Weekend, March 28-30, 2008 - The Daily Cardinal by The Daily Cardinal

AND THEN THERE WERE SIXTEEN

‘The Ruins’ deﬁes horror-ﬂick cliché with daytime drama ARTS

Men’s hockey, basketball both ﬁghting 15 others in respective national tournaments

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Weekend, March 28-30, 2008

Union food staff voices concerns at worker forum By Grace Kim THE DAILY CARDINAL

KYLE BURSAW/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Wisconsin Union administration met with members of its food staff in a forum Thursday at Memorial Union. This listening session and several others are a result of a letter sent in February regarding employee dissatisfaction.

UW-Madison’s Wisconsin Union administration held a twohour food staff forum Thursday to address any employee concerns at Memorial Union. This third open forum allowed student employees to voice their opinions of the working conditions at the Union. In February, some Union workers signed a petition demanding better working conditions and sent it to the Ofﬁces of the Dean of Students. Employees viewed the petition as a long awaited chance for their voice to be heard. “I’ve been working here for over a year now and I’ve heard numerous complaints by students … and I want to know what took so long to hear our concerns,” said Muhammad Sankari, UW-Madison sophomore. At the forum, student employ-

ees and managers tried to tighten the disconnection between management as student employees shared their thoughts about the reality of their working conditions. They raised questions regarding wage, working environment, mistreatment and lack of communication. Sankari, who works 25 to 30 hours weekly in the Union, said the disconnect between student employees and managers exists because of poor wage management. Beside the wage issue, many students raised the issue of the Union’s working environment. According to UW-Madison freshman Jenny Peek, Union employees do not get anything back no matter how much energy they put into their work—not even a small word of encouragement. union page 3

Students aim to improve AIDS relief By Melanie Teachout THE DAILY CARDINAL

UW-Madison’s Project 40/40 plans to raise awareness on campus of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa, and aims to provide relief to its victims. Six UW-Madison Project 40/40 student members joined hundreds of other students in the initiative while attending a Clinton Foundation conference hosted by Bill Clinton March 14 to 16 in New Orleans. The conference covered four major areas for global improvement, including global health, human rights, poverty relief and energy and climate change among the students from various areas of the country. Project 40/40 began in October 2007 on campus after its founders, UW-Madison sophomores Anna Day and Sara Jerving, heard a speech from Stephen Lewis, a former United Nations envoy. Lewis said $180 from each student per year could provide immensely needed relief for 40,000 HIV/AIDS-afﬂicted Ugandans. He inspired the two founders to pair students of UW-Madison with Ugandans

in need of HIV/AIDS relief. “Our goal is to pair the 40,000person student body at UW with the people who are still in need of anti-retroviral treatment in Uganda and to raise the money needed to fund that ARV treatment through the UW population and the surrounding community as well,” said Emily Swanson, a communications intern of Project 40/40.

“There’s a lot of people from not only the UW, but around the world who are looking to make a difference.” Tim Melgard student member Project 40/40

The group seeks to promote awareness through activities such as fraternity and sorority philanthropy events. “We’re deﬁnitely expanding and reaching out to every section of the

university,” said Alana Keusch, a UW-Madison student and attendee of the New Orleans conference. Although the Clinton Foundation conference acted as a refresher for Project 40/40, students gained an immense amount from the experience. “It was really refreshing to be in an environment where people are that actively motivated and that committed to taking these steps for, really justice, not charity,” Day said. Group members said Project 40/40 has already shown promising strides. “We weren’t alone here in Madison. There’s a lot of people from not only the UW but around the world who are looking to make a difference,” said Tim Melgard, UW-Madison sophomore and conference attendee. The group will host a video conference Tuesday with Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs at 7 p.m. in the Educational Sciences building.

Accountability Board may regulate issue ads By Rebecca Autrey THE DAILY CARDINAL

The Government Accountability Board decided Wednesday to consider regulating issue advertisements, which have come to the forefront of state politics during the current state Supreme Court race. Special interest groups, which receive money from anonymous

businesses and organizations that cannot legally donate to a candidate directly, fund issue advertisements. Kevin Kennedy, the head of the Government Accountability Board, said the board is in preliminary stages of review. “The goal is to make sure that the board is regulating all of

the activity that the law permits it to regulate,” he said. Kennedy said no decision could be retroactively applied to the current Supreme Court race, but could effect future elections. According to Mike McCabe, issue ads page 3

JACOB ELA/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO

State Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, stated Thursday negotiations on the budget shortfall may soon result in an agreement.

Huebsch anticipates budget compromise State Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, announced Thursday an agreement can be reached in the next few days on the $428 million budget shortfall. Huebsch gave the statement during an interview on WisconsinEye, an Internet and television broadcast network. This claim came after Huebsch, Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston, and ofﬁcials from Gov. Doyle’s ofﬁce met in an attempt to resolve budget issues that have existed in Wisconsin for several months. According to Carrie Lynch, spokesperson for Decker, compromises on the budget are yet to be made. She said Huebsch’s claim was not based on formal agreements but rather on general talks between the opposing sides about

how to settle on the budget in a timely manner. “I think [Huebsch] as well as [Decker] is feeling optimistic that we might be able to get this done in a much more timely fashion than the budget,” Lynch said. “No one wants to see a repeat of last summer where it took months and months to get it done.” Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, said most major issues will likely be resolved in the next few days, but agreements on many details may take longer. Miller, who is co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee, said he is happy about Huebsch’s statement. “I am delighted to hear him make that statement because I want to see this done quickly,” Miller said. ––Megan Orear

“…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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Weekend, March 28-30, 2008

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

TODAY: cloudy hi 38º / lo 20º

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Shakespeare shower makes Kiera cower

Volume 117, Issue 113

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News and Editorial edit@dailycardinal.com Editor in Chief Jill Klosterman Managing Editor Jamie McMahon News Editor Jillian Levy Campus Editor Amanda Hoffstrom Abby Sears City Editor 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 Hannah McClung Mario Puig, Ryan Seib Jake Victor

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

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

WEEKEND: mostly sunny hi 40º / lo 28º

KIERA WIATRAK taking kiera business

hen you buy tickets to see a Shakespeare play, you have to expect two things: an audience full of people who want you to think they’re smart enough to understand it, and a stage full of actors with impossible amounts of uncontrolled bodily fluids. Over Spring Break, I was in Chicago for a night with my family. Two tickets to “Othello” were available at the half-priced ticket booth, which my brother Bryce and I decided on mainly because it was the only play we’d heard of. The truth is, I like Shakespeare. I always have. I liked looking like a know-it-all in my high school English classes when I was smart enough to buy a copy of “Julius Caesar” translated into modern English. I liked reading the SparkNotes synopsis and trying to figure out how much of Shakespeare’s version I could understand once I knew the plot. It was almost like a writer’s version of a logic puzzle.

And yeah, pretentiousness fits in there somewhere, too. But I was not prepared for the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. First of all, my seat was located directly in front of a pole. Not only could I not see, I was forced to straddle a long phallic object like a horny panda through much of Othello’s marital troubles. Yet, the worst of it was the father-son duo sitting next to us. They would take turns laughing with that obnoxious, nasally laugh you only use when you want someone to notice that you’re laughing because you got the joke and no one else did. Shakespeare may have made his jokes, but they were never a laugh-out-loud matter. Only pompous imbeciles laugh out loud during Shakespeare. During intermission, Bryce and I decided something had to be done. We staked our claim on two front-row seats while the rest of the audience was in the lobby and exchanged phrases such as “hence he doth” and “oh yander lingers thee” when people looked at us as if we didn’t belong there. But then the play started up again and karma paid its dues. “I feel ... wet,” I whispered to my brother. “Like it’s raining in here.”

“I think it’s coming from the stage,” he replied. We both tilted our heads forward to get a better look at Othello and Desdemona, who seemed enraged about something and were yelling a lot. The answer to our soggy mystery became clear: They were spitting.

After the show, I felt as if I’d passionately made out with every member of the cast.

But it wasn’t just an occasional drip or even a lateral stream. These people were hurling gallons of saliva at each other in gushes that measured at least two feet in diameter. At one point, Othello had a string of drool bouncing off his chin that seemed vigorous enough to lasso around Desdemona’s neck and hang her in a vengeful fit of salivating rage. But it didn’t. He just took the traditional Shakespearean approach and smothered her to death with his bare hands. After the show, I felt as if I’d

passionately made out with every member of the cast. Plus, the surprise shower had made my bangs curl, completely undoing my preshow hair straightening efforts. My brother and I grew impatient waiting in line for a taxi with fellow Shakespeare audience members. We were cold and drenched in other people’s spit. “Kiera, let’s just go across the street and flag the taxi down there to avoid this line,” my brother suggested. I thought about this for a moment. Everyone else seemed as freezing and some as wet as we were. It wouldn’t be fair. They were here first. “OK,” I said with a shrug. As Bryce and I hopped in the next taxi before it reached the line of people at the more distant curb, I wondered why, if these people were supposedly among the intellectual elite who understood Shakespeare, none of them thought of crossing the street. Maybe they “get” Shakespeare, and maybe 90 percent of them didn’t have DNA samples from six strangers, but we were the first ones to end our evening in a nice warm cab. That’s right. If thou hath movith thee soul to respondith, e-mailith Kiera at wiatrak@wisc.edu.

Take photos for the award-winning staff of

Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just looking to get started in photography, The Daily Cardinal is a great place to sharpen your skills. E-mail photo@dailycardinal.com to get involved.

Awards won by the DC staff at this week’s Wisconsin News Photography Association 2008 Convention:

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

College photographer of the year: 2nd Place - Brad Fedie

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

General news photography 1st Place - Christopher Guess 2nd Place - Brad Fedie 3rd Place - Amanda Salm Sports Action Photography 1st Place - Amanda Salm 3rd Place - Brad Fedie H. Mention - Brandon Laufenberg H. Mention - Kyle Bursaw

Feature Photography 3rd Place - Amanda Salm Honorable Mention - Jacob Ela Photo Illustration: 3rd Place - Amanda Salm Sports Feature Photography 2nd Place - Jacob Ela 3rd Place - Brad Fedie H. Mention - Brandon Laufenberg

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SSFC DEBATE SET FOR THIS WEEKEND. The ASM Student Services Finance Committee will hold a debate Sunday at 6 p.m. in Grainger Hall’s Morgridge Auditorium. SSFC candidates will square off at the debate before the ASM spring elections April 1-3. Weekend, March 28-30, 2008

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Doyle names appointees to UW Board of Regents

Latin spin-sation

Gov. Jim Doyle announced Thursday two new appointees to the UW System Board of Regents. The governor appointed Betty Womack and John Drew to fill two vacant positions on the Board. Womack will begin her term immediately and Drew will begin his appointment June 1. “Now more than ever, our University System needs people who are committed to maintaining and strengthening the educational values of this state,” Doyle said in a statement. According to a statement, Womack is a Milwaukee resident and assistant superintendent of the Kettle Moraine School District. Drew formerly served on the Governor’s Task Force for Education and is also a Milwaukee resident. “Betty Womack and John Drew will be great additions to the Board of Regents––each with unique perspectives on education,” Doyle said. David Giroux, UW System spokesperson, said he is ready to get the new appointees oriented and up to speed as quickly as possible. “I think we’re looking forward to learning more about these two new leaders, teaching them more about the university and connecting them with the rest of our board members so we can all go about the business of improving higher education in Wisconsin,” he said. Doyle also reappointed Daene Davis for a term to expire in May 2011. Both Womack and Drew are set to serve terms ending in May 2014. ––Jillian Levy KYLE BURSAW/THE DAILY CARDINAL

The WUD Student Performance and Global Connections Committees with the Kappa Delta Chi sorority sponsored the ¡Baile Reggaeton! dance party at the Memorial Union Thursday night. The event featured DJ David Muhammad and Lucha Libre.

Madison to turn lights off Saturday By Abby Sears THE DAILY CARDINAL

The City of Madison will turn the light switch off for an hour this weekend to participate in “Lights Out America,” part of a worldwide event to conserve electricity. Ald. Tim Gruber, District 11, proposed the event as a resolution to the City Council after constituent Inga Berg suggested it. The council passed the resolution earlier this month, and it encourages Madison residents to turn off their lights from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. According to a City Council statement, Madison will assume a leadership

union from page 1 “I stay here because I love the atmosphere, but it is the overall atmosphere that has been changed,” Peek said. “Something really needs to be adjusted.” The recent addition of cameras in the Union as well as employee thievery changed what used to be a hospitable environment at the

issue ads from page 1 director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, 93 percent of all television ads regarding the race between Judge Mike Gableman and incumbent Justice Louis Butler have been funded by special interests. McCabe said the funding disparity leaves the candidates with no meaningful role in their own campaign. “The candidates have no control over this campaign. They’re bystanders,” he said. McCabe said campaigns are supposed to be a dialogue between the voters and the candidates, and that the special interest groups paying for the ads have changed the entire

position and shut off non-essential lights in all city buildings during the event. “I think the fact that it was first of all a chance for us as a city to do something both in terms of self-conserving not just everyday but also raising awareness,” Gruber said. “It’s kind of a reminder for all of us how we each can do a little bit and make a big difference.” Jeff Rolling, chair of the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group, said members of the organization are enthusiastic about partaking in the event. “I think it’s a really great thing,” Rolling said. “There’s always the simple things, [and] turning your lights off is

obviously probably one of the easiest things to do to conserve energy.” In addition to “Lights Out America,” Rolling suggested a number of ways for students to conserve energy throughout the year, particularly buying items locally and utilizing public transportation or walking. “We’re pretty lucky here in Madison to have a pretty big transportation system to use, so we don’t have to drive anywhere,” Rolling said. In March 2007, the World Wildlife Fund created the Earth Hour in Sydney, Australia. According to the Earth Hour website, nearly 200 cities across the world will participate this year.

Union, employees said. In October 2007, the Union began an investigation of several Stiftskeller employees who were suspected of stealing from cash registers. In late February, five former employees were charged with stealing nearly $15,000 from the Union bar’s cash registers. “You can feel that moral is down and the Union that used to

be a lot of bond is now not there,” Food Service Director Carl Korz said. “We need to figure out clever and creative ways to get [employee] recognition and the other things back up.” Peek said she was pleased with the outcome of the forum. “It was nice to have lots of people in management actually here talking,” she said.

dynamic of the race. “[This is] just a special interest monologue,” McCabe said. “A handful of groups are doing all the talking. That’s not democracy.”

the problem. The most drastic solution, according to Basting, would be to eliminate judicial elections altogether and have merit-based appointments. However, Basting said changing the appointment process would require amending the state Constitution, which would take at least five years. A more practical solution would be to require special interest groups to disclose their donors, Basting said. “I think there are people who contribute to those groups, contribute sometimes because they can remain anonymous, and they don’t want anybody to know that they are pouring a lot of money into these groups,” she said.

“The candidates have no control over this campaign. They’re bystanders.” Mike McCabe director Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

Thomas Basting, chair of the Wisconsin Judicial Campaign Integrity Committee, said many steps could be taken to alleviate

Court rules parents not liable in underage drinking case The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the parents of children who host drinking parties in their homes when a car accident results from the party cannot be sued as a result if they are unaware of the drinking. State law still forbids parents to serve alcohol to minors, but the parents in the case under review were not proven to have explicitly provided alcohol or to have known a drinking party was taking place. The case involved an intoxicated girl whose car crashed after she had attended an underage drinking party. The victims of the crash sued the parents of the event’s host, according to the court records. “Nothing in the Wisconsin statutes renders the [parents’] conduct unlawful,” said Justice N. Patrick Crooks in the majority opinion, reversing an appeals court decision. Crooks said if the parents had been found guilty, it would have represented an expansion of liability law , which should be decided by the state Legislature.

Books for sale

KYLE BURSAW/THE DAILY CARDINAL

People browse for deals at the Memorial Library book sale Thursday. The sale will continue Friday and Saturday, opening at 10:30 a.m. both days.

opinion 4

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Weekend, March 28-30, 2008

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

federal aid a must for rail compact

t may seem like the distant past, but there was once a time when two-car garages and clogged highways were not the American norm. Although a return to the precar past, which had a number of its own shortcomings, is virtually impossible, Gov. Jim Doyle took an important step in reviving the railroad in Wisconsin and throughout the region this week after signing the Midwest Passenger Rail Compact. Now it is time for the federal government to do its part and contribute funding to the program.

It is plain to see that our existing methods have led us to a painful and expensive dead end.

Critics and cynics point to the already pinched federal budget and question whether millions of dollars should be used on such an ambitious undertaking. Their position is shortsighted and lacking in historical perspective. It was largely with the help of the U.S. government and its determined construction of the interstate-highway system that the automotive industry rose to prominence, turning the car into the most important of all American possessions. Ultimately, increased reliance on the automobile put the railroads out of business. At present, we are left with a system of crowded and decaying roads, a multitude of cars and a true threat to national happiness: mind-numbing traffic. More importantly, the rapid

Editorial Cartoon

expansion of our automotive culture has led to uncontrolled consumption, irrefutable and damaging pollution and an insatiable thirst for oil. Complaints about rising gas prices are common. Unfortunately, for everyone but the car companies and the current administration, honest expositions of the true cost of our oil addiction—in money, in uneasy alliances and now in American lives—are less frequent. That, however, is changing, as is the previous ignorance of global warming and its direct relationship to the cars we drive. As supporters of the compact have already noted, Americans are happy to take trains instead of cars if provided with an efficient and cost-effective option. There are many programs to which the federal government could rightly refuse funding in order to increase support of alternative transportation.

Two car garages and clogged highways were not always the American norm.

A 10-state agreement that seeks to address one of the biggest logistical and environmental problems facing the nation while at the same time preserving and encouraging the transportation that is vital to the economy should not be refused. It is plain to see that our existing methods have led us to a painful and expensive dead end. There is another way, and those in Washington must now step up.

Isolated incidents not typical of Greek system By Roz Koff THE DAILY CARDINAL

Hazing, puking, random hookups, huge house parties: Is that all it means to be Greek here on our Big Ten campus, where students take pride in working hard and partying even harder? At the Overture Center several months ago, my sorority held a “sisterhood” event by attending a Madhatters concert at the signature venue on State Street. This talented male acapella troupe catered not only to my sorority, but to the greater public as well. During intermission, the crowd cleared out to rush to the bathrooms, only to be greeted by the pleasant surprise of vomiting sorority girls taking their own “intermission” from fall formal.

Nothing is more hurtful to me than to have the entire sorority system torn down by a few poor representatives.

Unsure of what to do, we left the bathroom in search of somewhere else to relieve ourselves. As we left, we overheard an abundance of comments from the Madison community expressing disgust at these sorority girls. This is no surprise, as they had simply come to enjoy a show on a Friday night with friends and family in the downtown we students know and love. As a member of a UW-Madison sorority who was wearing her letters, I suddenly felt a surge of embarrassment for the symbols that I normally wear with pride. I wanted to apologize for these girls, and to defend the Greek system as a whole. I wanted to tell these adults about the many hours we spend dedicated to our chapters—of the many opportunities we take advantage of, the friends

By Meg Anderson opinion@dailycardinal.com

we make, the hours of community service we dedicate to the Madison community each week. All that was lost in this terrible display of what it means to be Greek in Madison. I wanted to flail my arms and defend the internships that I have been given access to through alumni, and flaunt pictures of the many life-long friends I have made. I wanted to scream about the hours I had just spent earlier that day at Glendale Elementary School, reading with young Madison students who are years behind the average reading level. Instead, I could only attempt to disguise my letters and protect my own dignity. I scurried back to the concert hall with rage and repulsion, unsure of what to do next. A month or so later, at our house’s weekly informational meeting called “chapter,” two representatives from a sorority I know and love came to speak to my chapter. In what can be described as a lackluster, heartless apology, a gloomy member of this sorority’s executive board read a note to the room off of her blackberry, apologizing for some “unGreek” acts that their members had committed, sharing words of their clearly artificial remorse for their wrongdoings. Seriously, reading an apology message off your phone?! At least try to pretend to actually care about what you have been sent to say. And maybe add some eye contact into the mix, anything to take responsibility for your organization’s actions and add at least a hint of sincerity. I always say that, besides coming to UW-Madison, joining a sorority was the best decision I have made. Aside from the frequent stereotypes sororities receive on campus, they provide a community among the tens of thousands of students that surround this campus. On a daily basis, sororities provide opportunities for bettering not only our own lives, but also the lives

of others at UW-Madison. On weekends, there are events that allow us to meet even more members of the Greek system. For many, being Greek provides displaced students a welcoming place to live. The people we meet, the experiences we have and the memories we create are all in the name of being Greek. There is nothing more hurtful to me or any other respectable member of a sorority than to have the entire system torn down by a few poor representatives.

Those engaged in Greek life on campus have a responsibility to represent our campus positively.

When members of UWMadison sororities are on campus, regardless of whether they are wearing letters, they represent more than just their chapter. They represent an entire organization with a long running, respectable history. When a typical UW-Madison student wears their Wisconsin red outside of the Madison community, they wear it with a great deal of pride and respect for the campus they represent. Those engaged in Greek life on campus have a responsibility to represent all of us positively—doing well by others and most of all, having fun while maintaining this image. We, as students, take pride in our university and the vast array of opportunities it provides us. One of these unique opportunities is Greek life, and anyone who puts on their letters must uphold Greek pride in the same way they do UW-Madison’s. Roz Koff is a freshman majoring in journalism and women’s studies. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Offer recycling bins in Brown Apartments As a senior at the University of Wisconsin, I have learned to appreciate the beauty and cleanliness of the state of Wisconsin. I hope that after I graduate, Madison will be able to remain clean and healthy. I am writing to inform you of a concern I have for the environment in Madison. I am living in a building on West Gilman Street owned by the very successful entrepreneur Steve Brown. Steve Brown Real estate is an extremely popular and lucrative business on campus, which continues to invest more and more money into building new apartments, such as the brand new Lucky building that will be finished by fall of next year. While Steve Brown is extremely efficient in creating new places to live on campus, the company is not so efficient in keeping the environment safe.

There are no recycling bins here at our building, and so we are forced to throw everything, including bottles, plastics and papers into the same bin. There is absolutely no effort made to recycle any of the waste. Due to the large number of students living in Steve Brown apartments, it is important for them to offer recycling bins in all of their apartment buildings. Recycling is an essential part of keeping our environment clean. It keeps waste out of landﬁlls, and it reduces the needs for raw material, therefore using less energy. Steve Brown needs to spend less investment in the construction of new buildings, and become more invested in the environment. —Becky Goldenthal UW-Madison senior

arts

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Weekend, March 28-30, 2008

CD REVIEW

Consolers of the Lonely The Raconteurs

Jack White dominates the Raconteurs’ retro release By Justin Stephani THE DAILY CARDINAL

PHOTO COURTESY DREAMWORKS SKG

The sinister new thriller “The Ruins” puts a spin on the horror genre, building an intense ﬁlm from a limited cast and daylight scenes.

Taking the long road to ‘Ruins’ By Kiera Wiatrak THE DAILY CARDINAL

Flesh-eating plants induce more images of a cheesy 1980s musical (“Little Shop of Horrors”) than those of blood-soaked psychological thrillers. Yet cast members of the upcoming horror flick “The Ruins” seem to think otherwise. The film, directed by Carter Smith and based on Scott B. Smith’s novel bearing the same title, chronicles six 20-something friends quarantined in a Mexican jungle with a mystery involving killer plants that wriggle their way under the skin, literally.

Unlike most horror ﬁlms, much of the gore and violence takes place in broad daylight.

“It’s really a survival story,” “Ruins” co-star Shawn Ashmore said of the film. “The thing that’s really scary and really terrifying is watching these characters

break down ... and get to a point where they will harm each other for survival.” Ashmore’s co-star Jena Malone agreed. “It wasn’t really about who these people were, but who they were going to turn into,” she said. Malone and Ashmore, as well as co-star Laura Ramsey, said that “The Ruins” defies the conventions of the typical horror movie. “You see a lot of horror films where it’s just teenagers, and one is going to be killed off and you know it,” Ashmore said. “[In ‘The Ruins’], you really sort of live with these characters and get to know them before anything awful happens.” Ashmore also pointed out that, unlike most horror films, much of the gore and violence takes place in broad daylight. “It’s amazing because you can’t hide from anything,” he said. Ramsey and Malone agreed that a defining characteristic that sets the film apart from others within the genre is, surprisingly, that the plot is somewhat feasible. “I think personally the reason why it’s more scary than other

‘Ruins’ starlet Wisconsin-bred “The Ruins” co-star and rising Hollywood actress Laura Ramsey grew up in Brandon, Wis., where her family still remains. Here’s what she had to say about it: “Thank God I grew up in Wisconsin,” she said. “Being PHOTO COURTESY DREAMWORKS SKG from there you have morals and values and great family. I take it with me here because here your career is so unsettling, like you never know where you’re going to be next week or a month from now and sometimes it’s hard because there’s so much competition here. And I really keep my roots and my family really grounds me ... Being from Wisconsin [is something] I’m very proud of.”

movies is because it has sort of a realistic factor to it,” Ramsey said. “You can sort of picture yourself being stranded somewhere.” Malone agreed. “On the surface, without knowing anything about ‘The Ruins,’ you could think it’s really unrealistic,” she said. “But what’s going to surprise audiences is how realistic it truly is and how subtle it is and how humanistic it is and how it does feel like it’s truly happening and unfolding in front of you.” In fact, according to Malone, the film’s villain is not the plant with a taste for human blood. “The evil in the film is human nature, which is the most palpable and hard-to-accept villain in the world, but it’s something we all deal with.” Malone and Ashmore both talked about the movie’s success in conveying the essence of being human when left with no more devices than the instinct to survive. “When all those things are taken away from you, you become very basic, very animal,” Ashmore said. The co-stars agreed that the stressful and intense plot of the film translated into the atmosphere on the set. “I actually had a blast, like I really, really had a good time making this movie,” Ashmore said. “But it was kind of like every day was life and death, like, you know, verge-of-tears hysterics.” Malone also had a vigorous experience on the set. “To be perfectly honest, I think I had a breakdown almost on every level,” she said. “Spiritually, emotionally, creatively. It was a lot of physical work and it was completely demanding, and I definitely crossed that line between is this real fear or is this character fear? Is this real pain, or is this character pain?” She added that the small cast of “The Ruins” made physical sacrifices to better empathize with

their characters. “All the cast went on this sort of diet,” she said. “We weren’t eating a lot and we were trying to sort of deprive ourselves of one singular thing to sort of understand the deprivation that the characters were going through.” And of course, being covered in blood helped blur the line between actor and character. “At one point I was almost covered completely in blood,” Malone said. “It’s not as fun as it sounds, actually. It’s actually quite a sticky, strange material that as soon as you put it on the skin, every time you move your hand, it feels like your skin is being ripped off of you.” Part of the film’s intensity derives from the size of the cast, which essentially only includes six characters. Consequently, according to the actors, the close bonds between the characters in “The Ruins” also materialized among the actors portraying them.

Part of the ﬁlm’s intensity derives from the size of the cast, which essentially only includes six characters.

“We really, as a group, we became friends off set as well,” Ramsey said. “We were going to dinner after and discussing the next day scenes.” Ashmore agreed. “I actually prefer to have sort of a smaller group of people because then you do have the ability to get to know people,” he said. “When you spend that much time with people that you don’t know all that well right away, you form really intense friendships and bonds ... and that’s kind of fun, like that’s part of the adventure.”

It seems fitting that the first line repeated on Consolers of the Lonely is “I’m bored to tears” as the Raconteurs’ second album proves to be an outlet for the creative extremes of Detroit singer/songwriters Brendan Benson and Jack White. After the first track’s proclamation of boredom, Consolers of the Lonely takes off, and, while it all sounds familiar thanks to White’s unmistakable influence, each track features a completely unique sound and style. The third song, “You Don’t Understand Me,” attempts to steal the show early by being as one of the few songs on the album, bringing forth the contrast of White and Benson’s solos. It is hard not to enjoy this song’s simple and raw appeal, which was a main part of the success of the groups debut album, Broken Boy Soldiers. In contrast, “The Switch and the Spur” is found wanting in simplicity, making it a very rare miss, as it jumps around from wailing bass riffs to frenetic guitar solos. This leaves the song lacking focus and makes it harder to appreciate than the rest. Overall, Jack White seems to be more dominant on this album, whereas the first time White, Benson and the rhythm section of the Greenhornes split the lead evenly. As a result, Consolers does not take advantage of the contrasting vocal styles of Benson and White as much, but it appears that White deserves the spotlight, as he has continued to develop his songwriting ability. His lyricism and delivery are in top form through most of the album, especially on the fantastically eerie ballad “Carolina Drama.” More evidence of White’s oddly marvelous songwriting ability is the diversity of references to so many eclectic artists. The track “Top Yourself” draws from Led Zeppelin with a slide guitar riff that echoes Jimmy Page’s technique. Maybe it’s White’s uncanny ability to moan and weep like Robert Plant at times, or maybe it’s the underlying banjo that recalls some of Zeppelin’s best folk work, but whatever it is, the song effectively embraces it, creating an effortless and sinister success. In the end, this album and White do not succeed just by being able to sound like so many classic artists, but it is impressive how he can write songs that can recall former artists, while maintaining White’s own influence and presence in his compositions. It appears as though Benson and White truly collaborated to cure their collective boredom on this album, which, luckily for listeners, results in a very intriguing track list filled with eccentricities from top to bottom that will surely cure the boredom of any rock fan.

comics 6

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Weekend, March 28-30, 2008

Bulging Biceps

Today’s Sudoku

Beeramid

By Ryan Matthes beeramid_comic@yahoo.com

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.

Dwarfhead and Narwhal

By James Dietrich jbdietrich@wisc.edu

Perhaps Walt Disney had a bad childhood? “101 Dalmatians” and “Peter Pan” are the only Disney animations in which both of the main character’s parents are present and don’t die during the movie.

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 APPLE SAUCE ACROSS

1 Atlantis’ owner 5 Rowing team, e.g. 10 “Right in the kisser!’’ preceder 13 Ardor 14 Cohort of Travis and Crockett 15 Part of UAE 17 Snorkeling enthusiasts 19 Just what the doctor ordered 20 “Breathing Lessons’’ Pulitzer winner 21 Work unit 22 “Kissin’ on the Phone’’ singer 23 Word on a bottle of snake oil 25 Paper-to-be 28 Cacophony 29 Whale group 31 Preﬁx denoting the latest 32 Act as a prompter 33 F/X ﬁeld 35 One may be needed after an injury 37 Parcels out 39 Start-up capital 42 Give a hint 45 Talent for banter 46 Wax container 49 It’s never neutral

50 “Suburban’’ sufﬁx 52 Arcing shot 54 Ballroom presentee 56 Subject of some controversial research 59 It may be on the tip of your tongue 61 Bye-bye 62 Tampa Bay player, to fans 64 Gain succulence 65 “The Adventures of Milo and ___’’ 66 Part of an early computer 68 Winsor McCay’s “Little’’ one 69 Kalmar native 70 Minor in geography 71 Roaring locale 72 Piece of property, e.g. 73 Caught, in a way DOWN

1 Like measuring cups 2 Related to a type of hydrocarbon group 3 On a clipper 4 Building extra 5 Kimono sash 6 Recess in the shoreline 7 Nerd’s kin 8 Pellet ﬁrer 9 Dollard-___- Ormeaux, Quebec 10 Tropical melon tree

(Var.) 11 River flowing through Venezuela 12 Strike preceder, sometimes 16 Sword parts 18 Stalactite former 24 Flower-shaped decoration 26 Simple abodes 27 Barbershop fixture 30 Lemon 34 “Manner’’ attachment 36 German auto 38 Caustic potash 40 Of historic dimensions 41 Prudhoe Bay find 42 Moving engine part 43 Took turns 44 Former 47 Fatty, as tissue 48 It might end with a start 51 Macaroni noodles 53 Stark 55 Tree with rooting branches 57 Dixon’s geography partner 58 Tackle box items 60 Succotash beans 63 Relinquish 66 Reb’s letters 67 Encountered

sports

dailycardinal.com/sports

Weekend, March 28-30, 2008

Football team loses spring in step due to injuries By Tom Lea THE DAILY CARDINAL

The UW football team’s defensive line, like several positions, is injury-plagued following the ﬁfth practice of spring ball. Seniors Jason Chapman and Mike Newkirk are currently recovering from ACL and shoulder surgeries, respectively. While both are expected to make full recoveries and be ready to participate in fall camp, the door has opened for many of the younger players on the Badger roster to turn heads. Junior Dan Moore, former player at both Eastern Illinois and Joliet Community College, accepted a scholarship this spring to play for the cardinal and white. Many feel the 6'2" defensive tackle could become an impact player. However, transferring from a junior college to one of the elite Big Ten programs takes time to adjust. “It’s very different. You just have to completely change your mindset and just put your nose to the ground because it’s hard work,” said Moore, who is currently listed as second on the depth chart behind senior Matt Shaughnessy. “The lifts are intense, and then practice, ﬁlm study and everything

you do. You really just have to step your game up with everything that you do.” The Badgers also lost NFL hopeful Nick Hayden following completion of his eligibility last fall, opening another spot. Up to this point in the spring schedule, junior Jeff Stehle has been logging snaps with the No. 1 defensive line group. Though Stehle may just be filling in until Chapman and Newkirk return, he relishes the opportunity. “I think it is a great opportunity to show them [coaches] that I can play in there and be another option when those guys come back,” Stehle said. “Chapman and Newkirk are great players and hopefully they are going to fully recover, and I just want to get in there and roll.” Redshirt freshman Patrick Butrym is another contender competing during spring practice. Head coach Bret Bielema admitted he was shuffling Butrym around the defensive line to figure out where he would fit best, and eventually settled on lining him up at the defensive tackle position. “At first we didn’t know if he was going to be an inside or outside guy,” Bielema said. “We’ve moved

him to the inside, [and] he probably had his best practice last Tuesday. Patrick is into it.” After playing solely on the scout team last fall with a number of other freshmen, Butrym realizes the transition off the scout team is tantalizing, and patience is required. “You have flashes of brilliance and then you have flashes of being a freshman,” he said after Thursday’s practice. “There are just some things that you got to focus on, mental stuff. This is really the first time that a lot of the freshmen have seen significant action ... you just need to adjust. Every play counts and you really got to try and improve every day.” Day Five Practice Notes: Starting outside-linebacker Jonathan Casillas suffered an ankle injury early during Thursday’s practice. After receiving treatment, Casillas was seen with a walking boot on his left foot. “J.C. in inside drills got planted and a guy came down on him,” Bielema reported during practice. “I don’t know how significant it is, but he definitely hurt his ankle a little bit. It’s not serious, but we might miss him for a couple weeks.”

CHRISTOPHER GUESS/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO

Senior defensive end Matt Shaughnessy is expected to be the anchor of next season’s defensive line.

Softball team prepares for a long weekend on the road against NU, MSU By Scott Kellogg THE DAILY CARDINAL

The Wisconsin softball team (1021) will open Big Ten competition this weekend, with games Friday and Saturday at Northwestern and a doubleheader Sunday at Michigan State. Northwestern (13-9) is ranked No. 16 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball

Poll and has wins over No. 1 Arizona, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 6 Louisiana State and No. 25 Texas. The Wildcats feature junior shortstop Tammy Williams, a player Wisconsin head coach Chandelle Schulte called a “phenomenal ballplayer.” Williams leads Northwestern

with a .535 batting average, a .775 slugging percentage, two triples and four home runs. Last year Williams set the school record with her 24-game hit streak. The inﬁelder also broke single-season school marks with 91 hits, 73 runs and 155 total bases. Williams was a ﬁrst-team

MATTHEW WISNIEWSKI/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO

Senior catcher Joey Daniels leads Wisconsin with a .293 batting average. Besides Daniels’ ﬁve doubles and two home runs, she also has a perfect ﬁelding percentage this season.

frozen four from page 8 the Badgers are moving on. As a bubble team, the Badgers quickly ﬁgured out that the road out of the regional bracket and toward Denver isn’t an easy one. But to hear them tell it, they’d rather have to go through two WCHA teams than an unknown quantity. Remember, this isn’t the UW team from two years ago that ran the gauntlet all the way to a college hockey championship. Rather, it’s the third-youngest group this season to make it this far.

Only nine players were on the roster for the last NCAA Tournament appearance. Only four played. Junior Ben Street, who scored against Maine in 2006 to help put the Badgers into the championship game, was asked what wisdom the four could impart on less-experienced teammates. “We just tell them,” he said, “you don’t get to play the second day if you don’t play well the ﬁrst day.” If you agree that Wisconsin is strong enough to hold its own against the best teams in the country, e-mail Jon at bortin@wisc.edu.

sweet 16 from page 8 underrated guard in the country, Davidson’s sophomore Stephen Curry. Curry is averaging 35 points in two tournament games and 25 points per game this season. Fifty-one of his 70 tournament points have come in the second half. “He’s going to get his points, and all my life my mom told me that people are going to score on you and whatnot, but you just have to make them work for it,”

NFCA All-American selection, a Women’s College World Series All Tournament Team selection and a ﬁnalist for the USA Softball Player of the Year award. Taking Williams and all her accolades into account, it could be the pitching that ends up stopping the Badgers this weekend. “Their pitching has put them together,” Schulte said. Sophomore Lauren Delaney is the staff ace. The right hander is 11-6 with a 2.17 earned run average. Through 116.1 innings pitched, Delaney has surrendered 63 hits and 42 walks, meaning she is allowing less than one base runner per inning. Despite its standout players and lofty national ranking, Northwestern has struggled of late, losing three in a row and six of its last seven. Nevertheless, the Wildcats will represent a tough foe for Wisconsin. “They’re very tough at home,” Schulte said. “We can’t afford to make too many mistakes, and we have to take advantage of theirs.” The contests against the Spartans may not be as difﬁcult as the ones against Northwestern, but Wisconsin cannot afford to lose focus. “Michigan State’s pitching is not as good [as Northwestern’s], but they hit the ball very well,” Schulte said. “It will be a battle of the bats and who can out-hit each other.” The Spartans are averaging five runs and 7.7 hits per game, Flowers said. “At the end of the game, no matter if he has eight points or 12 or 34, I will want him to say that he had to work for every point he got.” Flowers is no stranger to guarding players who can score. He has drawn the opposing team’s top scoring guard in almost every game since he was a sophomore, and even in his freshman year, head coach Bo Ryan used Flowers’ defensive capabilities off the bench fairly often. “I’ve been preparing for this

which compares favorably to the Badgers’ offensive production. Wisconsin is scoring 2.7 runs and 5.1 hits per game. Wisconsin is coming off a rough road trip in which it won 3-of-13 games. However, Wisconsin’s three victories came in the ﬁnal ﬁve games at the Stanford Invitational II. “We felt real good about Stanford’s tournament,” Schulte said. “We’re trying to use that positiveness.” Wisconsin used clutch hitting to capture the wins. Sophomore outfielder Valyncia Raphael hit a walk-off home run over Princeton last Sunday, and on Friday the Badgers rallied in extra innings to score the winning run. It has been a tough non-conference schedule for Wisconsin to this point. Since their opening game on Feb. 8, the Badgers have played 31 games and traveled all over the country, and have only 10 wins to show for it. “We’d like more wins than we have,” Schulte said. “We haven’t taken advantage of several opportunities.” But the beginning of the Big Ten schedule marks a clean slate for Wisconsin. “We faced some tough competition, but the whole point was to prepare for the Big Ten,” Schulte said. “We’re starting to come together,” sophomore pitcher Letty Olivarez said. “We can still improve a lot, but I think we’re taking good steps.” game against Michigan State, against, you know, Shannon Brown and Maurice Ager,” Flowers said. “Against Illinois’ Luther Head, Deron Williams and Dee Brown. I’ve been preparing for this game, playing against Drew Neitzel and Eric Gordon. Hopefully I can take my lessons learned playing those great players and try to remember what I did against those to help me try to contain Curry.” Friday night’s game tips off at 6:10 p.m. on CBS.

sports Badgers look to lock down Curry 8

dailycardinal.com/sports

Weekend, March 28-30, 2008

By Adam Hoge

JON BORTIN the bort report

THE DAILY CARDINAL

Some have coined Friday’s Sweet 16 matchup between Davidson and Wisconsin “David(son) vs. Goliath,” but the UW men’s basketball team has spent the week preparing for a team that hardly resembles a small, weak team that on paper has no chance to slay the Badgers. Davidson might be a small school—its enrollment barely exceeds 1,700—but it is an academic powerhouse and this year its basketball team is anything but a Cinderella. “We realize that (Davidson) is a good team,” senior forward Brian Butch said. “You know, people look at the seeds and make a big deal about it. But for us, BUTCH they’ve beaten two great teams to get where they’re at now.” The Wildcats’ wins over Gonzaga and Georgetown last weekend were two of the biggest wins of the season for Davidson, a main reason its 22-game win streak entering the tournament only resulted in a No. 10 seed. Beating good teams is something Davidson had struggled to do during the regular season, but scheduling good teams was not the problem. The Wildcats lost to North Carolina by four, Duke by six and UCLA by 12 earlier in the year but never got the big resumé win they needed. Now they have, and the UW players say they see a lot of similarities between their team and the team they are favored to beat Friday. “They’re pretty similar to us

Wisc. hockey deserves shot at Frozen Four

BRAD FEDIE/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Junior forward Marcus Landry has provided the Badgers with 10 points and 12 rebounds so far in the NCAA Tournament, contributing to the team’s run to the Sweet 16. where, you know, they’ve got a lot of role players that do a great job and really look to carry the ball in positions to score, but yet they make plays themselves too,” Butch said. The similarities between Davidson and Wisconsin have been a major topic of discussion this week. The major difference on paper is the schedules. While the Wildcats were narrowly losing to

top teams, the Badgers were narrowly beating top teams like Texas and Indiana. But now Davidson has their big wins, and Friday’s game will be played on a neutral court where records and previous results will be thrown out. It’s not “David vs. Goliath” for the Badgers. “That is an awesome team,” senior guard Michael Flowers said. “I was watching the

game and luckily we weren’t Georgetown, so I was able to be in awe of their talent and their coach and just see them come back and handle what Georgetown threw at them.” It’s a good thing Flowers was paying attention, because Friday he will have the privilege of guarding arguably the most sweet 16 page 7

Men’s hockey gears up for NCAA Tournament By Jon Bortin THE DAILY CARDINAL

Players on the Wisconsin men’s hockey team believe, when they’re collectively on top of their game, no team can defeat them. “And we understand if we don’t play well, anybody can beat us,” senior defenseman and captain Davis

Drewiske said this week after practice. “So it’s a ﬁne line.” Not that the Badgers will be playing just any team—or, perhaps, teams—this weekend, when, for the 23rd time in school history and the fourth time in six years under head coach Mike Eaves, UW will be skating in the NCAA Tournament.

ISABEL ALVAREZ/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO

Junior forward Ben Street has 16 assists on the season and leads the Badgers with 13 goals heading into the NCAA Tournament.

Given the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Regional bracket, the Badgers prepared this week to take on the Denver Pioneers, a familiar WCHA foe and winner of the WCHA playoff championship. The bracket also features a firstround matchup between top-seeded North Dakota and Princeton. Winners of the two games, both to be played on Saturday, will meet on Sunday for a chance to go to the Frozen Four in Denver. While Denver and North Dakota are both ranked among the top-five teams in the country, the Badgers will have an advantage in fan support. The three games will be played at the Kohl Center, where UW was 7-6-1 this season. “We’ve got to make sure we use that,” junior forward Ben Street said. “We have to create some energy, fire the fans up and make sure it gets loud.” In one series between the two teams this season, the Badgers traveled west and split with the Pioneers. But, one game ended in controversy and an admitted error on the part of the WCHA. The following night, the Badgers hung seven goals on Denver, their largest scoring output against a conference team this year. But the Denver team the Badgers will play against this weekend has won four straight games and is 11-1-2 alltime against UW at the Kohl Center. “They’re just a solid team,” Street

said. “They’re playing real good hockey right now. Their goalie has played real well for them—they’re not giving up a whole lot. They’re creating a lot offensively.” Wisconsin’s freshman forward Kyle Turris leads its offense, but Denver’s offense is also led by a rookie. Tyler Bozak has scored 18 goals and has 34 points in his ﬁrst season of college hockey. Senior goalie Peter Mannino brings a wealth of experience to the tournament. His goaltending in the post season three years ago played a big role in Denver’s championship run and earned him Most Valuable Player honors in the Frozen Four. Of the record six WCHA teams that made the tournament, three are in the Badgers’ bracket. The fact that the Badgers have to go through two familiar teams in order to advance has both advantages and disadvantages, according to Eaves. “Obviously, the pro is that you’re very much aware of them,” he said. “You know their strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes when you play a team that you don’t know, your styles, when you come together, they either clash or the way you play might be an advantageous thing for you.” Speaking specifically about Denver, Eaves offered a candid guide of what to watch for: “There’s not going to be any punches pulled here. Both teams know each other pretty well.”

arlier this week, I asked the captain of the Wisconsin men’s hockey team, defenseman Davis Drewiske, if he thought the team deserved to be in the NCAA Tournament. The way he answered, you would have thought I was questioning the team’s ability to skate. Like he had been fed a pass for a one-timer on net, he shot right back with this firm response: “Oh, absolutely.” But things were never quite that certain for the Badgers, who—let’s face the facts—had a losing record in the regular and post season. Here’s how Drewiske responds to that: “The PairWise is the formula used for picking the teams. We’re 12th in the PairWise. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be in the tournament.” PairWhat? It’s a system that basically models the methods of the NCAA Selection Committee, which let the world know Sunday that Wisconsin was among the 16 teams qualified for a run at the Frozen Four. Unlike the other bracket field that gets all the attention plus some more, the college hockey one is regarded as being sorted out by less subjective means. That’s why the Badgers were confident that they’d be one of the four teams fighting for their lives at the Kohl Center this weekend. Someone outside the heady world of Badger fandom could and probably has raised the question of why Minnesota State—a team with a better record, a better poll standing, and a season series win over Wisconsin—did not beat out UW. The answer to that question is that Wisconsin had more “comparison wins” than Minnesota State. The 25 teams with the best Ratings Percentage Index in the country are stacked up against one another and then given a point for each of those wins.

Unlike the other bracket ﬁeld that gets all the attention, college hockey is regarded as being sorted out by less subjective means.

A comparison win is judged on four criteria: RPI (complicated in and of itself ), head-to-head competition, record against common opponents and record against the other top-25 teams. In the comparison between Minnesota State and the Badgers, the Mavericks won on the strength of their RPI, record against common foes and their record against Wisconsin this year. Yet, the Badgers edged them out in comparison points, 11-10. You can point to so-called “wins” over Princeton and Northern Michigan—wins that the Mavericks did not register—as the reason why frozen four page 7