Misinformation surrounds us. Is it more dangerous than we think?
By Tomer Ronen
FEATURES EDITOR
Five hundred years ago, a highly educated person consumed about 74 GB of data throughout their life. Today, we consume that much in one day, according to a study published in Frontiers, a Swiss research publisher.
With so much information running through our heads on a daily basis, it can be hard to differentiate between what is true and what isn’t. Generally, we tend to believe everything we see or hear because most of what we’re exposed to is true, Stephan Lewandowsky, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Bristol told the Washington Post. At the same time, repetition makes these things stick in our minds.
“Repeated messages tend to be stickier than things you only see once,” Dr. Michael Wagner, director of the Center for Communication and Civic Renewal at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told The Daily Cardinal. “Seeing the same kind of misinformation over and over, is more likely to have a sustained effect on somebody’s attitudes.”
Misinformation withstands correction, according to a Northwestern University study. On average, correction did not entirely eliminate the effect of misinformation, but was more successful when coherent, consistent with the audience’s worldview and delivered by the source of the misinformation, the study found.
As November’s presidential election approaches, misinformation and conspiracy theories have circulated from social media users and presidential candidates alike. Experts told the Cardinal misinformation can be dangerous, affecting individuals’ views and whether they vote.
How misinformation spreads
Misinformation spreads over a multitude of platforms, including through word of mouth, television and social media, but the most prominent source in 2020 was email, according to Wagner.
“People are forwarding things that aren’t true to others,” Wagner said.
People with a high degree of political knowledge but a low degree of trust in institutions tend to be more susceptible to misinformation. People who think they don’t need to follow the news, but “if it’s important, it’ll find them,” are the most likely to engage in a conspiratorial pattern of thinking, according to Wagner.
“Research about misinformation has largely found that there’s a whole lot of it out there — especially on social media,” Wagner said. “But it tends to be seen the most by a relatively small number of people.”
This misinformation confirms people’s worldviews, which makes them less open to change and accurate information. People also retain more information as screens get larger, so a post on social media is less sticky than from a laptop or television, Wagner said.
How misinformation affects voters
Misinformation shows up at the ballot box, Dr. Ray Aldag, UW-Madison professor emeritus and expert on decision making, told the Cardinal.
If a person accepts a lie as truth, they’re more likely to vote for the candidate that said it. Misinformation from political candidates can also
affect voting turnout, Aldag said.
“It depends on what the person is telling them,” Aldag said. “Some politicians have said don’t early vote, don’t vote by these means, and that often prevents people from actually voting on time.”
Bonds formed with politicians can also affect how a person votes. If a voter identifies with a politician and shares their values or beliefs, they are more likely to vote for them, Aldag said.
“We’re not just bonding with them, we’re bonding with their entire support structure,” Aldag said. “We want to believe what we belong to.”
Demographics that consider themselves outsiders are less inclined to vote because they feel their vote doesn’t make a difference in their lives. Historically, Black Americans voted for the Democratic Party because they were “more understanding” of their views.
But with changing times — and misinformation about President Joe Biden calling Black Americans “super-predators” being spread by former President Donald Trump —
this could change, Aldag said.
“If people feel powerless, they may just opt out of voting again,” Aldag said. “Until you feel that you’re not marginalized, that you can make a difference, you’re probably going to feel impotent.”
What to watch out for
With so much misinformation running rampant, it’s hard to differentiate what’s real and what isn’t. But there are warning signs to look out for, Wagner said.
Wagner recommends being wary of emotion laden headlines and claims that “you can’t find anywhere else.” A claim being put out by only one media source or political view is a reason to be skeptical.
“Fact checkers want to try to tamp down the effects of viral misinformation claims,” Wagner said. “So if you see something and it sounds pretty fantastic or pretty terrible you might see if a fact checking organization has weighed in with a fact check about the claim so you can understand whether that it holds up to scrutiny.”
Seeking out disconfirming beliefs
is also helpful, Aldag said.
“I just think we have to have a healthy, healthy skepticism,” Aldag said.
But it’s also important not to continue the spread of misinformation, Wagner said.
“The most important thing people can do is to not share something until they’ve seen it verified somewhere,” Wagner said. “We have lots of really strong national newspapers where reporters can lose their jobs if they report things that are false. I would always start by trusting those sources.”
As election season approaches, and conspiracy theories spread about the assassination attempt on Trump on July 13, Wagner said it’s important to pay attention to official reports and remember that it doesn’t take much for misinformation to swirl.
“One reason misinformation researchers worry about misinformation is that it doesn’t take much,” Wagner said. “Even if most false claims don’t matter much most of the time, if one really does, that’s still a negative. That’s bad for democracy.”
Dane County to reinstate drop boxes ahead of 2024 election Madison to build permanent men’s shelter on Far East Side
By Ainsley Adams STAFF WRITER
By Lucia Gadau STAFF WRITER
The Madison CommonCouncil approved four new housing developments at a July 2 meeting, one of which will be the city’s first permanent men’s shelter at 1904 Bartillon Drive.
The new permanent shelter is set to hold 250-300 men in total, Madison Community Development Director Jim O’Keefe told The Daily Cardinal. It will be the first permanent men’s shelter in Madison, with a previous temporary all men’s shelter operating out of the basement of Grace Episcopal Church.
O’Keefe said the project is “purpose built” and that “this facility has been designed specifically for the use that we are going to make out of it.”
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway told the Cardinal in a statement the need for a purpose-built shelter in Madison was evident.
“It was through partnerships that we have made significant progress in treating people with dignity,” Rhodes-Conway said.
The shelter at the Grace Episcopal Church had limitations, including a 90-day stay limit.
“Men would learn to save their 90 days for when the weather was bad,” O’Keefe said.”It was kind of a disincentive to use the shelter.”
Additionally, O’Keefe said men were turned away from the shelter if they showed up “under the influence.”
The church’s budget for the shelter was less than $600,000, according to O’Keefe. The city granted the new permanent Far East Side shelter a budget of $25 million.
“The only way that we have been able to make that work is because of the federal money that has come to Madison and to Dane County as part of the federal response to COVID,” O’Keefe said.
The city has been involved in running and maintaining services for people experiencing homelessness, according to O’Keefe, and “the talk of building a purpose built shelter to house those experiencing homelessness has
become a reality.”
Porchlight, an organization providing shelter services in Dane County, was chosen by the city to operate the new facility on Bartillon Drive. Porchlight Executive Director Carla Thennes told the Cardinal she is excited to have a purpose-built shelter for their guests’ needs, especially after the need for services increased following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Numbers have just gone up exponentially since the pandemic with so many people losing jobs, losing their housing, kind of working their way through family and friends and then becoming homeless,” Thennes said.
Porchlight has been operating shelters for 40 years, including their largest housing project near the University of WisconsinMadison campus on Brooks Street.
Shelter aims for guest safety, privacy
In 2022, the city worked with a Denver-based organization called ShopWorks Architecture to conduct multiple surveys and talk with volunteers and guests of the shelter in order to gain knowledge about the needs of the new shelter.
Thennes told the Cardinal ShopWorks, Porchlight and the city made “trauma informed decisions” to best support the guests of the shelter when they arrive.
ShopWorks was able to receive feedback from about 150 people, including both Porchlight staff members and those who have experienced homelessness, according to O’Keefe.
Thennes said the survey was a great way for the shelter to best accommodate its guests.
“[Those interviewed] appreciate being able to give their opinion,” Thennes said. “What else is more valuable than their opinion and somebody who’s stayed at all shelters?”
The main takeaways from the survey were safety, privacy and security of belongings, O’Keefe said.
“Safety issues are addressed partly through staffing, partly through lighting, partly through
how the other facility is laid out so that there are sight lines,” O’Keefe said. “There aren’t hidden corners or that sort of thing.”
Guests will be able to store their belongings in storage units rather than leaving them outside and at risk of being stolen, O’Keefe said. On-site health care and rehabilitation services will also be offered to guests.
“We very much want this facility to have more than just an overnight shelter,” O’Keefe said.
The shelter will include accommodations to guests with chronic health or mobility issues, including space for them to stay on the first floor of the building, Thennes said.
Funding roadblocks limit services
The facility, according to Thennes, plans to be open 24/7. But the necessary funding to do so are not currently available, she said.
O’Keefe said the federal pandemic aid money Dane County received “is nearly depleted.”
The city and Porchlight estimated the operating cost to keep the shelter open 24 hours a day would be an extra $1 million per year, according to O’Keefe.
“Soon, we will not have access to that money, and so we’re gonna have to come up with another way to pay for the ongoing cost,” O’Keefe said.
Rhodes-Conway emphasized the importance of the community coming together to support the facility.
“The long-term success of the Bartillon Shelter will depend on the city,” she said.
Thennes believes the construction of this shelter will force the public to not treat those experiencing homelessness as an afterthought.
“I hope that the people who are still sleeping out on the streets choose not to do that anymore, because they have this really nice place to go to. I think we’re gonna see a lot of positive impacts,” Thennes said.
The project is set to finish construction in the fall of 2025.
Most, if not all, Dane County municipalities will be reimplementing ballot drop boxes in time for upcoming elections following the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling overturning the ban on drop boxes on July 5, according to County Clerk Scott McDonell.
The Wisconsin Election Commission met June 11 to provide guidance on secure ballot drop box procedures to local election administrators. Along with safety recommendations, they encouraged local officials to inform their constituents of drop box locations and availability.
When the ruling was announced, the City of Madison said they anticipated the drop boxes to be open for use in the Aug. 13 legislative primaries.
Municipal Clerk Thomas Lund told The Daily Cardinal due to complexities preparing and outfitting them with relevant information, he’s not certain they’ll be ready in time.
Before they were outlawed in 2022, drop boxes had been used in areas of the state for over 10 years, and some voters relied on them heavily to cast absentee ballots. During the 2020 election, there were 528 drop boxes in Wisconsin, and 41% of U.S. absentee and mail-in votes were cast via drop box.
After President Joe Biden narrowly won Wisconsin by 20,600 votes the integrity of ballot drop boxes were brought into question. Former President Donald Trump falsely claimed the boxes led to voter fraud, requested a vote recount and ultimately sued to disqualify absentee ballots cast early and in-person in Dane and Milwaukee counties.
“Some states have used dropboxes since the 1990s, with long track records of fair elections without any significant problem resulting from the drop boxes,” said Barry Burden, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor.
In October 2021, the bipartisan Wisconsin Election Commission reported no evidence of fraud associated with drop boxes in the
2020 election.
“There is, unfortunately, a tendency of voters to follow the lead of the rhetoric they are hearing from leaders in their parties, which is often not really attached to the facts about how the election system works,” Burden said.
While Madison’s 14 drop boxes were out of commission, they were transformed into artwork that displayed messages informing residents about voting with absentee ballots and criticizing the court’s decision.
“When you consider students and working people who don’t have time to go to the City Clerk’s office before 5 p.m. ballot drop boxes really increase access to being able to vote and making the process easier,” said Amanjot Kaur, co-founder and president of the Student Voter Union.
Wisconsin student voters comprised almost 7% of the eligible state voting population in 2022. The restoration of this voting path, which allows for 24-hour absentee ballot drop off until election day, may give students one more reason to vote, according to Kaur.
McDonell said drop boxes are important in the last week of an election when some voters are concerned about mailin ballots arriving late and being disqualified.
“Now, if I fill out my ballot at home before an election, I can drop it in the drop box instead of worrying about it being lost in the mail,” Kaur said.
The Aug. 13 legislative primaries will take place around the time many Madison students move on or off campus. With campus being busy, it may be difficult for students to get to the polls and ballot drop boxes may be a helpful option, District 8 Ald. MGR Govindarajan said.
Whether Madison’s ballot drop boxes, currently located in front of 13 fire stations and Elver Park, will reopen for the primaries is unclear. Govindarajan expressed confidence in local officials’ ability to get the word out to students via the Madison City Clerk’s office.
JAKE PIPER/THE DAILY CARDINAL
RNC influencers target youth vote news
By Marin Rosen, Mary Bosch and Noe Goldhaber CITY NEWS EDITOR, PHOTO EDITOR AND COLLEGE NEWS EDITOR
MILWAUKEE — Xaviaer DuRousseau, a conservative media personality and influencer, is not the stereotypical Republican National Convention attendee.
A self-described “former BLM activist,” DuRousseau has 600,000 followers across social media platforms and is part of a group of young conservatives and content creators the Republican Party is relying on to engage young voters ahead of the presidential election.
“People are looking at influencers the way that they used to look at legacy media,” DeRousseau said. “Influences, athletes, models, rappers — voters are looking at public figures for better or worse.”
Trust in traditional media sources remains at an all-time low, and creators like DeRousseau have emerged as one in three adults under 30 regularly get their news from TikTok, according to Pew Research.
DeRousseau is also a member of the Republican National Committee’s Youth Advisory Council, a group that coaches the Republican Party on how to communicate with young voters.
“Not only do we now have a seat at the table, we have a suite at the RNC,” DuRousseau said from the Content Hub, a private room in the convention for over 70 conservative content creators invited by the RNC.
Not all young conservatives view the Youth Advisory Council as an effective organization to win over Gen Z voters. In January, several members of the Youth Advisory Council resigned, calling out the GOP’s failure to utilize TikTok and social media as effectively as the Democratic Party.
At the Democratic National Convention next month, left-wing social media influencers will similarly be credentialed for the first time.
DeRousseau knows first-hand the power of conservative social media content. He switched political parties in 2021 after watching videos from PragerU, a conservative digital media organization he now appears on.
He previously criticized the GOP for failing to reach young voters and
people of color but told The Daily Cardinal the party is working to change their messaging.
“I’ve stated many times to Republicans that as we see this new generation come in, I want to see our rhetoric get better,” DeRousseau said.
“It’s great to be blunt. It’s great to be direct. But we also need to humanize the way we speak sometimes and showcase more empathy.”
DeRousseau himself drew widespread controversy for inhumane messaging after tweeting a photo of himself wearing a shirt that said “Make Gaza Jewish Again” that PragerU CEO Marissa Streit told DeRousseau went too far, according to the Jewish Journal.
In battleground Wisconsin, the youth vote is vital Young voters are as important as ever in national politics, according to Barry Burden, UW-Madison political science professor and Elections Research Center director. This is especially true for young voters in Wisconsin, including those at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“In Wisconsin, the youth vote can make the difference in terms of who wins the state, and Wisconsin is one of the battleground states that will decide the electoral college,” Burden told the Cardinal.
In the last two presidential elections, Wisconsin was decided by about 20,000 votes but only by 11,000 in the 2004 presidential election, which Burden noted is “less than the number of people at a UW volleyball game.”
Young voters have consistently supported Democratic politicians
in national elections. Gen Z and Millennial voters supported President Joe Biden by 20 points in 2020. However, recent polls and the April 2 Democratic presidential primary signaled disconnect between youth voters and the Democratic Party.
Roughly one third of voters in 20 wards on or near the UW-Madison campus voted for the “uninstructed delegation” in the April 2 Democratic presidential primary in protest of Biden’s support for Israel, compared to 14.6% in Dane County and just 8.4% statewide.
If the election were held today Trump leads Biden by eight points among voters under 30, and these voters are least certain they were going to vote in November, according to the July New York Times and Siena College poll.
“The majority of early 20s voters are not enamored with Joe Biden but are also very unlikely to vote for Donald Trump,” Burden said. “But for 18- and 19-year-old voters, the memory of how good or bad times were under different presidents is open to being shaped.”
Servant Ventae Parrow Bey, a Black Milwaukee resident and student at Milwaukee Area Technical College, told the Cardinal neither party does enough to engage young voters and appeal to ordinary working class voters. Bey said he was considering supporting a third party candidate in November.
“Politicians only show up when they want to get a person’s vote,” Bey said. “The general sense is that you are not seeing enough empathy for humans in general for us to get out and vote.”
Selena Walter, a student at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, said youth engagement is vital for the outcome of elections in her county.
“We had a difference of 15 votes in the last primary and lost two conservative seats,” Walter said. “All I could think about is the fact that if a couple handful of people from my college had changed their voting address or gotten out and voted, we could have kept the conservative seats.”
The GOP alters abortion stance but lacks cohesive vision
In a fall 2023 Harvard Youth Poll, young voters identified reproductive health care, as well as economic issues, as the most important political issues for the upcoming presidential election.
Burden said reproductive rights is a top issue for young Wisconsin voters in the wake of the U.S Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade’s constitutional abortion protections, which led to a massive loss in abortion access across the state.
Before the RNC, the GOP agreed to drop a national abortion ban from the party platform for the first time in 40 years.
DeRousseau said abortion is one of the issues that is “lose-lose” for Republicans and divides the party — they risk alienating either the religious base of the party or the majority of Americans who support access to abortion in all or most cases.
“As a Republican and conservative, I believe in small government. I personally think it’s an overstep to tell women that they cannot get an abortion,” DeRousseau said.
“That’s why it’s important to distinguish that the Republican Party is not a monolith.”
DeRousseau said many young Republicans and members of the Trump administration would similarly describe themselves as “ideologically pro-life, legislatively pro-choice.”
Students learn, but will students vote?
At a pub just a few blocks from the RNC, a group of young voters discussed student engagement and voting with the non-partisan organization Students Learn, Students Vote and the University of Chicago Institute of Politics (IOP).
The parallel Youth Vote Fest at the DNC already has more than five times the attendees registered, an organizer told the Cardinal.
Students identified immigration, inflation, drugs, crime, the economy and student debt as their main concerns for the upcoming election in interviews with the Cardinal and discussions during the seminars.
As a first-generation college student, Walter said inflation is a major issue she is concerned about. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation rates soared to levels not seen in 40 years.
Burden agreed that student loan debt, job salary, health care and house expenses are increasing concerns for young voters.
Whitley Yates, a speaker at the event and the director of diversity and engagement for the Indiana Republican Party, told attendees she fills a unique role in the GOP as the only diversity director for a state GOP across the nation.
Like DuRousseau, Yates plays a unique role in the GOP as their base shrinks in the electorate, posing a conundrum for a party looking to evolve and draw in new voter demographics while maintaining core conservative principles.
“At this RNC convention, I’ve been asked about seven or eight times what is the future of the Republican Party,” Yates said. “The truth is the future is whatever you want it to be because you are the creators, crafters and leaders that are going to decide the policies that progress the communities for generations to come.”
Before JD Vance became vice presidential nominee, his memoir stirred controversy at UW-Madison
By Gavin Escott CAMPUS NEWS EDITOR
Former President Donald Trump’s selection of Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, as the Republican vice presidential nominee has put a renewed spotlight on Vance and the factors that led to his rise — including his bestselling 2016 memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.”
“Hillbilly Elegy,” which propelled Vance to national prominence, recounts Vance’s struggles growing up impoverished in the Rust Belt and Appalachia. After Trump’s 2016 victory, some liberals embraced it to explain why Trump appealed to rural America, though critics argued it misrepresented Appalachia and ignored socioeconomic aspects of poverty.
That heated debate drew University of Wisconsin-Madison officials to select the memoir as the university’s 2017-18 Go Big Read
book. A shared reading program, Go Big Read distributes free copies of a recommended book to firstyear students and encourages professors to incorporate the book into coursework.
“Hillbilly Elegy” was included in 145 class sections’ curriculum in the 2017 fall semester, according to a university press release. Former UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank said she hoped the book would generate a “lively conversation” on the social, economic and political issues raised in the book.
Unlike some other schools, UW-Madison does not provide students with a list of books to choose from — it’s one book per year, and it’s recommended that all students read it.
At the time, some students and faculty criticized Vance for “victim blaming” Appalachians, rather than government underfunding
and deindustrialization, for the region’s economic downturn.
“Vance doesn’t ignore these [factors] because he is unaware,”
Jonathan Isaac, an English department graduate student, wrote in a 2017 opinion piece in The Daily Cardinal. “He does so because it fits into his particular worldview — shared by many members of our cultural and political elite — that poor people are to blame for their own poverty.”
Participants in a “Hillbilly Elegy” small discussion at the Madison Public Library denounced Vance’s depiction of the white working class, according to The Badger Herald.
“I don’t think he had a depth of knowledge, and he seemed to be making a lot of judgments based on small pools of data,” Laurel Fletcher, department adminis-
trator at UW-Madison’s Nelson Institute’s Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment, said during the 2017 discussion.
During an October 2017 panel in Memorial Union discussing the topics of race, class and addiction featured in the book, panelist and UW-Madison political science professor Kathy Cramer acknowledged many people turned to the book to understand how Trump was elected, though she cautioned readers in drawing conclusions.
“It’s become a little bit of a myth that the white working class as responsible for the election of Trump,” Cramer said, adding that the book does not necessarily map onto how Trump supporters felt.
Vance’s decision to not attend the panel, typically customary for the Go Big Read book’s author, drew criticism. Five days prior
to Vance’s planned visit, campus community members were informed Vance would not attend the event due to “unforeseen scheduling difficulties,” according to a UW-Madison statement.
“By that time, Vance was cozying up to billionaires in Silicon Valley and thinking about a career in politics,” Russ Castronovo, a UW-Madison English professor whose class used “Hillbilly Elegy” in 2017, wrote in the Wisconsin State Journal on Saturday.
Though Vance’s memoir sparked passionate debate, Castronovo said, it offered few justifications for its assertions that problems like opioid addiction or poverty are attributable to “personal agency.”
A representative for Vance was not immediately available for comment.
MARY BOSCH/THE DAILY CARDINAL
All hail Wisconsin’s queens
By Sreejita Patra STAFF WRITER
D rag bedazzles every corner of the deep purple state of Wisconsin, with roots dating back to an 1884 performance in Milwaukee by Francis Leon and his troupe. Within the past 15 years, Wisconsin drag queens witnessed audience numbers skyrocket as mainstream culture developed a stronger appreciation for the art form.
T he Daily Cardinal spoke with seasoned drag veterans Bianca Lynn Breeze and Cynthia Mooseknuckle as well as youth drag entertainer Nemo about the uniqueness of Wisconsin’s drag scene and the identities they’ve carved for themselves within it.
What does drag mean to you? What does your persona represent?
Breeze: My mom was always a very positive and uplifting person: wherever she was, she always made people laugh and smile. I wasn’t like that originally, but when I lost her at 20, I knew that there was this void that I had to fill. Drag allowed me the outlet to be able to do that, to express my outgoing personality and bring happiness into people’s lives.
Mooseknuckle: I think in a way, putting on a wig is like putting on your crown. It’s great stepping out of your own skin into someone else’s and being able to just go out and have fun. Mooseknuckle is professional, punctual, camp glam … I’m the swiss army knife of drag in Wisconsin.
Nemo: My life if I didn’t do drag would be very closed and antisocial. To this day, I get very shy and scared in certain situations, and drag has really allowed me to push through socially and inspire my art. I enjoy being able to put performances together, and it just makes me really happy. d frustrating alike, it is here to stay.
How has being a drag queen in Wisconsin changed over the years which you have been performing?
Breeze: Drag has become a lot more mainstream and accessible, in large part thanks to “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” We’re now able to do more events such as comedy and brunches, not just underground nightclubs. And the style has certainly changed from the rhinestones and big hair.
Mooseknuckle: It was taught to me when I first started that if you wanted to make it in the drag scene, especially in Wisconsin, then you had to be a pageant girl and have a title. As I progressed, I realized that being your own queen and beating to your own drum is important and would suit me better.
Nemo: Locally, when I started performing, there were really no spaces for youth entertainers. Me and my friend Andi Withani were the only two, so we ended up hosting a show together.
Describe what it’s been like to be a drag queen in the Midwest. Have you experienced bigotry from more conservative audiences?
Breeze: Wherever we’re at, there’s going to be 10 times the amont of supporters than there are haters. I do shows in Oshkosh and Manitowoc, which are typically not super liberal areas, but the events are all sold out all the time. So I know that there’s at least 100 to 250 people that are welcoming and safe.
Mooseknuckle: There’s always going to be hostility towards the unknown, so you’ve got to find common ground. I did a show in Richland Center where a couple husbands whose wives didn’t tell them what they were attending were clearly a little uncomfortable. But then I came out in rhinestone blaze orange hunting gear and one of those husbands tipped me five bucks.
Nemo: There is a bubble of acceptance in Madison and Milwaukee for queer spaces to exist, but if you drive even twenty minutes out it’s completely different and almost dangerous. When Andi Withani created a Pride in Watertown, Nazi protesters came in with guns and rifles.
Tell me your thoughts about recent anti-LGBT legislative efforts in the country, particularly those which seek to limit public drag performances.
Breeze: It’s been very shocking and kind of sickening. I personally produce events that are specifically allages, so I hate when people say
bad things about kids being at drag shows, because, to be honest, I’m wearing way more clothes than anybody else is in that establishment.
Mooseknuckle: In order to make lasting change, we need to be visible beyond the arguments and debates. I can be a drag queen in a deep red county state, and answer all the questions and let the walls drop. But what they’re not going to do is drive me away from going there in drag, because I have every right to be there - even if it’s just staying on the street.
Nemo: Drag is still going to exist even if it is banned — it’s just going to be more secretive. If health care for trans youth is banned, people are just going to go out of state to get care or even possibly feel the need to go to drastic measures and do dangerous things.
What is your vision for the future of drag in Wisconsin?
Breeze: As entertainers, we’re always the ones with the mic. It is our responsibility to say, ‘don’t forget to vote in November’ and come out for all different types of drag and be inclusive. I think sometimes performers think that you need to fit a certain shoe to be booked, and that’s not the case. I want us not to be scared.
Mooseknuckle: I’d love to see more drag fundraisers for issues that face our community, such as mental health, addiction treatment and lack of access to affordable housing and transportation. I also want us to do more “Drag Out the Vote” for the 2024 election season, just being visible and telling people, ‘if a drag queen can vote, so can you!’
Nemo: My vision would be that all drag is valued and appreciated and that there was less division within the drag community. As a minority we should be working together to uplift and celebrate each other.
NICHOLAS DUDA/THE DAILY CARDINAL
UW program administrators unenroll disabled student from study program
By Noe Goldhaber and Gavin Escott COLLEGE NEWS EDITOR AND CAMPUS NEWS EDITOR
When Nikhita Steward-Trivedi searched for academic programs this summer, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) caught their eye.
On the advice of her DVR counselor, Lina visited the McBurney Disability Resource Center to figure out how to begin the process of obtaining accommodations.
Mednick continued by saying the DVR wasn’t aware of the time it would take for a DVR worker to comply with UW-Madison and UW System policies in order to host a minor on campus.
because I have a Disability.”
Steward-Trivedi —who has Goltz syndrome, causing vision and mobility impairments — saw the three-week summer intensive as an opportunity to pursue their career goals and a place where it would be easier to receive accommodations for their disability, in their mother Lina Steward-Trivedi’s view.
But on June 28, just two days before the program began, program administrators told Steward-Trivedi they were unenrolled because ALP UW-Madison program administrators lacked time to review and plan accommodations.
In the weeks since, the 14-year-old has demonstrated on campus by holding sit-ins and marches to call for changes in how the university handles accommodations.
The Daily Cardinal asked Steward Trivedi, who goes by ‘Kitty’ and uses gender neutral pro nouns, how this experience made them feel about UW-Madison’s treatment of people with disabilities.
“They don’t,” they said. “[To them] we’re objects.”
‘Everything was fine until it was too late to reach out’
Since Kitty became eligible earlier this year, they have received support from or Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Development Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), they have received support, ,which helps people with disabilities join the workforce.
For an academic program that aligned with Kitty’s career goals of becoming an artist, it would be easier for the DVR to “play more of a hands-on role,” Lina told the Cardinal. DVR agreed to pay the program’s tuition and coordinate accommodations.
Lina said McBurney told her they don’t support high school students directly, but they support university programs by request.
“If the program identifies they need help, then they’ll step in and offer support, guidance and technical assistance,” Lina said it was explained to her. “That never happened though because whatever the disconnect was within [ALP], seemingly, everything was fine until days before the check in, and at that point, it was too late to reach out to McBurney.”
This disconnect concerned the lack of an aide in the classroom, which Kitty required to assist her with notetaking and other tasks.
DVR had said from the beginning they would fund an aide, and Lina reached out to program staff inquiring if the university had aides available.
Lina met with ALP Program Manager Jamison Wendlandt June 19, where he indicated the university could grant the majority of the requested accommodations, such as extra time and priority seating, but not personal attendants, which he said the university doesn’t provide.
Up to that point, Kitty’s DVR caseworker had assumed the university would provide in-house aides, but after it became apparent it couldn’t, Lina said they went “full speed” to find an agency that could provide an aide.
Then on June 26, Lina said they found an agency in Sun Prairie that committed to providing an aide, and the next day DVR sent Lina a proposed schedule for the first two weeks of the program. The proposed schedule, which employed a rotating cast of aides, did not cover the last week of the program, which Lina said DVR lacked.
But when Lina visited campus to meet Effertz the same day, she said the university could not accommodate Kitty and they suggested they commute instead of participating in the residential aspect of the program.
‘Everything was fine until it was too late to reach out’
Before they applied to the program, Lina had been in contact with ALP coordinators regarding Kitty’s needs, including Katie Effertz, associate director of operations and residential programs at UW-Madison, who assured her the program could accommodate Kitty.
“They said yes to pretty much everything,” Lina said.
Lina declined that option. In emails viewed by the Cardinal, Lina wrote Associate Dean of Continuing Studies Aphra Mednick on June 26 asking why the program potentially cut Kitty “after all the accommodations needed have already been funded or committed by DVR.”
Mednick told Lina on June 27 accommodations required time to plan for, and the university received the request too late.
After Lina responded by listing the accommodations Wendlandt had agreed to, Mednick replied on June 28, acknowledging that while the DVR had confirmed they could provide a classroom aide, “they did not have a person identified for providing this work as of this morning.”
She also brought up accommodations during the residential portion of the program, which she said the DVR and ALP both couldn’t provide, though Lina previously communicated to the university that Kitty only required an aide in the classroom, not in the dorms.
“With the delay in receiving complete information about Nikita’s needs, the university has not had adequate time to review, determine, and plan reasonable accommodations and will not be able to do so in time for this program,” Mednick.
Mednick suggested it was possible for Kitty to participate in ALP in the future but said at that time, UW-Madison was unenrolling Kitty.
Lina disputed multiple aspects of Mednick’s termination email. She said that morning Mednick had held a Zoom meeting with the DVR team, who told her of the proposed schedule and the identified aides, as well as the fact an aide in the dorm wasn’t necessary.
“They didn’t want to find a way to make it work,” Lina said. “From how it was relayed to me, the university was just trying to shut [Kitty] down.”
UW-Madison spokesperson Kelly Tyrell told the Cardinal the university took “significant steps to work with the [Steward-Trivedi’s] over the past three months” and said some information that had been shared about the situation was inaccurate or misleading.
“UW-Madison did not deny any accommodation to support the student in classroom and residential settings,” Tyrell said. “The family did not complete required documentation on time, so the university did not have adequate time to review, determine, or plan for a reasonable accommodation.”
Tyrell also said Kitty was offered additional options to participate in ALP before the program began, including an option to commute, which was declined. After Kitty was unenrolled, an option to participate in the final week of the program or a fall program was also declined, she said.
“Ensuring all students, including K-12 students, have access to campus programming is extremely important to UW-Madison,” Tyrell said. “Hosting youth on campus requires significant due diligence on our part to ensure that we are meeting all of the university and state requirements to meet the safety and well-being of participants, including those who require accommodations or have additional needs.”
Tyrell didn’t respond when asked what UW-Madison and UW System policies concerning hosting minors in dorms Mednick cited were, or why it would be an issue if Kitty only required an aide in the classroom.
An hour there and back, Kitty demonstrates on campus
Kitty still showed up on campus at the start of the program despite their unenrollment from ALP. For much of July, Kitty has been outside the building her class would have been holding signs reading ‘Disability Teens Matter,’ and ‘UW Expelled Me
Lina highlighted the class they were supposed to take — Art, Advertising and Activism — and said she was incorporating its principles into their protests.
“ She can’t do art and activism in the classroom, but we could do it here,” Lina said. She said the commute to campus took an hour each way, but they were willing to do it to spread awareness of disability rights.
“Things need to change,” Kitty said. “The whole thing just needs to change.”
Protests inspire community, draw support from campus members
Early in Lina and Kitty’s protest, they visited th e UW-Madison Disability Cultural Center (DCC), a space on campus that uplifts disabled students and provides community space. There they met UW-Madison students who connected with Kitty’s experiences and joined their protest.
“I remembered [Kitty] was very emotional the first time we went to the DCC,” Lina said. “She was thanking everybody for validating her as a person.”
Some of these students then formed the UW-Madison Disabled Students Union (DSU) on July 2, a student organization committed to advocating for disabled students on campus. A DSU spokesperson said they and their friends had been considering starting an organization like the DSU for a while, but Kitty’s story and activism was the catalyst.
They remembered meeting Kitty and Lina and sharing “similar experiences with our own undergrad accommodations.”
Before forming a community at UW-Madison, DSU members said they considered dropping out of UW-Madison because they felt alone navigating rigid and ableist learning environments and were “constantly having to be forced to be activists.”
“At UW, I’ve just always had to justify my existence on campus and justify that I can be here as a disabled student,” they said.
McBurney does not go far enough to support disabled students, the spokesperson said.
“Of course, they do a lot to help students, and I’m really, really grateful for the people that work there,” the spokesperson said. “It is a legal compliance center that is kind of more suited to protect — at least from the students’ perspective — the university and sticks very strictly to the ADA laws, which are not very Disability Justice oriented.”
Disabled students are often tasked with communicating and negotiating their accommodations directly with UW-Madison faculty themselves, which the spokesperson called an “unfair power imbalance.”
The spokesperson also said disabled students are left without accommodations in the absence of a third party such as McBurney, to help in negotiations with faculty. They recalled instances where emails to McBurney staff members and faculty for additional support were not addressed in time during an academic semester.
“When accommodations are denied even though it’s technically not allowed, it’s really difficult in the student’s position to advocate for yourself,” the spokesperson said.
In order to help change this system, the spokesperson said the DSU wants to work on workshops for faculty on disabilities and advocate for more support for McBurney students.
The need for disabled representation in ALP persists
In addition to the DSU, Kitty has also received support from the Blk Pwr Coalition, Students for Justice in Palestine and the ACLU Student Alliance, which called Kitty’s removal from the program “a reflection of the ableism on the UW campus.”
Lina said their protests have garnered much support, though it hasn’t gone without trouble
Mednick ordered Kitty and Lina to cease interaction with ALP students, faculty and staff within campus buildings while summer programs are in session, calling their actions “disruptive” and in violation of university and UW System policies, according to an email shared with the Cardinal.
Additionally, Lina said Kitty’s friend in the program received instructions from ALP staff to not engage with the protest.
Mednick didn’t return a request for comment. Tyrell said Lina was an “unauthorized adult in program spaces,” so she was asked not to engage with youth participants. She declined to comment idn’t respond when asked if ALP staff told program participants not to engage with the protest. when asked why Mednick had told Kitty and Lina to cease interaction with UW programs.
To Lina, the Steward-Trivedi’s interactions with program administrators demonstrated the necessity of having a disabled student in the program. She criticized the system in which administrators — who she said aren’t aware of students’ needs — decide what accommodations they receive.
“UW Madison needs to allow families with K-12 students enrolled in UW Madison programs to access support from the UW McBurney Disability Resource Center to avoid what happened to Kitty from happening to another child with a disability,” Lina said.
This isn’t an issue isolated to Kitty, but one that affects people with disabilities across the board, Lina said.
life & style
Harrison Butker’s commencement address stirred controversy
But what does it mean for free speech at universities more broadly?
By Rebekah Irby ARTS EDITOR
Kansas
City Chiefs kicker
Harrison Butker delivered a graduation speech on May 11 for Benedictine College’s 2024 graduating class, stirring conflict for controversial comments about women and the LGBTQ+ community.
Butker suggested to female students that despite their degrees, they will be most excited to become wives and mothers. He then alluded to his own wife, saying that her life did not start until she began her “vocation as a wife and mother.” He then went on to allude to the LGBTQ+ community, and said that pride was a “deadly sin” that has “a whole month dedicated to it.” The address is highly debated publically, but many, including fellow NFL star Patrick Mahomes, continue to defend the NFL star.
The University of WisconsinMadison similarly has a history of controversial speakers on campus which raises concerns about who should and shouldn’t be given a voice at a public university.
UW-Madison is home to thousands of students, all of varying backgrounds. Though UW remains steadfast in its commitment to uphold diversity, equity and inclusion, some of the University’s past speakers have raised questions about how the University maintains these standards.
UW-Madison’s past decisions on campus speakers have led to student uproar, and mass protest across campus.
Most notably, conservative commentators Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh’s campus events stirred student protests due to comments on the LGBTQ+ community and other social issues.
But the difference here lies in the audience. Walsh and Shapiro were both invited to the university by student-led organizations where the audience was aware they would cover vital social and political issues — unlike Butker’s commencement speech.
UW-Madison’s defense of Walsh and Shapiro’s right to speak on campus utilized the same talking points as Butker speech defenders: the right to free speech. And though freedom of speech is a core pillar of American values, it also generates questions about when speech becomes harmful.
On a campus that boasts inclusivity and diversity, providing a platform to speakers who actively discriminate against current students elevates campus unease.
During Walsh’s speech in 2022, the commentator screened his film “What is a Woman?,” a film that actively refutes the right of transgender people to exist. The event resulted in vandalism and protests all over campus, with students supporting their trans peers and denouncing the university for allowing Walsh to speak.
The university responded by essentially endorsing Walsh’s right to speak and screen his film on campus, as well as reaffirming their commitment to creating an inclusive campus environment. Further, the university reiterated that Walsh’s opinions are not a reflection of UW-Madison’s ideology. They called this their “dual commitment” alleging that they can uphold both concepts at once.
Similarly, when Shapiro visited, students protested and called for him to leave campus for his comments about trans people, as well as his statement regarding
the ongoing war in Gaza.
Shapiro is already a highly debated commentator, who has made a career out of visiting Universities and other institutions to discuss his opinions, as well as host debates.
His invitation to UW-Madison from Young Americans for Freedom sparked controversy, hosting a talk called “Stop Being Apologetic about the Superiority of Western Values.”
Many of Shapiro’s talking points surrounded the war in Gaza, and included the commentator criticizing UW-Madison’s lack of condemnation for Hamas’ attack on Israel. He said a comment from Chancellor Minookin was not sufficient.
UW-Madison is a public university with over 40,000 students from various backgrounds. Although the university is responsible for allowing the expression of all students’ opinions, no matter how controversial, it also has an equal responsibility to foster a safe and inclusive environment. A part of that responsibility is ensuring university speakers do not dis-
criminate against current students or give a platform to views that threaten them.
But UW-Madison seems to have difficulty navigating this issue, often supporting the voices of some students over others, leaving marginalized students feeling underrepresented and unsafe on campus.
Legally, denying speakers in a public institution violates the rights outlined in the First Amendment. As a public institution, UW-Madison cannot prohibit public speech, even if it is rhetoric that the student body may disagree with.
Despite the university’s obligation to uphold the right to free speech, there still remains the issue of the student body itself. Inviting commentators that incite violence and protest, or cause students to feel unsafe on campus, is ultimately controversial, and causes mistrust between the university and the student body.
Which is then more important: upholding the right to free
speech or protecting students? Often, UW-Madison seems to lean toward the former, creating a campus environment that makes students from underrepresented communities feel unprotected by an institution that adamantly affirms their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. This “dual commitment” UW-Madison attempts to uphold often becomes unsatisfactory for students, with many feeling violated or unsafe by University speakers.
Butker’s speech may have stirred controversy, but it has also led to much-needed conversations at universities across the country. UW-Madison faces the same challenge as all public institutions, balancing the right to free expression as well student’s right to safety and inclusion.
Upholding both remains an uphill battle, as the university continues to struggle with inviting free speech on campus, while also creating an environment that is welcoming for all students.
The major dilemma: It’s okay to change your mind
By Hallie Albert LIFE & STYLE EDITOR
To choose a major at 18 can feel like deciding on your life’s direction before you’ve even had the chance to figure out your interests.
The pressure is an intense combination of family expectations, societal norms and your own hopes for the future. It’s a decision that can lead to a lot of stress and anxiety, especially when you’re not sure if you’re making the right choice. I know this because I’ve been there.
I started college as a pre-med major. I had set my mind at a young
age to become a doctor, as I’ve always loved learning about the human body. The idea of helping people and making a positive impact on many lives was truly inspiring to me. I cemented this specific path. In fact, I didn’t think to put any thought toward trying anything else.
But as I dove into my freshman year coursework, to my surprise, I felt uneasy. The subject matter didn’t interest me how I expected it to, the workload felt to be too much and the thought of spending the next decade in this field filled me with anxiety.
I did not want to admit this to
myself, so I kept going despite the stress. I felt trapped, it felt like I was sabotaging myself. I knew I was not happy with the work I was doing, but I continued to convince myself I was. Still, to change my major meant I was failing, like I quit on my dream within the first year. I remember asking myself, “If I don’t do this, what am I going to do?” I couldn’t think of anything — until I changed my mindset.
I eventually realized holding on to what wasn’t right for me was the real failure. Letting go of my 18-yearold-self’s expectations was the biggest step I made in achieving satisfaction. Although switching my major to Communication Arts felt like jumping off a cliff, it turned out to be the best decision I could have made.
I realized I am able to use my love of working with people in many other ways than just medicine, as I can make an impact on many lives despite my major choice. My switch prompted me to continue on my path of growth and development but I decided to add on certificates in both entrepreneurship and economics. Through the process of finding my interests and passions, I not only found one specific major I loved, but
multiple subjects I enjoyed. I would have had no idea that I had a passion for all of these areas if I continued on a path I disliked. This was a lesson I learned proving great discovery and growth can come from the discomfort of the unknown.
College is a time for you to learn and grow. A time for finding yourself, your passions, hobbies and interests. So do it, allow yourself to be free and try new things. Allow yourself to escape the idea of a set “plan” and start writing your “plan” as it comes.
It’s okay — and sometimes necessary — to change your major because
growth and change are natural. At 18, you’re still figuring out who you are. It’s completely normal for your interests and passions to shift as you gain more life experience. Don’t be afraid to let your major reflect that growth. Sometimes, it takes exploring different fields to find what truly excites you. Don’t see a major change as a setback but a step closer to discovering what you’re passionate about. In addition, sticking with a major you strongly dislike can lead to intense burnout. College is hard enough without the added stress of pursuing a path that doesn’t work for you.
KAYLA NELSON/THE DAILY CARDINAL
life & style
Harrison Butker’s commencement address stirred controversy
But what does it mean for free speech at universities more broadly?
By Rebekah Irby ARTS EDITOR
Kansas
City Chiefs kicker
Harrison Butker delivered a graduation speech on May 11 for Benedictine College’s 2024 graduating class, stirring conflict for controversial comments about women and the LGBTQ+ community.
Butker suggested to female students that despite their degrees, they will be most excited to become wives and mothers. He then alluded to his own wife, saying that her life did not start until she began her “vocation as a wife and mother.” He then went on to allude to the LGBTQ+ community, and said that pride was a “deadly sin” that has “a whole month dedicated to it.” The address is highly debated publically, but many, including fellow NFL star Patrick Mahomes, continue to defend the NFL star.
The University of WisconsinMadison similarly has a history of controversial speakers on campus which raises concerns about who should and shouldn’t be given a voice at a public university.
UW-Madison is home to thousands of students, all of varying backgrounds. Though UW remains steadfast in its commitment to uphold diversity, equity and inclusion, some of the University’s past speakers have raised questions about how the University maintains these standards.
UW-Madison’s past decisions on campus speakers have led to student uproar, and mass protest across campus.
Most notably, conservative commentators Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh’s campus events stirred student protests due to comments on the LGBTQ+ community and other social issues.
But the difference here lies in the audience. Walsh and Shapiro were both invited to the university by student-led organizations where the audience was aware they would cover vital social and political issues — unlike Butker’s commencement speech.
UW-Madison’s defense of Walsh and Shapiro’s right to speak on campus utilized the same talking points as Butker speech defenders: the right to free speech. And though freedom of speech is a core pillar of American values, it also generates questions about when speech becomes harmful.
On a campus that boasts inclusivity and diversity, providing a platform to speakers who actively discriminate against current students elevates campus unease.
During Walsh’s speech in 2022, the commentator screened his film “What is a Woman?,” a film that actively refutes the right of transgender people to exist. The event resulted in vandalism and protests all over campus, with students supporting their trans peers and denouncing the university for allowing Walsh to speak.
The university responded by essentially endorsing Walsh’s right to speak and screen his film on campus, as well as reaffirming their commitment to creating an inclusive campus environment. Further, the university reiterated that Walsh’s opinions are not a reflection of UW-Madison’s ideology. They called this their “dual commitment” alleging that they can uphold both concepts at once.
Similarly, when Shapiro visited, students protested and called for him to leave campus for his comments about trans people, as well as his statement regarding
the ongoing war in Gaza.
Shapiro is already a highly debated commentator, who has made a career out of visiting Universities and other institutions to discuss his opinions, as well as host debates.
His invitation to UW-Madison from Young Americans for Freedom sparked controversy, hosting a talk called “Stop Being Apologetic about the Superiority of Western Values.”
Many of Shapiro’s talking points surrounded the war in Gaza, and included the commentator criticizing UW-Madison’s lack of condemnation for Hamas’ attack on Israel. He said a comment from Chancellor Minookin was not sufficient.
UW-Madison is a public university with over 40,000 students from various backgrounds. Although the university is responsible for allowing the expression of all students’ opinions, no matter how controversial, it also has an equal responsibility to foster a safe and inclusive environment. A part of that responsibility is ensuring university speakers do not dis-
criminate against current students or give a platform to views that threaten them.
But UW-Madison seems to have difficulty navigating this issue, often supporting the voices of some students over others, leaving marginalized students feeling underrepresented and unsafe on campus.
Legally, denying speakers in a public institution violates the rights outlined in the First Amendment. As a public institution, UW-Madison cannot prohibit public speech, even if it is rhetoric that the student body may disagree with.
Despite the university’s obligation to uphold the right to free speech, there still remains the issue of the student body itself. Inviting commentators that incite violence and protest, or cause students to feel unsafe on campus, is ultimately controversial, and causes mistrust between the university and the student body.
Which is then more important: upholding the right to free
speech or protecting students? Often, UW-Madison seems to lean toward the former, creating a campus environment that makes students from underrepresented communities feel unprotected by an institution that adamantly affirms their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. This “dual commitment” UW-Madison attempts to uphold often becomes unsatisfactory for students, with many feeling violated or unsafe by University speakers.
Butker’s speech may have stirred controversy, but it has also led to much-needed conversations at universities across the country. UW-Madison faces the same challenge as all public institutions, balancing the right to free expression as well student’s right to safety and inclusion.
Upholding both remains an uphill battle, as the university continues to struggle with inviting free speech on campus, while also creating an environment that is welcoming for all students.
The major dilemma: It’s okay to change your mind
By Hallie Albert LIFE & STYLE EDITOR
To choose a major at 18 can feel like deciding on your life’s direction before you’ve even had the chance to figure out your interests.
The pressure is an intense combination of family expectations, societal norms and your own hopes for the future. It’s a decision that can lead to a lot of stress and anxiety, especially when you’re not sure if you’re making the right choice. I know this because I’ve been there.
I started college as a pre-med major. I had set my mind at a young
age to become a doctor, as I’ve always loved learning about the human body. The idea of helping people and making a positive impact on many lives was truly inspiring to me. I cemented this specific path. In fact, I didn’t think to put any thought toward trying anything else.
But as I dove into my freshman year coursework, to my surprise, I felt uneasy. The subject matter didn’t interest me how I expected it to, the workload felt to be too much and the thought of spending the next decade in this field filled me with anxiety.
I did not want to admit this to
myself, so I kept going despite the stress. I felt trapped, it felt like I was sabotaging myself. I knew I was not happy with the work I was doing, but I continued to convince myself I was. Still, to change my major meant I was failing, like I quit on my dream within the first year. I remember asking myself, “If I don’t do this, what am I going to do?” I couldn’t think of anything — until I changed my mindset.
I eventually realized holding on to what wasn’t right for me was the real failure. Letting go of my 18-yearold-self’s expectations was the biggest step I made in achieving satisfaction. Although switching my major to Communication Arts felt like jumping off a cliff, it turned out to be the best decision I could have made.
I realized I am able to use my love of working with people in many other ways than just medicine, as I can make an impact on many lives despite my major choice. My switch prompted me to continue on my path of growth and development but I decided to add on certificates in both entrepreneurship and economics. Through the process of finding my interests and passions, I not only found one specific major I loved, but
multiple subjects I enjoyed. I would have had no idea that I had a passion for all of these areas if I continued on a path I disliked. This was a lesson I learned proving great discovery and growth can come from the discomfort of the unknown.
College is a time for you to learn and grow. A time for finding yourself, your passions, hobbies and interests. So do it, allow yourself to be free and try new things. Allow yourself to escape the idea of a set “plan” and start writing your “plan” as it comes.
It’s okay — and sometimes necessary — to change your major because
growth and change are natural. At 18, you’re still figuring out who you are. It’s completely normal for your interests and passions to shift as you gain more life experience. Don’t be afraid to let your major reflect that growth. Sometimes, it takes exploring different fields to find what truly excites you. Don’t see a major change as a setback but a step closer to discovering what you’re passionate about. In addition, sticking with a major you strongly dislike can lead to intense burnout. College is hard enough without the added stress of pursuing a path that doesn’t work for you.
KAYLA NELSON/THE DAILY CARDINAL
Wolf reintroduction on Isle Royale is fleeting, impacted by humans
UW-Madison researchers studying the effects of wolf reintroduction on foxes and martens on Isle Royale found effects to be temporary.
By Mary Bosch PHOTO EDITOR
University of WisconsinMadison researchers found in May 2024 the effects of wolf reintroduction on Isle Royale to be temporary and particularly impacted by human recreation, despite being one of the least visited National Parks.
Mauriel Rodriguez Curras and UW-Madison ecology professor Jonathan Pauli collected DNA from foxes’ and martens’ scat and hair to investigate spatial, dietary and behavioral habits before wolves were introduced, within the first year of introduction and as packs coalesced on the island.
Isle Royale is a remote island located in Lake Superior, Michigan. It’s a relatively simple ecosystem with fewer species — including moose, beavers and squirrels — making it easier to pinpoint the effects of the wolf introduction, researcher Curras told The Daily Cardinal.
Nineteen wolves were reintroduced to the island in order to stabilize the ecosystem after the wolf population dwindled to an inbred father-daughter duo in 2018. Likely first coming to the island over a 15-mile ice bridge on Lake Superior, the population was once as high as 50 in several packs.
Traditionally, ecologists study predator-prey relationships, but this study instead focused on predator-predator relationships, according to Curras.
“Relationships between predators and prey [can be] quantified just by counting the numbers of predators and the number of prey
on a landscape, but the interactions between predators and predators are more behavioral, they’re cryptic,” Curras said.
Data collection involved hiking 15 to 20 miles a day, often alone, to check traps for hair as well as swab and collect any found scat. One type of hair trap was a PVC pipe tube with brushes on either end. Scientists placed bait in the center, and the animal would crawl through, catching hair against the brushes.
The study’s limitations included the small size of the ecosystem and the short time period — 2020 to 2022 — as these patterns may not be replicated in mainland systems.
Scientists also worked with the National Parks Service and scientist Mark Romanski, who specialized in wolf reintroduction.
Back in the lab at UW-Madison, Pauli and Curras extracted DNA from the samples and matched it to previously identified individual capture histories, allowing them to identify the individual fox or marten.
From these measurements, they categorized the habits of the foxes and martens into three phases related to the wolves reintroduction: absence, establishment and coalescence.
In the establishment phase, wolves wandered the island more as individuals. This caused foxes, who are at risk of competition or being killed by wolves, to cluster closer to campgrounds.
In some cases, their diets doubled to 80% human food as compared to an average of 40% human food before the wolves were introduced.
Winds from black holes are speeding up, UW-Madison study says
By Lily Spanbauer STAFF WRITER
Eight years and 130 observations: that’s all it takes to prove the winds coming from supermassive black holes have accelerated.
Led by University of WisconsinMadison Assistant Astronomy Professor Catherine Grier and recent graduate Robert Wheatly, a team of researchers compiled years of data to find that quasars, the cores of galaxies where supermassive black holes are messily feeding, are emitting winds that are speeding up over time. This research may mark the first step in understanding how black holes communicate with the galaxies they’re in, according to Grier.
The team presented their findings on June 11 at the 244th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Madison. This research was part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Project, a spectral imaging collaboration of hundreds of astronomers across the globe, which, according to Grier, is no stranger to producing earthshattering discoveries.
While this isn’t the first discovery of quasar winds’ acceleration, due to the density of UW-Madison’s data set — made up of about 130 observations spanning almost a decade — it is the first time astronomers have been able to prove this phenomenon with such certainty, according to Grier.
Martens are typically limited spatially by foxes, since foxes kill and compete with martens, so they spread out as foxes moved closer to campgrounds. Martens typically stick to more densely wooded areas.
There was a slight increase in the marten population as they spread out and competition with foxes decreased, but there was no major change in the fox population, which was most surprising to Curras.
“[Foxes] were using more human foods in their diet, and we think that buffered some of the numerical responses that we might have expected to see from wolves,” Pauli said.
Some foxes also subsidized with carrion meat left from wolves, but this involved greater risk than interacting with humans for food.
The dietary shift of foxes and the lack of population change demonstrates how flexible foxes are, Curras said. They’re one of the most widely distributed carnivores, living in deserts, rain forests and even cities.
Despite these effects, the scientists found that once the wolves coalesced, behaviors returned to the baseline they observed before the reintroduction.
“Scientists think if we can restore apex carnivores, all of these ecological cascading effects will come about and things will return to how they were historically,” Pauli said. “This work shows these repatriation events are important, but some of the effects that we’re looking for may only be temporary.”
a peek into our universe’s past. Quasars are located up to 13 billion light years away from Earth, meaning the light that reaches telescopes is from tens of billions of years in the past, according to the University of Michigan.
“They made really good ways for us to look at the universe when it was younger,” said Grier.
“Because as we look at things that are farther away in the universe, we’re actually looking backward in time because it takes time for the light to travel to us.”
How were the changes in wind speed discovered?
The UW-Madison Astronomy Department has observed around 850 quasars since 2014, according to Grier.
Grier wrote her first paper on quasar winds in 2015, reflecting on a year of observations. At the time, they found rapid changes in the strength of the winds coming from quasars.
After years of continued observations and data accumulation, Grier and her team thought it was time to revisit the quasars, and they were shocked when they found that the winds had gotten increasingly faster.
“I think the study with the most data before us had five observations, and we have 130 over eight years. We really just have a great data set to work with,” Grier told The Daily Cardinal.
What are quasars, and why are we observing them?
Supermassive black holes are the home of quasars and are found at the center of some galaxies. The dust and gas falling into supermassive black holes combined with the forces of gravity and friction are what powers quasars, according to NASA.
“The quasar is a supermassive black hole that has a lot of stuff falling into it,” Grier said. “And when stuff falls into a black hole, it swirls around and spirals in, making a disc around the black hole.”
Due to the friction between gas and the dust within the disk, quasars earn their trademark feature: extremely high temperatures and luminosity, according to Grier.
Quasars are ripe for observation because, in addition to their easily visible luminous appearance, looking at them gives us
“We were expecting to see the same thing we saw back in 2015 when I wrote the first paper on it,” Grier said. “But when we looked at this data, we actually found that the wind was getting faster, and we weren’t expecting to see that.”
They detected the changing strength and speed of the winds by examining the spectra of various quasars. An object’s spectrum displays the amount of light it emits of each color, allowing researchers to determine its composition by matching the object’s spectral lines to those of specific elements.
Observing the light coming from quasars gives astronomers information about their makeup and temperature. As showcased in the study, the amount of light observed showed how quasars wind speeds have changed over time.
If they have enough energy, scientists speculate these winds could travel far enough out in their galaxies to affect star formation in their host galaxies, according to Grier.
“That’s kind of the motivation behind what we’re doing, to try to figure out what’s going on with these winds to see if they can be the way that the black hole talks to the galaxy around it,” Grier said.
COURTESY OF JACOB FRANK VIA NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Bursting the bubble: How campus design can keep students trapped
Campus design succeeds when students have the chance to leave.
By Blake Martin OPINION EDITOR
As a former campus tour guide, I was often asked what made the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s campus so special. My answer? For a long time, I would tell incoming students a variety of answers: Lake Mendota, gameday culture or the lakeshore in the fall.
But after living on Stanford University’s campus for the last month, that’s changed: what makes UW-Madison’s campus so special is our ability to leave it.
Since June, I’ve lived on Stanford’s campus in Palo Alto, California. Growing up in the Midwest, California wasn’t just any other state: California was a magical place with perfect weather, beautiful people, palm trees and sales taxes that upset my older relatives. Stanford was everything I had dreamed of with perfect weather, palm trees and coffee orders taking an extra $2 out of my pocket. But as time went on, I found myself missing Madison.
Don’t get me wrong, the problem wasn’t the campus itself.
Many universities, like Stanford, attempt to provide their students with semi-independent walkable communities. If you’ve never been, Stanford’s campus is stunning. From open-air cafes to bookstores, concert venues, sports stadiums, stunning architecture, student art exhibitions and even an entire shopping mall, Stanford’s campus has everything needed to make a small city a very nice one.
But, from the center of campus, if students want to explore Palo Alto, or anywhere beyond Stanford, they’re met
with an over 20-minute walk.
This presents a problem: college is about more than what’s learned on the campus itself.
For some students, the transition to a college campus marks their first time being away from home and interacting with a community that might not represent where they grew up. The exchange of cultural experiences and ideas can provide opportunities for personal growth and educational experiences beyond the classroom.
If you look at the history of campus architectural planning at elite universities, this separation might be by design.
At the turn of the 20th century, the American college campus began to take form as a widespread cultural institution. Around the same time, a steep wave of anti-urbanism, a moral opposition to city living in response to the Industrial Revolution, became popular in intellectual circles, and these beliefs still influence the students of today.
The creation of campus resources now understood to be a staple to most American universities, like the “dormitories,” “dining halls” and “extracurricular programs,” were all designed with the idea of fostering “a deep sense of institutional community” in mind, keeping students away from outside urban areas and influence.
Though the blatant anti-urbanism of the progressive era is long behind us, the universities designed with these beliefs in mind are still around today, and they still limit the interaction between the student and the outside world.
When the campuses of elite univer -
sities don’t facilitate the transition to off-campus living, remaining inside the campus “bubble,” for some students, can be all too comforting.
As Library Mall bleeds into State Street, non-academic spaces have become equally important to the quintessential UW-Madison experience. Restaurants, shops and comedy clubs have turned into unofficial alumni hotbeds and student unions.
As a freshman, I spent most of my first year on campus in the lakeshore neighborhood. While there was plenty to explore and plenty of school-provided resources that filled my time, as I started my sophomore year, I had yet to engage with the city of Madison, and I was depriving myself of the opportunities my environment had given me.
If you visit the East Campus neighborhood, “where town and gown interface,” Memorial Union and Library Mall fade into the shops and restaurants of State Street. But, beyond State and past the Capitol, the city of Madison continues.
The residents of Madison share spaces and a community with bold ideas and opportunities worth exploring. When we stay in our campus bubble or only toe out as far as hunger or boredom will take us down State Street, we deny ourselves the opportunity to explore the “what ifs” beyond the Capitol building.
At UW-Madison, our campus design facilitates the transition into life off campus and the exploration of opportunities not given to us from faculty alone. Now, it’s our job to make the most of it.
Light rail is coming to cities across the country. Madison should be one of them
Marcus Hirsch STAFF WRITER
Washington, D.C. is a paragon of public transportation in the United States. It upholds a reputation of a marvelous heavy rail system, recognized by many as one of the best metro rail systems in the world. This, along with e-bikes and numerous bus lines, give residents of the DMV many options for their morning commute. Needless to say, it’s a dream.
Wisconsin is not known for its public transportation. After all, why would it be? Depending on the region of the state, public transportation is a far-away urban fantasy, with critics pointing to large amounts of rural and suburban sprawl, the need for individual vehicles in every aspect of travel, and, most importantly, the unwillingness of both governments and the people to properly embrace available systems.
Look at Milwaukee’s bus system as one example of this problem. According to the Wisconsin Policy Forum, “unless ridership rebounds beyond expectations or additional infusions of state aid arrive in the next state budget, MCTS faces a frightening scenario when the federal funds are exhausted by 2025.”
In an unfortunate twist, Milwaukee residents await reduced coverage, longer waiting times and general loss of vehicle quality, in no small part due to their disuse of public transit. But it’s hard to blame them with the current outdated
system. Calls for radical change are consistently growing louder.
Perhaps the most considerable failure in Wisconsin’s public transit is its absolute lack of commuter rail availability. On its face, the issue can be attributed to modern governments simply lacking the resources and the drive to implement proper transit programs.
Yet light rail, which a city such as Madison would likely employ, incurs a number of environmental, economic and social benefits on its population.
These include reduced urban traffic, lower parking costs and higher prop-
erty values near metro stations, not to mention the jobs and revenue any construction would create. The problems associated with the implementation of light rail could be remedied with adequate planning and public support by the Wisconsin Legislature.
Other U.S. cities demonstrate the benefits of a rail system. Compare a city like Madison to commuter-rail giants such as Chicago, New York or even Washington, D.C. A clear trend emerges: these latter cities have the budget, high ridership and advanced urban planning decades in the making to help
them make their public transit systems even more robust.
Madison, while lacking in the infrastructure projects that others began during their conception, has other areas of support. Public ridership on the Metro bus system has increased steadily in recent years, including a near-20% jump from 2022 to 2023. At the same time, increased ridership has led to a strained commute.
Even with 192 buses in its current fleet, many riders report the increased popularity of the Madison Metro created overcrowded buses, especially during morning and evening rush hours. A light rail system would significantly reduce such strain while adding enhanced efficiency that can only come from a lack of traffic. All of this leads to a community both financially and emotionally in support of light rail.
Furthermore, the opportunity for outside funding has never been greater. Given the relatively recent passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Federal Transit Administration has dozens of grant programs that invest nearly $20 billion every year into state and local public transportation. Madison is no different, and the city should take advantage.
Everyone, whether student or permanent resident, would benefit from a more robust public transportation system. Light rail is certainly a viable option, and the time has come for our city to seriously consider it.
MEGHAN SPIRITO/THE DAILY CARDINAL
sports
So you didn’t get football season tickets: Now what?
By Dylan Goldman SENIOR STAFF WRITER
As the summer calendar quickly turns toward August, University of WisconsinMadison students are gearing up for the new football season.
Camp Randall Stadium, home of the Badgers, is one of college football’s cathedrals and best atmospheres in the sport. Madison puts on an even better performance before games, hosting tailgates and get-togethers for Badgers across the world. UW-Madison students are situated right in the middle of this gameday experience, but many cannot fully enjoy it unless they’re able to secure tickets for every home game.
The process for securing season tickets at Wisconsin is anything but a nice fall breeze. By now, students either got season tickets or they didn’t. They had to wake up early and log in to a virtual queue where their hopes of getting tickets had as much luck involved as a slot machine. Once students logged in, they were among thousands placed in line, anxiously waiting to be let in. Other than using every electronic device available in one’s house to increase the chance of leaving the queue, there is not much more one could’ve done to get season tickets. Regardless, thousands of students missed out on season tickets and the right to experi-
ence their Badgers host powerhouse programs like Alabama, Penn State and Oregon during a season capped by the annual battle against Minnesota for Paul Bunyan’s Axe. This is perhaps the best season to have a year-long pass in decades, but many unlucky students left the virtual queue empty-handed.
What if you didn’t get your hands on season tickets?
While this might sound like a total bummer to those who struck out, there is still hope. While season tickets are a stress-free guarantee of getting you into games, it doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to get into a game at all.
Students who didn’t get season tickets should first make sure they’ve joined the Snapchat story dedicated to their graduating class. This feature shrinks a massive class into an online community where students who can’t make a game are looking to make some money for their troubles. While it’s frustrating having to buy tickets gameby-game, there will always be plenty of students selling before a game.
This method runs the risk of being scammed, so you should use caution. When purchasing tickets through someone else on Snapchat, you will want to confirm that person actually has season tickets. Before buying,
EA College Football 25 unites Badger players, students, fans alike
By Sophia Ross SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The highly anticipated EA College Football 25 game was released to the public on July 19 as the first collegiate football game in over a decade.
Electronic Arts (EA)’s College Football 25 is an interactive football game where users can choose to play as real student athletes from more than 134 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools.
Among the countless elite football programs featured in the game, thousands of real college football players were developed as digital cameos for a true degree of authenticity.
you should ask for them to send information like their school email and a screenshot of their tickets and student account.
Another option is to request to meet with the seller in-person to do the exchange in the most secure fashion possible. These deals can also be facilitated through Facebook Marketplace, but Snapchat will always have interested sellers, too.
But it’s possible single tickets could be too expensive for students, especially for higherprofile games. In that case, there are definitely other options on campus to experience the passion of Wisconsin sports.
Students can try to purchase season tickets for men’s basketball and men’s hockey. They can also check out the AreaRED Card Sports Pass, which only costs $50 but gets students into a bevy of sporting events on campus, including volleyball, women’s hockey, women’s basketball and more.
The Red Card is a great deal and allows students to get into other sporting events on campus without worrying about the hassle of tracking people down on Snapchat. While football is surely the sport that has the most pageantry on campus, volleyball and women’s hockey are the school’s two most successful programs. There are many ways to see Badgers sports this year, even if you struck out in the maddening virtual queue.
“Our groundbreaking NIL program gave us the ability to include up to 11,390 real players in a college football game for the first time,” EA said on their website. “Add in another 5,000 or so models for coaches, fans, created players, and more and that’s upwards of 16,000 character models we needed to generate.”
University of WisconsinMadison’s Football program received its fair share of representation in the game.
Over half of Wisconsin’s current roster will be featured in the game upon launch, according to the official UW Badgers website.
This includes junior Ricardo Hallman and senior Hunter Wohler, who both cracked EA’s ranking of the top 100 players for College Football 25.
Wisconsin joined Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State as one of six Big Ten programs with multiple top 100 players in the game.
Key gameday elements and traditions found only at Madison will also be showcased.
In the official reveal trailer released by EA in May, Badgers fans were thrilled to see sneak peaks of Wisconsin players holding up the signature W, caught a glimpse of Bucky on the field and even witnessed the traditional axe chopping following a win against rival University of Minnesota.
However, fans may be disappointed to note that a certain iconic song will be missing from the traditional
post-third quarter activities in Camp Randall.
The Athletic’s Chris Vannini reported that due to expensive licensing fees, House of Pain’s “Jump Around” will not be heard in the game.
Despite the lack of notable music, Patrick Herb, UW-Madison’s assistant athletic director of strategic communications for Wisconsin Football, said the Badgers’ football program is “extremely excited” about the release.
“The exposure our universit y and football program will receive from people all over the world engaging with our brand is a great win for the Badgers,” Herb told The Daily Cardinal.
“We’re thrilled that kids – and of course many adults reliving their childhood – will get to play as our studentathletes and get to feel the pageantry and excitement of Camp Randall Stadium. Our athletes are thrilled to be a part of the game as well and it’s been fun to see their excitement,” Herb added.
EA’s College Football 25 will be the first video game depicting college programs since the cancellation of the NCAA Football video game series in 2013 due to issues surrounding likeness to former players.
But with recent changes to NIL allowing athletes to profit from their name and reputation, EA capitalized off of the newfound ability to replicate real players.
“This cleared the way for EA Sports to contract with OneTeam Partners allowing student-athletes the option of opting into the video game, thus allowing EA Sports to use their likenesses in exchange for financial compensation,” Herb said. Herb also said the university will be compensated for their participation.
Players who chose to grant EA permission to replicate them will be paid a minimum of $600, with the opportunity to earn more through promoting the game, according to AP News.
July 19 may be the first time in a long time that college football fans can find solidarity in their shared excitement over the release of EA College Football 25.
EVAN HALPOP/THE DAILY CARDINAL
EVAN HALPOP/THE DAILY CARDINAL
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by Zoe Kukla
A hot dog embarassed to buy buns by Hailey Johnson
Cardinal Crossword by Paige Stevenson
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by Henry A. Moore
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