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Thursday, November 5, 2020

Election breakdown +OPINION, PAGE 8

+ARTS, PAGE 7

What does the election mean to students?

ASHLEY OBULJEN, MORGAN LOCK, ELEA LEVIN AND SAMMIE JOHNSON CONTRIBUTED TO THIS PIECE

Four years ago, before most UW-Madison students were even able to vote, an election fundamentally changed the way our generation views politics.

On Tuesday, many of those students cast their first ballots in a contest where they saw a stark difference between two incompatible versions of America.

The Daily Cardinal took to the streets to find out what specific issues make this election meaningful for students here at UW-Madison.

After battleground swing state of Wisconsin fell red in 2016 primarily due to the surge of voting from blue-collar rural Wisconsin, according to the New York Times, the youth vote in Madison and Milwaukee, with other blue upticks in Eau Claire, La Crosse and Green Bay, seem to have been a driving cause in state’s Democratic flip.

As the results of that contest remain unclear — with some states yet to announce a winner and the president’s twitter account casting doubt on the integrity of the election — we took a look through the eyes of UW-Madison current and past students at what hangs in the balance.

How do you feel about President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden as candidates?

“For years, the notion of holding my nose while I vote for the lesser of two evils is tempered in this election because our current President [and] his supporters -including Republican representatives at all levels- have exemplified evil in unprecedented ways,” said Brian Bedford, UW Odyssey class of 1974.

Rose Kelleher, a sophomore at UW-Madison, was passionate about this election because of the insensitivity that President Donald Trump has shown in the past four years.

“I am voting in this election because I think that this country needs real leadership which has not been shown in the last four years of Trump’s term,” said Kelleher. “It really makes me sick to my stomach that the president currently in office is blatantly racist, homophobic and a sexual offender.

Every time I hear Trump speak, I am astounded at the lack of thought put into his arbitrary statements. I think much of the country is tired of listening to his bullsh**, and is ready for some real change to occur in our country, which is why I voted for Joe Biden.”

The harsh reality of a democratic leaning campus, along with the political climate that surrounds a Trump presidency, means that many conservativeleaning students are weary of voicing their political views in fear of retaliation from their peers.

“From the left side, there has been an aggressive mindset where if you’re white you are racist, and if you say you’re not, you are very racist. Basically anyone who doesn’t agree with them

is ‘canceled’ into today’s world,” junior Dawson Bauer said. “This has been shown time and time again in these past months especially in UW students. I guarantee every UW student has seen daily posts on social media that all have the same message: if you vote for Trump, we can’t be friends because you are a terrible person and you are a racist.”

In addition to questioning President Trump’s leadership, it is evident that many youth voters are concerned with how the future president will handle the racial tension in our country.

“As a woman and person of color, I strongly believe this election will have a long lasting impact on my community and the course of my future,” said Karen Hayes, a senior at UW-Madison.

“Electing a more competent leader is only the beginning, but it is a necessary step that I hope our country [took].”

Hersh Pareek, a sophomore at UW-Madison, argued that, no matter who wins this election, the twoparty system limits the political choice necessary to make change for marginalized communities.

“I think voting is really important, especially for the 2020 election,” Pareek said. “But at the same time, I don’t want to pressure people of color or indigenous people to vote for Biden because I know both parties won’t be able to solve systemic racism. While I think voting is really important, I don’t think indigenous people and people of color should be obligated to vote under a twoparty system that will always continue to oppress them.”

Bauer believes that the silent Republican “majority,” in Madison specifically, is due to the controversy surrounding President Trump as a candidate.

“The name calling, online bullying

and being an outcast to your community, especially in minority ones, has created the silent Trump voter such as myself,” Bauer said. “I personally am an independent voter and would have supported a better Democratic nominee easily — such Andrew Yang — but I think Trump is the lesser evil from the two candidates. But I feel like I can’t post anything on social media about my political beliefs without being ‘canceled’, losing friends and ruining my social life just because I don’t support Biden.”

Yet, other students still believe since “polarizing issues” such as abortion and reproductive rights are on the line, students much consider those around them and think about the negative ramifications that surround their choice for president.

“This election is a battle between progress and suppression, of autonomy and support, versus disruption, chaos and lies,” said Brooke Wilczewski, a junior at UW-Madison. “While neither candidate is arguably a lot of people’s first choice, this coming candidate will determine who our nation is as a country for generations to come. It is important that we all take action and fight for all people. Even if such decisions don’t affect you personally, think about all of those in your inner circle that it does.”

What specific political issues swayed your vote in this election?

According to Mathew Mitnick, Associated Students of Madison Chair, this election is about more than choosing a new president: It’s about voting to combat climate change, defund and abolish the police, ensure affordable housing and democracy itself, amongst other issues.

“The current administration has shown that they don’t know how to

uphold the freedoms that citizens are granted and abuse their power to better their own business,” said Ava Kaminski, current fellow for the Biden campaign in Madison. “They’re not for the people, they’re for themselves and 45 does not deserve to hold that seat anymore. People’s rights and livelihoods are up for grabs in this election, and I couldn’t just stand by and watch while we were fighting for our democracy.”

Bauer cited the left for creating the racial tension in our country, indicating democratic media outlets as the culprits.

“They are the people who would immediately report on every single shooting of a black person without knowing all of the facts which created the mob mentality of rioting,” Bauer said. “It was a month before it was shown that George Floyd was on enough fentanyl to kill an average person. Now this isn’t an excuse or saying that I or people who voted for Trump thought that his death was okay. But I didn’t want to jump to conclusions before I knew all the facts. The media these days don’t care about the facts but instead want to support this rioting and then blame it on Trump.”

Climate change and racial injustice are central for this election to Pareek and many others. Pareek said that a Biden White House will not solve systematic racism, but will put forth policies that aim to help minorities and underrepresented people.

“For me, this election is the harbinger to another civil war,” Bedford said. “From my lens as a 61-year-old, Black, father of five wonderful children, including four adults; a long-time family advocate, educator and activist, I see any illusion of a democracy in great peril.”

What changes do you hope to see in

GRAPHIC BY LILY HOUTMAN

our democracy after this election?

Many students at UW-Madison were outraged by the suppressive voter laws in the state of Wisconsin, according to Mitnick. By having to obtain a separate, government-issued Voter ID, some students felt that their voices were being suppressed, causing many of them to fight harder for their voice to be heard.

“I would also like to see UW-Madison make a greater commitment to voting.

ASM unanimously passed legislation to cancel synchronous classes on Election Day,” said Bedford. “This request has not been met. UW’s failure to implement this proposal further serves as another voter suppression tactic. We need to make it as easy as possible for students to vote!”

Bedford also explained that the 2020 presidential election is a huge opportunity to expose systemic issues and change for the better.

“I believe that our whole political system has been flawed and broken since the birth of this nation,” Bedford said.

“Since its inception, our political model was designed to keep mostly privileged white men in power, the same men that are puppets to the special interests that have polluted our political system with dirty money. This election will ignite the fuse that will blow away the false veneer that has hidden the hypocrisies that this nation was founded on.”

Bauer posed the question of minorities being the ones who have suffered the most at the hands of a democratic government.

“I think the real people who have suffered the most from the left are the minorities. Most cities have been under democratic control for decades, and those are where the real racial issues still are today,” Bauer said. “The right side is tired of all of the Democratic hate and empty promises. There have been more minorities to vote for Trump this year than his last election. That fact alone shows that the left’s false promises and constant bullying are starting to push people away, yet there is still a fear about letting it be known you don’t support the Democrats in this election.”

Professors here at UW-Madison have been incredibly vocal about the issue of political polarization in the United States. According to John Zumbrunnen, political science professor at UW-Madison, the country is currently in a time of intense partisan polarization and we have many important norms that have shaped U.S. politics overturned or ignored.

“The current state of the world is dependent on this upcoming election,” said Jonah Rubinitz, junior at UW-Madison. “I know there are a ton of young voters out there who think that their vote does not make a difference, when it’s the most important demographic of the election. 2020 has been a terrible year for many people, and I hope that this election will change the state of the world for the better.”

“…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, November 5, 2020

Biden wins Wisconsin, Trump demands recount

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Former Vice President Joe Biden was declared the winner of Wisconsin in the presidential election by the Associated Press Wednesday afternoon, after a record setting 3.2 million votes were cast in the state.

Unofficial results show Biden with a lead of about 20,000 votes over President Trump, who has already said he would request a recount.

Trump led Wisconsin by as many as 100,000 votes Tuesday night as in-person votes were counted — but Biden overtook Trump early Wednesday morning as a flood of 170,000 absentee votes, mostly Democratic, were reported from the City of Milwaukee. Late results from Green Bay and the city of Kenosha ultimately sealed Biden’s victory.

Wisconsin, like many states in America, set a record for the number of votes cast in this election. The 3.2 million cast is over 200,000 votes higher than the previous high in the 2004 presidential election. Voter turnout was slightly higher in 2004 than 2020, though the states 71.4 percent turnout was higher than most.

Biden’s lead looks very similar to Trump’s 2016 margin of victory in Wisconsin, when Trump won by about 23,000 votes.

Bill Stepien, Trump’s campaign manager, released a statement shortly after the AP announced Biden’s victory calling for a recount.

“Despite ridiculous public polling used as a voter suppression tactic, Wisconsin has been a

razor thin race as we always knew that it would be. There have been reports of irregularities in several Wisconsin counties which raise serious doubts about the validity of the results,” Stepien said. “The President is well within the threshold to request a recount and we will immediately do so.”

However, Trump’s chances of actually winning a recount are slim. In the recount of the 2016 general election, Wisconsin officials changed just 131 out of 2.9 million ballots.

If Trump were to request a recount, it could cost him upwards of $3 million, since the current 0.6 percent difference between the candidates is above the 0.25 percent threshold required by Wisconsin state law for an automatic recount.

Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker tweeted that a 20,000 vote lead would be a “high hurdle” to overcome in a recount.

Meagan Wolfe, the director of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, said Wednesday it was “insulting” to local election officials to say that the election was “anything but an incredible success.”

“We’ve had a recount before, and it showed we have a really good process — our local election officials are doing a really good job,” Wolfe said. “I believe that would be the case if we had a recount again in our state.”

If unofficial results hold, it would mark the fourth time out of the last six presidential elections decided by less than 1 percent in Wisconsin. It would also

be the sixth time in eight races that the presidential winner would fail to reach 50 percent of the total vote.

Wolfe said late Wednesday morning that all votes had been counted and verified except those from Willow, a town in Richland County with fewer than 300 voters. The town clerk reportedly fell sick, and officials were hav-

ing an exceptionally difficult time contacting her.

Willow eventually reported its results in the late afternoon Wednesday. 157 votes went to Trump, 114 to Biden and three went to third party or write-in candidates. Those votes will not significantly impact Biden’s lead over Trump when official results are released.

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Voting in Wisconsin looked different from previous years due to the pandemic.

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Why the wait? Student experiences on Election Day

By Jessica Sonkin CAMPUS NEWS EDITOR

“I voted at the Chazen Museum of art, and I waited for about one minute to get through all the processes getting through [voter] registration as well as actually filling out the ballot.”

“I went to Hillel to vote and I waited in line for ten minutes.”

“I went to [the] Orpheum and surprisingly only waited for five minutes.”

“I went to Hillel to vote at 7:00 a.m. and there actually wasn’t a line because I went right when it opened.”

“I went to Hillel and it was a great time. I waited in line for about 30 seconds.”

Thousands of University of Wisconsin-Madison students cast ballots — their first ever, for some — in Tuesday’s monumental election where Wisconsin, and the student vote therein, may play a crucial role in the final outcome.

UW Promotes the Vote A set of data-driven insights from the Tufts University Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) ranks the battleground state of Wisconsin no. 1 in terms of youth voter impact for the 2020 presidential race.

The UW-Madison Morgridge Center for Public Service’s BadgersVote initiative aims to educate and assist students in preparation for elections. Recent campaigns and events — such as Zoom the Vote sessions and

Virtual Voting Office Hours — uphold the BadgersVote mission “to drive student civic and voter engagement.”

The National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement (NSLVE), ALL IN Democracy Challenge, Vote Everywhere Ambassador at UW-Madison and Big 10 Voting Challenge have partnered with the Morgridge Center to motivate students to vote in the election.

The university has also teamed up with the Associated Students of Madison (ASM) to provide detailed voter information through https://vote.wisc.edu/ — a webpage designed to provide stu-

“Today is the first day of early in-person voting. @ UWMadison students have been waiting in line for about 45 min to vote. They say it’s worth it to make sure their vote counts.”

Amanda Quintana Reporter and Anchor Channel 300

dents with answers to prospective FAQs pertaining to voter registration and the voting process.

Absentee in-person, or “early,” voting opened on campus at three locations on Oct. 20. Early voting in Wis., inclusive of on-campus

polling locations, ended on Oct. 30.

“A total of 7,268 people cast early ballots on campus Oct. 20-30. That is 28 percent of the 26,223 in-person absentee ballots cast in Madison,” reported Meredith McGlone, Greg Bump and David Giroux from University Communications.

Around 7:43 p.m. on Nov. 3, the City Clerk processed 98.5 percent of Madison absentee ballots. “Total turnout 157,536 or 82.4 percent,” the Madison Wis. Clerk said in a tweet.

By 12:58 a.m. on Nov. 4, the City Clerk announced a final voter turnout of 84.7 percent in the city of Madison.

These statistics exclude out-ofstate students who may have opted to vote using absentee ballots from their home states.

An Early Rush to the Polls On Oct. 20, News 3 Now / Channel 3000 Anchor and Reporter Amanda Quintana tweeted: “NOW: Today is the first day of early in-person voting. @ UWMadison students have been waiting in line for about 45 min to vote. They say it’s worth it to make sure their vote counts.”

Following the federal appeals court decision to pass on a six-day deadline extension for absentee ballot counting in the state of Wisconsin, students felt an increase in pressure to ensure their votes were counted and voices were heard. Fears of impending quarantine mandates and absentee ballots getting lost among snail mail moti-

vated students to rush to the polls prior to Election Day. Even so, eligible Wis. residents and UW-Madison students were given the opportunity to register to vote on the day of the election as well.

A surge of mail-in absentee ballots and early in-person absentee voting left local polls waiting for incoming voters on Election Day. “There have been no problems or major delays at the seven City of Madison polling locations on campus, according to the City Clerk,” said McGlone, Bump and Giroux in an election mid-day media advisory email. “Many UW-Madison students are among the 6,000 people serving as Madison poll workers today.”

On-campus residents were assigned to one of five polling locations based on wards, with Ward 55 at the Nicholas Recreation Center, Ward 56 at the Chazen Art Museum, Ward 58 at Memorial Union, Ward 59 at the Wisconsin Energy Institute and Ward 60 at the University Apartments Community Center.

Students living near campus were assigned to one of four polling locations: the Pyle Center for Ward 48, Hillel for Ward 47, the Orpheum for Ward 49 and the University Club for Ward 57.

Interviewees claim their wait times at various polling locations lasted a mere ten minutes or fewer.

“I went to Hillel to vote and

experience, page 3

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Thursday, November 5, 2020 2

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Voter turnout in UW student neighborhoods plunged

By Gina Musso COLLEGE NEWS EDITOR

Despite high hopes and record turnout across Madison and Dane County, votes cast in neighborhoods traditionally dominated by University of Wisconsin students plummeted in comparison to prior elections.

Madison residents living in 13 wards with high concentrations of UW-Madison students cast 13,759 ballots at their local polling places, a 31 percent decrease in votes cast in those same districts during the 2016 presidential election. Votes from the five wards that encompass the university’s residence halls and Eagle Heights graduate student neighborhood totaled 2,526 — less than half of the 5,692 from four years ago.

That drop, attributable in part to the coronavirus pandemic and possibly to students voting absentee in other areas rather than locally, is an unexpected result after organizers and university officials alike

+experience I waited in line for ten minutes,” said UW-Madison sophomore Mara Khabie.

Sophomore student Shayna Leeds also voted at the Hillel polls. “I went to Hillel to vote at 7 a.m. and there actually wasn’t a line because I went right when it opened,” she said.

According to UW-Madison sophomore Alexi Kotis, the wait at The Orpheum Theater polling location was surprisingly quick in its duration of only five minutes.

Why the wait?

“I waited till today to vote because I was interested in seeing how people would be together at the ballot and hopefully be levelheaded and respectable to fellow voters,” said UW-Madison first year student Scottie Waterfield about his decision to vote in-person on Election Day.. “But since there was no line I guess I didn’t get to experience that, but I’m not complaining.”

Like Waterfield, many other students’ desires to hold off on voting until Nov. 3 stem from an interest in experiencing the voting process on Election Day. “Since it’s my first election I got to vote in, I thought it’d be a cool experience to vote when the energy for this election is at its highest,” said Kotis. “So many students on campus have strong emotions for this election and it feels good to contribute a vote on such an important day for our country.”

Leeds also recognized that voting on Election Day would be a memorable experience considering this is her first time voting. “[I] wanted to experience what it’s like to vote on actual election day since it’s my first time voting,” she said.

Others appeared to vote on Election Day due to prior commitments and other sudden time-consuming responsibilities.

One UW-Madison student claimed he “got wrapped up with work and chose to vote on Election Day.” Students were majorly driven by passionate stances on issues which led them to cast their ballots at the polls on Election Day. “I voted because the educational system, the healthcare system, and consolidation of corporate power all need to be fixed,” said UW-Madison sophomore Alex Baraban.

“The fact that education is a for profit system needs to be changed, just like healthcare.”

“If I wanted my values and opinions to be counted, I needed to get to the polls and cast my vote,” said first year student Anna-Claire Theriot.

Shortly after 1:00 p.m. on Nov. 4, the Associated Press called Joe Biden’s win in Wis. with 49.6 percent of the reported votes. Donald Trump follows closely with 48.9 percent.

The city of Madison and Dane County swung blue.

Biden and Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris are heavily favored among voters on-campus and near campus wards in precinct results.

encouraged the student vote. It also contrasts with record turnout numbers from Madison and Dane County as a whole.

In Dane County overall, 387,274 residents registered to vote, with 345,604 total ballots cast, totaling to an 89.2 percent voter turnout among registered voters, according to unofficial county data.

Just over 75 percent of Dane County presidential votes went to Democratic candidate Joe Biden. Dane County voters likely helped flip Wisconsin blue, as Biden narrowly beat out President Donald Trump for the state’s 10 electoral votes.

Going into the election, Dane County Board of Supervisors District 5 Supervisor Elena Haasl, a UW-Madison student, was optimistic about the potential youth turnout.

“A lot of students who could not vote in the 2016 election are now eligible to vote and that is huge,” Haasl told The Daily Cardinal on Tuesday. “Young people will be turning up like never before to voice their vote and have a say in the

outcome this time.”

Associated Students of Madison Chair Matthew Mitnick shared similar hopes for UW-Madison students’ civic engagement.

“Students have been voting early, sending any ballots by mail and are super excited!” Mitnick said Tuesday night. “There is an accountability held toward voting that I have not seen before.”

Despite that enthusiasm and early turnout, ballots cast in wards 46 through 50 and 54 through 60, where student-housing dominates, turnout was 31 percent below 2016 levels and 15 percent lower than in the 2018 midterms.

Turnout among dorm residents was down 56 percent compared to 2016 levels.

Residence halls on campus are at just 69 percent capacity amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the university says. But that factor alone would account for only a fraction of the total drop in wards 54, 56, 58 and 59 where the dorms are located.

Other student voters — though it

is unclear how many — opted to vote in their hometowns rather than in Madison. UW sophomore Olivia Coffey is one of them.

“I voted in my hometown of Pewaukee, in Waukesha County, because when I voted in the primaries I was home for the summer,” Coffey said. “I could have changed my residence to Madison, but I felt like I would have more of an impact voting blue in my hometown because it always goes red.”

The results of Wisconsin’s votes may be disputed, as representatives for President Trump said Wednesday he plans to call for a recount. Unofficial results show Biden with a 20,000-vote lead over President Trump.

“No matter the outcome, we won’t stay silent or complicit,” Haasl said. “Electing Donald Trump out of office will not solve our problems and we have a lot of work ahead of us to address and reconstruct our system that upholds the structural inequities that plague our community.”

‘Election Defenders’ counter voter intimidation

By Molly Carmichael STAFF WRITER

As residents cast their in-person ballots on an Election Day fraught with tension, a Madison non-profit organization enlisted the help of “Election Defenders” at polling sites across the city to protect and empower voters.

Freedom, Inc., which engages in a variety of social justice campaigns with low-income citizens and communities of color, trained and sent out the defenders to over 30 polling sites in Madison to monitor and attend to instances of voter intimidation and assist with other issues like inaccessible conditions for people with disabilities. The Election Defenders specifically embedded themselves in communities home to voters a part of marginalized groups.

Sporting bright yellow vests, the Election Defenders could be found at polling sites such as Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Mendota Elementary School and Badger Rock Middle School.

“We try to spread out in Black and Southeast Asian and low-income communities to make our folks feel safe and that it was a welcoming space, but also to assert our right to participate in the electoral process,” said Freedom, Inc. Community Power Building Coordinator Mahnker Dahnweih.

The nonprofit works extensively within these communities to identify causes and develop measures to put an end to violence, racism and poverty that affect them.

According to a pre-election report by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, Wisconsin was listed as one of five states that would be most prone to electoral violence.

In response to the threat, the Madison Police Department said it would increase its presence in order to respond to potential demonstrations that could turn violent during Election Day or people carrying firearms at or around polling places.

“We always provide officers with some preElection Day briefing/information,” Acting Madison Police Chief Vic Wahl said in an email to the Cap Times. “Given the current climate our staffing and preparation is greater than prior election years.”

However, Freedom, Inc. believed the police could not faithfully protect voters from potential electoral violence and opted to use the Election Defenders as an additional means of protection.

In anticipation of record turnout, particularly within the Black community, the non-profit prepared for Election Day under the assumption potential violence against Black voters could erupt against them following months of progress the community made in grassroots activism.

“When there is Black resistance and power building, there is white backlash,” Dahnweih said.

In anticipation of potential voter harassment and intimidation, Freedom, Inc. issued a warning to its constituents and the Madison community at-large on Monday before the election. The

warning accentuated the importance of voting and accused the police and conservative-leaning groups of promoting a white supremacist culture that negatively impacts the experiences of marginalized groups.

“Tomorrow is one of the most important days of our lives,” the press release said. “We will show them that we are stronger together, and that they cannot intimidate us into silence.”

To avoid potential accusations of electioneering or fraud, Freedom, Inc. consulted with the Madison City Clerk’s Office and other city authorities to ensure the defenders understood and would adhere to election rules. Defenders also completed training to learn how to maintain safety and de-escalate situations that could arise at the polls.

Dahnweih says there were a few instances of voter intimidation that took place throughout the day. A group who identified themselves as “police defenders” stationed themselves at the Town of Madison Town Hall. Otherwise, disturbances throughout the day seemed to be perpetrated by random individuals who were not affiliated with a group.

Incidents were reported to Freedom, Inc.’s national partners, such as Rising Majority and The Frontline who will further investigate before details are released to the community.

As the results of the election remain uncertain, Freedom, Inc. held a rally Wednesday at the State Capitol to demand that every ballot cast be counted.

COURTESY OF FREEDOM INC. TWITTER

The "Election Defenders" served as an additional means to assist voters at the polls and to deter potential violence on Election Day.

sports Column: Wisconsin football’s COVID outbreak representative of Madison

4 Thursday, November 5, 2020

dailycardinal.com

By Jared Schwartz STAFF WRITER

You reap what you sow.

At its best, the Wisconsin football program is a reflection and representation of the school and the surrounding community.

Gamedays bring the whole state together, putting on display the jovial and festive atmosphere that has given Madison its “MadTown” moniker. The collective spirit in Camp Randall often feels like one of the parties that has consistently dubbed UW as one of the best party schools in the country. In recruiting, the program prefers less-heralded or lauded prospects that have strong character and can be developed rather than stars that might bring with them offthe-field concerns – an ideology that similarly has Madison consistently ranked as one of the best cities in the country for young professionals to kickstart and grow their careers. The team’s head coach, Paul Chryst, is a living embodiment of the stereotypical “Midwestern Dad.” The list goes on.

Well, there are two sides to that coin. At its best, the Wisconsin football program is a reflection and representation of the school and the surrounding community. At its worst, now, it is too.

On Tuesday, the program released the much-expected news that Saturday’s game against Purdue will not be played. The team has had 27 positive cases of COVID-19 in the last week-and-a-half, one of which is Chryst. Although it hasn’t been officially announced, quarterback Graham Mertz was reportedly one of the positive cases as well.

A disconsolate Barry Alvarez,

ALAYNA TRUTTMAN /THE DAILY CARDINAL

Athletic Director Barry Alvarez has tested negative, but 27 Badger athletes and staff have been diagnosed with COVID-19 so far. the school’s athletic director, said Tuesday that the program had yet to locate the root of the outbreak.

“We try to take a look at that,” Alvarez said. “Each of us talking about different situations.

Analyzing – we’ve got one of the doctors on campus who has some research on tracking where the virus came from. He’s trying to help us. We’re trying to locate a source and trying to figure it all out. We haven’t put it together yet. That’s something we’re all trying to do. Hopefully we’ll get an answer soon.”

While the exact source and path of the virus may not become obvious, one thing already is – this is where the community is with

the virus. And the Badgers are a reflection of that.

Look on any map or COVID tracker and it will show Wisconsin bright red, one of the worst hotspots in the country. In the last seven days, the state has recorded 81.1 cases per 100,000 people according to the CDC, trailing only North and South Dakota. Dane County is currently averaging 300 cases per day, according to the City of Madison, and a record-breaking 142 people are currently hospitalized.

If they are unable to play Michigan on November 14, the Badgers will likely be ineligible for the Big Ten Championship

game. Many will be quick to cast blame on Kevin Warren and the Big Ten’s leadership – the decision to originally cancel, and then implement, the Big Ten season resulted in an eightgame schedule with no bye week or cushion for rescheduling missed games. In addition, the delayed season brought student athletes back on campus right when the majority of other students flocked and travelled to campus from all parts of the country, a decision many have reasoned would cause increased cases on campus and on the football team. Even further, the Big Ten is the only conference with a 21-day mandated quar-

COLE HOOPER/THE DAILY CARDINAL

The Badgers have barred nearly everyone from Camp Randall for gamedays this year; even the family members of players cannot attend

antine and required observation period due to the conference’s concerns over Myocarditis – concerns that came from a study that is now largely being called into question.

Surely, if the Badgers are unable to finish their season or lose title game eligibility, that is where most of the blame should rest, right?

Wrong.

On Monday, Dane County reported the most cases its ever had in a single day. Yes, that is somehow even more than when students first came back to campus. Over the course of two months, Dane County has only made it harder for the Badgers to avoid the virus.

With the Badgers reporting more cases with each press release and with their season hanging in the balance over Halloween weekend, Madison reported at least 13 campus area residences violated local public health orders. One of these had over 91 people present, the city said.

When compared to other Big Ten states, Wisconsin has over double the cases per 1000,000 in the last seven days than Michigan (35.3), Ohio (26.5), Pennsylvania (18.2), Maryland (14.2) and New Jersey (18.1) and nearly-double Indiana (44) and Minnesota (46.5).

Right now, Wisconsin is the only Big Ten school with a major outbreak that has had to cancel games. For the most part, the SEC, ACC, Big 12 and PAC-12 have avoided the need to cancel multiple games or run the risk of Championship ineligibility. Conversely, Wisconsin has become the face of the coronavirus pandemic in college football.

This is not the result of back luck or bad scheduling. Now, just like in good times, the Badgers are a reflection of their school and community. Wisconsin, Dane County and Madison are in crisis with COVID-19. So too is UW’s season.

science Helping Badgers and canids coexist dailycardinal.com

By Gavin Schopf STAFF WRITER

The gates of Camp Randall Stadium open for seven home football games every season.

When they do, fans in their Badger red and white pour in by the tens of thousands.

Under a bluebird sky in 2017, another Madison resident entered the stadium. Like most, given the occasion, the visitor sported their best red and white.

This was not your typical fan though. They entered under the southwest bleachers, ticketless, and promptly took a seat in the middle of the field on the famous Motion “W.” They were clever in landing the seat, and may have gone unnoticed, but something gave them away: they were not a badger. They were a red fox.

E. ARTI WULANDARI

Fox family on the UW campus.

In addition to red and white, the fox wore a tracking collar fitted by the UW Urban Canid Project (UWUCP).

The UWUCP has gained new insights about how red fox and coyote behave in the Madison urban landscape and shared this information with the public to change knowledge, opinions and dialogue surrounding urban canines.

“The project has broader implications than coyotes and foxes. If we have a healthy urban ecosystem that can support a great biodiversity of animals — including those more sensitive to urbanization — that will translate into a healthy

Thursday, November 5, 2020

ecosystem for human beings,” David Drake said.

The project began “serendipitously” when Drake, a professor of forest and wildlife ecology and UW-Extension wildlife specialist, was called by the Lakeshore Nature Preserve in 2014.

Staff at the preserve had been receiving comments about coyote sightings around Picnic Point — a peninsula along the south shore of Lake Mendota. Coyotes had even followed citizens who were out walking their dogs and running the trails.

Historically, literature on coyote-human encounters has been negative, Drake said. Reports detailing coyote aggression towards humans, dogs and livestock have made them one of the most persecuted animals in America.

Contrary to portrayals in folklore and popular culture, coyotes are not the cunning and malevolent characters humans have made them out to be, Drake and his team have found.

“The thing about being afraid of something is when you start becoming familiar with it you start losing your fear,” he said, capturing the project’s goal of changing perceptions through familiarity.

To get a better sense of what was going on in Madison, Drake decided to place game cameras where coyotes had been spotted.

Sure enough, a pack had made the Lakeshore Nature Preserve home.

The proliferation of red fox and coyote sightings in Madison was not shocking news, Drake said. A large body of research had already been developed about urban coyotes, making any novel discoveries unlikely.

Regardless, Drake jumped at the opportunity to research Madison’s canid residents.

“Nobody had looked at urban red fox in North America or the relationship between red foxes and coyotes in an urban setting,”

he explained.

Early in the UWUCP, Drake and his team checked foxes and coyotes for diseases by drawing blood and swabbing the nasal and rectal passages of each animal they live-trapped.

For the most part, the animals were very healthy. They had been exposed to a variety of diseases including distemper, parvovirus and adenovirus, but a lack of data trends suggested an ability to fight them off.

“The animals are nutritionally healthy because there is so much food available and when you are nutritionally healthy, your immune system can fight off diseases,” he said. “The big difference, from a disease standpoint, was that 65 percent of the coyotes tested had lyme disease and 45 percent had heartworm. Only one fox we tested had lyme disease and none had heartworm.”

Lyme disease carrying ticks and heartworm transmitting mosquitoes inhabit the same areas as coyotes, according to Drake. The tall grasses in urban green spaces like the Arboretum and Lakeshore Nature Preserve provide suitable tick and mosquito habitat. Unlike coyotes, foxes spend their time in human developed landscapes where tick and mosquito habitat is scarce.

Drake and his team have livecaptured canids and fit them with satellite collars to gather “more refined spatial data” on the animals’ whereabouts.

Collars provide the researchers eight hourly locations per night on each animal.

“What we know about Madison is that red foxes and coyotes seem to be able to coexist in the same space at the same time,” Drake said.

In non-urban areas, foxes and coyotes typically overlap in habit and food type. Coyotes are about three times the size of

foxes and tend to competitively exclude them. In Madison, the abundance of food means these animals do not have to compete for limited resources, according to Drake.

On mornings past, Drake has invited small groups to assist in checking the trapline and handling canids. This opportunity has given over 500 people the opportunity to have a more intimate conversation about UWUCP, learn about live-trapping and get more involved with the natural world.

“People really respond positively to wildlife. They like seeing it. It enriches people’s lives to have nature around them,” Drake said, noting tremendous public interest in the project.

While COVID-19 has put volunteering for the project on the back burner, it is not the only way to contribute. In 2015, UWUCP started an iNaturalist page where citizens could report canid sightings in the City of Madison. The data has provided a more comprehensive view than the satellite collars alone, Drake said.

The project will soon publish a paper looking at the iNaturalist data and human-coyote encounters. Each person who reported a sighting was asked to estimate the animals’ level of aggression from zero to five, with zero being least aggressive and five being the most.

“What we found in Madison, looking at 400 different first-person events, is that 97 percent were completely benign — there was no aggression on the coyotes’ part,” Drake said.

The UWUCP team has attended over 20 town hall events where they disseminated their research and provided tips for coexistence with canid neighbors.

“At all times, you need to put the fear of humans into canids.

That is the best way for us to coexist. Maintaining a healthy fear of

5

humans encourages the animals to move away from human activity rather than come to it,” Drake explained.

For Drake, sharing information about canids and promoting the positivity of their residence in Madison is among the most rewarding aspects of the UW Urban Canid Project.

Canids have strong intrinsic and utilitarian value, Drake said. They are native to the state

PHOTO COURTESY OF JAYMI HEIMBUCH

A coyote trotting through snow.

and region, having existed here long before humans. They also do a pretty good job controlling the population of animals such as squirrels, rabbits, mice and rats, he added.

Despite hundreds of years of persecution, canids are living closer to humans than ever. The health of ecosystems depends on our ability to trade fear for familiarity and conflict for coexistence.

“The bottom line is they are here and they are not going anywhere and we are not going anywhere, so we better learn to live together unless it will be a rocky road for all of us,” Drake said.

Drake thanked the graduate students who have been “the workhorses on this project.”

They have collected data and published papers, earning a bulk of the credit.

Donations to the UW Urban Canid Project can be made through the UW Foundation.

How important is breakfast? UW Health says don’t skip it

By Forrest Ziebell STAFF WRITER

From a young age, breakfast being the “most important meal of the day” phrase has been ingrained into our brains.

And now, as more and more research about breakfast comes out, scientists have data about how significant eating after waking up is for performance. UW Health says, “it gives your metabolism, your body’s engine, a boost and provides needed energy.” Let’s dig into the science of breakfast.

The most important aspect of eating is how it translates into energy, which is needed for staying active and focused. A study conducted by Howard Taras is one of many that has shown a lack of breakfast is correlated with significant drops in class scores.

To measure changes, researchers posed students with several cognitive challenges before and after feeding them. Taras found that, after controlling for other variables, the students who ate a full breakfast performed better than others academically. He also noted that differences were most apparent in students who were undernourished before the test.

What Taras didn’t stress is that a prime reason one should eat breakfast is to be properly nourished. The trouble of malnutrition exists among every group in the population — even those who do not battle with food insecurities often have micronutrient deficiencies.

While many people consume enough of the main macronutrients — fats, proteins and carbs — consuming adequate quantities of vitamins and minerals is a challenge for many.

Insufficient intake of micronutrients is a result of the lack of whole foods in the modern Western diet, a product of cultural preferences towards more convenient processed foods.

Interestingly, a study by Roberts and Bentman found that

although most students had near recommended levels for most vitamins, suggested mineral levels were rarely achieved.

Mineral deficiencies are most commonly exemplified by low levels of iron, called anemia, and calcium, called hypocalcemia.

It is possible to achieve USDA recommended amounts of these

UW-MADISON SCHOOL OF HUMAN ECOLOGY

Wisconsin waffles are a popular choice at the dining halls. minerals, but many people take multivitamins as an easy fix for low levels of micronutrients.

Nutrition is as important for activity as it is for cognitive ability. Skipping breakfast deprives your body of energy for the beginning of the day and leaves you hungry as the day wears on. Even if you don’t feel low on energy, you could be burning muscle proteins if your body is out of effective energy sources,

says a report by Cava et al. Eating something light before your workouts will facilitate muscle growth and prevent your body from burning protein as energy.

Luckily for new breakfast eaters, there are many satisfying breakfast choices to fit any dietary preferences and needs, but it is best to try to consume something that is light and nutrient rich.

Quick options for students include eggs, whole grain cereals, fruits or toast with nut butters, all of which can be made in a dorm room if you have a microwave. These foods are quick, affordable and hearty. Scarfing down loads of calories is never a good move for the wellness of your body, even at breakfast.

Bypassing breakfast can also impact your weight. If you eat dinner at 6 p.m. and skip breakfast, you probably won’t have lunch until noon, which adds up to a whopping 18 hours without a meal. When dinner time comes (if you can make it that long without grabbing a snack or two), it’s going to be quite easy to binge and overeat, which may cause you to feel lethargic.

Correlations between weight gain and skipping breakfast seem paradoxical, but the Jornal de Pediatria reports a link between rarely eating breakfast and obesity. Above average weight has been a common pattern seen in the population of rare breakfast eaters.

We may never know which meal is most important, but we do know that eating all three is vital. As the first meal, breakfast has an impact on the entirety of your day. When you open your eyes tomorrow, have a bite before you start your work for the day— you’ll be glad you did. Though everyone has a different relationship with foods and how their bodies metabolize them, we can confidently say eating breakfast is the right choice to make.

almanac 6 Thursday, November 5, 2020

dailycardinal.com

Trump campaign begins training litter of badgers to be faithless electors for Wisconsin

Trump Supporters call for statehood of Puerto Rico after losing electoral college

By Gillian Rawling ALMANAC EDITOR

To everyone’s surprise, Joe seems to be doing extremely well — knock on wood. As the margin of victory grows wider and wider within the continental states, Trump is looking at another potential path to victory.

“These Puerto Ricans, they’re so beautiful, their country, it’s so vast and beautiful, except the parts without power, am I right folks.” Trump said in a press conference announcing he would be creating an executive order to grant Puerto Rico statehood in a last-ditch effort to gain his last necessary electorates.

The conference almost went without a slipup until a brief moment he assumed his mic was cut and he whispered to the heap of decaying skin next to him, Mitch McConnell, “I’ve golfed there, it’s a shithole country compared to my beautiful Mar-a-logo.”

Trump explained in yet anoth-

er viral tweet how successful his strategy would be given his historic popularity with Latinx voters.

In return for the newest US voter’s unwavering support, Trump promises to build a wall around the border to protect from any other foreseeable natural disasters after Hurricane Maria in 2017. He also pledges to add a small loan of a million dollars to their military budget so that they can bomb the insides of future storms.

“Couldn’t you just launch a better climate change initiative, like maybe reentering the Paris Climate accord?” asked a reporter. Trump silently drooled and farted on the stage, sputtering on about the coast guard cleaning beaches so they wouldn’t start on fire.

Whether or not this strategy will work for or against Trump is yet to be determined, but one thing is for sure — Puerto Rico will finally be a democracy after years of disgusting socialism.

GRAPHIC BY JORDAN SIMON

By Jordan Simon

ELECTION NEWS MANSPLAINER

Shortly after Joe Biden was projected to win the state of Wisconsin by several news outlets on Wednesday morning, the Trump campaign swiftly moved to their next plan of action in order to retain the presidency in 2020 and have thus begun training a liter of badgers to be faithless electors for Wisconsin.

You see, while it may seem that when a candidate wins a state that they are then awarded that state’s electoral votes, but we actually have this fucked up system where each electoral vote is cast by an individual appointed by the state, and that individual has the ability

to ignore their state’s vote tally and cast a state electoral vote for whoever they damn well please — you know, democracy stuff. This phenomenon of fuckery is known as a “faithless elector,” and in the close 2020 Presidential Race, a faithless elector has the potential to sway the election.

Faithless electors are one of several strategies the Trump campaign may employ to hedge their bets for a win in 2020. They have already sued the State of Wisconsin, alleging that humans tend to be biased against the president and are therefore unfit to serve as state electors, all the while training the only non-human alternatives: a liter of badgers from the parking lot of a

Wausau Menards.

“Our badgers have already mastered the basic commands such as ‘sit,’ ‘stay’ and ‘give that libtard rabies’ and are continuing to make tremendous progress,” said Mark Guatto, the Trump campaign’s Chief Animal Training Strategist.

“These badgers are going to be the most fantastic faithless electors the state of Wisconsin has ever had, and true patriotic Wisconsinites would never be mad at a cute little badger. Isn’t that right little Artemis. Yes. Yes it is.

Who’s a good little badger. Ow, fuck! The motherfucker just gave me rabies! Wait, are you still writing? Stop quoting me, this is off the record.”

GRAPHIC BY JORDAN SIMON

List: Instances where counting all the votes is a bad thing

By Jordan Simon

ELECTORAL COLLEGE DROPOUT

If you’re in charge of planning the office Christmas party If you’ve been tasked with planning the office Christmas party this year, democracy may not be in your favor. In this instance, rather, it’s best to just make some executive decisions.

The last thing you need is a vote which elects ice cream cake as the main dessert (which will happen since the electoral college is heavily skewed toward the accounting department).

Now, you’ve got to figure out how to keep the ice cream cake cold throughout the day, but you know you can’t leave it in the office fridge because that’s within 100ft of Debbie. And Debbie will sniff it out. So you problem solve by reserving a cake to pick up just before the party. Except when you get there you realize

the cake is freaking huge! And in your struggle to carry it from the store to the car, you drop your keys in the sewer. Now you have to wait for Triple A to come rescue you, and the ice cream is beginning to melt because it’s 85° in December because of global-fucking-warming. By the time you’re rescued, you’ve wasted $45 on a cake, delayed the start of the party and gotten your dress all sweaty. So, maybe don’t count the votes if you’re planning an office Christmas party, just get a chocolate cake.

If you don’t have sufficient evidence to identify the imposter If you’ve ever played Among Us, you know that some real corrupt shit can go down. Consider the following scenario: Lime has called an emergency meeting because he suspects Purple has been faking a task. Except, you were in the room with Purple

when Lime called the meeting, and you know Purple was doing a real task. In fact, you were with Purple in reactor as well, and if Purple was the imposter you would be dead for sure. But Lime continues to insist, and you can’t speak because you made an incorrect accusation earlier in the game so defending Purple will for sure get you voted out of the spaceship. Counting all the votes in this scenario is certainly frustrating, you know that they will be reflective of Lime’s incorrect read and not the truth, which is that you’re the imposter.

If you can’t count higher than 10 If you can’t count higher than ten, it’s probably best that you’re not the one counting votes. In any instance. That’s really all there is to say about that. *Notable exception: The 2020 Presidential Fucking Election

GRAPHIC COURTESY OF LUMEN LEARNING

We’re always looking for more funny and insightful writers with fresh takes on topics ranging from the UW campus to international news. We accept and encourage creative submissions as well! Any and all submissions are more than welcome.

You can send your submissions and any comments or questions to almanac@dailycardinal.com. All articles featured in Almanac are creative, satirical and/or entirely fictional pieces. They are fully intended as such and should not be taken

arts New Sorkin movie encourages activism dailycardinal.com

7 • Thursday, November 5, 2020

stuck in the mess together.

Led by the script of one of the STAFF WRITER world’s greatest living writers, As the hopes for our coun“Seven” leaves a war of delicious try’s future hang in the balance wordplay for the cast to crush with over the next seven days, it took stellar reenactments of the historia Netflix-led trip back in time cal figures they aim to portray. on Saturday night — filled with Baron Cohen, who just starred protests, flower power and judiin his very own ‘Borat’ follow-up, cial combat alike — to remind appears to be born for the part me about why we should all of hippie leader Hoffman, carries be thankful to step up to the such effortlessness into the film. polls and cast our votes for the It’s baffling to comprehend men and women who will help why he hasn’t tackled a similar decide where our nation goes role earlier in his career, perfrom here. fectly capturing the mockery, That’s the incredible part wittiness and utter disdain for about “Trial of the Chicago “the system” the real man posSeven,” director and screenwritsessed other performers could er Aaron Sorkin’s (“West Wing”) only dream of reaching. first work since his inaugural He seems destined to be one of 2016 film “Molly’s Game,” which five called for a Best Supporting left me unfulfilled following Actor nomination come awards in nearly 30 perfect years of politithe spring. cal storytelling wizardry.

I wouldn’t be shocked to see Not only does he manage to many of his revolutionary counpresent an account that far too terparts from the film standing many — myself included — have alongside him. never heard, but he also provides That’s the power of Sorkin, he a window through which we can can bring out the best parts of an remember how to recognize our actor on screen. differences, put them aside and Not to be outdone by Cohen strive towards meaningful change alone, others including Mateen — something we need now more as Bobby Seale — who captures than ever. the swaggering conviction of the “Trial of the Chicago Seven” Black Panther founder in the transports viewers to 1969 and opening moments and doesn’t let NIKO TAVERNISE/NETFLIX tells the true story of the Chicago go throughout.

Seven, a group of anti-Vietnam Gordon Levitt as Schultz Director Aaron Sorkin on set for his newest realase, following "Molly's Game."

War protestors charged by the — who excels in his role as a U.S. government with conspiracy man who begins to recognize a too-powerful hand. just a few decades earlier, while and crossing state lines with intenwidening gap between his legal I would’ve preferred to have simultaneously drawing a map for tion to incite riots during the 1968 duties and moral obligations as Keaton stick around for more how such a small irritation can Democratic National Convention the case progresses — leap off than a few minutes during one lead to a gigantic explosion with in Chicago. the screen and work just as well of the most intense moments severe consequences.

From Abbi Hoffman and Jerry to draw audiences into the heat of the case, but I’ll settle for a Choices like these bring a sense Rubin — Sacha Baron Cohen of the historic narrative unfold- performer of his caliber in any of realism to the narrative unlike (“Borat”) and Jeremy Strong ing before them. courtroom regardless. other historical dramas I’ve seen (“Succession”) respectively — to This story, and this event, While the screenplay crack- in recent years and emphasize Tom Hayden, David Dellinger and was custom-made for capital A les, Sorkin’s directorial choices parallels between both sides in a Bobby Seale — Eddie Redmayne “actors” in the leads and rest expand upon contraction — with powerful way. (“Theory of Everything), assured, there’s truly no short- a return to his close-quarters As we approach four more John Carroll Lynch (“Zodiac”) age to be found anywhere here. comfort zone and a few fun years of uncertainty, it’s crucial and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II My only disappointment twists keeping the film moving to recognize the fact that change (“Watchmen”, “Us”) — leaders and came from limited screen time along the way. can only happen if we, the peomembers of groups ranging from

by Michael Keaton as former Walk and talks, popularized ple who want it, put in effort to the SDS, Youth International, Attorney General Ramsey Clark, by the director’s previous work, make it happen.

MOBE and Black Panther Parties an essential testimony for the abound through crowded hallThis movie serves as a great are called to face repercussions for defense that feels like a home run ways and unruly protests alike inspiration in tumultuous times. days’ worth of civil protests that but becomes another incidence of with Schultz, Hayden and oth- We could all use a reminder of quickly turned into a night of viothe judicial system wielding its all- ers at the center of the frame, things from the past that shape serving as the perfect avenue to and help us take control of our showcase how both sides strug- own futures. gle to figure out the right way to Hoffman and Hayden clash on push the case forward. the notion of elections and what This choice brings back the they mean towards starting a revsense of familiarity and comfort olution by the end of the film. for those who feared he would While the conversation takes struggle to capture the same place in the heart of a divided visual energy that his sharp 1960s America — it couldn’t feel writing provides. any more prescient in a time or His newer — and better — place as contentious as our current maneuvers come later, as the climate today. retelling of the Aug. 28 events While I’ll save the political reach a boiling point in the final commentary for the folks at the act of the film. news desk, “Trial of the Chicago Sorkin carefully finds ways Seven” is an enormous feat of to interpose real footage of the filmmaking from one of the riots in-between choreographed industry’s best. sequences to illustrate the gravThe movie is perfectly released ity of the event and how quickly in the middle of a social, politiit devolved despite efforts to cal and cultural moment unlike maintain peace. anything we’ve experienced in our Hokey and poorly constructlives beforehand. ed in the wrong hands, Sorkin There’s nothing better to conappears to have taken the lessume as inspiration surroundsons he learned from stumbles ing election day, and I wouldn’t in “Molly’s Game” to create be shocked to see it land among real shock value for unfamiliar Oscar frontrunner lists aplenty in viewers that come into “Seven” weeks ahead. with no previous expectations.

Aaron Sorkin’s new movie Those new viewers soon real- “The Trial of The Chicago ize this hideous footage once Seven,” is currently available to NIKO TAVERNISE/NETFLIX Sacha Baron Cohen and Jeremy Strong star in Aaron Sorkin's new political drama "The Trial of Chicago Seven." played on televisions like our own stream on Netflix.

By John Bildings

lent bloodshed, all led by Mark Rylance (“Ready Player One”) as famed civil rights and defense attorney William Kunstler.

Formidable in legal and social power, this collection of crusaders seems fueled to get themselves off the unfair charges they face in response to civil protests.

They soon find themselves squaring off against a talented young federal prosecutor named Richard Schultz — played by Joseph Gordon Levitt (“Inception,” “Dark Knight Trilogy”) — whose main task from President Nixon’s newly-appointed attorney general is ensuring that each man on trial sees the inside of a jail cell for the decade to follow.

He recieves aid in this lofty endeavor thanks to the untrustworthy — and even more unlikable — hand of Frank Langella (“Frost/Nixon”) as U.S. District Court Judge Julius Hoffman.

In nearly two hours’ worth of verbal sparring and benchrattling battles that only a king of the courtroom drama like Sorkin could bring to fruition, “Seven” lays out the opinions of each leader’s ideological visions and political perspectives before the riots like a piece on a chessboard, allowing viewers to engage with its complexity.

This illustrates the stark differences between ultimate objectives and trying to find a connection point behind how they all came to stand in front of the world’s biggest audience. this is a challenge Sorkin takes on with motivation and certainity.

The film ranges from Hoffman’s dope smoking, cultural revolutionary visions to Hayden’s more snobbish, egalitarian approach towards change.

Early on, it’s clear from the moment the trial begins that the men neither like nor respect each other — bringing the tension and enormity to be found in all great Sorkin monologues and conversations to the forefront.

At the same, everyone involved realizes that whether they agree on how to make change, they’re all

opinion Decision 2020: Counting votes is not ‘stealing the election’ — it is an election 8 • dailycardinal.com

By RILEY SUMNER, HALEY BILLS and SAMANTHA TELSON THE DAILY CARDINAL OPINION DESK

This article reflects analysis based on an extremely volatile election that was accurate at the time of publication, but could change when official election results become available. Check online for the most accurate and up-to-date information.

Though the 2020 presidential election election remains too close to call, Trump has continued to sow division and spread disinformation, as he took to Twitter in a now removed tweet alleging Democrats are trying to “steal the election.”

Trump prematurely stated that he is up “BIG,” as he still trails behind Biden by anywhere between 40 and 50 electoral votes — some outlets have declared Biden the winner of Arizona’s 11 electoral votes and Trump the winner of Maine’s second congressional district’s single vote — with many ballots still waiting to be counted. This tweet demonstrates the Trump administration’s lack of confidence in their position, and tries to discredit the many American ballots that are yet to be counted.

Republicans have been gearing up to challenge ballots for months, as Democrats are pushing to ensure every single vote is counted. Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic Party, stated that they are keeping careful track of all ballots that were being rejected in swing states, carefully attempting to reinstate them.

Early in the night we saw Biden grasping an early lead in Florida

Thursday, November 5, 2020 • 9

and Texas, two very dominant Republican states and Trump remained very quiet. As the night went on and votes rolled in from today’s polls, we saw Trump speaking out on Twitter, “WE ARE LOOKING REALLY GOOD ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.” This was not the case as New England and west-coast states, including Arizona and possibly Nevada, have primarily favored Biden thus far.

In his speech early Wednesday morning, Trump proceeded to claim victory — despite eight critical swing states at that time having yet to be called. In this premature declaration of victory, Trump wielded an extremely dangerous tactic that undermines the integrity of the already fragile election.

Politico reported that Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said that “there’s just no basis to make that argument tonight” and that “it’s a bad strategic decision, it’s a bad political decision, and it’s not the kind of decision you would expect someone to make tonight who holds the position he holds.”

John Kasich, former Republican Ohio gov. said on CNN, “This is ridiculous.”

Besides, how could one claim premature victory in a so-called fraudulent election?

In his address, Trump spoke out to a crowded room of mostly un-masked individuals stating that he wants “all voting to stop.”

This extremely anti-democratic statement would strip millions of Americans of their essential right to vote.

Vice President Mike Pence also came out to address the crowd, but did not make any premature statements of victory, careful to not mimic the same rhetoric offered by Trump.

In a tweet Wednesday morning, Trump said that his lead in some states has “magically” disappeared, again discrediting the power of citizens’ votes. If “magically” disappearing means making sure every American ballot is counted, then Trump is right.

By insinuating that Democratic votes counted after his lead “magically” appeared, Trump again falsely suggests that these votes are somehow invalid. This tactic spreads more disinformation that absentee and mail-in votes are somehow invalid or the result of mysterious or fraudulent forces, despite the claim’s lack of factual basis.

In another tweet, Trump said that “they are finding Biden votes” in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan — language that makes it seem as if these votes appeared out of nowhere and do not come from valid ballots casted by real people.

This statement wrongly places distrust in a public process conducted by officials who carefully follow election procedures.

“Every step of the election’s process is publicly observable. You can observe Election Day and the voters casting their ballot. You can observe the votes being tallied at night. The voting registration records are public information.

The absentee data is public infor-

mation,” Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe said in a press conference. “I am incredibly proud of

the work done by Wisconsin’s election officials, and I feel 100 percent confident in the election that they conducted and that the laws that are established by elected lawmakers were followed in yesterday’s election.”

Nobody is “stealing the election.” By counting all votes, we are saving the election.

Individuals are fighting hard for every single American ballot to be counted and every voice to be heard. Counting every vote is not counting for one particular party,

it is counting for democracy.

While the election is still in question, despite record turnout, many of the expectations of large shifts towards Biden are not being seen in many toss up states.

In places like

Arizona has not been called by all networks yet, but a few have already declared Biden’s victory in that state, marking one of the few Biden pick-ups since 2016. The important question is whether Democrats’ messaging will hold in the rust-belt states that infamously won Trump the election in 2016.

Michigan a n d

GRAPHIC BY RILEY SUMNER/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Florida, Ohio and Texas, Biden was expected to win or be competitive. Despite Democrats’ best efforts to try to sway moderate votes, Trump was able to maintain control over those same states that he won in 2016.

Pennsylvania are not expected to be called until as late as Friday and these results will likely determine the outcome of the election. Much of the discussion has revolved around votes that are being tabulated late and whether or not they are mail-in votes.

A number of Senate races were

also expected to be competitive for Democrats, but the path for Democratic control of the Senate is becoming less and less likely.

While Democrats did pick up seats in Arizona and Colorado, with Mark Kelly and John Hickenlooper w i n ning their respective states, races in South Carolina, Maine, Texas and Kentucky that were expected to be close have been declared for the Republican incumbents.

Trump, over the past few months has spread misinformation about the validity of absentee ballots, which is likely influential in why those absentee ballots have been more favorable to Biden.

Trump voters would have been likely to vote in person on election day, which would explain the initial Republican leaning vote counts. Since the Biden campaign encouraged early and absentee voting, it makes sense that more of those votes are maintaining favorability towards Biden.

Due to numerous court decisions, absentee ballots in a number of states, including Wisconsin, were not allowed to begin tabulation until the opening of polls. This delay in counting is what is mostly responsible

for Biden seeming to close in on larger, earlier Trump leads in rustbelt states.

Trump’s rhetoric mimics that of many autocrats throughout history. For instance, in 1999, the far-right incumbent president of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro disempowered ballots by saying “through the vote, you’ll change nothing in this country.” As Trump calls for states to stop counting ballots, as well as maintaining that mail-in ballots are somehow fraudulent, he sends a very similar message that his citizens’votes do not matter.

Such figures create and capitalize on the chaos they create in order to delegitimize the results of a fair election.

While Trump’s rampant claims of election fraud were expected, the Trump administration has criticized foreign governments for claiming victory in an election during a disputed vote. In yet another display of hypocrisy from this administration, Vice President Pence called Venezuela’s election “a sham — neither free nor fair”, after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro claimed his victory.

Trump hasn’t been critical of all disputed elections, though, especially when it benefits him. He did not present any criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin during an election dispute in 2018. His thenpress secretary deflected any

wrongdoing, saying “we don’t get to dictate how other countries operate.”

Despite Trump’s autocratic behavior, results will continue to come in and it is unlikely that a winner will be declared. A number of states are actively counting mail-in votes — which have leaned Democratic across the country — and could cause states that are currently leaning red to flip towards Biden.

Late Tuesday night, we saw crucial battleground states such as Michigan and Wisconsin favoring Trump early in the night as they waited to count all absentee ballots. In the early hours of Nov. 4 however, we saw that these states flipped as more and more mail-in ballots were counted.

Wisconsin, like it did in the 2018 gubernatorial election, skewed Republican until Milwaukee county’s absentee votes were tallied.

Despite Trump’s falsehoods, these votes are just as valid as any other vote cast throughout the election.

The state was first declared for Biden by CNN early Wednesday afternoon, indicating a Democratic shift is occurring in the rust belt states. Michigan was also called for Biden shortly after Wisconsin.

Early into the morning of Nov. 5, states like Georgia and Pennsylvania continued to inch towards a Biden victory, but Trump is still maintaining a small lead.

Arizona was also declared in favor of Biden by a few outlets, however the race remains close and

a number of outlets still have not called the race. Trump has been moving closer to Biden’s early lead in the state.

Despite warnings about delays in ballot counting and poll numbers, Americans still pushed for a clear winner come evening on Nov. 3. Trump has been trying to delegitimize ballots counted after election day even though history reveals that states have always remained counting after election night.

The ongoing counting in the battleground states demonstrates the importance of every ballot being counted in this close race. What this election has revealed is that the United States election process is incredibly fragile and there is an urgent need for steps to be taken in order to ensure a safe and fair process. Poll workers are being meticulous to ensure an accurate count — which is something we should appreciate and applaud for, not rush and discredit.

Riley is a Junior studying Computer Science and Journalism with an emphasis in Reporting. Haley is a senior studying Journalism and French.

Samantha is a junior studying Strategic Communications, with a certificate in Digital Studies.

Do you think Trump’s victory claim was too early? Do you think the attack on mail-in ballots is justified? Send all comments to opinon@dailycardinal. com.

SCOTUS refuses to extend ballot deadline What is media bias: an analysis of the U.S.A. mainstream media

By HALEY BILLS SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The Oct. 26 U.S. Supreme Court ruling against a six-day deadline extension for mailed ballots in Wisconsin not only demonstrated a blatant disregard for voters’ safety, but an act of voter suppression that lended support to Donald Trump’s efforts to undermine a secure method of voting.

Democracy does not look like this — voting should be easy.

This election season is unlike any other. For one, the U.S. is leading the world in COVID-19 cases and deaths, with Wisconsin being one of its epicenters — as of Nov. 2, the state had 232,296 total cases and 2,050 total deaths.

The pandemic has made voter flexibility imperative: Health officials continue to emphasize the importance of social distancing, something that in-person voting greatly compromises. Now more than ever, voters — especially those who are at higher risk of severe illness caused by COVID-19 — are relying on voting at home options.

In Wisconsin, as of Nov. 2, a total of 2,061,040 absentee ballots were sent out and 1,886,533 were returned, according to the Wisconsin Election Commission (WEC). That’s a 210.45% increase from the 663,882 absentee ballots sent and a 202.57% increase from the 623,503 absentee ballots received four years ago during the 2016 election.

This surge in mail-in ballots has created greater uncertainty as to

whether or not a mailed-in ballot will be received by Nov. 3. Making a plan to vote and planning ahead are undoubtedly important, but punishing those who didn’t make a plan by forcing them to choose between a democratic right and exposure to a deadly virus is unacceptable — after all, voting under democracy, by definition, should not be a matter of life and death.

In his concurring opinion, Justice Neil Gorsuch seemed to acknowledge this year’s unprecedented circumstances, but he failed to recognize the differing circumstances in which the state’s election rules were adopted.

“No one doubts that conducting a national election amid a pandemic poses serious challenges, but none of that means individual judges may improvise with their own election rules in place of those the people’s representatives have adopted,” he wrote.

Given the unique burden that is present during this election cycle, much of which being out of the voters’ control, it only makes sense that absentee ballots are given more time to be received and counted: In fact, just six months earlier, the Court allowed a sixday extension for ballots during the Wisconsin Primary Election.

A WEC report showed that 79,054 ballots were received in the following six days of Election Day and were only counted because of the extension.

If 79,054 ballots were received after the April 7 Primary Election

Day, when there were only 138 COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin, how many votes will not be counted because of ballots that are received after Nov. 3, when there were 3,433 Wisconsin COVID-19 cases as of Nov. 2? The willingness of the concurring judges to find out is alarming — it is their place to “improvise election rules” because they have the power to do so and thousands of votes are at risk.

The SCOTUS decision, which was made along party lines with the three liberal justices dissenting, supports Trump’s recent false claims about mail voting being untrustworthy: “Lastminute changes to long-standing election rules risk other problems too, inviting confusion and chaos and eroding public confidence in electoral outcomes,” Gorsuch wrote.

As it has been emphasized countless times by countless sources, fraud is extremely rare in mail-in voting, with a rate of less than 0.0009%, according to a 2017 Brennan Center for Justice study. What invites confusion, chaos and erosion to public confidence is untrue rhetoric that attempts to discredit a secure method of voting.

Further, if ballots received after Election Day are deemed invalid, chaotic and confusing in Wisconsin, what sort of message does that send about ballots that must be counted after Nov. 3 in many other states?

Trump’s efforts to falsify peoples’ perceptions of mail-in

voting likely stem in part from a plan to declare premature victory. Election results will be delayed because “a record number of voters” are expected to vote by mail and some states, including key battleground states, cannot start counting ballots until after polls close, Bob Ortega and Scott Bronstein of CNN reported. They wrote that “several election analysts said they worry about Trump’s efforts to cast doubt on the outcome if counting the votes takes days or even weeks to resolve.”

The SCOTUS ruling on Wisconsin’s deadline for mailin ballots, a “last-minute” decision within itself, only adds to the creation of unwarranted distrust in the Nov. 3 election.

“The Court has failed to adequately protect the Nation’s voters,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote in her dissenting opinion. “Tens of thousands of Wisconsinites, through no fault of their own, may receive their mail ballots too late to return them by Election Day. Without the district court’s order, they must opt between ‘brav[ing] the polls,’ with all the risk that entails, and ‘los[ing] their right to vote.’ … The voters of Wisconsin deserve a better choice.”

Haley is a senior studying Journalism and French. Do you think the SCOTUS refusal to extend the deadline for mailed ballots suppresses voters? Send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com

By RILEY SUMNER OPINION EDITOR

Following Trump’s election in 2016, news organizations analyzed their role in providing unprecedented amounts of press coverage to his campaign and how that may have influenced the election’s outcome. News outlets’ shifts in coverage practices, however, have a critical misunderstanding — political bias is not the problem.

The Trump presidency has been riddled with un-ending cycles of McCarthyism, causing a re-evaluation of how the media covers politicians in all facets of news.

Trump’s dubbing of “fake news” erupted largely after Buzzfeed and CNN reported stories of an unverified source alleging Trump “[employed] a number of prostitutes to perform a ‘golden showers’ (urination) show in front of him.”

While the two sources both distanced themselves from the report, labeling it as “unverified,” this story was one of the early instances triggering the “fake news” movement.

Ultimately, “fake news” became synonymous with “news that was critical of the president” and Trump would frequently send out a barrage of tweets filled with juvenile namecalling of most mainstream outlets.

This rhetoric is dangerous not just because of its absurd suggestion that all media outlets are fake, but because of the implication it makes. For more context, we can look at one of the earliest precedents to press freedom in America:the John Peter Zenger trial in 1735.

Zenger was a publicist who

published an article that was critical of the Crown. Although Zenger’s article was true, he was charged with seditious libel for his publication, which meant that Zenger was charged with publishing falsehoods about the crown with malicious intent. He was found not guilty, as the court ruled that it could not be libel if the information was true. The Zenger case was a landmark case that historians argue was largely influential to the constitution’s freedom of the press, making its impact still relevant today.

This is important today because it underscores the importance that the press can and should be critical of the president — and that doesn’t mean it is libelous. It is important to hold leaders accountable — and the “watchdog” press is an important tool to do so.

Another important consideration is that news shouldn’t be “fake” because it has bias. We believe bias to mean the news unfairly presents one side more than, or more valid than the other.

This practice largely speaks to America’s false-dichotomy issue.

Almost every issue has more than two solutions, yet we tend to only allow for discussion of two of them, much like the two-party system.

Beyond the two-party system, many U.S. policies shaped our cultural understanding of bias. In 1949, the FCC modified the Radio Act of 1927, resulting in the creation of the Fairness Doctrine, which mandated broadcasters include both sides of an issue when releasing a story.

While its intention was good, the Fairness Doctrine promoted this false-dichotomy practice and also reinforced the idea that both of these sides are inherently equal.

This is largely seen by news coverage of the climate change “debate.”

Climate Change is real. Despite this, a string of lawmakers continue to argue that it may be a natural phenomena, and humans are not involved in rising global temperatures. Climate change deniers will reference that 97 percent of scientists say humans are causing global temperature increases — but there are still 3 percent that don’t agree.

When news outlets run stories on climate change however, in an attempt to be fair, they will incorporate arguments from “both sides.”

This suggests to viewers that both sides have some level of validity and are equally relevant to public opinion — even though the evidence is clear that climate change is real.

Sure, discussing issues like tax policy, gun control or education funding might warrant discussion and coverage from multiple perspectives since public opinion — and opinions of experts vary in how to solve some of these issues.

But with issues like climate change, the media presenting the argument that humans are not affecting global temperatures rising would be the same as the media presenting a stance that the moon landing was fake. Yes, there are people that believe it, but it is such a widely disproven argument that shouldn’t be given equal time to the factual accuracy that the U.S. did

land on the moon.

Another problem that exists beyond the “both sides” concept comes from American’s perception of the truth. A 2016 survey from Pew Research found 59 percent of Americans say news media should present facts without interpretation. The same survey also found that 81 percent of voters said Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump did not agree on basic facts.

How can we say that news outlets should be reporting “only the facts” when we don’t even agree on what those facts are? News is a platform where we can be informed by a number of voices how and why those facts might be misconstrued.

While it is certainly true that there are many news outlets that have political leanings, having those political biases isn’t directly the problem. Bias in the media usually is defined as “more favorable to one side.” This definition however doesn’t place any emphasis on the truth of the information, but instead requires someone to be perfectly equal on covering a topic.

The problem is straying away from basing those opinions off of faulty information. I can tell you — as a writer for the Opinion Desk at The Daily Cardinal — I am biased.

This entire article is “biased.” Bias just means I am arguing a specific point. I am using my interpretation of facts to present you a perspective which I believe in.

My biases — or the biases of news outlets — shouldn’t change the validity of my articles. I’ve certainly written pieces that people

disagree with. My goal as a writer is to offer a perspective which the public can evaluate and determine if they agree or disagree with it.

Does that make my writing any less valid? I am still using facts to present you with information. The only difference is I’m suggesting a way to interpret those facts.

“Biased” writing presents a solution to a problem faced by Americans: most people aren’t able to keep up with the news enough to adequately formulate an opinion and are experiencing increasing levels of “news fatigue” leaving many people uninterested in news altogether. The process of corroborating and understanding facts takes time.

In the case of Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 election, Mueller released a (heavily redacted) 448-page document about the investigation.

After the reports release, Trump touted his supposed innocence on Twitter shouting “No Collusion, No Obstruction.”

While Mueller did not charge Trump with a crime, the report described numerous links between the Russian government and Trump campaign. Ultimately, Mueller’s did not fully exonerate the president, it just didn’t charge him with a crime.

If the belief is that American’s should receive just the facts and decide for themselves, every American would need to read the entire 448-page document which details many governmental procedures that relatively few

Americans understand.

According to CNN polling, just 3 percent of Americans claim to have read “all” of the report, while 10 percent claim to have read some.

People shouldn’t be expected to read that in order to be informed — that’s why reporters exist.

Reporters hold politicians and public figures accountable. By reading news from multiple sources, we can also hold reporters accountable. We rely on reporters to accurately relay information to us, so it is fair to be critical of them.

Ultimately, reporters can inform Americans because reporters do it as a vocation.

The 40-plus-hour-work schedules make it so reporters have time to process information.

How would someone who also works or goes to school or even both be able to analyze that information with the same scrutiny that a professional reporter would be able to?

Bias in media is not the mediaethics problem we are facing today: The problem is we don’t understand bias. The best way to stay informed is to intake analysis from many perspectives in order to provide an accurate picture.

Riley is a junior studying Journalism and Computer Science. Do you think media bias is real? Is it our perceptions of media bias that need working on? Send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com