Thursday, March 6, 2008 - The Daily Cardinal by The Daily Cardinal

UW scientists engineer microchips to better track the nation’s blood supply SCIENCE

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Thursday, March 6, 2008

Baghdad to Bascom

Committee approves new photograph ordinance By Lauren Vettel THE DAILY CARDINAL

The city’s Housing Committee voted Wednesday in favor of passing an ordinance that would protect tenants by requiring landlords to document property damages using photographic evidence. “What this [ordinance] does is it not only protects tenants, it protects landlords from frivolous [law]suits. It shows proof.” Eli Judge alder District 8

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Iraq War to cost state more than $46 billion by 2017, not top issue for voters By Sara Lieburn THE DAILY CARDINAL

According to Wisconsin voters, the war in Iraq is not the top issue on their minds. However, as the nation approaches the five-year anniversary of the war on March 19, Wisconsin officials and political observers have said it continues to affect the state, even if often indirectly. Public policy polling showed the war in Iraq came second to the economy in priority for both Wisconsin Democrats and Republicans. UW-Madison political science professor Kenneth Mayer said this breakdown is not unique to Wisconsin. “I don’t think the war plays out in Wisconsin any differently than most other states,” Mayer said. “In California, for example, 46 percent of Democrats identified the economy as the most important issue, with 32

percent saying Iraq. In New York, 46 percent said the economy, 30 percent said Iraq.” On Feb. 19, the day of the Wisconsin primary, two state National Guard units in the Tomahawk and Rhinelander areas received notice of a possible deployment to Iraq. National Guard spokesperson Lt. Col. Tim Donovan said this early notification affects approximately 200 soldiers. For a large number of these soldiers, this will not be their first mobilization. Donovan said a call to active duty is likely for the units, but they might not know if it will occur until up to a year from now. Soldiers deployed to Iraq, according to Donovan, have their personal and professional lives interrupted. This can disrupt the daily lives of civilians close to soldiers at jobs or colleges, he said. “They leave voids in their communities and in the state,” Donovan said.

The war has also affected Wisconsin’s economy, as it is expected to cost state taxpayers $46 billion by 2017, according to a January report from the U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee. The report said this amount is unlikely to change even if the size of the military in Iraq is signiﬁcantly reduced. The war will cost $36,000 per Wisconsin household, according to the report. UW-Madison history professor Jeremi Suri iraq page 4

Military experience shapes students’ political views By Sarah Nance THE DAILY CARDINAL

When UW-Madison sophomore Eric Victor, a veteran and member of the 2003 Iraq invasion, returned home and started school in 2006, he realized public opinion was a little biased when it came to predicting how he would vote and think politically. “I think a lot of people automatically assume that a lot of people who join automatically have more of a conservative bias,” Victor said. “You really can’t do that. People come from all different economic backgrounds [and] social backgrounds.” For UW-Madison freshman Shawn Snyder, who enlisted five days before Sept. 11, 2001, and was deployed to Iraq three times, the political spectrum leans to the right but includes all persuasions. “Just like anything else, you’re going to find liberal people, too,” Snyder said, add-

ing most politically liberal military personnel do not, however, lean toward the extreme left. “You don’t find the same people in the military that you would find [in Madison], that are like, ‘Oh, I hate the government, I hate the war,’” Snyder said. UW-Madison senior and veteran Kenneth Laczkowski said he believed the public is beginning to accept the idea of soldiers with a variety of political positions, but acknowledged the military did affect his political views while he was a member. “While I was in, I voted more Republican on issues because they are historically the ones that give veterans page 7

AMANDA SALM THE DAILY CARDINAL

Ald. Eli Judge, District 8, proposed the ordinance last October to prevent landlords from deducting dishonest charges from tenants’ security deposits. Judge said many constituents contacted him in landlord-tenant disputes and were troubled by a lack of protocol. “What this does is it not only protects tenants, it protects landlords from frivolous suits. It shows proof,” Judge said. “[Landlords are] required to housing page 3

Doyle offers repair bill for $425 million budget shortfall Gov. Jim Doyle announced the state Legislature will hold a special session March 13 to work on repairing the $425 million budget shortfall. The shortfall was estimated at over $650 million, but was decreased due to various debt transfer maneuvers, according to a memo from the state Department of Administration. Doyle spokesperson Lee Sensenbrenner said the speciﬁcs of the bill would be announced early next week. He said the repair bill would protect the governor’s “main priorities” including education, health care and local services. Doyle has previously stated that he would like to use an assessment on hospitals to receive $450 million in federal money, a move supported by state Senate Democrats. John Murray, spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, said a repair bill that included the hospital proposal in it would not pass the Assembly. The special session would not end next week, despite March 13 being the last day of the regular session.

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

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Thursday, March 6, 2008

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

News and Editorial edit@dailycardinal.com Editor in Chief Jill Klosterman Managing Editor Jamie McMahon News Editor Jillian Levy Campus Editor Amanda Hoffstrom City Editor Abby Sears State Editor Charles Brace Opinion Editors Rachel Sherman Mark Thompson Arts Editors Emma Condon Ryan Hebel Sports Editors Nate Carey Ryan Reszel Features Editor Sarah Nance Food Editor Marly Schuman Science Editor Jennifer Evans Photo Editors Jacob Ela Amanda Salm Graphics Editors Meg Anderson Matt Riley Copy Chiefs Andrew Dambeck Al Morrell Gabe Ubatuba Copy Editors Eunice Abraham Rebecca Autrey, Grace Kim Alex Kuskowski, Noah Lincoff Kate Manegold, Andrew Peck Shana Pradeep, Frances Provine Amanda Roberson, Neha Suri Jake Victor

Business and Advertising business@dailycardinal.com Business Manager Babu Gounder Billing Manager Alex Kusters Advertising Manager Marissa Gallus Web Director Christopher Guess Account Executives Natalie Kemp Sarah Resimius, Tom Shield Marketing Director Sheila Phillips Assistant Marketing Director Jeff Grimyser Creative Designer Joe Farrell Accounts Receivable Manager Jonathan Prod Archivists Erin Schmidtke The Daily Cardinal is published weekdays and distributed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and its surrounding community with a circulation of 10,000. The Daily Cardinal is a nonprofit organization run by its staff members and elected editors. It receives no funds from the university. Operating revenue is generated from advertising and subscription sales. Capital Newspapers, Inc. is the Cardinal’s printer. The Daily Cardinal is printed on recycled paper. The Cardinal is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. All copy, photographs and graphics appearing in The Daily Cardinal are the sole property of the Cardinal and may not be reproduced without written permission of the editor in chief. The Daily Cardinal accepts advertising representing a wide range of views. This acceptance does not imply agreement with the views expressed. The Cardinal reserves the right to reject advertisements judged offensive based on imagery, wording or both. Complaints: News and editorial complaints should be presented to the editor in chief. Business and advertising complaints should be presented to the business manager. Letters Policy: Letters must be typewritten, double-spaced and no longer than 200 words, including contact information. Letters may be sent to letters@dailycardinal.com.

Editorial Board Kyle Dropp Dave Heller Jill Klosterman John Leppanen Jamie McMahon Rachel Sherman Mark Thompson l

Board of Directors Marissa Gallus Babu Gounder Nik Hawkins Tim Kelley Jill Klosterman Janet Larson Chris Long Benjamin Sayre Adam Schmidt Terry Shelton Jeff Smoller Jason Stein l

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is looking for early morning delivery in the campus area. The area runs from Park St to the U.W. Hospital. The route takes roughly 1 hour a day seven days a week and must be completed by 6:00 a.m. The pay is approximately 130.00 per week. A valid WI Drivers license and a dependable insured vehicle are required. Please reference route # 38 when you contact the Madison office at 240-8803.

friday: snow showers hi 16º / lo 4º dailycardinal.com/pagetwo

Matt swears to tell the whole, naked truth

Volume 117, Issue 103

2142 Vilas Communication Hall 821 University Avenue Madison, Wis., 53706-1497 (608) 262-8000 l fax (608) 262-8100

tODAY: mostly cloudy hi 23º / lo 6º

matt hunziker his dark matterials

can’t remember who first suggested nude modeling as a part-time job I might be interested in, but I’d guess they probably didn’t take their suggestion very seriously. I did. I’d noticed the portraits tacked up in the art department before, but had always figured the people posing for them were volunteers with extra time on their hands and a sedentary lifestyle. An official job title like “Nude Model,” though, was both prestigious and exotic. My imagination failed at trying to picture the exciting doors a credential like that would open. I had no idea what nude modeling might actually qualify a person for, but I had already begun mentally dividing my resume into separate sections for “Clothed Experience” and “Nude Experience.” If nothing else, it seemed like the kind of episode that might be

called a learning experience, not in the negative sense of “the time the cat was in heat was a learning experience,” but more like what all those people who have traveled abroad were always talking about. Rather than trying to find wisdom by traveling 11,000 miles to a country where people wore different clothing, I would remain perfectly still and wear nothing. I wasn’t exactly sure how long enlightenment would take to find me. Fortunately, “art modeling,” as I learned to call it when filling out payroll forms, posed plenty of practical issues to think about in the meantime. Unlike any previous employment, nude modeling included no orientation session, except for an a warning from several friends in the art department about how the students got annoyed when a model fell asleep or became physically aroused in the middle of a session. I set off on my first day armed only with this knowledge and a hideous paisley dressing gown to wear during breaks. Some modeling sessions begin with a series of gesture drawings. For these, stu-

dents rapidly sketch lines and contours while the model continually strikes new poses of his or her own choosing. The students try to avoid getting caught up in details and the model tries to avoid poses that would be physically awkward or overtly sexual. This gets more difficult as the session goes on and the poses become longer. Any position becomes an uncomfortable one if held long enough, and opportunities to re-adjust are infrequent. On my first day, I learned that despite these hardships, many people continue to model for their entire lives, sometimes even willing their own bodies to art schools. These people are now the literal skeletons in the closet inside the drawing studio where I work. Modeling with the skeletons is okay if I can keep in mind that they’re only to help provide a sense of anatomical proportion. Still, it’s hard knowing a pair of bony eye sockets are fixed on the back of my neck and not feel like an extra in a B-list horror movie. Props tend to give the modeling session the feel of a life-size dramatic diorama—topic to be chosen by the

instructor. A model may find himself posing as a nude custodian, complete with mop and bucket, or reenacting a violent crime scene with the help of another, equally nude model. “I like skulls,” my instructor said, cheerfully posing several specimens around me and adjusting the lights. If I’d ever had misgivings about crouching, leafless, atop a throne of skulls, I was determined to silence them. I had signed up to try something different, and this was obviously it. Turning back now would’ve been like flying to India and spending the entire trip at the McDonald’s in the airport. I wanted to experience something profound, to be able to turn to a friend in the middle of an argument, my look full of understanding, and clarify the mysteries of the universe: “I’m sorry, but truth is beauty. And you’d understand that too if you had spent your morning sitting naked on a wooden stump, cradling a human skull in your lap.” Matt sometimes gets bored standing around nude for hours at a time. E-mail him at hunziker@wisc.edu.

New Beer Thursday Headless Man an altbier Headless Man breezily showcases even more of Tyranena’s depth and utility, marking another stalwart player on the brewery’s deep roster. A quiet beer with a deft touch, Headless Man juggles flavors like tennis balls. The beer smoothly trades thick mellow malts for stiff hops before courteously dropping a sweet, floral barb on the end like an after-dinner mint. As balanced and drinkable a beer as we’ve seen, it’s also one of the most thoughtful and well-constructed. It washes away the sins of “smooth” beers all around the world.

Tyranena Brewing Co. • Lake Mills, Wis. $7.99 at Riley’s Wines of the World

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Thursday, March 6, 2008

ASM announces candidates for 2008 student elections By Amanda Howser THE DAILY CARDINAL

Candidates in the 2008 Associated Students of Madison election were released Tuesday by the Student Election Committee. The announced candidates represent all UWMadison schools and colleges with the exception of Life Sciences, Law and Special Students. The council is responsible for exercising legislative powers and duties stipulated by Wisconsin State Statute 36.09(5)—a law that ensures student voice in all matters concerning and effecting students at UW-Madison.

“If everyone on campus joined just one organization or club, it would make a world of difference.”

housing from page 1 have photographic proof to show that the damages that they’re claiming actually exist.” Judge also amended the ordinance, adding that its purpose is

GABRIEL SEHR/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Ald. Eli judge, District 8, ﬁrst proposed the photo ordinance to the city’s Housing Committee in October 2007.

Recovering addicts warn students Speakers elaborate on difﬁculties of reaching sobriety By Shea Furey-King THE DAILY CARDINAL

Recovering drug and alcohol addicts shared stories of their struggles to obtain sobriety and normalcy with UWMadison students Wednesday evening at the Red Gym. Three speakers stressed that addictions are complex and do not easily fit into categories. According to the speakers, personal backgrounds and specific situations need to be taken into account when an individual is developing a path to recovery. The speakers all agreed support is a valuable aspect of recovery. “The friendship path is golden,” said John, a speaker at the event who wished to maintain a level of anonymity.

Oliver Delgado candidate senior class president

Each school or college is assigned a certain number of available seats reflective of the number of enrolled students. Students then vote on candidates from their own school or college, as well as candidates from the Student Segregated Fees Committee. Oliver Delgado, a UW-Madison junior and senior class president candidate, believes the student voice is one of the most powerful tools on campus. “If everyone on campus joined just one organization or club, it would make a world of difference,” Delgado said. “There are so many ways to get involved and make changes, and you don’t have to be in ASM to achieve it.” Successful ASM campaigns include getting College Library to remain open 24 hours a day, publishing professor course evaluations, securing Madison Metro bus passes for all students, creating a full study day every semester before exams and Student Print, a non-profit printing and copy shop for students. Elections will begin April 1 at 8 a.m. and end at 8 p.m. on April 3. Students can use online polls to vote during elections at www.asm.wisc. edu. SEC will release preliminary results and pending complaints within three school days of the last day of the election. Final results will be announced after the Student Judiciary has reached decisions on all complaints relating to candidates, individuals, SEC members and poll workers.

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John is currently the live-in mentor at Aaron’s House, a co-op in Madison for college-aged males looking to maintain sobriety in a supportive environment. The men work together on goals on their road to recovery such as education, career, emotional growth and physical health, according to John. Jason, also a speaker who wished to remain anonymous, recounted his own experience in a co-op home and said the homes do not always hold recovering addicts accountable for their actions. Curfews and constant vigilance were somewhat “belittling” although necessary, Jason said. Some students at the event voiced concerns about the religious orientation of Alcoholics Anonymous and said many non-religious addicts could feel alienated and miss out on valuable support. However, one speaker, a former priest and recovering alcoholic, said his experiences at AA led him on the path

Show us what you’ve got

JACOB ELA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

A Biology research team at UW-Eau Claire explains its research poster at the Capitol Wednesday as part of a research display by UW System undergrads.

to preclude landlords from fabricating waste or neglect. While not required by law, check-in and check-out forms are currently used by tenants to document the condition of a property when they move in. Tenants who cannot resolve their deposit issues amicably must go to court. Ald. Brenda Konkel, District 2, said tenants are underserved by the current standard. She said while most deposit issues are not fabricated, some are so extreme that a simple rule like the ordinance could easily resolve them. “Real estate law has lots of disputes,” Konkel said. “Last year, of several thousand issues that made it to state courts, 3,000 were evictions and 4,000 were security deposit disputes.” Judge reminded the committee the current dispute resolution process would remain in place because the ordinance adds to the landlords’ burden of proof but does not remove the tenants’ responsibilities. The council heard arguments

on the ordinance prior to voting. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said some of the damages that tenants are charged for would not show up on film. He cited cleaning services and pet smell removal as two frequent expenses that photographs could not adequately document. Verveer also said some apartments are impossible to tell apart based on photographs alone because of the common structure of units in a building. “Many apartments are identical. I could take a picture of one apartment and not tell you if it’s one or another … a lot of them are similar or completely identical,” Verveer said. The committee decided the ordinance would not protect against all dishonestly, but agreed tenants would normally remember if they caused any major damages and the ordinance would be able to resolves those disputes. The ordinance will now move to the City Council for a final vote.

back to spirituality. For people living with a loved one dealing with an addiction, the speakers shared advice from their own experiences. John said people in that situation should first look at their own lives and ask, “How are we taking care of ourselves? Are we talking about it or pretending doesn’t exist? [Addiction is] like an elephant in the room and nobody’s allowed talk about it.” The decision and power to put one’s life in a different direction is entirely in the hands of the person with the addiction, Jason said. All three speakers said one of the most critical aspects in recovery addiction was not simply staying sober, but overcoming longstanding emotional battles. Prudencio Oyarbide, associate program manager at the Mental Health Center of Dane County, said identifying as something aside from an addict is crucial. “Whatever we do is a definition of our self,” he said.

Governor announces new state brand to help Wis. tourism Gov. Jim Doyle unveiled a new brand platform Wednesday, created by the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, to promote the state’s unique culture of creativity and innovation. The brand platform seeks to promote Wisconsin’s history of iconic ﬁgures and natural beauty, according to Andy Larsen, a spokesperson for the Department of Tourism’s ad agency. “The brand platform that has been unearthed is basically the strategy that the state will use … in its advertising and its messaging,” Larsen said. The brand platform aims to encourage people to vacation in Wisconsin instead of other Midwest states. According to Larsen, a research committee of branding experts conducted focus groups and surveys over the past six months. “Industry [is] trying to really get to the heart of what Wisconsin’s point of differentiation [is],” Larsen said. “The thing that came out over and over again in the focus groups and in much of the research … what really differentiates us is our people and the experience of coming here,” Larsen said. Larsen said a slogan for the brand will be announced in the coming months.

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Thursday, March 6, 2008

Senate, Assembly push bills likely to fail along party lines By Charles Brace THE DAILY CARDINAL

With a week left in the normal session, both houses in the Wisconsin Legislature are passing bills that have little hope of success in the other chamber. Carrie Lynch, spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston, said major health care system reforms are unlikely to pass this session. She said Senate Democrats were still committed to reintroducing their universal health care proposal, Healthy Wisconsin, but the bill would have to go through the Joint Finance Committee to be voted on. Lynch said the Republican cochair of the committee appeared unwilling to have the committee meet, essentially stopping the bill. A health care bill that mandates autism be covered by insurance, according to Lynch, is more likely to pass the Assembly, though the two houses disagree on the proposal as well.

Lynch said introducing Healthy Wisconsin again, knowing it would likely not pass in the Republicancontrolled Assembly, was not politically motivated. “We’re doing it to get everyone health care in the state,” she said. John Murray, spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, said the introduction of Healthy Wisconsin in the Senate a week before the session ends shows it is “purely political.” The state Assembly passed a bill that bans certain abortion procedures in the state, which is already banned by federal law. Lynch said it would not be voted on in the Senate. Murray said the introduction of some bills unlikely to pass the Senate was part of the process of gaining public support and increasing discussion on the bills. Lynch said if the Assembly was passing the abortion procedure ban only for political reasons, then it amounted to “playing games” with

women’s health care. UW-Madison political science professor Dennis Dresang said some of the last minute legislative maneuvering was likely politically motivated. He said it is a way politicians can show their support constituents’ issues and use the failed bills to depict the other party negatively in elections. According to Dresang, a bill like the statewide smoking ban is unlikely to pass due to decisions by legislative leadership instead of political posturing. Lynch said state Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, who supports the smoking ban bill, and state Sen. Roger Breske, D-Eland, who opposes it, will meet Friday to try to compromise. Dresang said the lack of movement on many of the bills was not due to the short amount of remaining time, but more because of partisan differences.

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iraq from page 1 said the war is an economic issue for Wisconsin because war expenses divert money from domestic uses. Suri said a war produces casualties that not only affect individual families, but also increasingly harm the economy as it continues. He said the Iraq War affected the state more than the Gulf War because the current conflict has lasted much longer. Since 2003, 86 Wisconsinites have died in Iraq. There are 22,500 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan in the state, according to Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Veteran’s Affairs John Scocos. Scocos, who was previously deployed to Iraq, said while most state agencies have been diminishing due to economic troubles, the WDVA has expanded and has been establishing new outreach services to cope with growing demand. “We’re the most progressive state in the nation for doing what’s right for veterans. Our legislature and governor have been great in

doing that, and University Systems President [Kevin] Reilly has been hand-in-hand working on issues of veterans,” Scocos said. While the department’s budget has increased from last year, Scocos stressed more must be done at the federal level to address the issue of outreach to returning veterans.

“We do not want to have what happened to the Vietnam generation of veterans to happen to this generation.” John Scocos secretary Wis. Department of Veteran’s Affairs

“We haven’t done a good job across the nation. We need to do more to reach out to veterans. The federal government needs to give us more federal dollars so that we can have more outreach,” Scocos said. According to Scocos, veterans not reached within the first year of their return are rarely in contact with the department or made aware of the services available. Scocos said he is re-examining how the WDVA is organized to ﬁnd ways the department can achieve further outreach with very limited funding. “We do not want to have what happened to the Vietnam generation of veterans happen to this generation,” Scocos said. He said demand for services has increased based on the changing needs of veterans applying to modern higher education and new careers.

featuresscience

dailycardinal.com/science Thursday, March 6, 2008

Tracking the nation’s blood supply UW-Madison engineers use microchips to improve quality and safety of donated blood By Jennifer Evans the daily cardinal

The same technology used by EZ-Pass to tally miles traveled on toll roads, monitor goods at WalMart and track animal movement through ear tags may lead scientists to improve the quality and safety of the nation’s blood supply, according to researchers at UW-Madison. Radio frequency identification, or RFID, determines an object’s identity and location by communicating through radio waves between the information stored on a microchip tag and a centralized computer reader. Although RFID first became popular for its ability to distinguish friendly planes from enemies during World War II, technological advancements have allowed scientists to continue to work on decreasing the cost of RFID while increasing the accuracy of the reading. At UW-Madison’s RFID Lab in the College of Engineering, director Alfonso Gutierrez said researchers are taking the available technology one step further and looking for ways to use RFID to improve current business systems. UW teams up with blood centers As part of an ongoing project with the BloodCenter of Wisconsin, Carter Blood Care in Dallas and Mississippi Blood Services in Jackson, Miss., Gutierrez’s lab is looking to RFID to help identify ways to improve the safety, q u a l ity and move-

ment of blood from blood donor to patient. According to Sarah Stevermer, communications and public relations specialist at the Badger Chapter of the American Red Cross, more than 5 million patients in the United States are in need of blood transfusions, and approximately 8 million people donate blood each year. Stevermer said there are more than 90,000 volunteer blood donors in the Badger-Hawkeye region, which covers the state of Wisconsin and Iowa.

“If you take the routine work away from humans, you diminish the potential for errors.” Alfonso Gutierrez director UW-Madison RFID Lab

“We try to keep blood here to meet the [local] needs for blood first, but [once these needs are met] blood can be transferred all over the U.S.,” Stevermer said. “We ship blood to California, the East Coast ... the national system allows blood to be transferred anywhere.” As blood travels from the veins of donors to patients both locally and nationally, it passes through the hands of multiple professionals who check the accuracy of the blood information and sort it accordingly. Gutierrez said the current system of tracking the nation’s blood supply uses barcodes on each bag of blood to store information about the blood’s identity. To retrieve this information, nurses must individually scan each bag of blood like a supply of grocery items at the check-out. According to Gutierrez, the large volume of blood requiring individual scanning by nurses each day can slow efficiency and increase the likelihood for human error. If mistakes are made and detected during the process of identifying and transporting blood, professionals may be forced to destroy the blood supplies. If mistakes make it into the blood bag of a transfusion recipient, the transfusion will likely be ineffective, causing a

photo Courtesy alfonso gutierrez

Microchip tags allow healthcare providers to read stored information about blood from a computer. delay in the patient’s recovery, or, in the most severe cases, result in death. In 2005 alone, the U.S. Department of Health found reports of more than 32,000 adverse reactions related to transfusions in national medical centers. Tagging blood “The problem with the current system [of transporting blood] is you are limited in the amount of data you can get from one bag of blood, and it is cumbersome to individually scan and re-scan each bag of blood,” Gutierrez said. RFID, Gutierrez said, may offer a solution to the current blood-tracking system. By replacing bar codes with RFID tags, Gutierrez said health care providers can track the contents of multiple bags of blood simultaneously.

“We ship blood to California, the East Coast ... the national system allows blood to be transferred anywhere.” Sarah Stevermer communications specialist American Red Cross

Unlike a bar-code system, where a laser beam must pass directly over the code in order to retrieve stored information, RFID tags take advantage of a microchip for storing information and an antenna to transmit and receive information from a computerized reader. Gutierrez said implementing RFID tags on blood bags would allow health care providers to read

stored information about blood type, expiration and origin from a computer without the blood bag directly in front of them. “If you take the routine work away from humans, you diminish the potential for errors,” Gutierrez said. “When you relieve humans [of routine work], they have more time to devote to real care.” As the RFID blood project continues, researchers are beginning to use RFID to explore the points of human error in the hospital setting and determine ways they can be improved. Ultimately, Gutierrez hopes to help standardize blood treatment by using RFID at blood banks across the country.

them to know the status of the equipment,” Shen said. With RFID, Shen explained nurses could scan a wheelchair, “flipping the on/off switch on the tag.” In turn, the tag would send a message to the computer, saying it is in use. In the future, Shen said he will continue to work with the hospitals to assess the areas where RFID can be of most use to the health care providers.

New solutions to old problems Using RFID to track blood is only one of many ways researchers believe RFID can be used to improve the quality of other areas in the health care system. Jack Shen, a graduate student in industrial and sustainable engineering and project assistant at the RFID Lab, is using the technology to help local hospitals such as UW Hospital and Meriter keep track of expensive hospital equipment. According to Shen, health care workers are constantly confounded by the disappearance of expensive equipment such as mobile laptops, IV pumps and wheelchairs, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars annually. By placing RFID tags on hospital equipment and computer reader stations throughout the hospital, doctors and nurses can search for equipment through RFID signals sent to main computers. “RFID will not only allow nurses to find the location of equipment in realtime, but can also help

Jack Shen project assistant RFID Lab

“We are taking the solutions out there and trying to tailor [them] to the needs of the company.”

“There are a lot of companies where there are inefficiencies and problems, and vendors offer some solution that doesn’t completely solve the problem,” Shen said. “[At UW] we are taking the solutions out there and tailoring [them] to the needs of the company.” With health care, correcting some of the inefficiencies in business systems can mean saved lives. “Health care is an area that has always been personal to me,” Gutierrez said. “We are looking at how to apply technology to enhance the lives of people.”

photo illustration by jacob ela and amanda salm/the daily cardinal

featuresfood Cutting through the myth

dailycardinal.com/food

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Raisin Bran wins fiber award Emily Bisek ‘em,‘em good

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ELA/THE DAILY CARD I NA L

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a re w y h t l h o l e gr a a i n s a n d h ow h e

By Eric Anderson The Daily Cardinal

The age-old line, “the best thing since sliced bread” has been liberally attached to anything from microwaves to Roseanne. While these both have tremendous upsides, nutritionally speaking, the best thing since sliced bread is sliced wholegrain bread, although it seems many people are still not aware of this. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, on average, Americans consume less than one-third of the daily recommended amount of whole grains and as many as 40 percent are eating no whole grains at all. What is a whole grain? The Whole Grains Council defines whole grain products as containing “all the essential parts and naturally occurring nutrients of the entire grain seed.” Therefore, products labeled wheat or white do not contain the entire grain or the nutritional benefits of containing the entire grain. “Specifically, the outer layer, the bran and the germ, or living part of the seed, have been removed,” UW-Madison nutritional science professor Pete Anderson said. Dr. Sherry Tanumihardjo, UWMadison associate professor of nutritional science, said he agrees, adding that without these parts of the grain you also lose important vitamin B. Refined products lose some of their natural components like nutrients or minerals during processing but add them back in a process called enriching. Fortification is also used to add more nutrients to the product. Generally, people assume something unnatural must also be less healthy. However, UW-Madison nutritional sciences professor Dave Schoeller disagrees. “Nutrients are chemicals,” Schoeller said. “They are adding them back in the same form, and they’re handled by the body in the same way. [It] doesn’t make much difference.” Improving the American diet Anderson says there is one way fortified products cannot make up for lost nutrients. “Enriched or fortified products will have some, but not all, of the nutrients removed in processing,” Anderson said. “They will not have the fiber that has been lost.” The fiber lost is called dietary fiber. It

is the naturally occurring form of fiber in plants and is probably the most important nutritional loss in the processing of nonwhole grain products. Why is it so important? Schoeller said dietary fiber in whole grains allows them to be more filling than partial grains. This can improve the American diet, which commonly has the problem of over-eating. Fiber makes the consumer feel full quicker for a longer period of time, lowering the overall caloric intake.

On average, less than one-third of the daily recommended amount of whole grains is consumed by Americans.

Another upside to dietary fiber is “the bulk that fiber adds to the diet, keeping the digestive system running smoothly,” Tanumihardjo said. A digestive system that runs smoothly will not be bothered by constipation. In the long run, studies show, it may also prevent colon cancer. Functional fiber is a form of fiber that can be added back in the refinement processes. The Nutrition Action Health Letter defines it as a non-digestible carbohydrate lacking the evidence of providing the same health benefits as dietary fibers. Buyers should beware—products labeled high in fiber may not contain much of the dietary fiber that has proven most beneficial. Myths about the low-carb diet A general misconception formed during the low-carb diet craze is that it is OK to avoid carbohydrates, especially of the grain and bread varieties. In actuality, the benefit of a low-carb diet does not come from avoiding all carbohydrates in general. That would cut out the minerals and nutrients, notably dietary fiber, carbs supply. The point of cutting carbs is to lower your intake of simple carbohydrates. “A simple carb is a sugar, and less is better for most people,” Anderson said. “Complex carbs are whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes, and actually more would be better for most people. Without complex carbs in your diet, weight loss will be more likely to be lean [muscle] tissue loss and will lower your metabolism.” For the physically active, this type of

e h t re

ea r y

diet generally means less fat burning and a lower metabolism rate that will make it easier to gain weight back, commonly referred to as “backsliding.” Schoeller says the public’s attitudes toward low-carb dieting and whole grains are characteristic of “the natural human propensity to think of it as a solution. But it’s an aid, it’s not a silver bullet.” The verdict on whole grains Tanumihardjo and Anderson agree the best diet for college students is to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet that includes a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products. With Spring Break just around the corner and the final attempt for the perfect swimsuit body, small changes in diet can lead to a much healthier individual. “The difference between a loaf of whole wheat and refined bread is less than a tap beer,” Tanimuhardjo said. “Priorities need to be made when we consider our health.”

Did you know... -Brown rice is not the only whole grain rice. Whole grain rice can also be black, purple, red or any of a variety of exotic hues. -Popcorn is a whole grain. -Whole grains are often an even better source of antioxidants than fruits and vegetables. -Clinical studies have shown that eating whole grains helps increase weight loss. -Japanese soba noodles, Russian kasha and crepes from Brittany in France all have one thing in common: They’re made with buckwheat. -Corn has almost twice the antioxidant activity of apples, while wheat and oats almost equal broccoli and spinach in health-protective antioxidant activity. Source: wholegrainscouncil.org

alentine’s Day has come and gone, and some still have something to show for it. An oversized heart-shaped balloon may still be wilting in the corner next to the dying, overpriced bouquet of cliché roses. But, like most, I have nothing to show for Valentine’s Day. Not even a hickey. But, I did receive perhaps the most unique gift ever. A penis-shaped box of chocolates? No. An elegant dinner date to Frank’s complete with fake flowers on the table? I wish. Instead, on Valentine’s Day I opened a box from my mother containing two packets of tuna and the largest bag of Raisin Bran man has ever seen. My jaw dropped to the floor as I eyed the monstrosity from top to bottom. It contained two pounds of carbohydrate goodness. And I’m not talking about the real Kellogg’s Raisin Bran. This was the knock-off version many college students enjoy, complete with absurd cartoon characters on the front. I decided I would consume the bag as a new project. I’d mark the day I opened it and mark the day I finished. I set June 2010 as my goal end date. I figured I could celebrate graduation and finish the bag all at one party. But my roommates had bigger and brighter plans. Why not just eat the entire bag in one day? That sounded like the worst plan ever conceived, so I naturally agreed. After the three of us calculated servings and calories, we solidified our time limit to 12 hours. The next morning, the journey began. Breakfast was easy. We toasted our bowls and dug in. We could have invited Malt-O-Meal to our house that morning to film a commercial of us merrily chomping away at our industrial-sized goal. It tasted delicious. Surprisingly, the cereal never filled me up for very long. By the time lunch rolled around I easily downed two large bowls. My body craved something besides carbs and milk, but being the dedicated person I am, I told my body to shove it and enjoy the food on the table. There are starving children in La Crosse for goodness sakes. Dinner was a slight problem. The bag was dwindling before my eyes, but some of the ingredients began to work wonders on my body. I’m sure you’re all thinking it. And yes, I consumed more fiber that day than I normally eat in a month. One cup of the cereal contains six grams of fiber. If we all ate equal amounts of the bag, I consumed 32 grams of fiber in about eight hours. Apparently my roommates felt the same way, given that I came home to find the plunger resting usefully next to the toilet and recently used that evening. “Who plugged the toilet?” I tactfully screamed throughout our residence. My roommates answered with an awkward silence. Finally one stepped forward with a meager “I did.” I then proceeded to call the anonymous roommate “the woman who dropped Hiroshima in our bathroom” the rest of the day. We ate the entire bag well within our goal, finishing in 10 hours and six minutes. The enormous bag now shines proudly on our living room wall with a small plaque at the top—which some mistake as a note card— proclaiming the finishing time. I think of it as a beacon of hope inspiring me to reach my fiber consuming goals every day. It also reminds me of the daily disruptions that amount of fiber imposed on my routine. Conquering this goal once in a lifetime is enough for me. If you are planning on downing an industrial size bag of lettuce in preparation for Spring Break, e-mail Emily at bisek@wisc.edu for some tips.

featuresstudent life dailycardinal.com/features

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Veterans weigh in on politics

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Photos by Amanda SAlm/the daily cardinal

Fighting to end a “dire situation”:

a veteran speaks out

or fifth-year UW-Madison senior and veteran Todd Dennis, experience in the Navy changed his political perspective “like a flip of a coin.”

“I learned that the U.S. were not the benevolent leaders that they claim to be,” Dennis said. “There’s a lot of dirty things going on around the world.”

veterans from page 1 biggest pay raises,” Laczkowski said. Junior Joe Dillenburg said his experience in the military even made him a little more liberal. “I was conservative already when I joined the military; I pretty much moved to the left,” Dillenburg said. “I didn’t get exposed to a lot of the outside world, and through ... my time in the military, I got to meet a lot of people that I otherwise wouldn’t have.” For many members of the military, service overseas has affected their view of the political nature of the Iraq War. “I understand why we’re over there, because I’ve been over there twice,” UW-Madison junior and veteran Jeff Ethington said. “Some people [have] the sheets pulled over their eyes [and] they don’t know what’s going on over there.” For Victor, however, Iraq has become one more arena for political jargon on behalf of the presidential candidates. “I feel like they put too much priority on the war, considering how ... things are actually starting to become better [in Iraq],” Victor said. “They use [Iraq] as a smoke screen to try to deter from real issues.” Although Snyder did not consider the war to be over-prioritized, he did agree Iraq has become a political contest of who can pull out troops sooner. “I think [candidates] are emphasizing [Iraq] to get publicity,” Snyder said. “One of the unifying things about the liberal side, basically, is that they want to end the war.” Military experience and views on veteran benefits are key factors for military personnel in November’s election, Victor said. “If you look at, say, Obama, he’s young ... but he never served in the military, so he doesn’t actually know what it’s like,” Victor said. “Granted, McCain’s old ... so he has a whole different perspective on the military, but you can kind of see that people probably feel like he’ll do more for the veterans than they feel that probably Obama would.” Deciding between candidates can be complicated for independents like Ethington. He cited an Iraq strategy as one of his top concerns.

“McCain is the only one not saying, ‘Bring home all the troops right away,’” Ethington said. “He’s saying that we have to do an exit strategy; we can’t just pull out.” Synder agreed the future of Iraq rests on this election. “Both Hillary and Obama have said they will pull out right away if elected,” Snyder said. “If they did that, I think Iraq shoots up in the air. It’s all up to their citizens whether they’d be able to pull back together and force themselves to keep peace.” Dillenburg also expressed concern about both Clinton and Obama’s plans for Iraq. “As commander in chief, I hope they’re both smart enough to find competent people to advise them,” Dillenburg said. “Neither one really has enough foreign policy and defense [experience].” For many military members, seeing Iraq firsthand has changed how they view the current American occupation. “Right now, our goal is that we’re staying until the Iraqi police are trained enough where they can govern themselves,” Snyder said. “To a lot of people, it just seems like we’re just staying there and not really doing anything, but that’s what we’re doing: We’re training [the police force] as fast as we can.” Snyder does not believe the occupation should be indefinite, however. “Once [training] is done, by all means get out of there, because it is their country,” Snyder said. “We wouldn’t want to be occupied for longer than we had to.” Still, for others—like Laczkowski—the occupation in Iraq has gone on too long. “The fact that we are still there shows poor planning,” Laczkowski said. “I am looking for a president who will get us out of Iraq.” Whether they agree with the war, most military personnel cannot leave Iraq without having their personal views challenged. “It gives you a lot more experience in the whole government system, so that it makes you more learned in being a citizen and knowing how everything works,” Snyder said. “No matter what [political] side they come out from the military, I think they’re a lot smarter about politics.”

After returning home from the military and before transferring to UWMadison, Dennis joined Veterans for Peace and Iraqi Veterans Against the War, but found a larger support group in Madison. “It’s helped to meet people because up there, there wasn’t a lot of people who felt the same way or were active,” Dennis said. “There’s a lot more people that seem to be active down here.” Although Dennis’ military tour has been over since July 2003, his view on the Iraq War has been permanently impacted. “I think we should begin immediate withdrawal of all troops and the military contractors and allow the Iraqi people to rebuild their country in a way they see fit,” Dennis said. Although the war is a prominent issue in this November’s White House race, Dennis said he has yet to see a specific plan from any of the top candidates. “From what I’ve seen, most of them have a lot of empty rhetoric about change,” Dennis said. “Both Clinton and Obama have said that they will bring troops home and start troop withdrawal in six months, and they don’t have any formulated concrete plans about how to do that and about what to do once the U.S. forces leave.” The lack of formal plan extends to the conservative side as well, Dennis said. “You’ve got McCain saying that we’ll be there for a hundred years, just like Korea,” Dennis said. “He doesn’t really have a plan either; he’s just staying with the current trends.” According to Dennis, the media coverage of the Iraq War has declined in recent months and downplays the instability of the country, as well as the increasing sum of money spent there. “It’s a dire situation and all we hear is that the surge is working, but we don’t hear about these other things that are going on,” Dennis said. “It’s a teeter-totter, almost, and it’s about to tip the other way.” For more information about Iraq Veterans Against the War, visit ivaw.org.

opinion 8

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. What do you think about the recent controversy at Memorial Union? Send letters to the editor to opinion@dailycardinal.com. dailycardinal.com/opinion

Thursday, March 6, 2008

view Cardinal View editorials represent The Daily Cardinal’s organizational opinion. Each editorial is crafted independent of news coverage.

union forum must result in change

fter losing $15,000 and being forced to confront the fact that a number of employees were stealing money in a number of ways over the last several months, the Wisconsin Union had to act. It would be nice to label the thieves a few bad apples, fire them and move on with business as usual. However, recent events suggest that something was fundamentally flawed, and a certain permissive atmosphere had given way to various forms of delinquency at the Union.

As things currently stand, the Union is an under-staffed and, in many cases, unhappy place.

The question, however, is whether the institutional response amounts to killing an ant with a sledgehammer. Will forcefully banning tips, presenting a newer, tougher management style, and in some cases changing job descriptions on the fly ultimately do more to alienate a formerly content workforce and diminish the productivity and appeal of the place? Although there is no deﬁnitive answer to that question at the moment, this week’s letter from disgruntled Union employees to the dean of students suggests such draconian measures could do more long term harm than good. The letter probably should have gone to Union management in the ﬁrst place, but the message is clear nonetheless: The time has come for a compromise. As things currently stand, the Union is an under-staffed and, in many cases, unhappy place. Those workers left behind are adapting to a new climate in which small perks of the job—

tips, a free sandwich every now and then, breaks from work—are no longer allowed. The situation does not just affect the Rathskeller and Stiftskeller either, as employees completely disconnected from the stealing scandal are paying the price for the crimes of others. For their part, Union leadership is using a snowball argument of sorts, saying they need to nip any rule-breaking in the bud. To make matters worse, the Union as a whole has seen better days, financially speaking. Obviously, acts such as taking money from the cash registers, giving away free pitchers of beer in return for super-sized tips, and raiding the food pantry are unacceptable. But the bosses are also unwarranted in responding with the threat that anybody seen accepting a dollar from a happy customer will be fired, or in saddling employees with tasks they’ve never done because half of the workforce has either quit or been fired.

This week’s letter from disgruntled Union employees is clear: The time has come for a compromise.

Fortunately, the Union will host a number of forums to hear student grievances and attempt to quell the rumblings of discontent. But the forums must amount to something more than simply listening, nodding, smiling and finally saying something along the lines of, “That’s very interesting, but we’re not changing our position.” The goal, after all, is to ensure the vitality of the Union. Alienate the workforce, and they’ll be left with the prospect of future disaster.

SOUNDBITES: UNION DISPUTE “While a few people may not like changes in their work schedules and patterns, the focus has been on the needs of the greater student body, campus community and Union membership.” —Wisconsin Union Director Mark Guthier “I can tell you, working at the Union, the way information gets disseminated—it’s pretty horrible. If [supervisors are] coming to it trying to actually listen to what’s going on, some good could come of [the forum].” —UW-Madison student and Union employee Cullen Haselby “I think [the forums will] go great strides in showing students that once again we’re there to work with them, we’re there to hear their desires, their wishes, their complaints, their feedback.” —Wisconsin Union President John Barnhardt “I think these forums are just a first step. I think other things need to be done.” —UW Madison student and Union employee Jesse Allhands

MEG ANDERSON/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Clinton victories signify little in endless primary ERIK OPSAL opinion columnist

e thought it’d be over by now, but here we sit— it’s March 6 and we have no idea who will be the Democratic nominee for president. After losing 11 contests in a row and seemingly losing momentum, Hillary Clinton won two huge states last night and is crowning herself as the comeback kid. But what does this really mean? Actually, not much. Prior to March 4, Obama led by 159 pledged delegates. When all the votes are counted, it looks like yesterday’s victories for Clinton will have cut that lead by about 10 delegates. Whoopdie freakin’ doo— he’s still up by 150 delegates, and, considering the next two primaries in Wyoming and Mississippi favor Obama, by this time next week we’ll be exactly where we started. This also means that negative campaigning worked for Clinton. Although negative ads failed here in Wisconsin, hitting Obama hard on NAFTA earned her a signiﬁcant portion of the late-breaking Ohio voters. After both Clinton and Obama agreed in the Feb. 26 debate that NAFTA needed to be renegotiated, a leaked Canadian memo supposedly claimed an Obama ofﬁcial, Austan Goolsbee, had told Canadian Consul

General Georges Rioux not to worry. “He cautioned that this message should not be taken out of context and should be viewed as more about political positioning than a clear articulation of policy plans,” the memo stated, according to the Canadian Broadcast Corporation. This charge allowed both John McCain and Clinton to attack Obama for saying one thing to Ohio voters and then saying something else behind their backs; a charge that, if true, was completely legitimate. Unfortunately, the story was false. On Monday, the Canadian Embassy released a statement saying the memo was inaccurate, and “there was no intention to convey, in any way, that Senator Obama and his campaign team were taking a different position in public from views expressed in private, including about NAFTA.” According to MSNBC exit polls, 63 percent of those who decided who to vote for in the three days prior to the election voted for Clinton. Of those who decided the day of the election, she won 54 percent. This false NAFTA story had a lot to do with that, and you have to wonder what the results would have been if the record was set straight from the beginning. Ultimately, the Clinton campaign can talk about her wins in Ohio and Texas as “buyer’s remorse” all they want, but that doesn’t change the delegate math. After the Wisconsin primary, there were approximately 1,000 pledged delegates yet to be

apportioned. After Tuesday, only two-thirds of those delegates are left, and there’s still been no change. Her victories may have kept her aﬂoat and kept us watching, but a recent Rasmussen poll in Pennsylvania put Clinton up by just four delegates. With seven weeks left until the primary, Obama’s ground game can surely make that up. Rumor has it Obama raised $50 million in February, and with his recent losses, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more in March. Also, Tom Brokaw suggested on MSNBC Monday that Obama had 50 superdelegates up his sleeve that are about to go public. This would give him the lead in superdelegates as well, which Clinton led by more than 90 on Feb. 5. Considering all these circumstances, the next seven weeks are sure to be entertaining and probably rather dirty. It started Wednesday when Clinton stepped up her criticism of the Tony Rezko scandal and Obama called her out for not releasing her tax returns. The race we all thought would be over by now heads to Pennsylvania, where we’ll see seven more weeks of the same story day after day. And what will change after that? Most likely, not much, but... wait, what’s that? Florida and Michigan might have a do-over in June? And the endless primary goes on... Erik Opsal is a senior majoring in journalism and political science. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Though generous, funds should not come from professors Please, take a closer look at what is going on with the faculty’s vote to use their paychecks to fund scholarships for students. In your Tuesday, March 5 editorial, you cited the Chancellor and other administrators as lauding the decision. What professor would dare vote against this? Yet, the new Chancellor will make over $400,000 a year at a time when UW is losing its best professors to other universities. Professors are human beings who must look out for

their families and ﬁght for jobs, publications and tenure. And at a time when salaries are stuck in the mud, we ask them to pay so they continue to have qualiﬁed students. Perhaps we should ask the ever-vocal Teaching Assistant’s Association what they would think about using some of their ridiculously generous T.A., R.A., P.A.-ships to fund undergraduate tuition. Perhaps UW’s administration should take pay cuts.

We applaud professors for voting to fund undergraduate education, but what if Boeing asks its employees to contribute to the R&D fund? That would really be generous and good for the economy and the future of the worker! Maybe the vote is just an open offer to donate anonymously, but there is definitely an undercurrent that was overlooked. —Adam Goodberg UW-Madison graduate

arts

dailycardinal.com/arts

Thursday, March 6, 2008

‘Eye’ Opening ‘The Bluest Eye’ showcases UW acting, thought-provoking themes By Ben Pierson The Daily Cardinal

Legendary writer Toni Morrison rarely allows adaptations of her books, and who could blame her after Jonathan Demme’s rancid film attempt to capture her 1987 book “Beloved”? Fortunately, she made an exception for the stage production of her first novel “The Bluest Eye,” which opened last Friday, Feb. 29, at Mitchell Theatre. Playwright Lydia Diamond said after Saturday’s performance that “for Ms. Morrison to allow the play to exist is a great gift.” A Great gift indeed, as the play is a visual and dramatic heart wrencher, and showcases several standout performances from UW students and staff.

By the end of the play, the audience understands the Breedlove’s situation and is left weary of the evils of gossip.

All the play’s elements were executed aptly to explore the story’s central question: What is ugly, why is it ugly and how did it become ugly? Vivid art direction, beautifully meshed music and choreography encapsulate the chaos of a small town’s gossip chain, from gossip mongers to their victims. Pecola Breedlove (played by Dominique Chestand) and her family are the recipients of an entire town’s disdain, not just because of their race but their unfortunate standing as well. As the play progresses, the Breedloves are driven to madness because of their inability to fit in. According to Diamond, the play is “the story of a little African-American girl and her family who are affected

in every direction by the dominant American culture that says to them, ‘You’re not beautiful; you’re not relevant; you’re invisible; you don’t even count.’” Instead of having to ask why this happens, the audience is shown how. Pecola’s parents (James Macon Grant and Sheri Williams Pannell) morph from normal people to social outcasts—but not because they choose to. The play initially portrays Pecola’s parents as an alcoholic father and an authoritarian mother but then reveals they were not always such unsavory characters. They were driven to the fringes because of arbitrary abuses from society. By the end of the play, the audience empathizes with the Breedlove’s situation and is left weary of the evils of gossip. The audience’s understanding, however, would not be possible without the play’s wonderful acting. Chestand, Grant and Pannell bring the Breedloves to life with classic stage play and good acting, but the most important performance of the play belongs to Olivia Dawson. Dawson plays Claudia Mabra, the narrator and one of Pecola’s two friends. She gives her character the sensitivity and adamant individualism needed to make Claudia contrast so vividly against the self-hating Breedloves. Her questioning disposition allows Claudia to show the audience what is perceived as beautiful is often hyped and inflated. The play is a prime example of craftsmanship. All the technical elements suck the audience into the minds of the characters. After seeing the play, Diamond praised the abundance of soul in the production and the director’s accuracy to her vision. Diamond and director Derrick Sanders have cooperated to bring

Photo Courtesy Brent Nicastro

UW students and staff saturate the stage in University Theater’s ongoing production of “The Bluest Eye.” The play provides a fascinating look into the lives of an outcast family and investigates how they got there. “The Bluest Eye” to Madison in a play that neatly marries book to stage. Sanders and Diamond have done their jobs nicely and without pretension. “My job was to do Lydia’s script and trust her interpretation of the book,” Sanders said. This focus rewards the audience with a formidable performance. “The Bluest Eye” will make seven performances from up to March 15 at Mitchell Theatre, including Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

“The Bluest Eye” where: Mitchell Theatre when: Seven shows from March 6 to March 15 cost: $14 for students

Photo Courtesy Brent Nicastro

Dominique Chestand delivers a stellar performance as Pecola Breedlove in “The Bluest Eye.”

Casey discusses TV show party crashers on ‘Gossip Girl’ Casey Mysliwy in case of emergency

ere’s a familiar situation: You’re at a great party. You’re thinking it’s possibly the best party you’ve ever been to. All the components of an awesome night are there: You’re connecting with lots of

Photo Courtesy Fox

new people, the music is amazing and the booze is free. You’re thinking nothing in the world can kill this chemistry... until the “party killer” arrives. It’s the guy or girl with the miraculous ability to destroy a party for everyone. Whether they’re belting out Journey sickeningly off-key or drunkenly picking fights with people they don’t know, the party killer is able to suck all the good energy out of a room and immediately ruin everyone else’s night.

Why am I bringing back these horrifying and possibly scarring memories of parties gone sour? Because if “Gossip Girl” is the party, it narrowly escaped a potentially fatal party killer in the form of Mischa Barton. The former “The O.C.” star was recently offered a role on “Gossip Girl,” inciting mixed reactions from fans of the series. Most were skeptical, citing everything from Barton’s personal life (remember that DUI back in February?) to her professional life (one blog comment

Photo Courtesy CW

“The O.C.” plot foiler and true gossip girl Mischa Barton may look cute and innocent, but her lack of fan approval led producers to reject her as a possible new character on “Gossip Girl” this year.

described her acting skills as “wooden”—ouch) as reasons to not bring her on the show. Fortunately for “Gossip Girl,” Barton turned down the role, practically ensuring the drama will continue to thrive without her presence. It may sound harsh to think the addition of a single actress to the cast could ruin an already-solid show, but it’s not that unbelievable when you think back to the party killer metaphor: One person can bring the whole party crashing down. For starters, “Gossip Girl” has already established itself as a standout among this past fall’s new TV shows. I’ll admit, I was wary of the show at first, expecting it to be all sugar and no substance. Then I watched one episode and was instantly hooked. That’s not to say “Gossip Girl” is striving for anything profound. There are still various superficial reasons to be attracted to the show: The amazing clothes, the stunning New York City locations and the plot scandals are guilty pleasures in and of themselves. However, “Gossip Girl” also features surprisingly solid acting and tackles some issues other series would shy away from, and that’s pretty gutsy. The “Gossip Girl” formula is working perfectly right now, and it is only in its first season. Why upset that balance

now with a starlet like Barton, who will only garner attention because she is well known? Then there’s the déjà vu factor: “Gossip Girl” executive producer Josh Schwartz was also the mastermind behind the show that gave Barton’s career a jump-start, “The O.C.” Diehard fans will remember how fatal a combination that seemed to be: Barton spilled to the media her character was being killed off a day before the episode aired. It was downhill for “The O.C.” from there. One would be hard pressed to believe it’s all sunshine and daisies between the Schwartz and Barton camps after that scandal. With that incident in mind, it is surprising Barton was even offered the “Gossip Girl” role at all. Luckily, history won’t get the chance to repeat itself this time around. So it looks like “Gossip Girl” will be spared after all, having escaped the curse Miss Barton most certainly would have cast upon it. Here’s hoping “Gossip Girl” will go on to further success. As for Barton, here’s hoping she’ll hold off on crashing any other good parties. Want to morph into a TV character and crash your least favorite show? Tell Casey which ones at mysliwy@wisc.com.

comics

10 Thursday, March 6, 2008 Midterms before Spring Break

Today’s Sudoku

dailycardinal.com/comics

Beeramid

By Ryan Matthes beeramid_comic@yahoo.com

Classic Mega Dude Squad

By Stephen Guzetta and Ryan Lynch rplynch@wisc.edu

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

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

Something to look forward to.

Dwarfhead and Narwhal

By James Dietrich jbdietrich@wisc.edu

Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.

Today’s Crossword Puzzle

The Crackles

By Simon Dick srdick@wisc.edu

Anthro-apology

By Eric Wigdahl wigdahl@wisc.edu

Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com RUDE AWAKENING ACROSS 1 “Ghostbusters’’ director Reitman 5 Studio 54, for one 10 Chili con carne ingredient 14 Turkish monetary unit 15 Where to find the biggest floor 16 “___ and the King of Siam’’ 17 Exciting ring events 19 ___ of the Apostles 20 Activate 21 You take it before a shot 23 Three sheets to the wind 24 Leisurely walk 25 Like some authorities 27 What tree rings denote 28 Whole wheat husk 31 Forgoes the USPS 32 Mother of Helen of Troy 34 Absorbed with 36 Bird with long plumes 37 Operating space 40 Person with a mission 43 Unless, in law 44 Some were for The Byrds 48 Song of Solomon neighbor 50 Unduplicated 52 Bad thing to invoke 53 Fence part 55 Daphnis’ love

57 Tax-deferred plan, for short 58 ___ many irons in the fire 59 Narrow waterway 61 Hayseed 63 Like most phones 66 Vessel used by Pueblo Indians 67 Alpaca relative 68 Film theater 69 Hair removal brand 70 “The Maltese Falcon” actress 71 “And ___ thou slain the Jabberwock?’’ (Carroll)

DOWN 1 Type or kind 2 Wine label information 3 Fired up 4 Shell material 5 Wonderland creature 6 My Computer, e.g. 7 Make a muumuu, e.g. 8 Gondolier’s place 9 Where some inspections take place 10 Weather report? 11 In ordinary language 12 Give the right to 13 Cheetah, compared to other animals 18 Bureau projection 22 Certain copy 24 Trusted friend

25 Loosen, as a cap 26 Igneous rock source 29 Adam’s contribution 30 Author unknown byline, briefly 33 Where the eagle has landed 35 “... ___ I’m told’’ 38 Was a bounder? 39 What the Ewings and Clampetts had in common 40 Blast furnace output 41 By and large 42 Singles, compared to married people 45 Word in the Second Amendment 46 Positively charged subatomic particles 47 Word before “Dick’’ or “Jane’’ 49 Sensational publicity 51 The color of unbleached linen 54 Things that may be saved 56 “Down the ___!’’ (drinker’s toast) 59 Chucklehead (Var.) 60 Winter resort conveyance 62 Stuff your face 64 Was in session 65 Web address extension

...OR HERE W: 35 p 2 H: 14 p 7

sports

dailycardinal.com/sports

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Women’s tournament starts Thursday By Jay Messar the daily cardinal

Eleven teams. Ten games. Four days. One trophy. March Madness has officially begun in Madison, as the Wisconsin women’s basketball team heads to Conseco Fieldhouse this weekend for the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. The Badgers picked up the No. 8 seed and will face ninth-ranked Illinois in its first round game at 4 p.m. Thursday. The two teams split the regular season series, with each winning in its respective venue. The winner will take on league champ Ohio State in the quarterfinals. All 10 Big Ten Tournament games will be televised live on the Big Ten Network, except Sunday’s championship on ESPN2. Here is a team-by-team rundown of what to watch for this weekend: No. 8 Wisconsin (9-9 Big Ten, 16-12 overall) ESPN.com “bracketology” specialist Charlie Creme has Wisconsin just missing the NCAA Tournament, and Wisconsin’s three seniors want nothing more than to make the big dance—its first since 2002. Selected as the media’s Big Ten Player of the Year, senior guard Jolene Anderson led the conference with 19.6 points per game while ranking third in rebounds (7.6) and seventh in assists (3.7) per game. Fellow guard Janese Banks and forward Danielle Ward add 12.5 points and 1.3 blocks per game, respectively. If it gets past the Illini, Wisconsin would get a third game against Ohio State who beat the Badgers twice during the regular season. Anderson, Banks and Ward would love to knock off the Buckeyes and steal the stage with a conference crown, as the

Badgers need a big weekend to make the field of 64. No. 9 Illinois (8-10, 16-13) Head coach Jolette Law was not happy after a controversial no-call at the buzzer the last time Illinois and Wisconsin met in Madison. Perhaps it is fitting that the two teams square off a third time, as the Illini want to rid the bitter taste from their mouths. Illinois will need a big game from outstanding sophomore Jenna Smith, who finished second in conference points per game with 18.3. Junior Lori Bjork is a deadly 3-point shooter, making 40.2 percent from behind the arc. If these two heat up, it could spell trouble for the Badgers. No. 1 Ohio State (13-5, 22-7) The Buckeyes were the preseason Big Ten favorite and have remained at the top of the standings for the majority of the season. Ohio State will see a tricky matchup regardless of the outcome of the Wisconsin/Illinois game. The Illini defeated the Buckeyes in Champaign, Ill., while the Badgers battled in two tight losses. Although Wisconsin’s Anderson was voted by the media as the Big Ten POY, the Buckeyes’ freshman phenom Janel Lavender was selected by the coaches to the same award. Lavender has dominated the inside for Ohio State, averaging a team-high 17.8 points and a conference-high 9.7 rebounds per game. Paired with senior Marscilla Packer, who averages 14.7 points from the wing, this year’s Ohio State squad is still the heavy favorite to take home the trophy. No. 2 Iowa (13-5, 20-9) The surprise co-champion Hawkeyes take their newly polished regular season title to Indy with high

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commended the Badgers for their great performance. “Winning is good for the soul,” Alvarez said. “I can’t say enough about this group— they’ve played tremendous team basketball the whole year. I especially want to thank a great group of seniors and what and they bring to this team.” On Saturday, the Badgers visit Welsh-Ryan Arena for their final regular season game against Northwestern. With a win, Wisconsin clinches sole possession of the Big Ten regular season title.

since 2003, when the Badgers beat Illinois in a winner-take-all finale to win the Big Ten title outright. The 36-point win Wednesday might not have been the nail-biter the 2003 clinching game was, but for the seniors, it was the first time any of them had experienced a conference title so the win was all that mattered. “To achieve what we did tonight, it’s really special,” Stiemsma said. “It’s one of those things where it doesn’t seem like it should happen, but I don’t know if it’s fate or whatever it is, things just fell into place and we took care of our end.”

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Senior Brian Butch is all smiles as he lifts the Big Ten trophy.

hopes. Iowa, which secured a share of the title by defeating Wisconsin, has won 11 of its last 13 conference games. Big Ten Coach of the Year Lisa Bluder has her team playing well and ready for a successful weekend in Indianapolis. First-team All-Big Ten senior Kristi Smith leads the potent Hawkeyes with 14.4 points per game. Sixthyear senior and secondteam All-Big Ten honoree Johanna Solverson adds 12.9 points and 4.3 assists per game. A showdown between the Hawkeyes and Buckeyes in the championship would give the winner undisputed conference laurels. No. 3 Purdue (11-7, 15-14) Perched atop the conference standings after defeating Ohio State in early February, the Boilermakers responded by losing four of their last six games to fall into a tie for third place. Purdue will need a very good showing in Indianapolis to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Boilers are led by juniors Danielle Campbell and Lakisha Freeman, who score 12.5 and 12.1 points per game, respectively. Big Ten All-Defensive team honoree and sophomore FahKara Malone is the heart of the team, averaging 2.4 steals per game. No. 4 Minnesota (11-7, 20-10) Losing the tiebreaker to Purdue to pick up the fourth seed may actually play out in the Gophers’ favor. By beating Michigan State, Minnesota could set up a potential semi-final matchup against Ohio State. The Gophers beat the Buckeyes in Minneapolis earlier

this season, but were swept by No. 2 Iowa. First team All-Big Ten senior guard Emily F o x h a s

developed i n t o one of the league’s best, averaging 17.2 points and 4.5 assists per game. Fox and teammate Leslie Knight, a second-team All-Big Ten senior forward averaging 16.4 points in conference play, produce the league’s highest scoring tandem.

Jolene Anderson Big Ten Player of the Year Amanda salm/ the daily cardinal

Read up on the rest of the field at www.dailycardinal. com/sports.

Pack will carry on without No. 4 under center Nate Carey sports magnate

uesday morning I woke up for class and turned on the television, expecting to see the same highlights on ESPN that I had fallen asleep to, only to see the breaking news that Brett Favre had decided to retire. I didn’t expect to write my column this week on Favre, even after his announcement. But as I sat trying to come up with a topic to discuss, the only thing on my mind was the number 4. Growing up close to Green Bay and being a Packer fan for the majority of my life, I have only truly known one starting quarterback for the Packers. Sure, I’ve seen the highlight reels and the yearbooks of the Green and Gold prior to 1992, but I’ve never thought about anyone other than Favre ducking under center for the last 16 years. Now that thought fills my head, and after thinking about it for most of yesterday, I am fine with it. I realized that I had given Favre up years ago. I’m not saying that I didn’t care last season or that I had decided that Favre needed to move on. Quite the contrary, I was willing to give Favre the reins of the offense for as long as he wanted, because I knew he wouldn’t continue to play if he felt that he couldn’t. Two seasons ago is when I came to terms with Favre leaving. It was right after the Packers’ 26-7 shellacking of the Chicago Bears at Soldier

Field on NBC when Favre talked with the TV crew. As Favre talked about how proud he was of his team and how they came together to win this game for him, the tears started to pour out of his eyes. I’d be a liar to say that my eyes didn’t well up too. Favre then left the field, and presumably our lives, and I spent the offseason coming to terms with it. It was now Aaron Rodgers’ team, and I was fine with it after awhile. At that time, Rodgers was still considered pretty green and somewhat of an unknown to Packer fans. But then Favre came back, sending Rodgers to the sideline for another season of observance. Now, however, Favre has done the opposite. Everyone expected Favre to return, and instead he hung up his cleats. Rodgers is now ready, and has proven the critics wrong during the season, almost leading Green Bay to a come-from-behind-victory against the

Cowboys in Dallas. Favre will surely be missed, and the montages showing his greatness will undoubtedly continue for a long time. But, in the end, the Packers will be fine and should still be considered the leaders of the NFC North, and within the top five of the NFC. The defense is strong and is expected to bulk up even more during the draft. Another offseason will strengthen the offensive line and give Rodgers time to develop a rapport with the wide receivers—if that is still necessary. Losing Favre hurts and will continue to hurt for a while. But if fans can look past Favre and his accomplishments and look toward the future, they will see that the Packers’ organization is as bright as ever. As for Favre, thank you for all that you have done for Green Bay and for the game of football. E-mail Nate your Favre stories at ncarey@dailycardinal.com.

Honorable Badgers Ice Honors Junior goalie Jessie Vetter and sophomore forward Meghan Duggan received first-team All-WCHA honors. Junior forward Erika Lawler was named to the second team, and senior forward Jinelle Zaugg received third-team honors. Freshman forwards Hilary Knight and Mallory Deluce both earned spots on the conference all-rookie team. Tops on the Track Wisconsin sophomore Brandon Bethke won Big Ten Indoor Athlete of the Year and Athlete of the Championship. UW men’s track and field head coach Ed Nuttycombe received Big Ten Indoor Coach of the Year honors.

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Badger Draft Watch: Pro scouts watched UW seniors workout Wednesday at the McClain Center. Get a full recap online at www.dailycardinal.com dailycardinal.com/sports

Thursday, March 6, 2008

CONFERENCE KINGS

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The Badgers pose with the Big Ten trophy. Wisconsin won its last regular season conference title in 2002-’03 when it defeated Illinois in the final game of the season.

Badgers claim at least a share of the Big Ten title with 77-41 victory over Penn State RECAP By Adam Hoge the daily cardinal

It was supposed to be a night of lasts for the UW seniors, but it quickly turned into a night of firsts, including Wisconsin’s first Big Ten Championship since 2003. Senior forwards Brian Butch and Greg Stiemsma scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, while junior Marcus Landry led the way with a game-high 15, as the UW men’s basketball team topped Penn State 77-41 on Senior Night Wednesday in front of a sold-out crowd at the Kohl Center. “This is why we play. This is why

we run the hill, this why we do all the stuff that nobody likes to do. It gets you moments like this,” Butch said. “You know, we had a great year last year but we didn’t have anything to show for it.” It might have been the last time the senior quartet of Butch, Stiemsma, Michael Flowers and Tanner Bronson played at the Kohl Center, but it was the first time Stiemsma scored 10 points at home since Nov. 15 against Savannah State, and it was the first time Bronson scored at all since Nov. 16 against Florida A&M. The former manager and fifthyear senior missed his first two shots after he entered the game with 4:49

left and the Badgers leading 7033. But just minutes later, shooting with the confidence of a seasoned veteran, Bronson took a three from NBA range at the top of the key and dropped it through the net with ease. “We are used to that from Tanner, so to see him do that in a game like this, on senior night, it just comes full circle I guess,” Butch said. “I’m just so excited and so happy for him to be able to experience something like that. It is something that he and his family will remember for the rest of his life.” For Stiemsma, the senior could not have had a better night. His 10 points came on 4-of-5 shooting

while adding six rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes. He added the exclamation point with 12 minutes to go, when he took a Jason Bohannon miss and tip-dunked it, giving the Badgers a 55-25 lead, their largest of the game at the time. “I think it still seems surreal,” Stiemsma said. “It’s senior night and the last game of our careers here. Those are pretty big things to look at and it hasn’t really set in yet.” It also was a night of firsts for the underclassmen. Freshman Tim Jarmusz hit his first career 3-pointer and freshman J.P. Gavinski had his first career dunk. Also, junior Kevin Gullikson played for the first time

since Jan. 5 after being benched for receiving his third underage drinking citation. But after the game the team was still talking about junior Joe Krabbenhoft’s first career dunk, which came just 32 seconds after Stiemsma’s tip-dunk. “We’ve been giving Joe a hard time for the last couple of years that he doesn’t have a dunk yet,” Stiemsma said. “But for it to happen at the time of the game that it was, we started to break things open at that point and it was a time to really enjoy it.” It also happened to be the first time students rushed the court recap page 11

Entire UW team contributes as Nittany Lions struggle offensively ANALYSIS By Matt Fox the daily cardinal

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Head coach Bo Ryan hoists the net during UW’s victory celebration.

The Wisconsin men’s basketball team awarded its seniors with a bittersweet farewell in their final appearances at the Kohl Center. The Badgers beat the Penn State Nittany Lions in dominating fashion 77-41, ensuring the Badgers at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title. Wisconsin had another fantastic performance from its defense, as it limited Penn State to just 30 percent shooting from the field. The Nittany Lions youth and lack of size showed, as they did not attempt a free throw until four minutes into the second half. Wisconsin also took advantage of its size on the offensive end—outscoring Penn State 34-15 in the paint. Junior forward Marcus Landry led the Badgers with 15 points, including Wisconsin’s first seven

points of the game. But the seniors on Wisconsin’s bench also made their presence known on a special night. With junior forward Jamelle Cornley out because of knee problems, Penn State lacked an offensive presence in the post. The Nittany Lions struggled to put points on the board all night long and could only muster 17 in the first half. Freshman guard Talor Battle was the only PSU player to score in double figures. He reached his season average of 10 points. Meanwhile, the Badgers received contributions from every player on their roster. Senior guard Tanner Bronson ended his play in Madison on a positive note. The walk-on and former Wisconsin equipment manager heard his name chanted by Badger fans all game long. He drilled a 3-pointer with about two minutes remaining to send the crowd into a frenzy and cap off

an emotional night. Head coach Bo Ryan shared his happiness in Bronson’s success and a special night for Wisconsin’s seniors. “For Tanner, I couldn’t be happier and I know that these guys were too,” Ryan said. “It’s a great feeling to see this group come together the way they did. Everybody’s trying to win, and guys like Tanner Bronson bring so much to what everybody else also offers up. To have it all culminate in senior night—to clinch at least a piece of the Big Ten championship, it’s just sweet. I’m so happy for them.” Following the game, Wisconsin fans stormed the court to celebrate the Badgers’ third regular season Big Ten Championship under head coach Bo Ryan, their first since 2003. Big Ten Deputy Commissioner Brad Raviola awarded Wisconsin its trophy and UW Athletic Director Barry Alvarez analysis page 11