Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - The Daily Cardinal

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Wednesday, April 16, 2008

A year ago today, Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho entered a classroom and carried out the deadliest shooting in U.S. history. Now, on the first anniversary of the tragedy, is UW any safer because of it?

ONE YEAR LATER UW focuses on threat prevention, awareness plans

By Amanda Hoffstrom THE DAILY CARDINAL

Although responding to an emergency is important, a year after the Virginia Tech tragedy UW-Madison officials say prevention is a crucial part of preparation.

“Honestly, I don’t know if anybody can be prepared for that. [Virginia Tech] was horrific, awful—that’s the worst of the worst,” Dean of Students Lori Berquam said. “What I would say we should focus on is prevention.”

Deb Hettrick, a retired UWMadison police captain who was asked to help develop awareness programs, said police are prepared to respond to a campus emergency but would rather

CHRISTOPHER GUESS/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO

stop any danger before it occurs.

“The issue with Virginia Tech was the fact that there were lots of people that felt [Seung-Hui] Cho was a serious threat, but those people did not communicate with each other,” Hettrick said. “What we’re trying to do is make sure that something like that can’t happen.”

Berquam said students should communicate concerns with fellow students, advisors and deans.

“College is stressful,” she said. “At this particular institution, we’re in the Big Ten, we have really strong academic standards for our students. There’s a lot of competition and stress, so of course our students are going to feel all of these burdens and then try to sort them out on their own—it’s just not even reasonable.”

Don Mash, executive senior vice president for UW System administration, said UW campuses reviewed mass-casualty readiness immediately after Virginia Tech.

“Northern Illinois University of course sparked additional concern … the Virginia Tech tragedy sparked changes at NIU and their level of readiness, just like they did on our campuses,” he said.

Many university crisis plan changes came from a July 2007 UW Systemwide report chaired by UW-Madison Police Chief Susan Riseling, which reviewed security and suggested improvements for the 26 UW campuses. Mash said UW System administration plans to expand recommendations in its own report in June.

UW-Madison officials developed “WiscAlerts,” a crisis communication plan, which have been sent out awareness page 3

UW students weigh in on campus security UW-Madison students still question university security a year after the Virginia Tech massacre.

UW-Madison sophomore Nathan Lee said it is hard to feel safer when violent acts can occur anywhere.

Michael Ruskin, a UWMadison sophomore, said he thinks the university has done well in keeping students informed of dangerous situations on campus, like the gunman near UW Hospital in September 2007.

Though Ruskin said he doubts an incident like the Virginia Tech shootings could be stopped if it happened here, he admitted it is not something he worries about.

“Things like that happen and its tragic and you hope it would

never happen to you, but you don’t always go to class thinking ‘I hope this isn’t going to happen today,’” he said.

Sarah Stankey, a freshman, also said she rarely thinks about the possibility of a campus shooting.

UW-Madison sophomore Natalee Lales said she thinks campus shootings cannot necessarily be solved by adding more police officers, but communication between friends is essential in catching psychological problems that often drive shooters to attack others.

“If you happen to know somebody who’s having a hard time, to ignore it is, I think, the root of the problem,” she said. “Afterwards it’s too late.”

—Devin Rose

April 16, 2007

PHOTOS BY JACOB ELA, CHRISTOPHER GUESS AND MATT WISNIEWSKI/CARDINAL FILE PHOTOS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY KYLE BURSAW/THE DAILY CARDINAL

April 16 marks the one-year anniversary since 33 students and faculty were killed on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Va. It was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Officials deem campus lockdowns ineffective in crises

By Lexie Clinton THE DAILY CARDINAL

“Breaking News: Campus on lockdown.”

With so many campus crises this year, headlines like this one are ever-present, but safety officials at UW-Madison and other campuses say blanket terms like “lockdown” are misleading and infeasible to implement.

“To lock down a campus makes no sense to me,” UW-Madison Police Chief Susan Riseling said.

“People throw these terms around without really thinking them through.”

After the Virginia Tech shootings, nearly every college campus reassessed crisis security plans and explored how to contain thousands of students, faculty and staff. Along with these plans came terminology from past campus tragedies, like the mass shootings at Columbine High School in 1999.

Lockdown was one of the terms that blossomed from Columbine, according to Alison Kiss, program

director at Security on Campus Inc., a non-profit organization promoting secure campus environments.

“A lot of what is attributed to a lockdown is from Columbine and high schools where it’s generally locking down one building,” she said.

For universities with multiple campuses and tens of thousands of students, the idea of a lockdown has never translated well, safety experts on campuses say.

“People have a lot of different definitions of what we’re talking lockdown page 3

Guns resurface as potent campus, election issue

By Charles Brace THE DAILY CARDINAL

From UW-Madison to presidential campaigns, guns are appearing as a leading issue in 2008, according to political observers.

Eric Thompson, president of the gun supplier TGSCOM Inc., said he would donate hundreds of gun holsters to colleges around the country next week.

The holsters will be used by Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, including the UW-Madison chapter, for events protesting a state ban on concealed weapons.

Thompson, whose online stores sold weapons to the attackers in the shootings at Virginia Tech and

Northern Illinois University, said trained students with guns might have prevented the tragedies.

He said support for concealed carry bills is increasing, though they would unlikely be signed by Gov. Jim Doyle. The governor vetoed concealed carry bills in 2003 and 2006, with Wisconsin as one of two states in the country with laws banning it.

Several other prominent politicians also recently stated their opposition to loosening gun laws.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said in his inaugural address Tuesday that state lawmakers must work harder to toughen laws on the sale of illegal guns.

Eileen Force, a spokesperson for

Barrett, said the mayor is not concerned with recreational gun owners or sportsmen, but views it as a violent crime issue.

“In the last two weeks we’ve probably had three police officers shot at with what are probably illegal guns,” Force said.

She said Barrett is opposed to concealed carry and fewer guns would make Milwaukee safer.

However, recent comments by presidential candidates show guns remain a politically volatile issue, according to campaign onlookers.

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has been criticized for stating rural gun control page 3

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

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Wednesday, April 16, 2008

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

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Childhood fears, Ledger are hard to let go

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ASHLEY SPENCER back that ash up

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y roommate goes home almost every weekend.

She says it’s not me—I don’t develop mind-numbing body odor, I don’t cook naked and I don’t judge her when she does either of these aforementioned things.

At first, when she started leaving, it was empowering to know that I was in charge of my own apartment.

For the first time I felt like an adult, albeit one that drinks wine from a box, not a bottle.

I’d stretch out on the couch all day and watch “Arrested Development” in nothing but a pair of cut-offs, dipping my finger into a tub of spreadable cheese and spoon-feeding it into my mouth. Or I’d curl up in an adult-sized onesie, suck my thumb and drink chardonnay out of a toddler sippy cup. Or maybe I’d light some candles, fill up a bubble bath

The April 15 feature photograph ‘Fresh air guitar’ misidentified Alex Hartzman as Alex Hartz.

The Cardinal regrets the error.

Pregnant or know someone who is?

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

and finally shave my legs, all while reading romantic poetry.

But after some romantic weekends with myself, it became clear that I’m afraid of being alone—not because I’m afraid of myself—but because childhood fears have plagued me into my (almost) adulthood.

Little Ashley wasn’t afraid of anything too unusual—dead people, aliens and anyone wearing the “Scream” mask, even if they were being pushed by their mom in a stroller. But, unlike the rest of the population, I never quite outgrew those fears.

When my brother wanted to get back at me for being the older, bitchy sister, he knew how to do it. He’d pop in “Signs,” making sure to set it to a part where an alien was looking fierce and that ultra-creepy music was blaring in the background. He’d tackle me, sit on my head and threaten to fart in my mouth if I moved. This torture routine continued through high school, until one day I cracked the DVD in half. Needless to say, my brother dropped a bomb.

After three years of college and an education that informs me about

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real-world threats, I still shake at the thought of ghosts. As a child, whenever a distant relative of mine died, I was terrified for weeks and thought they were living in my closet and would eventually eat me. So naturally, when Heath Ledger died, I couldn’t sleep without a dim light on, a soothing NPR voice to calm me and a large hammer to beat his ass.

Most girls would be thrilled to have Heath Ledger visiting after dark, even if he were dead and decaying. They’d think the experience would be like that Disney movie Casper, only with additional X-rated cowboy-inspired love scenes.

Nope, not me—I was legit shaking in my boots. I’d wake up sweaty from sleep and wonder whether he’d bite off my fingers, skin me alive or lick my toes first.

This weekend, I was terrified when I thought someone was following me home late at night. I texted my friends, co-workers and school advisors that I was alone, sweaty and about to be murdered

by Michael Myers. As a result, most of these people now believe that

I text messaged them under the guise of being in danger, when what I really wanted was late-night love. This couldn’t be further from the truth—all I wanted was some decent, no-frills-no-thrills deep sleep. And maybe some pizza.

When I told my roommate about my scare, she couldn’t believe I feared mostly imaginary things but could, without hesitation, talk with complete strangers about my leg hair, ask girls I just met when we were going to have a slumber party and be BFFs, and rock a homemade American flag dress at a karaoke bar singing “Born in the USA,” even when I know my voice is as about as pretty as Perez Hilton is straight.

Maybe I can’t sleep in complete darkness, but at least I’m completely open about my childish fears without worrying what anyone thinks—just as long as they still want to have slumber parties, discuss shaving habits and help me embarrass myself in various public locations.

If you’re scared of aliens, Heath Ledger or deadly farts, e-mail aaspencer@wisc.edu.

dailycardinal.com/news

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Commission hears public input on Metro Transit route changes

By Abby Sears THE DAILY CARDINAL

Madison residents spoke out about a proposal to revamp bus routes throughout the city at a Transit and Parking Commission public hearing Tuesday.

Transit Route Planner Colin Conn said the changes are designed to simplify routes, increase ontime performance for bus arrivals and departures, and respond to public concerns about the transportation system.

Conn said Metro Transit is talking with UW-Madison officials about the design of the campus-area Route 80, which would add a link between Walnut Street and Highland Avenue under the proposal.

“It would streamline the route

just beautifully and reduce the travel time between the hospital and the Memorial Union,” Conn said.

“Basically what it does is it drops the cycle time enough that you can either provide the same level of service with fewer buses or increase the level of service with the same number of buses.”

Metro Transit General Manager Chuck Kamp said the company looked at customer and employee input and collected data to create the proposal, which calls for changes in bus routes and schedules. In addition to attempting to lower travel time and create more efficient routes, Kamp said the plan could also cut recent unexpected fuel costs.

“What we didn’t anticipate is that

the ’08 budget … and the way diesel prices are escalating leaves us with less ability to tell you that we have a way to pay for these [changes],” Kamp said.

A packed room full of residents mentioned several problems with the changes during the public hearing.

Sharon Williams, a Madison Metro driver for nine years, said despite the proposal’s good intentions, pushing for faster routes could create unrealistic schedules for drivers to adhere to.

“Sometimes it always sounds good on paper but as soon as we start to drive it, it never works,” Williams said.

The commission will vote on the proposed changes, which would go into effect in August, at their May 13 meeting.

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Dining with Dave

CHARLIE BAKER/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz joins UW-Madison students Tuesday for “Dinners On Wisconsin!” at the Angelic Brewing Co.

Report shows 300,000 adult residents lack high school degrees

Students list achievements in ‘State of the ASM’ address

By Charles Brace

By Caitlin Gath

THE DAILY CARDINAL

Thousands of workers in Wisconsin lack the training or resources to attain higher-paying jobs, according to a report released Tuesday.

The report by the Center on Wisconsin Strategy found almost 300,000 adult residents in the state lack high school diplomas. Many uneducated residents do not seek assistance, according to the report, with only 26,803 using state services to earn a degree later in life.

COWS Associate Director Laura Dresser said Hispanic and black residents in the state are not as likely to have high school degrees as other ethnic groups.

According to the report, around

lockdown from page 1 about,” Riseling said.

If locking down means closing all buildings, Riseling, who authored an extensive UW System-wide security report in 2007, said she does not know what that means.

Like many big state schools, UWMadison is not isolated. It is located throughout downtown city streets, has a 24-hour hospital and 330 buildings, many of which need to be hand-locked by a security guard.

“The University of WisconsinMadison is a city,” Riseling said.

“A lockdown is just not feasible.

It’s akin to locking down a city of 60,000 people.”

Declaring a lockdown can also have two very problematic effects, according to Terry Cook, director of emergency management at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

“Even if you lock the doors, it doesn’t prevent them from being opened from the inside,” Cook said.

“People can still leave.”

If it happens to be an intruder you want to keep out, that can be good, Cook explained. On the other hand, if it happens that students are trying to seek shelter and are stuck outside, lockdowns can cause the opposite of their intended effect, he said.

At Minnesota, Cook said he cannot remember any time a campus-wide lockdown was used. He said there have been several bomb threats that involved evacuating multiple buildings.

Even at a much smaller university, like Delaware State University

half of minority families in the state are low-income, with 23 percent of all families in low-income brackets.

Dresser said rural residents are also less likely to hold high school degrees than non-rural residents.

The problem coincides with many high-paying jobs facing shortages of educated workers, according to the report.

The report said industries like health care, manufacturing and information technology all lack skilled workers.

Many residents are also retiring soon, Dresser said, which will lead to a further scarcity of skilled workers.

Dresser said possible solutions include helping workers with access to the state technical college sys-

tem, along with making the system more flexible by adding more night and off-site classes.

The state budget deficit and a possible national economic recession might affect how quickly the report recommendations are implemented, according to Dresser.

“A lot of the longer-term issues do get put on the back-burner [during a recession],” Dresser said.

She said while the financial troubles are a reality, the state should also be focused on being competitive in the future by educating workers.

The Center on Wisconsin Strategy is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization based on campus that focuses on economic and standard-of-living issues.

with about 3,700 students, safety planners also say a full lockdown is infeasible. Even though the number of students may be smaller, the campus in Dover, Del., stretches over 400 acres.

The university experienced a late-night shooting incident among a group of students this fall and decided to confine students to dormitories and close the campus for the weekend.

Delaware State spokesperson Carlos Holmes said simply calling those actions a lockdown is not accurate.

“It creates many expectations, but there are only so many resources.”

Even in the age of to-the-minute web updates, e-mails and mass text messaging systems, Cook said keeping the entire campus informed during a time of crisis is not the main goal. Rather, available resources would be channeled toward solving the situation at hand.

“The people making the decisions know who is in harm’s way,” Cook said. “If the threat is a couple of miles away and located in another building, there is no threat to other people.”

Still, the idea that everyone wants to know what is going on can be frustrating for university police.

“Everyone thinks they need to be told everything, and that’s just not rational,” Riseling said.

UW-Madison experienced a gunman threat on the health sciences campus this fall. The incident was a half mile from central campus, but some central buildings decided to lock doors—an action Riseling said police did not ask for.

“To me, it’s silly to lock a building down far from where the problem is. It’s just not relevant,” Riseling said. “What’s happening on one end of campus doesn’t necessarily affect the other end.”

At the time of a crisis, Riseling said the police’s main goal is to directly respond to the situation, not declare a blanket lockdown.

“I appreciate people who are scared,” she said, “but when we don’t need to affect everybody, there is no sense in creating that level of fear.”

“Everyone thinks they need to be told everything, and that’s just not rational.”

Susan Riseling chief UW Police Department

“Locking down makes it sound like we’re bolting the doors shut,” Holmes said.

“We don’t have impassable walls all around campus,” he said. “There is no possible way that we could be sure that nobody comes in or goes out of the campus at any time.”

Although schools have strayed from calling crisis plans lockdowns, these officials say heightened media coverage of school safety after Virginia Tech may paint a false picture of information flow.

“We hear about everything that happens immediately,” Cook said.

THE DAILY CARDINAL

The Associated Students of Madison gave a “State of the ASM” address Tuesday night to highlight its many achievements in the 2007-’08 academic year.

The address also provided an opportunity for each ASM committee to look ahead to next semester and lay out plans.

“Our goal is to try and communicate to students what ASM is working on and how it is trying to reach out to students,” said Karla Melara, an ASM Campus Relations intern.

Some of the more recent accomplishments came from the Diversity Committee and the Academic Affairs Committee.

On April 17, the Diversity Committee will hold its sixth annual Shadow Day, an outreach program that pairs high school students with UW-Madison students to showcase the importance of higher education through shared resources and information.

Unfortunately, diversity is an ongoing struggle at UW-Madison,

awareness from page 1 in three separate incidents since September 2007, most recently to inform students of UW-Madison student Brittany Zimmermann’s death on April 2. WiscAlert-Text messages will be implemented by the end of the year, according to program coordinators.

As part of Riseling’s report, Hettrick said UW-Madison set up a multidisciplinary threat assessment team to discuss students, faculty, staff and individuals unrelated to UWMadison who may be a threat. “[The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act] is not a barrier to campus safety—that’s one of the

gun control from page 1 voters in Pennsylvania are “bitter” and “cling” to issues like guns or religion in difficult economic times.

Ken Goldstein, a UW-Madison political science professor, said guns have garnered attention lately because U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., wants to appeal to more moderate or rural voters in the upcoming Pennsylvania primary.

He said Clinton was making this

ASM representatives said. Although there are plans next semester to put on a Social Justice Awareness Week and alter ethnic studies requirements, change will likely come slowly.

“Basically the bottom line is they’d like to see a lot of change on campus, but the resources just aren’t there right now,” said Jack Gieche, a member of the Diversity Committee.

The Academic Affairs Committee is also working to improve the cost of attending UW-Madison.

This spring, ASM held its first Textbook Swap to help fight the increased costs of textbooks. The goal of the swap was to create an environment in which students could get better deals than they would at the main campus book stores.

“We were able to help over 400 students, and the majority of them saved about 30 percent on their textbooks,” said Jessica Pavlic, Academic Affairs Committee chair.

Student government representatives said members of ASM Student Council next year will continue to push for changes valuable to the student body. biggest things that we have to tackle with faculty and staff,” Hettrick said.

“If you observe a student or another person doing some kind of behavior that leads you to believe that there’s going to be an issue with them, there is nothing to stop you from telling somebody. But that was an issue at Virginia Tech.”

UWPD also launched a training program in January to help community members recognize these behaviors.

“I think we’ve addressed the big issues that came out of Virginia Tech,” Hettrick said. “We feel like we have done a lot of training and created a lot of awareness, but we need to do more.” effort despite “not a dime’s worth of difference” between her and Obama’s voting records on guns.

The Supreme Court, currently debating second amendment rights, is also likely to bring more attention to guns, according to UWMadison political science professor Ken Mayer. However, he said the Democratic presidential candidates might want to avoid the issue.

“Both candidates recognize that for the Democrats the gun control issue is largely a loser,” Mayer said.

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Wednesday, April 16, 2008

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

support needed for madison’s homeless

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nly time will tell if the slayings of Brittany Zimmermann or Joel Marino had anything to do with Madison’s homeless and transient communities. In the meantime, skeptics will rightly wonder whether a witchhunt is afoot, whether the police are persecuting those who cannot defend themselves for lack of a concrete lead. But simmering beneath the surface is an uncomfortable reality: In recent months, the vagabonds of downtown have grown increasingly prevalent and aggressive. As a result, and independent of the ongoing homicide investigation, city authorities must act responsibly and discerningly to improve the lifestyles of the homeless.

Those calling for change should not face derision for perceived insensitivity or arrogance, either. Open drug use, public drunkenness, theft and intimidation have become symptomatic with the panhandling population of the downtown area. To be sure, it is the responsibility of both the government and society at large to help those in need and to offer compassion when possible.

But it is also the responsibility of those struggling to obey the law and respect their wealthier fellow citizens. There is an unacceptably large gulf between the haves and the have-nots in this city, but it is unfair to ask those with money to

merely ignore the objectionable actions of those without.

An array of factors has contributed to the large and growing number of homeless and transient men and women in Madison. The willingness of affluent students and businesses to give donations up and down State Street has certainly played a role. So too has the city’s position in relation to Milwaukee, Chicago and Minneapolis as a crossroads of sorts. But perhaps most important is a policy that allows dozens of panhandlers to set up shop in the most public of places, plying their trade without interruption. Obviously, nobody has been hurt by a request for money, but the resultant environment is less than ideal.

As the city has opened its arms to those on the bottom rung of capitalism’s ladder, it has failed to provide the support structures and control strategies necessary for the inevitable influx of people. Free beds available to the male homeless are sorely lacking, drug problems rage untreated, and mental illness is effectively ignored. Providing such services would not only help those looking for help, but would also reveal those who are not.

A draconian crackdown that effectively outlaws homelessness would be unacceptable, but a concerted plan to curb harmful lawlessness is a must.

Olympic boycott will be ineffective if attempted MATT JIVIDEN opinion columnist

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f you turned on the news last week, chances are you saw at least one image of the massive protests following the Olympic torch. It was certainly a sight to behold. My personal favorite was the banner draped between the structural supports of the Golden Gate Bridge. The goal of the protesters is to convince the U.S. government to boycott the Olympic games because of China’s deplorable treatment of the Tibetans, numerous human rights violations, harsh treatment of political dissenters and widespread media censorship. Who would have thought a country that produces so many American flags could do such harm?

Perhaps Sudan could host the Olympics in two decades and foster a frank discussion on the situation in Darfur.

Don’t get me wrong, I want to remedy the repressive regime in China as much as anyone else, but boycotting the Olympics isn’t going to do anything. Although a boycott may appeal to the conscience of a righteous Westerner, it has little chance of helping the people suffering in Tibet of main-

land China.

Many have suggested taking part in the Olympics would legitimize the current political and social atmosphere in China.

Unfortunately, China has already been legitimized. The People’s Republic of China was legitimized in 1971 when it was seated in the United Nations—despite its absolutely deplorable human rights record, which continues to this day. You still want to talk about legitimate? They are paramount among international creditors, having extended massive amounts of funds to developing and advanced nations alike.

To pretend that a boycott would do anything to curb their current course of action or diminish their status is pure fantasy.

Imagine if the Olympics were being held in the United States this year and China decided to boycott based on our continuing presence in two foreign theaters.

It’s highly doubtful this would lead to our withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, and the same logic should apply to China.

Others believe it is good enough to just send a message.

If you’re naive enough to believe our international posturing will cause damage to the Chinese government and effectively loosen their grip on the country, think again.

If Americans and Europeans refuse to attend the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government will gladly parlay that into volatile propaganda. The result will be the Chinese people feeling as if Western nations have insulted them. If anything, it will further cement the ‘us-versus-them’ mentality. Most people in China will not understand the distinction between the policies of the Bush Administration and general consensus of the American public. The Chinese media machine will portray an ideologically homogeneous and hypocritical American public that starts wars of attrition around the world yet boycotts the Chinese Olympics from our supposed moral high ground. As unpopular as it may be to say, there might be a grain of truth to that. Perhaps we should make sure our own house is in order before we begin to condemn other nations.

The simple truth is sports boycotts generally don’t work.

The 1980 boycott didn’t curb Soviet aggression and the 1984 Soviet boycott of Los Angeles only allowed the United States to dominate the games.

The only marginally successful sports boycott was the one imposed on South Africa. It’s true the course of action taken against South Africa did eventually play a part in ending apartheid.

However, it was only one small part in a comprehensive excommunication of South Africa from the international community.

There are several differences between the South African plan and the proposed course of action in China. South Africa was not unilaterally boycotted by one nation for one event (as we are suggesting with China) but

ostracized by established Western nations for decades.

It is also worth noting the state morale was partially tied up in competing internationally in rugby and cricket. Most importantly, the boycott was coupled with massive divestment campaigns from private businesses and national exclusion from international markets.

There is no chance the toughtalking American politicians (including the three presidential candidates) are going to follow through with any economic sanctions on China, who is coincidentally our largest trading partner.

Perhaps we should make sure our own house is in order before we begin to condemn other nations.

In fact, last year alone the United States amassed a $250 billion trade deficit with China. That begs the question, if we’re truly so upset about China’s treatment of its citizenry, why are we facilitating economic growth in China to the tune of $250 billion per year?

Apparently we are willing to fund a totalitarian regime, but we draw the line if a group of Americans want to go there to play water polo.

Even so, it’s nice that after 60 years American politicians are discussing the situation in Tibet and China’s human rights violations. Perhaps Sudan could host the Olympics in two decades and foster a frank discussion on the situation in Darfur, but don’t expect any action—just a grand and meaningless gesture that has absolutely no capacity to prompt change. The only people who stand to be affected are the athletes who may miss their only chance to compete on the highest level.

Even former President Jimmy Carter has joined the fray dismissing calls for a boycott. For those of you who remember, Carter ordered the infamous boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics in response to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. “That was a totally different experience in 1980, when the Soviet Union had brutally invaded and killed thousands and thousands of people,” Carter said. “They were threatening to go further south and take over other countries.”

It’s 30 years later and now look at who’s in Afghanistan. I agree China’s policy needs to change, but for the time being, maybe we should just be happy that we’re still invited. Let’s not politicize the Olympics—after all, they are supposed to be an exhibition of athleticism, global unity and a testing ground for new performance enhancing drugs.

In closing, I just hope China enjoys the financial, social and economic boom that Sarajevo did after hosting the ’84 games.

Matt Jividen is a senior majoring in history. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

arts

dailycardinal.com/arts

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

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P.O.D. steps up quality on ‘Angels and Serpents’

By Alex Morrell THE DAILY CARDINAL

PHOTO COURTESY COLUMBIA PICTURES

Marvel announced plans to make a movie featuring “Spider-Man 3” character Venom, but Brad thinks the movie would fare better if James Cameron replaced Sam Raimi.

Blockbuster mash-ups Independent filmmakers save today’s big-budget franchises BRAD BORON the boron identity

F

rom Christopher Nolan and “Batman Begins” to Paul Greengrass and “The Bourne Ultimatum” to Guillermo del Toro and “Hellboy,” onceindependent directors are finding success in mainstream film franchises. Coming soon, Jon Favreau’s “Iron Man” and South African director Gavin Hood’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” will smash, grab and slice into theaters.

Independent directors bring emotion and brains to films that might lack such qualities if made by a bigger director.

I, for one, love it when independent directors make big-budget films. They bring the emotion and brains to films that might lack such qualities if made by a bigger director (I’m looking at you, Jerry Bruckheimer.)

However, there are still franchises that need independentfilmmaker salvation. So, being the solutions-oriented person that I am, I decided to write a few Hollywood relationships, bringing love to the studios ... think of it as Movi-E-Harmony.com.

Paul Verhoeven & “Halloween 2” Verhoeven is a director whose career has pretty much been defined by two things: Sharon Stone’s interrogation in “Basic Instinct” and watching “RoboCop” being blown apart.

Although he was once a Hollywood heavyweight, he’s been focused lately on independent features, most recently the superior Holocaust drama “Black Book.”

So why “Halloween 2”? After Rob Zombie took the reboot to good box office receipts,

PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Paul Greengrass came almost out of nowhere to direct the summer smash-hit political thriller “The Bourne Identity.” you know there’s going to be a sequel. What better director to helm a movie that was all about boobs and blood than a director whose career’s been defined by boobs and blood?

James Cameron & “Spider-Man” Long before Sam Raimi took the reigns, James Cameron wrote a treatment for a Spider-Man film, much of which survived to Raimi’s film, like Spider-Man’s organic web shooters. The film was to be darker and more adult than Raimi’s version, more like Tim Burton’s “Batman” than what the series became. Since Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst seem unlikely to return, Cameron would get a chance to imagine the wall crawler from scratch and create his own definitive vision.

Quentin Tarantino & James Bond Years before Eon Productions made a harder-edged Bond in “Casino Royale,” QT suggested making a harder-edged Bond in an adaptation of “Casino Royale,” (in Eon’s defense, it was their idea to give Bond a black tuxedo).

Nonetheless, Tarantino is a master of the genre picture, and I, for one, would love to see what he can do. Bond movies change directors every time out anyway—to me, it’s a low-risk, high-reward thing.

Neil Marshall and “Venom” Marvel announced recently that they are making a standalone movie featuring Venom, the alien symbiote played by Topher Grace in “Spider-Man 3.” Neil Marshall directed the awesome horror film “The Descent,” which brought all of the claustrophobia of cave diving with the terror of a monster flick. Venom is a character smothered within his own skin—a great way to channel that claustrophobia and make it personal.

Jason Reitman & “Arrested Development” Fans of Fox’s loved-and-lost sitcom have been clamoring for a feature film ever since the Bluths got axed. “Juno” director Reitman has experience directing sitcoms (he did an episode of NBC’s “The Office”) and has a great flair for visual and character details, the specialty of “Arrested.”

Plus, should the film’s success somehow be able to revive the series, Reitman would hold a special place in the hearts of millions of never-nudes, hot cops and blue men across the country.

I’m glad I could create some great movie pairings. If only I could find a way to get Uwe Boll to direct a “Casablanca” remake.

To nominate your director pair for a Movi-E-Harmony mash-up, e-mail Brad at boron@wisc.edu.

you feel all alone / It can’t rain every day / It don’t rain forever,” but it resembles a more tepid reprisal of “Youth of the Nation” with less urgency and emotional impact. Similarly unremarkable is the pleading, acoustic cry against war and suffering “Tell Me Why,” which could benefit from more lyrical and musical originality and variation.

Payable On Death’s seventh album, When Angels and Serpents Dance, marks a step in a different but finally progressive direction for the battle-tested, 15year hard rock veterans from the “Southtown” (San Ysidro, Calif.).

Two subpar studio releases removed from their most celebrated work to date in Satellite, P.O.D. reunite with founding guitarist Marcos Curiel more motivated, creative and mature, Curiel breathes life into most offering a textured, musically rich of the tracks, employing catchy collection of tracks with the charhooks to galvanize many of the acteristic spiritual undertones moderately paced songs. and Latin zest—but this time with the amplifier dialed down a few notches from 11.

It’s been almost seven years since P.O.D.’s epic 2001 album Curiel breathes life into most Satellite hit stores the same morning of the tracks, however, employing two jetliners hit the World Trade catchy hooks to galvanize many Center towers. Satellite unpredict- of the moderately paced songs ably but almost fittingly provided like “Rise Against” and “End of a soundtrack to the catastrophe, the World” as well as heavier teeming with tight, emotionally tracks like “Shine With Me” and driven rapcore, varying from the “Addicted.” “Kaliforn-Eye-A,” somber, spiritually reflective tracks featuring Mike Muir of Suicidal like “Youth of the Nation” and Tendencies, boasts the nutrition“Thinking About Forever” to the al lyric quality of cotton candy, brave, courageous anthems “Alive” but it rides a cool, California and “Satellite.” Satellite somehow wave of funk-driven guitar riffs fortuitously captured both the dark, before ultimately descending into foreboding uncertainty as well as the a thrashing, punk-rock mosh pit, solidarity and call to action pervad- showcasing a taste of P.O.D.’s ing the United States, capitalizing Bad Brains influence. P.O.D. best on the emotional bond it forged to resemble their raw, hard-rock sell three million copies. music from the ’90s when Curiel One could unleashes a parCD REVIEW oxysm of crunchhardly expect a ing fretwork in follow up on par “God Forbid,” with Satellite, but one of the hardest P.O.D. imperceptibly sabotaged P.O.D. tracks to their artistic progdate let alone on ress by divesting the album. themselves of When Angels When Angels and founding member and Serpents Dance Serpents Dance also succeeds in and lead guitarP.O.D. ist Marcos Curiel, mostly relieving lisreleasing consecutive albums teners from the faux-reggae vocals (Payable on Death and Testify) and instrumentation that have perthat floundered with only the vaded recent P.O.D. albums. They intermittent success of singles proved they could conjure a sunlike “Goodbye for Now.” beaten Caribbean ambiance with When Angels and Serpents past tracks like “Set Your Eyes to Dance may be an overall depar- Zion” (The Fundamental Elements ture from P.O.D.’s traditional of Southtown) and “Ridiculous” hip-hop/hard-rock fusion, but (Satellite), but they failed to invigit focuses on the band’s unique orate subsequent attempts with strengths that helped distinguish any originality. Thankfully, they them from the rest of the angst- limit their latest album to one addled pack of nu-metal rockers: reggae-influenced song, “I’ll Be imaginative, Latin-inspired and Ready,” a lazy and repetitive piece free-flowing fret work by Curiel that still fails to cover any new and a positive, spiritually ground- ground despite the contributions ed aura of hope. from the Marley Girls.

Although progressive for P.O.D., the album is not without faults. P.O.D. have never honed lyrical prowess like rap-rock [The album] focuses on the wordsmith Zach de la Rocha of band’s unique strengths that Rage Against the Machine, but distinguish them from the rest the content is not abhorrently of the angst-addled rockers. bad either. Many of the songs are perhaps too hooky, chorusfocused and overtly plastered with production elements, but Frontman Sonny Sandoval Curiel’s soundscape of aesthetitrades in his rhyme-spitting swag- cally diverse fret play drowns ger—although not entirely—for most complaints. actual melodic singing, accompaWhen Angels and Serpents nying the proliferation of softer, Dance doesn’t pack the emotional more measured ballads. The slow- punch of Southtown or Satellite er tracks don’t carry the album, and might not outsell either, but they don’t distract or drag but the re-emergence of Curiel it down either. “It Can’t Rain adds an electric element glaringly Everyday” offers a positive mes- absent from P.O.D.’s previous sage proclaiming “Even though two albums.

comics 6

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dailycardinal.com/comics

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Collecting all the Beanie Babies

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.

Dwarfhead and Narwhal

“Drop the Dung!”

By James Dietrich jbdietrich@wisc.edu

The first puck used in ice hockey was a frozen piece of cow dung.

Today’s Crossword Puzzle

The Crackles Hey Sam. What have you been up Watching to all day?

YouTube videos.

Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com SWEET ALTERNATIVES ACROSS

1 Domed-roof structures 6 Some unmentionables 10 City map 14 Kirby of “City Slickers’’ 15 Em or Pittypat 16 Glittery material 17 Aged beer 18 ___ new world record 19 French cleric 20 Passenger’s concern, briefly 21 Making a fuss 24 Scottish dances 26 Delicately pretty 27 Story setting 29 Physical stature 31 “Oh, me!’’

32 Perpetual, in poesy 34 Bird’s beak 37 Continue, as a subscription 39 Convoy apparatus 40 Note book?

42 Surname assigned to an unknown 43 Maximum altitude 46 “The Art of Love’’ poet 47 Kind of trombone 48 They tie in the back 50 Lithesome 53 It was spent on the Riviera 54 AFI’s top film

57 Viper 60 Malaria symptom 61 Fiscal period 62 Everyone except the clergy 64 Parts of window treatments 65 Sea bird or Irish lough 66 Eye enhancer 67 Pace up and down 68 They’re connected 69 Ragged mountain ridge DOWN

1 Up to the task 2 Place for a fall 3 Big crop in Hawaii 4 Compass dir. near 2 o’clock 5 Reddish brown horse 6 Reason 7 Terse R.S.V.P. 8 Oppositional prefix 9 Sub who is part of a cast 10 Unruffled 11 Jacob’s father-in-law 12 Sphere of operation 13 Microscopic 22 On the sheltered side 23 Severe blows 25 With the greatest of ___ 27 Kitchen staple, once 28 The cheaper spread

29 It goes with almost anything 30 Gambling bug, e.g.

33 Hoofed it 34 Dentist’s supply 35 The Auld Sod, poetically 36 Dormitory staples 38 Ballroom dance in triple time 41 Crib contents 44 Plastered 45 Make hourly 47 Most artful 49 Traditional Spanish dish 50 It keeps the chill out 51 Good physical health 52 Piano practice piece 53 Cabbie’s income 55 Fictional sleuth Wolfe 56 “Critique of Pure Reason’’ writer 58 Proofer’s retraction 59 Funeral conflagration 63 Be televised

By Simon Dick srdick@wisc.edu Some guy had dressed up like Scorpion from Mortal Kombat and was dacing around. I left a comment so he’d know how stupid he looked. What?...

Anthro-apology

GET OVER HERE!

By Eric Wigdahl wigdahl@wisc.edu

Too many papers?

Why not write for a paper that gives you something back, not just a BC? Join at www.dailycardinal.com

sports

dailycardinal.com/sports

runners from page 8 The in the near future this Badger backfield may be labeled as powerful, fast and experienced.

Clay, Brown and Hill, who has returned from his leg injury and looked impressive throughout spring practice, will all be reunited with Smith-Williams in the backfield when the new season begins.

“I’m taking a leadership role, working on the running back core.”

P.J. Hill running back Wisconsin Badgers

“I’m feeling very healthy,” Hill, the former national freshman of the year, said. “I’m coming in, coach is letting me know I’m doing some good things. At the same time, I’m taking a leadership role, working on the running back core. I want to make sure that they are doing the right things as well.”

When Brown filled in for Hill and Smith, he was explosive.

acc/big ten from page 8 wins over the last two seasons and three conference titles in seven years isn’t enough to warrant a rematch against Duke in the Badgers’ own house.

Or maybe it’s because the Big Ten is 0-9 in the event and the schedulers want the obviously inferior conference to get one. The 2008 slate might actually favor the Big Ten, believe it or not.

Duke travels to Purdue, which will probably be a tougher matchup for the Devils than if they came to the Kohl Center. North Carolina plays Michigan State at Ford Field in Detroit, which will favor the Spartans even though the fans won’t be able to see the court (just ask Badger fans who traveled there for the Sweet 16). Wisconsin might be favored at Virginia Tech and Ohio State could be favored at Miami. If Illinois can top Clemson at home and Minnesota can do the same against Virginia at The Barn, then that’s six wins needed to win the challenge.

The sad thing is I still feel like I am asking for a lot by getting those six wins. The Big Ten’s track record in this thing is worse than Northwestern’s track record when it comes to getting into a postseason tournament. It’s just

Against Minnesota, the regular season finale, the Florida native rushed for 250 yards, a career high and the 10th highest total in UW history. Thus, heading into spring practice, all four running backs were in position to show the different skills they bring to the table.

“When it comes down to it, they’ll [coaches] make the decision,” Hill said. “We all get the same amount of reps. You’ll probably see sometimes when different situations, you’ll see they’ll put a certain back in. But when it all comes down to it, the coaches will make decisions and everybody will see what happens.”

With only one practice remaining before the annual spring game, fans will not have to wait long to get a glimpse of this highly touted backfield. All four backs are healthy and should log plenty of reps throughout the course of the inter-squad game. For Hill, he wants to show everyone he is healthy again.

“I’m just running like regular old P.J. Hill,” he said. “I also have the guys behind me, I hope they go out there and do a good job, but I’m just going to go out there and just have fun. not going to happen.

But as I go through the reasons in my head as to why the defending Big Ten Champions are playing at Virginia Tech instead of against any team with more than a four-year ACC history, the only reason that makes any semblance of sense is that the challenge organizers are trying to get the Big Ten a win so it can justify participating in the event.

At this point I’m wondering when the conference will drop out and start a new challenge against Conference USA. I can see it now: 10-1 every year (with Memphis obviously winning).

Now that’s success.

The truth is, Wisconsin could help its case for a better game by winning a few more in the event.

Duke is obviously going to get the good matchups because it’s Duke, but the Blue Devils are also 9-0 in the Challenge while playing in those headlining games.

So for now, take it for what it is. It’s not Virginia TechWisconsin at Camp Randall, it’s only Virginia Tech-Wisconsin at Cassell Coliseum.

Either way, Wisconsin’s got to win.

If you think the ACC is just better then the Big Ten at basketball, e-mail Adam at hoge@wisc.edu.

ACC/BIG TEN CHALLENGE SCHEDULE Monday, Dec. 1 Wisconsin at Virginia Tech Tuesday, Dec. 2 Duke at Purdue Clemson at Illinois Ohio State at Miami Virginia at Minnesota Iowa at Boston College Wednesday, Dec. 3 North Carolina vs. Michigan State (from Ford Field, Detroit, Mich.)

Indiana at Wake Forest Michigan at Maryland Florida State at Northwestern Penn State at Georgia Tech

irish from page 8 ball games that we didn’t.”

The Badgers currently sit in the basement of the conference and will have to turn things around quickly if they want to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament in May. One way to get back on track would be to defeat a good team, such as the Irish.

“They’re always good,” Schulte said. “They have gotten some of the better recruits in the country the past couple years.”

Notre Dame is 26-12 this season and has beaten ranked

Wednesday, April 16, 2008 teams No. 17 DePaul and No. 24 Virginia Tech.

Junior pitcher Brittney Bargar is 20-7 this season with a 0.78 earned run average and senior infielder Katie Laing is leading the team in batting average at .361.

The Irish rank second in the Big East in both average and ERA. Coach Schulte was adamant about the importance of winning the non-conference game.

“I would like to put a complete game together—we haven’t done that in a while,” Schulte said. “I would like to reduce the number of lead-off batters getting on and

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reduce our strikeouts. If we could do those things we will be a little more successful.”

One aspect Wisconsin flourished in for at least one game last weekend was their hitting. The Badgers set a season high with 11 hits Sunday in an 8-3 win over Penn State.

“I hope we can keep hitting,” Raphael said.

After Wednesday’s game Wisconsin will return to its conference schedule, having to face Iowa (7-3) Friday and Saturday and Illinois (3-7) in a Sunday doubleheader.

sports Badgers hope to steal luck of the Irish 8

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dailycardinal.com/sports

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

By Scott Kellogg THE DAILY CARDINAL

LORENZO ZEMELLA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Senior catcher Joey Daniels had one RBI and two runs in an 8-3 win over Penn State Saturday, Wisconsin’s lone win last weekend.

Wisconsin will continue its turbulent season Wednesday when they visit South Bend, Ind., to face Notre Dame.

There was a definite degree of uncertainty entering the season since Wisconsin lost Eden Brock, the team’s best pitcher last year; Samantha Polito, who led the team in batting average; and Katie Hnatyk, who hit a teamhigh 11 home runs in 2007.

“Honestly this is the first time in 14 years I didn’t have expectations. I really wasn’t sure what we were going to get,” head coach Chandelle Schulte said. “I knew we were young and I knew we were missing some key [parts].”

In terms of winning and losing,

junior outfielder Valyncia Raphael agreed with Schulte that accumulating expectations were difficult.

“I really didn’t have any expectations,” Raphael said.

But in terms of molding as a team, Raphael was hopeful her squad would be successful.

“I just wanted the girls to come together because I knew half the team would be coming in, would be new players,” Raphael said. “And now, since we’re pretty much winding down, that expectation has definitely been met. We’ve come together as a team and we definitely have good team chemistry.”

Unfortunately for Wisconsin, the fulfillment of that prospect has not translated into wins. The Badgers have dropped three out

Healthy Hill leads rejuvenated backfield Four backs will vie for carries in the Badger offense

“We’ve come together as a team and we definitely have good team chemistry.”

Valyncia Raphael junior outfielder Wisconsin Badgers

“I can’t say I’m disappointed based on the expectations, but I am disappointed,” Schulte said.

“I feel we could have won some irish page 7

ADAM HOGE a hoge in one

UW lacking challenge in ACC event

By Tom Lea THE DAILY CARDINAL

Wisconsin has historically been a school rich with running back talent. The last decade alone has provided the Cardinal and White a Heisman winner and all-time Division-I rushing leader in Ron Dayne. Badger faithful have also been witnesses to eventual NFL players Michael Bennett and Anthony Davis, followed by a one-year stint of Brian Calhoun before he moved to the next level.

On this year’s roster, UW has four running backs that could potentially be remembered in Badger lore for years to come.

“We enjoy being out there,” junior running back Lance Smith-Williams said following a chilly outdoor practice. “It’s having fun, that’s mainly what it’s about and knowing mainly when your name is called to do a certain assignment to handle it the right way.”

Led by juniors P.J. Hill and Smith-Williams, as well as sophomore Zach Brown and freshman John Clay, the Badger backfield will present a formidable group for opponents. Before last season, the running back core was to be led by Hill and Smith-Williams, but after SmithWilliams ran into legal trouble and Hill was injured, Brown received many carries while Clay had red-shirted.

Due to an off-field incident last summer, Smith-Williams was unable to travel with the

of four games within their conference the past two weekends and are now 2-10 in the Big Ten and 12-32 overall.

T

just realize that days go on and obviously it should be a good thing for me coming up in the future.”

he UW football team was supposed to be playing Virginia Tech this fall before Wisconsin opted out of the series in 2005. Instead, it will be the UW basketball team taking on the Hokies in Blacksburg, Va., Dec. 1 in the 10th annual ACC/ Big Ten Challenge.

Not exactly the same thing, is it?

Unfortunately, head coach Bo Ryan does not have a say in which team Wisconsin faces in the annual challenge that the Big Ten has never won. It appears there was a possibility of Duke traveling to the Kohl Center a year after beating the Badgers 82-58 in Durham, N.C. Maybe the drubbing the Blue Devils put on Wisconsin was enough for the challenge schedulers to send the Badgers elsewhere.

Duke has played a home-andhome series against three different Big Ten opponents (Illinois, Michigan State and Indiana) in the nine-year history of the challenge, and considering Wisconsin has emerged as the elite Big Ten program this decade, it seemed likely UW would be the fourth.

Instead, the Badgers will play on the road for the third time in the last four years of the challenge, and this time it will be a far cry from a trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium. It will be the first ever meeting between Wisconsin and Virginia Tech.

Maybe it’s because UW is only 3-6 in the event. Apparently 61

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acc/big ten page 7

JACOB ELA/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO

Junior running back P.J. Hill had 1212 yards and 14 touchdowns last season but missed parts or all of the final three games. This spring has shown the burst that helped him to 132 yards in the Outback Bowl. team during the regular season.

At points on the road, it was noticeable the team was lacking Smith-Williams’ big play ability.

When Hill suffered his leg injury, the penalty seemed even more

daunting for Smith-Williams. “[It was] extremely frustrating,” Smith-Williams said. “Only the strong can really survive situations like that and not give up on what’s really important. You