WISCONSIN FILM FESTIVAL PREVIEW
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Thursday, April 2, 2009
Candidates in District 2 race debate the issues By Ryan Hebel THE DAILY CARDINAL
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Remembering Brittany
A look back on Zimmermann’s life on Part three of four the one-year anniversary of her death By Abby Sears THE DAILY CARDINAL
During her 21 years of life, Brittany Zimmermann loved many things. She loved spending time with her family and friends in her hometown of Marshfield, Wis. She loved her fiancé, Jordan Gonnering, whom she lived with as they both attended UWMadison. And each spring, she loved returning home to spend Easter weekend with the people she cared about most. “Easter was like the best holiday in the world for Brittany
because it meant that she was coming home and Mom was making a big ’ole beast of a ham,” Kim Heeg, Brittany’s aunt, said. Last year’s Easter weekend in late March was a particularly special time for Brittany. She announced her recent engagement to her family and gushed about plans for everyone to watch her get married in Hawaii after graduation. And, of course, in between congratulations and excited family chatter, Brittany feasted on her mother’s Easter ham, her favorite food.
It was the last time Brittany’s family would see her alive. “A Small Town Girl” Brittany grew up in Marshfield with her parents, Kevin and Jean, younger brother Matt and a bevy of other family members who live in the area. From an early age, her cheerful disposition and gowith-the-flow personality made Brittany stand out to everyone who knew her. During her freshman year at
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Suspects in PDQ robbery may be linked to other crimes By Rachel Holzman THE DAILY CARDINAL
Two suspects in an armed robbery and car chase early Wednesday morning may be linked to two armed robberies at gas stations earlier this week. The suspects, Antonio Johnson, 27, and Brandon ‘Brandy’ Rucker, 26, were arrested and taken to jail
after allegedly leading police on a car and foot chase in the UWMadison campus area. Around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, an armed robbery occurred at the PDQ convenience store on Fish Hatchery Road. The two suspects demanded the store clerk’s car keys and drove the car down South Park Street.
An officer saw the stolen vehicle and attempted to pull it over, but a pursuit ensued when the suspects increased their speed. “The suspects then failed to slow down or stop at a construction site and proceeded northbound across
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DISTRICT 8 THROWDOWN A preview to the April 7 election
What do you think is the major difference between your platform and your opponent’s? Bryon Eagon: “I have taken the time to do my homework on the issues and have come up with pragmatic and progressive policies that are not only beneficial for students, but also can actually be accomplished on the city level.” Mark Woulf: “The best candidate for the job is whoever can best represent the interests of the students. I am proud to be in a position, unlike my opponent, where I do not have to cater to the needs of a political party. Keeping in line with this office being nonpartisan, I believe I am the only candidate in this race that will be able to truly reflect the concerns of the people of District 8.”
District 2 alder candidates Brenda Konkel and Bridget Maniaci clashed over safety, homelessness and transportation at Wednesday night’s final debate, held in Memorial Union. Although the candidates had minor policy differences, Konkel continually emphasized her experience, and Maniaci emphasized her fresh perspective and focus on local concerns. “Brenda’s been in office for eight years, and there’s very little that’s been changed in the neighborhood,” Maniaci said. Maniaci pointed specifically to the district’s streetlight shortage, a major concern following recent sexual assaults near the UW-Madison campus. Konkel said she was working to light up the district and hoped to use tax incremental finance funds to split the funding between property owners and the city. Konkel also said she would “rather see more police officers on the street walking around than security cameras stuck on a pole somewhere.” Maniaci, however, argued the cameras were useful to police after a recent murder outside the Crave Lounge. Maniaci stressed she would also work with UW-Madison to improve the SAFEride services, suggesting
UW-Milwaukee’s student taxi service as a model for increasing safety and creating student jobs. On homelessness, both candidates supported funding for a recent Housing First proposal to connect the homeless to affordable housing, as well as substance abuse and job training services. In addition, Konkel, who also directs the Tenant Resource Center, said she wants to shield local nonprofit organizations from a proposed tax hike that would cost them up to $2 million. Both candidates opposed recent bus fare hikes to $2, and Maniaci strongly supported a regional transit authority to revamp the city’s ailing transportation system. “The buses have to be more effective and more efficient, and we have to get more riders into the system,” Maniaci said. The debate was not completely politics-free. In the waning minutes, Konkel addressed her thorny relationship with Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, which received attention after Cieslewicz endorsed Maniaci, his former intern. “We need someone to stand up to Mayor Dave ... who’s not just going to be a rubber stamp ... and not just be quiet and hide in the background,” Konkel said. The aldermanic elections will be held April 7.
Student groups join forces to address Darfur sexual assaults By Andrea Carlson THE DAILY CARDINAL
The student groups Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment and Action in Sudan teamed up Wednesday to lead a discussion on the parallels of sexual assault in the United States and Darfur. “Rape and a violent culture exist all over the world so … we [wanted] to address rape culture as PAVE does and then also have them bring in the Darfur piece so we can see how lots of cultures are affected by this,” Anne Eichmeyer, peer facilitator for PAVE, said. Eichmeyer and Jenny Pandl, also a peer facilitator for the group, initiated the meeting by handing out pieces of paper, allowing attendees to write down questions they had about sexual assault. It was an effort to keep the meeting comfortable and confidential. Throughout the meeting, Eichmeyer and Pandl opened the discussion to the group, defining subjects like rape, domestic violence and dating violence. A large part of the meeting focused on traditional methods women should learn to avoid being raped. Leaders of the discussion stressed the importance of
recognizing that not every woman becomes a victim of rape. “When we ask women to be constantly on guard, it creates a lot of fear,” Eichmeyer said. “We’re brought up in a culture where we are pretty much told that rape is going to happen to us.” According to Eichmeyer and Pandl, the purpose of PAVE is to address the consequences of sexual assault. Leaders from the organization strive to ask students questions regarding rape prevention and rape culture. Teague Harvey, co-president of Action in Sudan, and Jacob Kushner, political coordinator of AIS, were also present at the meeting to explain how the Darfur society relates to rape culture in the United States. “Rape is being used as a systematic fear tactic in the genocide in Darfur by the Arab militia called Janjaweed,” Kushner said. Kushner also emphasized the similarities between rape in the United States and rape in Sudan. He said the stigma of sexual assault is the same in both places. To learn more about the groups, visit uwpave.rso.wisc.edu and actioninsudan.rso.wisc.edu.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”