Weekend, April 11-13, 2008 - The Daily Cardinal

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All-grown-up Hanson to ‘MMMBop’ into Madison tonight ARTS

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University of Wisconsin-Madison

SECONDARY’S AILMENTS OPEN DOORS Henry and Langford’s ACL injuries give others the chance to prove themselves SPORTS

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Weekend, April 11-13, 2008

Transients targeted as scapegoats, group says

I’ll take state budgets for $652 million

Crime coverage unfair to homeless, advocates argue By Katrina Rust THE DAILY CARDINAL GABRIEL SEHR/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Gov. Jim Doyle met with ‘Jeopardy!’ host Alex Trebek and executive producer Harry Friedman Thursday to receive a proclamation that makes this Friday and Saturday ‘Jeopardy Days’ in the state of Wisconsin.

Zimmermann’s killer forced entry into apartment The person who killed UW-Madison student Brittany Zimmermann April 2 used force to enter her apartment at 517 W. Doty St., the Madison Police Department said Thursday. “There was forced entry on a door to the building in which Zimmermann resided,” MPD public information officer Joel DeSpain confirmed in an email.

DeSpain said Police Chief Noble Wray was cautious about deciding what specific information to reveal to the public. “It is not unusual that some contacted during an investigation––who because of things like mental illness, or alcohol/drug abuse––will provide bogus confessions or information,” DeSpain said. Withholding details allows detectives

to determine if these people are telling the truth, police said. Despite the case update, DeSpain urged residents to continue to practice standard safety measures. “It doesn’t change at all what we would recommend … lock your doors, keep a cell phone with you, do all the things that have been out there in the past,” DeSpain said.

Student environmental groups to host first campus ‘Green Week’ By Grace Kim THE DAILY CARDINAL

LOGAN ZINMAN/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO

Teams from UW-Madison will participate in Relay for Life Friday at the Shell to help raise money for the American Cancer Society.

Student-driven Relay for Life to benefit cancer research By Amanda Hoffstrom THE DAILY CARDINAL

Six years ago, UW-Madison senior Kari Liotta took a trip to the doctor that forever changed her life—she was diagnosed with papillary carcinoma, a cancer of the thyroid gland. “I was 16, a sophomore in high school, and I had cancer,” she said. Now, 22-year-old Liotta is preparing to graduate from UW-Madison with a degree in Family, Consumer and Community Education, with an emphasis in community leadership. As the former president of Colleges Against Cancer’s UW-Madison chapter, Liotta shared her survival story with fellow students and helped organize Relay for Life, a fundraising event, among other achievements. relay page 2

Interested in making delicious organic chocolate or learning about the difference between bottled water and tap water? Starting Friday and running until Earth Day on April 22, UW-Madison student organizations are hosting “Green Week” for students to learn these and other eco-friendly practices. According to Jeff Rolling, the chair of UW-Madison’s Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group, this is the first time UWMadison will host a Green Week on campus. “It’s really a collaboration among so many different environmental groups on campus, and it’s something that you don’t see that often,” Rolling said. Green Week is sponsored by WISPIRG, Environmental Studies Club, the Wisconsin Union Directorate, Sierra Students Coalition and nearly 35 other environmental groups working on different events. “We thought it would be a good way to get a bunch of organizations

to work together around something that we find beneficial and good for all students on the campus,” WUD Chair Amanda Green said. Green said the organizations hope to maximize student impact through diverse events and involvement with different organizations. Rolling said local and national speakers will visit Madison to discuss environmental issues and show what students can do to make energy more sustainable. Some environmental events include Midwest Students Clean Energy Conference Friday, the Environmental Justice MiniConference on April 19, as well as community service and volunteer opportunities. The Earth Festival April 20 will play host to street performances, concerts from local bands and free food. Rolling said students can improve green practices by learning about energy issues and being aware of the decisions they make as consumers. “What you do day in and day out can really have an impact on the environment,” he said.

Homeless advocates responded to recent negative media attention about Madison’s transient population at a news conference Thursday, encouraging the community to create solutions to homelessness and poverty and not profile transients as criminals. Members of the Community Action Coalition, Tenant Advocacy Group and Homeless Services Consortium reminded Madison residents the homeless are not the root of problems in the community, but evidence of greater issues in society. “[The conference] showed comprehensive work that’s going on in the community to address these issues on all levels, from economic levels as far as increasing incomes, to providing clothing and food and also shelter,” Dean Loomis, director of the Housing Initiative said. Madison Area Urban Ministry Executive Director Linda Ketchum said local media coverage is contributing to the negative profiling of transients following recent high-profile homicide cases. A Wisconsin State Journal headline earlier this year called the homeless “beggars,” and a popular Daily Page blog suggested “vagrants” should work on public projects if they want a “free lunch.” Advocates scheduled the conference partly in response to the Brittany Zimmermann homicide investigation, which they said led the community to target Madison’s transient population without cause. Ketchum said the police are rounding up homeless people to be questioned, adding stress particularly to those who suffer from mental illness. “If the police are asking people who are homeless for DNA samples, are they also asking the people who are neighbors, or is the underlying assumption that it must have been a homeless person who committed the acts?” Ketchum said. Madison Police Department public information officer Joel DeSpain said police have questioned transients from the neighborhood who go door-to-door asking for money, but added other people are being questioned. Police are also speaking with residents, transients page 2

GABRIEL SEHR/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO

Homeless advocates argued Thursday that transient populations, such as those seen at Peace Park, are unfairly targeted during high-profile crime cases.

“…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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