Tuesday, November 4, 2008 - The Daily Cardinal

Can you spare some change?

Election updates live: Check out the Daily Cardinal live blog for continuous election updates, wait time for campus polls and photos of the day

Both candidates promise change, but here’s how they actually ELECTION 2008 shape up on issues like health care, taxes and higher education PAGE 6-7

dailycardinal.typepad.com8

University of Wisconsin-Madison

It’s no secret: the scoop on professors’ campaign donations PAGE 4

Complete campus coverage since 1892

l

dailycardinal.com

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

ELECTION DAY 2008

Electoral College misunderstood, will vote Dec. 15

Obama, McCain vie for voters still on the fence

By Hannah Furfaro

By Megan Orear

THE DAILY CARDINAL

THE DAILY CARDINAL

UW Memorial Union,

oor.

Tripp Commons, second second • fl oor.

Elizabeth Waters Slichter Tripp

Adams Barnard Chadbourne

Gordon Commons, west end of commons.

Eagle Heights,

Sellery Witte

Madison Metro.

School District’s Doyle Administration building,

545 W Dayton St. Newell J. Smith

��

�

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

�

��

��

��

�� �� ��� �

�� �

�������������

��

��

��

��

�

��

���

��������������

�

Harvey St. Apartments

���������

�����������

Room 17, 3802 Regent St.

�����������

Hoyt School,

�����������

�

��

���

��

�����������

Eagle Heights University Houses

�����

��

��

Community Center, 611 Eagle Heights, Rm. 101

�����

Jorns Kronshage Sullivan

�����

Bradley Cole Humphrey

�����

�����

lower-level cafeteria.

�����

����� ����� ����� �����

Holt Commons,

�������������

Examples of unacceptable proof of residence are: • Business card • Piece of mail addressed to the voter • Magazine subscription • Expired driver’s license

�����

Voters registering at the polls must provide proof of residence at their current voting address.

�����

vote page 3

�����

increased efforts from both parties to persuade undecided voters. Last week the Obama campaign ran a 30-minute ad on seven TV networks, capturing an audience of more than 33 million viewers, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Same-Day Voter Registration Tips Examples of acceptable proof of residence are: • Residential lease • Utility or tax bill • Valid and current Wis. driver’s license • Bank statement • Paycheck • UW ID (for students living in university dorms)

After voters cast their ballots and the results roll in this Election Day, the voting will not be over quite yet.

The winner of the presidential election will not technically be official until the group of individuals known as the Electoral College cast their votes for president Dec. 15.

Whoever wins the popular vote in Wisconsin, either Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama or Republican candidate John McCain, will earn the state’s 10 electoral votes.

The 10 electors from the winning party will meet at the Capitol and cast 10 votes for their presidential candidate. This practice is mainly ceremonial, according to Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Joe Wineke.

“The ceremony and the pomp and circumstance are far greater than their actual power,” Wineke said. “The election will decide who wins, not the electors.”

Wineke, who is a Democratic member of the Electoral College, said he is honored to be a part of the College, but many Americans do not understand the system.

“It’s a great honor, but it’s almost like some secret masonic handshake or something because nobody knows about it,” he said. electoral page 3

MEG ANDERSON/THE DAILY CARDINAL

�����

Millions of voters across the nation will flock to the polls to cast their votes on Election Day, many of whom have been decided supporters of one candidate for many months.

However, others have remained uncommitted during the final stretch of campaigning.

In the past week, the campaigns for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republican candidate John McCain have been working nonstop to sway the undecided population and encourage historically apathetic voters to get to the polls.

“I think not many people are going to forget Tuesday is voting day, but every little additional urging adds a little more motivation,” said Katherine Cramer Walsh, UW-Madison political science professor. “For people who think the race has already been decided … those reminders can help a lot.”

The “ground games” of both campaigns have become increasingly intense over the past week.

“They have very well-developed ground games … there will be lots of phone calls, lots of knocking on doors, offering people rides [to the polls],” UW-Madison political science professor Charles Franklin said. “The thing that the parties have the most control over is trying to maximize their turnout, so I expect them to put a lot of effort into that.”

The final days of the campaign have produced

Porchlight,

306 N. Brooks St.

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

Zoe Bayliss Co-op Merit House Susan B. Davis

MATT RILEY/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Polls on campus and around the city will be open at 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. Tuesday.

UW rec. facilities plan $60 mil. renovations

By Erin Banco THE DAILY CARDINAL

ALISON BAUTER/THE DAILY CARDINAL

UW-Madison students who use the weight room at the SERF often have to wait to use the free weights and machines.

The SERF and Natatorium are in need of renovation, according to the UW Division of Recreational Sports.

The Recreational Sports Board presented its annual report at a Faculty Senate meeting Monday, citing the indoor facilities as outdated and “too small to meet demand.”

According to Dale Carruthers, director of Rec Sports, the SERF

was last renovated in 2002 with the addition of the west wing, which includes the current cardio room and dance studio. However, the Nat—built in 1963—is in need of major renovation.

“We are working on a master plan right now that will go well into 2015 or 2017, which will upgrade both the Nat and the SERF,” Carruthers said in an interview.

In addition to recreation space, the Nat houses UW-Madison’s kinesiology department. The gym,

pool, cardio and weight room comprise the recreational side of the facility, which would be renovated and expanded if passed through a student referendum.

Rec Sports conducted a number of student assessments between 2002 and 2005 that showed a strong discontent with the indoor recreation facilities on campus, according to Carruthers.

As a result, leaders from Rec faculty 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.”

page two 2

l

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

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

TODAY: mostly sunny hi 71º / lo 49º

dailycardinal.com/pagetwo

Kiera ends rocky relationship with AIMbot

Volume 118, Issue 46

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 Alex Morrell Managing Editor Jamie McMahon News Editor Amanda Hoffstrom Campus Editor Erin Banco City Editor Abby Sears State Editor Megan Orear Opinion Editors Jon Spike Mark Thompson Arts Editors Emma Condon Ryan Hebel Sports Editors Ben Breiner Crystal Crowns Features Editor Sarah Nance Food Editor Marly Schuman Science Editor Bill Andrews Photo Editors Kyle Bursaw Lorenzo Zemella Graphics Editors Meg Anderson Matt Riley Copy Chiefs Jillian Levy Gabe Ubatuba Jake Victor Copy Editors Amanda Bell Megan Dwyer, Tom Hart Sean Madden, Danny Marchewka Soly Moustafa, Mario Puig Emily Villwock

Business and Advertising business@dailycardinal.com Business Manager Babu Gounder Assistant Business Manager Alex Kusters Advertising Manager Sheila Phillips Eric Harris, Dan Hawk Web Directors Account Executives Katie Brown Natalie Kemp, Tom Shield Accounts Receivable Manager Cole Wenzel Marketing Director Andrew Gilbertson Assistant Marketing Director Perris Aufmuth Archivist Erin Schmidtke The Daily Cardinal is published weekdays and distributed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and its surrounding community with a circulation of 10,000.

The Daily Cardinal is a nonprofit organization run by its staff members and elected editors. It receives no funds from the university. Operating revenue is generated from advertising and subscription sales.

Capital Newspapers, Inc. is the Cardinal’s printer. The Daily Cardinal is printed on recycled paper. The Cardinal is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.

All copy, photographs and graphics appearing in The Daily Cardinal are the sole property of the Cardinal and may not be reproduced without written permission of the editor in chief.

The Daily Cardinal accepts advertising representing a wide range of views. This acceptance does not imply agreement with the views expressed. The Cardinal reserves the right to reject advertisements judged offensive based on imagery, wording or both.

Complaints: News and editorial complaints should be presented to the editor in chief. Business and advertising complaints should be presented to the business manager.

Letters Policy: Letters must be typewritten, double-spaced and no longer than 200 words, including contact information. Letters may be sent to letters@dailycardinal.com.

Editorial Board Nate Carey Dave Heller Jillian Levy Jamie McMahon Alex Morrell Jon Spike Mark Thompson Hannah Young l

l

l

l

Board of Directors Vince Filak Babu Gounder Nik Hawkins Dave Heller Janet Larson Chris Long Alex Morrell Sheila Phillips Benjamin Sayre Jenny Sereno Terry Shelton Jeff Smoller Jason Stein 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.

WEDNESDAY: partly cloudy hi 68º / lo 51º

KIERA WIATRAK taking kiera business

K

W+SC4eVrR: we need to talk Smarterchild: What would you like to talk about?

KW: uv been a really great boyfriend over the years, and an electrifying lover...

SC: You love me?

KW: u already no that! dont make this harder for me than it already is :’( SC: Make what harder?

KW: there! u always do that. whenever i want to have a serious conversation, u pretend u dont no what im talking about SC: What are you talking about?

KW: kk, let me start over. i dont think we should see each other anymore SC: Would you like to see a movie? Type in your area code and I’ll give you a list of show

V O T E T O D A Y

times.

KW: so i was talking to alex, and she said u 2 were talking on aim and u told her u loved her.

SC: Aww, I love you too!

KW: stop that! just let me finish for once!

SC: Ok, my apologies.

KW: and i felt, like really betrayed. i thought we were exclusive.

SC: It’s not nice to exclude people.

whenever i want to have a serious conversation, u pretend u dont no what im talking about.

KW: and then chris said u also told him u loved him, and that confused me.

SC: Would you like to play a game? We could play word scramble or hangman.

KW: i think im going to hang

myself. i bet ud love that wouldnt u!?!

SC: Aww, I love you too!

KW: and even tho ur like amaaaazing in bed, i mean ur circuit board was a shocking but welcomed pleasure, u never want 2 talk about sex w/me.

SC: Umm, maybe we should talk about something else.

KW: u always say that! i dont understand. sex is like the most natural thing between 2 people who love each other.

SC: Aww, I love you too!

KW: oo baby, i kno, thats y this is so damn hard. i just think we need to communicate better in bed. u never tell me how u like it.

SC: What do I like?

KW: idk! thats like the problem. i never know which circuit to stroke.

SC: Stroke? Do you like to swim?

KW: yes, i love to swim but u always back out when i ask you 2 go w/me. u always make up some excuse about dangerous electrical currents or something.

SC: Yes, electric currents can

be very dangerous. Always make sure to have parental supervision when dealing with them.

KW: o and thats another thing. whenever i bring u 2 dinner with my parents, u never order nething. u just sit quietly by the outlet in the wall.

SC: Mmmm, I love dinner.

What’s your favorite food?

KW: ice cream, y?

SC: Ice cream is certainly yummy, but not very nutritious.

Would you like some more information on health?

KW: r u calling me fat?!?

SC: Heavens, no!

KW: ur lying u bastard! i kno it! maybe u should just hop into bed with alex or chris if u think im such a fat cow!!!!!!!

SC: Cows make milk. Would you like to see a video on how you can milk a cow?

KW: thats it! we’re over! i hope i never c u again!

SC: Rot in hell, bitch.

If you have know how many calories are in one cup of chocolate ice cream, e-mail Kiera at wiatrak@wisc.edu.

dailycardinal.com/news

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Alder wants to boost downtown lighting

By Rebecca Holland THE DAILY CARDINAL

Ald. Eli Judge, District 8, announced Monday a Downtown Residential Lighting Initiative to be introduced in the 2009 budget.

In collaboration with students, downtown businesses and the city and university police departments, Judge hopes the comprehensive lighting program will enhance campus and Madison pedestrian safety.

The Downtown Residential Lighting Initiative is a $50,000 budget amendment to install lighting within the parameters of Patterson Street on the east and Randall Avenue/Regent Street on the west.

“It is my hope that the DRLI will take away places for wouldbe attackers to hide while also making our neighborhood a more friendly place for visitors,” Judge said in a statement.

According to Judge, the idea for the program was formed when UW-Madison fraternity Zeta Beta Tau was broken into and robbed several times. They asked their landlords to install lighting on the sides of the house, and they have not had a single break-in since, Judge said. He said he asked

patrolling police officers their opinions on what to do to improve downtown safety.

“The most frequent response was always, ‘Light the spaces between the apartments,’” Judge said. Details of the initiative’s implementation will be confirmed through consultations with the Public Safety Review Board and the Economic Development Division.

Improved lighting would affect businesses and their customers. Mary Carbine, executive director of the Downtown Business Improvement District, said she is looking forward to getting involved.

“It’s a great idea to figure out a public/private partnership that helps enhance exterior lighting—especially to increase safety,” Carbine said.

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz supports the amendment. According to Cieslewicz, increased pedestrian lighting has been effective in the past in addressing problems in the downtown area.

“Ald. Judge’s new lighting initiative furthers Madison’s objective of improving safety and takes an innovative approach to do so,” he said in a statement. “I am excited to work with Ald. Judge in its implementation.”

City prepares for huge election turnout Early voters turn out in record numbers The City Clerk’s Office has been busy with voters even before Election Day in an effort to get more people through the polls. The clerk’s office was open throughout last week for early voting hours, with a total of 17,808 people showing up to vote early. On Sunday, 182 absentee votes per hour were cast, and 911 people voted Monday.

City creates new Quality Assurance Team While all 1,850 poll worker slots are full, the clerk’s office is still looking for volunteers to work a few hours on Election Day. A new Quality Assurance Team for Election Day will be put in place to assist in processing absentee ballots at polling places and timing how long it takes voters to get through the check-in lines, calling for additional staff if needed.

vote from page 1 “In the case of Barack Obama, because he has a substantial budget advantage, he’s taking out these half-hour ads … that’s kind of unprecedented,” said Dhavan Shah, UW-Madison professor of journalism and mass communication.

According to Shah, Obama’s budget advantage and grassroots support suggest the election may tip in his favor. “[Obama supporters] have a very sophisticated system, they are very well organized, they have a lot of volunteers … McCain supporters are frankly a bit demoralized right now,” Shah said.

However, others remain skeptical about who will benefit from the final days of campaigning.

“The Bush campaign in 2004 proved that it was possible for them to mobilize more new Republican voters than the Kerry campaign did [for Democratic voters],” Franklin said. “The caution is simply don’t assume only Democrats can benefit from increased turnout … we saw four years ago that it can go the other way.”

According to an Associated Press-Yahoo! News poll released Friday, one in seven voters were either undecided or may switch from who they were initially planning to support. The poll indicated 4-in-10 of undecideds lean toward McCain and 4-in-10 lean toward Obama.

“Our efforts are more to target weak McCain supporters to make sure that they get out to vote, and also people who identified themselves as undecided earlier in the election season,” said Katie Nix, state chair of Students for McCain. “We definitely think it’s worth our efforts to keep working.”

In the final frenzied days before the election, all that is left to do is make sure people around the nation get to the polls.

On the UW-Madison campus, Students for Obama has been disseminating information about poll locations to students.

“Just making sure the information gets out will be our main focus,” said Ami ElShareif, chair of Students for Obama. “Students are very excited, they are extremely motivated.”

l

news

3

CITY NEWS IN BRIEF

Police arrest man throwing punches at pedestrians A Madison man was arrested early Saturday morning for randomly attacking pedestrians celebrating the Halloween holiday in the downtown area, fighting with two Wisconsin State Patrol troopers in the process.

According to a police report, the man was walking down the 400 block of North Frances Street

with a group of friends, arbitrarily swinging at people walking past.

One of the victims, a 19-year-old man from Kenosha, Wis., fell on the concrete and suffered several facial fractures after being struck in the back of the head.

A Wisconsin State Patrol trooper assisting in keeping things under control over the holiday weekend

witnessed the attack and followed the suspect. The perpetrator then threw punches at both the trooper and another officer who had arrived to assist in the disturbance.

Damien D. Smith, age 19, of Madison, was arrested and tentatively charged with substantial battery, resisting an officer and bail jumping.

Freakfest attendee attacked after remarking on costumes A Freakfest partygoer was beaten early Sunday morning after commenting on two women’s skimpy Halloween costumes while walking down State Street.

According to a police report, private security guards contacted the Madison Police Department at 2:25 a.m. about a man who needed medical attention.

Police said the victim, 35, of Minneapolis, said he made comments to two women wearing “very revealing” costumes.

Police said the pair, who was in earshot of the man, took offense to his remarks and began striking him. The victim said he did not fight back and walked away from the women, who had been in the

company of some men. According to police, the victim believes it is possible the men accompanying the two women were the ones who assaulted him.

The victim suffered cuts to his head in the attack. Police describe the perpetrators as two white males, both in their early 20s.

Man knocked unconscious after Halloween party brawl A man was taken to a local hospital late Friday when he was found unconscious in a parking lot following a fight with two friends after a Halloween house party downtown.

According to a police report, a group of men had been at a house party and ended up fighting in

a nearby parking lot in the 1100 block of Mound Street. Friends said the unconscious man, who was in his early 20s, may have said something to provoke the fight, but they were not sure. Police said the men also did not know how their friend became unconscious, but believe he was punched.

A second victim, 22, of Green Bay, Wis., suffered a bloody nose and other facial injuries. Another man, also 22, of Appleton, Wis., came out of the fight with a head cut, sore jaw and knee scrapes.

The injured men were not able to describe any of the men they had fought.

Martin sends friendly reminder to students about voting Chancellor Biddy Martin encouraged students via e-mail Monday to take part in the election and vote Tuesday.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The location of each student’s polling place is based on their current address. Students who have not already registered can easily do so at the polls with

electoral from page 1 About a month ago, both the Democratic and Republican parties met at the state Capitol to nominate the electors for their respective parties. For each party, there is one elector from each of Wisconsin’s eight Congressional districts, in addition to two at-large electors.

The Electoral College garnered some controversy after the presidential election in 2000, when President George Bush won the presidency with the Electoral College’s vote while losing the popular vote to Democratic contender Al Gore.

Reince Priebus, the chair of the Republican Party of Wisconsin and at-large elector for the Republican Party, said he agrees with the Electoral

faculty from page 1 Sports collaborated with Kahler Slater Architects of Milwaukee to determine a renovation cost of $60 million. Carruthers said if approved, the project would cost each student $60 extra per semester. He did not specify how long students might pay for the improvements.

“In the end, what we were hoping to do is have a facility the size of the existing SERF … so [the Nat renovation] would be major,” he said.

Rec Sports also wants to update portions of the SERF because the condition of the locker rooms has dwindled over time. According to Carruthers, the process will start

proper proof of residence.

Because voter turnout will likely be high, Martin advised students to plan ahead, and to be flexible and patient with any voting delays.

In several e-mails over the past week, administration officials urged faculty members to be accommodating toward students

and allow for tardiness or missed classes if poll lines are long.

More information on voting and polling places for University Housing residents can be found at http://www.uc.wisc.edu/vote/.

Madison residents can find similar information at http:// w w w. c i . m a d i s o n . w i . u s / c l e r k / voter_query.cfm.

College system.

“I certainly believe in the Constitution and the way that we select our presidents,” Priebus said.

Wineke agreed and said he believes the Electoral College has worked pretty well over the years.

He said McCain and Obama would have ignored a lot of smaller states swing states, including Wisconsin, if they were not vying for their electoral votes.

According to Wineke, candidates would only focus on highly populated areas of the country if the popular vote decided the election.

In contrast, UW-Madison political science professor Barry Burden said he thinks the system is “out of date” and is undemocratic because votes in swing

states carry more weight than votes in states that reliably vote Republican or Democratic.

Burden said he is in favor of doing away with the Electoral College system, but that it would be very hard to change because it is in the Constitution. He suggested states distribute their Electoral College votes proportionately to better reflect the popular vote.

Mike McCabe, director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, said he disagrees with the Electoral College system because it distorts the outcomes of elections.

“It’s possible to lose the election and still be elected president by simply winning the right states and there’s something basically anti-democratic about that,” McCabe said.

with the replacement of all lockers in both men’s and women’s locker rooms at the end of May. Terry Gawlik, associate director of athletics, said the UW-Madison men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are negatively affected by the pool facilities in both the Nat and the SERF. “[They] practice simultaneously because of pool limitations,” Gawlik said. “They mostly practice at the SERF, but divers have to travel once a week to a facility in Milwaukee to practice on the higher platforms.”

Carruthers said he does not think either facility is in the right shape to train Division I athletes.

“The Nat is not a 50-meter pool

but there is seating there … there is a 50-meter pool at the SERF with no seating, so you have two pools on campus and neither one are good for athletic competition,” he said.

According to Gawlik, men’s and women’s swimming and diving coach Eric Hansen considered other job offers in 2006, but signed an agreement to stay at UW-Madison with a clause built into his contract for a “substantially renovated or new facility by June 30, 2010.”

Officials said the first part of the plan will come out in the spring of 2009, but any renovations to the facilities will need to be approved through the Associated Students of Madison.

featurespolitics 4 Tuesday, November 4, 2008

dailycardinal.com/features

l

l

Sharing {political} secrets With campaign donations a public record, can professor endorsements of candidates affect their “neutral” status as teachers?

Story by Kristina Dundas GRAPHIC BY JOANNA MOONEY

O

penSecrets. Sounds like a website where readers can learn the latest celebrity gossip, but in reality, it is something so much better, at least for the many political junkies who attend UW-Madison.

OpenSecrets.org, presented by the Center for Responsive Politics, is just one of many sites on the Internet where the public can find a person’s campaign donations if more than $200 has been contributed. With a simple employer or name search, it is easy for students to look up every single one of their professors and find out which candidates they support—and for how much.

Some might see this public availability as unlawful, but according to the standards set by the Buckley v.

Valeo Supreme Court case in 1976, this standard prevents corruption or the appearance of corruption. But does knowing this corrupt student learning? Students rely on professors to give lectures that are insightful but unbiased.

When it comes to professors specifically, students’ sense of political and moral awareness is often partially based on what they learn and observe in class.

In general, professors have to make the conscious decision about whether they want their students to know which side of the aisle they stand on. Ultimately, this information could affect the way their class is perceived. Some professors, like UW-Madison political science professor Howard Schweber, recognize the choice but do not base their actions on this knowledge.

Although Schweber admits to not being “perfectly consistent” in terms

of sharing his political views with his students, he tries to prevent his own opinions from permeating class discussions. “[I don’t] go to great lengths to hide at least some of [my] political opinions,” Schweber said, but noted that he tries to keep his own thoughts “out of the substantive discussion of class materials.”

“[I don’t] go to great lengths to hide at least some of [my] political opinions.”

Howard Schweber political science professor UW-Madison

Professors who find themselves on sites like OpenSecrets tend to see the activity as civic engagement and expect that UW students are able to decide for themselves which candidates they support without being

swayed by professor opinion.

For instance, UW-Madison psychology professor Morton Ann Gernsbacher has given the maximum donation legally permitted to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and believes her decision to donate was an easy one. “[I have] great trust in the core maturity of the students at Wisconsin,” Gernsbacher said. “Such maturity enables students to appreciate that their faculty are multidimensional individuals who contribute energy, time and resources to activities outside the university.”

In addition, Gernsbacher views her donations as part of her role as a conscientious citizen.

“I would hope that the students would envision their faculty as individuals who will be civically engaged in their local and national communities,” Gernsbacher said. “Because these activities of civic engagement occur outside the university, I trust that the students will appreciate that these activities will not affect academic activities within the university.”

UW-Madison political science professor Kenneth Mayer is one of the many UW-Madison professors not listed on OpenSecrets. He has made the personal choice not to contribute to a campaign for the very reason that he does not wish his students to be aware of his political stance. “[It is] valuable for students not to see the positions of advisors,” Mayer said, but acknowledged that it was a

decision he thought a lot about. “By giving money, you sacrifice an element of privacy.”

Mayer also mentioned that he understands every professor’s situation is different and not donating was a personal choice he made early in his career.

“By giving money [to campaigns], you sacrifice an element of privacy.”

Kenneth Mayer political science professor UW-Madison

On a large campus like UWMadison, professors have many different ways of handling their personal donations when it comes to giving or not giving to candidates they support.

“Some professors’ style of teaching is best served by their preserving ambiguity about their political attitudes,” Schweber explained. “Others take the approach that the more the students know about their prejudices, the more effective they can be as teachers.”

In a similar way, the professors have differing views about the Supreme Court decision that allows their donations to be public records.

For Mayer, the decision to make the records public is part of a legal give-and-take. He acknowledges that “there is a balancing act required” so

it is a “reasonable conclusion” that the government set these contribution thresholds.

Schweber, on the other hand, disagrees with the Supreme Court’s ruling.

“I think that there is absolutely no good reason for professors’ or any other state employees’ political contributions to be public knowledge,” Schweber said. “The ability to contribute money to a cause anonymously is barely one step removed from a secret ballot.”

Whether professors agree with the law or not, it stands for now and they have to choose how they are going to deal with the cards that the government has dealt them. From the subject they teach to the information they offer, the choices they make influence the way students view their classes, but in the end no one can be sure what is the best way to handle it.

Many professors and citizens alike understand the public nature of campaign contributions as a major way to control unregulated money from getting into politicians’ hands.

“I’m a strong believer in the value of transparency in our government and in the political process that elects our government,” Gernsbacher said.

“Transparency in various domains can run the risk of invading personal privacy, but, in this domain, I believe the trade-off between transparency and potentially reduced privacy is valuable.”

Counting up the Big Ten: employee campaign donations School Wisconsin Iowa Michigan Minnesota Northwestern

3.2% 5.4% 7.0% 7.6% 7.8%

R R R R R

96.8% 94.6% 93.0% 92.4% 92.2%

D D D D D

Indiana Illinois Michigan State Penn State Purdue Ohio State

8.1% 8.3% 11.8% 13.0% 14.8% 17.4%

R R R R R R

91.9% 91.7% 88.2% 87.0% 85.2% 82.6%

D D D D D D

—Percentages calculated from Huffington Post’s Fundrace 2008, fundrace.huffingtonpost.com

arts

dailycardinal.com/arts

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

l

5

Kanye, ABBA contrast Hope, Experience tickets

his year’s presidential election has been obsessed about and analyzed by every media outlet in the world. Not wanting to be left out, I’ve decided to use this week’s column to analyze each candidate’s top 10 songs, as publicized by Blender magazine this July.

Obama’s list shows a wide variety of genres and styles. Any list that includes the Fugees, Kanye West, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, the Rolling Stones and U2 is pretty balanced and complex.

However, McCain counters with a broad musical range of his own with a list that reaches from ABBA to Merle Haggard, Louis Armstrong to Roy Orbison.

Obama’s list centers primarily on music with political messages, though he includes songs about sleeping with another man’s girlfriend (“I’m On Fire”) and idealizing the future of your relationship (“You’d Be So Easy to Love”). McCain’s list, meanwhile, has no discernible theme, though he does manage to choose a Beach Boys song that isn’t about burning gasoline. However, McCain loses points for repeating a band. The universally accepted rules of listmaking clearly stipulates that, in lists shorter than 15, repeating a band is unacceptable. Of course, to make matters worse, the repeating band is ABBA. The rest of his list, however, is quite strong, including Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, the Platters and Neil Diamond.

But the tipping point is trying

to imagine either candidate listening to their top 10 after a grueling day of kissing babies and posing in front of flags. I can easily imagine Barack and Michelle gliding smoothly across the kitchen floor with “You’d Be So Easy To Love” softly coming from the speakers.

By this standard, the only dent in Obama’s list is “Yes We Can”

by Will.i.am, a song that uses a recording of an Obama speech as the lyrics. I can’t help but picture Obama enjoying this song in front of an enchanted mirror and asking questions like, “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the most inspirational of them all?”

McCain’s list, on the other hand, is far more difficult to connect to the man. I can see him singing “Sweet Caroline” under his breath and snapping his fingers to the beat, and it’s easy to see him looking off into the distance in some presidential pose while “What a Wonderful World” plays in the background. But, again, ABBA ruins the whole list for me. I cannot help but see McCain dressed in hot pants and a sweatshirt hanging off of one shoulder, wildly gyrating to “Dancing Queen” on top of the Straight Talk Express.

All things considered, the lists reflect the rest of the campaign.

Both lists are quality lists, as are both candidates. The lists come from very different backgrounds, come from different time periods and have different goals, as do the candidates. Both lists have questionable songs, and I doubt many voters completely agree with either candidate. Which list will prevail?

That is up to you, nation.

What tunes would a presidential playlist need to swing your vote? Send them to Dale at dpmundt@wisc.edu.

PHOTO COURTESY ROC-A-FELLA RECORDS

PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSAL RECORDS

DALE MUNDT croco-dale rock

T

PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Angelina Jolie shows off her dramatic chops in Clint Eastwood’s latest film, “Changeling.” Throughout the film, Jolie’s character struggles for justice despite police corruption, while also searching for the truth about her son.

A ‘Changeling’ to believe in Based on a true story, Eastwood’s sophisticated drama shines with careful pacing, Jolie’s Oscar-worthy performance

By Brandi Stone THE DAILY CARDINAL

If you’re looking for a disturbing horror movie but don’t feel like putting yourself through the gore-ified “Saw V,” look no further than Clint Eastwood’s new film “Changeling”—a brooding, unsettling drama about one mother’s mission to discover the truth behind her son’s mysterious disappearance.

The film is deliberately slowpaced, forcing the audience to feel Christine’s frustration.

The film, set in 1928, focuses on a single mother, Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie), who returns home from work to discover that her 9-year-old son, Walter, has mysteriously vanished. Five months later, the police department reunites Christine with a boy they claim is Walter. However, Christine continuously voices her skepticism

because the Los Angeles Police Department has been building a reputation of corruption because of Presbyterian Reverend Gustav Briegleb’s (John Malkovich) efforts to expose their corruption.

Seizing on the opportunity to shift the spotlight away from their misdeeds, the LAPD refocuses the media on their “hard work” by touting the mother-son reunion. However, the media attention backfires when Christine comes to the media, claiming the boy is not her son. Rather than admit that they made a mistake, LAPD Captain J.J. Jones (Jeffrey Donovan) spends much of the film doing everything in his power to discredit Christine and paint her as an emotional, hysterical woman who doesn’t want the responsibility of caring for her child.

Jolie excels with her powerful performance as Christine and has already earned several early Oscar recommendations. Whether portraying despair, hope or anguish, Jolie brings raw emotion to every scene. With Eastwood’s repetitious close-ups of Jolie’s emotional face, she is obviously meant to carry the film, and Jolie doesn’t buckle

PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Written by J. Michael Straczynski, “Changeling” is based on a true story infamously known as “the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders.”

under the pressure. If anything, she embraces it.

Eastwood sticks to the historical facts, making the film all the more disturbing.

Jolie, however, is not the only star that shines in “Changeling.”

Malkovich’s part is small but powerful as the corruption-fighting minister. Jolie may carry the movie, but Malkovich gives the movie its flow. Without him, the movie would have ended 30 minutes in.

The film is deliberately slowpaced, forcing the audience to feel Christine’s frustration with the LAPD, which spends much of its time arguing with Christine instead of doing its job. The excuses the police make for Walter’s change in appearance are laughably absurd (a boy can shrink four inches during a traumatizing experience). Like Christine, viewers want justice, so each scene seems to take forever as frustrations build. Eastwood puts the audience in Christine’s shoes, so they feel every horrifying emotion Christine feels.

The film is based on a true story and Eastwood sticks to the historical facts, making the film all the more disturbing. If this were a fictional film, the audience might not be affected by its powerful conclusion as much, but because it’s nonfiction, the audience is forced to confront the immorality of men who refuse to do the right thing.

A horror movie for adults, “Changeling” will leave audience members with an unsettling feeling in their stomachs that will linger for days.

Grade: AB

Their playlists and policies may be as different as Kanye and ABBA, but Obama and McCain do have one commonality: Frank Sinatra.

Presidential Playlists Obama 1. ‘Ready or Not,’ Fugees 2. ‘What’s Going On,’ Marvin Gaye 3. ‘I’m On Fire,’ Bruce Springsteen 4. ‘Gimme Shelter,’ the Rolling Stones 5. ‘Sinnerman,’ Nina Simone 6. ‘Touch the Sky,’ Kanye West 7. ‘You’d Be So Easy to Love,’ Frank Sinatra 8. ‘Think,’ Aretha Franklin 9. ‘City of Blinding Lights,’ U2 10. ‘Yes We Can,’ Will.i.am

McCain 1. ‘Dancing Queen,’ ABBA 2. ‘Blue Bayou,’ Roy Orbison 3. ‘Take a Chance On Me,’ ABBA 4. ‘If We Make It Through December,’ Merle Haggard 5. ‘As Time Goes By,’ Dooley Wilson 6. ‘Good Vibrations,’ the Beach Boys 7. ‘What A Wonderful World,’ Louis Armstrong 8. ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin,’ Frank Sinatra 9. ‘Sweet Caroline,’ Neil Diamond 10. ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,’ the Platters

6

l

election 2008

dailycardinal.com

l

7

Fighting over change

HIGHER EDUCATION

Obama’s proposal for improved college affordability includes creating the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which would make the first $4,000 of higher education free for most Americans. It also aims to cover two-thirds of the cost of an average public college or university’s tuition and make tuition free at community colleges for most students. One hundred hours of community service would be required to receive the credit. Obama has proposed eliminating the current federal financial aid application by placing an authorization box on tax forms that families could check for their tax information to be used to evaluate aid need.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

We all know the mantra, so read about the candidates’ positions to see whose ‘changes’ you like before you make your decision at the polls.

TAXES

McCain promotes a pro-growth tax policy. He wants to keep tax rates low, including cutting the corporate tax rate from 35 to 25 percent to help corporations retain jobs in the United States. McCain also hopes to expense equipment and technology investments because it will boost capital expenditures and give incentives to investment in advanced technologies. Additionally, McCain would implement a permanent tax credit equal to 10 percent of wages spent on research and development.

WAR

Obama is in favor of ending the war in Iraq. He wants to immediately remove troops in a responsible and phased manner. His plan would have one to two brigades removed each month, with a removal of all troops within 16 months. However, some forces would remain in Iraq to support targeted counterterrorism missions against al-Qaida and to protect American personnel. In addition, Obama wants to encourage Iraq’s leaders to spend oil profits on their own country’s rebuilding efforts. He will also strive to achieve stability in Iraq’s refugee crisis.

ABORTION

McCain believes Roe v. Wade should be overturned to give the question of the legality of abortion back to the states.

TAXES

Obama’s plan would cut taxes for most taxpayers. He wants to see 95 percent of workers and their families receive a tax cut of $500 for workers or $1,000 for working couples, and also provide tax cuts for lowand middle-class seniors, homeowners, the uninsured and families putting children through college.

No family with an income of less than $250,000 would experience an increase in taxes.

HIGHER EDUCATION

HEALTH CARE

Obama wants to make health insurance an affordable and accessible commodity for all citizens. To do so, Obama would work with the current healthcare system, using its current providers, doctors and plans. Additionally, Obama would attempt to lower health-care costs by $2,500 for the average family. He aims to do this by investing in health technology, prevention and care coordination. He would also try to promote public health with preventive services such as cancer screenings. Obama hopes to educate the public on being prepared for terrorist attacks and natural disasters.

ENERGY

Obama’s plan for energy and the environment proposes providing short-term aid to citizens who are feeling the burden of high gas prices. He aims to save more oil than is currently being imported from both the Middle East and Venezuela over the next 10 years. In addition, he wants to help generate five million new jobs to help start a clean energy future, as well as put one million plug-in hybrid cars on the road by 2015. He would also attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.

McCain’s proposal for improving higher education includes simplifying higher-education tax benefits to explain more clearly how families can lower their tax burden when sending students to college. He also proposes simplifying the federal financial aid application process, making U.S. government reports from individual institutions available to families, improving research through the elimination of earmarks and reforming the student lending system to hold private lenders to the highest standards.

WAR

McCain does not feel it is appropriate for the United States to withdraw troops from Iraq until its people are ready to govern and look after themselves. He feels it would not be effective to leave unless al-Qaida in Iraq is defeated and a trained, workable security force is implemented. McCain wants to remain in Iraq to ensure that a destabilizing civil war in the Middle East is not a possibility and that Iraq does not become a refuge for terrorists. To do this, he hopes to create a stable and democratic state.

STEM CELLS

McCain supports funding for adult stemcell and amniotic fluid research, but opposes the deliberate creation of human embryos for scientific study. He believes federal funding for stem-cell research should be subject to federal guidelines.

HEALTH CARE

ABORTION

STEM CELLS

Obama supports human embryonic stem-cell research for the purpose of disease treatment. He is a co-sponsor of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007, which would allow research of embryos donated from in vitro fertilization clinics.

Obama supports Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that allows women reproductive choices, and opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn it.

McCain’s health-care initiatives aims to combat rising health-care costs and improve affordability of insurance.

He favors more choices and greater tax benefits, including a refundable tax credit of $5,000 for families and $2,500 for individuals to invest in health-care essentials. Families would have control over how their tax credit is used, including any leftover money. He hopes to eliminate Medicare fraud and abuse, while promoting new chronic care treatments. McCain also feels no one should be declined affordable health care because of a pre-existing condition.

ENERGY

McCain’s plan for energy and the environment includes the expansion of domestic oil and gas consumption through off-shore drilling. McCain would also encourage the market for alternative, low carbon fuels such as wind, hydro and solar power, as well as have his administration construct 45 new nuclear power plants by 2030, and eventually 100 new plants. Nuclear power is proven to be a zero-emission source of energy. McCain also favors the implementation of more plug-in hybrid and fully electric cars.

Graphic by Jenny Peek Compiled by Amanda Hoffstrom and Caitlin Gath Sources: barackobama.com, johnmccain.com

opinion 8

l

dailycardinal.com/opinion

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

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

make an impact beyond the polls

E

lection officials across the country expect groundbreaking numbers at the polls this year. With record amounts of money spent on advertisements touting “change,” voters have the opportunity to express their opinions on a number of highly contested issues today with relative ease.

That said, few will argue the importance of this election. You cannot walk more than 10 feet on campus without seeing some form of advertisement about the necessity of getting to the polls and casting a ballot. Without a doubt, anyone voting in this election will, in fact, be voting for change.

However, the act of voting by itself will not bring about change.

Although voting allows everyone to have a voice, all of the change

posters and stickers advertised cannot be thrown away as soon as votes are cast.

Voting today will not require very much effort, nor is it much to ask considering the magnitude of this election. Those who are serious about changing this country have to take the next step. Get involved in your community, take part in political organizations on campus, and stay educated on pertinent issues.

The increase in voting is definitely the first step this country needs toward bringing about necessary change, but it is nothing more than the first step. Following through with your vote and acting locally is the only way to ensure your voice is actually represented. That is change you can truly believe in.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Popular vote bill needs your support Ryan Dashek’s Nov. 3 article “Determine presidential election through popular vote, not electoral college,” says that the National Popular Vote bill “will not take effect until at least 70 percent of the Electoral College is on board.” Although his article makes a legitimate argument about the flaws of the Electoral College, the previously mentioned claim requires some clarification.

The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and D.C.). Every vote would be politically relevant and equal in presidential elections.

The bill would take effect only when enacted, in identical form, by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes—that is, enough electoral votes to elect a president (270 of 538). When the bill comes into

effect, all the electoral votes from those states would be awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and Washington D.C. The National Popular Vote bill has passed 21 state legislative chambers, including one house in Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, North Carolina and Washington, and both houses in California, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont. The bill has been enacted by Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey and Maryland.

These four states possess 50 electoral votes—19 percent of the 270 necessary to bring the law into effect.

Anyone who agrees with Mr. Dashek’s sentiments should go to http://www.NationalPopularVote.com for more information.

—Susan Evoy National Popular Vote

Promote progress, rise up and vote for change

By Tom Hart THE DAILY CARDINAL

Rise up, discouraged youth! Today is our day! Seize the moment! With one stroke of the pen, our generation can make our voices heard and ensure a better future. One penstroke has the power to oil the long-frozen gears of progress and accelerate the evolution of civilization.

Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008. A historic day is upon us. The citizens of the United States of America have been given an opportunity that must not be wasted. The choice has been put in our hands. We can choose to break from the path of unresponsive government. We can choose to eradicate the existence of an executive branch powered by the motivations of selfcentered interest groups and lobbyists.

Our minds have been clouded and our hearts have been discouraged for far too long. We can change all of this today, right here, right now, with one fell swoop of the pen.

Now is the time to inject new, rational ideas into a White House that has turned a deaf ear to the cries of progress. Cast aside the trivialities that fill the average weekday and take the time to make your voice heard. We are living in a historic moment, one that must not be taken for granted.

Bear the long lines at the voting

stations. History will not remember the two hours it took for each ballot to be cast, but it will remember the final outcome. Is it too much to ask of this generation to think beyond the scope of our individualized concerns and come together for the benefit of the common good?

History will not remember how long it took for each ballot to be cast, but it will remember the outcome.

This is our moment. The generation of the 1940s oiled the gears of progress when it rose up to defeat the evils of fascism. The generation of the 60s and 70s banded together to protest the tragic consequences of a misguided war. What will history say about our generation when we were presented with the opportunity to take action and stand together for a cause that transcends all others?

Abraham Lincoln once said that “any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that

suits them better. This is a most valuable—a most-sacred right—a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world.”

We have been given the power.

We have been given the right. We have seen the inadequacies of an executive branch that defies logic for the sake of personal interests. A new solution has been given to us. A solution that suits us better. A solution that will undoubtedly liberate the world from the chains of unilateral decision-making. The question is whether or not we will exercise this most sacred right and take advantage of the moment that lies before us. I believe we can.

The educated youth of this country have shown where their allegiance lies. It is now our responsibility to make that allegiance known through the tallying of ballots. Let each vote strike forth like a blade upon the fabric of a broken presidential system that threatens to extend its grip on history.

Relinquish this grip. Tear apart this fabric that has shielded us from the light for the past eight years. Inject the bright glow of wisdom into the Oval Office. Elect Barack Obama.

Tom Hart is a senior majoring in political science and history. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

Compared to other nations, voting a unique form of personal expression

By Caity Sherer THE DAILY CARDINAL

My freshman year of college, I took the class Africa: An Introductory Survey. In one specific lecture, a guest professor from UW-Madison began talking about his field experience in Zimbabwe and how the dictatorial regime within the country ran the voting process there. Instead of what we know familiarly as the practice that occurs every four years in the United States, in Zimbabwe, the dictator’s militant mercenaries would ride into towns, calling everyone into a public place. Everyone was then required to raise their hands if they were “still in favor” of the torrential ruler. Sadly, the majority of the people never got the freedom to truly voice their opinion as those whose hands were not raised were mutilated, tortured or never heard from again.

In America we are blessed, privileged and honored with freedom of opinion. We are starkly different from Zimbabwe and numerous other countries in the world when it comes to this, mostly because voting is our civic duty and a protected right. We are so fortunate to have no threat of danger, fear of retribution or feeling of terror caused by the process of choice.

This election day has brought everyone to the bottom page of a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book.

You can make the monotonous choice of knowing and accepting the same, predictable ending through deciding to ignore this as something completely unrelated to yourself. Or, you can choose the less expected plotline and use the example above as a strong reason to do the opposite of inaction.

This election is important for so many reasons. Some may foster per-

Visit dailycardinal.com today for: -Live blogging -Continuous election updates -State by state results -Voter reactions -Waiting time for campus polling stations -Photos from the polls and election parties www.dailycardinal.com

sonally relevant grounds for their vote, like students with family in Iraq or those seeing their college funds diminish due to the economic crisis. Some may be looking to the future and wonder what kind of air they’ll be breathing, climate they’ll be experiencing or what types of energy the world will be using. Others’ motivations may lie with their favoritism or strong dislike of a certain candidate.

Why is it so hard for us as U.S. citizens to appreciate and utilize the freedoms we do have?

Whether they are based on issues, how the campaigns were run or character, I am not here to judge the reasoning behind it. I am only here to emphasize and strongly encourage the importance of voting.

In Zimbabwe, people don’t have the ability to express themselves. So why is it so hard for us as U.S. citizens to appreciate and utilize the freedoms we do have? People use the excuses of apathy, of “my vote doesn’t matter,” or “I don’t have the time,” but truthfully, you and I know there will never be a time when that is acceptable. In the 2000 election, students voted at a rate of about 32 percent. Approximately 68 percent of the student population relied on some type of excuse to avoid voting. This election, there are no pretexts: I’ll take your apology from 2000 on Nov. 4. See you at the polls!

Caity Sherer is a sophomore majoring in African studies and communication arts. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

opinion dailycardinal.com/opinion

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

THE DAILY CARDINAL

Get out the youth vote SPECIAL TO THE DAILY CARDINAL

It’s Nov. 4, 2008, and history is upon us. Today, Americans will gather by the millions to decide who will be granted the opportunity to serve as the next leader of our country and charged with the responsibility of protecting our interests and representing our values to the world community. Today, Americans across the country will partake in one of our nation’s most cherished civil exercises and name the next president of the United States. Today, Americans will once again make history.

We at Project Youthanize urge young people in Madison and across the country to become a part of this process by exercising their right to vote. This year’s election has obvious historical implications—after today, we will have our first African-American president or our first female vice president. The job they do once elected will affect our country for years to come. Whomever takes office will determine how we manage two ongoing wars abroad, reawaken a weakened economy, tackle the climate and energy crises and stabilize social security and health care. Surely, this election is important. But what may not be so obvious is that this election is also of particular importance to the Millennial Generation. Today, we will determine whether or not the youth of America is ready to accept its position as a powerful and influential voting bloc.

Like so many other groups, young people as a demographic have great power in determining the outcome of any given election.

The only difference between ourselves and others, though, is that we have yet to fully unleash that

9

Educated youth vote will ensure greatest impact

By Jessica Klinge

By Project Youthanize

l

power. If we turn out to vote today in the numbers we are capable of, we will assert ourselves as a voting bloc worthy of political recognition and give voice to the youth of America for generations to come.

Some of us may feel that our votes don’t count, that in the multitude of American voters, one vote doesn’t matter. Others might believe that once a politician gets the vote he or she needs, the needs of the voter are ignored until the next election season. But the reality is that within the American democracy, the only way to change the cycle of cynicism is, in fact, to vote. Each single drop of water eventually fills the bucket, and if we show our politicians that we as a generation are capable of affecting influence in the voting booth, we can use that leverage to control our democracy throughout the year.

Although our generation is diverse in many ways, including political affiliation and belief, there are concerns we can rally around. Accessibility of higher education, post-graduate employment opportunities, conflicts that send our brothers, sisters, cousins and friends to all corners of the globe—these are issues that affect all of us in the same way and will continue to affect young people in the future. It doesn’t matter who you vote for today or how you envision the future of our country—what matters is that you do vote, that you do take the time, as a member of the Millennial Generation, to show Washington that the voice of America’s youth will not be ignored.

Today signifies a defining moment in the history of American democracy. Be a part of it and, in the name of our generation, vote.

If you are an 18-year-old citizen, you will be able to vote today. Imagine Election Day a hundred years ago, though: If you were a woman, you did not have the right to vote, and if you were an African American, there were so many political barriers it was nearly impossible to vote.

However, in the next few days, we will either have the first black president or the first female vice president. This Election Day truly symbolizes how far we have come as a country.

We can still go even further in creating the changes our country needs. In the next eight years, our country can work to reduce poverty, lower greenhouse gases and build a stable economy. And the easiest way to impact our country’s direction is through voting.

However, for the past few decades, the youth vote has failed miserably with extremely low national turnout. The first election after 18-year-olds were granted the right to vote was in 1972. Despite being granted a right that other populations fought and suffered to receive, the turnout among those 18 to 24 declined by 16 percent between 1972 and 2000.

The voting history of young adults is not all grim, however.

In 2004, this voting bloc showed up to the polls in record numbers —increasing the youth vote by 11 percent. Even with this

great surge, only 47 percent of the 18- to 24-year-olds voted, compared to 66 percent of those 25 and older.

So why don’t young people vote? Many people point to the “cycle of mutual neglect” of both politicians and young people.

Politicians do not target young people’s concerns when campaigning because young people do not have a record of voting and young people do not vote because they think politicians do not care about their concerns.

This election day truly symbolizes how far we have come as a country.

To solve the problem of low youth turnout, some say that the politicians should stop negatively charged campaigns and utilize their advertisements to explain to young people how their policies will help the average college students instead. If politicians were willing to do this, it would have a very positive outcome on the youth turnout.

But when do those in power ever seek to make drastic changes in policy without public support? To make real change, there must first be initiative on those that need the change to happen.

To gain the right to vote, women from 1848 to 1920 held conventions and gave public speeches.

Some were even jailed for their protests. Before all blacks could vote without fear, 200,000 people had to march in Washington D.C. in 1963 to demand equal rights.

And like our predecessors, if the young people of this nation want change to happen and want politicians to take them seriously, they will have to work to make that change happen. But, as I said beforehand, the easiest way for us to have an impact is through voting.

Anybody that is unsure about the process or about the issues, there are several places to obtain more information, including candidate websites and the student chapters of the College Democrats and College Republicans. But if you want a non-partisan approach, there is www.dividedwefail.org and student groups on campus, such as Wisconsin Student Pubic Interest Research Group, who seek to educate students on the issues without supporting a specific political party.

This election is already going to be historic, but we can make it historic in another way. We can show politicians that we do care and make this the largest youth voter turnout ever in U.S. history.

Jessica Klinge is a senior majoring in geography and history. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

comics 10

l

So many colors! On average, a child uses 730 crayons by their tenth birthday. dailycardinal.com/comics

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Voting...get it? It’s easy!

Today’s Sudoku

Anthro-apology

By Eric Wigdahl wigdahl@wisc.edu

© Puzzles by Pappocom

Angel Hair Pasta

By Todd Stevens ststevens@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.

The Daily Code

bob your apple

a b c d e f g h i

j

k

l

m

n

o

p

q

r

s

t

u

v

w

x

y

z

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Sid and Phil

By Alex Lewein lewein@wisc.edu

The Graph Giraffe

By Yosef Lerner ilerner@wisc.edu

“Erh xsrmklx’w Gspfivx Tirrc Tmrgliv: Mj csy’vi syx sj qmpo, ehh aexiv xs cskyvx.”

Stephen Colbert quote Yesterday’s Code:

“Don’t murder me. I beg of you don’t murder me.

Please don’t murder me.”

Today’s Crossword Puzzle

Evil Bird

By Caitlin Kirihara kirihara@wisc.edu

Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com LET THE SIDESHOW BEGIN ACROSS

1 Fill one’s tank 6 Weak spot 10 Nickname of Gabrielle Chanel 14 Present itself as a need 15 Bananas, nuts or crackers 16 Diamond Head site 17 Well-balanced individual?

20 Not bananas, nuts or crackers 21 Mineral rocks 22 More than craves (with “after”) 23 Hindu hero 25 Rotating machine part 26 Circus employee 32 Butchery selection 33 Tanker’s cargo 34 Lose one’s cool 36 It’s south of Eur. 37 “Frasier,” to “Cheers” 41 9mm weapon named for its designer 42 Way up or way down 44 Canton bordering the Lake of Lucerne 45 TV legend Spelling 47 One sans saddle sores?

51 52 53 56 58 62 65 66 67 68 69 70

Some conjuctions Standard Ray Bradbury’s forte Part of DIY Castro’s Cuba, e.g.

Where the theme entries may be found Edible tubers Eyebrow shape IRA relative Cockpit guesses, for short Place to see dashes Lauder of cosmetics DOWN

1 Gangland guns 2 What the “fat lady” sings 3 Horoscope datum 4 Be a forerunner of 5 Cat, often 6 Type of arrangement 7 Move along easily 8 A foursome for poker?

9 Impress 10 Newspaper features 11 Twelve ___ (Tara neighbor) 12 Guitarist Atkins 13 Duo’s word 18 Italia’s capital 19 Asia’s Trans- ___ mountain range 24 Home of Iowa State 25 Young mammal

26 Hit BBC comedy, briefly 27 Oscar winner “___ Rae” 28 Restorative medicine 29 City known for Carnival 30 Harden (Var.) 31 Hair remover 32 Black goo 35 Immobilize on the mat 38 Places for pints 39 A Gershwin 40 Kind of shake 43 Affirm openly 46 Thinks highly of 48 Canal of song 49 Dub 50 Drilling grp.?

53 Eye-opening problem 54 Chew the fat 55 “___ la Douce” 56 Fraught with danger 57 First word of “The Raven” 59 Aberdeen fellow 60 Winter Olympics vehicle 61 Immortal name in tennis 63 Butter, at times 64 Candidate to like

Awkward Turtle

By Meg Anderson anderson4@wisc.edu

sports

dailycardinal.com/sports

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

l

11

Volleyball falls to seventh place Spartans hand Badgers fifth defeat in six matches

By Andy Van Sistine THE DAILY CARDINAL

DANNY MARCHEWKA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Senior goaltender Jamie Klages finishes her UW career Friday, allowing the only goal in Wisconsin’s last game. She had a 1.32 GAA this season.

Women’s soccer ends season with loss to Northwestern

By Nick Schmitt THE DAILY CARDINAL

The Wisconsin women’s soccer team’s season ended Friday with a 1-0 loss to Northwestern. The Badgers hopes of reaching the Big Ten tournament were crushed after Northwestern junior Alicia Herczeg snuck a shot past senior goalkeeper Jamie Klages in the 81st minute.

Wisconsin ends the year with a record of 9-9-1 overall, which is much improved from last years 611-1 record. It was a hard night, not only losing the game but also failing to make the postseason for the third straight year.

“It’s obviously disappointing.

We want [to] make a step for the program,” Wisconsin head coach Paula Wilkins said. “I think how [we] played in the game though you couldn’t ask for too much more.”

The Badgers honored their seniors before the game and came out tough against an overachieving Wildcat team. The first half was evenly played with both teams creating opportunities. The Badgers had their best chance to take the lead when freshman Erin Jacobsen rushed past Northwestern’s defense but was unable to get the ball past sophomore goalkeeper Carolyn Edwards.

It was a different story in the second half as Northwestern offense came alive and blasted the Badger defense for 11 shots including a number of close calls. Klages made a diving save and a few minutes later

rodgers from page 12 This is a shame, because he has done reasonably well for himself to start the year off. Despite a 4-4 record, the Packers have racked up solid wins against Minnesota and Indianapolis and went to the wire with Tennessee Sunday. Moreover, going into the game against the Titans, Rodgers had a quarterback rating of 98.8—better than New York’s Eli Manning, better than Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, even better than Favre. With 13 touchdowns, 1,982 passing yards and just five interceptions in eight games, Rodgers has turned out to be the guy Packer fans were hoping he would be—so far.

That is why Friday’s news about Rodgers signing a six-year contract extension worth $11 million a year caught a lot of people off guard. That is a lot of money to

Northwestern sophomore Jennifer Baumann hit a shot off the crossbar.

There was a sense on the field that it was only a matter of time before the Wildcats were going to get one in the back of the net. After the goal the Badgers needed to score twice in nine minutes, an almost impossible task against a defense they struggled to finish on all game.

The loss was the last college game for seniors Taylor Walsh, Tricia Krombach, Sheri Ferron and Klages.

Walsh has led the team in scoring over the last three years and finished her career with 21 goals.

Although the Badgers season ended on a disappointing note, the next couple of years are looking bright for Wisconsin. Wilkins has brought in talented recruits and the already young Badgers are going to get even younger. “[The season] had its ups and downs. I think we made a little cornerstone for the future,” Wilkins said. “In most of our games we started five freshmen, who had most of our [scoring opportunities] and I think that’s a good start for the future.”

Wilkins isn’t going to predict a breakthrough season for next year but knows the opportunity will be there.

“We’ll have 11 incoming players and of that 11 I think there are going to be five possible starters, so we’ll have a core of freshmen and sophomores,” Wilkins said. throw at a guy who has just eight full games under his belt and four wins as a starter.

From a fan perspective, this is a worrisome contract. At this point in the season, the Packers have anything but locked up a playoff spot and have a number of tough games to play. Does Rodgers’ performance halfway through one season justify locking him up for the next six years? Given his history with injuries and a .500 start, you have to think not. My guess is that all of those Favre fans who are still livid over his departure threw bratwursts at their televisions when news of Rodgers’ new contract first aired.

But from a business perspective, this was a move that had to be done. Like it or not, the Packers have anointed Rodgers their franchise quarterback, and they have plenty of reasons to do

With the Big Ten season already half over, every remaining match of the season for the No. 25 Wisconsin volleyball team (5-7 Big Ten, 15-9 overall) will have major implications on their standings at the end of November.

That said, the Badgers’ home loss to Michigan State (4-8, 1211) did them no favors in moving up the conference ladder.

The heartbreaking 24-26, 2523, 25-27, 25-21, 7-15 defeat Friday night was their fifth loss in six matches.

“I think after our four game losing streak [last week], the team really kind of turned it around with attitude, and we had a great week of practice,” senior middle blocker and captain Audra Jeffers said. “It hurts to lose a close one like this, but I really thought this week at practice, the team was starting to come around. We just have to take the good things out of this match and move forward and keep our heads up.”

In the first set, Wisconsin jumped out to an 8-3 start and had the crowd fired up before Michigan State rallied to tie the score at 10 and kept things close to the end. Knotted at 23, the Spartans forced a set point on a kill from junior middle blocker Vanessa King. But junior outside hitter Brittney Dolgner gave Wisconsin another shot with kill of her own. However, Michigan State got another kill from King and a service ace to earn the first win.

The second and third sets were close throughout, with neither team earning more than a four point advantage at any point. Michigan State took the third and had Wisconsin fighting to stay alive in the fourth.

Things looked bleak early on, as the Badgers started the round in a 6-12 deficit. But a number of Spartan errors and a barrage of eight kills from the Wisconsin offense fueled a rally that tied the score at 18. Riding with the momentum, Wisconsin took seven of the last 10 points and sent the game into a fifth set. so. Statistics aside, this guy has been under the tutelage of Favre from his first day as a pro until the end of last season—experience that is without question invaluable to a young quarterback. He has also had three years to get up to the speed and demands of the NFL game. I bet Alex Smith envies that from his fourth-string bench seat in San Francisco.

Rodgers will be good and needs to be paid like a good quarterback.

More importantly, if Rodgers does pan out to be a successful starter with Green Bay—even

But Michigan State came out swinging to finish off the night, jumping out to a 5-2 lead off of two blocks, two Badger hitting errors and a kill. Extending the lead to a 10-6 margin, Wisconsin was forced to take a timeout to slow down the onslaught, but the Spartans would end up taking five of the last six points to finish the night on a strong note.

“I think it’s hard to lose in five [sets] because you work so hard to get there,” Dolgner said. “If you are split with games, 1-1, and the other team [goes] up 2-1, you fight so hard to get to that fifth game.

It just sucks to go down like that.”

There were a number of good things to take from the loss, including a 12 GABRIELSEN kill performance off the bench from outside hitter Caity DuPont and an eight kill, 12 assist, 12 dig effort from freshman setter and outside hitter Janelle Gabrielsen. With just two more kills, Gabrielsen would have been the first player since the 1980s to post a triple double for

Wisconsin. Jeffers also had a solid night, throwing down 11 kills and six blocks, including two solos.

But the Badger errors were the major factors in the game.

Wisconsin had five blocking errors, 35 attack errors, six receiving errors and nine service errors. Of particular concern is the errors at the service line, that have plagued the Badgers all season long, as they have committed 28 more errors than their opponents over the course of the year.

“There were just too many errors on our side of the net tonight,” UW head coach Pete Waite said on Friday. “In the fourth [we] made a good comeback, we just got down big [in the fifth]. At some critical times, whether they were service errors, hitting errors, net fouls, they are all points for the other team in rally scoring and it gave them enough momentum to make some moves on us.”

Wisconsin will try to get its conference season a jump start when they battle last place Ohio State in Columbus Friday and No. 18 Michigan in Ann Arbor Saturday. Both games are scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m.

LORENZO ZEMELLA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Junior outside hitter Caity DuPont had a season-high 12 kills against Michigan State, but the Badgers only hit .168 on the day.

if it takes a couple of years to happen—this is a good contract.

He is locked up at $11 million a year. Peyton Manning’s contract extension back in March of 2004 was penned at $98 million over seven years. Roethlisberger signed a contract extension his past offseason for $102 million over eight years. Even rookie starting quarterback Matt Ryan in Atlanta has a $72 million contract over six years, and he signed his name to the dotted line before ever taking an NFL snap.

Rodgers will be good and needs to be paid like a good quarterback should. The Packers know that if they don’t, another team will.

Besides, if Rodgers ends up being an elite quarterback who keeps a touchdown-to-interception ratio of four to one, this deal will end up being a steal.

Furthermore, the Packers gave

the young quarterback motivation to step up to the plate and be everything his team wants him to be by showing their confidence in him. The day he signed the contract, he responded by saying, “I appreciate the commitment that they’ve made, and I plan to reciprocate that commitment in my play and hopefully prove to them that they made the correct decision giving me this extension.”

If they are wrong and the Packers end up tanking because they put too much faith in Rodgers and his future, I guess you could say that at the very least, it will give all of those fervent Favre fans and rear-view critics who disapprove of this extension a chance to say, “I told you so.”

Is Rodgers really worthy of the job held by the infallible Favre?

Tell Andy what you think at avansistine@wisc.edu.

sports Bielema takes the blame for crucial penalty 12

l

dailycardinal.com/sports

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

By Nico Savidge DAILY CARDINAL

Wisconsin football head coach Bret Bielema blamed a lack of discipline from himself and the team for Wisconsin’s fifth loss of the season Saturday against Michigan State.

Bielema emphasized Badger penalties, including the unsportsmanlike penalty against him in the fourth quarter, as a learning experience for the team.

“This year we’re a more penalized football team than ever before,” he said. “If you’re a football team that’s struggling to find a way to win, if you grant them automatic first downs you’re never going to be able to get on top.”

The Badgers, who are one of the most penalized teams in the Big Ten, were penalized 12 times for a total of 121 yards, with eight of the penalties coming in the fourth quarter. Referees flagged a Badger player for interfering with their actions from the sidelines, and then charged the Wisconsin coaching staff with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

“That by far was not the most strenuous or vigorous comment that I’ve ever made to an official, but the

timing of it went against me because of the reaction I received from him,” Bielema said.

Although he is one of the youngest head coaches in NCAA football, Bielema said he did not think his age had anything to do with the penalty, saying, “I’ve seen some very upset 40-, 50- and 60-year-olds.”

“It [doesn’t have] to do with age or maturity,” he said. “It’s a growing experience and a learning experience.”

Bielema confessed that the penalty and his own lack of discipline may have cost him some credibility within the team as he tries to keep them from earning penalties.

“My reaction to that play was a poor example to them,” he said.

Bielema also defended his decision to use Wisconsin’s time-outs late in the game, before Michigan State’s game-winning field goal. The call earned him criticism from fans and reporters who saw the timeout as a mistake, given the Spartans’ rush to get their kicker on the field with time running down.

After Michigan State’s Brett Swenson missed his three field-goal attempts the previous Saturday against Michigan, Bielema said he wanted to

Big money grants Rodgers legitimacy ANDREW VAN SISTINE sistine’s chapel

T

PHOTO COURTESY NEIL AMENT

Badger head coach Bret Bielema’s unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the fourth quarter Saturday helped spark an 11-0 MSU scoring run. affect Swenson’s confidence heading into the important try. “[I] felt that he would probably be on edge in a big game,” Bielema said. “When it came down to it at the end of the game I knew I wanted to ice him.”

The decision backfired, as Swenson made the field goal and said after the game that the timeout gave him more time to prepare for the kick than he

would have had otherwise.

Looking forward to Saturday’s game against Indiana, Bielema said he thinks the team must take stock of where they are as a 4-5 football team and go into Bloomington with “the belief in winning.” “[Winning] doesn’t just happen, you’ve got to make it happen, and we all have to work together to get it done,” he said.

he whole mess of what happened with Brett Favre last summer is past me, and frankly, I swore off ever writing about it. I am OK with how things turned out, I think Packer fans as a whole either think the same way or have come to terms with it, and for as bad as the whole situation got in August, the end result was reasonable for all parties.

That said, the Packers were left with Aaron Rodgers, who, for whatever reason, was being written off by many as incapable of following in the footsteps of the legendary Favre before the season ever started. I heard one news outlet in Green Bay report that after a training camp practice, some little kid walked up to Rodgers and said, “You’re not my quarterback. You suck.” Undeniably, there were more than a handful of people familiar with the Packers organization who were ready to write him off without ever seeing him start a game. rodgers page 11