began to jot down notes and before I knew it, I had some pretty good material. And oh boy, do I love politics. Although I usually like to stay neutral, I just cannot give up such a saucy challenge. I’ll pledge not to let my principles get in the way of my score if you pledge to respect my point system. Let’s begin. For this article, it is important to utilize a grand scale system, especially if we are to stay completely “independent,” pun intended. My GSS (which is only used on those easily observable and in the media) has 100 possi-

ble points; ten each for voice, hair, skin, eyes, bone structure, body, walk, smile, wife, and BONUS. Now, let’s put these sexual presidential candidates to the test. Voice: both very good. Barack Obama’s slow, methodical, and silky voice earns him a strong eight and a half. Mitt Romney has a near-gravely, “educated everyman” drawl that scores a solid seven. It’s just not a smoooooth as the current prez’s. Hair: This category is an automatic win to el president. Obama’s salt and pepper scruffles are trimmed to perfection and frame his face perfectly. Ten. Mitt, however, has decided to get a recent cut that makes his head look a little oversized. Additionally, I’m not huge on the ‘90’s geled look. Four for Mitt Romney, you go Mitt Romney! Skin: This category is badly skewed based on the amount of foundation these princesses wear on a daily basis. I know Barack Obama has more wrinkles than his botox specialist allows us to see. However, his creamy caramel skin earns him a valiant eight. Romney, who potentially doesn’t stiffen up his face, has a lovely even tone, giving this gentleman an equal eight. Congratulations, make-up artists! We love you (and the fact that you must be attractive to rule a country! More on that later). Eyes: Not too happy about either of these two with their beady, tired eyes. I know it’s not

their fault, but life isn’t fair. More mascara next time? Fives to each. Bone structure: Both men very strong here. Strong chins, cheekbones, and very lovely noses. Elegant features on both of our candidates. I do favor Mr. President’s brow bone better, while Mitt’s strong jaw is a plus. But those ears. It’ll be a nine to Romney, an eight to Obama. Body: I like ‘em skinny, so Barack has my vote (Get it? Vote? Sorry). However, Romney’s manly build is certainly endearing. Luckily, the unbiased writer doesn’t know that Obama only stays skinny by smoking, so he’s tilting the scale on this one. Mitt gets a seven in this category, Obama a seven and a half. Walk: Mitt’s long stride or Obama’s suave shuffle? I’m a big fan of Romney’s commanding steps as he walks around wherever, and it is almost enough to distract from his words. He takes the dime in the category. Obama with a strong eight, his old b-ballin’ days not letting him down one bit. Smile: Although both of these men have the least genuine smiles of forever, they’re both quite nice to look at. Not a huge fan of Romney’s closed-mouth grin (or anyone’s, for that matter), but his teeth are nice when he shows ‘em off. Six. Mr. President has a childish smile that’s just adorable. Unless he’s being malicious.

A seven for him. Wife: Tens to both. Fo sho. BONUS: Also known as deductions. Both of them get an automatic five points off for being such liars. Unbiased or not, that hurts a score. Three off for the smug looks they each get when the other is talking. Plus two for being eloquent under pressure. Underrated awesome. Plus two to Obama for dancing on Ellen a few years ago. But Alex! The deductions weren’t very bipartisan. TOTALS: Barack Obama, 68. Mitt Romney, 61. Fair is fair. And that is how we will decide who is the next president of the United States of America. Alex, Alex! What’s the point of all this? This, my friends, is a satire of our society. Why do we care what our candidates look like? As Richard Nixon said of Bobby Kennedy, (in the film JFK, perhaps not real life), “he’s like a goddamn rock star.” Let’s try to imagine how these men will affect our lives instead of how they would look naked (however difficult that may be). I’m as guilty as anyone, but with that I must prompt you, no matter how my conclusion aligns with yours: Don’t boo, vote. Think Alex missed the mark by not including the third party candidates? Let her know which candidate’s poll you’d like to see rise at atucker3@wisc.edu.

The art of maturation and light-hearted teasing Zac Pestine zac, crackle and pop

t is a bit embarrassing, but I first discovered that I could ride a two-wheel bicycle when I was in sixth grade. My deficiencies in that realm did not stem from ineptitude with the handle bars, but rather from my unwillingness to try new things. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” rang loudly in my ears. And since none of my arms and legs were broken as a result of bike riding, why fix this void in my life? I was as stubborn indoors as I was out, particularly at the dinner table. On a diet of bland food (and only bland food), I devoured dry pasta, peanut butter sandwiches, and potato chips with gusto, drowning myself in carbohydrates. I had the proverbial fear of the unknown, and my heart was content to settle for the comfortable. That is, until peer pressure set in. By sixth grade, my friends had grown privy to the fact that whenever we would bike to Wendy’s, I would always clasp onto their shoulders and balance on the back pegs. The excuse that I thought bicycling was dangerous, and that is why I never would ride on my own, only held for so long. Once I became ridiculed for my lack of cycling prowess, I focused steadfastly on teaching myself to ride a two-wheeler. Similarly, my excuse that “I just don’t like that food” crumpled at the hands of my friends when they extracted from me that the sustenance in question had indeed never graced my pal-

ate. “What are you going to do at a business lunch, eat dry pasta?” I was once asked. These teases felt terrible, but I eventually learned that they were for the best. I am proud to say that I have been biking far and wide for a decade now, and while I do maintain a few food restrictions, I will almost never be at a loss for an entrée on any given menu. Maturation is a necessary process of life. Just as Facebook updates itself every so often (typically against our wishes), so must our tastes and lifestyle evolve. To progress is a natural facet of life. Moving forward requires leaving parts of you in your wake, however tough that may be to confront. This leads me to my next point: sometimes, teasing ain’t so bad. For the record, there is a stark contrast between teasing and bullying. Bullying is a loathsome activity in which no party prospers. Teasing is playful, and often pokes fun at someone’s superficial shortcomings. These shortcomings may not be transparent to the person being teased, and only through these prods may a person gain cognizance of a flaw. It doesn’t matter that I once broke my wrist while riding my bike. It doesn’t matter that I regurgitated the first frozen pizza I attempted to put down. It was indeed a large stepping stone in my life (the pizza, not the puke). What matters is that I got right back up on my bike and that pizza became my favorite food (real pizza that is, NOT those Tombstone charlatans that are reminiscent of pungent gym socks). What matters more is

that I was on my way to no longer being a weird little kid. In a 2011 New York Times Op-Ed, Columnist David Brooks argued that human thought processes are inherently flawed. Our thoughts and actions are perpetually incomplete, and we must rely upon others to guide us to more rational conclusions. And just as we bounce ideas off of our peers in order to derive the best possible conclusion, we must also throw (friendly) suggestions at our peers so that we

can be the best possible people. These are people that eat food with taste and ride bikes. They are people that take pride in self-improvement and recognize that there is always room to grow. So when your friend or boyfriend or girlfriend pokes fun at the socks that always accompany your sandals, realize that his or her banter may very well be justified. Do you believe maturity is just for old people? Tell Zac about it at zpestine@wisc.edu.

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Wednesday, October 24, 2012 3 l

news ASM leaders pass internal budget By Megan Stoebig The Daily Cardinal

Student government leaders approved the Associated Students of Madison internal budget for the 2013-14 year Tuesday. Funding for Varsity Day, the end of the year speaker event that brought in Neil deGrasse Tyson last year, was a major point of debate among the ASM Coordinating Council members but in the end the event’s funding was approved. ASM Chair Andrew Bulovsky said he is excited funding for the event was approved because of its significance for students on campus. “This is an opportunity for campus to actually benefit from something student government does, and it’s a way for students to understand and start to appreciate what the student government has done for them and what it can do for them,” Bulovsky said. The event also serves as an example of student power on

campus, according to Bulovsky. “The ability that students have this control over their segregated fees to a point where they can just make this line item for a speaker and do something incredible for campus is very unique to this state in general,” Bulovsky said. Additionally, council members increased funding to the ASM Director of Staff and Programs position from $60,000 to $65,000, which will allow ASM to find a better candidate to serve students, Bulovsky said. “I’m happy the director of staffing program is being paid more for their more marketable position, it makes the position more competitive,” Bulovsky said. Bulovsky said he is satisfied with this year’s budget overall, which totaled $1.28 million, an increase of roughly $15,000 from last year. The budget proposal will appear before Student Council Oct. 31 and must be passed by Nov. 15.

Biden to campaign in Wisconsin Friday Vice President Joe Biden will return to Wisconsin to campaign in Oshkosh and Kenosha Friday. Biden was last in Wisconsin Oct. 12 campaigning in La Crosse, one day after the Vice Presidential debate against Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan. Biden’s wife, Dr. Jill Biden, visited Madison on Monday without her husband. Wisconsin has voted Democratic in every presidential election since 1984, and in 2008 Obama won Wisconsin by over 10 points. However, current Wisconsin presidential polls show the gap

between Obama and Romney closing, with the latest Marquette University Law School Poll suggesting a virtual tie. Considering the close race, both campaigns have increased their presence in Wisconsin. President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and former President Bill Clinton have all made October visits to various Wisconsin locations. Ryan also campaigned in Wisconsin Oct. 15 at Carroll University in Waukesha. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and at 11:30 a.m. at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha.

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viewpoint, took a middle ground on the issue and said the country needs to look at a combination of spending reductions and tax increases to ensure economic stability. Turning Point USA, a conservative advocacy group focusing on youth voters, sponsored the event.

sentative for the Independent viewpoint, said Ryan deserves some credit, “because he did put forth a plan” to reduce the deficit. Brendan Moriarty, a student representing a Social Democratic

on campus

We’ve got spirit, how ‘bout you?

UW-Madison students participate in “Yell like Hell,” a contest in which teams write their own Homecoming-themed lyrics to songs of their choice and perform them in front of fellow competitors. The event took place Tuesday evening at Union South. + Photo by Taylor Galaszewski

Council to promote healthy food in city A new Madison council that will focus on examining and improving access to healthy, sustainable food will hold its first meeting Wednesday, on the same day as the national annual celebration of Food Day. National Food Day occurs annually Oct. 24 and focuses on promoting healthier diets and reducing hunger as well

as improving national food policies. The City of Madison’s Food Policy Council’s inaugural meeting is meant to coincide with the event. “With the issues of poverty and poor food access in our underserved neighborhoods, establishing a food policy council to make critical decisions in regards to our food system is

an exciting and necessary step forward,” Mayor Paul Soglin said in a press release. According to the release, food policy councils have changed the operation of food systems by adding bus routes that run from underserved areas to grocery stores, cultivating business for local farmers, and educating the public and elected officials.

Chancellor search committee hosts online discussion The University of WisconsinMadison Chancellor Search and Screen Committee held an online chat Tuesday to receive feedback from another portion of the campus community. According to the CCS Committee Chair David McDonald, participation in the web chat was “encouraging.” “We had a fair number of posters from off campus, which I thought was good,” McDonald

said. “We did have a good representation of various constituencies.” Many of the posts revolved around finding a chancellor who would focus on college affordability and creating a good relationship with the state legislature. There were also a number of posts speaking out against current university research practices. “There were a lot of people who wanted to protest the continued use of experimentation on

cats on campus and they certainly made their point of view crystal clear and it’s something that we’ll take note of,” McDonald said. Overall, McDonald said the feedback would be very important as the committee moves forward. “[We heard] a lot of things we sort of already knew about,” McDonald said. “But what was really good was to get concrete verifications that these are concerns out in the community.”

freakfest from page 1 Saturday. Anyone who wishes to enter State Street after 7 p.m., whether to patronize a restaurant or to watch the concerts, will need a ticket. Goldstone estimated around 40,000-45,000 people will be in attendance at the event at any given time. Frank Productions, which has hosted Freakfest for six years now, limits the number of tickets sold to the higher end of that estimate. Last year, Frank Productions reported selling between 25,00030,000 tickets, which had been fewer than the two previous years. Madison Police Department Lt. Dave McCaw said behavior at Freakfest has changed since the company took control of the event and people could no longer bring

redesign from page 1 said his biggest concern was that the plan might prevent staff members from trying to get promotions or transfers because employees will no longer be assured of getting their job back, should they fail during the probationary peri-

Danny Marchewka/cardinal file photo

Frank Productions, producer of Freakfest, expects a larger crowd to gather on State Street Saturday than in 2011. alcohol onto State Street, resulting in a decrease in the number of alcohol-related offenses. “It’s not the State Street of

old where they can walk up and down the street and continue to consume [alcohol],” McCaw said.

od in a new position. “This really speaks to the loyalty issue and loyalty from our point of view should be a twoway street,” Mitchell said. Mitchell said overall he saw a recurring theme of dissatisfaction with how the redesign project was carried out and how

quickly it has been put together. “I think people affected by these decisions are the ones who should do the voting and just on that alone [we should] go back to the drawing board and say let’s start as much of this over as we can and take as long as we need to to do it right,” Mitchell said.

science Going for a swim with the paddlefish 4

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

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The migratory habits of paddlefish highlight concerns about freshwater fishery management By Donnie Radcliffe the daily cardinal

Freshwater fish migrate, but we do not know where and why. According to Brenda Pracheil, a University of WisconsinMadison post-doctorate research fellow in the Limnology Department, scientists lack comprehensive knowledge on the habits of migratory fish species. There is one freshwater fish species whose migration patterns have been studied—the paddlefish. The padddlefish is a member of the pre-historic sturgeon family and one of the most unique fish in the world. It is known for its spoon shaped snout and this is perhaps why the studies began. “Probably because [paddlefish] are so unique, a group of 22 states decided to band up and study them,” Pracheil said. She is talking about MICRA, the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Association, a large coalition of states and government agencies. In 1995, MICRA started a massive mark recapture study, in which animals are captured and tagged with hopes of recapturing them to gain insight on their movements. Paddlefish were marked throughout their

photo courtesy Brenda Pracheil

Pracheil shows off a paddlefish she caught on the Mississippi River during the study. Individual states currently control the regulation of this species, someting Pracheil claims needs to change. range—the Mississippi River and connected large tributaries such as the Ohio, Missouri and Tennessee Rivers. Scientists have been catching paddlefish, marking new fish and recording tagged fish for a central MIRCA database ever since. The results: paddlefish can really move. Some paddlefish have been captured in Kentucky and recaptured in South Dakota.

That is quite a distance for a fish to move and it has implications on how we should manage paddlefish and other migratory fish. Paddlefish ranges often fall under the jurisdiction of multiple state governments, each of which has different management laws. Often the rivers they live in are boundaries between states. The most extreme example is the section of the Ohio River between

UW-Madison students compete in Facebook-sponsored hackathon By Leo Rudberg the daily cardinal

Most students could not imagine working on a school project for more than 10 hours straight. However, approximately 60 University of WisconsinMadison students, ranging from freshmen to masters, competed in a Facebook-sponsored hackathon Friday and Saturday of last week. A hackathon is a programming marathon where groups of “hackers” attempt to produce a functional website or app within a time period—usually in the absence of sleep. The hackathon, which took place in the Tong Auditorium in the Engineering Centers Building, started at 5 p.m. Friday and ended about 22 hours later. “Coffee helped,” UW-Madison senior Kevin McDonald said. There were several special parts to the competition because Facebook, the social network giant, hosted the event. For example, many groups integrated Facebook and its API (application programming interface), which is what allows users to login to and use their information on other websites or apps, such as Spotify. Groups worked on projects such as games, chat services, event planners, educational programs and mobile apps—all of which worked well with the social aspect of Facebook.

According to staff, famous hackathon inventions include chat, “liking,” video features and calendar events. “The idea of Facebook hackers is for solving problems that aren’t immediately obvious,” Facebook programming engineer Ryan Patterson said. “Groups build whatever they want to build, something they would use or the world would use,” Facebook employee, university recruiter and leader of the hackathon Jordan MacDonald said.

graphics by angel lee and dylan moriarty

The goal of these events are to inspire hackers to build quickly, functionally and globally according to MacDonald. The teams were graded by two criteria: idea and execution. At 3 p.m. Saturday, groups showed off their (mostly) completed projects in a two-minute demo, with the judges’ results being announced at 4 p.m. Of course, there was a prize

for the best program. The winning group, as judged Facebook programming engineers, received a trip to Facebook headquarters in California in order to compete in the Facebook hackathon finals, as well as a few gadgets. The winners of that final round will receive the possibility of full-time positions at the company itself. A chat service named Flock claimed first place in the hackathon this year. Members included graduate student Zainab Ghadiyali, junior Guilherme Santos and freshmen Jon Morton and Lucas Mullens. Their service distributes, or “buckets,” online chatters into groups based on interests. “I watched a lot of online video streams,” said Morton, who came up with the project. “The chat room is just flooded. That’s where we got the idea.” Morton has been coding since he was 12 and Mullens since he was 10. The members were mostly strangers before they bonded over this hackathon. Ghadiyali also won the preliminary round of the Facebook hackathon last year with her team’s website, GoodMate. Ghadiyali looks forward to the competition at the Facebook HQ, but “we’re not going to prepare, it’s not in the spirit of the hackathon,” the tech veteran said. “I learned so much. I’m left feeling inspired after a hackathon. What can I do now?”

Kentucky and Ohio; paddlefish cannot be harvested in Ohio, but in Kentucky commercial fishing of paddlefish is allowed. This is problematic because paddlefish are not an abundant species. Nobody really knows how many paddlefish are out there, but their caviar is valuable and so it drives harvest. They are internationally recognized by CITES, the Convention of International

Trade of Endangered Species, as a species threatened with extinction. However, they are not on the United States Endangered Species List, so management is in the hands of states. “We need management units that correspond with the biology of the fish,” Pracheil said. In other words, a given population of paddlefish that moves between states should be managed in one unit, rather than being controlled under multiple jurisdictions. The same can be said for migratory fish around the world. Yet worldwide migration habits are not known for any freshwater fish other than the paddlefish. “This is the highest resolution study available on migratory freshwater fish,” Pracheil said. “A ton of effort went into this, and we still don’t know a lot.” It would be very difficult to map the migratory habits of more freshwater fish species. The studies involved require a great deal of time, resources and tireless work. But they are crucial to making informed management decisions on the large rivers of world. The balance of our greatest freshwater fisheries is at stake.

Ask Mr. Scientist: scented stickers and hand warmers Dear Mr. Scientist, Ever since I was a kid I’ve always wondered about this, how do scratch and sniff stickers work? —Matt S. The process for making these childhood favorites is relatively simple. Scented oil and a clear polymer are mixed together until the oil forms really small droplets (on the scale of millionths of a meter). The polymer coats each droplet, forming millions of microscopic capsules of the scented oil. These microcapsules are then mixed with an adhesive so they can be applied to the stickers. When you scratch one of the

stickers, you break open some of the tiny capsules and release a small amount of the scented oil which you are then able to smell.

Dear Mr. Scientist, During the winter, gloves can never keep my hands warm so I often use hand warmers. What exactly goes on inside those packets that makes them warm? —Chris R. The most common hand warmers use a mixture of iron, water, vermiculite (a mineral), activated carbon (charcoal that’s full of tiny holes) and salt. The oxygen in the air reacts with the iron causing it to oxidize (i.e. rust) which releases heat, and the salt acts as a catalyst to help speed up this reaction. The activated carbon helps spread the heat throughout the packet and the vermiculite acts as an insulator to retain the heat. These hand warmers can only be used once though, since all of

the iron eventually oxidizes and can no longer produces heat. There are, however, hand warmers that are reusable. They contain a supersaturated solution of sodium acetate (the stuff that’s left after your vinegar and baking soda volcano erupts) and a metal strip. When you flex the metal strip, the solution crystallizes which releases heat. After the warmer has stopped giving off heat, placing the packet in boiling water will cause the crystals to go back into solution and it is ready to be used again and again.

Ask Mr. Scientist is written by Michael Leitch. If you have a burning science question you want him to answer, tweet it @DC_Science or email it to science@dailycardinal.com.

arts Feeling fear in literature: the horror! dailycardinal.com

Sean Reichard your raison d’être

f you do actually do something on Halloween night—if school isn’t crushing your soul at the moment—you might decide to do

something topical. And topical on Halloween means something scary. Halloween is supposed to be the scariest time of the year. As it stands it’s usually the sugariest (for kids) and/or soused (for collegiates.). But scary is third on that list. It’s when all the haunted houses crop up, and it’s when everyone breaks out their favorite horror movies. I was never much of a horror

fan. I remember, in middle school, when movies like “The Grudge” came out. I also remember having “The Ring” spoiled for me. And, as it stood, I never wanted much of anything to do with horror movies. That distaste extended to horror books as well, and I found them even more paling in prospect. They didn’t do anything for me. Horror, I think, is one of those

Wednesday, October 24, 2012 5 l

genres of literature people really attach themselves to. It’s like romance or murder mystery. People probably remember reading a lot of “Goosebumps” when they were kids (though to call that horror is an insult to the genre) and maybe moving up to the likes of Stephen King eventually. Even strident “literary fiction” fans would concede at enjoying the works of Edgar Allan Poe,

Bram Stoker, and H.P. Lovecraft. I’m not dissing those authors. I’m fain to dismiss Poe or “Dracula.” But since horror, or straight horror, isn’t my forte, I’d rather look at the genre as a whole, and more specifically, what exactly it’s supposed to do. Warning—there be some gosh darn semantics below, a presage for you linguistically maladroit. What exactly horror fiction is supposed to do is up for debate. Does it terrorize you or elicit horror? A useful metric is something Ann Radcliffe—a late 16th and 17th century writer of spooky Gothic tales— said to this effect: terror is the feeling which comes before something scary, horror is the feeling which comes after something scary. “Terror” and “horror” are synonymous in the most basic sense possible: they both have to do with fear. Fear is, perhaps, one of the deepest emotions we can feel. It’s one of the most intrinsically glandular ones, and glands are really where body chemistry starts getting fun. In general, horror fiction is meant to scare you. If we take it like that, horror fiction works best when we remember all the nasty things that happened in it. It’s not enough to scare us—we have to recoil, to continually recoil perhaps. How to best achieve this is also up for debate. The most common tactic seems to be inundating the audience with as many scary things as possible. In horror movies, protagonists are thrown into an infinite throng of zombies or pitted against some nigh invulnerable alien/supernatural entity who happens to enjoy bloodily eviscerating everyone. It’s the same in books. Bram Stoker strove to make Dracula’s lingering corruption permeate the text as much as possible. H.P. Lovecraft filled his story to the brink with cosmic entities that, neither living nor dead, outlive even death, entities whose mere names could drive people insane. Poe is grim Gothic sparkle. Of course, this approach sends a few mixed messages. Chiefly, it sends the message that horror is unavoidable. You think you can run away from Jason? Please. He’ll keep coming back. There’s always another zombie around the corner, another Cthulhu waiting to rise from the ocean depths. The message is you could spend your whole life horrified by things. But remember that “horror” is synonymous with “terror.” And it is very possible to misconstrue the fear you’re feeling at a given moment. Our recoil from horror is limited. There’s only 360 degrees in a circle and, recoiling, we have to fulfill it eventually. It would be better to look at horror fiction not as something to leave you horrified afterwards, but something, which can elicit terror in the moment. Of the two, terror should come first, horror should come last, if at all, and each function differently. To paraphrase Ann Radcliffe again, terror heightens your senses, horror degrades them. Fear is intractable to the human condition and its shades are myriad. There’s no getting over that. But if you can differentiate the fear you’re getting out of media, you could unlock whole other ways of understanding, and appreciating, that media.

opinion Gun laws not the solution to shootings 6

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Evan Favill opinion columnist

ver the previous weekend, I headed back to my hometown of Brookfield to pick up some hours at my job and spend some time with the family. I just so happened to take a shift on Sunday, and was understandably shocked when I heard from management that the mall across the street had been locked down, and even more so when I heard that there had been a shooting at the Azana spa not two blocks from my place of employment. The events of this weekend in Brookfield have once again left Wisconsin with some questions to ask itself. As the second mass shooting in southeast Wisconsin in three months, the confusion and anger over why these seemingly preventable tragedies are still

occurring seems to be at an all-time high. This confusion inevitably reverts back to the old debate over gun control laws and whether or not it’s a good idea to allow people to carry weapons that could very well be used to perpetrate similar acts in the future. It seems to be all that most people can talk about is the fact that the shooter, Radcliffe Haughton, was in possession of a gun while under a restraining order issued not three days prior to the event. On the topic of preventing shootings from taking lives, there are several positions one could take. The first of these is to offer greater deterrents. Anti-gun proponents say the best deterrent is harsher penalties for using a firearm, such as extended prison sentences or even the death penalty. Pro-gun activists of course take the opposite side, claiming that any prospective

Romney’s foreign policies won’t work Zac Pestine opinion columnist

ith the final presidential debate now in the books, I see one thing above all else with perfect clarity: both candidates have a natural propensity to dance around any given question. Although sometimes their ability to do so mesmerizes, causing the audience to forget the issue at hand, their skills in that realm have increasingly diminished. This became evident at myriad instances throughout the month of October, but it became exceedingly blatant during Monday’s debate. Different rhetoric was used on either side to say the same things over and over again. This became particularly evident during the last question of the debate when the candidates were asked what they perceive to be our premier national security threat. President Barack Obama then filibustered about China for roughly eight minutes. Gov. Mitt Romney then gave the Iranian nuclear threat a three second shout out before arguing with Obama over China. Foreign policy and national security are blatantly arenas where much time needs to be devoted. Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas and the plethora of other terrorist organizations gaining traction in the Middle East are committed to the destruction of Israel, which they consider the world’s “Little Satan,” and the United States, which they consider the “Big Satan.” The Iranian regime is a chief sponsor of both Hezbollah and Hamas. Regarding the Iranian threat, my stance is that both candidates danced, or rather flailed, around points of contention because there are in fact no points of contention between them. Obama spoke the truth when he reiterated that he has led the most crippling sanctions in history against Ahmadinejad’s Iran. And the Iranian economy is

now on the brink of total catastrophe. Whether or not this impels Iran to halt its proliferation of nuclear enrichment is yet to be seen. The issue of China has no place in a national security debate. However, Iran, Hezbollah and Al Qaeda certainly do. I am disappointed in the president for not delineating that more clearly. Regardless, in terms of national security, Obama has done a fine job over the last four years. Romney’s ubiquitous jabs that Iran is four years closer to nuclear weapons as a result of the Obama administration amount to zilch. Iran’s program became transparent to the international community in 2002. Former President George W. Bush had six years to deal with the threat and did not do much. I don’t think Romney would do a worse job with the Iranian regime than Obama has done. I think they would be relatively similar. Whereas I condemn Obama’s physical absence from Israel during his term, I condone his visits to other Muslim nations. Romney spoke at length on strengthening allies in the Arab world, yet he reprimanded Obama for attempting to do just that. It is evident that those nations would want nothing to do with Romney. And as bleak as any two-state solution appears at the moment, there is literally zero chance that it could come to fruition under a Romney administration. Friends are valuable assets. Friendships require time, energy, devotion and humility. I think that Obama has done a pretty good job at building and kindling friendships over the past few years. With one fell swoop, Romney not only alienated and derided the whole of Arab culture, but he also perplexingly scoffed at the United Kingdom for their preparedness at the Olympic Games. In terms of national security, I think rhetoric is the only major difference between the two candidates. But if we are at all concerned whether or not we are loners in the world, Obama is most definitely the choice for the Oval Office. Please send all feedback and letters to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

shooter would think twice about their actions if there was a good chance that someone else was in the room carrying a gun. The most ludicrous solution I’ve heard was to equip everyone with a mandatory firearm and train them from the age of six in its use. The fact remains, however, that none of these would likely have stopped Haughton from going into the spa and taking the lives of three innocent women. In case these extreme people didn’t see the later reports, he eventually killed himself after killing or injuring seven people. In addition, the man was an ex-Marine with extensive arms training himself. It would seem that death was not one of his fears at that time. So what should have been done instead? While making guns harder to obtain through

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extensive background checks or waiting periods may have made the shooting less likely, no system is foolproof. This can be seen through the fact that Haughton bought his gun from a private dealer, who did not require these provisions, not two days after receiving a restraining order that included the stipulation that he was not allowed to own a firearm. Banning guns entirely would have likely resulted in a different method of killing, though the lives of two others may have been spared. I would argue that gun laws have relatively little to do with the incident at all. Most shooters we see nowadays have some history of mental instability and/or violence. Haughton exhibited both of these, and yet nothing was done until a restraining order was filed. Apparently

he had a twenty-year history of domestic violence against his wife and daughter, though this was not acted on until it was too late. The issue at hand would seem to me to be a system that is too comfortable with the concept of domestic abuse. Why was it that Haughton’s mental health was not investigated after an incident in 2011 when he locked himself up in his home while pointing a gun at his wife? Of course, it’s all very well to throw around how people should have acted as opposed to how they did act, but nothing really seems to be done about it. What is needed is a reform in the legal system to take domestic abuse cases more seriously, and a more active program for treating the mental problems of former soldiers like Haughton. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

comics

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Today’s Sudoku

Hamster troubles... Earlier this year a hamster named Smurf stored a magnet in his cheek and was later found stuck to the bars of his cage. Wednesday, October 24, 2012 • 7

Seeing sunshine in Madison

Evil Bird

By Caitlin Kirihara kirihara@wisc.edu

Eatin’ Cake

By Dylan Moriarty www.EatinCake.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.

Caved In

By Nick Kryshak nkryshak@wisc.edu

Today’s Crossword Puzzle

First in Twenty

Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com

VIOLENT CROSSWORDS ACROSS 1 Soap site 5 Voting coalition 9 Cocoon residents 14 Infinitesimal amount 15 Turn over and over 16 Palate dangler 17 On the road, in sports 18 Triple-decker cookie 19 A “Cosby” episode, today 20 Quit fighting 23 Sister 24 The water you drink in Paris 25 Ending with “spy” or “web” 28 Lake Tahoe lift 31 Puget Sound seaport 36 Scandinavian royal name 38 King of the comedians 40 “The Dark Knight” director Christopher 41 Exaggerating greatly 44 Certain Arabian Peninsula native 45 Get bushed 46 Egg-shaped 47 Reds used by painters 49 Remember to forget 51 Ram’s mate 52 Margarine portion

4 Sticky, yucky stuff 5 56 Emotionally presented one’s case 65 Sanskrit’s language group 66 Paint crudely 67 6/6/44 remembrance 68 Baby deliverer of legend 69 Pulpit of yore 70 It can come after “no one” or “someone” 71 Chip arrangements 72 Number on many an almanac 73 Not distant DOWN 1 Part of an old phone 2 Davenport’s state 3 Inn time 4 “The Clock” composer Franz Joseph 5 Common lunch holder 6 Sad ending for “love” 7 Muffin spread 8 Dead ringer 9 According (to) 10 Eye layer containing the iris 11 Contented cat’s sound 12 Styptic pencil stuff 13 Without, in France 21 In the open 22 Absorb, as a loss 25 Laser printer option

26 Texas shrine to remember 27 Ancient pyramid builders 29 Came down and settled 30 Pi, for instance 32 Small salmon 33 Antipasto goodie 34 Bird with a harsh voice 35 Electronic bracelet site 37 Grape place 39 Societal standard 42 Overdoes the criticism 43 The guy next door 48 Wasn’t left standing 50 Winning X or O 53 “Without delay,” facetiously 55 Bygone, like days 56 Cindy Brady’s impediment 57 Prefix with “bacterial” 58 Someone who’s looked up to

59 Like some circumstances 60 Luggage tag datum 61 Part of a military band 62 Out of work 63 Space shuttle agcy. 64 Peeping Tom

Crustaches, Classicic

By Angel Lee alee23@wisc.edu

By Patrick Remington graphics@dailycardinal.com

By Melanie Shibley shibley@wisc.edu

Sports

wednesday October 24, 2012 DailyCardinal.com

Football

White thrives in ‘Barge’ formation By Ryan Hill the daily cardinal

Wisconsin junior running back James White has had his fair share playing in a crowded backfield during his alreadyillustrious football career. In his time at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., White played alongside current North Carolina Tar Heels redshirt sophomore running back Giovani Bernard. Bernard was the No.2-ranked running back out of Florida by the Orlando Sun-Sentinel and rushed for over 1,500 yards in his junior season. He has put up 822 yards on just 103 attempts— good for 7.7 yards per carry— while scoring eight touchdowns for the 5-3 Tar Heels. White rushed for 979 yards his senior year and received a litgrey satterfield/the daily cardinal tle extra exposure when Bernard Junior running back James White found success running the Badgers’ ‘Barge’ formation—similar went down with an injury. to the better-known ‘Wildcat’ offense—which they debuted Saturday against Minnesota. Still, White’s high school career bears a lot of resemblance with his time with the When Clay was hurt late in slightly from earlier in the sea- you get your touches, just make Badgers. His ability to make the 2010 season, Ball exploded. son, White still has learned to be the most of it.” the most of his oftentimes scat- He ended up with 996 yards patient and understading. And produce he has. White tered opportunities was on the season. White led “I mean, [the coaches] are has run for 470 yards this seafirst understood when the trio with 1,052 rush- going to play the best people,” son, 299 of which have come playing with Bernard. ing yards and Clay fin- White said. “So you have to pro- over the past two weeks. “Yeah, same thing,” ished with 1,012. duce. That’s pretty much how It was last week when White said, laughing. “We But with Ball’s explosion we treat it out there. Whenever Wisconsin experimented with had a lot of talent in our continuing into last season, backfield. We’d score just White faded and admitlike that. ted it tough to see fewer “So when I got caropportunities just one year WHITE ries… [I would] just after rushing for over 1,000 make something out of yards as a true freshman. it,” he said. Still, he finished with 713 White came into the Badger rushing yards, but his yardsprogram behind former run- per-carry average dipped to ning back John Clay and then- 5.1—still considered superb on sophomore Montee Ball on the any team—and his involvement depth chart. But an impressive in clutch situations was scarce. fall camp allowed White to jump This season, redshirt freshahead of Ball and essentially man Melvin Gordon has been split time with the Clay and his added to the backfield. Though old-school running style. Gordon’s involvement has dipped

a formation they call the “Barge formation,” a wildcat-type lineup featuring White in an empty backfield and seven or eight offensive linemen up front. He admitted he never pictured himself running such a formation during his time here. “We always joked about it last year when coach Chryst was here,” White said. “He joked about it, but he never actually put it in, so during the practices earlier this season we wanted to make it work so we could put it in the game.” White ran a similar wildcattype formation in high school, one with a little added spice compared to the “Barge.” “It [was] a little different,” White said. “I kind of faked [the ball] to other people.” But it still comes down to simply finding the gaps. “It’s still kind of just running wherever you see a hole,” he said. White’s resurgence comes at a perfect time, as the Badgers finally host sudden rival Michigan State in Camp Randall this Saturday. “It’ll be pretty cool to get them in front of our fans,” he said. “They’ll come ready to play and so will we.”

The Wisconsin men’s basketball team held its annual local media day Tuesday. Visit dailycardinal.com to read Vince Huth’s column on the five most intriguing storylines for the 2012-’13 season.

Ryans to host cancerresearch fundraiser Badger basketball players will make appearances throughout Wisconsin men’s basketball the afternoon. head coach Bo Ryan and his Many basketball programs wife, Kelly, will host the Charity host some sort of “Midnight Stripe Challenge, a fundrais- Madness” event to kick off the er for Coaches vs. Cancer and season, during which the players The American Cancer Society, are introduced in a prime time, Thursday at the Kohl Center. bells-and-whistles atmosphere. The Ryans will donate $1 “I’m not into the rah-rah Friday for every UW-Madison student night things,” Ryan said. “I kind of who comes to the arena wanted to do something between 3 and 7 p.m., with the students that was and each student will maybe a little more meanhave the opportunity to ingful for the students.” shoot a free throw and Beyond the shot to a half-court shot on the win season tickets, stuKohl Center floor. dents will also have the The Ryans will donate opportunity to win vari$10 for every free throw ous raffle prizes, includRYAN made and $1,000 for each ing autographed baskethalf-court shot made, balls and $250 Best Buy and students who connect from gift cards. long distance will also win men’s Ryan said his players will basketball season tickets. be allowed to participate in the Ryan said at his Tuesday event but won’t be eligible to press conference that win any prizes. Thursday’s fundraiser is pri“Here’s an opportunity,” Ryan marily an effort to raise money said. “Meet the team, raise money for cancer, but he also noted for a chance to be a part of beating the event is a student affair; this dreaded disease.”

By Vince Huth the daily cardinal