Thursday, April 3, 2008 - The Daily Cardinal

ARTS

dailycardinal.com8 Is The Icon tasty or just trendy? /FOOD Will polar bears survive the century? /SCIENCE University of Wisconsin-Madison

PAGES 8 & 9

FILM FESTIVAL PREVIEW

A glimpse at 10 Wisconsin films premiering this weekend

Complete campus coverage since 1892

l

dailycardinal.com

Thursday, April 3, 2008

UW-MADISON STUDENT KILLED Police investigate homicide after body found on Doty St.

Students receive ‘WiscAlert,’ UWPD joins investigation

By Abby Sears

By Amanda Hoffstrom

THE DAILY CARDINAL

THE DAILY CARDINAL

Authorities are investigating the slaying of a UW-Madison junior after her body was found in her campus-area apartment Wednesday.

Madison Police Department officers discovered the body of Brittany Sue Zimmermann, 21, of Marshfield, Wis., at her home at 517 W. Doty St. after receiving a call to check on a person at the apartment around 1 p.m. Dane County Coroner John Stanley could not ZIMMERMANN state the exact cause of death, but said forensic medical testing will occur Thursday morning.

Madison Police Chief Noble Wray said investigators do not have any suspect information at this stage in the investigation. He urged residents to be “concerned, but not alarmed” about safety threats and said police will increase patrols and visibility in the downtown area.

“Officers will begin to canvas the adjacent neighborhood [and] the homes around the incident to share what they can in terms of what took place and to relieve concerns by area residents,” Wray said.

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, who once lived on the 500 block of West Doty Street during his time as a UW-Madison student, expressed condolences to the victim’s family and friends and told residents to remain strong in the wake of the tragedy.

In the wake of UW-Madison junior Brittany Sue Zimmermann’s death, campus officials are trying to retain a sense of community and stress awareness of personal safety.

University of Wisconsin Police Chief Susan Riseling and Dean of Students Lori Berquam joined city officials at a news conference Wednesday to offer university support in the homicide investigation.

“Clearly this is a devastating and tragic situation and honestly it’s a shock,” Berquam said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Zimmermann family, with Brittany’s friends.”

UW-Madison officials alerted the campus community of the homicide through “WiscAlerts” around 5:45 p.m. after Madison police identified the victim as a student. This is the third time the campus-wide emergency communication system was used this school year.

At the request of Chancellor John Wiley, Riseling said UWPD would cooperate with the Madison Police Department to offer assistance.

“I spoke with the chancellor,” Riseling said. “He said whatever resources the university has that the city might need, the university will do everything to share those resources.”

According to Riseling, UWPD increased the number of university patrols at 4 p.m. Wednesday, and would continually update the campus with any additional information regarding Zimmermann’s death.

“We will try to communicate quickly and clearly with the student body as we need to do through all sorts of

AMANDA SALM/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Madison police closed the 500 block of West Doty Street Wednesday afternoon after finding the body of UW-Madison junior Brittany Sue Zimmermann, 21, of Marshfield, Wis., around 1 p.m.

Community coming together University, city officials address tragedy at press conference ISABEL ALVAREZ/THE DAILY CARDINAL

LORI BERQUAM Dean of Students

DAVE CIESLEWICZ Madison Mayor

NOBLE WRAY Madison Police Chief

zimmermann page 4

wiscalert page 4

‘Monstrous’ rapist gets 40 years in prison

By Abby Sears THE DAILY CARDINAL

Antonio Pope, the man convicted of kidnapping and raping two female UWMadison students in 2006, will spend 40 years in prison for the attacks, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Dane County Circuit Court Judge John Markson sentenced Pope to an additional 20 years of extended supervision after his prison term, provided he register as a sex offender and have no contact with the victims.

According to a criminal complaint, Pope abducted the young women near campus on Nov. 29 and Dec. 9, 2006, before driving 10 to 15 minutes off campus and raping them. He blindfolded, bound and threatened both victims with knives.

In November 2007, Markson found Pope guilty on two counts of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of kidnapping after Pope pleaded no contest to the charges.

Pope initially said he was high on ecstasy and did not have any recollection of the attacks. Defense Attorney Karie Cattanach said Pope’s lengthy criminal record and inability to be responsible for his actions warranted a severe sentence.

“I’m at a loss for words to describe how monstrous your conduct was,” Markson said before announcing Pope’s sentence. “These women were scared to death.”

One of the victims’ mothers testified at the sentencing hearing and said the abduction and rape left her daughter “just a shadow of who she once was.”

She said her daughter stopped attending school and quit her job due to the stress resulting from the crime. The victim can no longer be alone and panics when male strangers approach her, according to her mother.

“These are the actions of a maniac,” the mother said of Pope’s crimes, asking the judge for a lengthy prison sentence.

Pope did not speak at the hearing, but made a statement through a letter read by his attorney John Fiske. In the statement, Pope apologized to the victims, his children, the UW-Madison campus and the Madison community.

“He knows that the victims in this crime may not be in a position to forgive him now, but he hopes that in the future they will find themselves able to do that,” Fiske said.

JACOB ELA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Antonio Pope will spend 40 years in prison for abducting and raping two women in 2006.

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

page two 2

l

Thursday, April 3, 2008

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

dailycardinal.com/pagetwo

Art budget cut, elephant painting thrives

Volume 117, Issue 117

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

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 Rebecca Autrey Chloe Cabot, Amanda Jutrzonka Grace Kim, Alex Kuskowski Hannah McClung, Soly Moustafa, Megan Orear, Shana Pradeep Frances Provine, Amanda Roberson Jake Victor

MATT HUNZIKER his dark matterials

A

t the Academy for Elephants in Thailand, they are teaching elephants to paint. In a video titled “Elephant Paints Own Self-Portrait,” you can see one of the elephants hard at work with a paintbrush in its trunk.

As the shocked spectators in the background attest, the elephant paintings have become a major tourist attraction for Thailand. (Human) art critics have sung their praises. But while some artists are actively trying to cultivate these animals’ creative talents, scientists and others are questioning to what extent the elephants actually understand what they’re doing.

In the featured painting, a dancing elephant stands with its trunk curled gracefully around a sunflower that, if it existed in nature at the scale depicted,

would tower menacingly over the roof of a small house.

It’s the kind of self-portrait that kindergardeners produce when instructed to draw something besides geometrically retarded skyscrapers or birthday cakes so oversaturated with color that the page seems to throb with radiation. Although to the elephant’s credit, the sense of proportion in its picture is much more developed than what one would expect from the average 6-yearold human.

At that age, my own self-portraits suffered from my fixation with dinosaurs and my decision to express that passion by continually depicting myself with a 17-foot brontosaurus neck, a habit that persisted well into the fourth grade. Finding inspiration in the more recent past, a friend of mine decided to re-imagine herself in the image of the late-period, “Vegas,” Elvis Presley.

Imperfect renderings though they were, those crude sketches did demonstrate some sort of creative drive.

Without these fantastical distortions,

Business and Advertising

arts-and-crafts time would’ve been a rote exercise in scrawling clumsy human forms. In other words, anyone with the requisite motor skills can be trained to draw a member of their own species, but it takes real inspiration to dress that figure in a bejeweled white leisure suit and matching platform shoes.

The trouble is figuring out which camp elephant art belongs, as it’s difficult to say what extent the animal really knows what it was doing. Thailand’s Academy for Elephants has been operating for about a decade, which seems like time enough to train a particularly intelligent animal to coordinate the 20 or so brush strokes that make up the painting featured in the video.

It would be another thing entirely, though, if the same elephant could be persuaded to do a similar work with a very different setting, say a regal portrait of Babar.

It would be nice to know just what is guiding the artist’s trunk, but the fact that it’s hard to tell probably has much less to do with their artistic prowess than the difficulty involved

in getting an elephant to explain its work directly.

If the painting in the video is a real self-portrait in the “Elvis” sense, and not just a charming trick to impress the English-speaking tourists in the background, then it’s good to know that elephants are happy and apparently optimistic about their creative endeavors. Perhaps it’s best not to trouble them with the conventions of the human-made art world.

After all, elephant art is still a young medium. In time, one of the animals could chronicle its descent into depression with a series of monochromatic, black canvasses, or trample a Steinway in an act of protest.

In the meantime, it’s encouraging that at a time when funding for art education is frequently in jeopardy, there are still people working to make sure everyone gets a chance with a paintbrush—pachyderms included.

Have you been telling people how creative your pet is for the last six years?

Why not tell one more by e-mailing Matt at hunziker@wisc.edu.

New Beer Thursday

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 Sheila Phillips Marketing Director Assistant Marketing Director Jeff Grimyser Creative Designer Joe Farrell Accounts Receivable Manager Jonathan Prod Archivist Erin Schmidtke

Central Waters Happy Heron a pale ale Scanning the beer selection at Riley’s, one can’t help but notice that Central Waters beers are a little different from the rest.

For starters, each six-pack from Central Waters comes in a corrugated cardboard box. There are no windows on the box and it doesn’t otherwise display the bottles. There’s only a yellow label that identifies the beer in question, with a cute logo filling space behind it.

This low-fi packaging is great to let your kids play in after you’re finished drinking the beer, but it doesn’t bode well, especially when company in box-dom can only be found in the mediocre O’Fallon Pumpkin Ale and all Ashland Brewery offerings, each with creepy pastel Blair Witch-style murals on their sides.

That’s not to say there’s any model for divining beer quality solely from packaging, but Central Waters does not keep inspiring company in the

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

l

l

beer aisle, to say the least.

That said, Happy Heron isn’t half bad, though it’s nothing special. It’s a sharp pale ale that will bludgeon your tongue into submission with bitter, bitter hops. It’s a beer that knows nothing of fine-tuning and will run roughshod over your tastebuds for as long as you drink it.

It pours golden and the nose is just as metallic. There are some fruity notes wedged into the body. Pears and grapefruit eagerly scramble into the fray, only to be cut down by the hop firing squad. In fact, the citrus flavors taste suspiciously like grapefruit pith was scored into the brew.

After a while, the effect resembles scraping a tongue depressor over your tongue repeatedly. It’s not an offensive feeling, just intense.

There are domestic ales that handle flavor more deftly. Try Lake Louie Arena Premium for a great take on a similar idea.

Central Waters Brewing Co. • Amherst, Wis. $7.99 at Riley’s Wines of the World

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

FRIDAY: partly cloudy hi 57º / lo 34º

TODAY: rain hi 52º / lo 33º

l

l

l

l

l

l

© 2008, The Daily Cardinal Media Corporation ISSN 0011-5398

For the record Corrections or clarifications?

Call The Daily Cardinal office at 608-262-8000 or send an e-mail to edit@dailycardinal.com.

���������������������� �����������

Maine camp needs fun loving counselors to teach all land, adventure & water sports.

Great Summer! Call 888-844-8080 Apply: campcedar.com

ASIAN AMERICAN VOICES PRESENTS

Kate Rigg in “Slanty Eyed Mama”

as part of “MIXED RACE ASIAN: WHY IT MATTERS TO ASIAN AMERICA” Come check out a per formance by multiracial Asian American multimedia ar tist

From New York City, a high energy show that features: *Original spoken word *Lyrical hip hop *Rock pieces *Accompanied by electronic violinist Lyris Hung

KATE RIGG

“Slanty Eyed Mama” Saturday, April 5, 2008 8:00 pm 3650 Humanities Building

For more information or to register go online to: www.aaags.blogspot.com

*** FREE ADMISSION ***

Pregnant or know someone who is?

�������������������������������� ������������������ ������������������������������ ����������������������������������� ������������������������������� ����

Open to the Public Picture provided by: www.katerigg.com/

Sponsored by: Association of Asian American Graduate Students (AAAGS), Asian Pacific American Law Student Association-South Asian Law Student Association (APALSA-SALSA), Asian American Studies Program (AASP), Asian Pacific American Council (APAC), Asian American Student Union (AASU), Wisconsin Asian Bar Association (WABA), Wisconsin Association for Asian Americans (WOAA), and the Associated Students of Madison (ASM) , Of fice of the Vice Provost of Diversity and Climate, Of fice of the Dean of Students/Student Organization Of fice

dailycardinal.com/news

Thursday, April 3, 2008

UW student awaits return to campus before deportation

By Whitney Newman THE DAILY CARDINAL

Following her release from federal custody Tuesday, third-year UWMadison pharmacy student Tope Awe will be able to return to campus within the next few days.

According to the statement released Tuesday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, both Awe and her brother Oluwabenga are required to wear ankle monitoring bracelets and check in with ICE periodically while deportation documents are assembled.

“When we first heard her case, we had 20 petitions and overnight it grew to 1,000.”

Salemawit Zewdie friend

“I think the fact that the campus was behind her and that we showed our support may have helped with the decision to release her from Dodge County Jail, so she can come back and finish school while she’s still continuing to fight the legal proceedings,” said Salemawit Zewdie, a close friend of Awe’s.

“Our next goal is for Tope to be able to complete her one-year internship following her graduation from pharmacy school this May,” she said.

Zewdie and Awe served as cochairs for the African Students Association during the 2006’07 school year.

Zewdie was one of the first students who began assembling petitions and organizing AWE events to rally for Awe’s return to campus.

Zewdie attributed the immense amount of support to Awe’s character as a person and also as a student.

“When we initially started, when we first heard her case, we had 20 petitions and overnight it grew to 1,000,” Zewdie said.

There are now more than 3,000 documents of support for the Awe family, not only from UW-Madison students, but also from students across the United States who heard about her case.

“I spoke to Tope when she got back to Milwaukee [after being released from federal custody], and she’s doing well. She’s high-spirited and hoping for the best outcome,” Zewdie said.

l

news

3

Gableman may impact controversial rulings

By Charles Brace THE DAILY CARDINAL

Judge Michael Gableman, a member of the state Supreme Court starting in August, is likely to rule on several contentious issues, including the 2006 constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

Gableman defeated incumbent Justice Louis Butler 51 to 49 percent April 1.

Conservative-leaning groups in the race largely supported Gableman, including the Wisconsin Family Council, the Wisconsin Club for Growth and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce.

Julaine Appling, chief executive officer of WFC, said she was pleased with Tuesday’s results.

WFC opposes gay marriage and worked to get the marriage ban passed, which it did with almost 60 percent of the vote in 2006.

“Judge Gableman joining the court in August bodes well for the issues we are concerned about get-

ting a fair and impartial hearing,” Appling said.

She said it was likely topics like the marriage ban and domestic partner benefits would be ruled on by the state Supreme Court in the next few years. She said businessrelated cases and parents rights cases were also expected to come before the court.

“Judge Gableman joining the court in August bodes well for the issues we are concerned about getting a fair and impartial hearing.”

Julaine Appling chief executive officer Wisconsin Family Council

A case involving state employees attempting to get health insurance benefits for their partners is currently before the court, with the next hearing in May. A February preliminary ruling on the case was

a 4-3 decision, with Butler siding with the majority, according to court documents.

Gableman is seen as someone who will likely shift the ideological balance of the court and often referred to Butler, an activist judge during the campaign.

Glenn Carlson, executive director of the LGBT rights group Fair Wisconsin, said he was not sure how Gableman would rule on issues like gay marriage or domestic partner benefits.

“He has not given any indication [how he would rule] on the issues that are important to us,” Carlson said.

He said the group would reevaluate its stance depending on future rulings by Gableman.

Fair Wisconsin did not endorse a candidate for the Supreme Court because they currently have a case being heard, according to Carlson.

He also said cases involving gay marriage and civil unions would be looked at by the Supreme Court in the near future.

UW announces World Stem Cell Summit keynote speaker The chair of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation will give the keynote address at the World Stem Cell Summit in Madison at the end of September.

The university announced Wednesday that Peter Kiernan, III, will speak at the summit, which will be held Sep. 22 and 23 at the Alliant Energy Center.

“We are very honored that Peter Kiernan will address the summit,” Bernard Siegel, executive director of the Genetics Policy Institute and co-chair of the World Stem Cell Summit, said in a statement.

“Both Christopher and Dana Reeve remain heroes to the millions of patients who believe that regenerative medicine offers hope

to finding a cure for paralysis and a host of other afflictions.

The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation remains true to its founders’ legacy by funding critical stem cell research.”

The UW Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, WiCell Research Institute and the Genetics Policy Institute have partnered to organize the event.

4

l

news

Thursday, April 3, 2008

dailycardinal.com/news

TomoTherapy founder shares his steps to business’ success

By Stephanie Dar THE DAILY CARDINAL

CHARLIE BAKER/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Thomas Rockwell Mackie, co-founder of TomoTherapy, spoke as part of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Gilson Discover Series Wednesday.

zimmermann from page 1 “We need to remind ourselves we’re a safe city overall. We also need to continue to look out for ourselves and continue to be a strong community,” Cieslewicz said.

Ald. Mike Verveer, who represents the District 4 area where the killing occurred, said a neighborhood meeting will be held Saturday to answer questions about the incident and area safety.

The meeting’s time and location will be announced Thursday.

MPD public information officer Joel DeSpain said police cannot rule out the possibility that the killing was a random act. Police are investigating if the incident is related to an attempted break-in on West Washington Avenue early Wednesday morning.

wiscalert from page 1 different mechanisms—everything from mass e-mail to our web pages to Facebook,” Riseling said.

Riseling also urged students to remember their personal safety.

“We are suggesting people go about their business in the downtown area and on campus, but again use caution. Be aware of your surroundings.”

MaryAnne Thurber, a Madison police crime prevention officer, said students should always keep doors locked and leave windows open no more than four inches so an intruder cannot climb through.

She said to keep essentials in front pockets to prevent theft of valuable possessions.

“Being sober in public is so critically important with the alcohol involvement in property

In a separate incident, UWMadison pharmacy student Ben Heiser said he heard someone yelling expletives outside his home on the 500 block of West Doty Street around 1 a.m.

Wednesday. He said the neighborhood is typically safe and did not think twice about the incident until the homicide investigation.

Police are urging students who encountered any suspicious activity in the area anytime after Tuesday afternoon to immediately contact police.

“It is so vitally important that if anyone saw anything, observed anything, heard anything that they would contact the Madison Police Department,” Wray said.

Residents can report suspicious activity to Madison Area Crime Stoppers at (608) 266-6014. crimes and personal crimes and there is a correlation that exists,” Thurber said.

Classes were not canceled Wednesday, but students were reminded to use counseling services available if necessary.

“Most importantly I think we need to come together as a community—both in the city of Madison, the university … and come together as a community to get to the bottom of this situation,” Berquam said.

Thurber said anyone with any information should report it to the police.

“The smallest thing can make the biggest difference so there’s nothing too insignificant in this investigation to bring to the front— we want to know everything.”

—Abby Sears contributed to this report.

Thomas Rockwell Mackie, cofounder of TomoTherapy, spoke Wednesday at the Fluno Center about his experiences as an entrepreneur.

TomoTherapy is a radiation therapy machine that contains a CT scanner, Mackie said. One feature of the machine is that it allows patients who need bone-marrow transplants to receive radiation directly to their bones without affecting the lungs, liver or brain.

“It’s not just about money, it’s about helping people,” said Carl Gulbrandson, managing director of Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. “His company does a tremendous job of helping cancer patients.”

Mackie also discussed the business aspects of being an entrepreneur, and gave faculty members advice if they wished to start their own business, including determining motivation

and assessing the risk level.

Mackie’s talk was part of WARF’s Gilson Discovery Series.

“A big part of our mission … [is] to get out into the world and make a difference in people’s lives,” said Janet Kelly, WARF communications director.

“Enjoy what you do, and the rest will take care of itself.”

Thomas Rockwell Mackie co-founder TomoTherapy

Mackie said it is important for potential entrepreneurs to ask themselves what their motivation is for starting their own businesses, whether they will have the time and ultimately whether they will enjoy it.

“Enjoy what you do, and the rest will take care of itself,” Mackie said.

According to Mackie, another question to consider is the level of risk that will be incurred. he said the best position to be in is one of low risk with high reward.

However, most entrepreneurs find themselves in a position of high risk and high reward.

Mackie also addressed the issue of whether or not scientists could double as businessmen. Although presentation and analytical skills are similar, scientists are not trained in many business skills, including reading financial statements and deciphering government regulations, he said.

“It is much better to hire a professional business person if you’re aside this and would like to start a company,” he said.

Mackie closed his talk with words of advice: “Don’t be quick to give up, there’s lots of people that are going to tell you that you are going to fail.”

Research finds new link to drunken driving

By Charles Brace THE DAILY CARDINAL

Smoking bans might inadvertently cause increased amounts of drunken-driving accidents, according to a Wednesday report from two Wisconsin researchers.

The study, published in an upcoming edition of the Journal of Public Economics, said smokers who drive longer distances to smoke in bars without smoking bans farther away are statistically more likely to get in accidents.

Chad Cotti, one of the co-authors of the study and now a clinical assistant professor of economics at the University of South Carolina, said he was not expecting the findings.

“At first it was quite startling,” Cotti said. “The next question is ‘why is this happening?’”

Cotti said one of the likely reasons is drinking is often associated

with smoking and vice versa. When smoking is eliminated, people who like to do both search out places where smoking is available, according to Cotti.

He said non-smokers could also be affected, as people might drive longer distances to go to bars in a city without a ban. Stricter drunken driving policies, according to Cotti, would offset the increase in accidents.

Cotti said the paper was not an indictment of smoking bans, but showed policies sometimes have unintended consequences. He said the paper could be used to justify not passing bans, or it could be used to justify a universal ban so people would not be driving to other bars.

Maureen Busalacchi, executive director of Smoke Free Wisconsin, said she was skeptical of the study. She said she questioned the funding and methodology it used.

“I don’t know how in the world they would determine that there could be a million other variables,” Busalacchi said.

The issue might likely be more about bar owners serving patrons too much or more enforcement being necessary, according to Busalacchi.

Pete Madland, executive director of the Tavern League of Wisconsin, said he has heard testimony on a smoking ban’s effects that are similar to the results in the study. Busalacchi said she doubted accounts by the TLW because they did not have evidence for the claims.

Madland said it was true that higher percentages of bar patrons smoke than the general population.

He also said states having passed bans typically see increases in people drinking in their homes instead of bars.

Smoking bans recently passed in Eau Claire and Marshfield, Wis.

opinion dailycardinal.com/opinion

Thursday, April 3, 2008

l

5

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

‘april fuels’ prank misguided, flat

I

n a curious and irrelevant overnight prank, an unknown number of eco-fools deflated dozens of car tires on campus Tuesday, leaving notes on the cars reading “Happy Fossil Fools Day! Drive Less.”

The pranksters didn’t actually slash the tires, but most of the Langdon-area victims must have been upset. Despite the relative harmlessness of the joke, we can’t help but wonder: What were these environmental jokesters trying to accomplish?

Perhaps they merely wanted to keep the cars and their polluting “fossil fools” off Madison roads, if only for a few hours. This likely worked only until gas-hogging tow trucks showed up to take the cars away, and unless the pranksters were waiting in ambush to deflate those tires too, they caused more pollution than they prevented.

Then again, maybe their aim was more abstract—raising awareness, for example. They certainly got the attention of Langdon Street residents, and the creativity with which they carried out the joke is intriguing.

But who exactly was their target? Most of the cars likely belonged to students, who don’t even drive much in the first place.

Students only own cars because they are necessary, as it’s often impossible to travel back and forth from the grocery store, a job or even home without one.

The activists would have been better off sabotaging a mode of transportation that represents an actual luxury for students— mopeds, for example. Most moped owners would get along fine walking or biking from Point A to Point B, and while we in no way endorse this sort of vandalism, the tricksters could have better served their cause by deflating the hundreds of motor scooters lined up outside university buildings.

The joke failed not only because it was annoying and misdirected, but because it took aim at individual victims as well.

Maybe the anonymous architects of the plan only meant to be funny in leaving people tireless, but to car owners and rational activists alike, the joke likely just seemed tiresome.

Sleep in And still get to class on time.

Earn summer credits online. ed Limit lments. rol AY! s en clas ster TOD Regi

We're talking fully-transferable UW freshman/sophomore credits taught totally over the internet by UW professors.

So you can study when you want, where you want.

Fulfill general education requirements.

Earn some extra credits. Make up a class.

Graduate on time.

Summer 2008: Registration is open until May 22nd Classes begin June 9th Choose from 37 course offerings.

To see complete course listings, for more information or to register, visit

www.online.uwc.edu or give us a call toll-free at 1-877-449-1877

MEG ANDERSON/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Regulation of misleading political ads not enough ERIK OPSAL opinion columnist

I

n one of the most despicable campaigns this state has ever seen, Burnett County Judge Michael Gableman beat incumbent Justice Louis Butler in Tuesday’s state supreme courtelection by just 20,000 votes.

With a recent study showing 93 percent of the ads run in the Supreme Court race came from special interests—over $2 million woth—it’s obvious something has to change. Given the opportunity to denounce the ads, Butler did so and explained that he was only running positive ads. Gableman is another story.

“I think we have stayed positive, and we have let the voters know why I’m the better candidate,” he told The Daily Cardinal this week.

Yeah, and Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

Gableman can claim all he wants that he ran a clean campaign, but his own ads show just how dirty he really was. Consider one ad the Gableman campaign began airing on March 14, which some have compared to the racist Willie Horton ad from the 1988 presidential race.

“Louis Butler worked to put criminals on the street like Reuben Lee Mitchell, who raped an 11-year-old girl with learning disabilities,” the ad states, putting a picture of Butler, who is black, next to one of Mitchell, who is also black.

The ad then claims “Butler found a loophole. Mitchell went on to molest another child.” If this were at all accurate then it’d be a legitimate ad, but as you’d expect, it severely stretched the truth.

Before becoming a judge, Butler worked as a public defend-

er, which meant it was his job to defend the accused. In Mitchell’s case, he got the appeals court to order a new trial because the judge allowed the inclusion of information that shouldn’t have been available to the jury.

However, the state Supreme Court then reversed this decision, not because Butler was wrong, but because it didn’t really matter. “[W]e can conclude that there is no reasonable possibility that the error contributed to the conviction,” wrote now-Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, according to FactCheck.org.

Mitchell was paroled in 1992 and then, in 1995, committed the crime Gableman refers to in the ad. After the Wisconsin Judicial Campaign Integrity Committee called the ad “highly offensive and deliberately misleading,” Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce came out with their own version, the much-ballyhooed “Loophole Louie” spot.

Tuesday was a shameful day in Wisconsin.

As a special interest group, WMC is not supposed to coordinate with campaigns, but after seeing Gableman’s ad, they just happened to come up with their own, citing the same “loophole” argument. Once again, the ad was severely misleading. It claims Butler cited a loophole in a case and “almost jeopardized the prosecution of a murderer.”

Except Butler was the only dissenter in the 6-1 decision, and according to FactCheck.org, the majority made it “clear they were forging a new legal path” in making

their decision. Butler actually took the position that most adhered to the constitution, something far from the “activist judge” label Gableman tried to stick on him.

So now that Butler lost, what can we do? Last Wednesday, the Government Accountability Board decided it would consider regulating special interest ads in upcoming elections. After the malicious and deceiving ads in this race, this is a good first step; however, it’s not enough.

Regulating special interests would only require the groups to disclose their donors, but that doesn’t mean they still won’t spend the money. It also doesn’t stop someone like Gableman, who lied through his teeth by claiming he was running a positive campaign, to run such vile filth on the air.

If we can’t control these misleading ads, which also led to a victory for Annette Zeigler last year, then we need to end the election of judges in Wisconsin.

We did it at the federal level and in 24 other states, why not here?

A few weeks ago, state Rep. Fred Kissler, D-Milwaukee, called for an amendment to the state constitution that would do just that.

This would take up to five years since it would have to be put to a vote, but I don’t care—I’m willing to wait. With appointment power, we never would have had Zeigler—whom the Wisconsin Judicial Commission publicly reprimanded for judicial misconduct—and Gableman—whose campaign has caused a rebuke from Democrats and Republicans alike—on the court.

Tuesday was a shameful day in Wisconsin—a day where special interests and loathsome tactics won out. Let’s not let it happen again.

Erik Opsal is a senior majoring in journalism and political science. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

6

l

Thursday, April 3, 2008

advertisement

dailycardinal.com

TODAY ON THE WEB www.dailycardinal.com8 SLIDESHOWS

c om a l. din

www . da il y c ar

edia ultim /m

Weakerthans concert Restaurant review of The Icon

Grand Entries at 1 pm and 7 pm Feast at 5 pm Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion, Kohl Center

For more information, contact Alison Bowman At 715-304-9033 or ambowman@wisc.edu

�������� ��������

Brought to you by Wunk Sheek

�����������������������

(UW American Indian Student Organization)

����������������������� ��������������������������������

and the Associated Students of Madison

UW professor Eric DeWeaver explores the uncertain fate of polar bears

����������� ������������ ������������

Saturday, April 5th

This event is free and open to the public

SCIENCE ONLINE:

�������������������������� ������������������������������ �������������������������� ������������������������������ ������������������������������ ����������������������������� ��������������������������� ����������������������������� ��������������������� ������������������������� ���������������������� ������������������������� ������������������������ �������������������� ���������������������� ������������������������� ����������������������������� �������������������������� ����������

����������������� ������������ ������������ ������ ������� ��������������� �������������

��������������������

featuresfaith&values dailycardinal.com/features

Thursday, April 3, 2008

In reason we trust A

s an organizing member of AHA, the UW-Madison organization for Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics, Nick Jikomes hears arguments against atheism all the time. One of the most common is that atheism requires belief and is therefore a religion.

Jikomes, however, has an answer.

“There’s a common witticism that saying atheism is a religion is like saying bald is a hair color,” he said. “What people often mean by that is that atheism requires faith, which is just not the case.

Atheists believe in reasoned arguments, and evidence is our basis for establishing whether something exists.”

Jikomes, a second-year genetics major, regularly organizes meetings and lectures on atheism-related topics. “I can’t be 100 percent sure that God doesn’t exist—to say so would be absurd, because you can’t disprove anything with absolute certainty,” he said. “I can’t disprove the Christian, Muslim or Hindu gods. I can’t disprove the Roman or Greek gods, or even the Smurfs. But it doesn’t take a leap of faith to deny the existence of such things.”

Be fruitful and multiply Atheists and agnostics are a significant—and growing—section of the population. In 2001, the American Religious Identification Survey found that 14 percent of the U.S. population identified as having no religion, which is nearly double from 8 percent in 1990. For young adults between the ages of 18 and 29, that number increases to 35 percent.

These numbers are no surprise to Annie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, a Madison-based association representing over 12,000 atheists and agnostics.

“This new generation is much less religious than previous ones,” Gaylor said. “We’re very pleased about that, it’s a good sign.”

Likewise, AHA serves an important function on campus for both non-religious students and people questioning their faith.

“We get a lot of people who just aren’t quite sure where they stand, or religious people who want to hear different viewpoints. It’s not an exclusive group,” Jikomes said. “AHA is important because most non-religious students grew up in religious households, and before college, never had a place where they could go and discuss [such] things. In AHA you can hear views and discuss things you might never have been able to.”

Andrew Wier, a second-year law student and a leading member of the Christian legal society, believes that having AHA on campus is a good thing.

“Any people have the right to organize. I think it’s great that we have a country where people can get together and discuss things,” Wier said. “I disagree with them fundamentally when it comes to religion, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t have some great friendships and discussions.”

However, according to Jikomes, it’s not always easy being an atheist.

Despite the growing numbers of nonreligious people, misconceptions and stereotypes linger. “It’s a common misconception that atheists are hedonistic nihilists, who are bitter and unhappy people,” he said. “Many would say that we are inherently immoral, which is not true.”

Another common misconception about atheism is that atheists

have extreme left-wing political views.

“Being a non-religious person doesn’t necessarily entail a political stance,” Jikomes said. “Prominent atheists, both liberal and conservative, have been supporters of the [Iraq] War.” Nevertheless, the Pew Forum, an organization which studies religion and public affairs in the United States, found that people who identify as having no religion are more likely to belong to the Democratic Party.

Not just for the left One reason for this political persuasion is that atheism is closely related to secularism, the belief that government institutions should b e

separate from religious beliefs.

“People are free to believe whatever they want,” Jikomes said. “The problem is when they apply their religious beliefs to society at large. This is the reason the Constitution says that Congress shall make no law affirming or denying religion. We don’t make laws in our modern society based on religious belief.”

Wier disagrees. “If you believe that religious beliefs should not be present in government then you reject a great deal of morals. I think that’s a double standard, that one person’s worldview would be more acceptable than others’ as the basis of laws.” Wier is not

MATT RILEY/THE DAILY CARDINAL

l

7

Amidst thousands of religious peers, do atheists on campus have a prayer?

Story by Sajia Hall

alone in this perspective; according to the American Religious Identification Survey, 75 percent of American adults describe their views as religious, while 16 percent identify as secular.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation is a firm supporter of secularism—as an organization, they promote the separation of church and state and regularly file lawsuits toward that end. In 1984, the Freedom from Religion Foundation filed a lawsuit against the UW-Madison, attempting to remove a question regarding religious preference from the registration forms. In response, the university ultimately decided to remove the question.

“What h a s

already happened in Western Europe is finally seeping into our culture: an increased respect for secularism and a fear of theocracy,” Gaylor said.

“Students today are choosing progress. They are choosing Darwin over Genesis and choosing to use their minds, rather than see our country become any more dumbed down.”

Todd Brogan is a junior communication arts major and a member of the Baha’i religious organization on campus. The real problem, Brogan said, is not with religion, but with beliefs that are violent and intolerant.

“There are atheist states, like communist China, and religious ones, like Iran, which kill people every day,” Brogan said.

Atheists turn the other cheek Ethics, like politics, are another point of contention. Jikomes believes that humans, rather than an external deity, determine ethics.

“I think that saying ‘Well, God says so’ is an easy and shallow way of determining right from wrong,” he said. “Secular ethics isn’t about doing something because you were told to.

It’s about doing good for its own sake, because it is, in itself, the right thing to do.”

Wier has a different view. “[Christians] treat people well because they are creations of God. It’s harder to find reasons that don’t rest on pragmatism without that foundation,” he said. “Ethics should be about treating people well, and not just because you feel like it.”

Nevertheless, despite differences in beliefs, both Weir and Jikomes believe that religious and non-religious people can find common ground. “It’s possible to lead an ethical life as a law-abiding citizen and to treat people well regardless of whether God exists,” Weir said.

“It’s in the philosophical underpinnings that the reason for this ethics becomes different.”

Jikomes agrees. “What’s really important to atheists and non-religious people is that we have good reasons and evidence for believing the things we do,” he said. “Atheists aren’t looking to ride on the street and destroy religion. Anyone is entitled to believe what they want, and they should exercise that freedom.”

arts 8

l

dailycardinal.com/arts

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Still looking for a homework diversion this weekend? Thinking about checking out a movie or two? How about 220?

The cinematic choices will be endless at the 10th annual Wisconsin Film Festival, including Hollywood, foreign, art-house and local films. Here’s a Daily Cardinal flyby of 10 films to check out.

Take your

“Loose Cannons” (97 minutes) With kung-fu fighting at Vilas and a chase scene on Bascom Hill, this is the Madison campus as you have never seen it.

Director Andy Schlachtenhaufen (a UW alum) creates a self-serious world oblivious to its own absurdities in “Loose Cannons”—a world where aviators are worn at all times and evil comes in the form of the budget-slashing student president and the extorting, murderous “Freshman 15” mafia. The student-run campus security force combats these threats and others, all while trying to maintain a decent GPA. Though packed with silliness, the film finds its own fresh humor beyond cheesy action-film satire. The story is action-packed, the humor is sharp and the whole package is enough to make Madison proud.

—Megan Dwyer

“Chop Shop” (84 minutes) “Chop Shop” tells the moving story of a fasttalking and idealistic orphan named Alejandro growing up in the slums of Queens, N.Y. Alejandro finds a job in an auto repair shop and tries to raise money to carve out a life for himself and his older sister.

“Chop Shop” outlines the many challenges and struggles of growing up in poverty while at the same time showing the innocence of Alejandro’s scrappy perseverance. Alejandro is exceptionally smart and mature, despite (or perhaps, because of ) his lack of a traditional upbringing.

Yet, with all its observations on class and economic hardship, the magic of “Chop Shop” is in its portrayal of family dynamics. Alejandro’s giggly tussles with his sister on the bed are immediately relatable, and his premature role of family protector is what pushes the movie forward while breaking your heart.

—Frances Provine

GRAPHICS BY MATT RILEY

“White Night” (100 minutes) “White Night” centers on a man named Ulrik who, because of the accidental death of another man during a minor barroom skirmish, goes completely insane. Following the man’s death, Ulrik seems to make every possible irrational decision available to him. For example, when his wife forgives him for disappearing from an evening with her parents at a theater, and later from a party at their own house, he says: “We can’t fuck unless we’re drunk or stoned,” beginning a divorce case that threatens to ruin him.

“White Night” simply tries too hard to be a psychological thriller and comes off as boring and difficult. There is hardly a frame where half of Ulrik’s face isn’t obscured in shadows.

The ending also seems rushed and ill-conceived, throwing in monologues, wife beatings and a few hallucinations for good measure. While the film presses the viewer to ask questions about Ulrik’s motivations, in the end, it answers almost none of them.

—Christopher Guess “Madison” (90 minutes) People often joke that Madison is “76 square miles surrounded by reality.” The film “Madison,” winner of this year’s Wisconsin Film Festival Jury Prize, turns that description into a 90-minute story. Directed by UWSuperior professor Brent Notbohm, “Madison” revolves around Michael (Mike DeVita), a traumatized war correspondent and UW alumnus who has recently returned to Wisconsin from Baghdad.

Searching for a break from the horrors of war in his old stomping grounds, Michael reunites with his best friend, Ben. He later meets Ash, an idealistic graduate student, whose strong opinions inspire heated debates about the Iraq War. While an admirable effort, “Madison” suffers from some construction problems. It has minor technical glitches, but what really hampers “Madison” is an abrasive screenplay. Many of the characters are onedimensional, and the conversations about Iraq bluntly preach Notbohm’s message. However, an exceptional performance by DeVita and beautiful shots of local scenery make “Madison” worth seeing, despite its flaws.

—Todd Stevens “Margot and Henry Have an Adventure” (10 minutes) This 10-minute short film focuses on a day in the life of a quirky couple. However, this is no ordinary day and a far-from-ordinary couple. The combination of Margot’s sass, similar to Ellen Page in “Juno,” and Henry’s idiotic but humorous behavior makes the film.

While the story seems disjointed and ridiculous at times, the ending proves the film’s brilliance, making it a must-see.

—Marly Schuman “Yella” (89 minutes) “Yella” centers on a beautiful woman who leaves her home in former East Germany looking for a job.

The film begins with Yella and her estranged husband driving to catch a train to take Yella to her new job. When her husband violently swerves the car into a river, Yella somehow manages to escape from the sinking vehicle to begin her new life.

After the accident, Yella forms a relationship with Phillip, a businessman. He offers her a job, and Yella soon discovers her talents as a ruthless businesswoman.

Throughout the film, Yella moves sadly through scenes with an awkward jaunt and disheartened posture, leading viewers to wonder why she saved herself from the sinking car. Most scenes seem unemotional, and the dialogue between characters often lapses into dry business conversations.

That said, “Yella” is a beautifully morbid film with simple, striking scenes, sympathetic characters and a twist ending that will leave the viewer satisfied with a sense of finality.

—Neha Suri

Pick “Mad City Chickens” (81 minutes) Local documentarians Tashai Lovington and Robert Lughai chronicle the rise of chicken keeping in Madison and abroad in “Mad City Chickens.”

The documentary draws from local interviews and expert opinions to paint the chicken as an enduring cultural figure within human society.

The interviews flip between a young family preparing for their first chicken coop and background ranging from how-to guides for chicken keeping to behind-the-scenes footage of a largescale chick hatchery. The resulting, whimsical narrative moves along at a pace that makes the film a joy to watch.

The film falters in its latter half, going on the offensive against “Big Poultry.” While the aggressive tone toward commercial egg production heats up the blood, it’s far from balanced. Some neutral poultry experts partially offset the pro-organic opinions of local chicken keepers, but the general attitude presented is that commercial producers are the devil.

—Mark Riechers

“Perceval” (15 minutes) Fifteen minutes of Dark Ages with sparse but essential glimmers of light reflected from the knight in silver armor. In “Perceval,” the title character observes misery in his world on the pale, pink-eyed and filthy faces of both the evil and their victims, making the two indistinguishable. Perceval’s blunt questions concerning good and evil transcend the metaphor of the noble, medieval knight versus the immoral. They effectively instill timeless and answerless questions in the modern-day audience throughout the film.

“Perceval” will leave you chilled and unnerved.

—Sara Lieburn

continued on page 9

arts

dailycardinal.com/arts

Thursday, April 3, 2008

l

9

UW students star as directors in film fest

By Kerry Jessup THE DAILY CARDINAL

A distinct feature of the Wisconsin Film Festival is its attention to up-and-coming student filmmakers. Three UWMadison students whose films were accepted into the festival shared their experiences with making their films, entering the festival and their reactions to the festival itself.

“The best thing you can do in general is just keep working. If you want to write, write. If you want to direct, direct.”

Jason Daering UW senior, director, “The Shadow of the Night”

As a Ph.D. student working toward a degree in the history of science, Amyrs Williams is not your typical filmmaker. Last

semester, Williams took a documentary production class, her first experience with filmmaking.

She created “I Have a Sister” as her final project for the class and was encouraged by her instructor to enter it in the Wisconsin Film Festival.

“I’m totally new to this,” Williams said, “I just filled out the application and sent it in and was really thrilled when I found out I was accepted.” Williams described the film as a 13-minute documentary about her sister, who experienced an adverse reaction to the DPT vaccine as an infant, suffered severe brain damage as a result and died at age 16.

The film juxtaposes medical facts with photographs and memories of her family’s emotional experience.

Andrew Napier, on the other hand, is a freshman majoring in communication arts with an extensive background in film. He has

been involved with film production since he was 9 years old, and through Napier Films, LLC—a business he established in 2003—Napier offers a wide range of services to clients, including DVD encoding and authoring, digital video compositing, and web design. However, Napier said his primary passions are still writing and directing.

Last year, Napier’s documentary “Keeping the Spirit” was accepted to the Wisconsin Film Festival. He returns this year with “Spin Cycle,” a short film he wrote and co-directed with UW senior Michael Anderson. “It’s a short, quirky vignette,” Napier said. The main character in the film, Poor Sap, is preparing for a date and winds up battling a femme fatale for the Laundromat’s last available washing machine. Napier said he had a great experience at the festival last year and is “extremely excited to go back this year.”

Another aspiring director is Justin

Festival director, UW filmmaker hail festival’s diversity The 2008 Wisconsin Film Festival will be unique in many ways, according to the festival’s director, Meg Hamill, and renowned filmmaker Stuart Gordon.

In its tenth year, 220 films will be shown throughout 10 downtown Madison theaters during the four-day annual event. This is Hamill’s third year directing the festival and her eighth year as a volunteer. “Every year the film festival presents a really diverse cross-section of filmmaking,” Hamill said. “There are documentaries, experimental films, films covering every kind of emotional tone from comedy to serious films.”

One distinctive aspect of the festival is that it features numer-

ous locally made films.

“You don’t have to be a film buff to appreciate, enjoy or get something out of the festival.”

Meg Hamill Festival director Wisconsin Film Festival

“I think that’s a great thing,” Gordon said. “I know, having taught in Madison, that there’s some very, very talented people, and I think it’s a great chance for them to get their work out there, and there’s nothing like having a screening in the Orpheum.”

Gordon attended UWMadison as a theatre major and

now lives and works in Los Angeles. His thriller “Stuck” is his first entry in the Wisconsin Film Festival and will be shown Saturday, April 5 at 11 p.m. at the Orpheum Theatre.

Perhaps the most standout aspect of this festival is its diverse audience. “Some people feel that if it’s called a film festival it’s only for people who are experts when it comes to movies,” Hamill said. “But the truth of it is there are films in this festival that appeal to everybody. You don’t have to be a film buff to appreciate, enjoy or get something out of the festival. All you have to do is show up and watch a movie.”

—Kerry Jessup

Anna turns new page, tosses out dull classics ANNA WILLIAMS williams shakespeare

I

didn’t realize it after plodding through Joseph Conrad’s “Lord Jim.” I didn’t understand it while pushing through D.H. Lawrence’s “The Rainbow.”

It didn’t even stick after getting through Mary Gaitskill’s “Veronica.” Then, after a painful reading of Steinbeck’s “East of Eden,” it finally hit me: I don’t have to read books I don’t enjoy.

This may seem obvious to some, but for others it may come as a revelation, like it did for me.

As college students, we’re constantly told to read to expand our intellectual horizons. As we read, we’re supposed to analyze, look for themes and ponder life’s great questions. We’re given checklists of must-read books and told to read the classics to build our “book repertoire.”

There’s nothing wrong with reading a book because it’s intellectually stimulating or a classic.

In fact, this is a great reason to read a book. There are some wonderful books I never would have read if they hadn’t appeared on one of those “greatest novels of all time” lists. However, some-

times those lists led me down dark and dangerous paths. For instance, one list, titled “Books to read before college,” brought me to “Lord Jim.” Reading it was like sitting in a lecture hall for hours on end while an incomprehensible professor droned on and on.

I kept telling myself to just push through it because it was a classic, and the payoff was sure to come. Unfortunately, it never did, and looking back, it seems like a waste of time. Instead of reading “Lord Jim,” I could have been discovering a book I actually enjoyed.

It finally hit me: I don’t have to read books I don’t enjoy.

In the past, I always felt guilty for re-reading a favorite novel or reading a book just for pleasure, like “Memoirs of a Geisha.” I couldn’t help feeling I should be reading something lofty and new, like “War and Peace.”

Finally, after years of forcing myself to plow through tedious books in and out of class, I came

to a conclusion: Reading should primarily be for pleasure. There are just too many wonderful books in this world, and life is just too short to spend it reading painfully dull books.

To help follow through with my new philosophy, I’ve decided it’s okay to not finish a book—an idea I would have rarely considered before.

If I’m just not feeling a book, I’ll put it back on the shelf instead of forcing myself to read it. For instance, I recently picked up “Gravity’s Rainbow” and, despite my best efforts, I couldn’t get into it. It felt surprisingly liberating to put it away.

I’ve also taken a private vow not to read certain books, though no English major like myself should leave college without reading them. “Moby Dick” tops this list. The thought of reading about ships and whale harpooning as an allegory for good and evil repels me.

Instead, I’ll use the hours and hours I would have spent reading it to indulge in a true pleasure: reading “Pride and Prejudice” for the fifth time. Life is just too short for anything else.

Made it to the end of Anna’s column? That’s good, as long as you share her novel philosophy. E-mail her to praise or criticize her idea at akwilliams1@wisc.edu.

Daering, a senior who will graduate from UW-Madison this spring with a degree in communication arts: radio, television and film. Like Williams, this is Daering’s first time participating in the festival. His entry, “The Shadow of the Night,” is an eight-minute, silent, black-andwhite vampire film. It is based on a series of images he did for a still photography class. The film was shot last summer in Madison and includes beautiful time-lapse shots of the city’s skyline and a scene in the Crave Lounge Bar. All three students acknowledged the only way to get their work noticed and accepted in festivals is through a lot of hard work. “The best thing you can do in general is just keep working,” Daering said. “If you want to write, write. If you want to direct, direct, but just keep working.”

Their films are part of the Student Short Films, which will be shown Saturday, April 5th at 2 p.m. at the Monona Terrace Convention Center.

GRAPHIC BY MEG ANDERSON

Wisconsin Film Festival where: Frederic March Play Circle, Chazen Museum, UW Cinemateque, MMoCA, Monona Terrace Convention Centerr, Wisconsin Union, Orpheum, Bartell and Majestic Theaters. when: April 3 to 6 cost: $4 for students

Additional Film Fest Preview “Heather,” (27 minutes) The short film “Heather,” written and directed by Wisconsin alum Melissa Lawrenz, follows the trials of a high school outcast.

When Heather and her friend Lisa attend a party with the “popular kids,” Heather’s crush corners and rapes her. Afterward, Heather must struggle to convince her parents and principal that she is telling the truth. This short film is generally well-written and wellperformed, but the supposedly high-school-aged characters are played by much older looking actors, and some of the acting leaves something to be desired. The end is abrupt but actually works quite well with the quickly developed story of high school struggles.

—Corrie Eggimann

“Welcome to Macintosh” (89 minutes) “Welcome to Macintosh” follows the evolution of what is now known as Apple, Inc. In the 1970s, a team of three people put together what became an innovative piece of technology that eventually became a functional, user-friendly and unique worldwide phenomenon.

This documentary focuses on former Apple employees and their contributions to the company as it struggle for success. It also includes perspectives from authors, teachers and everyday fans of the company.

Although the solid hour-and-a-half of people gushing about a line of machines can feel like an advertisement at times, the history of Apple is interesting, and the film’s interviewees are genuine in their love for creating and using the Mac. —Erin Schmidtke

comics 10

l

dailycardinal.com/comics

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Graduating on time

Today’s Sudoku

Beeramid

By Ryan Matthes beeramid_comic@yahoo.com

© Puzzles by Pappocom

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.

Would you still get in-flight service?

Dwarfhead and Narwhal

By James Dietrich jbdietrich@wisc.edu

If you flew once around the surface of the moon, it would be equal to a round trip from New York to London.

Today’s Crossword Puzzle

Classic Crackles

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!

Carla!!

Classic Anthro-apology

By Simon Dick srdick@wisc.edu

What!? What is it?

I had a dream I was in a pinball machine! It was horrible!

By Eric Wigdahl wigdahl@wisc.edu

Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com DRESS FOR SUCCESS ACROSS

1 Didn’t save 6 “... gathers no ___’’ 10 Appointer of Kuwait’s prime minister 14 “Goldfinger’’ weapon 15 “Breathing Lessons’’ author Tyler 16 “Diff’rent Strokes’’ actress Plato 17 Allegro ___ (music direction) 18 Lobotomy reminder 19 “Well, ___ that special?’’

20 Is the head of the household 23 Asian sauce 24 Browning work?

25 One who swings a good deal 26 Apron wearers, traditionally 29 Not fair 32 Barrel’s inside diameter 35 All-purpose vehicle, for short 36 Whom “my heart belongs to’’ 37 European auto import 38 Enthralls, slangily 41 Unit of Cambodian currency

42 Bowling pin material 44 Cloak-and-dagger org.

45 Tough to get your hands on 46 Gets a party going 50 Terminal letters 51 Ability to hit pitches?

52 Soak, as flax 53 Semi radios 56 Gambled poorly 60 “Touch of ___’’ (Welles film) 62 Bemoans 63 Like things that go bump in the night 64 Part of a cheerleader’s uniform 65 Church area 66 One who puts the punch in punch 67 Starch from palms 68 “No ___ allowed’’ 69 “Breakdown ahead’’ warning DOWN

1 KFC sides 2 Scenic walk 3 Feature in Harper’s or The Atlantic 4 Getting warm, say 5 Like Sibelius’ valse 6 Billet-doux 7 Not repeatedly 8 Act peevishly toward 9 High-ranking angel

10 Make a change for the verse?

11 Television, newspapers and such 12 Keeper’s charge 13 Word in a Cagney impersonation 21 Ankle bone 22 No frill, this 27 Hazel tree relative 28 Couturier’s concern 29 “Lost in Yonkers’’ character 30 Country lass 31 Ballet school handrail 32 Molded ice cream 33 Abstract images 34 Undoing, as an act 39 Umlauts’ kin (Var.) 40 Appeases hunger 43 Just gets by (with “out”) 47 Ancient Persian governor 48 Mime group, e.g.

49 Word with “in and of’’ 53 Date qualifier 54 Patch sticker 55 1,000 liters 57 Eclectic assortment 58 Cheep accommodations?

59 Get better, as a cut 60 Accident letters 61 Airline ticket word, sometimes

Square and Cone

By Andrew Dambeck dambeck@wisc.edu

sports

dailycardinal.com/sports

Water workers Sun Prairie trio, rest of crew team ready for spring

By Ryan Reszel THE DAILY CARDINAL

On the shores of Lake Mendota, UW student athletes train, sweat and compete just like their counterparts on the Kohl Center court and Camp Randall gridiron.

But when these athletes take to the water to face teams from across the country, there will not be thousands of people watching them. Fans will not fill out brackets to predict their success.

Even if they go undefeated, they will probably never appear on national television.

Who are these warriors toiling day in and day out with little recognition from their peers on campus?

They are the men of the University of Wisconsin crew team. And no offense to coach Bret Bielema, coach Mike Eaves or coach Bo Ryan, but they are probably working harder than their respective teams.

Just ask junior Dan Stevens, sophomore Max Goff and freshman Jonathan Lang—a trio of Sun Prairie natives giving their all as UW STEVENS rowers.

“For the majority of the week, I’m just completely exhausted,” Stevens said.

Judging from the practice schedule the three men described, they have every right to be. According to Stevens, the crew team practices seven to nine times each week. Morning practices usually begin around 6 a.m. Of course, on Saturday the team gets to sleep in.

Practices start at 6:30 a.m.

“You have to come out here

and work your butt off just to get a spot on the team,” Goff said.

The team participates in “erg”—short for ergonomic— workouts in which they mimic the rowing motion on a workout machine for as long and as fast as they possibly can. The erg machine records the stroke speed and helps coaches decide whom to start in the regattas.

These sessions can become so intense that the team once called an ambulance to assist an exhausted rower.

“When we do erg tests, it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, both physically and mentally,” Stevens said. “Nothing could prepare you for some of the things that we as a team have to go through.”

Goff reflected his older teammate’s assessment.

“How I relate it to non-rowers is that it is all the endurance of cross country combined with all the explosive strength of football,” he said.

The crew team begins its spring season Saturday against Michigan on Lake Mendota. But as competitions increase, so too does the struggle to balance school and sports.

“There’s time for school, but not for sleep,” Stevens joked.

Keeping such a tight schedule can also put a strain on the rowers’ social lives. There is little time for Friday night partying with early morning practices looming on the horizon.

“It definitely bugs my roommate when I have to get up at 5:30 to go to a 6:30 practice,” Lang said.

Nevertheless, the three Sun Prairians said they enjoy rowing at a Division I university because it represents the ultimate competitive test.

“Crew is different from any other sport you see in college,” Goff said. “You’re competing against everybody else on the team throughout the entire offseason.

And unlike a football team, where one person making one minor slipup on a play might not affect

Thursday, April 3, 2008

l

11

AMANDA SALM/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO

The UW men’s rowing team opens its spring season Saturday by welcoming the Michigan Wolverines to Lake Mendota. The following weekend, the Badgers will head to Blue Island, Ill., to race the Gophers. the entire play ... one weak link in a boat will affect the entire outcome of a race.”

Despite the self-fulfillment rowing has brought this athletic trio, not one placed an oar in water prior to college.

As a high school athlete who played both football and tennis, Stevens received letters from the UW crew coaches urging him to try out. Yet, he hesitated to sign up.

“At first, I didn’t want to do it,” Stevens admitted.

After a talk with coaches during student orientation, the eldest of the team’s three Sun Prairie natives decided to give rowing a shot. He survived several grueling practice

sessions as coaches trimmed the freshman team from a whopping 150 athletes down to 30.

One year later, he encouraged Goff, a former football teammate who also ran track at SPHS, to go out for the team, where he endured the same rigorous test.

In the fall of 2007, the crew team piqued the interest of another former SPHS football player.

“I saw these two guys were on the team,” Lang said. “I figured I would know somebody and went out and gave it a try.”

Lang, who also played basketball and track in high school, made the cut.

With Lang on board, the three

Sun Prairians officially formed the trio that UW rowing head coach Chris Clark affectionately calls “Sun Prairie versions 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0.”

“It’s pretty unique...the fact that they’re spread out—junior, sophomore, freshman,” Clark said.

“I love it. As far as I’m concerned it can go on forever.”

With the Wolverines heading to Madison, the UW crew team is not worried about finding Sun Prairie version 4.0 just yet.

“We’ve been practicing for five months indoors, and that gets kind of long,” Stevens said. “It’s always something to look forward to finally get out and race somebody.”

Changes to Kohl Center during regional no help to Denver NATE CAREY sports magnate

M

uch news was made last week about the NCAA men’s hockey tournament, mainly about the Wisconsin Badgers playing at their home rink in the Midwest Regional at the Kohl Center.

Some critics thought it was unfair for the Badgers—the No. 3 seed—to play in front of their home crowd. Others thought it wouldn’t matter, citing Wisconsin’s 15-16-7 record and three-game losing streak entering the tournament. But most of the Wisconsin faithful were just excited to see their beloved Badgers at least once more this season.

That excitement showed Saturday in Wisconsin’s 6-2 victory over the No. 2 seed Denver Pioneers, as Badger fans dominated the Kohl Center, much to the chagrin of the NCAA. There is no doubt that Saturday’s win was a home game for Wisconsin, even with the

changes made to the Kohl Center for the regional. The Wisconsin logo at the center face-off circle was replaced with the NCAA Ice Hockey Championship logo; the advertisements on the boards were replaced with the team names of the four schools in the regional and NCAA logos. Even the zambonis received a makeover, donning the NCAA Frozen Four logo to be held in Denver.

As the lower seed, the Badgers were also thrown a changeup, having to wear their red road sweaters instead of their usual white home attire.

However, all of these changes seemed miniscule once the Badgers took to the ice, as the crowd erupted in their favor. The NCAA should receive a nice pat on the back for the solid attempt made at creating a neutral ice rink at the Kohl Center, but the modifications made to the rink hardly did anything to quiet the Badger crowd.

From the beginning of the game, it was apparent that the Badgers were the home team and higher-seeded Denver was the visiting team.

“I really thought that we had at least somewhat of an edge going into the game, because you get into a routine in six-and-a-half months of playing for at least almost every weekend,” Denver head coach George Gwozdecky said. “I felt going into the game that we would have some kind of an edge. Obviously, [on] the other end of things—they’ve got maybe, arguably, the best fans that make the best noise and a band that was terrific.”

From the beginning of the game, it was apparent that the Badgers were the home team and higher-seeded Denver was the visiting team.

Gwozdecky’s comment after the game spoke volumes about Wisconsin fans. Denver had played the prior weekend, winning the WCHA Playoff Championship, probably playing its best hockey of the season. Many fans and critics believed Denver would emerge

victorious from the Midwest Regional, but the home crowd of Wisconsin proved to be the deciding factor and made the noise unbearable once Wisconsin took the lead. “[The crowd] was unbelievable,” junior goaltender Shane Connelly said. “It just gives us a boost. We talked about that before the game. Every time we play a home game we try to get the crowd into it, and we did that.”

“We had an awesome start. It gives them something to cheer about and gives us momentum. It might not affect the other team, but it certainly helps our team a ton.”

The Kohl Center truly became the seventh man on the ice for Wisconsin Saturday night.

Several big hits early in the contest delivered by sophomore forward Aaron Bendickson—one of the last Badgers expected to be an enforcer—and senior forward Matthew Ford energized the crowd and kept it involved.

Once the Badgers took the lead after sophomore forward Michael Davies put back a rebound, the crowd was in full swing and would not back down.

In the end, the neutrality the NCAA worked so hard to achieve was not accomplished. It seems like a major failure when looking at the effect the crowd had on the outcome. Whether the noise affected the Pioneers will never be known, but the home crowd definitely benefited the Badgers.

If you’d like to reminisce about the Badgers’ tournament run and think about what this season could have been, e-mail Nate at ncarey@dailycardinal.com

Still No Opener Softball doubleheader canceled Both scheduled games against Loyola were canceled as Goodman Stadium was suffering from muddy conditions.

The Badger softball home opener will now wait until Purdue and Indiana come to town this weekend.

12

l

Thursday, April 3, 2008

advertisement

dailycardinal.com