Thursday, February 18, 2021 - The Daily Cardinal

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Thursday, February 18, 2021

COVID Relief +OPINION, page 7

Everything’s Good! +Graphics page 8

Students struggle with rent amid pandemic

By Ellie Nowakowski STAFF WRITER

As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its second year, students are struggling to pay rent, some without any federal support.

UW was allocated $29.78 million of federal funding through the U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) on Jan. 13. On Feb. 15, UW automatically distributed $9.89 million in direct aid to Pell Grant students.

Changing restrictions from the federal government has led UW to distribute federal funds only to students who are federal financial aid eligible, the UW Financial Aid Office said.

Those who are not eligible to receive federal funding include international, DACA and undocumented students. UW has not specified how it will spend the remaining $20 million.

Housing insecurity is not a novel issue at UW, but as COVID-19 impacts people across the country, students at UW-Madison are being impacted in similar ways.

In the weeks leading up to the release of HEERF II funding, the office of financial aid was receiving around 25 requests per week. Less than 24 hours after the funding was released, students had made more than 600 requests, Director of Student Financial Aid Helen Faith said.

“The pandemic has put many more people at risk of eviction and that certainly includes students,” District 2 Supervisor and eviction defense lawyer Heidi Wegleitner said. “So while students may not have been a traditional client of mine, I have seen

and represented more students here, because they needed help.”

According to Wegleitner, the ongoing nature of the pandemic and rent debt leave federal funds “woefully insufficient.”

“You don’t realize how difficult [housing insecurity] can be until it happens to you,” BIPOC Coalition Co-Founder Tarah Stangler said. “The weight of thinking about college loans, and paying tuition and still being able to work while you’re trying to support yourself and do school is really scary, and it’s really isolating.”

Housing insecurity strips students of the time and energy that they need to prioritize their education and college experience. UW-Madison alumna Brooke Evans (‘17) struggled with housing insecurity before and during her time at UW and advised Sec. Castro’s 2020 presidential campaign on issues including higher education and homelessness.

“It’s really hard to focus on school,” Evans said. “You’re spending so much time trying to survive and improve to the environment that you’re in.”

As a student who faced homelessness, Evans did not feel a sense of belonging, did not feel seen by the university and did not have access to the Wisconsin Experience like many of her peers.

“I started college just wanting to be normal,” Evans said. “I wanted to date, I wanted to have a long term relationship, I wanted to go to parties and have regular friends and it sounds trite, but I just wanted the opportunity to be boring.”

With so much time being spent try-

ing to resolve her housing insecurity and receive aid, compounded with all of the emotional energy of the lived experience, Evans had little time to make friends, go to parties or even focus on classwork.

“Successful means that people aren’t just performing in the classroom, but successful all around,” Evans said. “They’re supposed to be able to access the [Wisconsin Experience], they should have access to things like sports events, and should be able to have hobbies, and spend time with friends, and be a part of organizations that do activism or politics. All of those things are part of the college experience.”

While HEERF II funding was allocated to over 4,000 students at UW, DACA, undocumented and international students were not included in that funding.

Students can submit Emergency Support Requests online, which Madison will evaluate on a “case-bycase” basis. Those who are not eligible for federal funding but qualify for emergency support will receive aid through private funding through the Office of Financial Aid. “I don’t want students to have to worry about whether they’re qualified for federal funds because ultimately we want to be able to support all students regardless,” Faith said.

While UW-Madison has specified that it will give emergency aid to students regardless of eligibility, the university has not said how much of the remaining money will go to direct student aid.

“It’s such a balancing act. We’re

trying to preserve programs, we’re trying to avoid cuts, we’re trying to preserve the positions that we need to support students at the university, and we’re also trying to respond to students’ emergency needs,” Faith said.

“That’s a conversation that is really complex and requires us to balance a lot of priorities that ultimately all serve the same purpose.”

The pandemic is shining a light on the struggles of students with housing insecurity as the issue becomes more widespread. Whether the university will continue to promise their support after the pandemic ends is unclear.

“This problem, unfortunately, at this point is only getting worse and becoming more acutely visible. I don’t see it receding into the shadows, the way that it was,” Evans said.

Evans has been involved with creating and advocating for ASM’s $2 million COVID Relief Fund.

UW-Madison administration has concerns over the legality of distributing the funds, but ASM is pushing to distribute the money they can to students who need it and who may not qualify for federally funded financial aid.

“The idea behind the fund that we’re creating is no strings attached to help cover the money that should have been given to the undocumented, DACA recipients and international students during that first round of HEERF funding that didn’t because of the IFR rulings,” Stangler said. “We’re all facing financial crises, and we need to make sure that money gets given to students that need it the most.”

Students can make an Emergency Support Request online through their MyUW Student Center.

The UW-Madison Emergency Student Support Fund is accepting donations to support students who are not eligible to receive federal funds.

ELLI NOWAKOWSKI/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Students are struggling to pay rent, some without any federal support.

Proposal to legalize, tax marijuana opposed by Republicans

By Emma Grenzebach and Hope Karnopp STAFF WRITER AND STATE NEWS EDITOR

Gov. Tony Evers included a proposal to legalize and tax marijuana in his biennial budget, which he unveiled in full Tuesday. The plan faces opposition from Republican leaders in the legislature, who had asked the governor to avoid “divisive” policy proposals in his budget.

The governor previously indicated on Feb. 7 that his budget would include the proposal. Under the plan, marijuana would be regulated and taxed similar to how the state treats alcohol.

“Frankly, red and blue states across the country have moved forward with legalization and there is no reason Wisconsin should be left behind when we know it’s supported by a majority of Wisconsinites,” Evers said.

In a 2019 Marquette Law School poll, 59 percent of voters said

marijuana should be legal, and 83 percent said it should be legal for medical purposes.

Under Evers’ proposal, recreational marijuana would be subject to a 15 percent excise tax on wholesale sales and a 10 percent excise tax on retail sales. Individuals would

need to be 21 years old to purchase marijuana for recreational use.

Those using marijuana for medical purposes would be exempt from the additional tax and regular sales tax.

Evers included a plan to legalize medical marijuana in his 201921 budget, but it was rejected by

GRAPHIC BY ZOE BENDOFF

Republicans in the legislature.

The plan is expected to produce $165.8 million annually, starting in the 2022-23 fiscal year. Sixty percent of the excise revenue would be used to “improve social equity and help underserved communities.” The administration estimates $79.3 million will be deposited into a new Community Reinvestment Fund, which would provide grants for diversity initiatives, community health workers and small, rural school districts.

In response to Evers’ budget address Tuesday, some Democrats voiced their support of the proposal to legalize marijuana, including Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, and Sen. Kelda Helen Roys, D-Madison.

Republicans criticized Evers’ budget as a whole and are likely to rewrite most or all of Evers’ proposals. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said legalizing recreational marijuana was just one “poi-

son pill” in Evers’ budget.

Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville, said Monday he remained “firmly opposed to any proposal to legalize marijuana.” Stroebel sits on the Joint Finance Committee, which plays a major role in shaping the state budget.

Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaven Dam, said he was “disappointed that Governor Evers has ignored the calls of Republicans in the legislature and included divisive items in his budget proposal.

Welfare expansion and marijuana legalization are items we have already said we would not take up in the budget — but the Governor included them anyway.”

In an UPFRONT interview aired Sunday, Born, a co-chair of the JFC, said that the budget process is not the place to discuss marijuana legalization. “If the Legislature wants to take it up and pass it outside of the

marijuana page 3

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

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Thursday, February 18, 2021

UW-Madison opposed to Lakeshore lights

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Walking the Lakeshore Path past nightfall is not for the faint of heart.

Not only does the trail suffer from non-existent lighting, aside from the streaks of moonlight through the trees, but it lacks access points for police or escape routes for walkers.

This renders the path unusable at night — except for those walking in groups, keys clenched between their knuckles with their phones open and ready to call 911.

“I have had to walk the path past dark many times,” said Katie Zewiske, a UW-Madison student and former Lakeshore resident. “I try not to be by myself, but if I am, I definitely have the flashlight on my phone on and I usually call a friend or a family member to talk to.”

Will Rhodes, another former resident of the Lakeshore neighborhood, echoed this feeling of unease. “I told myself I was paranoid and kept walking,” he said. “That’s a privilege I have as a male student though, because while I think about ghosts and movie monsters hiding behind the trees, there are other students who have to deal with much more real safety concerns.”

These safety concerns have never been resolved.

Three candidates for the District 8 alder seat have proposed lighting the Lakeshore Path in just the past three years. The measure, while widely supported among students that live in the dorms along Mendota, has never come to fruition despite petitions, op-eds and complaints. In 2016, following a string of sexual assaults, students even protested on campus for better lighting along the path. Ald. Max Presigiacomo approached administration at the beginning of his term to discuss additional lighting with no success.

In the end, only two of UW-Madison’s 140 blue emergency phone lights dot the trail’s four-mile span. “Rapeshore Path” remains dark.

The University of Wisconsin Police Department has long opposed adding additional safety precautions to the

trail. After a 2019 petition gathered over 1,000 signatures to advocate for additional blue light phones, UWPD responded, calling the emergency phones outdated and costly.

The fact is, the university benefits from the path remaining unlit.

While the Lakeshore path is generally safe, the darkened nature of the path can discourage students from walking it at night, which helps prevent possible incidents from occurring in a place without an escape route for troubled pedestrians or access points for officers. UWPD spokesman Marc Lovicott recommended that students use this secluded path less, noting that there are “other routes on campus that are safer for our community.”

The department promotes this message, which may seem contradictory: “Stay in lit places,” but there will be no lighting of the Lakeshore path, one of the quickest and most convenient ways for students to get from Memorial Union and College Library to their dorms and housing in Lakeshore.

“Their message to survivors is that you and your experience are not as important as the university’s desires,” Juliana Bennett said.

Bennett, UW BIPOC co-founder and Dis. 8 alder candidate, doesn’t buy into the UWPD’s argument that lighting the path is unnecessary.

Instead, she holds that lighting the path is worth the effort if students feel safer for it.

“I was talking to a district resident the other day, and she said, ‘I live on Lakeshore and I’m tired of feeling scared to walk home at night. I’m just tired of clutching my keys and having to decide if I’m going to go to a club meeting, or if I’m going to stay home to feel safe,’” Bennett stated. “We need to work within our city to light the Lakeshore Path and meet those basic needs so that people feel safe, welcomed and included.”

In 2015, UW-Madison reported that 27.6% of female undergraduates have experienced sexual assault, slightly above the national average of

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budget, I’m more than willing to do that,” Evers said.

Sen. Melissa Agard, D-Madison, has been pushing for such legislation since 2013. She said her bills have gained more co-sponsors in each legislative session. She said she will continue to push for legalization even if Republicans oppose Evers’ proposal.

“I’m going to continue doing what I can. It’s clear that the work I’ve been doing over these years has brought more people on board.

Having the governor include it in his budget is a big step,” Agard said.

“I’m not going to slow down.”

Last week, Agard sent a letter

to the Joint Finance Committee cochairs, urging them to keep legalization and taxation in the state budget.

“I am asking you both to set politics aside and consider this proposal on its merits. Wisconsin is quickly becoming an island of prohibition.

Every session that we refuse to legalize marijuana is a session we lose out to our Midwestern states in prosperity, and we fall behind in our moral obligations as legislators to ensure equality under the law for those we represent,” Agard wrote.

Agard said it’s not a matter of if Wisconsin will legalize marijuana, but when.

“You can be literally standing with one foot in Illinois and one foot

about 25%. However, exact data on the number of incidents along the fourmile path are murky, as many sexual assaults may go unreported.

The few documented incidents along the path paint a bleak picture. In February 2017, a man was detained near Lakeshore path after grabbing and physically attacking pedestrians. In September 2016, Brian Campbell was arrested after choking a woman on Lakeshore near Memorial Union. Both occurrences took place past sunset.

So, the big question remains: Why isn’t the path lit?

“I don’t think funding is an issue,” ASM Chair Matthew Mitnick said.

“I think it’s partly the precedent of not lighting it, laziness and then the UWPD intervening, so [that] they can maintain their control of the area.”

Mitnick, now a member of the city’s Public Safety Review Committee, ran for the Dis. 8 alder seat in 2019 on a platform centered around student issues including public safety, advocating for additional lighting on Lakeshore path and emergency phones. While his campaign was unsuccessful, Mitnick is sure that lighting Lakeshore isn’t an impossible task.

According to Mitnick, if an alder were to introduce legislation to light the path, the Common Council would likely refer it to the Joint Campus Area Committee, which can either pass the legislation or make necessary amendments. The committee would then send the recommendation to the Common Council, and the council could vote to adopt it with the aim of forcing the University’s hand.

“I think that’s the best way you can do it — at the city level,” Mitnick determined.

But as history has shown, even with political pressure, lighting the Lakeshore Path may be more difficult than it seems.

“We have electricity, we have lights.

We can even put up poles!” former Dis. 8 Ald. Scott Resnick exclaimed.

“But for a myriad of reasons, it doesn’t get done.”

Resnick represented campus and the Spring St. neighborhood from 2011 to 2015, and he dealt with the same problems student representatives face today in his struggle to light the trail.

He worked with Gary Brown, Director of Planning & Landscape Architecture and the Lakeshore Nature Preserve, to develop a plan to light the path.

But between environmental and geographic concerns, the proposal never came to fruition.

“This is indeed a perennial topic but I wouldn’t say it has been controversial in any way,” Brown said. “This comment comes up every couple of years, especially from our newer student leaders on campus.”

Brown has now dealt with generations of student representatives seeking to light the Lakeshore path, and the issue has remained the same.

More physical space exits to the west of the path, allowing for some lighting that is already installed. To the east, any development would be restricted by the steeply sloped wooded areas on one side of the trail and the Lake Mendota shoreline on the other.

Installing lights there, Brown stated, is not possible.

“When I talk to new students, ASM leaders and alders about lighting the Howard Temin Lakeshore Path and the reasons for not lighting the path, they more fully understand that this complicated issue is not easily solved by just adding lights to a pathway,” Brown reflected.

Through a partnership with Sustainable Madison, Bennet still hopes to implement environmentallyfriendly, motion sensor LED outdoor lighting along the Lakeshore Path.

Mitnick concurred with this plan, noting that motion-activated lights would limit the negative impacts of light on the Lakeshore ecosystem and subsequently reduce the energy costs associated with lighting the lengthy trail.

Brow spoke on Bennet’s plan, stating that it was “interesting” but potentially problematic, as it could be triggered off and on all night long, disrupting the bats, owls and other wildlife that live along the path. Lighting the Lakeshore Path would also promote use of the trail, conflicting with the university and UWPD’s preference to deter nighttime use of the path and potentially causing a false sense of security.

He holds that students should continue keeping to lit paths that are also supported at night by the campus bus, SAFE Nighttime services and UWPD patrols.

Regardless of university pushback, Bennett plans to first introduce a referendum from Common Council encouraging UW-Madison to light the path. She also intends to co-sponsor any legislation that ASM puts forward to accomplish the task.

“Down by Memorial Union, that used to be the most unsafe place on campus,” Bennett pointed out. “A past Dis. 8 alder decided to put lighting around the Memorial Union area, and now it’s one of the safest places on campus.”

Bennett believes that now is time to finally light dangerous areas on and off campus, especially the Lakeshore path, to ensure that all students feel safer. It’s a crucial part of an array of public safety initiatives that she promises to put forward if elected.

“If not now, then when? If not us, then who? The time is now. It’s long overdue,” she concluded.

in Wisconsin, and you will be treated differently,” Agard said. “We are losing revenue every single day as people drive over the borders to dispensaries in Michigan and Illinois, spending our tax dollars.”

Agard said that legalization is a “moral decision” for Wisconsin at a time when “we need to address our egregious racial disparities.”

The ACLU also supports the plan, citing their 2020 report that found Black Wisconsinites were 4.2 times more likely than white Wisconsinites to be arrested for “simple marijuana possession” statewide, compared to the 3.65 ratio nationwide.

“Marijuana enforcement has

become a vehicle for law enforcement to target communities of color,” Molly Collins, advocacy director of the ACLU of Wisconsin, said. “It’s past time to end the racially biased and wasteful war on marijuana in Wisconsin.”

UW-Madison sociology professor Pamela Oliver also commented on what legalization would mean for racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

“On the one hand, enforcement of marijuana laws has been racially unequal, so it is possible that legalizing marijuana could help. But on the other hand, racially disparate policing might keep happening anyway,” Oliver said.

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Student organizations discuss COVID struggles, success

By Sophia Vento STAFF WRITER

A mix of both online and in-person classes during the spring 2021 semester means that many student clubs and organizations must meet remotely due to public health guidelines intended to curb the spread of COVID-19 across campus.

The Filipinx-American Student Organization (FASO) is one among hundreds of student clubs and organizations adjusting to the remote model.

According to the FASO executive board, holding meetings and events online hasn’t interfered with the organization’s missions of fostering friendship and identity through events and programming. Virtual meetings have also not obstructed the FASO mission of the Bayanihan spirit, which — according to the executive board — emphasizes “the values of family, community and exploring one’s sense of self.”

“As COVID-19 has shown us, a community does not have to be in a single, in-person location,” members of the board wrote. “A community can be anywhere because of the people who are in it.”

The use of messaging and social media platforms such as Discord, Facebook, Snapchat and iMessage — outside of general meetings — have served an integral role in creating strong bonds at FASO. Ultimately, the FASO executive board and the entirety of the organization’s body crave to be back in-person. Despite this yearning, the executive board maintains that involvement has increased as a result of being online this year.

“Considering that everything was online, we were concerned about how to maintain member retention in our organization,” said the board.

“However, through several online meetings and hangouts, members have been able to create relationships easily online.”

The FASO executive board credits increased involvement to the bonds created through the organization.

“Our organization has grown so much this year and people keep coming back because of the friends they’ve made in FASO,” said the executive board. “Everyone is eager for the day we’ll be together in person again, so everyone’s trying to be involved as much as possible despite being online.”

Other UW student organiza-

tions, like the newly-created Beyond Symptoms and Advocates for Rare Diseases, are also operating via the online format.

“We started during COVID, so it really challenged us to use our own networks to find ways to connect with other people and create a community,” said Beyond Symptoms Co-Founder Brooke Wilczewski.

Beyond Symptoms was created this past summer and works to educate members — UW students interested in healthcare professions — on a variety of issues relating to systemic disparities in healthcare.

As of now, Beyond Symptoms is hoping to continue to grow and gain new members, but as the organization looks to the future they are striving to keep members engaged and ultimately establish an organization that can be passed onto future generations of UW students.

The challenge to create a new student organization amid the pandemic was reiterated by Advocates for Rare Diseases Founder Abri Click.

“The circumstances of COVID-19 have greatly affected the creation of my student organization since I started this semester,” said Click. “I wanted to start this club freshman year but I had to postpone because of everything that has happened.”

Advocates for Rare Diseases aims to raise awareness and fundraise for research about various diseases. Each month, the group discusses one disease and looks at ways to raise funds and bring attention to the issue.

“It is difficult to spread the word since everything must be remote, however, I am using my resources as much as I can,” Click said, citing Greek life and friendships as ways in which she has boosted involvement.

Click said that despite the challenges associated with COVID-19, several of her fundraising ideas rely on social media and outdoor events — modes of involvement that adhere to guidelines in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are working to overcome these challenges simply by being more creative and thinking out of the box,” said Click, underscoring her relationship with the Mayo Clinic — a health system with which she is exploring more options for raising consciousness and fundraising research into a variety of rare diseases.

“In the end, the purpose of Advocates for Rare Diseases is to fun-

COURTESY OF CIBONEY REGLOS.

A mixed in-person and online classes means many student organizations will meet remotely per COVID-19 restrictions. draise and raise awareness for rare diseases and we are going to continue to do the best we can to achieve this, during these times,” emphasized Click when asked about involvement due to the pandemic. She is sure involvement will increase as coronavirus restrictions are lifted.

Another student organization, the Wisconsin Hoofers — an outdoors club and one of UW-Madison’s largest and oldest student organizations — has also faced some issues adapting to COVID-19 circumstances.

“Due to COVID-19, Hoofers has put out programming unique to anything we’ve done in the past,” said Hoofer Council President Ansley Laev. “We had to learn how to run meetings online and get all of our administrative work done virtually while both coming up with brandnew virtual programming and figuring out how to run our old in-person programming safely under guidelines we developed.”

By the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, Hoofers staff had figured out how to hold in-person, outdoor events safely — leading to a surge in participation. But, according to Laev, the two-week shutdown as a result of a spike in coronavirus cases during the fall semester curtailed their effort.

“COVID-19 has taken a hit to our membership levels for sure,” said Laev, noting how time spent without programming due to campus spikes paired with slowness in developing coronavirus protocol played a role.

“We lost a lot of folks who just decided to invest in their own gear and get out-

side on their own time.”

According to Laev, a significant drop in community member engagement in different clubs under the Wisconsin Hoofers umbrella — spurred by the Wisconsin Union only allowing UW students and staff in their spaces — also affected involvement with the organization.

Still, the club is encouraging its members to spend time outdoors, with a focus on the community.

“Within the Wisconsin Hoofers, our main focus is the wellbeing of our community,” said Laev. “We mostly try to meet this by promoting folks to get outside; that’s why we’re here. But wellbeing also includes mental health and a feeling of safety and support from the community you’re a part of.”

Overall, Laev feels that the ways in which the university handled the pandemic did not allow the Hoofers to adapt to the current circumstances efficiently.

The UW’s decision to start the school year off partially in-person, as well as university treatment of BIPOC students and its response to calls for racial justice, have been “negligent at best,” according to Laev.

“We are actively working to dismantle the systems of oppression and the standard of whiteness we have within the outdoor industry and within Hoofers specifically, as we are a predominantly white institution,” said Laev. “But we need the university to do their part in prioritizing these same things in the name of community wellness and racial justice.”

Yet, as the year has progressed, Hoofers has become increasingly skillful in conducting online meetings and refining programming, said Laev.

“Our main goal within Hoofers is getting people outside and finding community in whatever ways they are able to,” highlighted Laev.

“Whether that is by joining a virtual social hangout or taking out a pair of club cross-country skis to spend the day on Lake Mendota.”

Laev shared her ultimate goals for the Wisconsin Hoofers’ purpose.

“I want every Hoofer to be able to get outside and explore Madison, and I want the campus community to know that we are here to provide the gear and lessons to make your outdoor dreams come true,” said Laev. “We want campus and the greater Madison community to know that Hoofers is open to all people, all identities, all experience levels.”

Student organizations such as FASO, Beyond Symptoms, Advocates for Rare Diseases and the Wisconsin Hoofers do not yet know when they will be able to function without the public health restrictions of the pandemic in place.

A recent order issued by Public Health Madison Dane County (PHMDC) increased the number of people allowed at in-person events Feb. 10, but the university continues to maintain its original policy, limiting indoor events at 10 people and outdoor events at twenty-five. A decision regarding any changes to this policy at a university level will be communicated on March 1.

MMSD to resume in-person classes, causes teachers’ concerns

By Kate Van Dyke STAFF WRITER

The Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) announced its decision to return young students to in-person classes starting March 9.

The reopening — an approach which has caused some concern among Madison school teachers — will see kindergarten age students return to classes taught in person by teachers. Students will also have virtual learning opportunities available if they feel uncomfortable in an in-person setting.

Staff teaching other grades, including the elementary, middle and high school levels, will also be expected to return to their respective buildings where they will issue virtual instruction, according to an email MMSD spokesperson Tim LeMonds sent

to the CapTimes.

MMSD chief of human resources Deirdre Hangrove-Kriegoff emphasized the expectation that MMSD teachers return to teaching in person, in a press conference this past Wednesday.

“It is our expectation that our staff are returning,” HargroveKrieghoff said. “If there are folks that have specific issues that would prevent them from returning, they will have the opportunity to connect with human resources and have the support that they need to work through those processes.”

In a Q&A with MMSD, officials explained that the decision to partially resume in-person classes has been made to improve the mental health of students who have been learning virtually for almost a year.

“We’re balancing what we think is now a lower risk of illness for

the children and the teachers, and increasing concern about mental health,” said Dr. Ellen Wald, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at UW Health.

In the wake of MMSD’s announcement, local teachers unions, Madison Teachers Inc (MTI) and several individual teachers have announced their opposition to the plan, which does not provide teachers with COVID-19 vaccinations.

In an interview with Channel 27, a Georgia O’Keeffe Middle School art teacher, Katie Walsh, voiced her concern that MMSD’s current plan to return to in-person learning will negatively impact the mental well being of teachers.

“Before the pandemic, teachers have been giving their lives already for teaching,” Walsh stated. “A lot of us have had a lot of anxiety, depression, mental health issues from teaching.

To ask to give more at this point — our physical lives and physical well-being — is too much.”

Walsh is not the only teacher concerned about returning to in-person instruction before all teachers are able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

A survey conducted by (MTI) in late December 2020 polled members about their feelings on returning to in-person learning in early March by asking, “Given the MMSD metrics and the current rate of positive COVID-19 cases in Dane County, do you support a face-to-face classroom instruction for 3rd quarter?”

Out of over 1,000 responses from Madison teachers part of the MTI, 94.23% reported they do not support a face-to-face classroom instruction for the third quarter.

“Every single staff member I know does not feel it is safe to go back,” East High School teacher

Amanda Pustz told the Cap Times.

“We do not understand the push when vaccines for school staff are supposed to begin March 1.”

Despite MMSD teachers’ concerns, superintendent Carlton Jenkins believes that MMSD has taken the correct measures to ensure a smooth phase-in.

“When our first student walks through our doors on March (9) th, it will be almost a year since we closed in March 2020,” Superintendent Carlton Jenkins said in a statement to Madison. com. “As a school community, we have come a long way, and remain committed to providing the safest learning spaces possible by continuing to adhere to our safety protocols; and implementing multiple layers of prevention and mitigation measures specifically developed to keep students and staff safe.”

sports UW Football: 2021’s historic recruit class

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Thursday, February 18, 2021

By Seamus Rohrer STAFF WRITER

After an abbreviated 2020 football season that saw Wisconsin get off to a red-hot start, only to seemingly regress in every phase before downing Wake Forest in the esteemed Duke’s Mayo Bowl, Badger fans could use some good news.

Well Badger fans, the future is bright. Earlier this month on national signing day, when football programs across the country finalize their freshman class, Wisconsin was one of the teams that stood out.

With a class that checks in at 15th nationally, and third in the Big Ten behind Ohio State and Michigan, Wisconsin secured their highest rated group of freshmen ever. 21 commits will be joining the Badgers football program, six of which are four or five star recruits. Asked about his outstanding haul, head coach Paul Christ said “It’s a really good day…

We’re adding a group of guys that we think really fit this place and can help this team, and we’re excited about it.”

Chryst and company were able to secure commits from 12 states, but there was a major focus on homegrown talent. Three of the Badgers five four-star recruits hail from Wisconsin. This may not come as a surprise, but with no other major FBS school in the state, locking up the top players from nearby areas should be (and clearly is) a top priority.

The highest-touted recruit in this exceptional class is Nolan Rucci, a five-star offensive tackle out of Lititz, Pennsylvania. A 6’8’’, 295 pound behemoth, Rucci was the fifth-ranked offensive tackle

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in the nation and the 15th overall prospect. On his highlight tape he resembles a man amongst boys, a punishing blocker who pushes defenders around like grocery carts. He will join his brother Hayden, a redshirt freshman tight end for the Badgers.

On Nolan, Chryst raves that he’s a “really talented football player, but a great person, and he comes from an awesome family.”

Wisconsin is often described as an offensive line factory, a pipeline to the NFL at the position. Things haven’t changed with this class, as the three highest ranked prospects the Badgers nabbed were offensive linemen.

The program and coaching staff clearly embrace this, as Chryst acknowledged “Everyone’s got a dream and a vision…It shows kids that are coming in that you can be the best offensive linemen in the country.” That, combined with his brother’s presence on the team, clearly helped secure Nolan Rucci’s commitment.

The current regime of coaching also continues to fortify and develop the defensive front seven, this year with players like Braelon Allen. Allen is a fourstar, top-15 inside linebacker in the class of ‘21 out of Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin. A strong safety for most of his high school career, Allen will make the transition down into the box in college.

Unlike with most defensive backs that try to make this difficult transition, Allen appears more than physically capable.

At 6’1’’ and already 200 pounds, Allen is an absolutely ferocious hitter. He plays like a heat-seeking missile, flying to the football and blowing up the play. He’s also

a monster in the weight room, squatting over 500 pounds on his YouTube channel.

Despite loading up on lineman and key defensive players as usual,

style offense that emphasizes, as he puts it, “speed in space.” Gattis is also known as a wide receiver guru, as he was the receivers coach on a 2018 Alabama team

ranked 44th nationally at a dismal 9th in the Big Ten. Over the past two years, 11 four or fivestars have come to Madison, as opposed to just 12 the previous six

JEFF MILLER /UW ATHLETICS

Paul Chryst has raved about the 2021 recruit class that is the highest-rated class the Badgers have had.

Wisconsin also recruited some exciting offensive skill position players. Wide Receiver Markus Allen from Clayton, Ohio is the highest ranked offensive skill player the Badgers acquired, and he presents lots of upside and compelling intangibles.

In high school he displayed blazing acceleration at the top of his routes with great contested catch, jump-ball ability. Allen was originally committed to Michigan and recruited by Wolverines offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. This gives a clue as to what kind of player the Badgers have on their hands, as Gattis runs a spread-

that was absolutely loaded at the position with current NFL players Jerry Jeudy, Calvin Ridley and Henry Ruggs III, and the most recent heisman winner Devonta Smith. Allen decommitted from Michigan in early September and was scooped up by the Badgers two months later.

Despite the lackluster 2020 season, Wisconsin has bounced back in the offseason with this class in a big way. The Badgers continue to be a team on the rise, as recruiting classes under Paul Chryst have shown steady improvement. In 2018, just three years ago, Wisconsin’s class was

years combined.

It’s also a big deal for the Badgers to land a five-star recruit. Two programs that finished with a higher ranked class than Wisconsin, Notre Dame and Oregon, didn’t nab a single five-star. Nolan Rucci is also the first five-star Wisconsin has procured since Logan Brown in the 2019 class, who is also an offensive tackle.

As Badgers fans patiently wait to see this recruiting momentum translate to the football field, they can rest assured that this newfound influx of high-end talent will surely put the rest of the Big Ten on notice.

Weekend Recap: Badger MBB blows close game vs. Michigan

By Nathan Denzin ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

TAYLOR WOLFRAM/THE DAILY CARDINAL

The Badgers had no answer for 7'1" freshman center Hunter Dickinson.

It might be time to reset expectations for this basketball season, as the No. 21 Wisconsin Badgers (9-6 Big Ten, 15-7 overall) fell again to the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines (9-1 Big Ten, 14-1 overall) 67-59 in a game that slipped right through the Badgers fingers.

Michigan came into this game after having been on pause since Jan. 23, when the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services ordered an immediate shutdown of all University of Michigan athletics in response to alarming rates of the B.1.1.7 variant of COVID-19 on campus.

The nearly three week pause in team activities showed early in the game as Wisconsin was able to dictate how the game was played. Michigan was stagnant on offense and defense, allowing the Badgers to shoot 5-7 from beyond the arc to help them pull out to a 14 point lead late in the first half.

However the Wolverines came to play in the second half, totally flipping the script on Wisconsin en route to their victory. Michigan outscored the Badgers 40-20 in the half — including 18-8 in the paint, 9-4 in second chance points and 22-14 in the rebounding column.

“You have to make plays and convert in the end,” head coach Greg Gard said after the game.

“The offensive rebounding was the backbreaker at the end, you have to finish possessions out when you force tough shots.”

Despite shooting and rebounding woes, Wisconsin actually found themselves up three points with four minutes left, but were then promptly outscored 13-2 in the final 3:51 to eventually lose by eight.

“We have to put together a full 40 minutes to win games like this,” Aleem Ford said after the game. “We have to be able to punch back when we get hit in the mouth, and we weren’t able to tonight. We got put on our heels and got lackadaisical.”

There are a lot of shocking stats from this game, but perhaps the one that stands out above the others are Wisconsin’s two big men failing to secure even a single rebound. Overall the Badgers weren’t outrebounded by a super wide margin, but Potter and Reuvers failed to tally a rebound throughout the whole game.

The Badgers leading rebounder today? Brad Davison with six.

Nine Michigan points came off four offensive rebounds in

the final six minutes of the game.

Hunter Dickinson was able to feast on Wisconsin’s big down low, putting up a double double with 11 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks to boot.

At a point in the season where teams should be playing their best basketball, Wisconsin is now 4-4 in their last eight games, and 6-5 in their last 11. Obviously the Big Ten is an ungodly difficult conference to try to rack up wins in, but this Badger team has been expecting better results.

“We showed in the first half that we can do it and can be a special team, but we have to be able to do it for a full 40 minutes,” D’Mitrik Trice said. “This [loss] definitely hurts, especially since we led for 75 percent of it. But we have a lot of good competition in front of us, we can’t hang our heads.”

Four of the last five games for Wisconsin will come against ranked opponents, a stretch that will start with a game against No. 15 Iowa in Madison next week and include No. 6 Illinois, No. 24 Purdue and another matchup with No. 15 Iowa to end the year.

If the Badgers are going to shine and make a run in March, time is running out for them to prove they have what it takes.

arts ‘Candide’ is an ever-relevant classic dailycardinal.com

Thursday February 18, 2021

By Anupras Mohaparta SENIOR STAFF WRITER

“Everything happens for a reason.”

How often have we justified some misfortune we’ve encountered with the above statement?

It is, most certainly, helpful in blocking out the pain inflicted by the misfortune we faced, albeit only on a temporary basis.

Perhaps such a supposition is a good thing that helps us recover from the blows we are dealt with.

But what if we applied this extensively to each and every situation we found ourselves in or witnessed or read about?

We would be blinding ourselves to the grave injustices of the world and providing justification for the unjust, when instead we should be acting to change things.

Such a line of thought is best exemplified by philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’s theory of the “best of all possible worlds,” where he essentially argues that God created this world and since God is almighty, all knowing and perfectly good — omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent — he chose to create this world we live in.

There is one single world among infinity that, according to God, is the best of all worlds and that must be the world we live in. This then justifies the evil and injustice present in the world today as a necessary part of this “best of all worlds” that we must just accept because it fits God’s plan.

I certainly do not intend to question anyone’s faith and it may be easier to dismiss or cope with some of our experiences using this argument.

But upon expanding our scope of thought, it becomes hard to dismiss each and every hardship every person on Earth faces as just a consequence of this being the best of all worlds.

French philosopher Voltaire sought to refute this argument

ADRIEN MOREAU

This sketch by Adrien Moreau, a French historical illustrator from the 1860s, illustrates a scene from 'Candide.' in a rather unconventional manner; by writing “Candide” in 1759, a satirical rejection of Leibniz’s theory.

The book is a comical third person account of the experiences of the eponymous protagonist Candide — the name can be translated from French to mean “innocent” or “simple” — and how he faced a raft of hurdles and unjust experiences that changed his worldview and helped bring forward Voltaire’s own points of view.

Candide is the illegitimate son of the Baron of Westphalia’s sister who grew up in the Baron’s castle and studied under the tutelage of Pangloss — a name that roughly means “all tongue” in Greek and is a nod to his babbling nature — a philosopher character in the story described as a “professor of metaphysicotheologico-cosmolo-nigology” that appears to mimic Leibniz.

Candide imbibed the “best of all worlds’’ view from Pangloss, as he fell in love with the Baron’s daughter Cunegonde.

PHOTOS.COM/THINKSTOCK

Voltaire wrote 'Candide,' a satirical rejection of Leibniz's theory, in 1759.

Everything seemed to go to plan as they kissed, but it all came crashing down as they were caught by the Baron.

Candide was expelled from the castle — after all, a commoner and a Baron’s daughter wasn’t a pairing viewed with positive light — and he found himself alone for the first time, equipped only with Pangloss’ teachings.

This marks the beginning of his journey towards rejecting Pangloss’ views.

Candide suddenly found himself amongst the Bulgarians, who enlisted him as part of their army but as he left camp for a mere brief walk.

He was carried to a dungeon by four soldiers and brutally flogged for desertion.

After witnessing a gruesome war between the Abarians — a tribe of Tartars settled on the shores of the Danube — and the Bulgarians, Candide traveled to Holland and found a helpful Anabaptist that took him in.

Soon enough, Candide found a sickly beggar on the streets and to his amazement, it was Pangloss.

Upon their meeting, Pangloss told Candide he had contracted syphilis and Cunegonde and her family had been murdered by the Bulgar army.

Despite all this, the optimistic attitude stuck and Pangloss was taken in by the Anabaptist as well.

The three of them then traveled to Lisbon by sea, where the Anabaptist drowned.

Upon arriving in Lisbon, Candide and Pangloss faced an earthquake levelling the city.

When Candide asked for wine and oil after being wounded by falling stones, Pangloss ignored him and continued trying to justify the sufficient reason for the earthquake until Candide fainted. This exchange could be viewed as a criticism of philosophers like Leibniz who try to find a neat explanation for adversity, often in the very face of adversity itself.

Pangloss eventually found himself sentenced as a heretic and hanged, while Candide — who was sentenced for listening with approval to Pangloss — was flogged yet again. An old

woman tended to his wounds and then, to his surprise, took him to Cunegonde, who was alive after all.

Cunegonde was now a sex slave who had barely evaded death but Candide was overjoyed to see her alive and proceeded to kill her owners. Candide, the old woman and Cunegonde now fled to South America by sea.

During this journey, the old woman documented her harrowing past of rape, enslavement and cannibalism, only adding to the list of already harrowing events that would be justified under Leibniz’s theory and according to Voltaire, shouldn’t be.

They arrived at Buenos Aires, where the governor Don Fernando proposed to Cunegonde, scuppering the plan Candide and Cunegonde had made to marry each other.

She accepted the governor’s proposal to protect herself, while Candide found a valet named Cacambo and eventually found himself in the land of Eldorado, a utopian country with gold and jewels on the streets, no conflict and no courts, to name just a few things.

A true “best of all worlds”.

As tempting as it was to stay, Candide wished to return to Cunegonde after a month and took with him countless jewels from Eldorado and headed to Suriname. He sent Cacambo to purchase Cunegonde from Don Fernando and meet him at Venice, while he plotted his path to Venice.

He then dealt with a merchant named Vanderdendur, who stole much of his fortune.

Yet another misfortune that befell him and he found himself questioning his optimism.

He sailed off to France with another scholar, Martin, who disagreed with Candide on his optimistic Leibnizian world view — perhaps as an extension of Voltaire himself.

Vanderdendur’s ship had been sunk by the Spanish on the way to France and Candide could recover some of his fortune. He proposed this as a sign of justice in the world that backed his world view but

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Martin disagreed.

Candide and Martin made their way from Paris to Venice.

In Venice, they met several characters that were very dissatisfied with their lives in the “best of all worlds.” Candide then found that Cacambo had been enslaved by a deposed Turkish monarch — along with the old woman — and then they headed to Turkey to buy Cacambo’s freedom.

In Turkey, Candide found Pangloss again.

He had managed to survive the attempted execution but faced further misfortunes before ending up in Turkey.

The group soon found and freed Cunegonde — who had grown old and ugly — and the old woman too.

Candide and Cunegonde married each other and the entire expanded entourage now settled on a piece of land that they farmed and maintained.

Pangloss now conceded that he did not believe in his own previous optimistic conclusions.

As they found themselves engaged in work, there was no time for philosophical speculation and everyone lived happily ever after.

Summarizing this whole whirlwind journey is necessary to understand the flaws in an entirely optimistic worldview.

It clearly papers over cracks by ignoring the inherent flaws of human nature, the pursuit of power, the silencing of dissent and the mistreatment of people.

For its time, “Candide” is critical of religious extremism, wealth and slavery.

After all, if activists believed that the evil in this world was justified like Leibniz did, we would not see the massive strides made in the treatment of those previously subjugated.

Looking at the movements sparked in 2020, it becomes imperative to reject Leibniz like Voltaire did. An optimistic worldview does not induce change but neither does mere philosophical speculation.

At the end of the book, Candide talks about cultivating one’s own garden.

This is an excellent thought, for I think it implies that we should first make changes at an individual level rather than concerning ourselves with speculation, optimism or macroscopic matters. We could all beneift from more self-introspection and Voltaire gets that point across swiftly.

Such an approach would help fight compassion fatigue and still result in active change through a domino effect.

Blind optimism leaves us blind to a subpar existence that the status quo profits from, but changes from a grassroots level involving those near us can lead upwards to macroscopic change.

Whatever your takeaways may be from “Candide”, it is a humorous, compelling and rather simple philosophical text and truly a classic still relevant today.

One will walk away with a refreshing lens on the lessons of faith, life and much more.

almanac

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6 Thursday, February 18, 2021

Climate scientists forced to admit global warming actually was a hoax all along

By Nicholas Rawling In the midst of a record cold snap causing power outages and deaths across the country, some Americans with unmatched critical thinking skills are once again asking: How globe warming if cold outside?

Facebook aunts and grandfathers took to the servers to flex their big brains this week, still riding their high from Donald Trump’s acquittal in the Senate on Saturday.

“How can you keep saying global warming is real when I woke up this morning to find every single one of my hogs was dead because it’s not cost-efficient to heat the barns,” said one Iowa

factory-farmer whose brain is completely smooth, harboring not a single wrinkle or fold.

Leading climate academics were forced to dismiss everything they’ve learned over the course of their professional lives when confronted with the air-tight logic of people who have previously pointed out that the globe can’t possibly be warming if their fridge is still cold.

“Some of my more naive colleagues have suggested that the polar vortex is actually caused by a destabilization of the polar jet stream, which is a totally predictable sideeffect of climate change,” said renowned climate researcher Doctor Don Drungle. “But

Fuck that Groundhog

I think they’re grasping at straws and it’s time for us to admit we were wrong.”

Despite the protests of a few ideologues, the climatologist community has all but unanimously decided that the gig is up and that it’s time to start focusing on real issues, such as Gina Carano getting kicked off the baby Yoda show because she couldn’t stop posting nazi memes.

“It’s totally immaterial that global temperature anomalies have risen in nearperfect concordance with atmospheric CO2 concentrations since the beginning of the British industrial revolution,” Drungle said. “I’m freezing my God-damned balls off out here.”

By Hannah Ritvo There’s one thing Wisconsinites are feeling this week, and that’s hatred for Punxsutawney Phil.

The infamous groundhog predicted 6 more weeks of winter, and with subzero temperatures rolling in this week, it is clear that the groundhog had insider knowledge.

Unlike everyday Wisconsinites, one woman stands alone in her love for this cold weather.

Rebecca Blank is on record stating “Phil has predicted a miracle.” Students, who have gone out every single Thursday, Friday and Saturday night in the midst of a deadly pandemic, are finally staying inside and following social distancing guidelines. Madison locals were shocked, even though this is exactly the way kids should have acted for the last 6 months. Local

IMAGE COURTESY OF JADE SHENG

hospitals have stated that recent temperatures have saved the lives of at least 100 Madison elders.

The cold created a whole new landscape at Memorial Union this week. Only one species of UW-Madison students could be found studying there, Canada Goose owners. Strada Workers said the Union looked insane, with a Canada Goose gracing the back of every chair. Students reported hearing the faint howls of the wolves killed for the coats.

Low temperatures reportedly cost Snapchat thousands of dollars, for so many out of state students were using the temperature feature that the app actually crashed.

The freezing temperatures didn’t only affect students, for numerous Starship robots were found buried under snow. One student even found one in the middle of Lake Mendota, in an

IMAGE COURTESY OF LYRA EVANS

uncanny position that made it seem as though its robot arm was frozen mid sip — drinking a Strawberry Acai Refresher.

While students and robots alike struggled with the cold this week, no one had it worse than the small indie population at UW-Madison who refused to put a winter coat over their outfits despite negative temperatures. This week’s cold shocked UW-Madison students.

Thank god there’s only four more months of it.

IMAGE COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS

UW Chancellor announces she’ll take COVID-19 into her own hands

By Gillian Rawling If you haven’t gotten tested for Coronavirus with the safer-badger app up until this point, you may have received an email from the university asking you to go.

According to the email, consequences of non-compliance include suspension and a permanent note of it on your transcript. But did you also know that Chancellor Rebecca Blank will personally come to your off-campus house and beat the shit out of you?

This is just one of the many new provisions that have been added to the University’s plan to stay COVID free, despite the over 6000 UW students and staff that have already tested positive to date.

Other precautionary measures that the Safer Badgers has concocted was, surprisingly, charging students with a war crime (in the coveted fight against coronavirus of course) and sending them to an international tribunal if they fill the spit test over or under the testing line.

“I don’t think it’s too much to ask that you gauge how much drool you have in your stupid little COVID filled mouths,” said one frustrated test administrator.

Testing site workers have also started retaliating against coffee drinkers, to one tester’s surprise this past Wednesday.

“I asked the girl checking the tests to see if my test looked alright. She asked me if I had had coffee this morning and I told her yes,

but that it had been several hours since. She proceeded to knock the test out of my hand and spit in my mouth...”

“The worst part is, I don’t even blame her — I would honestly probably do the same thing if I had to look at spittle in a test tube all day.”

UW police even promised that extrajudicial killings would start occurring for student’s that did not comply with testing demands that are currently being bumped up to four times a day with two hour wait lines for each test.

With all the chaos and confusion surrounding testing one thing is for sure: I am going to be praying on my hands and knees every night that we can go back to nose swabs.

IMAGE COURTESY OF CAMERON LANE-FLEHINGER

opinion ASM aims to provide COVID relief dailycardinal.com

By Kayla Bell COPY CHIEF

As March approaches, we have reached the one-year anniversary of a pandemic that has left millions of Americans unemployed, college seniors with one of the worst job markets in modern history and a government who has rolled out negligible financial support for its citizens. And, on top of that, one demographic has been consistently overlooked time and time again: College students.

Two-thirds of college students — around 13.3 million undergraduate students to be exact — reported to CNBC that the COVID-19 crisis has changed how they feel about their financial situation. Many are facing extreme uncertainty and stress as they continue to deal with both rising student debt and an increasingly unstable job market. However, the government and, quite honestly, college universities across the country, have continued to overlook undergraduate students and their financial situation at hand — as many of them were neglected from receiving the federal stimulus checks due to an “independent status.” An overlook that proves harmful when the government, and a majority of universities, seem to forget what it means to be both a full-time college student and an adult, all at the same.

While schools, like the University of Wisconsin-Madison itself, continue to roll-out email after email of resources regarding money, food and housing insecurity, they still choose to turn a blind eye when given a solution that could actually help. On Feb. 15, Dean of Students Christina Olstad sent out a campus-wide email titled, “Resources and emergency funds available to students.” While the email provides a variety of campus resources for students to use,

Thursday, February 18, 2021

the resources provided just, simply, aren’t enough. They aren’t helpful to the wide range of students who actually need the support.

This email comes only days after the Associated Students of Madison (ASM) voted no confidence in Vice-Chancellor of Finance and Administration Laurent Heller.

And one day before the ‘no confidence’ vote, on Feb. 10, ASM Chair Matthew Mitnick tweeted that Admin only continues in their refusal to meet with student leaders and be present at meetings discussing important issues — like the COVID-19 student relief fund — which is a “direct violation of shared governance.”

The no confidence vote signifies that ASM has zero confidence in Heller’s ability to perform his role as Vice-Chancellor of Finance and Administration, arguing that he doesn’t have the student bodies best interest at heart.

An argument which is only fair.

The proposed legislation by ASM to create a COVID-19 Student Relief Fund continues to face opposition from UW administration. While the legislation isn’t legally fool-proof just yet, UW Admin continues to insist that the legislation is illegal instead of listening to and working with ASM to offer new solutions to the issue at hand.

Even after ASM proposed the solution and amendment that students become “Mask Ambassadors” — designed as a workaround to the policy which would allow the university to make payments to students — Heller stated that it could not go any further once again.

Heller said in an email that, despite the ‘Mask Ambassador’ proposition, “ASM’s proposal still does not address the significant statutory and policy concerns raised by UW System and the Office

of Legal Affairs [as] communicated to [them] previously.”

If UW Admin were to listen, however, they would understand that the legislation itself explains the exact reasons as to why and how it does not conflict with the school’s policies while also explaining why a relief fund is necessary for UW students.

The proposed legislation would allocate around $500,000 in unspent student government funds and about $1.5 million from its reserve funds to go towards rent and housing assistance. The fund would be distributed by the Tenant Resource Center, a non-profit organization for local housing, who would then distribute the funds among students — but never directly to students.

The center will be distributing them based on student applicants’ needs directly to landlords and rental agencies. By doing this, ASM essentially found a loophole within the 820 policy as it never specifies whether or not they are able to allocate segregated fees through a third-party unit.

Individuals like Heller and Chancellor Rebecca Blank are trying to argue that it violates UW System Policy 820 — which regulates the administration of segregated university fees — in saying that the legislation would be allocating money to individual students, which is in direct violation of the UW System, as the university cannot provide segregated fees to individual students.

However, ASM Chair Matthew Mitnick argues that the administration’s proposed opposition to the legislation is simply “weak.” The proposed legislation directly states that no funding will be given to any individual students personally.

Instead, the Tenant Resource Center would distribute the funding among students who did not qualify for financial aid. While the funds will

be ‘distributed among students,’ the Tenant Resource Center will not be giving it directly to them.

Further, ASM, specifically Mitnick, addressed that the legislation clearly cites a section of the 820 policy that permits “admissions and registration expenses incurred by UW staff or students.”

All of the work put into this legislation by Mitnick and the whole of ASM goes to show just how necessary a COVID-19 relief fund is for UW students. This fund would provide an adequate service for students while benefiting them on the individual level — a service that the school should be fully supporting.

Mitnick even argued that Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Lori Reesor and Olstad have made the legislation a “political” game, “a direct contradiction of students’ needs.” While they continue to cut back student-employee hours and pay — not to mention the hiring hold the university has placed — they also continue in opposing a legislation that could help their student body directly.

This legislation is the easiest and quickest way, not to mention legal way, the school could help in assisting students who are ineligable to receive grants from the financial aid office — primarily including undocumented students, international students and those who were unable to fill out a federal FAFSA application form.

If the school is unwilling to help in aiding this demographic of the student body through the proposed, legal legislation, then we must ask: What does UW’s administration propose is done then with the $2 million at hand and the alleged “other aid” that the university supposedly has?

Co-found of the BIPOC Coalition Tarah Stangler spoke on this exact question addressing that the BIPOC

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and ASM are trying to make policy changes, but that the administration has, time and time again, showed no move “to adjust the policy to ensure that this help and aid doesn’t have to come from students fighting endless amount for it.”

The administration is, instead, attempting to hinder ASM’s decision, relying on ambiguous legal arguments, which Mitnick calls “an abuse of power.”

It’s time that the university stops ignoring the financial crisis at hand and starts working collaboratively with their student body to address a situation that is causing a large percentage of their student body to face housing and food insecurity — a financial crisis the administration could help if they stopped playing politics with their students’ lives and worked collaboratively with student groups to find a solution to the problem at hand.

The university is in need of a wake-up call, as they continue to throw out empty promises — like that of a “donation-based fund” — which only causes students to question the integrity of the administration as a whole. They continue to look past a demographic of their student body who have, throughout the entirety of the COVID-19 pandemic, called time and time again for some form of financial help as the pandemic rages on. It’s time that the university acknowledges the work ASM is putting in and collaborates to pass the legislation of a COVID-19 Student Relief Fund.

Kayla is a sophomore studying Journalism and Political Science. Do you think the ASM legislation should be enacted? Should the UW administration offer students financial aid?

Send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com

University is right to block ASM’s COVID relief fund

By Tripp Grebe STAFF WRITER

The Associated Students of Madison (ASM) are seeking to create a $2 million COVID-19 student relief fund despite numerous reminders from University officials that the fund can’t legally move forward as proposed.

ASM has responded to reminders regarding their fund’s legality by publicly excoriating University officials for not conceding to their demands. ASM leaders have attempted to put pressure on the University by publicizing their internal discord — and in some cases, providing misleading statements regarding the actions and intentions of the University.

The debate surrounding the legality of ASM’s proposed relief fund is complicated. Rather than engaging in hearsay, both critics and supporters of ASM’s efforts should ensure they understand the proposal.

Each semester, undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison pay $734.30 as part of their “segregated fees.”

Segregated fees are defined as charges, in addition to tuition, assessed to all students for student services, activities, programs and facilities that support the mission of University of Wisconsin System institutions.

Initially, ASM proposed a plan that would take $2 million from segregated fees and give that money to students whom ASM deems worthy. This proposal was a blatant violation of UW

System Policy 820 – which prohibits segregated fees from being used to give direct financial aid to enrolled students.

To combat the illegality of the first proposal, ASM proposed an alternative plan.

Under UW System Policy 820, segregated fees are permitted to be used to provide direct financial aid or stipends to student government leaders.

The new plan proposed the creation of a new student government leadership position: Mask Ambassadors.

ASM would unilaterally create the “Mask Ambassador” position and then decide who can become a “Mask Ambassador.” Mask Ambassadors would then receive money either directly from ASM or administered by a contracted organization. The money would be coming directly from student’s segregated fees.

ASM claims that under this proposal, they retain the legal ability to use segregated fees to provide direct financial aid to any student they choose. This claim is made under the presumption that “Mask Ambassadors” are considered student government leaders.

The argument that ASM is presenting is as follows: Mask Ambassadors are Student Government Leaders.

UW System Policy 820 permits segregated fees to be used to provide direct financial aid or stipends to student government leaders.

Therefore, Mask Ambassadors are permitted

to receive direct financial aid or stipends.

The problem with ASM’s new proposal is that their first premise is not valid. Mask Ambassadors are not Student Government Leaders, for they are not elected. They do not hold any unique leadership responsibilities that resemble a student government leader.

Therefore, their relief fund violates UW System Policy 820, rendering it illegal and unable to be implemented.

If we could sidestep the first violation and Mask Ambassadors were to be recognized as Student Government Leaders, the UW System would operate under the premise that student governments can simply create a Student Government Leadership Position for the sole purpose of providing them with funding.

The University understands that the COVID-19 student relief fund violates UW System Policy 820 and has communicated this reality with ASM. Vice-Chancellor for Finance and Administration Laurent Heller rightfully blocked ASM’s COVID-19 Student Relief Fund. Heller stated in a letter to ASM, “the use of segregated university fees cannot be used for rent and utility support for individual students.”

And how did ASM respond to Heller?

They passed a vote of “No Confidence” in the Vice Chancellor.

They accused him of “sharing intentionally misleading legal arguments to

maintain his job rather than protecting students, and rejecting shared governance, which states that decisions must be made in a collaborative fashion that puts the primary responsibility of decision making in the hands of those most impacted.”

Following the vote of no confidence, the Chairman of ASM stated, “It’s about time administrators lose their egos and stop their power grab so that students don’t have to keep doing their jobs for them.”

In accusing Heller of sharing misleading legal arguments, ASM is wearing their hypocrisy on their sleeves.

ASM cannot unilaterally create a leadership position with no leadership responsibilities and use this to justify providing individual students with rental and utility assistance. A leader without any leadership responsibilities is not a leader.

Other University officials were not immune from criticism either — the ASM Chairman also accused Dean of Students Christina Olstad’s calls for collaboration “empty words and empty promises.”

The visceral treatment of University officials is especially pitiful given that University officials have communicated that they share the same goals as ASM — despite the COVID-19 relief fund not being a feasible proposition.

Olstad recently provided students with resources and emergency funds available to help them

navigate this year.

Olstad emphasized the University’s “Emergency Support Program,” — which allows students who are facing emergency financial hardship and unable to meet immediate, essential expenses to apply for an “Emergency Support Request.” Requests do not discriminate based on residence or citizenship status.

She also highlighted the University’s “basic needs assistants,” which help students find internet/technology, childcare, housing, employment and more. Along with underscoring available resources for food assistance and mental health services — the Dean offers all students to connect with her office for any further assistance.

The University and ASM share the same goals. They both want to help students in need — and these are not only their jobs, but also admirable goals.

While ASM seems intent on misleading the public regarding the legality of their COVID-19 student relief fund and disgracefully shaming University Officials, the University is trying to move forward and provide students with expansive and immediate assistance.

Tripp is a Sophomore Studying Political Science with certificates in Political Economy, Philosophy, and Politics. Do you think the UW Administration is trying to move forward with COVID-19 student relief ? Send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

comics 8

• Thursday, February 18, 2021

ALL GOOD

dailycardinal.com

BY LYRA EVANS

SUDOKU

DIRECTIONS: Fill in each row, column and square with the numbers 1-9

CROSSWORD

DIRECTIONS: Fill in words via the prompts across or down via their respective numbers.

DO YOU LIKE TO DRAW? JOIN US!!

send your emails to: graphics@dailycardinal.com

Across Down 45. Poplar type 1. Eden dweller 47. Avenue 1. Mud brick 5. Pear type 2. Evil spirit 48. Doctors’ org.

9. Made docile 49. Stage remark 3. Warn 14. Sub shop 4. ____ water 52. River mouths 15. Chorus voice 56. Swiss mountains 5. Small hound 16. Incline 6. Butter alterna59. Monte ____ 17. Harbinger tive 61. Turnpike fee 18. Scorch 7. Horse’s chamber 62. Closes tightly 19. Sudden fright 64. Excursion 8. Atoll material 20. Tedious one 65. Involved with 9. Chef’s unit 21. Of the sun 66. Painter’s stand (abbr.)

23. Rear 10. Birmingham’s 67. Margin 24. Menu item 68. Not messy state 26. Andes animal69. Restless 11. Leonardo’s “____ 28. Picnic pest 70. Exploit Lisa” 29. Harm 12. Long, narrative 71. Miscalculates 33. Plentiful poem 36. Left the throne 13. Adorn 39. Sheep’s cry 22. AM-FM ____ 40. Bullfighter 25. Adversaries 42. Raw metal 27. Yarn craft 43. Do away with 30. On the peak

31. Actor Richard ____ 32. Genesis garden 33. Lincoln and Vigoda 34. Beer ingredient 35. Duo 36. One ____ time (2 wds.)

37. Slugger’s need 38. President before JFK

41. Caper 44. Childhood disease 46. Soup cracker 48. Revered 50. Out of style 51. Corrode 53. Photocopier liquid 54. Church table 55. Vegas machines 56. Drifting

57. Slim 58. Historian’s concern 60. Racing sled 63. Tricky

science Madison was touted as a ‘Climate Change Haven.’ Is it truly a haven? dailycardinal.com

Thursday, February 18, 2021

9

The city will be spared the most catastrophic effects of a warming world, but shorter winters, heavy rainfalls and other uncertainties loom in Madison’s future.

By Will Cioci EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Last month, CBS News set out to find a “climate change haven.”

Where, they asked, should the average American seeking shelter from a burning world settle down?

Somewhere far from the blazes of the West coast, the heat waves of the South, the rising seas of the Atlantic coast, the hurricanes of the gulf. Somewhere “almost perfect” to avoid the violent extremes.

One place, they concluded, fits the bill: Madison, Wisconsin.

But were they right?

It’s true that, compared to cities in the American South and West, Madison will fare well in the looming climate crisis. The most catastrophic impacts of a warming world do not threaten to wipe the city off the map, but climate experts say that Madison is already changing. More frequent and powerful thunderstorms as well as warmer, shorter winters are giving the isthmus a taste of dramatic changes it may see in the coming decades.

Such changes have the potential to substantially shift the region’s economy and way of life.

According to a report last year by the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI), Wisconsin is already 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit hotter today than in the 1950s. One effect of that warming is the air can hold more moisture — and unleash heavier rainfall.

“It’s almost like a sponge effect when a storm comes through,” explained Michael Notaro, the Associate Director of the Nelson Institute’s Center for Climatic Research. “Those heavy precipitation events are becoming more frequent and more intense during the last several decades.”

Notaro referred to storms like the ones that clobbered Madison in August of 2018, when days of downpour flooded much of the isthmus and wrought what Dane County Executive Joe Parisi called “historic” damages, totaling over $154 million across the county. More than half of those costs fell on the heads of private residents, only 2 percent of whom were insured for flood damage.

One man was killed, swept away in the deluge that made rivers and lagoons of Madison streets.

In that month alone, 10.4 inches of rain battered the city.

The floods, and the similarly stormy May that preceded them, made 2018 the second-wettest year in Madison’s recorded history. Official records report 3.78 inches of rainfall in Madison on August 20, the epicenter of the storms. According to WICCI projections, such torrential days — over three inches in 24 hours — could be 33% more common by mid-century.

“The heavy precipitation events becoming more frequent is not something that’s going to

go away,” Nataro said. “It’s a serious matter.”

There is even evidence that, for all the damage incurred, Madison actually dodged a bullet with the 2018 storms. A report written by Daniel Wright of the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at UW-Madison found that the most intense rainfall in the 2018

ries consequences for crop maintenance and water quality. “[Farmers] are at the mercy of mother nature. If a heavy rainfall comes a day or two or even a week after they’ve applied that fertilizer, a lot of that can leech really fast right past the root zone and become unavailable,” Kucharik said. “It then ends up in the groundwater or gets run

While it’s difficult to attribute such individual events to the impacts of climate change, clearer evidence of change can be found in the longer term. In Madison, records dating back more than 150 years show the average duration of ice cover on Lake Mendota is 25 percent — one full month — shorter today than it used to be.

SYDNEY WIDELL/ DAILY CARDINAL

Child walks their bike through floodwaters on the Isthmus which prompted investment in flood prevention. storms fell to the southwest of the Yahara Watershed, the giant geological drain that feeds into Madison’s lakes.

Wright found that had the storm shifted by just 15 miles, the water dropped into the watershed — and thus into the lakes and streets of Madison — could have nearly doubled. This worst-case-scenario storm, Wright wrote, could have been “absolutely catastrophic” for

TYLER FOX/ THE DAILY CARDINAL

Blue-green algal bloom in Mendota. the city’s lakefronts and lowlying neighborhoods.

But the effects of a wetter Madison are broader than the damage left by the rare mega-storm.

According to WICCI maps, since 1950 annual precipitation in the Dane County area has already increased about 20 percent. According to Chris Kucharik, a UW-Madison professor and member of the WICCI working group on agriculture, farms like the ones that cover two-thirds of Dane County’s land are already seeing increased runoff from the rains. That car-

off into a lake or a stream.”

Heavier rainfall makes it harder for farmers to keep nutrients in the soil for their crops.

Kucharik said that this leads some to apply even more fertilizers and produce even more runoff, which damages water quality and can contribute to harmful algae blooms.

“This is a negative feedback [loop] for water quality,” Kucharik said.

A warming climate also lead to transformational impacts on Wisconsin winters. Natalie Chin, a member of WICCI’s working group on tourism and outdoor recreation, said the season for pastimes that are central to the state’s — and to Madison’s — economy and culture will likely shrink.

“We worry about less reliable snow and ice cover, and that can create dangerous conditions,” Chin said. “The ice might not be as thick for ice fishing or ice skating or other kinds of winter recreation activities.”

In 2017, the Birkebeiner, North America’s largest cross-country ski race which takes place annually in Northern Wisconsin, was cancelled due to “unseasonable weather” and a lack of snow cover. Earlier this month, firefighters in Duluth, Michigan, rescued 26 fishermen from an ice floe on Lake Superior that cracked and floated out into the lake. According to Eyewitness News, the lake had an ice cover of only about 10 percent, well below average for the time of year.

Tourism, closely linked in Wisconsin to many outdoor activities, accounts for $22.2 billion of the state’s economy, according to the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. While researching for her PhD, Chin says she spoke with many of the business owners already grap-

impacts in the Midwest found that by the late 21st century, the total number of annual snow days throughout the region could drop by 30 to 60 percent, depending on carbon emission rates.

As some who have wrestled with Madison winters might attest, the effects of a warmer regional climate may not all be bad.

In fact, Kucharik says, shorter winters and a longer growing season may well be a benefit to some of the farmers who call the city’s limits home. The optimal conditions for growing corn that bless much of Illinois and Iowa are likely to shift northward over time as the entire Midwest warms.

Madison has also been spared — at least so far — the increase in extreme heat events that many climate models suggest.

Kucharik says that the number of days per year that top 90 degrees Fahrenheit has been stable in recent years, despite predictions that they could as much as quadruple by mid-century.

“That’s obviously been good,” Kucharik said. “But if you put trust in the climate models, at some point we’re likely to start going up significantly.”

Even as the effects of climate change take hold at the local level, experts agree that Madison offers refuge from the disastrous effects that climate change will wreak elsewhere.

“It’s a very different story than when you’re talking about a wildfire or a hurricane, where a community can be gone after that,” Notaro said of the 2018 floods. “I think Wisconsin is pretty resilient and able to persevere through these extremes.”

BRYCE RICHTER/ THE DAILY CARDINAL

Goodspeed family pier closed as ice sets on the Lake Mendota shoreline. pling with the reality of a changing climate.

“Some of the things that I heard were expanding winter offerings — offering snowshoes instead of just cross-country skis since you can snowshoe in less snow,” Chin said. “Other things people talked about were expanding their summer offerings, not just being a winter destination.”

One study on climate change

As communities across the country begin to feel the brunt of rising seas, deep freezes, biblical storms and terrifying blazes, that may be the best Madison can ask for.

“I don’t think there’s any part of this country that’s not going to be hit and hasn’t already been hit hard by climate change,” Notaro said. “So, in a relative sense, it is a haven.”