Wednesday, November 4, 2009 - The Daily Cardinal by The Daily Cardinal

Students need to maintain active role in city politics to ensure results OPINION

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Council OKs ALRC citizen voting member By Caitlin Gath The Daily Cardinal

Alison Bauter/the daily cardinal

Mark Woulf, student advisor for the city’s Alcohol License Review Committee, spoke at Tuesday’s Common Council meeting. Council members voted to add a new citizen voting member position to the ALRC.

The Madison Common Council voted Tuesday to add a new citizen voting member, as well as an additional alder, to the city’s Alcohol License Review Committee. The change in the committee’s composition comes as a compromise to the original proposal introduced by Ald. Bryon Eagon, District 8 to add a permanent student voting member to the ALRC. Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said he was not in favor of designating a specific student seat because it would then make it necessary

for other groups to have a voting seat on the committee, including representatives from the Tavern League and the UW administration. He said on Monday, however, that he was in favor of appointing a student to the citizen voting position. Barb Mercer, a representative from the Madison and Dane County Tavern League, said students should not have any type of representation. “We have no problem with the fact that a new alderman be added to the ALRC, but we have a strong opinion that a student alrc page 3

Scott Walker speaks about 2010 campaign plans, economic platform By Alison Dirr The Daily Cardinal

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, one of two announced Republican gubernatorial candidates, spoke on campus Tuesday about his campaign plans for the 2010 election. Walker said he wanted to prioritize economic policies, and said he hopes to reverse the trend of businesses leaving the state. “Our campaign and our administration is going to be like a wheel, and in the center of the wheel is going to be jobs,” Walker said. “All the other spokes are going to be things like education reform, higher education, transportation, agriculture, health care and tax reform. We get pumped about the

other issues, but jobs are the kinds of thing that wake you up in the middle of the night.” Attendees said they appreciated Walker’s employment-centered speech. “Everyone is looking for jobs right now, and it’s really tough out there,” Tom Burton, a law student, said. Walker said that, if elected, he will expect all bills that come to his desk to create or retain jobs for Wisconsinites. “If it doesn’t meet that task, it’s not going to be a priority,” Walker said, explaining his emphasis on jobs does not mean he will not deal with other issues. Walker said the government cannot create jobs, and suggested the government must move out of the way of the private sector.

Senior Emily Monske, vice chair of UW-Madison’s College Republicans, said she liked Walker’s speech and was impressed by his focus on reviving Wisconsinites’ faith in their future employment. She also said the format of his speech was better than other speakers she had seen in the past. “It was really great that he focused on what he’s going to do for the state of Wisconsin rather than [on] how we can get involved,” Monske said. “A lot of times that’s what we hear from candidates on campus.” Students for Walker, with the support of College Republicans, hosted the event. College Republicans will not endorse a candidate until after the primary election next spring.

Isabel Álvarez/the daily cardinal

LGBT activists demand action from Obama Part 2 of 3 in a series on student political activism By Robert Taylor The Daily Cardinal

Amy Giffin/the daily cardinal

A year ago today, President Obama defeated Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in the 2008 presidential election. His support cut across traditional party lines and in many ways reflected the “big tent” of a resurgent Democratic party. Still, Obama received support from the largely democratic lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Many from the LGBT community supported him and played a critical role in his election.

Now, however, individuals across the nation and here at UW-Madison are growing increasingly vocal in their demands that Obama deliver on his campaign promises. On October 11, over 150,000 people descended upon Washington, D.C. to demand full equality under the law for LGBT people nationwide. The National Equality March was the largest such demonstration in more than 10 years, and its demand was simple: full LGBT equality now, including full marriage rights and the repeal of the controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” military policy. Hundreds of people from the UW-Madison community made the

fifteen-hour trip from Madison to D.C. to attend. One of the marchers, Claire Peterson, a junior at UW-Madison majoring in genetics with a certificate in women’s studies and LGBT studies, said she could sense immediately that she was part of a transformative political moment. “I was instantly moved by the number of people coming together from all over the country. It was empowering to know that there is such a variety of people passionate about these issues,” she said. “I really did feel like I was part of something greater than myself.” lgbt page 3

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

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TODAY: a.m. showers hi 44º / lo 31º

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Wednesday, November 4, 2009

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

This campus could use a few improvements

Volume 119, Issue 41

2142 Vilas Communication Hall 821 University Avenue Madison, Wis., 53706-1497 (608) 262-8000 l fax (608) 262-8100

JILLIAN LEVY one in a jillian

News and Editorial edit@dailycardinal.com Editor in Chief Charles Brace Managing Editor Justin Stephani Campus Editor Kelsey Gunderson Caitlin Gath City Editor State Editor Hannah Furfaro Enterprise Editor Ryan Hebel Associate News Editor Grace Urban Opinion Editors Anthony Cefali Todd Stevens Editorial Board Editor Qi Gu Arts Editors Kevin Slane Kyle Sparks Sports Editors Scott Kellogg Nico Savidge Features Editor Diana Savage Food Editor Sara Barreau Science Editor Jigyasa Jyotika Photo Editors Isabel Alvarez Danny Marchewka Graphics Editors Amy Gifﬁn Jenny Peek Copy Chiefs Kate Manegold Emma Roller Jake Victor Copy Editors Hope Carmichael Kathy Dittrich

Business and Advertising business@dailycardinal.com Business Manager Alex Kusters Advertising Manager Katie Brown Billing Manager Mindy Cummings Accounts Receivable Manager Cole Wenzel Senior Account Executive Ana Devcic Account Executives Mara Greenwald, Kristen Lindsay, D.J. Nogalski, Jordan Rossman, Sarah Schupanitz Online Account Executive Tom Shield Mara Greenwald Graphic Designer Web Directors Eric Harris, Dan Hawk Marketing Director Mia Beeson 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 editor@dailycardinal.com.

Editorial Board Charles Brace Anthony Cefali Qi Gu Jamie Stark Todd Stevens Justin Stephani l

Board of Directors Vince Filak Alex Kusters Joan Herzing Jason Stein Jeff Smoller Janet Larson Chris Long Charles Brace Katie Brown Benjamin Sayre Jenny Sereno Terry Shelton l

THURSDAY: sunny hi 49º / lo 35º

’m relatively sure most students would agree that as gorgeous and wonderful as our campus is, it could benefit from a pretty serious makeover. More and more, I find myself walking across campus making mental notes of all the improvements and additions I believe the campus would benefit from. Sure, there are the obvious ones like the complete demolition of Humanities and Vilas Hall, the concrete monsters that plague the view of downtown looking down from Bascom Hill. Well, for that matter, I would feel OK with tearing down Sellery and Witte, too, but maybe that’s because I have no personal attachment to either of them. But recently I’ve hammered out a more specific list with some pretty great ideas that I believe would benefit nearly all students—or at least those who have nearly identical schedules to mine or find themselves in the same buildings as me at the same time. Problem: Bascom Hill It’s a personal choice to become

a mountain climber, and I most certainly do not appreciate Wisconsin forcing me to become one. It’s too hot in the summer, and in the winter you get all bundled up and inevitably start sweating halfway up and look like you did an hour of cardio by the time you get to your discussion in the Social Sciences building. Solution: Moving sidewalks They have them in airports and Las Vegas, so why not Wisconsin? Plus, I have a funding solution: Move Grainger Hall to the top of the hill and get the business school alums to foot the bill. Grainger was built in 1993 and in 2008 was given a $40.5 million addition complete with a great cafeteria and a working water wall. I’m relatively certain the same toilet in the second ﬂoor women’s bathroom in Vilas has been broken since I was a freshman and the only water ﬂowing in Humanities is out of the ceiling on rainy days. My point: Convince a few School of Business alumni that they are bettering the lives of the current biz kids and they’ll have no problem forking out the couple million bucks it would take to get some sweet moving sidewalks running up and down Bascom. Problem solved. Problem: Lack of caffeine depots Lots of students, myself included,

have moderate to severe caffeine addictions. When I get up in the morning, I can’t keep my eyes open for more than 20 minutes unless I have a liter of coffee or three shots of espresso. And when I look around most of my lectures, I notice many of my peers are equally groggy and miserable. Solution: Coffee carts Students shouldn’t have to walk all the way to Ingraham or Engineering or any of the other two or three buildings that supply non-vending machine variety caffeinated beverages to get our morning ﬁx. Since most of our caffeine addictions are schoolfueled, I think the university should provide us with some relief and have coffee carts that provide warm and stimulating beverages to students in every building and wheel through crowded lecture halls. It’s a win-win situation for all involved parties. Problem: Sandy snow We can deny it all we want, but winter is soon approaching, and our campus will be covered in over 100 inches of cold, wet, horrible snow. I’m all for snow forts and angels, but when I have to walk through several feet of snow to get to class, I’m pretty anti-precipitation. And the fact that Madison, both the university and the city itself, refuse to shovel/plow/salt

any sidewalks or streets makes the winter in Wisconsin so much worse. Solution: Salt Is it bad for the environment? Yes. Does it rust cars and make Uggs uglier than ever? Yes. Do I care remotely? Not at all. Walking to class in the winter is a hazard and gives me so much more incentive to skip class, an action I do not think the university supports. It takes two times as long to get anywhere when there are snow hills covering every sidewalk, and driving doesn’t really get you anywhere any faster. I’m not sure if it’s a funding thing or the eco-freaks who are afraid of contaminated ground water, but enough is enough. Salt it up. I fully recognize that few individuals on campus with the means of accomplishing any of these ventures read this column and no selfrespecting person would admit to it anyway, but I think I’ve got some pretty solid ideas formulating here. If you have determination, a good work ethic or any connections, you should do something about them... I think my creative contribution was more than enough. Want to bitch about the things you hate involving campus, large hills or winter in general? E-mail Jillian at jlevy2@wisc.edu.

the daily cardinal makes fun of you Jess Hare thinks you’ve been smoking too many oddly-shaped leaves.

Year: 2013 Hometown: Vasalia, CA Political Views: Independent Party Religious Views: United Methodist Activities: dance. orchestra. musicals. dressing up for no reason. reading. writing. dubbing films. singing. rapping with my girls. jigalo, jig jig, a lo. cracking jokes. making a general fool of myself. smelling like a theatre. tapping, even without shoes. inside joker

Most Embarrassing Item: Well, this is going to be an easy week: We found Ah yes, a superstar lineup: Mad Hatter, an oversized Cat in ourselves a theater geek! It’s great to hear the Hat costume, a loaded Luigi... and the half-naked dude in that you enjoy “smelling like a theatre,” between them all... or the equivalent of smelling like stale sweat and prepubescent actors and actresses attempting not to fall over each other. As like every other theater nerd, we see you’re sporting that prized Mad Hatter outﬁt you had to wrestle away from the costume designer after your high school production of “Alice in Wonderland” wrapped up. Here’s betting you didn’t run into your doppelganger on State Street with that outﬁt on... Stupid Fact About Your Hometown: Vasalia, CA, was mentioned a few times in an episode of the TV show “24.” Unfortunately for the excited Vasalians, they realized that all of the characters on the show were pronouncing the name of the city incorrectly. Bummer. Missed Opportunities: If only we knew the backstory to the strange, half-naked man to your right in the picture. That’s not a costume, unless “man getting jumped by a rabid Dr. Seuss character” is the next Billy Mays costume.

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

Saving Grace: At least Jess acknowledges that she’s only pretending to be cool and that she’s active in making a fool out of herself. Most of the people we make fun of honestly have no idea they are almost too embarrassing to include in The Daily Cardinal.

Want your Facebook proﬁle to be made fun of? Join the group “The Daily Cardinal Makes Fun of You.”

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Bill may require more regions represented on Board of Regents By Kelsey Gunderson The Daily Cardinal

The UW System Board of Regents may become more geographically diverse if the state Legislature passes a bill requiring representation from all main regions throughout the state. The bill was proposed in 2005 to ensure all areas from throughout the state are represented. According to Sisi Chen, communications director for the United Council of UW Students, 10 of the 14 current regents who are appointed by the governor come from either Milwaukee or Dane counties. She said the new bill would split the state into seven regions based on where the UW System campuses are located, and would require at least one regent to represent each region. Chen said she feels this bill will allow for all UW System students to be represented on the board, not just those who attend UW-Madison or UW-Milwaukee. “Since the Board of Regents makes extremely important deci-

sions and sets the budget and tuition increases and other things that affect students within the entire UW system, we think that it would be best for students from each area to have representation on this really powerful administrative body,” she said. According to David Giroux, UW System spokesperson, the system remains neutral on the issue. He said he personally has not seen a problem with the misrepresentation of some areas of the state, and said regents from all areas do their best to address the system as a whole. “Regents from over the state have done a very good job of embracing that statewide mission and seeing the big picture very clearly,” Giroux said. Michael Moscicke, government relations director for the United Council of UW System, said the bill was proposed to ensure the board does not miss out on firsthand knowledge from underrepresented areas. “Just having one person can make all the difference,” he said.

H1N1 cases on campus stay constant University Health Services released statistics Tuesday revealing cases of flu-like symptoms have remained constant from last week. According to a UHS release, over the week of Oct. 25-31, UHS evaluated 72 UW-Madison students with flu-like symptoms, which comprised 5.2 percent of all visits to the primary care clinic at UHS. The release said these numbers remain fairly consistent compared to the previous week, when UHS

alrc from page 1 should not be allowed to speak on our behalf,” she said. “I know you’re asking me to compromise, but I can’t understand what that compromise is other than you changing the culture and control of the ALRC,” she added. Ald. Thuy Pham-Remmele, District 20, said she was concerned about students making decisions that will affect the city for years to come when many are residents for only a short time. Still, others felt altering the composition of the committee would be beneficial. “Expanding involvement by two members will strengthen the composition of the committee,” Council President Tim Bruer said. “And I hope that at the end of the day we end up with two additional members and spend less time about who and what they’re representing.” Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, who represents a large population of students, said she felt this was a good committee for students to get involved in. “I think it’s great for the city to realize the student involvement,” Ald. Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, District 5 said. “I think this has

saw 74 cases of flu-like symptoms comprising 6.5 percent of the primary care patients. UW-Madison students are no longer eligible to receive the H1N1 vaccine because of a statewide shortage. The vaccine is now only available to a limited number of priority group citizens, including those with medical conditions and those who are pregnant. UW-Madison students, however, can still receive the seasonal flu vaccine. been a great conversation … it’s brought to the surface a lot of things we haven’t talked about.”

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

news

Peaceful protest

Isabel Álvarez/the daily cardinal

Members of Operation Welcome Home, an advocacy group for homeless people in Madison, protested the redevelopment of Peace Park Tuesday by rallying and marching toward the City County Building for the Common Council meeting. Many homeless people spoke out against the redevelopment, saying it would only displace them and force them to move elsewhere.

lgbt from page 1 bringing national attention to LGBT issues, it also exposed a growing schism within the movement. The 150,000-person march was organized independent of and even against the LGBT political mainstream. The LGBT political mainstream, often dubbed “Gay Inc.” by dissatisfied dissenters, has derided the National Equality March as impulsive and counterproductive to the movement’s ultimate goals. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., a long-time supporter of LGBT issues and openly gay himself, was one of those who spoke out against the National Equality March. “The only thing it is going to be putting pressure on is the grass,” Frank said, in an interview with the Associated Press prior to the march. Over time, the LGBT political mainstream has focus on legislation, lobbying and patience rather than activism. The Human Rights Campaign, an organization most often associated with the LGBT political mainstream, has built an extensive fundraising network to support its lobbying efforts in Congress.

The pace is slow and incremental, but HRC President Joe Solmonese remains confident in his organization’s approach. Solmonese said in the future he will be able to look back on the many victories Obama accomplished. including enhancing LGBT equality. The HRC has been lobbying for years to include sexual orientation, gender and disabilities as protected categories in U.S. hate crime law. Last week, The HRC scored a victory when Obama signed The Matthew Shephard and James Byrd Junior Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law. The bill—named for two victims of infamous hate crimes—represents a significant building block for future LGBT legislation. However, many LGBT activists are fed up with waiting. Sherry Wolf, activist and board member for the National Equality March, expressed her frustration to a group of UW-Madison students and community members during an event held on campus last month. “With an executive order, President Obama could repeal ‘Don’t

Ask, Don’t Tell’ tomorrow. He could add LGBT to the civil rights act. He has the power,” she said. Many have suggested that much of the tension between incremental LGBT right supporters and more radical LGBT activists displayed during the National Equality March is the result of a generational divide. “We are seeing a huge general difference between older people and the newest generations,” UW-Madison political science professor Charles Franklin said. “It does reflect a very different distribution of attitudes among the young rather than the middle-aged.” Wolf said the National Equality March marked the genesis of a movement driven by young people to reclaim the national debate about the direction of gay rights from the more restrained LGBT political mainstream. “We are tired of the bankrupted HRC strategy of incrementalism,” she said, calling upon the UW-Madison LGBT student community to continue pushing at both a local and national level for LGBT equality. “The time to act is now.”

opinion 4

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Wednesday, November 4, 2009

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

students must maintain pressure on city issues

tudents on this campus have a lot to be proud of in the action taken at Tuesday’s Common Council meeting. More students showed up and voiced their concerns on the issue of a student voting member on the Alcohol License Review Committee than on any city issue in recent memory. An overwhelming majority of the city alders approved a plan to increase the size of the influential ALRC, with one new seat for an alder and a new citizen seat. Mayor Dave Cieslewicz has stated that he intends to appoint a student to the new citizen seat for a three-year term. What is even more impressive was how close students came to having a permanent voting seat on the ALRC. With 10 alders supporting it and nine opposing, the measure fell just one vote short of passing. This is a closer outcome than many were expecting, and we believe the number of students at the meeting had a major impact on the final vote. The level of student engagement on this issue has shown to city officials that students can advocate for themselves and are mature enough to handle the complex issues that need solving in the city. We applaud Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, for forcing the permanent student voting seat proposal to a vote and making other alders go on record about the issue

of student representation. Students make up a signiﬁcant portion of the city’s population and a majority of downtown residents, and we feel they do deserve a permanent role in city affairs. However, we do feel there was a victory for students in the ﬁnal outcome. Although we will continue to urge the mayor and alders to work toward a permanent student seat, students will still have a voting seat in the near future, a reality not considered feasible even last spring.

The level of student engagement on this issue has shown to city ofﬁcials that students can advocate for themselves.

We do take issue with the idea presented by some at the Common Council meeting that students are just another interest group in the city. Students, unlike the university administration or the MadisonDane County Tavern League, are not businesses in a speciﬁc industry or an educational institution. Students are a dynamic and thriving community of 40,000-plus people who are impacted every day by policies set by the ALRC and other city committees.

The Tavern League and other interest groups are advocating for their own economic well-being, but students are a diverse group of individuals who are residents and have not been represented proportionally to the effect they have on city life. As noted by some supporters of the permanent student seat, no two students are the same. We believe that a student voting member on the ALRC would not vote in a knee-jerk manner or approve every new bar, but deal with issues in a responsible, rational manner that listens to the full range of student viewpoints. One ﬁnal message that must be taken from Tuesday’s meeting is that students cannot disengage from city affairs. The only reason a student voting seat is now a reality is because students, from a broad set of campus groups, worked to show how seriously they take city policies. When we allow alders or businesses to think students are not paying attention, policies with little regard for our viewpoints are allowed to continue. With the coming debate on the renewal of the city’s Alcohol License Density Plan, an issue that again impacts how students live, students must not settle for lip-service acknowledgements or dismissals. Recent events have shown students still wield inﬂuence in the city; we must not allow the mayor or alders to forget it.

time for president to put focus on education

hen the White House announced President Barack Obama would be visiting Madison, the public’s eyes immediately turned to the Kohl Center and Monona Terrace. Both are standard venues for big occasions, and both played host to Obama during his campaign. To everyone’s surprise, the president chose Wright Middle School for this visit to talk about our primary education system. Sitting in southern Madison, the charter school could be the most illustrative example of Obama’s ideals of education reform. 87% of Wright students are minorities, and 85% of all those enrolled come from lowincome families. Education is incredibly important when dealing with situations like this. A good school will make all the difference to the growth and development to its students. Since the presidential election, Obama has been a strong advocate for affordable, quality education that is available to all. Among all the segments of his education initiatives, K-12 is receiving the most attention, mostly because of its size. The Race to the Top fund alone would provide $4.5

billion in rewards to boost school performances. The Teacher Incentive Fund would ease the problem of teacher retention, especially at high need schools. Once fully in place, both programs could beneﬁt thousands of schools like Wright.

A good school will make all the difference to the growth and development of its students.

While the plan to visit Wright Middle School electrified the local community, Obama seems to have forgotten to address another crucial area of his reform—higher education. One year ago, a historic youth voter turnout helped Obama become the first black president in American history. Many young people were impassioned by his call for community services and the promise of more financial support. Though we have seen progresses like increases in the Pell Grant, the higher education part of Obama’s reforms

remain largely elusive to college students. We are aware of the ability to do community service hours in exchange for financial aid, for example. But very few of us know how to go through the entire procedure and benefit from the initiative. During his campaign, Obama was incredibly communicative. He boasted a certain transparency that we as voters weren’t used to. He constantly reached out to us, but this stopped rather abruptly after his election in November. We haven’t seen any major push for education-oriented legislation from the president yet, which makes his Madison visit pertinent. If you are eager for answers to your educational inquiries, today may not be the best time. Only about 300 people have been invited to the event, with most invites going to middle school students and educators. Last year, when Obama campaigned for change at the Kohl Center, 20,000 people joined the discussion. Obama is the first sitting president to visit Madison since 1950. But if he can’t be more accessible to the local community, the one-day stop could only be a short-lived sensation.

Forging relationships with uncertain futures By Gregory Reeb THE DAILY CARDINAL

As young Americans, we receive the notion that it is unacceptable to pursue a truly committed relationship until we reach the age of about 25. The reason for this cultural bias is clear: We live such transitory lives up through our younger years that it is, so to speak, imprudent to ﬁnd the one with whom you will spend your life until you enter graduate school or the workforce beyond. If I fall in love with someone as a 20 year-old undergraduate, I face numerous problems in the coming years dealing with mostly necessary location changes in my life as a result of pursuing an advanced degree or a job; my course of study dictates a lot about where I need to be, both for schooling and for my career. So this is, I believe, our intellectual and logistical situation. But our emotions tell a different story. If you are really in love with someone, what does that mean for your future life? That is, if you really feel strongly about a companion, no matter what age you occupy—no matter where you find yourself on this career, and life path—do you not envision a life spent with that other person? As it happened to me, what is your answer when your grandmother asks you, “So you really like her, huh? Could you see possibly marrying her some day?” Now, given my age, I am not socially allowed to say “yes,” because of course there is so much about the future that is wholly uncertain and so much that will change because of our transient culture. But of course the answer is “yes” when I really think unabashedly about how I feel. If you are truly in love with someone, is it not a necessary corollary that you find very pleasant the idea of spending your future with that special someone? The alternative is to decide to “love” someone for a relatively stable part of our lives (like college) but know that we won’t ‘love’ them later—quite a shaky foundation for any type of relationship. So given this, how does one

reconcile an ego-destroying love, on the one hand, with their circumstance as a young individual in a quickly changing world where any constancy in relationships is hard to come by? I don’t know. But I think it is illuminating to see what I believe to be the effects of this chasm in our realities. I think what comes out of this great divide between what we feel and how we are allowed to act is great suffering in our relationships. We find it imprudent to fully open ourselves up to those we love because it is not “ok” for us to feel that way, so we refrain. We guard ourselves even in the most selfhumbling of relationships. We pursue noncommitted relationships and divide our lives up into friends, family, and those with whom we pursue sexual relations. We have needs in all of these places, and as a void opens up because an individual who is filling one of these needs drops out of our lives, we simply fill that space with another person. We objectify the people we apparently love. It is this type of behavior that causes us to only want to see the good parts of people and to deny the bad. We don’t want the struggle and work of a real relationship in which both the good and the bad are exposed and accepted. Why would we do this? We are just filling roles—filling our needs—with people. More important than anything else, the problem of love herein presented illustrates a pattern of cutting-off. We are not accepting and coming to terms with all that is going on. There is no love in denying one’s feelings for another. By no means am I suggesting a solution to this problem or suggesting that we should just settle down when we meet someone we love. I am suggesting, though, that we take the time to let all that is come out, and be open about it. What else are we trying to do here on this earth? I have faith that the solution will present itself; we only have to give it a chance. Gregory Reeb is a senior majoring in philosophy and analysis of complex systems. We welcome all feedback. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

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Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Moping because midterms made me miss ‘Mad Men’ MARK RIECHERS jumping the mark

PHOTO COURTESY RCA

One-time garage rock icon Julian Casablancas had to scramble for success after diminished returns sent his original band, the Strokes, on hiatus. His solo debut mixes many styles in a hodgepodge not unlike dog food.

Style lacking substance

Phrazes could be a catalyst to a paradigmatic shift, but even if so, it’s nothing beyond a stepping stone.

First off, I have plenty of time to have a life on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays— nothing is on anyway. Second, I’d venture to bet nearly everyone reading this is familiar with the concept of time-shifting— the whole idea is that you watch TV on your own schedule, allowing ample time for mating pursuits at the Drinkatorium or wherever you kids are going these days. The obvious example is TiVo, but I’m going to assume you don’t have the cash for that, since you probably use it to buy stupid things like a college education or Doritos. I’ll also assume that, like me, you’re too good for streaming video—if you want to sit in front of a computer and watch quality television at low resolutions, enjoy your buffering hell. Admittedly, Hulu and Adultswim.com put the flawed technology to excellent use—if you just want to watch a bit of something you missed on Conan or three hours of continuous “Robot Chicken,” you’re good to go. But many shows must be viewed on a TV, not at a desk. If you have cable, pay the extra $15 per month to get a digital cable box. Charter gives you OnDemand editions of most of the best primetime shows around—“Mad Men,”

Despite Phrazes’ inconsistencies, “11th Dimension” is the beacon of what a post-electronica Casablancas can become and an incredibly fulﬁlling glimmer of hope toward what a reunited Strokes could accomplish. It marks the only time he commits to one groove and delegates the rest to back-up duty, beneﬁting the whole like classic Strokes songs used to. The chords swell around each other without bumping elbows, creating a cohesive statement throughout the entire song. Phrazes could be a catalyst to a paradigmatic shift, but even if so, it’s nothing beyond a stepping stone. It’s entirely reasonable to accept an alteration in style, and even a postmodern James Dean can adapt, but the frenzy of chords and tumultuously disjointed thematic content need to be honed down before any type of image can come into focus.

Eliza Dushku, star of ‘Dollhouse,’ is visibly concerned that her good looks can’t save her lackluster TV program from getting cancelled.

Former Strokes frontman bites off more than he can chew By Kyle Sparks THE DAILY CARDINAL

In an interview with Spin magazine after the Strokes were named band of the year on pure residual fame off their debut the previous year, lead singer and principal songwriter Julian Casablancas admitted he wrote his best songs while drunk. In retrospect, it was probably more complicated than that. Two albums and seven years later, Casablancas is in a precarious position, forced to battle for legitimacy on his long-anticipated solo debut, Phrazes for the Young. Whether or not it was ever intentional, the Strokes were especially relevant for their aesthetic appeal. Their oily hair and ratty clothing were directly symptomatic of their most alluring trait: The Strokes had incredible swagger.

A paltry eight songs long, Phrazes is an especially disjointed record.

By the time Is This It? climbed its way atop college radio stations, they existed above the plane of society, and you’d better believe they knew it. Despite wholehearted efforts by the Killers and Kings of Leon, nobody has synthesized their own prominence like the Strokes, primarily because they didn’t care to. Fame or no fame, they knew they were better than the rest of us. Their indifference liberated them from expectations, ultimately creating the selfless combination that allowed each of them to flourish in the shadows. But then something happened. The Strokes were ﬁnally putting forth the effort, experimenting with electronic sounds and more classical productions, but after a lukewarm reception to their follow-up record and an indifferent response to a lackluster third effort, the world stopped listening. Casablancas isn’t the only Strokes member to embark on

a side project since they bottomed out, but as principle songwriter he was the best hope for another truly landmark album. Unfortunately, he’s going to have to try again.

CD REVIEW

Phrazes for the Young Julian Casablancas A paltry eight songs long, Phrazes is an especially disjointed record. Its influences encompass jazz, classical and post-punk, but it fails to fuse any of them together in a progressive way. Where they do coexist they usually butt heads, each vying for the lead hook. Casablancas’ looser, unhinged compositions are more explosive musically, but also more combustible, and they create a disconnect between sonic and aesthetic value. However, it’s possible that by valuing his earlier accomplishments we’re doing him a disservice. We get the clearest idea of Casablancas’ current self-perception on “Out of the Blue” when he sings, “I know I’m going to hell in a leather jacket / But at least I’ll be in another world when you’re pissing on my casket.” He’s trying to become the new Elvis, the post-modern James Dean.

He scatters melodies gratuitously like he’s working in a soup kitchen, lacking the heart to exclude anyone for the sake of a coherent song.

However, the same song’s introduction details his path from hopefulness to anger, and it’s this kind of apologetic remorse that

fan writes: Mark, You seem to watch a lot of television. I too would like to enjoy all that primetime and premium television, but my busy schedule of homework, partying and getting laid prevents me from the clear time commitment you’ve made to quality TV. How can I be more like you but still enjoy the thrill of human contact? Sincerely, A Cool Person With Friends

“Breaking Bad” and the NBC Thursday night lineup for basic subscribers and all Showtime and HBO shows if you pony up the cash for premium channels. Otherwise, you could invest in a Netflix account. Ten dollars per month nets you a single disc at a time and unlimited streaming, both from their website and from set-top devices including the Xbox 360 and (soon, anyway) the PS3. While this isn’t the fastest way to get brand-new shows, it is a good way to get quick access to old ones—complete series runs of “Dead Like Me,” “Lost” and even a few seasons of the original “Star Trek” are available for viewing on Instant, and everything else is available on DVD. I’ve heard a rumor that there’s a technology known as Bitsomething that some Internet rapscallions use to distribute recordings of TV shows over a series of tubes for download to anyone with an Internet connection. I even hear you can watch these files on your TV through an Xbox 360 or PS3 if you put them on a portable hard drive. However, watching TV in glorious HD on your comfy couch without annoying ads or buffering means you are not paying the companies that own the copyrights to these shows. More importantly, networks have no way of measuring fans who watch their shows on illegally downloaded recordings—you can’t complain when “Dollhouse” finally gets cancelled if you never even watched a streaming version. If you are too cheap or wussy to exercise any of these options, you could always watch some of these shows with your friends. It’s kind of like being at a bar, except the drinks are free and there’s usually a laugh track. Mark doesn’t have any idea what an MPEG-4 container is, but his current running theory is that it’s used to keep ice cream cold in extreme temperatures. Send your possible explanations to mriechers@wisc.edu.

dooms Phrazes from the start. He scatters melodies gratuitously like he’s working in a soup kitchen, lacking the heart to exclude anyone for the sake of a coherent song. He’s trying really hard but afraid to show it and jeopardize his façade of disinterest. On “Ludlow Street,” Casablancas outlines his love/hate relationship with drinking, condemning it for his faults while simultaneously heralding it as his only reprieve. It’s a catch-22 that he’s apparently lost in. The narrative weaves a cornucopia of nationalities and non sequiturs with about as much coherence as a man toppling from a barstool. What I’m suggesting is that Casablancas’ successful songwriting had nothing to do with being drunk; rather, he wrote good songs when he didn’t care enough not to drink.

PHOTO COURTESY FOX

comics 6

It’s like being constantly drunk. Starfish don’t have brains but can still move! dailycardinal.com/comics

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Tolerable

Today’s Sudoku

Evil Bird

By Caitlin Kirihara kirihara@wisc.edu

Angel Hair Pasta

By Todd Stevens ststevens@wisc.edu

Sid and Phil

By Alex Lewein alex@sidandphil.com

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 Dot

Connect the dots!

Today’s Crossword Puzzle

The Graph Giraffe

By Yosef Lerner ilerner@wisc.edu

Charlie and Boomer

By Natasha Soglin soglin@wisc.edu

Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com vacation time ACROSS

1 Angels’ desires

5 Baby bird call 0 College football team’s 1 desire 14 160 square rods 15 Indy 500 competitor 16 Huron neighbor 17 Animal hide 18 Castle of the turkey trot 19 Reach the ground, as an airplane 20 Eastern California wonder 23 Cotton gin inventor Whitney 24 Amazonian shocker 25 Cultural hang-ups? 28 Nautical mile per hour 31 Uses a scale from one to 10 35 Sheep sounds 37 A pitch off the plate 39 Lazy baker’s aids 41 D.C. tribute to a fallen hero 44 Annual literary mystery prize 45 Words with “good example” 46 Fuzzy red Muppet 47 Cabaret material 49 Soil 51 Telepathy, briefly

52 Word with “first” or “financial” 54 Bull’s beloved 56 Monument with a powerful foursome 63 Half a quart 64 Piquancy 65 Some do it upon retiring 67 District or section 68 Islamic prince (Var.) 69 Word said before looking up 70 Laundry cycle 71 Farrier’s tools 72 Bully’s prey, traditionally 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 11 12 3 1 21 22

DOWN Is ill with Disgusting, in kid-speak Threesome Austen title starter Lawbreaker Mata ___ (spy) “Law & Order: SVU” co-star Zellweger of “Miss Potter” Have a bias toward Statistical-curve shape Kind of hygiene First number in season records Conducted an orchestra Animal that bugles Thirteen-day siege site

25 Ready and willing partner 26 Daring operations 27 Ballroom dance 29 Exerts dominance over, in slang 30 Domesticated 32 One for the road? 33 Banishment 34 Coal layers 36 Read data optically 38 Abominable Snowman 40 Pig food 42 Mass instrument, often 43 Some parade participants 48 Baby minder 50 “Ziggy” cartoonist Wilson 53 An hour of prime-time TV, often 55 John’s ode to Yoko 56 Actress Sorvino 57 Dollar bills 58 Zion National Park home 59 Aspirin has several 60 Aerobics class aid 61 ___ Beauty (apple type) 62 Fairy tale’s penultimate word 63 Terrier’s tootsie 66 Kind of table

Washington and the Bear

By Derek Sandberg kalarooka@gmail.com

sports

dailycardinal.com/sports

Despite controversy, Ovechkin exactly what NHL needs now NICO SAVIDGE savidge nation

hat makes a superstar? Clearly, fantastic talent and a miles-long highlight reel can elevate a player from good to great, as can a loyal following of fans. But to be a true superstar, a player must embody their sport’s values and transcend the world of sports. People will remember players like Michael Jordan, David Beckham and Tiger Woods because they are well known outside of sports. Their life stories are not just told on the sports page, they make it into tabloids and news sections as well; love them or hate them, there’s no denying their popularity and the fame they brought to their sport. And superstars like Jordan, Beckham and Woods are exactly what the NHL needs in the postlockout age. Wayne Gretzky was the last true hockey superstar, but now the sport may have found his heir in the Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not saying Ovechkin is as good as The Great One, but he has the ability to match Gretzky’s popularity and bring hockey back into the American sports spotlight. His methods might be controversial, but Ovi is the solution to professional hockey’s issue of finding popularity. No one can argue that Ovechkin isn’t a fantastic hockey player— type his name into YouTube and you will find a treasure trove of unbelievable goals and ridiculous plays. Instead, the real argument is about whether Ovechkin is good for hockey. Hockey analysts and players have often decried his over-thetop celebrations or grumbled at the fame he receives for making a few nice trick shots. Famous analyst Don Cherry said he tells players specifically not to act as excited as Ovechkin when they score a goal. “You don’t act like this goof— this is goofy stuff,” Cherry said.

“And don’t you Canadian kids act like it.” “Have a little class and do it right,” Cherry later said after Ovechkin’s controversial “hot stick” celebration after his 50th goal of the 2008-’09 season in March. First of all, I have no problem with hockey players celebrating however they want (hockey is a self-policing game: If you go too far, you’ll be hearing from a defenseman soon). But what Cherry and others like him fail to see is that hockey needs players like Ovechkin to make the sport popular again. Think about the number of Ovechkin Capitals jerseys and T-shirts ﬂying off of shelves in Washington, D.C., in the past couple of months. Or the number of fans covered in Ovechkin gear who pack the Verizon Center for every home game.

Wayne Gretzky was the last true hockey superstar, and now the sport may have found his heir.

He divides opinion like few others in hockey, but one thing is for sure: When he is on the ice, opposing defenses aren’t the only ones watching his every move. Fans keep track of Ovechkin, waiting and expecting something amazing to happen: Whether they worship him or cannot stand his antics, they tune in and pay attention to hockey because of #8. His off-the-ice notoriety only adds to the legend created by his YouTube stardom. When Rachel Nichols proﬁled him for ESPN’s E:60 documentary series, she told stories of his nightlife. “Clubs, girls, cars,” she said. “Ovechkin has an appetite for just about everything, and he wants as much of it as fast as possible.” Next, Ovechkin told Nichols how he drives 160 mph on highways near D.C. and over 200 at home in Russia. Stories like this become part of the Ovechkin mystique: He is hockey’s new-

basketball from page 7

appleton from page 7

game with 1.7. His 13.9 points per game were good for 12th best in the Northern Sun. One would believe an exhibition contest against Bemidji State would not get the Badgers particularly excited, but Moore does not think so. “If that’s the case, they shouldn’t be a Division I player,” Moore said. “Any time you get a chance to lace ’em up on the court and play in front of a crowd and have a chance to compete, then you should always be pumped up.” The players should also be keyed up to finally face some unfamiliar competition. “I think a lot of them will be excited to play in front of a crowd and play someone other than themselves,” Close said. The game tips off at 7 p.m. at the Kohl Center and will be webcasted on BigTenNetwork.com.

the school’s honor roll. Appleton credits the concern and dedication of the coaches as a key reason for choosing Wisconsin, along with the team’s familial atmosphere that offered a positive change of scenery from the often unpleasant confines of East St. Louis. “When you’re living in the environment that I come from, you have to have a strong mind about everything,” Appleton said. “Then once you get into another environment that’s a little bit better or a little bit more successful, then you can make the best of it.” While two catches for 15 yards is far from earth-shattering, Appleton ﬂashed impressive speed and agility Saturday, and at 6'3", 202 pounds, he offers the smallish Wisconsin wide receiving corps an increase in size and strength. Regardless, getting on the stat sheet alone is a nice accomplish-

est “bad boy” superstar off the ice, and his legend only grows because of it. Hockey’s last golden boy, Sidney Crosby, is a very good player who has achieved more than Ovechkin by winning a Stanley Cup. But I don’t see him becoming more popular, because he is seen as straitlaced and doesn’t embody the “tough guy” image hockey fans love. One of my favorite photos from this year’s playoffs was of a couple and their infant child, holding a sign above the baby that read, “I whine less than Crosby.” Never mind that they were Capitals fans, nobody could say the same thing about Ovechkin. Even though it turned out not to be true, when the rumors came out about Ovechkin spending over $1,000 at a strip club, most people thought, “Yeah, that sounds about right.” If it turned out that Crosby had been making it rain on strippers, it would be a shock given his public image. That “bay boy” image Ovechkin has cultivated only makes him more popular, not necessarily with true hockey fans, but with the kinds of people who might not have paid attention to the sport otherwise. While some old-school hockey curmudgeons might say Ovechkin’s over-the-top celebrations and antics go too far, the NHL needs someone who can go beyond the sport to bring in fans. Players like Peyton Manning and Derek Jeter are good for their sports because they become bigger than the game itself. Even ones who cause off-the-ﬁeld distractions like Chad Ochocinco cause people to watch their games. Hockey has been looking for that superstar player who could elevate it into the top of the American sports hierarchy since Gretzky left the game. And while he may make Don Cherry tremble with rage in those ridiculous suits, Ovechkin can transcend the sports world like others before him and bring the game back to its rightful place. What do you think of Alex Ovechkin? E-mail Nico at savidge wilki@dailycardinal.com. ment for the young wide receiver who coaches and players alike see as a big part of a bright future for the Wisconsin offense. “Anytime a true freshman can come in and play right away, whether it’s at a starting role or a backup, you’ve got to have a lot of talent to be able to do that,” sophomore wide receiver Nick Toon said. “[Appleton’s] a natural receiver, he’s got a lot of great tools and I think he’s going to develop into a pretty good player.” Wide receivers coach DelVaughn Alexander agreed with Toon, saying Appleton can help the team now and in the future. “He’s a competitor, that’s for sure. I think when you see one of his two catches [Saturday], the guy was all over him, and he just did a better job of competing to get the ball,” Alexander said. Head coach Bret Bielema compared Appleton’s development to that of star running back John Clay, saying that the team goes

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

bcs from page 8 But when the source of income is unhappy, that’s when things start to change. Imagine the possibility of an Iowa-TCU matchup for the BCS national title. Even Fox couldn’t hype that one up. “Ricky Stanzi, Andy Dalton, it’s the BCS national championship game!” The ratings would obviously take a nosedive. What company’s going to want to spend the big cash on an ad during a game only people from Iowa and Fort Worth are watching? For the dollars these networks and corporations sink into this game, there’s no way they would accept a paltry matchup like this one. These are the people in power; these are the ones who can squash the terrible bowl system and institute that much-needed playoff.

Imagine the possibility of an Iowa-TCU matchup for the BCS national title. Even Fox couldn’t hype that one up.

This Iowa-TCU clash may not be the most likely, but it’s more probable than you think. What needs to happen for this dream game to materialize? Obviously the first step for both these teams is running the table. For TCU it should not be a problem. The Horned Frogs’ only challenge is a home game against Utah, but it’s still a contest TCU will enter as doubledigit favorites. TCU’s remaining three opponents, San Diego State, Wyoming and New Mexico, boast a combined 8-16 record. Iowa’s task will be tougher. The Hawkeyes won’t have a problem with Minnesota or Northwestern, but they do have to go to Columbus, Ohio, to face the No. 16 Buckeyes. Not easy, but doable. When you’re dealing with the BCS, only half of the battle is what you can do. The other half is what teams around you do. Both these teams are undefeated, with Iowa sitting at No. 4 in the BCS standings, while TCU is No. 6. The rest of the top six are No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Alabama and No. 5 Cincinnati. All these teams need a hiccup or two for the Hawkeyes and the

Horned Frogs to vault to the toptwo in the standings. No one believes in the Bearcats, and neither do I. They’ll either lose in two weeks to West Virginia or when they close out their season at Pittsburgh. The next three are tricky, because their powerhouse reputations mean keeping them out of the BCS will be especially tough.

Money talks, and college football listens. When the money doesn’t like the way things are, those things will change.

This is particularly true for Alabama and Florida, as we know how much the media loves the SEC. It’ll take a lot by both these squads to keep a southern team out of the title game, but it can happen. These two teams are lined up to play each other in the SEC championship, guaranteeing at least one loss for either the Gators or the Crimson Tide. Alabama hasn’t impressed me much; let’s have them lose to LSU, or maybe Auburn upsets them. Then the Tide defeat the Gators, and both those teams are no longer undefeated. After that, it’s up to the pollsters to penalize them for losing and reward Iowa and TCU for not faltering. That leaves Texas, perhaps the greatest roadblock to the IowaTCU showdown. The Longhorns do not face one ranked squad the rest of the way. Sadly, the greatest regular season tasks for Texas will be against Kansas and at Texas A&M, two teams with meager 5-3 records this season. That leaves the Big 12 championship game. Can Kansas State continue its surprising campaign by knocking off Texas? Maybe Nebraska can close the regular season on a high note, qualify for the game and down Texas. Call it a long shot, but it’s all we have left now. The best thing that can happen to doom a bowl system is mayhem, and that’s what we’d get with an Iowa and TCU title game. Money talks, and college football listens. When the money doesn’t like the way things are, those things will change. What’s your solution to the BCS? E-mail Scott at kellogg2@wisc.edu.

DANNY MARCHEWKA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Kraig Appleton had two catches for 15 yards against Purdue, his ﬁrst game after injuries kept him out of the lineup for weeks. through periods in developmental scrimmages in which they constantly throw the ball at him to see how he handles it. So

far, Appleton has responded, and Bielema likes what he sees. “I think he’s going to be very special,” Bielema said.

sports 8

dailycardinal.com/sports

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Men’s Basketball

Badgers ready for preseason contest against Bemidji State By Scott Kellogg THE DAILY CARDINAL

KYLE BURSAW/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO

Senior guard Trevon Hughes and the Badgers will take on Division II opponent Bemidji State in Wisconsin’s ﬁrst preseason game tonight.

The Badgers begin their twogame preseason schedule tonight at home against Bemidji State. After working out all offseason, running up and down Bascom Hill and practicing this fall, Wisconsin should be excited to finally hit the court against another team. An exhibition contest against a Division II opponent may not sound appealing to many fans, but the game presents new and different opportunities for the players and a chance for the coaches to better assess their players, especially the inexperienced ones. “[I want to] see how some younger guys react in a gametype atmosphere,” assistant coach Gary Close said. “It’s a dress rehearsal, but it’s always good to see how people react to it.” Fellow assistant coach Howard Moore agreed the coaching staff will pay special attention to seeing how their newer players perform. “That’s always a big thing for coach Ryan: Are you a good listener and a quick learner,” Moore said. “We’ll see who’s in that category with the young guys.” The young players include freshman guard/forward Ryan Evans and freshman forward/ center Jared Berggren, two players who redshirted last season

and are likely to see their first live action Wednesday. It will also be the ﬁrst opportunity for the Badgers’ only scholarship member of this year’s true freshman class, forward Mike Bruesewitz. Bruesewitz was named the Minnesota AP Player of the Year last season as a senior for Henry Sibley High School. One twist of playing a squad such as Bemidji State is how to prepare. In a day and age when advance scouting and ﬁlm is so extensive in sports, the Wisconsin coaches admit they do not know much about the Beavers. “We don’t have a lot of material on these teams,” Moore said. “So it’s a matter of going out there and reacting and playing within our principles and seeing how they react to us.” Last season, Bemidji State finished 8-19 and 6-14 in the Northern Sun Conference, good for 11th place. This season, the 2009-’10 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Men’s Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll picked the Beavers to finish ninth. The NSIC preseason press release included senior guard Seth Haake as one of its 14 players to watch. Haake led the 2008-’09 Beavers in points per game with 13.9, rebounds per game with 4.7 and steals per basketball page 7

Terrible national championship the key to ending BCS SCOTT KELLOGG the cereal box

t has become a total cliché this time of the college football season to begin to clamor for a playoff system. So I’m not going to waste anyone’s time discussing the down sides of the bowl system and the beneﬁts of a playoff. Instead, I’m here to finally offer college football fans a solution to eliminate the bowl structure and finally get a playoff system in there: an Iowa-TCU national championship matchup.

I’m here to ﬁnally offer college football fans a solution to eliminate the bowl structure and ﬁnally get a playoff system.

This would at last be the end of the college bowls. No more controversy, no more pointless bowl games for No. 3 teams; the system would ﬁnally change. Why is that? Because if Iowa and TCU matched up, the outcry from sponsors, advertisers and television networks would finally be enough to overturn the system. We all know hollering from coaches, players, sportswriters and fans doesn’t do anything. bcs page 7

Football

Appleton’s playing time comes after adversity Injuries, academic issues kept receiver out until recently By Justin Dean THE DAILY CARDINAL

Wisconsin wide receiver Kraig Appleton believes in the power of positive thinking. The true freshman from East St. Louis, Ill., came to Wisconsin ranked by Scout.com as the 19th best receiver in the nation, but pulled both hamstrings in fall camp and found himself on the sidelines for much of the first half of the season as he struggled to learn the playbook. Frustrated, Appleton began to question whether redshirting might have been a wiser decision than trying to find playing time among an already deep wide receiver corps. “It was that thought in the back of my mind making me feel that I wasted a year because the season was coming to the end,” Appleton said. “But I stuck with it and starting thinking positive about things, and then my time came and I was there to make the most of my opportunity.” Appleton finally got his opportunity Saturday in Wisconsin’s 37-0

blowout over Purdue, in which he pulled in the ﬁrst two catches of his career for a total of 15 yards. Appleton also made what would have been an acrobatic catch down the sidelines, but it was negated because his foot came down on the line. Oozing with potential, Appleton almost didn’t have the opportunity to show his skills at all on the college level. Originally, his senior year curriculum at East St. Louis High School allowed him to graduate but was not sufficient for him to get into college because the school didn’t require the necessary classes. “Anytime a true freshman can come in and play right away ... you’ve got to have a lot of talent to be able to do that.” Nick Toon wide receiver UW Football

But with the help of the Wisconsin coaching staff, he restructured his schedule to meet admission requirements and eventually graduated high school on appleton page 7