Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - The Daily Cardinal by The Daily Cardinal

‘THE GREEKS’ A COLLABORATIVE SUCCESS Adaptive Greek drama features Madison Rep. players alongside UW theatre dept. actors ARTS University of Wisconsin-Madison

Van Sistine: President-elect Obama could have signiﬁcant effect on sports world SPORTS

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Tuesday, Novemer 11, 2008

Poor economy to affect UW student loans By Rory Linnane THE DAILY CARDINAL

UW-Madison professors said Monday the current state of the world economy will affect the future of students’ loans. Professors Howard Schweber, Edward Friedman, Jim Johannes and Timothy Riddiough served as panelists at the Students’ Economic Forum Monday night in Science Hall. Schweber started with a broad overview of how the U.S. economy has developed in the past decades, beginning with the conception of the American dream. According to Schweber, because higher education and home ownership

are large components of the “dream,” the government pressured banks to provide loans to Americans. Many of these loans come in amounts individuals cannot pay back. Riddiough used an analogy of a party, where the Federal Reserve was a bar tender who failed to regulate the heavy drinking of the investors. “Now we’re feeling the hangover,” he said. The professors agreed on the imminent collapse of the private student loan market. Schweber said he thought many universities would have to close in the next three years, including UWpanel page 3

LORENZO ZEMELLA DAILY CARDINAL

UW-Madison professors analyze Monday the national economic crisis and the impact it will have on student loans in the future. Several professors said they were optimistic about the future with Obama as president.

Democratic lawmakers hope to use majority to enact policies, despite budget shortfall By Sara Lieburn THE DAILY CARDINAL

NICK KOGOS/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Dr. Francisco Ayala spoke about the differences between Darwin and Copernicus’s theories of human existence.

DLS speaker stresses natural selection theory By Estephany Escobar THE DAILY CARDINAL

UW-Madison students and faculty members gathered at a lecture Monday to hear Dr. Francisco Ayala speak about revolutions in science and their effect on human nature. Ronald Numbers, a UW-Madison professor of the history of science and medicine, introduced Ayala, author of “Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion,” as one of the world’s bestknown and most distinguished scientists. Ayala started his lecture by explaining the two great scientiﬁc revolutions spurred by Nicolas Copernicus and Charles Darwin. “Copernicus changed the perception that we had of the earth of being the center of the universe … similar to Darwin that removed humans from

being the center of the real world,” he said. According to Ayala, Darwin’s theory is signiﬁcant in explaining evolution but is also important because it solidiﬁed pre-existing theories. “Although Darwin is primarily known as the author of evolution, it was not his most important contribution to studies—it was that he completed the Copernican revolution by bringing the design of the universe organisms,” he said. Ayala emphasized Darwin’s theory of natural selection and how it better explains the theory of evolution in comparison to intelligent design. “[Darwin’s theory of natural selection] can prove reality that can be experienced by the senses, that can be lecture page 3

With Democrats now in control of both houses of the state Legislature, lawmakers disagree on the amount of change that will come at the state level in the next legislative session. State Rep. Spencer Black, DMadison, said while the projected state budget deﬁcit will limit Democratic legislation in at least the ﬁrst term, the Democrats will eventually be able to carry out their agenda. Black said he expects the smoking ban that failed in the Legislature last session to pass under Democratic control, and Healthy Wisconsin, a health care plan that also failed last session, could succeed depending on health care legislation on the national level. According to Mike Mikalsen, spokesperson for state Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, Healthy

Wisconsin is “widely” unpopular and would require significant tax increases. Mikalsen said Democrats can “talk a good game,” but there will not be enough funds to carry out their policies. Ryan Murray, spokesperson for state Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said while Democratic majorities will halt Republican BLACK legislation, the Democratic agenda will also be slowed by financial constraints. “I think they’re going to quickly realize it won’t be as easy as they thought,” Murray said. State Sen. Fred Risser, DMadison, said the Democrats will be able to pass a budget that will allow their legislation to move effi-

ciently. He said while constraints in state spending will force the Democrats to prioritize their agenda, the fact that their legislation will be the agenda in both houses is the most signiﬁcant change. Black said the Democrats will be able to increase the state funds necessary for the changes they are aiming to make by ﬁrst enacting laws to close corporate loopholes, a move he said would fund Democratic policies without raising income or property taxes. According to Mikalsen, conservative Democrats and Republicans will unite to form an alliance against raising taxes that will act as a check on the Democratic legislation. He said this will not only prevent increased spending but also slow progress of the Democrats’ agenda. “The Democrats will be forced legislature page 3

State elections board may perform disputed voter checks By Megan Orear THE DAILY CARDINAL

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen’s lawsuit over voter information checks drew controversy this fall, but the Government Accountability Board may decide Tuesday to perform the disputed checks anyway. Prior to the election, the Board chose not to crosscheck the information of voters registered before Aug. 6, 2008. Van Hollen claimed this decision was a violation of the Help America Vote Act, a law requiring registrations ﬁled after Jan. 1, 2006, to go through the checking process. A Dane County

Circuit Court Judge dismissed Van Hollen’s case last month, but he ﬁled to appeal the case Friday. According to GAB Elections Divisions Administrator Nat Robinson, the board intended to check voter registration databases all along. Robinson declined to comment how performing these checks may affect the lawsuit. “If you look back at the [GAB] minutes … you will see where they said that once the general election is over and the database has been corrected and brought up to date, they will determine what procedures for consistency they will implement to do

back checks,” Robinson said. Robinson said the GAB is asking staff members to develop a method to help local clerks make the checkup process uniform and consistent across the state. He said he did not know how long the HAVA checks would take. Van Hollen’s ofﬁce declined to comment until the GAB determines its plan of action. After Tuesday’s meeting, the Board will consider the staff recommendations at its January 2009 meeting and advised clerks not to perform the checks prior to that date, according to a GAB memo.

“…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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Tuesday, November 11, 2008

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Masseuse gives Kiera her money’s worth

Volume 118, Issue 51

2142 Vilas Communication Hall 821 University Avenue Madison, Wis., 53706-1497

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KIERA WIATRAK taking kiera business

fter a rather stressful midterm season, I decided to reward myself with a mentally detoxifying massage. What I got, however, was nothing more than the realization that there are still people in this world crazier than I am. “So,” my masseuse “Janet” began innocently enough as she worked on a stubborn knot in my shoulder, “what are you in school for?” “Journalism,” I told her. “Ha! Good luck!” she mocked. This was a very popular reaction of late. “No, I’m sure you’re great,” she said a second later, apparently reconsidering. “Fantastic, even. Actually, you should work for Oprah. Oh my god! You have to work for Oprah. I love her! Don’t you? I read her magazine. But I don’t buy magazines. I hate them, actually. But I bought her magazine once.” “Yeah, Oprah’s pretty cool, I

guess,” I answered, wondering if they taught the art of shutting up in massage school. “The thing is, though, you’re what? Eighteen years old?” “Twenty-two,” I corrected. “Whatever. You’re young. You have no idea what you want to do. You’re going to graduate and be like, ‘Wait, what do I do now? I hate my major and never want to do anything in the ﬁeld again. Ever.’” “I don’t hate my—” “Of course you hate it. When I was in college, I did an internship, and that was how I realized I didn’t want to go into marketing. That was really smart. Doing an internship. If you had done an internship, you would’ve realized you hate journalism,” she suggested. “Actually, I’ve done a bunch, and I still want to be a reporter.” “Oh. Weird. I’ve never heard of that before. You are an extraordinary case. EXTRAORDINARY. You should go on ‘Oprah.’ Or, wait, even better ... you should work for her!” “I’ll look into it,” I muttered. “You’re not going to make any money as a journalist. Let’s see—as a

waitress, you’d make, like on average, I don’t know, $14 an hour with tips. With an entry-level job, you’d make probably less than $30,000. I wonder how much more that would be than just being a waitress?” Jane was silent for a moment, thinking to herself. I savored it. “Silly me! Thinking I could ﬁgure it out in my head. I’ll have to use a calculator.” She abandoned her post near my right calf and started rummaging through her drawer until she found her calculator. She punched in a few numbers, mumbling disapprovingly to herself. “I mean, if you account for taxes and everything, $30,000 is more like $25,000, which is less than $14 an hour, full-time, for a year!” she announced. “But you have to account for taxes for the waitress,” I offered. “Are they still taxing waitresses?” she asked. “I believe so.” “That’s a shame,” she said. “Flip over so I can rub your neck.” Her hand grazed the side of my

breast as I rolled onto my back. “Wupsies! Haven’t done that in years!” she squealed. I pulled the sheets tighter around my body. “So where’s your boyfriend from?” she asked, quickly changing the subject. When I told her Grand Rapids, Mich., she made a face. “Trash! Total trash! You’re dating trailer trash. Eeuw!” “Actually, my boyfriend grew up in a really nice area and went to a reputable high school.” “But aren’t there, like, trailer parks in Grand Rapids?” “I don’t know. Maybe.” “Well, did he like living in Grand Rapids?” she asked, making a point to snarl the city name. “Yeah, he liked it, but there weren’t a lot of Jews there, so that was kind of hard for him.” “Oh my god, Kiera!” she scolded. “That’s the most derogatory thing I’ve ever heard! You can’t just run around calling people ‘Jews.’” She paused and patted my head. “You’re all set. Be sure to give your friends my number.” If you want to work for Oprah, email Kiera at wiatrak@wisc.edu.

SOUND OFF! For the record Corrections or clariﬁcations? Call The Daily Cardinal ofﬁce at 608-262-8000 or send an e-mail to edit@dailycardinal.com.

Got an opinion on one of our articles? Join the discussion by commenting online at dailycardinal.com8

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Tuesday, November 11, 2008

news

Safety forum to discuss problem-solving tactics to reduce downtown armed robberies

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The historic building at 16 Langdon St., owned by Phi Gamma Delta, will soon undergo renovations including the addition of an elevator.

Fraternity to renovate Langdon Street house By Jack Zeller THE DAILY CARDINAL

The Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, also known as “Fiji,” will return to its house on Langdon Street next fall, as the Madison Landmarks Commission approved plans to renovate the historic building Monday night. Fiji, which announced a campus comeback in January 2008 after a 10-year hiatus, plans to move into 16 Langdon St., a landmark building owned by the fraternity, but not before extensive renovations. Plans for renovation include new bathrooms, residential living areas, skylights along the sides of the building, heating equipment and an air conditioning system, according to Amy Hasselman of Architecture Network, who is in charge of the plans. Such renovations mandate that Fiji also construct an elevator tower that allows handicap accessibility to the building’s five floors. The Landmarks Commission granted a Certificate of Appropriateness needed to build the elevator to the fraternity Monday night. Hasselman said the building’s architecture and style is considered in

panel from page 1 Barron and UW-Stout. Schweber said that prior to the economic crisis, the U.S. relied on risky loans to attain the greatest college attendance and home ownership rates in its history. “[They] turned out to be something we can’t afford,” Schweber said. Despite the obstacles facing students, the professors offered optimistic insight. “The way the world operates is going to change,” Riddiough said. “There’s a lot of pain right now and more coming down the pipe. But at the same time, there is tremendous opportunity to remake the world we live in.” Friedman said the crisis could

lecture from page 1 tested in experiments and can be classiﬁed and identiﬁed,” he said. Ayala denounced the theory of intelligent design, citing the theory as an “imperfect design.” He claimed human imperfections like the human jaw, birth canal and forelimbs pose certain challenges to human beings. UW-Madison junior Jennifer

the extensive renovation. “We’re not trying to infringe on the integrity of the building,” she said. “We’ll match the materials as best we can.” The elevator dormer will have the same roof pitch as existing dormers and will look like a flat-roofed tower with a pattern to match the rear wing of the building. Dan Stephans of the Landmarks Commission applauded Hasselman’s consideration of the building’s preservation when designing the plans. “I really like all of the general details and solutions to the problems with the elevator tower,” he said. “It works very well.” Sigma Pi, another UW-Madison fraternity, has leased the building from Fiji since 2004. Sigma Pi’s President Josh Cantor said the fraternity will be moving out next fall but has not yet found a new house. Hasselman said the renovations will take up to five years and the Fijis must complete major fundraising before work can be finished. She also said the economy might cause some strain on development, but residential floors should be ready for members to move in by fall 2009. increase U.S. standing in the world. “The U.S. is enhanced in its position as the only place where we can move forward,” he said. “Everybody is waiting for [President-elect Barack] Obama to come to power and lead us.” Mike Sakowski, the economics coordinator for the Wisconsin Union Directorate’s Society and Politics Committee, said the professors helped explain many technical aspects of the economy. “They were very good at bringing the issues to life,” Sakowski said. The WUD Society and Politics Committee, Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy, the China Economic Forum and Students in Free Enterprise organized the forum, which is part of a mini lecture series extending Myers said she disagreed with Ayala because she does not think science and religion are mutually exclusive. “They could be [correlated] if religion didn’t make scientific claims, but I do not think that there is a mutually agreeable solution yet,” she said. However, Tyle Giles, a UWMadison graduate student, said he found the lecture helpful in clarifying theories that are relevant to society

In light of recent armed robberies, including a mugging of a Kappa Alpha Theta sorority member last week, the university will host a forum Tuesday to discuss safety on campus. The session will be held at 6 p.m. in the Media Room of the Red Gym on Langdon Street. Students and faculty members are invited to attend the forum to learn about safety issues on campus. Members of the Greek community, officers from the University of Wisconsin and Madison Police

Departments, Dean of Students Lori Berquam, the Associated Students of Madison and Ald. Eli Judge, District 8, will offer their thoughts on safety. Students attending the forum will hear short briefings about the recent attacks and will participate in a problem-solving discussion. “We want to identify action items that we can make progress toward for the safety of the entire campus community,” Berquam said in a statement. Berquam and other univer-

sity officials are again reminding students to look out for personal safety through protocol safety tips. Students should unplug their headphones while walking home and should be aware of their surroundings at all times. Other officials attending the event include Langdon Street Neighborhood Officer Rene Gonzalez and representatives of SAFE Nighttime Services, the Langdon Street Watch and Capitol Neighborhoods Association. —Erin Banco

College savings program faltering amid economic crisis State-funded college savings programs are feeling the impact of the economic downturn, with the declining stock market shrinking the value of investment-based savings plans. Wisconsin’s EdVest and Tomorrow’s Scholar programs, which are investment plans that offer tax advantages to encourage saving for higher education, have fallen 8.4 points or $181 million in the last quarter, according to the Associated Press.

Megan Perkins, program director for the Wisconsin College Savings Program, said some of this drop is due to the decline in the stock market but is also the result of parents taking out money to pay tuition bills in August and September. “While we have lost some money with the market not doing well in the last quarter, that percentage [reﬂects] not just that,” Perkins said. According to Jacob Stampen,

UW-Madison professor emeritus of educational leadership and policy analysis, parents and students who invested in the program are currently losing money. He said the economy will recover, but it may take a long time to do so, and accounts such as EdVest and Tomorrow’s Scholar may not be very popular in the near future. “This current economic crisis is just blowing a hole in a lot of things,” Stampen said. —Megan Orear

CRIME IN BRIEF

Opera-singing man arrested for attacking police officer A man singing opera and yelling and lunging at people walking on State Street was arrested Saturday morning after he attacked a police officer. According to a police report, Madison police officers found the man walking on the 500 block of State Street around 11 a.m. Saturday after receiving reports that he was yelling and launching

himself on passersby. Police said the man, Julius A. Wilson, 55, of Madison, slurred his speech, was unsteady on his feet and smelled strongly of beer. When police questioned him about his actions, the man explained that he was not yelling, but singing opera. He proceeded to demonstrate by singing in a loud, dramatic false opera-type

voice, police said. During his interaction with the police, the perpetrator became jumpy and argumentative, eventually attacking an officer. The officer was hit multiple times, his uniform was torn and he suffered a head cut. Wilson was arrested and tentatively charged with resisting an officer and battery to a police officer.

Police arrest man after knife threats to Wando’s Bar staff Two employees were threatened with a knife Friday afternoon at Wando’s Bar after asking a man to leave the bar. A police report said the disruption started at Wando’s, 602 University Ave., when the suspect grabbed a female bartender’s arm. Bar staff said the man was drunk, uncooperative and yelling “gibberish.” Two male employees escorted him out of the bar, where he pulled a folding knife out of

his pocket and started making threats. Police said the suspect pulled on the door, simultaneously making stabbing motions with the knife, while the two employees used their weight to keep it closed. The employees said they feared they would be stabbed if the door was opened. A Madison police officer had spoken with the suspect, Marvin A. Pierce, 55, earlier in the day for yelling at pass-

ersby on State Street. Pierce has no permanent address and was arrested Friday. He was tentatively charged with second-degree recklessly endangering safety, carrying a concealed weapon, disorderly conduct and disorderly conduct while armed. This is one of multiple times he has been arrested downtown in recent months, and the second for a knife incident, according to Madison police.

Weapons violation at Paradise Lounge leads to arrest Madison police arrested a man Friday night who allegedly pulled a pocketknife on a Paradise Lounge employee. Ofﬁcers were dispatched to the Paradise Lounge, 119 W. Main St., around 10 p.m. Friday. According to a police report, the confrontation took place outside today. “I think it was helpful for people that do not have background of theory of evolution, molecular biology,” he said. Ayala said Darwin’s natural selection proves evolution by natural processes because it is the completion of a theory, which can be used to explain the occurrence of natural disasters and can give space to religion.

the bar after an employee kicked the suspect out for soliciting and harassing customers for drinks. The employee, a 33-year-old man, said the suspect pulled out a pocketknife and unfolded the blade but did not threaten him with the weapon. The suspect also yelled obscenities at

legislature from page 1 to focus on social issues, the very issues they criticized Republicans for focusing on,” Mikalsen said, citing a bill authored by state Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, to grant domestic partner beneﬁts. Mikalsen said the Republicans’ strategy to counter the Democratic majorities will be to continue show-

the bar employee, and warned he would “get his boys from the shelter,” police said. Joseph M. Larue, 42, has no permanent address and was arrested on the Capitol Square by police and tentatively charged with disorderly conduct while armed. ing alternatives to the higher taxes and increased spending he expects from the Democrats. Black said he wants to work with, not against, state Republicans to move legislation forward. “We’ll extend the opportunity to them to participate,” Black said. “Republicans who want to work with us and move the state forward will be welcomed.”

opinion 4

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Tuesday, November 11, 2008

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

student input crucial to safety

ast Monday, Nov. 3, a UW-Madison student was robbed at gunpoint on the 100 block of Langdon Street. This followed a string of recent robberies on campus. In response, the Greek community, UW police, the Associated Students of Madison, Ald. Eli Judge, District 8, and Dean of Students Lori Berquam are holding an impromptu campus forum Tuesday night at the Armory and Gymnasium at 6 p.m. Although a portion of the forum will address ongoing investigations, the forum’s primary focus is to generate feedback and problem-solving suggestions from the audience. Several weeks ago, our editorial board met with Berquam to discuss safety. Citing several recent measures to promote safe actions on campus, such as the new www.safeu.wisc.edu website, and appointing a campus safety initiatives co-chair in ASM, Berquam claimed that strides are being made, but there is no single or simple solution, and student feedback is crucial to addressing the issue. Berquam also stated that Madison is a “city in transition”—one growing from a small college town to one with problems more in sync with those of a larger, urbanized city. In order

to adjust to these problems, we must prepare ourselves and use a wealth of ideas and resources to not only make changes in safety policies, but generally to make students aware of safety issues facing the campus.

More proactive measures must be sought by students and administrators in tandem.

Despite Berquam’s claims that the student body is generally adapting to safety procedures—revealed by the few students she found walking alone between 1 and 4 a.m.—we can always be more aware. Although practicing safety measures that have already been stressed bodes well for the student population, more proactive measures must be sought by students and administrators in tandem. We urge any student with personal experience or suggestions to attend this forum and share them. Raising awareness and making your voice heard is the best way to ensure that last Monday’s events are not repeated on campus.

Youth must extend their inﬂuence beyond voting By Project Youthanize SPECIAL TO THE DAILY CARDINAL

The 2008 presidential election is over and Barack Obama is our nation’s president-elect. Polls show the youth did quite a bit to make that happen, comprising 18% of the total electorate and voting roughly 2 to 1 for the Democratic senator. But what happens to the youth movement now that the election is over?

Will we use the inﬂuence we had on Nov. 4 to steer the politicians we elected into the future?

Frankly, that’s entirely up to us. We’ve proven ourselves to be a capable and influential voting bloc, one that has the power to change the outcome of an election. But now that we’ve done our civic duty, we have to ask ourselves some important questions. How concerned are we? How involved do we really want to

be? Was voting enough? Or will we use the influence we had on Nov. 4 to steer the politicians we elected into the future? We at Project Youthanize believe that our work did not end on Nov. 4th, but began on Nov. 5th. Although we can all celebrate a little—regardless of political party—that we as young people proved ourselves in this election, this is no time to rest on our laurels and call the job done. With so many issues affecting our generation today, ranging from education and the economy to energy and the environment, we cannot afford to fall back into the abyss of political apathy. We propose the youth continue our involvement in politics by forming a nonpartisan, national youth interest group to ensure that the voice of America’s young people can be heard in Washington. Forming such a body would coordinate the youth movement, channel our energies into an effective medium and allow us to protect the interests we share as a generation. In the coming months, Project Youthanize will be shifting its focus from engaging youth in the

electoral and political process to mobilizing Millennials to actively participate in Washington politics. The intention is to take our project to a national level, to coordinate youth movements across the country and form a political organization devoted to the youth voice for generations to come.

We cannot afford to fall back into the abyss of political apathy.

To do this, we need your help. Please, don’t quit now that you’ve voted. Keep your eye out for Project Youthanize events in the next few weeks, and consider putting your talents and passion toward solidifying the position of the Millennial generation in Washington. Our country is changing; let’s be a part of it and let’s ensure that young people have a place in politics for generations to come.

State of science in U.S. will progress under Obama administration THE DAILY CARDINAL

Socialism, weakened security, increased threats—nonsense. In a culture all too often driven by fear, effort is required to sift through the bullshit in search of the truth. The election of this nation’s first black president is not only a testament to the racial progress this country has achieved, but also an overwhelming public endorsement of scientific advancement.

The Obama administration’s progressive message breathes new life into the American science community.

John McCain’s concession speech sent a powerful message to all who were willing to listen. The Arizona senator was supportive of Barack Obama and asked his followers to join him in bringing this country together. Even though every citizen may not have been happy with last Tuesday’s result, there is good reason for any rational citizen to be optimistic about one aspect of Obama’s election—the United States will finally be free from the ideological bias that has handcuffed most scientific research for the last eight years.

Bio-ethical issues have long dominated partisan politics on Capitol Hill. Conservative politicians have clung to irrational scientific beliefs in order to please fundamentalist Christian followers that make up their support base. Three out of 10 candidates at the Republican presidential Primary debate actually raised their hands when asked how many did not believe in evolution. The hairs on my neck stood up at that moment. How much longer will the ideologically biased views of a Christian minority influence the politics of this country? If the results from last Tuesday’s ballots—aside from the presidential election—are any indication, my worries may be alleviated sooner than I believed.

The United States will ﬁnally be free from the ideological bias that has handcuffed most scientiﬁc reseach for the last eight years.

Several states passed progressive bills supporting embryonic stemcell research last week. Michigan residents passed Proposal 2, which will loosen restrictions on research by allowing scientists to use excess embryos from in-vitro fertility clinics. Colorado defeated

the “Personhood Amendment,” which would have defined all embryos as human beings from the moment of conception. The 10 states that fund embryonic stem-cell research will surely benefit from the next administration. Obama’s first measures after becoming president will undoubtedly include an executive order to free up federal funds for stem-cell research. Universities across the country, including UW-Madison, will receive much-needed federal funding that will hopefully accelerate future discoveries in the biomedical world. Dr. Clayton Smith, a stem-cell researcher who moved to Canada because of U.S. restrictions five years ago, expressed his optimism in an interview with The Vancouver Sun. “Watching the election last night was a singular event, like watching the Berlin Wall fall,” Smith said. “It was a dark time for many researchers in the U.S. the last eight years. There are incredible opportunities in Canada, and now the U.S. will have a more forward-thinking

administration.” Stem-cell research is not the only field that will benefit from Obama’s election. A new climate-change

ALEX LEWEIN/THE DAILY CARDINAL

By Tom Hart

change

initiative will seek to reduce total emissions to 80 percent of 1990 levels by the year 2050, and $150 billion dollars will be invested in developing alternative energy sources over the next 10 years. Obama also proposed protection for whistleblowers “who report on any government attempts to distort or ignore scientific research” in a letter to the leaders of the National Academies last month. The promises set forth by the Obama administration may not have been fulfilled quite yet, nor will they immediately take effect in January 2009, but their progressive message breathes new life into the American science community. The promotion of the White House science advisor to assistant cabinet-level status and the appointment of a new chief technology advisor to the White House will certainly aid in facilitating open-minded debate. It’s time for all of us to rise above the whirlwind of negativity and realize the future became brighter for scientific advancement when Obama secured 270 electoral votes on Nov. 4. Tom Hart is a senior majoring in political science and history. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

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Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Music snob speaks out DALE MUNDT croco-dale rock

very week, right below the end of the column, the Daily Cardinal editors list my e-mail address along with some witty comment. As I look back on the precious few people who have taken advantage of replying to me, I have noticed some commonality. The majority of people that have responded are defending some particular artist. I think this is hilarious. I (somewhat insincerely) apologize to those of you who are offended by my distaste for Duffy, or Katy Perry or Disney tween pop. But I’m a little confused about what you are trying to accomplish through some of these e-mails. Are you really trying to get me to accept Katy Perry, or Duffy or ABBA? Do you really think that I’m going to read your e-mail, re-listen to Katy Perry’s album and crown her heir to Alanis Morissette?

I draw a distinct difference between music that I like and music that is good.

Let me take a step back. I draw a distinct difference between music that I like and music that I think is good. I see music as good or bad based on qualities that the music has. But I like music for any number of reasons. Sometimes I fall in love with a song because of a good memory from high school or an ex-girlfriend or a specific experience. I like music because I connect to it somehow. Something about the artist or the lyrics or the music itself resonates with my experience. One example of this for me is Atmosphere’s most recent LP, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold. The album was released to pretty decent reviews. Slug’s lyrics

stepped away from the juvenile shoegaze of his previous albums toward telling stories about the voiceless in society. One song, “The Skinny,” is an extended metaphor for smoking addiction. Other songs talk about parenthood, lost dreams and broken relationships with family. The production from Ant was more creative and varied than past efforts. This is a good album. But that’s not the only reason I like the album. The ninth track, “Yesterday,” is directed toward someone from his past that he saw walking on the street. Slug reminisces about what it would be like to reconnect, but then he says, “But I know it wasn’t you, ’cuz you passed away, Dad.” This album dropped the week of the third anniversary of my best friend’s death, a friend that I still think I see on the street, in the grocery store, at the gym. Then I look a second time and realize it isn’t him, just like the lyrics. The thing is, music has this amazing power to connect. I’m a music snob, and sometimes I want to pretend that listening to music is all about how “good” the music is. I want to ﬁnd some band that no one has heard of, or engage in pretentious namedropping to prove my musical superiority. But people connect with music for their own reasons. Honestly, most of the music I connect with is music that I also think is “good,” but I understand others might not connect with that music. So, when I mock an artist in this column, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t like their music. Maybe you have some wonderful memory from high school that you relive each time you hear “Toxic.” That’s great, but it is different than arguing that “Toxic” is creative and interesting. So go ahead, enjoy Good Charlotte and Soulja Boy. Just don’t call it good music. Tell me how music connects with you, just don’t expect me to connect with your favorite Kelly Clarkson song. If you have a small essay prepared on why Britney Spears and her music connect with you, e-mail Dale at dpmundt@wisc.edu

PHOTO COURTESY RHYMESAYERS

Slug, MC of the Minnesota hip-hop duo Atmosphere, writes insightful lyrics that often contain secondary interpretations.

PHOTO COURTESY MADISON REPERTORY THEATRE

For the ﬁrst time in the Madison Repertory Theatre’s history, faculty members and graduate students from the UW-Madison Department of Theatre and Drama joined the players on stage for ‘The Greeks.’

Madison going ‘Greek’ ‘The Greeks’ brings war, havoc, tragedy to Overture Center By Caissa Casarez THE DAILY CARDINAL

John Barton and Kenneth Cavender’s “The Greeks” marks the ﬁrst time the Madison Repertory Theatre partners with faculty and graduate students from UWMadison’s Department of Theatre and Drama. This historic collaboration takes place on the Playhouse stage, the smallest of the Overture Center’s three theaters. Although most of the actors and crew members are fellow Badgers, the play turns out to be as powerful as if it were done by the professionals of Madison Rep.

with his ethics. This story is far more powerful than “Iphigenia at Aulis,” mainly because of the sacrifice of Patroclus (Josh Krevsky), a secondary character whom Achilles loved more than anything or anyone else. One scene in which Achilles is seen crying and embracing Patroclus’ dead body as if he were still alive feels like it’s straight out

Arena Haden) and Andromache’s (Olivia Dawson), seem exaggerated at times, the fact that the war affected them still gets across to the viewers. At times, it may seem hard to separate the three stories, especially because more than half of the cast plays more than one character. Despite this, Madison Repertory Theatre’s “The Greeks” is still a riv-

The wild personalities of the principal characters make up for the lack of ﬁghting.

“The Greeks” is adapted from epic works by Euripides and Homer, but it is in no way boring. The play is performed in three 35-minute intervals, one for each of the three stories, with two short intermissions. The first adapted work we see on stage is “Iphigenia at Aulis.” This part of the play has the least amount of fighting scenes, but that’s because we’re introduced to main characters Agamemnon (David WilsonBrown), Clytemnestra (Stephanie Monday) and daughter Iphigenia (Rebecca Chicoine). Despite this part of the play having very few ﬁght scenes, it still comes with its fair share of tragedy and scandal. Soon, the audience learns that Agamemnon has to sacriﬁce Iphigenia to the gods. Although this part of the play lacks the powerful emotions of the other two adapted works, the actors portray it just as dramatically. The second adapted work is “Achilles,” but the first person we see on stage is his mother, Helen of Troy (Leia Espericueta). “Achilles” profiles the warrior (Steve Wojtas) and how he balances his desire for fighting

PHOTO COURTESY MADISON REPERTORY THEATRE

Despite the relative lack of action, the Madison Repertory Theatre’s “The Greeks” captivates audiences with its emotional performances. of a dramatic movie. “Achilles” is eting play that shouldn’t be missed, also where most of the fighting especially considering its historic collaboration with UW’s Department happens in the play. The final adapted work, “The of Theatre and Drama. Trojan Women,” opens with Agamemnon declaring victory over ‘The Greeks’ the city of Troy and its warriors, with lots of post-battle rubble litwhere: Overture Center, on tering the stage. The wild personthe Playhouse Stage alities of the principal characters make up for the lack of fighting. when: Now until Nov. 23, for This story is the aftermath of the times visit madisonrep.org war from the eyes of the women who lost their husbands or chilcost: $20 on day of show dren. Although their levels of craziness, especially Cassandra’s (Clare

comics 6

I DARE YOU TO TRY. No piece of paper can be folded in half more than seven times. dailycardinal.com/comics

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Smashing Old Pumpkins

Today’s Sudoku

Anthro-apology

By Eric Wigdahl wigdahl@wisc.edu

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

crack me

a b c d e f g h i

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

“Texq xob vlr aofkhfkd? Kvnrfi lk qeb olzhp, clo tebk vlr’ob cbbifkd pfzh yrq plzfxyib.” Mitch Hedberg Quote Yesterday’s Code:

“A companion’s words of persuasion are effective.”

Today’s Crossword Puzzle

Evil Bird

By Caitlin Kirihara kirihara@wisc.edu

Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com COURTING DISASTER ACROSS

1 Barbecue site 5 Northern evergreen forests 10 Rhyme scheme 14 Add to the payroll 15 Formal observances 16 Brightly colored duck 17 Appaloosa alternative 18 Inactive 19 Causing a pucker 20 It may be in the small print 23 Constriction worker? 24 Victorian, for one 25 Capital of Poland? 28 Salesman’s goal 31 Artistic Grandma 36 Beginning for “while” 38 “... but is it___?” 39 Part of IV 40 Holds the scales, in court 44 Birthplace of a hurricane 45 Munich article 46 Albany’s canal 47 Brittle fragment (Var.) 48 Oscar winner Hunt 50 Beatty of “Deliverance” 51 “Give ___whirl” 53 Packed away 55 It collars criminals

64 Prima donna’s specialty 65 Bovine of ads 66 Info on a taxi 67 Retailer’s spot 68 Is popular with customers 69 Productive thought 70 Guinness and Kilkenny 71 Brown ermine 72 First garden DOWN

1 Indian stewed legume dish (Var.) 2 “My Left Foot” setting 3 Rock climber’s handhold 4 Skewered beef 5 Fast sailboat 6 Japanese aboriginal 7 Gossipy tidbit 8 Infant food company 9 Capitalist John Jacob 10 Aleutian isle 11 Look radiant 12 Spiteful comment 13 Chorus voice 21 Bath bathroom 22 Foxx or Farr 25 Durango dough 26 Actor von Stroheim 27 Compact name? 29 Famous 76er 30 Chopin piece 32 “That’s a new one

___!” 33 Hard-nosed 34 Sesame Street dweller 35 Stuffed to the gills 37 Nicholas, for one 41 Punjab locale 42 Tierra ___ Fuego 43 Word in Ali’s boast 48 Gielgud role 49 Last in a very long line 52 Lock of hair 54 Inducing goosebumps 55 Monk in high places 56 Vocally expressed 57 Luxor river 58 Rodeo women 59 Site of the ’52 Winter Olympics 60 Adidas rival 61 Alan in “The Carpetbaggers” 62 Suit to ___ 63 Free from dependence on

Awkward Turtle

By Meg Anderson anderson4@wisc.edu

sports

dailycardinal.com/sports

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Rowers ﬁnish strong in fall’s ﬁnal races By Rebecca Autrey THE DAILY CARDINAL

The women’s openweight and lightweight rowing teams finished their fall season over the weekend with strong performances at the Southland Regatta. The Badgers traveled to Blue Island, Ill., to take on Big Ten rivals Michigan State, Minnesota and Indiana, among others. The openweight “A” boat took third in their 5K heat and also took third in the finals, a 2K race. Wisconsin’s “B” and “E” boats placed third in their finals as well. Head coach Bebe Bryans said though the team finished lower than she wanted, she was still pleased with their performance. “The varsity openweights were hoping to finish a little bit better than we did, but overall we were pleased with our performances, and we had some particular technical things that we were successful doing,” she said. Bryans said the novice team in particular had a strong showing

in Illinois. “Most of those kids are walkons, so they’re just getting started, and we had some good leadership from the recruits,” she said. Bryans said the race was structured similarly to spring regattas and UW’s performance was hopefully a good indicator of things to come. “We also made some good positive changes between the morning and the afternoon races that I think were reflective of how they are set up to race in the springtime,” she said. The lightweight varsity “B” boat ﬁnished eighth in their 5K head race, and the “D” boat placed 16th in their head race. Head coach Erik Miller said the race was a good showing for the lightweights and that the team did much better than last year. “I was very proud of the effort we put down, and I was really happy for the team,” he said. Miller said one of the most noticeable highlights of the race

PHOTO COURTESY UWBADGERS.COM

The Wisconsin lightweight rowing team had two top-16 ﬁnishes and showed improvement from last year. was that the lightweights stayed closer than they usually do to Wisconsin’s openweight boats. “It was a stronger performance against our openweights than we usually have, and I think the openweights had a good, strong per-

formance today,” he said. “That really sets us up well at the end of our fall season and going into winter training.” The Badgers head into the boathouse now for indoor training. Openweights will compete

for the first time this spring Feb. 28 in Indiana. The lightweights will head to Austin, Tex., March 20 for their first race of the spring season. —uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.

Women’s tennis struggles at Indiana tournament By Jake Langbecker THE DAILY CARDINAL

Sophomore Alaina Trgovich defeated Indiana’s Alba Berdala 6-2, 6-1 in singles play Friday and was one of the few bright spots for Wisconsin.

The University of Wisconsin women’s tennis team stumbled to the end of the fall season with a lackluster performance last weekend at the Indiana Invitational. The Badgers ﬁnished with an overall record of 3-12 in singles and 1-8 in doubles at the invitational. The tournament was a three-day, four-team, round-robin-style tournament featuring Wisconsin, Indiana, Western Michigan and DePaul and took place at the IU Tennis Center in Bloomington, Ind. Wisconsin was competing without two top players in senior Liz Carpenter and sophomore Jessica Seyferth and struggled on the tournament’s ﬁrst day. The Badgers went 0-3 in doubles play against DePaul, but the young tandem of freshman Aleksandra Markovic and sophomore Alaina Trgovich lost a tightly contested match by a score of 9-8. Trgovich was one of the stronger players of the weekend and demonstrated that on Friday, notching a singles victory over Alba Berdala of Indiana in straight sets 6-2, 6-1. Senior Elizabeth Dolan, who defeat-

election from page 8

warhawks from page 8

PHOTO COURTESY UWBADGERS.COM

Penn State head coach Joe Paterno expressed his disdain last week as well, asking reporters, “Is it the BCS or the BSC?” Either way, Obama has added fuel to the ﬁre for change and may continue to do so if given the chance. Most importantly to the sporting world, however, will be Obama’s impact on the United States’ bid for the 2016 Olympics. As Chicago 2016 bid chief Patrick Ryan noted last week, Obama’s victory speech in Millennium Park was “a global opportunity to show the city’s beautiful skyline, its lake and its parks.” Regardless of how it was received here in the states, it cannot be denied that Obama’s overseas trip to Europe this past summer increased his familiarity and popularity on the international scene, which is critical con-

sidering that heads of state have played major roles in the bidding process in years past. British prime minister Tony Blair’s attendance at the International Olympic Committee’s 2005 session has been widely regarded as the reason Great Britain won the bid for host of the 2012 Summer Games—an appearance by Obama next year will likely yield similar results. Now, whether the Presidentelect’s stances, connections and potential inﬂuences play out is yet to be determined. Can we base the success of Beaver basketball on that of Obama’s success in the voting booths? Maybe. But only time will tell if the election of a new president will have as great of an impact on sports as it does on our country’s future. Wish you’d cast your presidential vote for Bernie Brewer? Tell Andy at avansistine@wisc.edu.

will be one of the Badgers responsible for trying to contain Goodwin’s offensive game. Bohannon says the Badgers look forward to the challenge and he knows it will take a team effort to try to control Goodwin. “We’ll just stick to our principles,” Bohannon said. “We’ll have a couple of guys that match LEUER up with him. Anyone on the floor is going to match up with him at one time or another. It’s not just one person, but we have to be able to stop him and contain him.” The Badgers are coming off

ed Maria Guerreiro 6-2, 6-2 for her first singles victory of the season, joined Trgovich in the winner’s column on day one. However, Trgovich and Dolan were the lone bright spots for the Badgers in their opening-day singles round against Indiana, as the rest of the team went 0-6. After disappointing results on day one, the Badgers continued to struggle. The Badgers fought hard in three matches against Western Michigan in doubles, finishing 1-2. Sophomore Emese Kardhordo and up-and-coming freshman Angela Chupa, who has been playing well of late, narrowly edged Kerstin Pahl and April Kerr 9-8 for the victory. Trgovich and junior Katya Mirnova also played well, but lost to Emily Dudzik and Yumi Matsuto by a score of 9-8. Wisconsin also faced Indiana in doubles on Saturday but did not fair as well, dropping all three matches. In a round of singles against DePaul, the Badgers finished 1-6 but were a few tie-break points away from a much better finish. Chupa split the first two sets of her match against Gia McKnight, but then dropped the tiebreaker 10-4. Then, senior Erin Jobe lost a 6-7,

6-7 straight-set heartbreaker. The lone singles victory on day two belonged to freshman Dana Larsen with a resounding defeat of Cali Gustafson, 6-4, 6-1. On Sunday, the Badgers concluded the tournament with their most successful round, going 2-5 in singles play against Western Michigan. Jobe rebounded from her Saturday defeat with a tiebreak victory over Amanda Moccisa, 5-7, 6-1, 1-0 (119). Larsen recorded the other victory for Wisconsin, winning in a similar fashion against April Kerr, 5-7, 61, 1-0 (11-9). The overall record from the invitational will not impress many, but heading into the spring season CHUPA the Badgers found some young talent they hope can continue to improve. Trgovich, Chupa and Larsen all played well in the tournament. The Badgers’ season restarts Jan 24 against DePaul at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison. —uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.

an 81-57 exhibition victory over Augustana. Wisconsin shot 49 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free-throw line. Sophomore forward Jon Leuer says these exhibition games have been extremely valuable for building momentum heading into the regular season. “Each game is a learning experience,” Leuer said. “Whether you’re playing on the floor or sitting on the bench, little things can definitely help you down the road. Against Augustana, we moved the ball really well, we found the open guys, and that’s just how this team is. We’re unselfish—you don’t know where the points are going to come from. Hopefully we can take a lot from that game and move it on to this game. Then once the regular season starts, we can get rolling from there.”

Part of the Badgers’ transition to regular-season play will be forming a consistent rotation of players. Gard says this process is well underway and will continue to progress leading up to Wisconsin’s first game of the regular season. “In order to get on the floor for Coach [Bo] Ryan, you have to produce day in and day out in practice,” Gard said. “Some guys are a little further ahead than others physically, and some guys are a little further ahead in terms of their knowledge of the game and just their decisions when everything else breaks down. We’ve definitely taken some steps, now it’s a matter of seeing where we’re at when we step on the floor on Tuesday night.” Tipoff for Tuesday’s exhibition is set for 7 p.m. at the Kohl Center.

sports Bielema pleased with team’s performance 8

dailycardinal.com/sports

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Players already looking ahead to Border Battle By Nico Savidge THE DAILY CARDINAL

KYLE BURSAW/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Sophomore wide receiver David Gilreath’s 168 yards Saturday helped power the Badgers to their highest rushing total since 1999.

Head football coach Bret Bielema said Monday he is happy with the team’s progress in Saturday’s win against Indiana, and he is looking forward to the “Border Battle” between Wisconsin and Minnesota this weekend. “It’s a rivalry game, it’s a border game,” Bielema said. “There [are] a lot of ties that make it personal in everything that you do.” The Badgers will try to keep possession of Paul Bunyan’s Axe, the trophy they have fought Minnesota for since 1948. Saturday’s matchup will be the 118th time the schools have played each other, making theirs the most-played rivalry in FBS football. Bielema said the team is excited about playing in the Border Battle and defending the Axe. Wisconsin has held the trophy since 2004 and won in 11 of the teams’ past 13 meetings. “The Axe represents more than just a trophy,” he said. “When you

have it … it represents a victory [in] a standing rivalry that goes back over a number of years.” Bielema believes the history of the Border Battle, and the great players who have taken part in it, can be used as a motivation for current Badgers. “It’s really not a hard sell. It’s something that our kids buy into,” he said. Wisconsin will not have an easy road to defending the Axe this year, as Minnesota brings in “a muchimproved football team,” according to Bielema. The Gophers will enter Camp Randall with a 7-3 overall record, looking to end a two-game losing streak with a win in the rivalry game. The Badgers will need to stay healthy this week, as offenMcFADDEN sive lineman Eric Va n d e n h e u v e l and linebacker Jaevery McFadden try to return from injuries. Vandenheuvel suffered a lower leg injury against Indiana, and although X-rays were negative, Bielema said he did not know if Vandenheuvel would play Saturday. McFadden missed time

with a concussion, but could return against Minnesota. “Knowing Jaevery and the way he loves to compete, my guess is he’ll be out there,” Bielema said. However, Bielema is confident in the Wisconsin offense heading into Saturday’s matchup. The Badger running game put up 441 yards against Indiana, and three offensive players—running backs P.J. Hill and John Clay and wide receiver David Gilreath—gained at least 100 yards. Bielema singled out junior quarterback Dustin Sherer for his performance in his home state of Indiana. “I couldn’t be happier with the way Dustin prepared himself last week,” he said. “To perform the way he did spoke volumes about where he is.” Although he was pleased with the team’s progress last week, when asked about postseason bowl games, Bielema said they would make no difference in the way his team approached the next two weeks. “Our kids aren’t worried about that,” he said. “We haven’t even garnished enough victories to be bowl eligible … until we are at that point, it’s not even in our thought process.”

Election result may have large impact on the world of sports ANDREW VAN SISTINE sistine’s chapel

egardless of your political afﬁliation, we will have a new president in the White House in a matter of months. Like it or not, there are likely going to be changes in national policy regarding health care, the economy, education, national security and a whole host of other areas. To fend off the political enthusiasts out there, let me make this very clear: I do not align myself with any particular party. I never endorsed one candidate over another and have done my best to conceal my disdain or my approval of the election results. I keep my political standings to myself, and I have not told anyone whom I voted for—not my parents, not my roommates, not my best friends. That said, I am intrigued, for better or for worse, by the potential ramiﬁcations of the recent election on the sporting world.

The President-elect put the BCS under ﬁre when he called for a collegiate football playoff on national television.

To begin with, it is widely known that President-elect Obama is an avid White Sox fan, which could mean that the man in the land’s highest ofﬁce may meet the steroid scandals that have plagued Major League Baseball with a more watchful eye. After all, he was among the

first people waiting to congratulate the 2005 World Series champion White Sox after they got off the field. Obama is serious about his sports, and would therefore be a potentially potent activist in keeping sports clean. What might be less widely known to sports fans is that his brother-in-law, Craig Robinson, is the head basketball coach at Oregon State. Generally, politics and basketball do not play on the same court, but in his recruiting efforts thus far in the fall, Robinson has said that families of recruits have shown interest in his connection to the Democratic President-elect. In a conference that holds some of the great perennial collegiate basketball powers like UCLA, USC and Arizona, any recruiting edge he can gain from the Obama campaign would likely be welcome for Robinson, who is in his first year at Oregon State and trying to turn around a program that finished last season 0-18 in the Pac-10 and 6-25 overall. For those of you who watched “Monday Night Football” Nov. 3, you might have caught another interesting morsel that was as hot a topic in the sporting world as the election was in the rest of the world: Obama’s take on the college football postseason. The President-elect put the BCS under fire when he called for a collegiate football playoff on national television. To be frank, this matter is beyond the realm of Obama’s control, and he surely knows that he is in no position to change the system. But it just so happens that one day after the presidential election, USC head coach Pete Carroll made waves in the sporting nation when he once again spilled his thoughts on the BCS, saying, “I think it stinks.” Coincidently, election page 7

LORENZO ZEMELLA/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO

Junior guard Jason Bohannon (12) will be charged with defending Whitewater’s Matt Goodwin, who earned All-American honors last season. Bohannon averaged 8.2 points last year.

Badgers ready for veteran Warhawks By Matt Fox THE DAILY CARDINAL

On Tuesday night, the Wisconsin men’s basketball team will host UW-Whitewater for its second and final exhibition game of the season. UW-Whitewater is a Division III program in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Last year, the Warhawks were WIAC Champions with a 24-5 record. Although Tuesday’s matchup is just an exhibition, Wisconsin associate head coach Greg Gard says in-state games like these

have been great for basketball as a whole in the state of Wisconsin. “I know the schools that we’ve played in the past have been very appreciative of the opportunity to come in here, and we appreciate people coming in here and playing extremely hard and trying to make us better,” Gard said. “Even going back to the days of Platteville, there was a Platteville-Whitewater rivalry that was a huge rivalry within that league. So we have a lot of respect for that program and how they play.” This season, the Warhawks

have high expectations after receiving a No. 5 ranking among all Division III schools in the Sporting News college basketball preview. The Warhawks return four starters, led by senior guard Matt Goodwin. Last season, Goodwin was named a Division III First Team All-American after averaging 17.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Goodwin also received First-Team Preseason All-American honors for the upcoming year. Junior guard Jason Bohannon warhawks page 7