130th Anniversary - Friday, April 1, 2022 - The Daily Cardinal by The Daily Cardinal

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Since 1892 dailycardinal.com l

130th Anniversary Issue

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

130 2

Daily Cardinal 130th Anniversary Issue

dailycardinal.com

Letter from the editor: To the next 130 years

An independent student newspaper, serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison community since 1892 Volume 131, Issue 23

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

News and Editorial editor@dailycardinal.com Editor-in-Chief Addison Lathers

Managing Editor Grace Hodgman

News Team Campus Editor Ali Stecker College Editor Sophia Vento City Editor Charlie Hildebrand State Editor Annabella Rosciglione Associate News Editor Jackson Mozena Features Editor Gina Musso

Opinion Editors Em-J Krigsman • Ethan Wollins Arts Editors Rebecca Perla • Seamus Rohrer Sports Editors Christian Voskuil • Justin Alpert Almanac Editor Mackenzie Moore Photo Editor Drake White-Bergey Graphics Editors Jennifer Schaler • Madi Sherman Science Editors Joyce Riphagen • Emily Rohloff Life & Style Editor Samantha Benish Copy Chief Olivia Everett Copy Editors Ella Gorodetzky • Kodie Engst Social Media Manager Clare McManamon Podcast Director Hope Karnopp

Business and Advertising business@dailycardinal.com Business Manager Brandon Sanger Advertising Managers Noal Basil • Sydney Hawk Marketing Manager Muriel Goldfarb

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. The Daily Cardinal is published weekdays and distributed at the University of WisconsinMadison and its surrounding community with a circulation of 10,000. 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 word processed and must include contact information. No anonymous letters will be printed. All letters to the editor will be printed at the discretion of The Daily Cardinal. Letters may be sent to opinion@ dailycardinal.com.

By Addison Lathers EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

As a student representative of the Journalism School, I often find myself tasked with telling wide-eyed prospective students how to get admitted to the school. “Have a clean resume” and “maintain your grades” are the usual recommendations, with my ultimate piece of advice being fairly straightforward: For the love of em-dashes and all that is holy, join a student publication. The list of such publications goes on and on these days — we’re far from the only

Grace Hodgman • Em-J Krigsman • Addison Lathers • Anupras Mohapatra • Riley Sumner • Ethan Wollins

Board of Directors Scott Girard, President Herman Baumann • Ishita Chakraborty • Don Miner • Nancy Sandy • Phil Hands • Josh Klemons • Barbara Arnold • Jennifer Sereno

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

growth. Our readers are consistent; our work is award winning. We’ve outlasted Paper B’s in the past, and we continue to keep pace. So what makes the Cardinal so special? Why do students devote themselves to this job even in the face of dozens of other publications? I have no doubt that for some, an annual softball game and the occasional printed byline is more than enough. For the rest of us, I’d like to think we fell in love. We became enamored with the weight of responsibility, the thrill of a scoop and the rush of

a deadline. We developed thinlyveiled obsessions with talented fellow staffers and their work. The community of the office on a Wednesday night more than made up for a better grade point average. Our tumultuous relationships with print journalism and flings with digital media left us bright-eyed and ready to join the hoard of alumni who realized, “I can get paid to do this?” As long as the lights stay on, students will be clamoring to get into 2142. For the sake of the next generation of Cardinals, I hope we’ll be here for 130 years more.

Cardinal staffers confident as Herald matchup approaches By Justin Alpert SPORTS EDITOR

The Daily Cardinal will renew its intense rivalry with The Badger Herald when the two papers take the field Saturday, April 23 in this year’s annual softball game. Reeling after a lopsided loss in October’s football showdown, the Cardinal is approaching this game with a hunger for vengeance. Although the will to win was there — it always is when the Herald is involved — the Cardinal played sluggish football and struggled to keep up. A few big, late touchdowns made things interesting in the second half, but they weren’t enough. Things project to go the Cardinal’s way this time around, much like last April when the Cardinal put up dozens of runs on the Herald’s woeful pitching staff. Roster turnover is inevitable. That said, the Cardinal fields a similar team this year — one with few weaknesses. Shortstop and co-Sports Editor Christian Voskuil gives the Cardinal the ultimate dependability at its most important position. The junior could see time at second base

this year, as the Herald struggles to catch up to even the slowest of pitches and figures to poke plenty of weak grounders to the right side. “Last year it was all about setting the tone early. We came out and lit them up in an eight-run first inning,” Voskuil said. “The team breakfast of champions (pancakes and mimosas) set the tone early in the morning and put us all on the same page.” As for an unheralded (pun intended) player on the Cardinal’s roster this year, all eyes will be on a certain freshman staffer. “One player I’m excited to see join the team is volleyball beat writer Taylor Smith,” Voskuil explained. “Word on the street is she grew up a youth softball legend before hanging up the cleats a while back. If there’s somebody the Herald should be fearing who they aren’t already, it’s Taylor.” Three weeks out, the Cardinal expects a mostly complete roster. J.J. Post, last year’s stud third baseman who has since transferred to Notre Dame, is questionable due to travel logistics. No matter, he offered his take on the coming matchup.

“We know they’ll bring their A-team and A-game for this one,” Post said. “We’ve made some strong additions to our squad, but the performance matters more than the roster on paper. Staying confident but humble is the biggest key.” Another likely absence is myself, as I recover from a sprained UCL in my left arm. While I’m devastated to miss the big game, I have the utmost

faith in my Cardinal teammates to play strong infield defense, throw competitive pitches and hit a bomb or two into Lake Wingra. “One thing’s for sure, no matter the outcome: our team chemistry will be unmatched,” Voskuil said. “A win will mean I can finally sleep at night,” said Addison Lathers, editor-in-chief of The Daily Cardinal. “Personally, I think it’s in the bag.”

CLAYTON JANNUSCH/THE DAILY CARDINAL

The Cardinals reigned victorious in the 2021 softball game.

Tackling the animal cracker conundrum By Anupras Mohapatra SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Editorial Board

source of news these days at the UW-Madison. My memory have become overrun with logos, mission statements and recruitment deadlines. Join MODA, Curb, Emmie Magazine, WSUM, Badger PR… I insist between ragged breaths. It’s no secret; even our academic advisors will admit it: UW has more student publications than it has students to work at them. Looking at the numbers, The Daily Cardinal should have been downsized ages ago. Instead, we have managed to neatly maintain a staff of over 100 writers and editors and shown consistent

I was never big on crackers growing up. The only crackers I’d ever had in the United Arab Emirates were salty and dry. You could argue I didn’t consume them the right way, but that didn’t matter to me. However, there’s one set of crackers that has intrigued me since 2019: animal crackers. I was a freshman writer at the Cardinal during fall 2019. Rather unexpectedly, I got the opportunity to become an opinion editor for 2020. I was apprehensive about it, mainly because I was such a fresh face. I’d already made contributions to three desks, but ironically, I’d contributed to the opinion desk the least of the three. I’d even considered writing for the features desk instead. I ended up going with the opinion desk. It was a gut feeling. My gut doesn’t always feel right, but I guess that wasn’t one of those occasions. My election took place at the end of the semester. It was a quiet affair as the Last Night Of Print — also known as LNOP — had already passed. Despite being the only candidate for the position, I was nervous. I motored through the questions I got asked. But

then, I faced a question that stopped me in my tracks. Not because it was challenging but because it came out of left field. “Do you think animal crackers are crackers or cookies?” Considering I’d never tried animal crackers or even heard of them then, I could only be honest about my ignorance. Thankfully, it didn’t stop me from landing the gig and since then, I’ve been on both ends of multiple elections. This question has been a staple to ease the nerves of aspiring editors. It is part of modern Cardinal tradition. Every election I was a part of made me want to try the crackers even more. However, the pandemic had me spend sophomore year back home, hanging on for dear life. This meant I had to wait until last fall before I could get my hands on animal crackers. I decided to trot into our office last December for the Fall 2021 LNOP — the first in-person LNOP I got to experience, despite my years of being around. This was the evening I had heard enough animal cracker talk. It was now time to go and get myself a pack. I turned to the folks at the Cardinal to get recommendations and ended up spending an embarrassingly

long time at the Target on State Street locating my packet. Not long after purchasing, I decided to try them out and see what the fuss was about. I had the definitions of “cracker” and “cookie” open in front of me. I wanted to answer the question as objectively as I could. The first bite was better than I could’ve imagined. It was sweet but not overpowering. I had one, and then I couldn’t stop. After evaluating the texture and taste and the definitions I had before me, I concluded that animal crackers are, indeed, sweet crackers. For me, it’s the dry texture that makes it a cracker and not a cookie. A cookie crumbles differently than a cracker, in my opinion. I recall people mentioning frosted crackers in their election responses. I imagine frosting would make it a harder call. But in this case, I’d go with “cracker” over “cookie.” I now wholly understood the nature of the debate. The animal shapes weren’t always well-formed, but I couldn’t care less. The whole experience left me satisfied. Not just because of the taste, or that I finally ticked an item off my checklist. There was more to it. There was the sweet but faint taste of belonging. You see, everyone at the Cardinal

has typically treated me well. As a foreigner, you certainly don’t want to feel like an outsider. However, questions like these make me feel like something’s missing. I can talk about most things on an intellectual level. In fact, I find such conversations with depth the best. But as a foreigner, I am ignorant about certain day-to-day things that make up small talk. This means I cannot always relate. The pandemic did not help either. My experience was one of Zoom meetings with a soul-crushing time difference to boot. It felt like speaking into a void most of the time. The crumbs of these crackers reminded me what the Cardinal is really all about. I felt life anew. This question of animal crackers being crackers or cookies is a rite of passage for all aspiring editors at the Cardinal, but it was even more so for me. Trying the crackers out and coming up with an answer, right or not, was a means to feeling less foreign in a foreign land. At the end of the day, the answer to this question does not matter. The question is a ticket to a once-in-alifetime experience that I thank my lucky stars for.

130

dailycardinal.com

Daily Cardinal 130th Anniversary Issue

‘We’re not going anywhere’ The Daily Cardinal may be transitioning to monthly, but its campus presence remains strong. By Jackson Mozena ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, academic and social institutions alike were largely forced to transition to an online setting in order to keep serving the needs of students. Lectures, club meetings, even social events became Zoom calls as the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus laid largely dormant. Like other institutions, The Daily Cardinal adapted to the circumstances. With students no longer on campus, the Cardinal, which had previously released a weekly physical print addition for students to pick up at university buildings, published content exclusively online. Now emerging from the pandemic, the Cardinal has chosen to continue its focus on online publication, with the managing team deciding in the summer of 2021 to transition from releasing a weekly to a monthly print edition. “We had been just digital for a little over a year because of the pandemic, and when we were thinking about how we would transition back into in person, and, theoretically, in print, we realized we didn’t have to do it like before,” the Cardinal’s current Editor-in-Chief Addison Lathers said of the publication’s transition. “Nothing was forcing us to do it weekly.” In a media environment which has become increasingly defined by online content publication, the Cardinal’s move towards existing primarily as a virtual platform represents a transition towards keeping up with modern circumstances that will ensure the paper’s continued financial wellbeing while maintaining the organization’s creative capability. “Keep an open mind,” Lathers added. “The office hasn’t burned down. The Daily Cardinal hasn’t sold out. We’re not on the brink of despair, just because there’s not a physical edition of The Daily Cardinal every single week. We’re thriving, we’re doing great and we’re definitely not going anywhere.” A Continuing Trend The Cardinal’s transition away from physical print additions actually predates the pandemic, with the publication having initially decided to reduce the number of printed additions in Spring of 2014. Abigail Becker, the editor in chief from 2013 to 2014, recalled the decision to cut the Friday print edition, explaining that the change was initially met with skepticism. “It was like the end of the world,” Becker said. “One of the challenges I think we were facing in making that big change was, because the Cardinal does have such a strong tradition, to change it in that way can rub people the wrong way.” Becker explained that the decision to cut the Friday paper was made in order to make the publication more financially viable as interest from students and advertisers for that particular edition appeared to be waning.

“Pickup rates for Friday were a lot lower,” Becker said. “So we knew that the product wasn’t being picked up on campus as much. [We] weren’t seeing a lot of ads for that [day] too… It was a tough decision at the time. We have a responsibility to serve our readers, but also to remain financially viable in order to continue all that the Cardinal is.” Becker’s sentiments were echoed by Mara Jezior, the paper’s managing editor from 2013 to 2014. In a 2017 interview with Jezior, she explained that the decision to reduce the number of physically printed copies was necessary to keep the publication in good standing. “We were trying so hard. You just keep hoping you’re going to find other revenue streams… It just became clear that that wasn’t working,” Jezior said. Becker emphasized that at the time there were concerns

“We were trying so hard. You just keep hoping you’re going to find other revenue streams… It just became clear that that wasn’t working.” Mara Jezior 2013-14 Managing Editor

from both members of the Daily Cardinal Board and the staff that the decision to reduce the number of print editions could fundamentally change the organization. “It was difficult, you know?” Becker said. “People didn’t want to lose that day; there was fear about changing the identity of the student newspaper.” The Cardinal would move to reduce the production of print editions again in 2015 when the publication transitioned from a daily to weekly print edition, and was a choice allegedly met with similar skepticism from board members and alumni. According to Lathers, however, the transition towards a monthly edition has been comparatively seamless despite past pushback against reducing the number of printed editions of the Cardinal. “The fact that we could so easily transition from weekly to monthly still blows my mind,” Lathers said. “The transition to a monthly edition was something that had been talked about in hushed tones, something that student management teams had wanted for a long time, but were too scared to ask for or too scared to bring up to our board. So the fact that we were able to transition really flawlessly was something that was surprising for everyone. I think it worked out great for us in the end.” Financial Motive Similar to the past, the decision to transition to a monthly print publication in 2021 was made in order to make the Cardinal more financially viable. Without charging for physical copies, the paper’s sources of revenue are limited to advertising fees, alumni contributions and grants, making providing print especially burdensome,

Colorful collection of monthly Daily Cardinal special edition issues from the recent '21-22 semesters. ADDISON LATHERS/THE DAILY CARDINAL

especially as print ads have waned in recent years. Current Cardinal board member, Herman Bauman, explained that the pandemic actually aided the financial situation of the publication due to the fact that printed editions were no longer being produced. “You save a lot of money when you’re not printing papers, especially if you can get people to advertise digitally instead,” Bauman said. “So actually, because we were not printing during the COVID years, it took a lot of strain off of our finances, because we didn’t have those big printing bills.” Bauman went on to elaborate that The Daily Cardinal Alumni Association was instrumental in the transition to a monthly print schedule. Bauman explained that although initially skeptical, the alumni eventually recognized the necessity of providing a monthly print edition. “We had some old timers who really were unhappy as we started to pull away from print. And then we presented the numbers,” Bauman said. “The alumni association was invaluable in helping us with the transition; we had to cut back on issues. They were still unhappy about that but they realized that they had to give us some support [with the transition], because the world was changing out there.” Current Cardinal managing editor, Grace Hodgman, agreed with Bauman’s perspective that the transition to a monthly print edition has aided the publication’s finances. According to Hodgman, the new print schedule allows for greater opportunities to network with local businesses in order to earn more advertising revenue. “[The change] saves money,” Hodgman said. “It gives us more opportunities for networking with local businesses and getting ads that we can place in print, compared to last year in previous years, we have more ads and for a higher rate. So that’s always positive.” Lathers offered a similar perspective on the decision to switch to a monthly print edition. According to Lathers, diverting funds away from producing print editions may enable the Cardinal to invest resources in innovative new ways down the road. “We just had this really long period of being able to save money for, like, the first time in forever, because we had all this coin set aside for print, but we weren’t printing,” Lathers said. “So in the back of our heads, we

all thought: there are more innovative ways to use the money intended for print editions.” Impact Following the transition to monthly content, Lathers feel that the quality of work produced by the Cardinal has only improved. According to Lathers, with fewer print editions, more effort can be focused on developing in-depth media as Cardinal’s predominantly digital platform provides a space for continued daily publication. “We thought that printing monthly would mean that we could put out a better quality product, and we do that now,” she said. “We used to only put out 12 pages; we now put out 16. There’s more color, there’s longer stories, we have more investigative work, more features, more long-form journalism, while also being able to still maintain our breaking news coverage and daily news on our digital platforms.” Lathers further elaborated that the change in the print schedule has allowed for greater flexibility regarding the content the Cardinal is able to publish. With editors no longer having to focus on meeting print deadlines, staffers are able to quickly adjust to current events to more effectively inform readers. “I would say we’ve changed for the better,” Lathers said. “We aren’t so stressed out anymore about our daily content, our weekly content. We’re more in the moment. We can think about breaking news, what’s “We can think about informing students right away because we’re not constrained by a certain print or publishing schedule.” Addison Lathers Editor-in-Chief

happening right now. We can think about informing students right away because we’re not constrained by a certain print or publishing schedule.” Lathers also believes that the monthly addition maintains the sentimental aspects of working at the Cardinal. She acknowledges that printed editions of the paper provide editors and writers with a meaningful way to see their work out in the world in a rewarding way, and feels that the monthly printed publication continues to provide for that need.

“We’re meeting both the needs of our readers and the needs of Cardinal staff,” Lathers said. “Staff still want to see their names in print. Students want to cut out clips, put them up, show their parents… that kind of sentimental stuff. We wanted to still serve that need, while also giving people the chance to have their work read and shared on social media.” Hodgman agreed that the new print schedule has allowed the Cardinal to place a greater focus on in-depth reporting. According to Hodgman, the greater space between print editions has enabled Cardinal staff to publish more stories that are immediately relevant to the publication’s readership. “With the new schedule we’ve been able to do a lot more evergreen pieces because we have more time to build up to the final printed edition,” Hodgman said. “Since we’ve chosen to make the monthly printed editions themed it allows for more focused reporting, which is nice, because the stories stay relevant for longer.” Lathers explained that the move to monthly print additions is not necessarily permanent but she feels that the new print schedule is likely to continue when future management teams take over. “I can’t say what the next management team will do,” Lathers said. “They know they can go back to weekly, and they know they can stick with monthly. I think they know that if they really want to, they can push for us to be a purely digital publication but if I had to guess, I would say that monthly is here to stay. I would say that [what we’re doing], right now, in this day and age, fits the needs of students — students that want news on demand and want to know what’s going on right in the moment.” Hodgman added that she feels that the Cardinal is likely to stop publication of digitally published print editions which the organization puts out once a week. According to Hodgman, the readership of these online print editions is too small to necessitate continued work on their publication. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the weekly online editions petered out as well,” Hodgman said. “I think that’s something that might be coming in the future. Viewers or people don’t go on to Issuu, which is the website where we upload it. People don’t go there, read the paper and look at the content, outside of a very select few alum.”

130

4 • Daily Cardinal 130th Anniversary Issue

dailycardinal.com

Emma Roller

Dave Umhoefer

Editor, The American Independent

Investigative Reporter

When Emma Roller transferred from Grinnell College to the University of WisconsinMadison to study journalism, she knew she wanted to write for a campus newspaper. She chose The Daily Cardinal in part because of its strong anti-war history — her mother attended the university amid the Vietnam War protests — and in part because her then-boyfriend was a Cardinal writer. By the start of Roller’s senior year, she was the paper’s 2010 to 2011 editor-in-chief. Her time with the paper was an eventful period for the city of Madison. The beginning of Roller’s tenure as editor-in-chief coincided with the election of Gov. Scott Walker, which ushered in months of protests focused around the Capitol building. These protests were only augmented by the 2011 passage of Wisconsin Act 10, which faced heavy resistance from workingclass Wisconsinites due to, among other issues, the negative impact it would have on unions. Roller, who is now a political journalist, described hectic days of classes, Daily Cardinal meetings and trips back and forth from the Capitol at all hours. She directed coverage of the protests throughout her senior year alongside national news stations that came to Madison to do the same. Protesters made great personal sacrifices to have their voices heard in what Roller called an “amazing show of public outcry” against legislation they opposed. After graduating, Roller went to work for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where one of her very first assignments brought her back to the Capitol to cover the story of two protesters who used bike locks to lock themselves to a railing in the Senate gallery. Returning to coverage that resembled assignments from her time with The Daily Cardinal was an example of how “[her] time with the Cardinal was everything for [her] in preparing to do journalism in the real world.” Since working with the Journal Sentinel, Roller has done freelance political journalism for a number of publications, and she currently edits The American Independent, an online publication. Her proudest accomplishment, though, was covering the 2016 election as an opinion writer for the New York Times. Roller cited her time at the Cardinal as formative in her career and credits it with “90% of what [she] learned” about the world of journalism in practice. However helpful she found her courses in providing her with a “good academic footing,” said Roller, “nothing can recreate the experience of actually making a newspaper.” She said that she treasured even the conflicts and stress that came along with her role at the newspaper, as that taught her how to best navigate a professional environment. She credited her time at The Daily Cardinal with countless connections, including meeting her now-husband, as well as lessons and memories. “Everybody was making mistakes and learning,” said Roller. “The beautiful thing was that everyone was learning together every day.” -Claire LaLiberte

PHOTO BY COLLEEN JOSE

Jacob Kushner

Meet Dave Umhoefer, former City News Editor in the early 1980s. During his time at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and at The Daily Cardinal, Umhoefer covered the Equal Rights Amendment, the Middle East, opposition to the Reagan administration on campus, the emergence of the AIDs epidemic, fair housing marches and many protests. Umhoefer currently works at Marquette University as the Director of the O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism and as an investigative reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He credits his Daily Cardinal connections with getting him his first job post-grad. “I went to work outside Milwaukee, and it was a Cardinal editor who helped me get that job,” Umhoefer said. “I guess this is sort of the point [of the newspaper], right — getting the experience to get hired.” Umhoefer can’t point to one specific memory at the Cardinal as being his favorite, more so the culture of the newspaper. “It was the miracle of getting a paper out every weekday, despite all the obstacles and the rush of all the deadlines,” Umhoefer said. “You know, it really was a home away from home. We lived, we ate, we slept there.” Umhoefer enjoyed UW-Madison’s proximity to the State Capitol, as it was easy to walk to events and report on goings-on. He also enjoyed the culture of the paper, where anyone could, with no training, join and become better at their craft. Work at The Daily Cardinal wasn’t all fun necessarily, and Umhoefer recognized The Daily Cardinal as his first work experience. “It was a place to make mistakes and get it out of your system. But you also learned humility; you could see the impact of your stories and your mistakes on real people,” Umhoefer said. “As carefree as we were as students, you realize, ‘Wow, this is not all fun and games. This is real stuff.’ I think you have to absorb that lesson, or else you just get in trouble as a journalist.” Beyond all of his reporting, Umhoefer’s time at the Cardinal solidified his career plans to become a journalist. “It was a test of whether you liked journalism, and I realized that journalism really mattered. It felt like it made a difference,” Umhoefer said. “I like doing it, and I almost couldn’t believe that you could do this and get paid.” -Annabella Rosciglione

Freelance Journalist Jacob Kushner, a former University of Wisconsin-Madison Student and alumnus of The Daily Cardinal, now travels the world as a freelance journalist reporting on international events. Kushner’s work reporting on international events has appeared in several acclaimed publications including The New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, The New Yorker, VICE Magazine, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, The Nation, WIRED, Playboy, Newsweek, OZY, Associated Press, LA Times, Guernica and Moment Magazine. During his time at the Cardinal, Kushner contributed to the campus news desk as a writer and wrote sporadically for different sections of the paper. Kushner explained that the Cardinal served as an organization where he could further explore his interest in journalism which he had initially come to develop during his time in highschool “When I came to Madison, I already knew I wanted to do journalism there and I just went straight to The Daily Cardinal. The campus news editor just started assigning me stuff right away,” Kushner said. “It was a really great experience, because within weeks of arriving on campus, I was writing front page for the Cardinal.” Kushner recalled that his time at the newspaper provided him with the experiences necessary to further develop his abilities as a journalist. Kushner explained that he continues to utilize the skills he learned at the Cardinal in his endeavors as a freelance journalist. “The Cardinal challenged me to be able to interview people and that’s a skill I still use,” Kushner said. “I mean, in terms of learning how to find sources and interview on a deadline, that was huge. These days, I don’t necessarily have to write my articles fast, because usually they’re long-term pieces… but in terms of just hustling and figuring out how to nail a story, I still use that today.” Kushner encourages current Cardinal staffers to always search for original reporting and to identify interesting stories that may otherwise go unnoticed by other news organizations. “Always, always be on the lookout for what’s next. It’s easy to report on what everybody else is talking about,” Kushner said. “Zig when people zag. If everyone’s doing something, then there’s definitely some story that’s being missed. Look for that and follow your curiosity.” -Jackson Mozena PHOTO COURTESY OF EMMA ROLLER

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARQUETTE

PHOTO BY JUDITH KOVALIC

John Kovalic Cartoonist John Kovalic was cool in college. The problem was, everyone knew that but him. “I would never actually say I was really cool,” Kovalic admitted. “But the night before the first Badger Herald/Daily Cardinal football game, I went out drinking with the sports department. I remember the sports department picking up members of the opposite sex by telling them that they knew me. I couldn’t even do that.” Now, Kovalic is a famed cartoonist, illustrator and writer. But back in the day, Kovalic authored the uber popular comic strip “Wild Life,” which ran every single day in The Daily Cardinal. He started at the Cardinal in the summer of 1984 and began publishing the strip the next semester. Aside from drawing, Kovalic found time to write for the features desk, pen opinion and humor columns as well cover events and music for arts. To keep up with the demands of running a daily strip, Kovalic spent a lot of time in the office. Like, a lot. He skipped six weeks of Microeconomics 201 in favor of hanging out with other students at The Daily Cardinal and still bagged an A on the exam. After graduation, he began working at The Capital Times and later, at the Wisconsin State Journal. “Wild Life” followed Kovalic wherever he went, and it eventually became a nationally syndicated comic strip — but only briefly. Kovalic quickly realized he wasn’t able to give the comic the time and energy it needed to develop. In 1996, Kovalich left the Wisconsin State Journal. Five weeks later, he married Judith Kovalic, who happened to have written for the arts desk at The Daily Cardinal at the same time he did. Since then, Kovalic has written books, designed for several board games and is best known for his Dork Tower comic book and webcomic. He has traveled the world attending gaming conventions from Germany to Brazil, but Kovalic still calls Madison home. He draws to this day, and has a new Dork Tower collection coming out in June. Not to mention, a cartoon he made, “A Very Hard Stare,” recently went viral for its depiction of a bear cub standing up to a grizzly in front of the Ukraine flag. The image, emblazoned on shirts and sold as prints, have raised over $10,000 for the World Central Kitchen. That number is still rising. While he may not work out of a newspaper anymore, Kovalich still misses the community of a newsroom and working around other talented people. His advice for artists and cartoonists-to-be is simple, and it’s the same advice Charles Shultz gave him when “Wild Life” became syndicated. “Simply work as hard as you can, and to always be yourself.” -Addison Lathers

130 l

Daily Cardinal 130th Anniversary Issue

dailycardinal.com

Abby Becker & Scott Girard: A Cardinal love story By Lekha Kachoria STAFF WRITER

Sitting in the basement of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Vilas Hall in 2013 sat Abby Becker, Scott Girard and a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches. What followed is an eight year relationship and 2021 marriage, all beginning in The Daily Cardinal office. Elected as editor-in-chief for the 2012 to 2013 academic year as a senior, Girard found console in Becker, who at the end of the year was elected as his successor for her junior year at the Cardinal. Bonding over late nights at the Cardinal with cups of hot coffee to complement their sandwiches, Becker and Girard quickly became close friends as he helped train her for her new position. “We were just spending a lot of time together and joking,” Girard said. “You don’t have a lot of people to confide in about how things are going as editor-in-chief, so we ended up just getting coffee and grilled cheeses pretty regularly; it became sort of our thing.” Girard developed a crush on Becker and built up the courage to ask

her out, but she rejected him. “I had to ask her out a second time,” Girard said. “She said no again.” Reflecting back, Becker said that the strength of their friendship is what fueled her decision to say no. But, Girard asked her out a third and final time, and they have been together ever since. “Thank goodness for his persistence,” Becker added. Girard and Becker married in September 2021, eight years after their initial meeting in the Cardinal office. They announced their wedding formally in the “Welcome Back” issue at the beginning of the 2021 to 2022 school year, stating that they are “forever grateful for the memories made 2142 Vilas.” Afterall, throughout the onboarding and training process for Becker, her relationship with Girard blossomed. “I was in the newsroom every single day,” Becker said. Scott interjected, “She insisted that she does not remember seeing me or who I was until my election for editor-in-chief, so I guess that says something about first impressions.” In response, Becker said that she

was “trying to fake it until she made it” because the upperclassmen “felt so cool and smart.” Both Girard and Becker joined the Cardinal early on in their college careers with Girard coming on during the fall of 2010 as a sophomore and Becker the fall of 2011 as a freshman. Girard enjoyed writing for the State News Desk before becoming the enterprise editor his junior year and then editor-in-chief. Becker became city news editor her second semester of freshman year before serving as the first-ever social media manager and later editor-in-chief. The Cardinal was integral to not just their personal lives but their professional ones as well, the couple said. Now, Girard’s works at The Capital Times’ K-12 education reporter, where Becker previously served as the local government reporter. She currently works as a communications person for the UniverCity Alliance at UW-Madison. Becker underscored that she already “had a network built from the days as a student reporter going into my first professional job.” “Where I really learned journalism was at the Cardinal and it’s what

served me most,” Girard said. On the first day of his first professional job at a weekly newspaper, Girard was asked to put together a “little story” for that day. He was shocked to find out that this “little” article was expected to be about 500 words. At the time, the Cardinal published daily, so Girard often wrote stories ranging from 100 to 200 words. Despite this surprise, according to Girard, it was his skills he learned at

the Cardinal that allowed him to write the story and “cut the crap and get straight to the point.” For Becker and Girard, the Cardinal was more than a jumpstart for their careers in the news and communications industry — but for love. Other Cardinal couples include Nicole Gulatz and Blacke Michener, Peter Coutu and Theda Berry, Allison and Anthony Sansone and Taylor Harvey and Nico Savidge among many others.

COURTESY OF THE MEGAN MARTHALER

Engagement announcement picture of Scott Girard (left) and Abby Becker (right).

New podcasts center students’ voices Feminism follows alumna By Hope Karnopp PODCAST DIRECTOR

“Welcome to The Student Dive, where we speak directly with UW-Madison student reporters, editors and Wisconsinites about the most pressing issues in our campus, city and state communities. Let’s dive right in.” And so began the script for the first episode of The Daily Cardinal’s award-winning, in-depth news podcast, which launched in the fall of 2020. It has a fitting title: the show primarily features the voices of students delving deeper into the latest news occurring on and affecting campus. “I liked the ‘dive’ part because I was thinking, especially for an audio story, a podcast medium, you’re writing for the ear, and my intention with the podcast was to give more context to our stories, to give them some life,” said 2020-21 Managing Editor Gaby Vinick. Vinick was an original creator of the show, along with Cardinal staff member Joe Mitchell. Now in its fourth season and nearly 20 episodes strong, the podcast has four hosts and an audio editor who share the duties of making each monthly episode. The podcast was originally organized around a theme, such as the early episodes on the 2020 election and a special series on the impact of COVID-19. Over time, the episodes evolved into conversations about the stories featured in the newspaper’s physical print editions and Action Projects. The creation of The Student Dive came as the newsroom was operating predominantly remotely. It gave Cardinal staff a chance to connect virtually through Zoom interviews for the podcast. “I was also just starting out as managing editor of the paper, but this was no traditional newsroom. This is a fully digital newsroom; the office is closed. As a leader, I wanted to make sure

people still felt connected to the organization, our mission,” Vinick said. The Student Dive isn’t the only podcast offered by the Cardinal. Soda Talk, a satire and comedy podcast produced by the Almanac section, began one year ago. Each episode consists of the hosts and guests cracking open a cold beverage and commenting on the latest in pop culture. Through a unique collaboration, the Cardinal and campus organization Sex Out Loud have also created a podcast called Out Loud, which discusses and answers questions related to sexual health and sexuality. The episodes have revived topics that were previously discussed in the paper’s sex column in 2017 and 2018. In the revamped Cardinal Sports Podcast, writers from the sports desk have produced recaps of fall football games. A sports podcast called the Cardinal Zone also existed between 2015 and 2018, which brought together all different sports together in one place, 2015 to 2016 Sports Editor Zach Rastall explained. “It was just fun to get a bunch of people from the sports desk together and there was good camaraderie,” Rastall, who was involved with the podcast, said. The hosts and audio editors who work on the Cardinal’s shows have gained experience in a rapidly growing form of multimedia. The structure of the Student Dive has taken inspiration from popular daily news podcasts like The Daily from The New York Times and Up First from NPR. According to Statista, only 22% of adults in the US were aware of podcasting in 2006. In 2021, that number rose to 78%. While it’s hard to say what the future of podcasting will look like, gaining multimedia and storytelling skills is always valuable for student journalists.

“With all of that experience that I gained — editing audio, booking and interviewing guests, coming up with the podcast name and working with Joe to get it actually published — I also gained other skills in news judgment, and as far as storytelling goes, making sure each episode is as focused and understandable for listeners as possible,” said Vinick, who now works with the News Not Noise podcast. I have also learned technical skills like Adobe Audition and WordPress as the host of the Cardinal Call, a collaboration between the Cardinal and WORT-FM that was imagined by 2020 to 2021 Co-Editor-inChief Will Cioci and WORT News and Public Affairs Director Chali Pittman. “Part of the impetus was that we would do a lot of UW stories, and while I was a UW student and we have plenty of UW-Madison and other UW System volunteers who are reporters, it’s not quite the same as having the perspective of someone who’s covering campus daily and really embedded and know what they’re talking about,” Pittman said. In my opinion, the best part of the Cardinal Call is that it involves so many students. Our introduction music was written and recorded by our Almanac Editor Mackenzie Moore. Sylvia Yan has helped with editing the segment, and our social team shares the episodes. It wouldn’t be possible without the collaboration of many editors and writers at the Cardinal who take the time to share and explain their stories. We as students, and student journalists, have unique perspectives about issues affecting campus, the state and the world. Sharing these student voices with campus and the community is the heart of what our growing podcast teams do.

By Jessica Sonkin NEWS MANAGER

Carol Toussaint began her undergraduate career at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1947 amid the postwar boom. At the time, popular culture depicted females as the homemakers of America, but an oncoming women’s rights movement had another vision in mind for the scope of feminist opportunity. Toussaint came to Madison from Bruce, Wisconsin, where she was born and raised. The budding journalist would later go on to open Vantage Point, a local lecture business that bolstered networking among women. She held multiple positions within state government and was the first female to serve as president of Madison’s Downtown Rotary. Among other accomplishments, Toussaint worked with state governors and Wisconsin Supreme Court justices, received awards as a result of civic engagement and made strides in women’s advocacy. Notably, Toussaint was a member of the Daily Cardinal flock and remains a beloved alumna with wisdom to share. As an undergrad, Toussaint had her heart set on joining the School of Journalism, which she was allowed to enter as a secondyear student in the Department of Letters and Science. Fellow journalism student Jack Zeldes joined The Daily Cardinal staff as a freshman, according to Toussaint, and would become a staffer upon entry to theJ-School. Zeldes hosted a workshop that would help Toussaint on her mission to work for the student newspaper. “Zeldes made a strong impression and put the class through a number of exercises, including assignments to contact UW faculty as if reporting for a story that the Cardinal was working on,” she said. “My assignment was to telephone the office of President Fred with a couple of questions.” And so she did. Toussaint spoke

with a staff member in the office of former University of Wisconsin President E.B. Fred to gather information. It was then that Toussaint felt she was on the way to becoming a reporter. Toussaint was a staffer for three years. During this time, Toussaint was persuaded by Zeldes, who later became editor-in-chief, to apply for the Society Editor position. “That meant I was a part of the group of editors who met to plan coverage, and I agreed knowing they were looking to make changes from the usual ‘cover the parties’ approach to news,” said Toussaint. The desk sought to make some changes by addressing campus-wide issues and occurrences. “One ‘innovation’ was that I worked with the business side of the paper on a special section on campus fashions which had the advertising team connecting with Madison stores to place ads in it,” Toussaint recalled. Toussaint left the Cardinal nest in 1951 upon graduating from UW-Madison. She accepted an offer for a position with Meredith Publishing Company in Des Moines, where she took a job writing features for “Successful Farming” magazine. “I think I could have stayed with the job for years if it had been in Wisconsin rather than Iowa,” she said. “It took less than a year for me to figure out that I missed not just friends and the UW but the politics of Iowa just wasn’t as stimulating as Wisconsin.” Toussaint later returned to Madison with a position at the Presbyterian campus program. The rest is history and advocacy that continues to inspire women. Toussaint could not be prevented from motivating women, even before the country really began to understand what women could do. “One of the things the Cardinal experience opens up for you is to do things where you know people are going to respect what you are doing,” Toussaint said.

comics

Daily Cardinal 130th Anniversary Issue • 7

dailycardinal.com

130th Crossword Puzzle 130th Anniversary Crossword

On Campus

Andrew Joanis, 2004

Eatin’ Cake

Dylan Moriarty, 2011

1 2

4 5

130th Crossword Puzzle 7

1 3

2 4 5

11 12

16 17

2011 12 14

21 16

22 18

23 20

21 22 23

Down: wept what what Milwaukee Press The cardinal swept Press 1. Milwaukee Club contest category in 2021? ategory in 2021?

2. Animal crackers 3. ___ sifting and winnowing 4. Breakfast of champions winnowing 5. The Cardinal’s sport of choice hampions12. Ed board opinion 14. What’s not allowed on the news team? sport of choice

on owed on hat? e ___

15. ___ down for what? 16. Christian is the ___ line of defense 22. Last the news team?

Across:

Across: She Deserves It 6. Live, learn, ___ ___ 6. Live, learn, name for satire section 7. Oldname 7. Old for satire section 8. The Sansone in charge 8. The Sansone inin charge 1977 appointed 9. Chancellor 10. 2017 - 2018 EIC appointed in 1977 9. Chancellor 11. 2016-2017 EIC 10. 2017 - 2018 EIC political icon 13. Madison those stranded on a 17. Popular choice for 11. 2016-2017 EIC desert island 13. Madison political icon or date to complete 18. The latest time somethingchoice for those stranded on a 17. Popular 19. Popular 90’s comic desert island newspaper 20. ____ oldest 2012 to 2011 21. 18. The latest ME time or date to complete 23. First EIC

ense Courtesy of John Kovalic ®

Hannah Kennedy, 2022

Search courses and enroll today!

More than 1,000 courses available, on campus or online Flexible sessions to fit your schedule Lighten your load for fall or spring Scholarships and a Summer Housing Boost are available to help cover the cost of tuition and residence halls. Don’t miss out! Applications are due April 10.

Enrollment now open! S U M M E R.W I S C. E D U U W– M A D I S O N | S U M M E R T E R M 20 2 2