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Mifflin Issue 2011
“…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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Memories are more fun: sibling shenanigans
Volume 120, Issue 134
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Business and Advertising business@dailycardinal.com Business Manager Cole Wenzel Advertising Manager Nick Bruno Senior Account Executive Mara Greenwald Account Executives Matt Jablon • Anna Jeon Mitchell Keuer • Becca Krumholz Emily Rosenbaum • Daniel Rothberg Lizzie Stevenson • Shinong Wang Sun Yoon Web Director Eric Harris Public Relations Manager Becky Tucci Events Manager Bill Clifford Art Directors Jaime Flynn • Claire Silverstein Copywriters Dustin Bui • Bob Sixsmith 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.
Editorial Board Hannah Furfaro • Miles Kellerman Emma Roller • Samuel Todd Stevens Parker Gabriel • Dan Tollefson Samantha Witthuhn • Nico Savidge
Board of Directors Melissa Anderson, President Emma Roller • Cole Wenzel Parker Gabriel • Vince Filak Janet Larson • Nick Bruno Jenny Sereno • Chris Drosner Ron Luskin • Joan Herzing Jason Stein © 2011, The Daily Cardinal Media Corporation ISSN 0011-5398
REbecca alt ctrl+alt+delete
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hildren under the age of 11 never cease to amaze me. The unabashed and occasionally brutal honesty with which they live their lives is something I truly admire. Once you reach middle school, you’re suddenly supposed to know better than to ask a plump old man with a beard if he’s Santa Claus or tell your older sister she does look like Sarah Palin with her new specs. Before the regrettable entrance into the awkward middle school years, you’re essentially free to say and do whatever pops into your premature noggin. When I think back on the days I spent trying to jump the farthest off of the swing set at recess or defeat my arch nemesis (a.k.a. my BFF) in Scategories Junior, I slowly begin to realize just how bizarre and hysterical kids really are. As the youngest in the family, my older sister and brother obviously tortured me endlessly. Even after revealing to my dear
mother all of the battle wounds I accumulated by the end of the day, she still seemed to believe my sister and brother had a good handle on the whole babysitting job. When I look back, I realize some days were just downright horrific. For example, my sister forced me to eat an entire box of mac n’ cheese (mind you, I had the stomach of a small eight-yearold) or else she was not going to take me to go see who my homeroom teacher for next year was. I don’t know about you, but having to wait an extra day was the equivalent to waiting seven years. Other days, though, I can look back on now and chuckle. Here’s a brief list of a few quirky little pranks my siblings and I used to pull on each other to give you an idea of how ridiculously great children can be: The Polaroid Incident Picture this. I’m four years old. I’m lying in my bed taking a little catnap and innocently dreaming I had won the golden ticket and got to go on a tour of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. I awake from my slumber, content and in dire need of some chocolate. I go downstairs to make myself a fat bowl of chocolate ice
Remember to:
cream with Oreos when BAM! Taped in the middle of the fridge is a Polaroid snapshot of my bare buttocks. The little scoundrels had taken it while I was dreaming of a chocolate waterfall and Ever Lasting Gobstoppers! Did they get in trouble? Certainly not. My parents laughed. And I pouted in my room for the rest of the night. The Odoriferous Baseball Cards My brother and his friends smelt 99.5 percent of the time like a combination of sausage, cheese, Doritos and farts. Each time he had them sleep over, we would have to do some serious work sanitizing any room they had been in. Obviously I would not let them into my precious bedroom, so they employed a new tactic to get their stank in there. What did they do? They farted on baseball cards and slipping them under my door. At the time, I was pissed and screamed for my mom to make them stop as I sat huddled in the opposite corner of my room with my nose plugged. Today, I realize I would never be able to think up a brilliantly awful prank like that. Pure genius. Plus, at age 20 it wouldn’t be hilarious anymore—it would simply piss people off.
1. Write Page Two columns by April 30th! 2. Head to Mifflin early 3. Do History 102 reading drunk
Are your priorities in order? Well, truth be told we really don’t care about the last two, but if you want to be a PAGE TWO COLUMNIST next fall, you’d better send in your sample columns ASAP!
For the record Corrections or clarifications? Call The Daily Cardinal office at 608-262-8000 or send an e-mail to edit@dailycardinal.com.
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Mifflin Issue 2011
An independent student newspaper, serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison community since 1892
FriDAY: sunny!
E-mail your three 500-600 word columns and/or any questions to vstatz@wisc.edu.
Bathing Beauty It was the summer. My sister was about four or five years old at the time. It gets pretty toasty up in my parent’s house because we don’t have central air, so my sister decides she’s going to go lay outside for awhile to get some fresh air. The rest of us come out to join her, and what do we find? Her sprawled out on a lawn chair in the front yard with nothing but her birthday suit on and some hot pink heart-shaped sunglasses. Only a five-year-old could expose themselves like that in public and rather than receive a reprimanding, have their mom take a million pictures. I could go on and on about the joys of being a child when virtually everything you do is either adorable or admissible because you’re “only a kid,” but I think you’ve caught my drift. All I’m looking forward to now as finals week creeps up on me is watching the kids I babysit for this summer pull stunts like these and say things that I would be shunned in society for saying now. Like asking their pregnant mom why she’s getting so plump these days. Send your crazy childhood stories to Rebecca at alt2@wisc.edu.
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Assembly voter ID bill hearing attracts staunch opposition By Adam Wollner The Daily Cardinal
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SSFC Chair Matt Manes led ASM in singing “The Star Spangled Banner” after apologizing for offending anyone during his tenure on Student Services Finance Committee.
ASM endorses New Badger Partnership with reservations, passes Campus Services Fund By Anna Duffin The Daily Cardinal
The Associated Students of Madison passed legislation endorsing the proposed New Badger Partnership and the Campus Services Fund at the final meeting of the 17th session of ASM Wednesday. The legislation states that ASM supports the NBP as long as it “maintains shared governance, includes two students on the board of trustees, maintains costs to continue from state, supports need-based financial aid, supports fairness in hiring, academic freedom and agreements with private entities, and ASM will continue to lobby for reasonable tuition as stated in the ASM constitution.” Outgoing Vice Chair Adam Johnson and other members of ASM said it was student council’s responsibility to take a stance on
the NBP. “Students want to hear what we have to think. Let’s tell them what we think,” Johnson said. “We owe it to our constituents.”
“Students want to hear what we have to think. Let’s tell them what we think.” Adam Johnson outgoing vice chair Associated Students of Madison
Also at the meeting, student council passed the Campus Services Fund. The fund gives ASM a means to fund student services deemed necessary to the student body. Student Services Finance Committee Chair Matt Manes, who proposed the legislation, said
that although it might not be perfect, it is a good start. “Do not let perfect become the enemy of good,” Manes said. In contrast, the council voted down the creation of a Sustainability Committee at the meeting. Some members of ASM said if the committee would be created, the 18th session should create it. During open forum, Manes apologized for the many people he admittedly offended during his tenure on ASM. “I have disappointed many people in my conduct and my actions,” Manes said. “To everyone who feels this way, I apologize.” Manes finished his apology by singing “The Star Spangled Banner” in front of the student council, as he promised he would before he finished serving on ASM. He said he will not be returning to ASM in any form.
The Wisconsin State Assembly held a hearing Wednesday on a bill that would require voters to show photo identification at the polls and make other significant changes to the electoral process. A voter ID proposal has been in the works for months, with the most recent version introduced by state Rep. Jeff Stone, R-Greendale. In Stone’s proposal, voters would be required to show photo ID at the polls but would still be allowed to register at the polls. This provision was not included in previous proposals. Stone’s bill also moves the September primary election to August and requires that people give specific reasons to receive absentee ballots. It takes away the straight-party-vote feature on ballots. The majority of people in attendance opposed the bill, saying it would be costly and disenfranchise voters, specifically students, the elderly, and the poor. Madison resident Joel Gratz said that if the state were broke, as many lawmakers have stated, it would be impossible to pay for the bill.
“If you’re being truthful with us that we’re broke, you must not pass this bill at this time,” Gratz said. Historian and UW-Madison graduate Allen Ruff said this proposal would suppress voters and discourage people from participating in the democratic process. “Any problems with democracy are remedied by more democracy, not the limitation of it,” Ruff said. Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said the bill unfairly targets college students because most students do not have the means to travel to a DMV from campus to obtain a photo ID. Republicans have proposed bringing mobile DMVs to college campuses so students could easily obtain a photo ID to vote, but Resnick said this would not be cost-effective. “I just don’t think for a cost mechanism, that this is really worth the states time,” Resnick said. Brookfield resident Todd Hoskins was one of the few to speak in favor of the bill. He said the proposal would eliminate election fraud and the extra effort required to register would result in voters being more informed. voter id page 4
photographer-artist/the daily cardinal
Members of the public testified Wednesday at a state Assembly hearing on proposed legislation that would require ID’s to vote.
Election recount in Waukesha does not begin as planned Absentee ballots cause confusion in vote recount Ben Siegel The Daily Cardinal
The statewide recount of state Supreme Court election ballots had a rough start Wednesday as officials in Waukesha County had difficulty identifying ballot bags and absentee ballots. Confusion began around 11 a.m. at the Waukesha County Administration Center when identification numbers on a ballot bag did not correlate with those on the election inspector’s official list, according to the Milwaukee
Journal-Sentinel. Officials and representatives of both candidates agreed to open the bag and to proceed with tallying. County canvassers later had trouble with illegible absentee ballot applications and an absentee ballot that ballot-reading machines were unable to read. The ballots were tabulated after being matched up with absentee application records from town hall, according to the Journal-Sentinel. The Waukesha County Clerk’s Office did not respond to inquiries about the details of the recount issues. Earlier in the year, County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus garnered
criticism after failing to include results from Brookfield in election night tallies. On Tuesday, Nickolaus recused herself from overseeing the ballot recount in Waukesha and was replaced with retired Judge Robert Mawdsley. Officials recounted nearly 37,000 ballots Wednesday, according to the Journal-Sentinel. At day’s end, current state Supreme Court Justice David Prosser was leading JoAnne Kloppenburg by around 2,000 votes. Roughly 1.4 million ballots remain to be counted by the statutory May 9 recount deadline.
UW doctors face charges for giving medical excuse notes to protesters By Anna Duffin The Daily Cardinal
The UW School of Medicine and Public Health completed its investigation Tuesday regarding UW doctors who wrote medical notes excusing protesters from work and school Feb. 19. According to a statement from the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, the doctors are facing penalties ranging from “written reprimand to loss of pay and leadership positions.” The statement said out of the 22 doctors who were allegedly
implicated with the distribution of the notes, “several” were found to not have been involved. The statement said the penalties doctors receive will depend on how involved each doctor was with the distribution and the nature of his or her actions. Robert Golden, Dean of the School of Medicine and Public Health, appointed the committee that investigated the doctors’ actions shortly after the incident. notes page 5
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Mifflin Issue 2011
Buffalo Wild Wings to move to University Square location By Taylor Harvey The Daily Cardinal
Buffalo Wild Wings received approval from Madison’s Alcohol License Review Committee Wednesday to sell alcohol at their new University Square location, which will tentatively open Aug. 15. The restaurant will transfer from its State Street location to 789 University Ave., a University Square building address, but will still have the same hours. According to BWW owner Greg Myers, Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8 and Madison Police Department Captain Carl Gloede support the restaurant’s transfer to University Square. Committee member Tom Sieger, a UW-Madison administrator, said he was concerned about the restaurant’s location in University Square, a building that houses many students and is home to the Student Activity Center and University Health Services. The ALRC also granted a new liquor license to the Kollege Klub on Lake Street due to the college bar’s new ownership. The bar’s current owner, Bruce Meier, is passing
the torch to his son, Jordan. The Meier family has owned the KK since 1953, and Jordan Meier’s takeover will mark the fourth generation of owners within the family. Jordan Meier said that in terms of operation, employment and its target market, the business will remain the same. He said there will still be entertainment with a DJ, and that he has no intention of hosting 18+ nights. After having its license revoked in 2009 due to increasing violence and underage drinking at the bar, the Madison Police Department made an agreement with the KK to turn in confiscated fake IDs along with a list of disturbances over to the MPD monthly up until May of this year. According to Jordan Meier, the last request was made in January and there were no concerns at that time. “The line of communication is very open between the Madison Police Department and the KK,” Jordan Meier said. “We have a very functional relationship now and I am happy about that.”
matt marheine/the daily cardinal
U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin. D-Wis., was joined by state politicians at a press conference Wednesday, where she voiced her opposition to Medicare changes proposed by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
Baldwin against Ryan’s Medicare privatization Samy Moskol The Daily Cardinal
Journalism not dead according to alumni By Kelly Kallien The Daily Cardinal
Five successful UW-Madison alumni journalists told students Wednesday that despite popular belief, journalism will not die out any time soon. ABC News national correspondent Chris Bury said although the medium for presentation of news is changing, the public will always need journalists to remain informed. “The question now is not if you have the technology and you know how to use it. The question is who is feeding it to you.” Peter Greenberg travelo editor CBS News
The panelists said journalism has changed immensely since the beginning of their careers. At the beginning of their careers, people got most of their news from television, whereas people today use new technological devices such as the iPad to gather information. CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg said social networking sites such as Twitter make it easy for anyone to post unreliable news on
the Internet. “We live in a world of citizen journalists.” Greenberg said, “The question now is not if you have the technology and you know how to use it. The question is who is feeding it to you.” The panel also discussed the tendency for certain television stations to favor particular political parties. An audience member asked Fox News senior executive producer David Tabacoff to comment on a video clip aired on Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor,” a conservative program. The clip, which aired during the Capitol protests about the budget repair bill, showed pro-union protesters demonstrating violently. However, the protesters shown in the clip were in a warm environment with palm trees, not Wisconsin. Tabacoff defended his station, saying the clip was not misleading because no one on the show said the protesters shown were the protesters in Wisconsin. Senior Fellow at Poynter Institute for Media Studies Jill Geisler said she thinks people now care more about how news will affect them personally rather than how it will affect the world as a whole. “The change that I sense is a move of a frame from ‘what does it mean to me’ to ‘what does it mean to society,’” Geisler said.
U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., held a press conference at Madison’s Senior Center Wednesday to voice her opposition to House Republicans’ proposal to privatize Medicare. The House budget, which was proposed by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, passed April 15, with members voting along party lines. Even though the budget proposal aims to counter the $14 trillion national debt, the proposal’s plans to change health-care access for seniors have proven controversial. The budget proposal replaces the Medicare guarantee for seniors over 65 with a voucher system that seniors would have to use to buy their health insurance. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office reported that seniors
voter id from page 3 “We need to ensure, going forward, that the elections are honest,” Hoskins said.
would bear a greater burden of healthcare costs under the proposal. According to Baldwin, the healthcare expenses for Medicare beneficiaries would rise from $5,538 to $12,513 per year by 2022. Baldwin also criticized House Republicans for cutting Medicare funding to fix the deficit while maintaining tax cuts for the upper class. “We’re protecting all of these expenditures at the same time we’re asking the middle class and seniors to sacrifice,” Baldwin said. Baldwin explained that two other budgets proposed by Democratic members of the House aimed to fix the deficit through shared sacrifice, proposals that would involve contributions from larger cross-sections of society. “I will personally oppose any effort to break the promise that we have made to our nation’s seniors. And I will continue to seek prudent, smart and responsible ways
to reduce our federal deficit,” Baldwin said. Dane County Executive Joe Parisi joined Baldwin to speak out against Ryan’s budget and Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed changes to Wisconsin’s SeniorCare. Parisi argued that SeniorCare is a good state model for national prescription drug programs and is beneficial for seniors and taxpayers alike. “The plans to undo both of these programs are shortsighted and unwise … We’re national leaders and these programs simply should not be undone,” Parisi said. Baldwin encouraged constituents to talk to Wisconsin’s U.S. Senators in order to stop the legislation as the Senate is expected to vote on the proposal soon. “We do have to address the deficit. We do so by pulling together,” Baldwin said.
State Sen. Joseph Leibham, R-Sheboygan, said he hopes a voter ID bill will be in effect by the 2012 election. “I’m confident that this
Legislature and Gov. Walker will be adopting some form of a photo ID requirement within the next couple of months,” Leibham said.
Heads down, thumbs up
Madison area named one of worst cities in country for particle pollution Area receives failing grade from report on pollution The Madison area was ranked as one of the worst places in the nation for particle pollution in the air in a new study from the American Lung Association. The report—State of the Air 2011—ranked the Madison area, including areas near the Wisconsin Dells, No. 24 nationwide for the amount of pollutants in the air. “State of the Air 2011 tells us that the Clean Air Act is working, based on trends nationwide, but people
living in parts of Wisconsin are still breathing levels of ozone or particle pollution that are unhealthy,” American Lung Association in Wisconsin Executive Director Sue Swan said in a statement. The report assigns academic letter grades for the amount of particle pollution such as smog or soot air levels for a certain county. This year, the Madison area received a grade of F for air pollution. “Emissions from coal-fired power plants and vehicle exhaust are major sources of air pollution,” Swan said in a statement.
ben pierson/the daily cardinal
Heather Simmons of UHS massage therapy massages Dan O’Brien during the “Study Break at Steenbock library” run by the Graduate Student Collaborative.
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Mifflin Issue 2011
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Lawyer informs students of their legal rights at Mifflin By Jane Milne The Daily Cardinal
Criminal defense lawyer Marcus Jens Berghahn spoke to students Wednesday about what can be expected from police at the highly-anticipated 2011 Mifflin Street Block Party Saturday. At the “Know Your Rights” event, sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union Student Alliance, Berghahn spoke about how constitutional rights would apply at the block party. Berghahn said the traditional belief that “As long as you’re on the grass, the police can’t touch you,” is a myth. Police can approach you if you even if you are in someone’s yard. This year, traditional rules regarding Mifflin have changed.
Because the Majestic Theatre now sponsors the event, people of the legal drinking age will be able to purchase a wristband and drink openly in the streets from a non-glass container. Students without wristbands are not allowed to drink in the streets. If they violate this rule, they risk being approached by police asking for identification. Berghahn said police never are allowed to search a person without a warrant. Any person is legally allowed to restrict the police from searching them. “Police are at your door, what do you do? Can you keep the door closed? Do they barge in? The only way the officer is getting in is if you let them in,” Berghahn said.
Students asked if they look guiltier if they refuse to answer questions posed by police when being arrested. Berghahn said if a student is being arrested, they could not look any guiltier. The best thing someone can do when being arrested is remain silent; talking would most likely further implicate the person. Freshman Deanna Latham said she found the presentation to be beneficial. “Any student who goes to this university would have benefited from this presentation. It was informative and important. More students should know about their rights. It made me realize we don’t know enough,” Latham said.
kyle bursaw/cardinal FILE photo
Mifflin Street Block Party attendees will be able to take the party to the streets for the first time to check out the live music.
Fewer arrests at Mifflin could lower costs to city By Maggie DeGroot The Daily Cardinal
Mayor Paul Soglin joined Madison Police Lt. Kristen Roman and Majestic Theatre owners Scott Leslie and Matt Gerding Wednesday to discuss regulations and expectations for the Mifflin Street Block Party. This year’s block party will allow attendees of legal drinking age to drink within the boundaries of the event zone. Attendees who are of age will be given a wristband in order to identify themselves to the police. The event zone stretches primarily from Broom Street to Bedford Street, Roman said. The new marked event zone area will give police and attendees clearer boundaries of where they can and cannot drink, Roman said. Leslie said he and Gerding want to make sure the block party is focused on live music.
“It doesn’t make sense to be producing live music if people feel like they can’t go in the streets,” Leslie said.
“Good behavior pays off.”
Paul Soglin mayor
The new event zone, which will allow legal drinking on the streets, will bring people out from backyards and make it easier for them to enjoy the live music, Leslie said. Soglin also brought up issues related to the cost of the event. Soglin said he wants attendees to stay safe at the event and, in doing so, help drive down the
costs of the block party. The city is currently facing tough times and the event could be an opportunity for attendees to do something to improve the community, Soglin said. “The less expenses we have related to misbehaving, the fewer problems we have pertaining to arrests, is going to mean more money that’s available for everything from social services to doing real crime fighting in our community,” Soglin said. If the number of arrests is low, the city would be able to save money, Soglin said. “Good behavior pays off,” Soglin said. Roman said police staffing for this year’s block party will depend on previous years’. “This year’s staffing is comparable to past events with just a few minor adjustments in terms of the numbers of officers,” Roman said.
Event Zone
• Starts at Broom Street at one end of West Mifflin Street to the Bedford Street end • Those of legal drinking age can drink in the streets as long as they have a wristband • Wristband stations will be located within the event zone • Beer stations located within the event zone where attendees of legal drinking age can buy beer
Entertainment
• Live music • Bands will start at 11a.m. and end at 7p.m.
*See Page 8 for the full entertainment line-up
Debate over redistricting continues By Kate Ray The Daily Cardinal
ben pierson/the daily cardinal
Doctors who wrote medical notes for protesters excusing them from work are facing penalties ranging from “written reprimadand to loss of pay and leadership positions,” according to the UW School of Medicine.
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Officials assured the physicians “acted on their own without the knowledge or approval of
the School.” The Wisconsin Medical Society said the doctors misused their authority, stating the physicians’ actions put public trust in
the medical community at risk. The School declined to comment on individual cases to protect confidentiality of public employee records.
City officials and members of the Reapportionment and Redistricting Ad Hoc Committee met Wednesday night to further discuss plans for redistricting Madison. Several proposals were presented and committee members were given the opportunity to comment. Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said he was concerned about the redistricting plans for District 8. He argued the Lakeshore dorms, which are currently a part of District 5, should be included in District 8. City officials and members of the committee agreed and plan to include the Lakeshore dorms within District 8 on their newly revised redistricting maps. Resnick also said Smith Hall and Ogg Hall should be in the same district. According to the last redistricting proposal, Ogg Hall will become a part of District 8 while Smith Hall will remain in District 4. “I do not have strong feelings whether these dorms are in District 4 or District 8, as long as they are together,” Resnick said. “I have not received any complaints with their current location in District 4.”
While a consensus was not reached about the placement of these dorms, committee members said they were concerned that including these dorms in the same district may significantly change the populations of each district. According to the Redistricting Committee’s criteria for drawing aldermanic districts, it is essential for each district to contain an equal number of inhabitants. “This process can be quite difficult,” committee member Mark Richardson said. “If you change one thing something else has to change, there are tradeoffs that have to be made.” Resnick’s final concern regarding District 8 pertained to the separation of Statesider and The Towers, both private dorms, into two separate districts. The current plan separates Statesider into District 8 and The Towers into District 2. “These two private dorms share a cafeteria,” Resnick said. “I don’t quite understand why they are being separated into two separate districts.” Committee members will meet with city council tonight to present tentative plans and issues.
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Campus overload Emotional health of college freshmen is at its lowest in 25 years, study finds Story by Andrea Kleinman
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n high school, students are told their four years of education will prepare them for the rigorous academia of college. For Alex Giordano, this was not the case. A 2010 graduate of the Latin High School of Chicago, a private school with stringent academic standards, Giordano was told “College will be a breeze,” compared to her time in high school. Now a freshman at UW-Madison, Giordano feels she was advised incorrectly, having felt immense stress since getting to campus, and she’s not the only one.
“I applied to 12 schools. That number really stressed me out during the application process.” Elena Besser high school senior The Latin School of Chicago
The National Norms Fall 2010 study found that stress levels for first-year college students are at their highest and self-rated emotional health is at its lowest. Robert Sepich, a stress management counselor at UW-Madison, helps students deal with emotional health and stress. Students of all ages are referred to him by medical staff for issues including public speaking, sleep issues and anxiety. According to Sepich, someone who can function fairly effectively academically and personally without too much wear and tear on their minds and bodies is considered to have ideal emotional health. The study found that students increased stress was largely a result of them being less confident in themselves. General feelings of competence and confidence are declining in college freshmen. Stress is hitting an all-time peak, and emotional health is suffering along with it. The explanation for this decline in emotional health is multi-faceted. Much of it is due to the fact that pressures, in both college and high school, are at a much higher level than ever before. Both academically and financially, students are coming into college feeling more stressed, the study found. Sepich said men and women handle stressful feelings in different ways. “Women are more likely to use free time to volunteer or to help family,” said Sepich. “Guys are more likely to work out or play video games. I think women seek help more than men, both for mental health issues and for physical health issues.” For Elena Besser and Libby Borders, two seniors at the Latin School of Chicago, the fears of getting into college began two
years before the actual application process, as both began ACT preparation their sophomore year. Additionally, the process of applying to college is becoming much more stressful, according to Besser. With overwhelming amounts of stress already existing in the high school setting, it makes sense that with the additional pressures of college, freshmen are facing the highest anxiety levels ever. “I applied to 12 schools,” said Besser. “That number really stressed me out during the application process.” Sam Kaplan, a freshman at UW-Madison, said larger university class sizes can be daunting. “Before college, I was getting a lot more one-on-one attention from my teachers,” Kaplan said. Kaplan, a 2010 graduate of Paul D. Schreiber High School in Port Washington, New York, said the autonomy of college work added pressure to her already full schedule. Anxiety and stress can also arise from the pedantic duties of being a student. “Work here comes in much larger loads and all at once,” said UW-Madison freshman Lauren Rosenberg. “In college, I have hours of reading to do, papers that are several pages long to write, and hours of math problems to solve—all on top of the classes that I have to attend.” The surplus of work leads freshmen to think each grade they earn makes a difference in terms of possible graduate programs and jobs, only adding to stress, according to Sepich. “When you’re feeling like a nuance of a grade can make a difference between a graduate program or a job, and it feels like so much rides on every little quiz that’s only five percent of your grade—that keeps stress at a chronically high level.” Sepich said. “That certainly hurts your emotional health.”
“Before college, I was getting a lot more oneon-one attention from my teachers.” Sam Kaplan freshman UW-Madison
Sepich sees that freshmen are trying to achieve more than previous applicants. High school seniors already have jobs, clubs and other activities on their plate before coming to college. To handle all of the madness and uncertainty of college, Sepich recommends students take care of themselves. “Getting decent sleep, doing some kind of exercise, paying
attention to what you eat and some regular relaxation practice,” Sepich said. Rosenberg takes academics and her extracurricular activities seriously but has learned to keep a natural balance with school. “Rather than thinking about the amount of work that I have to do, I find taking breaks and doing stuff that I enjoy, like watching TV and hanging out with friends, helps me relax,” Rosenberg said. Graphic by Natasha Soglin
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Majestic makes the best of Mifflin Kyle Sparks total awesome
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Bears Climb Mountains members (clockwise from left) Javi Reyes, Rickey Reyes, Mike Conrardy, Dustin Skele and Joe Fadden
Bears climb Mifflin Street By Andy Kerber The Daily Cardinal
Bears Climb Mountains members Rickey Reyes (lead vocals, electric guitar), Javi Reyes (bass guitar), Dusty Skele (electric guitar), Mike Conrardy (drums) and Joe Fadden (acoustic guitar, backing vocals) were kind enough to invite me into the apartment of Rickey Reyes and Fadden to sit in on their practice, where they ran through the set they will perform at the Mifflin Street Block Party this Saturday. Even though their rehearsal space in the house is smaller than the average dorm room, the band still manages to practice their stage antics, especially Rickey’s dancing and not-too-shabby Louis Armstrong-style vocals. Bears Climb Mountains got started in that very house when both Rickey and Fadden found they had a shared interest in guitar. Reyes told Skele and Conrardy, whom he knew from his dorm days. Javi, Rickey’s younger brother, ended up tagging along and picking up the bass, and the band was born. “Once we got the band started, we had to let him play,” Rickey Reyes said. About a quarter of their songs were written in the early jam sessions by Reyes and Fadden, when they would sit in the living room with their guitars and pound songs out. A number of their songs were written by Rickey to take his mind off studying biophysical chemistry. “You [Reyes] would lock yourself in your room, you were going crazy,” said
Fadden to Reyes. Since the band’s inception, all members have had input on songwriting. “Sometimes, Javi will come in with ideas, and we’ll work off of that, or I’ll bring ideas and we’ll bounce off of that” said Ricky. The band’s Myspace page bills them as folk/hip hop/rock, but they humorously bill themselves as “dubDisney bro-pop.” They said their most bizarre performance experience was at the Varsity Theatre in the Twin Cities, which they referred to as “The Majestic of Minneapolis.” They were initially excited about the gig, as it was their fifth official show, and to play the premier theatre of the University of Minnesota campus was a source of pride for the band. After sound check, they were greeted by the manager, who asked them if they had any swear words or inappropriate concepts in their songs. Before they could ask why they had to censor their songs, a small child ran by. The band looked around and saw hundreds of small children. “We had no idea that it was going to be a kid’s show,” recalls Fadden. After some quick rewriting of their lyrics, they performed the show for all the children. One of their rewrites involved changing the song “Smokealotapotomus” into “Drink-a-lot-of-pop-omus.” “Minneapolis was a strange experience altogether,” said Fadden. “Like something out of ‘Spinal Tap,’” concluded Reyes.
MIFFLIN STAGE LINEUP THE NOD 11 a.m. - 11:35 a.m. THE CHOONS 12:25 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. STEEZ 1:50 p.m. - 2:25 p.m. DJ PAIN 1 / CRANBERRY SHOW 2:45 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. DIRTY DISCO KIDZ 4:05 p.m. - 4:40 p.m. MIKE CARLSON 5:30 p.m. - 6:05 p.m.
DJ RADISH 11:40 a.m. - 12:15 a.m. JACK MULQUEEN 1:05 p.m. - 1:40 p.m. JT ROACH 2:30 p.m. - 2:40 p.m. F. STOKES 3:25 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. STAR PERSONS 4:50 p.m. - 5:25 p.m. BEARS CLIMB MOUNTAINS 6:15 p.m. - 6:50 p.m.
’m 22 years old and less than two weeks away from finishing my Bachelor’s degree—the last thing I need is another good excuse to waste away the sunlight with a backpack full of Tecate Light (the old weight-loss plans take no days off ). It’s mostly just because I’m not a very complicated person, y’know? And so it seems like a near certainty that the Mifflin Street Block Party—the biggest daytime drinking party this side of Lambeau Field—would be right in my wheelhouse. But the whole thing about Mifflin is that I hate Mifflin. The Block Party follows a pretty infallible formula, and it takes a whole bunch of out-of-town idiots to muck up something as elegant as a holiday dedicated to nothing but drinking beers on the street in the middle of the day. But that’s exactly what happens. Things get out of control, and then Big Government has to intervene before something really awful happens. This is the same thing that happened to the Halloween party on State Street. Once the blue and whites were called to make sure storefront windows stayed intact and gave Frank Productions the authority to start charging entrance fees for
attendees to see bands whose biggest accomplishments were their inclusion on “Now That’s What I Call Music Volume 3,” the whole dynamic changed and now every October Freakfest makes Madison look like the set for a commercial for Red Bull. So if you’re approaching the gradual takeover of the notorious block party with equal parts skepticism and horror, you’re not the only one. Wisconsin’s government is on a roll these days of doing things that piss me off, but there are several reasons to think this event might actually be different. When so-called friends from out of town come to steal our furniture, break our windows and pee on our lawns, at least they’ll be doing so at an event that is distinctly our own.
The first is that City Hall had the good senses to enlist Majestic Live to cover the details. Instead of assigning musical acts that focus their careers on wooing high school pompom squads, Majestic Live has earned a decent reputation over the past few years of bringing to Madison a healthy flow of bands that honest-to-goodness do not suck. And not only do this year’s scheduled artists not suck, but they’re familiar faces, too. Majestic Live’s whole plan seems to have been forced into hasty
development, and there’s a good chance they didn’t have the luxury or foresight to nab any national touring bands for the bill. But as it is, they compiled an impressive set of tried-andtrue Madison acts—it’s almost as if they’re daring us to stay sober to catch F. Stokes. But from where I’m sitting, the quality of the groups is of secondary importance. The main point is that these acts are by and large from Madison. By keeping the focus on Madison, Majestic Live seem to reinforce the “block party” and “neighborhood” aspects of the binge-drinking marathon. So when so-called friends from out of town come to steal our furniture, break our windows and pee on our lawns, at least they’ll be doing so at an event that is distinctly our own. And maybe if we continue to book local bands and continue to reinforce that the Mifflin Street Block Party is an event made by student residents, for student residents; and maybe if we reject the corporate interest in exploiting a few thousand intoxicated pedestrians; then maybe it will turn out that the Mifflin Street Block Party doesn’t actually suck. But there is one last reason for optimism, and that’s because I’m leaving soon, which means even if this whole ship goes to hell, I won’t be around and forced to deal with it. Kyle secretly plans to attend every Mifflin for the next 10 years, crowdsurfing down the street like a wayward octabong. Want to join him? E-mail ktsparks@wisc.edu to set up plans.
arts
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WEEKEND MUST-SEES Sleeping in the Aviary w/ The Hussy (LP Release) The Midwest Beat and Kitty Rhombus Thursday, April 28 at 9 p.m. at the Frequency
photo Courtesy Philadelphonic
Although this is G. Love’s first venture into straight blues territory, he looks to cover a wealth of blues history at his Thursday show at the Majestic.
Madison gets ready for some classic G. Lovin’ By Dana Rancour The Daily Cardinal
It’s been over a year since G. Love & Special Sauce performed in Madison, but Garrett Dutton, a.k.a. G. Love is back Thursday at the Majestic Theatre on his first tour dedicated to the blues. This comes on the heels of G. Love’s latest record Fixin’ to Die. Having already released 14 albums between his solo and group work, it might be hard to imagine how Dutton could come up with material that still hooks his fan’s interest. However, his latest record, named after a song by the blues artist Bukka White, is on a fresh twist on the lighthearted music he and Special Sauce have put out in the past. “A lot of people, when they think about G. Love, they think of more of our fun-loving hits like ‘Cold Beverage’ and ‘My Baby’s Got Sauce,’” Dutton said. “This record definitely has plenty of light hearted moments, but I think all in all it is a heavier record musically. It’s a heavier record thematically, and we want to come and really portray a more serious side of the musicianship of what we do.” Fixin’ to Die is a compilation of songs written by Dutton over the past 20-plus years. “This record was for me really going back to my roots as a blues player and as a coffee house musician,” Dutton said. Besides a new tone, Fixin to Die is unique for its producer:
folk artists the Avett Brothers. “They are just wonderful musicians,” Dutton said. But G. Love and Special Sauce classics will not be absent come Thursday night. The set list is intended to take the audience on a “musical journey,” venturing from the new blues album back to some old school tunes. “Every region is a little different in the vibe you know. I think in the Midwest they really like to party.” Garrett “G. Love” Dutton frontman G. Love & Special Sauce
The Fixin’ to Die tour will eventually take G. Love & Special Sauce down to Brazil to tour with Jack Johnson, but Dutton seems happy to perform wherever he can. “Every region is a little different in the vibe you know. I think in the Midwest they really like to party,” Dutton said. “I really feel like when we’re going to the smaller cities the people really genuinely appreciate the fact that you come through and they are real true fans,” G. Love said. “I could be in Brazil or Tokyo or Philly or Madison, I don’t really care what city we’re in just as long as the crowd’s ready ‘cause I know we’ll be ready.”
The Daily Cardinal offices are filled to the brim with Sleeping in the Aviary fans, but their fanbase extends considerably beyond Vilas Hall. The garage band formerly of Madison (currently of Minneapolis) has a strong following locally, enough that their frequent returns to the isthmus are usually marked with packed shows. But they split the top of the bill at the Frequency’s Thursday show, as they will share the stage with self-described “piss and vinegar” rock outfit the Hussy, who are holding the release party for their debut LP Cement Tomb Mind Control. The Hussy also call Madison home and should pair well with the hyper caffenatied craziness of Sleeping in the Aviary’s live shows. Also dropping by the Frequency are local stallworts the Midwest Beat and Kitty Rhombus, ensuring this show is a must-see for both fans of local music and fans of raucus shows in general. Sleeping in the Aviary (Top) Courtesy Science of Sound The Hussy (Bottom) Courtesy Slow Fizz Records
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Pop and vending machines must be rich! Nearly $40 billion in U.S. coins are currently in circulation. dailycardinal.com/comics
Mifflin Issue 2011
Chancing upon a spare Mifflin wristband
Today’s Sudoku
Evil Bird
By Caitlin Kirihara kirihara@wisc.edu
© Puzzles by Pappocom
Eatin’ Cake
By Dylan Moriarty EatinCake@gmail.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 Pipesmokers
By Joseph Diedrich jsdiedrich@wisc.edu
Today’s Crossword Puzzle
The Graph Giraffe Classic
By Yosef Lerner graphics@dailycardinal.com
By D.T. dtollefson@wisc.edu
Hoop Dreams Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com Trouble Everywhere
ACROSS 1 “An Inconvenient Truth” veep 5 She sheep 9 Blighted blocks 14 Knowledgeable about 15 Hanging on every word 16 Easy catch for an infielder 17 Entry in a bookworm’s calendar 18 Between ports 19 Song’s opening bars 20 Stressful place to be 23 Bowler, e.g. 24 Sailor’s salutation 25 Handrail posts 27 Took an oath 30 Like citrus juices 32 Sigma successor 33 Author Christie 36 Ensnare 39 Not fooled by 41 Underwater vessel 42 Next in line, in a way 43 At the peak of 44 “Return to ___” (Elvis hit) 46 19th-century samurai home 47 Big name in chocolate 49 Cockeyed
1 Ballroom dance 5 53 “Untouched by man” bottled water brand 55 “2001” computer 56 At someone’s mercy 62 Privileged group 64 Ear-piercing site 65 “The Bridges of Madison County” state 66 Befuddled cartoon character? 67 Nut with caffeine 68 Played for a sap 69 Supreme Court duds 70 Arise (from) 71 Very dry DOWN 1 Hindu religious instructor 2 Ready for business 3 Thoroughfare 4 Make lovable 5 A Muse 6 Wishy-___ 7 Blunted blade 8 Adult male deer 9 Covered with thorns 10 “Man of a Thousand Faces” Chaney 11 In hot water 12 Many a commissioned piece 13 Helps in the weight room
1 Mother of Zeus 2 22 Eastern Catholic church member (Var.) 26 Also starring 27 Greek portico 28 Long for 29 Precariously situated 30 Observe Yom Kippur 31 Country south of Libya 34 Composer Mahler 35 Son of Adam 37 Right-hand person 38 Boat front 40 Acronym for an oilrich group 45 Hindu noble 48 Farriers 50 Big name in satellite radio 51 What fans do 52 Greeting in “Winniethe-Pooh” 53 Aesop specialty 54 Construction girder 57 Benevolent lodge members 58 What fans do 59 American Beauty, for one 60 Wide-spouted pitcher 61 Add cargo 63 Casual shirt, casually
Washington and the Bear
By Derek Sandberg kalarooka@gmail.com
opinion dailycardinal.com/opinion
Mifflin’s future in financial risk samantha witthuhn opinion columnist
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his weekend, students from across the campus, city and state will flock to Madison to partake in the annual Mifflin Street Block Party. A historical event birthed from an organized Vietnam War protest in 1969, the block party has evolved into a cornucopia of drunk kids separating from their friends and getting hog-tied in the street. While the event is expected to harbor thousands of individuals sipping from boot flasks and wine disguised in soda cans, this Saturday the party rules have changed … and you can cry if you want too. After much pleading from the city, particularly from Ald. Mike Verveer, District-4, and concessions to certain stipulations, the block party’s sponsorship has shifted from DCNY Pro to the Majestic and Capital Neighborhoods, Inc. Because the event saw a serious jump in attendance from a few thousand in 2001 to 20,000 in 2002, crowd regulation and activities for meandering out-of-state drunkards became not only a necessity but also a business opportunity. The Majestic agreed to host the party under the condition that open, alcoholic and nonglass containers be allowed on the street for people wearing a 21-and-over wristband. Instead of being confined to gravel alleys and dirt backyards, individuals who are of-age can now take one big step for the plastered college student right onto the sidewalk without getting ticketed. Not only will this give the of-
age crowd the freedom to drink where they please, but it will also redirect more business to vendors, music and beer gardens, since individuals wont have to worry about where they can legally flush down a Dark Horse. It can be argued that lifting the open bottle ordinance could potentially draw in a larger crowd of adults and permit out-of-control behavior, but its important to note that a decrease in citations and arrests will result in more leeway for students to drink on the street. According to Channel3000, 206 people were arrested at last year’s block party, which is up from 164 arrests in 2009—giving credibility to the Majestic’s proposal.
It’s only a matter of time before the city starts to gate and ticket Mifflin just as they gated and ticketed Freakfest.
The lifted ordinance will undoubtably create business while fostering a safe party environment: a win-win for everyone involved. But as the years go by, it seems the party’s growing success contributes to its increased sponsorship and regulation. While I applaud the Majestic’s initiative to make this year’s event ticket-free, an increase in police costs paired with a decrease in state funding and citation revenue is bound to be a financial hardship on the city—a situation that closely mirrors Madison’s Halloween conundrum. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, police funding for Mifflin rose from $97,000 in 2008 to $107,000
in 2009, while arrests declined. It isn’t hard to figure out that someone is going to have to pay the difference, and I doubt Madison taxpayers will rise to the occasion. It’s only a matter of time before the city starts to gate and ticket Mifflin just as they gated and ticketed Freakfest. More popular bands will be selected to play in order to attract larger crowds and soon students will be paying 10 bucks a pop to choke down an octobong only to get zip tied and taken to detox. But hey, at least you got to hear the Smashing Pumpkins or maybe even Vic Ferrari, right? Yes, the Majestic and Capital Neighborhoods, Inc. did the Madison community a favor by temporarily swaying the city’s orthodox views on street drinking, organizing musical venues and recruiting street vendors, but it’s important that increased profits and business don’t effect the makeup of Mifflin block parties to come. If Mifflin were to fall under the city’s complete control, regulation of the event would only lead to more regulation. As the party becomes more structured, turnout and majority opinion of the event will decline. Unfortunately, students may not have much of a say in the matter. If attendance grows, so does the city’s involvement. Students may want Mifflin to be the best party of the year, but like everything it will soon reach its peak. It’s important to suck the marrow on Saturday, as this weekend may be our last chance to authentically celebrate Mifflin the way it deserves to be celebrated. Just try not to brown-out. Samantha Witthuhn is a junior majoring in political science and journalism. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR Majestic clears the air about Mifflin At the end of February, we were summoned to a meeting at City Hall where the 2011 Mifflin Street Block Party was discussed. At the meeting it became evident that the city’s enthusiasm for the Mifflin Street Block Party was beginning to wane. Ald. Mike Verveer, District-4, who always had the students’ interests in the front of his mind, brought us to that meeting to ask that we consider sponsoring the block. If we didn’t sponsor the event, no one else would. What we’ve learned since is that the amount of planning that goes on for this event at City Hall is the equivalent to the city endorsing it. From street closures to trash removal to street barricades to security and safety, the planning that goes into hosting this event is epic. Almost every city agency seemingly has a role to play in this event from police to fire, streets, parks, city attorney, etc.
As long as the Majestic is involved with Mifflin Street, it will never be gated or ticketed.
So we began to look at how we could do this. Ticketing the event was never considered. We stated that if we were going to become involved, we needed to allow open containers on the street and sell beer. Not only would this make Mifflin a better party, but through the sale of beer we are hoping to cover our costs and, yes, hopefully make a little bit of money too— we are a business after all. As we are a business that is widely supported by UW-Madison, our involvement had to be looked at as a positive by all of you, and we think that when all is said and done, it will be. Because we aren’t taking anything away from Mifflin,
we are simply adding to it. We all have Capitol Neighborhoods to thank for that. They volunteered to take out the beer license for the street. We couldn’t be happier to have Capitol Neighborhoods as our partner in this year’s event. If it were not for them, we would not be able to sell beer at all. We know they are tremendously excited to be a part of the block party as well. We’ve read a lot of misinformation being spread, particularly in the comments section of both student newspapers. This is not a conspiracy, it’s a block party. This is not and will never become Freakfest, it is Mifflin Street. As long as the Majestic is involved with Mifflin Street, it will never be gated or ticketed. If we can’t make the finances work with the selling of beer and food vending permits, we’ll simply stop getting involved. The Majestic and Capitol Neighborhoods will not enforce what can and cannot be consumed on the street. If anyone else does, they are not affiliated with the Majestic or Capitol Neighborhoods. The beer we are selling is what has allowed us to become involved. We are hoping that all of the students decide that they like stages and music, port-a-potty’s, food, and the freedom to be on the street with a beer, and decide to support us. It costs thousands of dollars to put this event on, and we hope we cover our costs so that we can continue to be a part of it, which hopefully means the party is better for everyone. To repeat and reiterate: We are not trying to ruin Mifflin or over commercialize it. We’re trying to provide the structure the city needs to allow the party the students want. —Scott Leslie and Matt Gerding Owners Majestic Theatre / Majestic Live
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Mifflin Issue 2011
dailycardinal.com/sports
Softball
Badgers earn historic victories in Iowa sweep By Adam Tupitza the daily cardinal
The Wisconsin softball team traveled to Iowa Wednesday and pulled off a doubleheader sweep, dealing Iowa its first two home losses of the season with a 7-6 victory in game one and a 6-3 win in the game two. Iowa (8-6 Big Ten, 26-19 overall) came into the doubleheader with a perfect 7-0 record at home this season, and fresh off a 4-2 victory over then No. 1 Michigan Saturday. Wisconsin (6-8, 26-19) claimed the program's first two-game sweep ever in Iowa City. Both offenses sprung to life early in game one, as junior designated hitter Karla Powell smacked a double off the wall in the first inning to score sophomore third baseman Shannel Blackshear. Iowa quickly responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning, aided by two Badger errors. Iowa’s lead was short-lived, however, as sophomore infielder Whitney Massey came on to pinch hit in the top of the second and drove the ball over the right field wall for a three-run homer to tie the game at 4. Later in the inning, Powell scored freshman outfielder Mary Massei on a sacrifice fly. The Badgers then used their aggressiveness on the base paths to their
advantage. With senior outfielder Jennifer Krueger on third, Blackshear took off for second base. The Iowa catcher threw the ball into center field, and Krueger came home easily for Wisconsin’s sixth run. Freshman pitcher Cassandra Darrah was taken out of the game after giving up a solo home run to Iowa junior infielder Katie Keim in the bottom of the second. Darrah, a Corydon, Iowa native, had a large contingent of family and friends on hand to see her pitch a college game in her home state for the first time. The freshman unfortunately did not turn in her best performance of the season, allowing four earned runs in one inning of work. On to pitch in relief was freshman Amanda Najdek, and she did her part to calm the Hawkeye bats. She pitched six innings and allowed only one run—a third inning Iowa run which tied the game at six. Wisconsin would be the team to finally break the tie in the top of the seventh. Blackshear led off the inning with a walk. Sophomore Abby Gregory came on to pinch run, and headed to second base on a passed ball. A sacrifice fly by Powell moved Gregory to third. The Badgers then
used one of their favorite plays to get the run across-—the squeeze bunt. Freshman shortstop Stephanie Peace got the bunt down and Powell beat the tag from Iowa’s catcher to give the Badgers a 7-6 lead. Iowa threatened in the bottom of the seventh with a one-out double, but Najdek retired the final two batters for her fourth victory of the season. The Wisconsin offense did not cool down in game two. Falling behind 3-0 in the third, the Badgers battled back to take a 6-3 lead. A fifth inning tworun homer by Blackshear and a sixth inning three-run shot by Massei did most of the damage. Darrah did not disappoint in game two and was brilliant in relief after struggling in the first game. She gave up no runs in four and two-thirds innings of work and picked up her 14th victory of the season. With the win, the Badgers picked up two huge victories in their quest to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. A two game sweep of No. 44 Iowa will definitely boost their resume. UW will have another opportunity to improve its record this weekend when they host No. 2 Michigan. —UWBadgers.com contributed to this report.
Goodell's misrepresentations show his allegiances lie with owners, not players Nico Savidge savidge nation
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or a guy who runs the NFL, Roger Goodell doesn’t seem to know very much about it. On a recent conference call with San Diego Chargers season ticket holders, Goodell took on what he called a “misrepresentation” about professional football players, namely the idea that the career of the average NFL player lasts 3.5 years. According to Goodell, that number is skewed by “a lot of players who don’t make NFL rosters and it brings down the average.” Goodell (and an accompanying press release from NFLLabor.com, a website the league runs) points to the average playing career length of a player who makes the Pro Bowl (11.7 years), that of a player selected in the first round of the draft (9.3 years) and that of a player who makes his team’s opening day roster (six years). And there’s no other way of saying it: Goodell is an idiot for doing so. To say the way we measure average career length should be based on the small percentage of NFL players who make the Pro Bowl, or the minuscule percentage of players picked in the first round of the draft, is the real misrepresentation in the labor debate. The fact is, Goodell is a puppet of the NFL owners who want to make sure players take the blame if there’s no football this fall. To do so, he’s using numbers that show an aloof lack of respect for the players who destroy their bodies in
exchange for a short career that helps generate billions for NFL owners. It would be like Goodell saying it’s a misrepresentation that the league minimum salary is $300,000 because the guys who go to the Pro Bowl make millions. It’s a stupid comparison that falls into the same line of thinking NFL owners have tried to promote throughout the lockout controversy: That Peyton Manning is keeping you from enjoying football so he can tack on a few more zeros to the end of his paycheck. And that third-string center with no real education, head trauma and a pittance of a salary compared to the medical bills he’ll pay for the rest of his life? Well, that’s just a misrepresentation.
Goodell is a puppet of the NFL owners who want to make sure players take the blame if there's no football this fall.
Former Broncos tight end Nate Jackson wrote a great piece for Deadspin Tuesday, in which he talked about why the average career length is so low and what that average career is like. Jackson enjoyed a six-year career, but by the end of it he was praying for a chance to make another roster. “I better be ready,” Jackson wrote, recalling the mindset of players on the fringe of the professional ranks. “So I won’t be applying for another job. I won’t be moving on with my life. I’ll be working out and getting ready and watching the phone.”
That’s why Goodell’s statements are so idiotic. Even if guys reach that six-year mark, fans have to know what happens before those six years and after them and during them. Good for the 53 guys who make an opening day roster. But does Roger Goodell think those were the only 53 guys who tried? And even if it was, in a league famous for destroying players and leaving them with pathetic retirement plans, does he think six years is all that impressive for an average career length, even for its best player? I guess he does. That’s why Roger Goodell and the NFL owners deserve your scorn if there isn’t a season this year. They make billions each year from these players in an exploitative system that sees owners retire to villas and yachts while players suffer with brain damage and debt. And Goodell says players should be satisfied with that system, and demanding more makes them whiny millionaires. Instead of making the NFL more fair, Roger Goodell wants you to hate the players. He wants you to think they’re a bunch of prima donnas. He wants you to think they fix numbers so the world throws them a pity party. But he’s the one pulling out meaningless numbers, and he’s the one making money without having to face what comes after 3.5 years of hits to the head and injures, and he’s the one promoting the owners’ agenda without giving a damn whether the players get what’s rightfully theirs. He’s the one you should blame. What do you think about the NFL labor controversy? E-mail Nico at savidgewilki@dailycardinal.com.
Matt Marheine/cardinal file photo
Sophomore Whitney Massey's second inning three-run homerun was part of a five-run inning that helped UW down Iowa 7-6 in game one.