Thursday, October 2, 2008 - The Daily Cardinal

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Star acting manages to save “The Lucky Ones” from an unfortunate fate ARTS

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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UW-OSU BATTLE SET FOR PRIMETIME PAGE 10: Five years later, remembering UW upset of OSU and one of Camp Randall’s greatest games GAMEDAY: Badgers face one of the best and most versatile offenses they’ve seen in a while Saturday

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Thursday, October 2, 2008

Downtown taxi stand facing uncertain future By Abby Sears THE DAILY CARDINAL

A late-night taxi stand serving downtown patrons on the weekends may be in jeopardy if organizers cannot find funding to continue the project, according to city officials. The stand, located on the 600 block of University Avenue, uses Badger Cab, Madison Taxi and Union Cab companies to pick up customers at a common meeting point in order to provide safer transportation options. The stand began as a pilot project in April and resumed business in late August after a summer hiatus. Madison’s Alcohol Policy Coordinator Katherine Plominski said the stand, which runs on Friday and Saturday nights from 12 a.m. to 3 a.m., currently averages 200 to 250 customers per weekend. Despite the positive response, Plominski said the money needed to run the project will run out at the end of this month, leaving the future of the stand uncertain. Plominski and representatives from the cab companies, Madison Police Department and the city’s traffic engineering department will meet Thursday to discuss potential plans for the stand. Plominski said it costs approximately $3,000 to run the taxi stand for one year. All of the money needed for the stand goes to paying a monitor for the stand to supervise the line and usher customers into taxis. Plominski said the position is vital to running an organized stand that

caters to patrons of popular downtown bars nearby. “If people were sober at the stand that would be one thing and it could be orderly … but with intoxicated groups it doesn’t work that way so you have to have someone out there literally to manage the line,” Plominski said. “Even if no one else is in that line they know that there’s a sober professional there. It’s a safety factor as well.” During the pilot phase of the project, volunteers staffed the position. When the stand relaunched at the end of the summer, Madison’s Central Business Improvement District provided $1,000 to pay for the monitor. BID Executive Director Mary Carbine said the organization only intended to temporarily fund the stand with the understanding that other means of financial support would be sought. “We were willing to pitch in for our share to fund a pilot so that this could become a self-sustaining business opportunity,” Carbine said. Plominski said she is exploring several possibilities for funding the stand, including sponsorships from beer companies or splitting the cost between the three participating taxi companies. Madison Taxi General Manager and current stand monitor Rick Nesvacil said his cab drivers and customers alike have utilized the stand and the company’s participation in taxi page 3

Safety guide shows increase in student liquor law violations By Erin Banco THE DAILY CARDINAL

Dean of Students Lori Berquam released the 2008-’09 Campus Safety Guide in a mass e-mail sent to UWMadison students Wednesday, which noted liquor law violations are on the rise. According to the guide, which included 2007 campus crime statistics, liquor law violations topped all other crimes on campus with 871 arrests—up from 427 arrests in 2006. From the liquor violations there were 599 university disciplinary referrals. Berquam encouraged students to visit the new campus safety website and to read the guide for safety tips. “Crime and safety continue to be serious concerns for our campus and city,” Berquam said in the e-mail. “Although a victim of crime is never at fault, there are simple steps you can take to raise your awareness and decrease your vulnerability.”

University of Wisconsin Police Sgt. Bill Larson said 167 burglaries were reported on campus in 2007. “Some of the biggest mistakes made last year were when people were out and about and walking around,” he said. According to Larson, UWPD relies on students to help them crack down on campus crime. “We put as many staff people out as we can, especially if there is a particular area that we are worried about,” he said. “When you see something take the time to look at it and give us a call and let us know.” Larson said the main goal of the guide is to inform and educate students on the importance of campus safety. The guide also advises students to take advantage of campus safety programs like SAFEwalk and the free bus system. For more information on campus safety visit www.safeu.wisc.edu.

KATIE GIBBS/THE DAILY CARDINAL

As part of a national campus tour in support of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, actors Adam Brody and Joy Bryant spoke to students at Memorial Union Wednesday.

Hollywood celebrities visit UW to push youth vote for Obama By Kelsey Gunderson THE DAILY CARDINAL

Actors Adam Brody and Joy Bryant spoke to a full crowd at Memorial Union Wednesday as a part of a nationwide campus tour to mobilize young supporters to elect Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in November. Brody believes young people can have a great impact on the outcome of the election. “The most important way for students to get their voices heard is to get out and vote,” he said. Brody and Bryant said they got involved in the tour because they were unsatisfied with the current administration. “We are not political policy experts, we’re just concerned citizens of the world,” Brody said.

“We believe young people could single-handedly win this election.” The duo also said they believe Wisconsin’s youth specifically can have a huge impact on the swing state’s outcome. “In 2000, Wisconsin had the highest youth vote in the country,” Bryant said. “This election is expected to be just as close.” Brody and Bryant said they think the most pressing issues facing the nation today are education, the war in Iraq and the environment. “I think we need to figure out the Middle East … personally I think it is time to get out of Iraq,” Brody said. “And I think we need to completely overhaul and reboot our energy system to renewable energy.”

Bryant said Obama is the right candidate to address America’s issues. “He was the head of Harvard Law Review, a community organizer, as well as a state and national senator … how much more substance does he need?” Brody said Obama’s popularity is a good thing, referring to those who criticize Obama as a celebrity. “It means people actually like him … they don’t view it as a problem,” he said. According to Brody, Obama’s appeal to young people has generated a large amount of student involvement. “We have 21st century problems to address, and it’s going to be up to young people to fix them,” he said.

ASM Constitutional Committee asks for feedback on draft By Estephany Escobar THE DAILY CARDINAL

UW-Madison students and faculty members offered thoughts and concerns about the newly drafted

Associated Students of Madison constitution during an open information session Wednesday at Memorial Union. Jeffrey Wright, chair of the

LORENZO ZEMELLA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

The Associated Students of Madison host an information session to hear student feedback on a draft of its recently released constitution.

Constitutional Committee, started the meeting by explaining the state of the current ASM government structure, the areas ASM succeeds in and the main problems of the organization. “We are not here to tell you that you should like the draft structure … this isn’t a session to sell this to you in any shape or form,” he said. Wright said current problems facing student government were the inability to communicate with students in a coordinated way, the inability to respond to individual events in a quick manner, ambiguity of the accountability line and the low student input. Major changes to ASM’s structure include establishing clear governing lines between the executive asm 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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