BADGERS HOPE TO KEEP DEVILS ‘BLUE’
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to fret over finding housing for next year OPINION
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University of Wisconsin-Madison
UW enters tonight’s statement game with level-headed confidence after Maui SPORTS Complete campus coverage since 1892
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Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Forum addresses LGBT concerns By Robert Taylor The Daily Cardinal
Alison Bauter/the daily cardinal
Dean of Students Lori Berquam listens as students comment upon and give suggestions for LGBT services on campus, including the LGBT Campus Center, Tuesday evening.
Group criticizes surge strategy in Afghanistan By Alison Dirr The Daily Cardinal
About 35 individuals congregated in the Humanities building Tuesday to discuss President Obama’s speech on his strategy in Afghanistan. Buzz Davis, a member of Wisconsin Impeachment and the Bring Our Troops Home Coalition, led the discussion. Obama outlined an exit strategy for Afghanistan in a speech at West Point Military Academy in front of 4,000 cadets. He said the strategy includes a troop surge in 2010 and ends with troop withdrawal beginning in July 2011. “These are the three core elements of our strategy: a military effort to create the conditions for a transition, a civilian surge that reinforces positive action and an effective partnership with Pakistan,” Obama said, stressing that he did not take this decision lightly. He explained his hopes that U.S. allies will send additional troops to augment U.S. forces in the fight against the Taliban. The vast majority of those who attended the meeting said they opposed Obama’s announcement to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan beginning in 2010. A pamphlet distributed at the meeting called on those present to either “fight escalation or accept it.” Some expressed interest in organizing protests to promote their anti-war cause. “I think a better direction would be for Obama to come out and say that this is not what our country is really about and we’re going to stop waging wars in these countries that have resources that we want,” attendee Kristine Pettersen said. Most of the attendees said they shared Pettersen’s sentiments, though two students present disagreed. “All of [the attendees] were worried about important issues like the decline of unions in the U.S. and the controversy over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and chose to focus on imaginary and ridiculous ideas like impeaching Obama as a war criminal,” UW-Madison freshman Gabriel Alpert said.
Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Campus Center Director Eric Trekell and Dean of Students Lori Berquam hosted a listening session for the UW-Madison community, students, faculty and staff Tuesday. The forum addressed the many services provided by the LGBT Campus Center and solicited input to improve the center, as well as the overall LGBT experience at UW-Madison. Students spoke out in concern regarding the hostility they said that they experienced on campus for openly identifying themselves as LGBT. One student referenced incidents where some professors and teaching assistants had run classroom exercises without regard to the presence of LGBT members. In one such instance, the professor had made a blanket statement about homosexuality, only to catch himself, telling the class, “It is Madison, you
know,” according to the student. Sean Aukland, who has worked for three years within university housing, said it was possible for resident assistants in the dormitories to opt out of LGBT sensitivity trainings. “That is extremely problematic because it makes that training choice-based,” he said. He said he saw several cases in recent years where LGBT residents left housing because of a hostile living environment. “We had just recently in one of our residence halls a student who left and terminated his housing contract because he was being specifically targeted,” he said. Berquam said the university is concerned about these issues, and the LGBT Campus Center is a resource available to all LGBT students and allies on campus. “The LGBT Campus Center is available for any student looking for support and community on campus,” Berquam said. “It lgbt forum page 3
Panel discusses impact of HIV/AIDS on women By Melanie Teachout The Daily Cardinal
A panel of experts gathered to discuss the effect of HIV/AIDS on women worldwide and answer questions for UW-Madison students in honor of World AIDS Day Tuesday. Ashlynn Ware, a senior at UW-Madison, shared a personal encounter with HIV/ AIDS. She was born HIV positive. “Before I was born, my mother was encouraged to have an abortion because the doctors told her that I wouldn’t live to be old enough to do anything for her to experience being a mother or that she wouldn’t live long enough to be my mother,” she said. Ware said encountered many obstacles at a young age because of her diagnosis but continues to educate others on her experience with HIV. Lori DiPrete Brown from the Center for Global Health spoke about HIV/AIDS from a human rights perspective. She encouraged all attendees to take action in the community to help HIV/AIDS research. “In the past people could be easily excused for not knowing. But now in the information age you almost have to try, you almost have to close your eyes and ears to not know what is going on,” Brown said. Dr. Ajay Sethi of the department of Population Health Sciences spoke about infection prevention. Sethi said he previously focused his research mainly on AIDS prevention in Uganda. According to Sethi, the extremely high birthrate in Uganda puts future generations
at risk of acquiring HIV from their mothers at birth. Sethi said that in the past, health care for women regarding HIV was less accurate and as a result caused misunderstandings concerning the virus and left many women untreated for HIV.
“The viral load in women is half of that in men,” Sethi said. “There was a time where viral load was a measurement of HIV and lot of women were told not to go on treatment because their viral load was low,” referring to an example of misconceptions about the virus.
Danny Marchewka/the daily cardinal
A panel of experts discussed HIV/AIDS prevention for women worldwide with UW-Madison students Tuesday in honor of World AIDS Day.
UHS to hold large-scale H1N1 vaccination clinic at SERF Friday University Health Services has announced plans for a large-scale H1N1 vaccination clinic this Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Southeast Recreational Facility. The announcement follows a significant drop in influenza-like illness reported to UHS.
The 4,000 doses of vaccination will be available to all students ages 24 and under. No appointment is needed for the clinic, but a valid student ID is required. “Now that we have [the vaccine], our goal is to deliver as many doses as possible to [students] as quickly as we can,” Sarah VanOrman, executive director of UHS, said
in a statement. “By far, the most efficient way to do that is to hold a large clinic in a big space like the SERF.” Free H1N1 vaccinations are also available to students at the main UHS location on East Campus Mall from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. However, vaccinations will only be available at the SERF Dec. 4.
“…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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Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Finals feeding fervent ‘Farmville’ fetish
An independent student newspaper, serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison community since 1892 Volume 119, Issue 58
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jillian levy one in a jillian
News and Editorial edit@dailycardinal.com Editor in Chief Charles Brace Managing Editor Justin Stephani Campus Editor Kelsey Gunderson City Editor Caitlin Gath State Editor Hannah Furfaro Enterprise Editor Ryan Hebel Associate News Editor Grace Urban Senior News Reporters Ariel Shapiro Robert Taylor, Kayla Torgerson Opinion Editors Anthony Cefali Todd Stevens Editorial Board Editor Qi Gu Arts Editors Kevin Slane Kyle Sparks Sports Editors Scott Kellogg Nico Savidge Features Editor Diana Savage Food Editor Sara Barreau Science Editor Jigyasa Jyotika Photo Editors Isabel Alvarez Danny Marchewka Graphics Editors Amy Giffin Jenny Peek Copy Chiefs Kate Manegold Emma Roller Jake Victor Copy Editors Hope Carmichael, Haneul Kim
Business and Advertising business@dailycardinal.com Business Manager Alex Kusters Advertising Manager Katie Brown Billing Manager Mindy Cummings Accounts Receivable Manager Cole Wenzel Senior Account Executive Ana Devcic Account Executives Mara Greenwald Kristen Lindsay, D.J. Nogalski, Jordan Rossman Sarah Schupanitz Online Account Executive Tom Shield Graphic Designer Mara Greenwald Web Directors Eric Harris, Dan Hawk Marketing Director Mia Beeson Archivist Erin Schmidtke The Daily Cardinal is published weekdays and distributed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and its surrounding community with a circulation of 10,000. The Daily Cardinal is a nonprofit organization run by its staff members and elected editors. It receives no funds from the university. Operating revenue is generated from advertising and subscription sales. Capital Newspapers, Inc. is the Cardinal’s printer. The Daily Cardinal is printed on recycled paper. The Cardinal is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. All copy, photographs and graphics appearing in The Daily Cardinal are the sole property of the Cardinal and may not be reproduced without written permission of the editor in chief. The Daily Cardinal accepts advertising representing a wide range of views. This acceptance does not imply agreement with the views expressed. The Cardinal reserves the right to reject advertisements judged offensive based on imagery, wording or both. Complaints: News and editorial complaints should be presented to the editor in chief. Business and advertising complaints should be presented to the business manager. Letters Policy: Letters must be typewritten, double-spaced and no longer than 200 words, including contact information. Letters may be sent to editor@dailycardinal.com.
Editorial Board Charles Brace Anthony Cefali Qi Gu Jamie Stark Todd Stevens Justin Stephani
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reaking “Farmville” is ruining my life. For 12 of the past 24 hours I have harvested, plowed and seeded an imaginary farm. With the remaining 12 hours of the day, I slept for 10 hours, ate food (that strangely resembled my “Farmville” crops) and popped a zit on my boyfriend’s ass. For those of you who don’t know—if people that lame actually exist—”Farmville” is an application on Facebook where you build and manage a farm while working your way through a series of levels to unlock new plants and make money. If you think it sounds ridiculous, clearly you suck and should probably go make a farm so the rest of this column makes sense. My procrastination has always been pretty extreme, but none of my former distractions has ever caused as many problems as effing “Farmville.” As if my addiction to Facebook weren’t bad enough already, I’ve started planning my life around when I will be able to pick
my crops. I find myself skipping class if I know there is a field of tomatoes that will wither if I don’t collect them within the hour, and I willingly forsake spare moments in my day that are normally reserved for eating or napping to turn into a “Farmville” zombie. I have no problem acknowledging my obsession and have taken measures to curtail my habit. But all of my efforts have failed. I deactivated my Facebook entirely, but after two weeks I missed my farm so much I caved and reactivated it. I tried setting a timer to monitor myself, but I am an expert at deliberately ignoring alarm clocks, so that did nothing at all. The only time in my life that can even compare to this ridiculous adoration of something so unbelievably pointless and insane was when my dad bought me “The Sims” in sixth grade. My sister and I would get into terrible fights that ended in the silent treatment from my parents about who got to play and when and for how long. I had a strange fascination with killing my Sims and could easily spend an entire day locking them in rooms with 10 fireplaces and 15 wicker chairs. But in sixth grade, I didn’t have a rough draft of my senior thesis due on
Tuesday and I didn’t work full-time. If I can’t curb my addiction soon I’m going to get fired and fail out of school. I’ve run over a few possible solutions to consider the pros and cons of each option for eliminating “Farmville:” Option one: Throw my laptop off my roof. Pros: I won’t have regular access to my Facebook while at home, which is where I do the most farming and will therefore be forced to do something more productive with my downtime in my apartment. Cons: Considering how broke I am, destroying my most valuable possession might be a bit drastic. Additionally, unless the university destroyed all of the computers in College Library’s computer lab and my roommates got rid of theirs as well, it’s not like I wouldn’t find another way to get to my favorite little Internet getaway. Option two: I could call the folks over at Facebook and ask them to permanently delete my account and make it impossible for me to ever make a new one with my e-mail address. Pros: If there is no Facebook, there is no “Farmville,” which ultimately is going to have to happen to pry my fingers away from my keyboard and
back into my textbooks. Cons: I would probably selfdestruct. I don’t care how sad that sounds. It’s true. And I like my life, so this might not be the best alternative. Option three: Breaking up with my boyfriend. Pros: Well, all other things considered, I love being single, and he’s the biggest roadblock to my being unattached. In relation to my “Farmville” habits, he’s the reason I made a stupid farm in the first place, and right now as I’m sitting here trying to finish this column, he’s sitting on his farm. Taunting me. Ass. Cons: For the most part, I do like him, and he takes out my trash. If we broke up, my kitchen would probably overflow with garbage in a matter of weeks. Until I come up with something more realistic and feasible, it looks like I’m going to be keeping the farm up and running with its amazingly high profit margins and great return rates. God, I’m a great farmer. Maybe I should switch to CALS... If you can help Jillian cut the “Farmville” cord or would like to be a part of her self-initiated intervention, e-mail her at jlevy2@wisc.edu.
the daily cardinal makes fun of you Sammy Risch
“I wish everything was food. That way I could eat my face...and my clothes.” -the best 4 year-old ever. Year: 2011 Hometown: Chevy Chase, MD Political Views: Hippie Religious Views: Beyoncé Activities: makin’ sweet sweet love to Ashley Elaine Long
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Board of Directors Vince Filak Alex Kusters Joan Herzing Jason Stein Jeff Smoller Janet Larson Chris Long Charles Brace Katie Brown Benjamin Sayre Jenny Sereno Terry Shelton l
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Interests: guitar hero, super smash brothers, HJ Queen, brawlin’, scoop, Meiwah Rozen, becca’s ‘tired’ mood, towel time, lapdog
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Most Embarrassing Item: You know, Sammy, most people have quotations from Teddy Roosevelt, Ralph Waldo Emerson or some crappy indie band’s song in their status. But no, not you. You prefer the musings of a cannibalistic four-year-old. It’s OK, we wouldn’t assume anything else from a woman who cites Beyoncé as her religious belief. Maybe Beyoncé can serve as the priest when you finally “put a ring on it” later in life. Just don’t let your future spouse know that one of your interests includes something referred to as the “HJ Queen.” We’ll let them decide what those first two letters stand for... Stupid Fact About Your Hometown: Amazingly, the area known as Chevy Chase, Md., was NOT named after famous “Saturday Night Live” comedian Chevy Chase. Instead, the area is named after the Chevy Chase Land Company founded in 1890. Also, you should watch Chevy Chase in the new hit comedy “Community” every Thursday at 7 p.m. Missed Opportunities: If only we knew who Ashley Elaine Long was and why making sweet, sweet love to her is your activity of choice! Fortunately, wild speculation is the next best thing to the truth...
For the record Corrections or clarifications? Call The Daily Cardinal office at 608-262-8000 or send an e-mail to edit@dailycardinal.com.
Saving Grace: Very few people are able to pull of the “Hey, I’m with my grandma (mom?), and we’re totally wearing ridiculous sunglasses” look in their profile picture, but you nailed it. Congrats. Also, apologize to your mother if we accidentally referred to her as your grandma.
Want your Facebook profile to be made fun of? Join the group “The Daily Cardinal Makes Fun of You.”
dailycardinal.com/news
New Planned Parenthood facility opens on Park Street By Caitlin Gath The Daily Cardinal
A new and improved Planned Parenthood facility opened Tuesday to replace two locations that had become overburdened and were in need of major updates. The new 4,400 square foot location at 2222 S. Park St. in the Villager Mall will replace the old location across the street in the Harambee Health Center, as well as the facility on the 400 block of West Mifflin Street. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the property on Mifflin Street is for sale, but he knows of no developers who have offered to buy the land. The third location on North Stoughton Road, across from Madison Area Technical College, will remain the only
facility in Dane County to offer abortion services. According to Deborah Hobbins, regional vice president of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, being on South Park Street allows the organization to reach out to as many people as possible in Dane County. “We felt like we were a straight shot off the Beltline and on the bus route for the students,” she said. They have seen roughly 10,000 patients in Dane County per year at the previous three locations, about 900 of which were men. “The Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin Villager Mall collaboration exemplifies the best of what a community can and must strive for to effectively address
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
“I think the simplest answer is also the right answer, and that is despite all the health-care debate people still have very mixed and conflicting views about health care,” said Charles Franklin, UW-Madison political science professor. In October 2008, 54 percent of respondents said they thought the federal government should either be extremely or quite responsible for ensuring all Wisconsin residents are provided with affordable health insurance. In November 2009, only 46 percent of respondents thought the federal government should be held extremely or quite responsible.
the health and well-being of a community,” Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said in a statement. The new facility is in a building owned by the Urban League of Madison, which according to Hobbins will hopefully benefit the patients. The new Park Street branch of the Madison Public Library will also find a space in the new building. “It gives an opportunity to have our patients seek out job training or other information available at the library when they visit Planned Parenthood,” she said. Planned Parenthood states they are a prevention-based provider and focus their work on preventing unplanned pregnancies and preventing transmitted infections.
The survey also found that 58 percent of respondents said they support a federally sponsored and administered health insurance plan. Franklin said he was not surprised by the results of the Badger Poll survey and said there has been a “tremendous range” in polling results regarding support for a federally funded public health insurance option. The results of the poll are based on answers from 507 respondents who were randomly selected to participate. —Hannah Furfaro
Doyle signs judicial election funding legislation into law Gov. Jim Doyle signed legislation Tuesday providing public financing for eligible Supreme Court candidates who abide by a $400,000 spending limit. The “Impartial Justice” bill makes Wisconsin the third state to create a public financing fund for judicial elections. According to a statement from the watchdog group the Wisconsin Democracy
MIU accepts second-round proposals The Madison Initiative for Undergraduates accepted 114 new proposals for its secondround deadline Nov. 23. The MIU oversight committee and the student oversight board will review the proposals through the end of winter break and make recommendations to Chancellor Carolyn “Biddy” Martin and Provost Paul DeLuca. Decisions are expected in spring 2010. “We’re pleased with both the number and quality of the proposals that we’ve received,” Aaron Brower, vice provost for teaching and learning said in a statement. In the first round, Martin and the MIU oversight committee identified eight proposals to receive funding. A third-round of proposals will most likely be accepted in fall 2010 with decisions made by February 2011.
Campaign, North Carolina and New Mexico also have public financing systems. Doyle said limiting the influence of interest groups is an important way to keep Supreme Court elections and cases impartial. The legislation requires special interest groups who campaign on behalf of candidates to disclose their donors.
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Not monkeying around
Poll: Residents support health-care reform Over 70 percent of Wisconsinites said they think the U.S. health-care system is in crisis, according to a survey from UW Badger Poll. The poll, conducted by the University of Wisconsin Survey Center, found nearly 60 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with the way the current health-care system in the U.S. works. However, the poll revealed that over 50 percent of respondents are satisfied with the health-care coverage they receive. Ninety-two percent of Wisconsinites currently have some sort of health-care coverage.
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“This legislation is an important campaign finance reform that will ensure impartiality and public confidence in our state’s highest court. I have long championed this reform and I am proud to finally sign it into law today,” Doyle said in a statement. Doyle also signed a bill Tuesday strengthing dog-breeding regulations and nine other bills.
Danny Marchewka/the daily cardinal
The WUD Society and Politics Committee hosted speaker Rick Marolt Tuesday, who argued that primate research at UW-Madison is unethical. His ethical question is scheduled to be discussed at the All Campus Animal Care and Use Committee on Jan. 8, 2010.
Farmers’ Market to host food drive Saturday This holiday season, consider donating to the Dane County Farmers’ Market to help those in need. The DCFM will host a food drive Saturday, Dec. 5 through the Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin Gleaners program. All proceeds will benefit local food pantries to help fight hunger throughout Dane County. Each year, vendors from the farmers’ market donate over 12 tons of fresh products through the program, according to a statement released by the CAC Monday.
lgbt forum from page 1 is here for you.” According to Trekell, the center provides support sources to LGBT students, including mentorship and social activities, as well as educational
All donated items will be distributed to locations through the Dane County Food Pantry Network, and all food will be directly delivered to local households. Community members can also help support families as well as vendors by purchasing items at the Dane County Farmers’ Market. The food drive will be held Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Monona Terrace, 1 John Nolen Dr. Personal-care items as well as nonperishable donations are welcome. programming aimed at LGBT and non-LGBT students. As part of its outreach, the LGBT center also regularly sends speakers to student organizations and classrooms and offers a space for meetings and discussion.
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arts
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Diving into worthwhile literature ALEX KUSKOWSKI the big bookowski
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o I trust everyone picking up this column has downed at least a few sentences of reading throughout the semester along with their shots and beer bongs. If not, gotcha! You’ve read two, or possibly three sentences by now. I’m a tricky one, aren’t I? This, of course, means I can proclaim that my diabolical plan is working. I can taste my victory over the visual media conglomerates. I love the smell of musty paper in the morning. It smells like victory. So today I’m wondering if attempting to coerce only the 15 percent of the Wisconsin student body that is functionally literate wasn’t a big enough goal for a high achiever like me. Getting people to do things they think they don’t want to do is one of my personal specialties, and because the whole “just reading” thing was so easy, I’m thinking I could demand even more from you guys. I know, I know, you’re probably asking, “Where else can she go with this? What more could she want from my bloodshot eyes other than to read ‘Twilight’ before seeing the movie?” That’s just it! I’d be a legend in the reading community if I got everyone reading something other than People for their next glimpse of Robert Lautner and Taylor Pattinson. Even two more people venturing into a used bookstore to pick up “The Grapes of Wrath” before setting it back down again in favor of a Harlequin cover is usually a cause for celebration. I can see it now: my name in lights or, more likely, in that fancy black block print. I thought I’d begin by giving examples of great literature as opposed to books that would probably be more useful lighting Yule log fires. The only problem is everything I consider fantastic prose could be categorized as trash by someone else. My Edward or Harry may have the last names Rochester and “Rabbit,” but I can certainly guess many other people love another set of characters with the same first names. Great books like “Franny and Zooey” and “One Hundred Years of Solitude” must have their horrible counterparts somewhere in the mounds of print... right? I was still on the cusp of giving a lecture (to no one but myself) on what makes literature grand as opposed to fantastical slop when I realized, who am I to judge? Besides, TV slots and glossy pictures will always look way more exciting. Heaven knows I still can’t pass by a shiny commercial and not give it a once-over. So I decided not to alienate some folks to the dark side by saying something like, “‘Twilight’ is sentimental crap with a cardboard cut-out of a protagonist.” Instead, I’ll emphasize the fact that those of us who still decipher the ancient hieroglyphics known as the written word had better stick together. At least that’s how I’ll justify reading that stuff to myself. Think “New Moon” is the next New Testament? Tell Alex at kuskowski@wisc.edu.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
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Top 10 Bands of the 2000s
Neko Case Siren, chanteuse, troubadour, songbird, bard. They all apply to Neko Case. There are only a handful of singers out there who can match her feminine timbre and fewer still who can keep up with its sweeping dips and dives. In a single second, Case’s voice can mesmerize, immobilize and illuminate. It’s at once angelic and grim, seemingly too expansive for one woman but too intimate to share. Case’s voice is a wonder, a rarity that would seem otherwise confined to the best operas. Just listen to “Deep Red Bells” if you need any proof. Its apocalyptic imagery is made more graphic by her alternately booming and breaking range. With her talents, Neko Case has set a standard for several genres. She shows what country music should aspire to, rather than what it has devolved into. She recalls the lost legacies of women like June Carter Cash and Loretta Lynn instead of
By Ben Schultz, Arts Editor 2003
the debased muck of Taylor Swift and Faith Hill. As an indie singer, she can match the thickest atmospheric sound of a similar artist like Cat Power note for note without getting lost in weepy dirges. Case reminds her peers that sometimes the trick to producing great music is effortlessly making heartbreak sound beautiful. She’ll explore the “orphaned blues” she mentioned in “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood,” expand on her “country noir” sound throughout Middle Cyclone or even make a side trip into electric gospel with “John Saw That Number.” Initially, Case seemed poised to carry a country music reputation with the album The Virginian, which she recorded with Her Boyfriends in 1997. She changed hats for her work with the New Pornographers, backing up their power-pop and indie-rock sound. As she turned solo, her relationship with country music grew more complex with the album Blacklisted.
With her latest two albums, Case positioned herself as a preeminent alternative artist at the top of her craft. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood is arguably the greatest album of 2006. The 2009 release of Middle Cyclone immediately brought comparisons, and just about all of them positive. The woman is stunningly sultry but never needs to flaunt it. In 2003, Playboy picked her as the “Sexiest Babe of Indie Rock” and asked her to pose for the magazine. She turned them down and explained she didn’t want to be seen as some pretty girl who just happened to make music on the side. If anything, moves like that have only enhanced her appeal. Her looks are yet another finely crafted tool the woman puts to use. She’ll just as easily sport a plain Tshirt as black leather to complement an alluring mane of red hair. Neko Case forces you to stare as she’s seducing you to listen.
This list was compiled by tallying the votes from each of the decade’s Daily Cardinal Arts Editors.
Upcoming Timeline 10 — Animal Collective 9 — Outkast 8 — Neko Case 7 — Thursday, Dec. 3 6 — Friday, Dec. 4 5 — Monday, Dec. 7 4 — Tuesday, Dec. 8 3 — Wednesday, Dec. 9 2 — Thursday, Dec. 10 1 — Friday, Dec. 11
Honorable Mention - The Yeah Yeah Yeahs The Yeah Yeah Yeahs balance their own accolades with a multitude of indie-music superstar collaborations, especially by frontwoman Karen O. The punk-pop bombast on their first studio album, Fever to Tell, dragged the critical spotlight to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and they have kept that shining beacon of acclaim firmly engaged ever since. Their studio albums meld a Heart-like fondness for heavy guitars and strong female vocals and a Sigur Ros affinity for using the voice as its own instrument instead of a simple vehicle for lyrics. Karen O and Co.’s joint efforts run the gamut from the purely musical—as on their earlier songs with TV on the Radio and their recent collaboration with the Flaming Lips—to more cinema-centric musical collaborations—like their partnership with Arcade Fire for the soundtrack to nostalgia porn “Where the Wild Things Are.” If the band’s music alone isn’t enough to land them in the company of the Top 10 Bands of the 2000s, their ubiquitous work should. —Christine Knapp, Arts Editor 2000 Honorable Mention - Sigur Ros Before the 2000s, post-rock music was virtually unknown to anyone other than serious music geeks. Sigur Ros changed that when their second album, Agaetis byrjun, was released internationally at the beginning of the decade. It was the first almost anybody outside of Iceland had heard of the band, and in the history of first impressions, it was a landmark moment. Sigur Ros sounded like nothing that had come before. Stark, mysterious, eerie and achingly beautiful, Agaetis byrjun converted legions of fans all over the world, almost all of whom had no idea what any of the songs were about (or even how to pronounce their titles). Listening to tracks like “Svefn-g-englar” and “Staralfur,” it’s hard to think of what a working knowledge of Icelandic could really add. With angelic vocals, huge echoing spaces and strings that alternatingly freeze or melt the heart, it’s the most expressive music of the decade. The band deepened their mystique on ( ). In addition to the album’s awkwardly enigmatic title, its songs (all of which are officially untitled) are sung in the gibberish language Voslenska. The album is also incredibly melancholy, taking the lonely, drifting sounds from Agaetis byrjun and magnifying the effect. Sigur Ros brightened up considerably in the second half of the decade with Takk... and Med sud I eyrum vid spilum endalaust, a pair of albums that sound positively giddy compared to their early records, but their trademark approach—from which countless other artists have since taken notes—will always be the stark, glacial beauty of a song like “Olsen, Olsen”—goose bumps every time. —Matt Hunziker, Arts Alum 2008
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That’s unfortunate. The average married couple has sex 58 times per year, or slightly more than once a week. dailycardinal.com/comics
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Online Christmas Shopping
Today’s Sudoku
Evil Bird
By Caitlin Kirihara kirihara@wisc.edu
Angel Hair Pasta
By Todd Stevens ststevens@wisc.edu
Sid and Phil
By Alex Lewein alex@sidandphil.com
© Puzzles by Pappocom
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.
Today’s Crossword Puzzle
The Graph Giraffe Classic
Charlie and Boomer
By Yosef Lerner ilerner@wisc.edu
By Natasha Soglin soglin@wisc.edu
Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com
we’re all a-ok ACROSS 1 Deep voice 5 Dress down 10 L.A. Sparks’ league 14 “The Thin Man” canine 15 “Shane” or “Stagecoach” 16 “___ Flux” (Charlize Theron film) 17 Rug type 18 Kind of acid in protein 19 What a computer crunches 20 Some bold people in bars 23 Free from errors 24 ___-expressionism 25 “Light” opening 27 Alert color 28 Arabian Peninsula land 32 Adjust slightly 34 Period in human history 37 French department or river 38 Major U.S.oil hub 41 Tennille of song 42 Looked at with scorn 43 President Garfield’s middle name 45 Bears’ lairs 46 Outlawed insecticide
9 Stubbed thing 4 50 Remote pair? 53 Animal in a roundup 55 “Blue and Green Music” artist 60 Homely fruit 61 Come to mind 62 Soprano solo 63 Unit of weight in the Far East 64 ___ date (makes wedding plans) 65 Prepare for staining 66 Comes to a close 67 Cuban moola 68 “Windows to the soul” DOWN 1 Person lying in the sun, perhaps 2 “Ain’t That ___” (Fats Domino hit) 3 Looked at fixedly 4 Carl of “Cosmos” 5 Linger in the tub 6 “And it ___ to pass ...” 7 He had a lush life in Mayberry 8 Russian revolutionary 9 Ambient sound 10 Walk in water 11 Not far in the future 12 Neighbor of Namibia 13 Santa ___, Calif. 21 You can sniff them
out 2 “___ milk?” 2 26 Mike and ___ (candy) 29 Extinct relatives of ostriches 30 “Auth. unknown” 31 In one’s birthday suit 33 Stud material 34 Parts of pelvises 35 Great merriment 36 Garner deservedly 38 Bobsled relative 39 Let out, as a fishing line 40 “Steppenwolf” novelist Hermann 41 Rat-a-___ (drum sound) 44 Render imperfect 46 Bear the expenses 47 One thing a dictionary does 48 Stair parts 51 Visibly horrified 52 “No ___ Bob!” (“Absolutely not!”) 54 Poke fun at, on the playground 56 Olive and sesame 57 River islands, to Brits 58 ___ buco (Italian veal dish) 59 New Zealand parrots 60 Versatile truck, for short
Washington and the Bear
By Derek Sandberg kalarooka@gmail.com
opinion dailycardinal.com/opinion
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
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e are now entering the home stretch in the cycle of rental panic within the student population. The rumors are just going to keep getting more urgent and less informative until winter break, and after that, the roar about renting will quiet to a whisper. Right now is the perfect time for landlords and rental companies to hype up that they are running out of choice units in an attempt to get inexperienced students to go out and take those rentals at whatever cost. Every year, it seems most students have secured their living situations and all the good properties are gone by Thanksgiving break, which is true if your choice of living space happens to be in a property belonging to a company like Tallard or Steve Brown.
Worrying about finding a place to live should be the least important part of the equation.
Renters at Lucky apartments and some other similarly sized complexes needed to sign a lease for the upcoming year by Oct. 15 to secure a room, which further exacerbates the panic. While this rush may be justified for individual properties to get ready for new renters, the truth is that there is really no need to find a place to live for next year right this instant. The recent development boom has eased the sense of rental panic, but although you will still be able to find a place to live in May, the rumors still persist. Of course, if your dream is to live in the Equinox and nothing can dissuade you, then sign up as soon as possible. But otherwise, the chances of you ending up homeless in Madison come next fall are incredibly small. The rental rush oftentimes causes poor roommate situations. This happens most frequently with freshmen who are first-time renters, simply because there are so many new experiences going on at once. People are making friends, adapting to living away from home, finding a place to live for next year and dealing
with the academic strains of college. Worrying about finding a place to live should be the least important part of that equation. This is why people jump into lease situations that they are unsure of. If you are hesitant to sign a lease, you should probably take a step back and reflect on the situation. Just because you occasionally have humorous exchanges with the people down the hall doesn’t mean you are in a position to live with them. There is plenty of time to find a group of like-minded individuals who want to rent a house, which is far more important than the location. Signing a lease means you are confined to that property for a year and you are living with the people you signed the lease with for better or for worse. As David Byrne wrote, “Home will infect whatever you do.” At the end of the day, you still have to go back to the place that you chose to rent, regardless of how you feel about it. A good home environment is integral to keeping a bright outlook on school and life. This is why a decision like renting should not be done hastily, but with pragmatism and regard for the best possible living situation.
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Watching our language
Cardinal View editorials represent The Daily Cardinal’s organizational opinion. Each editorial is crafted independent of news coverage.
no rush to make housing decision
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TODD STEVENS opinion columnist
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acist. There has been a bit of a stir on the Daily Cardinal opinion page recently regarding that word, as well as its relation to a column written by Andrew Carpenter. I won’t address the merits of Carpenter’s argument, I’m sure he can explain himself a lot better than I can. But there was one aspect of the criticism his article received that continued an all-too-common trend I’ve seen on campus. It seemed that the natural, gut response from most readers was to call Carpenter a racist. Now, every time diversity comes up, word choice always seems to get a lot more press than it usually does. Whether it be which term for a certain ethnicity is more politically correct or if certain terms have outlived their usefulness, vocabulary is a serious topic when it comes to race relations. But of all the words involved in this discussion, people rarely take time to actually consider what they mean when they shout out “racist” in response to a comment or claim. This knee-jerk response has led to a point where the word “racist” is losing its meaning. The comments posted on Andrew Carpenter’s article and the numerous letters to the editor printed were filled with accusations of racism flying from post to post, and this is hardly a new phenomenon among the comments sections for
both campus papers. At this rate, Michael Godwin might have to rephrase his famous law of Internet commenting. True, it is still likely that as an online conversation goes on, the probability of someone being called a Nazi is bound to approach 1. But as a corollary to Godwin’s Law, I propose that as an online conversation goes on, the probability of one person being called a racist approaches 1 considerably faster. But this is not limited to Internet commenters. This extends into the campus political sphere as a whole. “Racist” has often been a favorite rallying cry of the far left whenever they find a new irksome cause. Even Andrew Carpenter inappropriately invoked the “R” word when describing the criticism he received from his article. For a word that has such strong, vicious connotations, this is both needless and irresponsible. Not only does invective like this completely invalidate any usefulness that the prior debate had, it seriously hinders the chance of that same debate ever progressing in the future. It is time to be a little bit more conservative in our use of
this term. David Duke is a racist. Andrew Carpenter is not. He certainly could have explained his point better, and we surely could have done a better job of presenting it, but that does not make him a bigot, and calling him one does not help you prove him wrong. Crafting an articulate and wellthought-out response does, and I applaud all of Carpenter’s critics who did just that. Considering I disagree with Carpenter’s column myself, I am glad these opinions got out there. But their words were often drowned out by the reactionaries among us who decided “racist” can be an umbrella term for everybody who disagrees with them on any race-related issue, and this is one of the most unfortunate outcomes of the whole affair. So let’s call for a little civility here. Racism is about hatred of other races, the promotion of superiority of one race and promotion of discrimination. Keep that in mind the next time you consider dropping this accusation on another human being. Todd Stevens is a junior majoring in history and psychology. Please send all responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
sports 8
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dailycardinal.com/sports
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Men’s Basketball
Football
UW seniors crucial in team leadership By Justin Dean THE DAILY CARDINAL
LORENZO ZEMELLA/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO
Jason Bohannon and Wisconsin are coming off a third-place finish in the Maui Invitational, but will have their hands full with No. 6 Duke.
Badgers hope for statement win over Duke By Scott Kellogg THE DAILY CARDINAL
Die-hard Badger fans have had tonight’s game circled on their calendars since last April, when the matchups for the 11th Big TenACC Challenge were announced. And now the day has come: Tonight Wisconsin welcomes perennial powerhouse Duke into the Kohl Center. Wisconsin players have been taught to downplay individual regular-season games, but they could not help themselves leading up to the contest against the Blue Devils. “Duke being the storied program they are, being a top-5 team like they are, it would be a big win for us,” junior forward Jon Leuer said. The Blue Devils will carry their prestige and mystique into Madison, and senior guard Jason Bohannon is aware of what the Badgers can gain from a victory over Duke. “It’s a great challenge for us, but also a great opportunity,” Bohannon said. “It would be a tremendous win.” The challenge is a great one, but the Wisconsin basketball program, which seems to receive less and less national attention each year, now has a golden chance to catapult itself into the spotlight. “It would raise a lot of eyebrows because we’re not expected to win this game,” senior guard Trevon Hughes said This season, the undefeated Blue Devils enter the contest No. 6 in the country after winning the NIT Preseason Tip-Off with a victory over No. 12 Connecticut. Duke returns four starters from last season, including senior guard Jon Scheyer, junior guard Nolan Smith and junior forward Kyle Singler. “They’re good, as always,” associate head coach Greg Gard said. “The team is going to play extremely hard, guard you extremely well [and] be very skilled. They have very
good players.” If the Badgers are to win this game, they feel it must be their defense that pulls them through. “We know we just have to be solid defensively,” Leuer said. “Whether our shots are falling or not we don’t know, but we know that if we can stick to our defensive principles, force them to take tough shots, that gives us the best chance to win.” This is the second time Wisconsin is squaring off against Duke in three years. In 2007, the Badgers went into Cameron Indoor Stadium and lost by 24 points. For some Badgers, the lopsided defeat two years ago provided a valuable learning experience. “There’s a lot to learn from that,” Bohannon said. “The do’s and the don’ts of course. They like to get up on us and everything, and we have to be able to protect the ball and stick with our game plan.” But for others, that game two years ago is irrelevant. “That was a while ago,” Leuer said. “You can’t really look at any of the results from that. Even when you play a team the second time in a season, it can be a lot different.” Whether or not Wisconsin will look back to the game between the two teams two years ago is debatable, but the Badgers are surely using their experience from the Maui Invitational. Wisconsin gained many positives from the trip, including competition against high-quality opposition and a valuable bonding experience. But most players discussed the emergence of the team’s younger players as the highlight of the event. “I’ve seen our young guys grow and mature a lot,” Leuer said. “Those guys have come a long way, and that gives us another weapon, our depth, and that was big for us.” Giving minutes to the Badgers’ inexperienced players may help Wisconsin as it hopes to pull off the upset tonight at 8:15.
Even as a captain and leader of the Wisconsin football team, senior defensive back Chris Maragos still knows when to follow. Late in the season, as finals are approaching and the pressures of succeeding in school often exacerbate the pressure of playing a major Division I sport, it’s not always easy for Maragos to reach his desired level of intensity for every practice. “There’s some days where it’s tough for me to get going. But that’s the thing about being a captain is you’ve got to be a good follower when you need to be, and you need to follow the right guys when guys are stepping up,” Maragos said. Following that senior leadership took on an added importance heading into this week is practice for the young Wisconsin team as it prepares for its season finale Saturday against Hawaii. Coming off their toughest loss to Northwestern, Maragos and the Badgers had a short week of practice before heading home for Thanksgiving. But according to Maragos, Monday and Tuesday’s
practices reaffirmed that Wisconsin’s quartet of senior leaders wouldn’t allow that to happen. “We had the bye there [but] guys are coming ready to work. Give credit to [O’Brien Schofield], Garrett [Graham] and Mickey [Turner]. Those guys lead in great ways, and guys really follow the way that they come out here and practice, I follow the way that they practice,” Maragos said. “It comes from the top down, so if those guys are doing it, everybody is going to do it.” That kind of consistent leadership has arguably been the most important component in the success of this Wisconsin team, particularly for the defense. After the suspensions of senior safeties Aubrey Pleasant and Shane Carter before the season, the Wisconsin defense fielded five first-time starters for the season opener against Northern Illinois. Yet with the help of Maragos, Schofield and senior middle linebacker Jaevery McFadden, the defense did not allow a team to rush for over 100 yards in its Big Ten schedule and finished as the top rush defense in conference play.
While McFadden acknowledged the strength of the senior leadership as a driving force in that success, he credited the younger players on the defense for their willingness to learn. “The kind of young guys that we’ve got out there playing for us like to listen. As a senior, you respect that,” he said. “You’ve got guys that want to listen, that want to be good, that want to come out and do what you tell them to do and take your advice.” Schofield said MARAGOS the most important part of leading the young defense was always letting the younger players know they had the support of the team leaders. “As a team you can’t really flinch, you’ve got to keep pushing through, you’ve got to make the best of your opportunities and the personnel,” Schofield said. “Guys are here for a reason—to play football, so you show the guys that are ready to play you have confidence in them and you roll.”
Race for AFC postseason spots getting closer SCOTT KELLOGG the cereal box
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ypically at this point in the season, the NFL playoff picture is getting clearer with each passing week. This season, however, that trend is only holding true in one conference. The NFC playoff picture is taking shape with both Green Bay and Philadelphia winning last week to improve to 7-4 to separate themselves from the 6-5 Giants and Falcons. It’s pretty certain the final five weeks will be a battle between these four teams for the two wild-card spots, with Green Bay and Philadelphia in the driver’s seat. But it’s been a strange trend in the AFC, where with each passing week the playoff picture becomes murkier. Instead of knowing more about who will be in the playoffs in the AFC after a weekend of games, it seems as though we know less. Last weekend three teams entered their games with six wins, and only one of them, Denver, won. The 6-4 Jaguars had a matchup with the floundering 49ers but failed to capitalize or even put up a fight as they lost 20-3. Pittsburgh also entered its game against 5-5 Baltimore with a chance to get to 7-4 and slide into the final wildcard slot, but instead of solidifying their playoff chances while delivering a knockout punch to the Ravens, they fell to 6-5 and kept Baltimore very much alive in the hunt for a wild-card spot. All of a sudden two teams that entered last weekend 4-6 each picked up a victory and now find themselves one game out of a wild card spot and in the thick of a playoff race. Miami felt it needed a win to remain alive for a wild-card spot and lost to Buffalo, but is still not out of the race now at 5-6. Houston is in the same boat. It was dealt a crushing defeat this weekend, but at 5-6 is still in the
playoff chase. What this all means is six teams are separated by one game, all vying for one playoff spot. But even at 7-4 the Broncos are still too unstable after their four-game losing streak to be considered a safe bet for the playoffs, meaning there are now seven teams battling for wild-card berths. So who’s going to step up and gain these berths? I didn’t trust Denver when it was 6-0, and I certainly don’t trust the Broncos now after they’ve lost four of their last five games. But the Broncos’ schedule down the stretch is too favorable for them not to finish with 10 wins, typically the magic number for a playoff berth. The defending champion Steelers would seem like a good bet to capture that final spot, but now with Roethlisberger’s health in question, it’s hard to predict what Pittsburgh will do
in the final five weeks. It’s fun to see the Jets, the Dolphins, the Texans and the Titans in the playoff mix. Even though these teams are only one game behind, they just are not that good, as shown by their losing records. That leaves the Ravens. With six wins they’re in a better spot than those five-win clubs since they’ve already faced the brunt of their schedule, and their remaining slate includes only two teams with winning records. My bet is the Ravens run the table and finish 11-5, where they ought to be in the standings. They should join Denver as the two wild-card squads. Whether this plays out or not, I’m still excited to see how this season unfolds over the final five weeks. How do you see the hunt for the playoffs panning out? E-mail Scott at kellogg2@wisc.edu.