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Student Coalition fights for BIPOC justice By Anthony Trombi STAFF WRITER
A new student activist organization, born out of a summer of protest in Madison, has brought new life to calls for racial justice and inclusion on the UW-Madison campus. The UW-Madison BIPOC Coalition has initiated multiple student-led protests — including a Sept. 12 demonstration titled ‘Gordon’s Graveyard’ in response to the UW Smart Restart plan and an Oct. 9 ‘Get Cops Off Campus’ march with graduate worker union TAA Madison — and introduced a set of demands that ask university leaders to expand their efforts in alliance with the BIPOC community on campus and in the greater Madison area. Respect, transparency, open involvement, amplifying BIPOC voices and collaboration are listed as the UW-Madison BIPOC Coalition’s core values.According to a statement on Twitter, the coalition was set in motion this year when “individual students who wanted to continue bringing the fight for Black liberation to the forefront of Madison priorities — both University and the greater Madison community” intended to “organize a march in solidarity with the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington.”Their mission statement seeks “to build a unified community of BIPOC voices at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and create a collective platform that realizes and streamlines actionable initiatives that focus on structural changes to ensure members are heard, recognized and respected.” The ten demands established by the BIPOC Coalition have been an ongoing
talking point between student activists on campus and the UW-Madison administration. A recent meeting between the Associated Students of Madison (ASM) and the UW-Madison Police Department (UWPD) provided an additional platform for the BIPOC Coalition to address the urgency of their demands and protests. On Sept. 29, ASM passed a vote of no confidence in the UWPD and in the same meeting expressed support of the BIPOC Coalition. Coalition leaders feel as if additional steps must still be taken to address issues with the university and UWPD. One of the demands they have championed is for the department to be defunded and eventually dissolved. “There needs to be a change in UWPD in attitude,” says Tarah Stangler — a BIPOC Coalition founder and UW-Madison senior. “There were some conversations brought forth by ASM representatives that touched
on how changes could damage the relationship between UWPD and the greater university. If there is an issue it has more to do with UWPD understanding that they are messing up and refusing to take responsibility for their actions and there can be consequences to their actions.” “They have had a lot of conversations for the last three years about police reform and nothing has happened,” says Stangler. “I am really hoping that this does not damage the ability to have conversations but also recognizing we are all adults and we all act like adults.” Stangler also pointed out the lack of communication and recognition the BIPOC community has received from the UW Administration. The coalition does not feel as if it has been prioritized by the university. “As of right now, the BIPOC coalition has not met with any university officials besides sitting in on meetings we were brought in
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The Student Coalition gathered to advocate for changes for BIPOC rights.
by UWPD,” she says. “We will say that some of the reasons we have not met with the administration yet has to do with the way BIPOC is being shuffled through the system. We have made demands to have the meeting with [Chancellor] Becky being present, but we keep being told that we have to meet with [other administrators] from Student Life first.” Student leaders are disappointed with the lack of consideration they have received from university leaders.“This has been frustrating for us. We are the BIPOC Coalition and the voice of students of color on campus. We are trying to make sure that when we have the opportunity and decide to sit down with university officials that they understand that this meeting is not a one-off thing. There needs to be consistency with these meetings that can enact change,” says Stangler. Despite these claims, Chancellor Rebecca Blank indicates that the university plans to work through communication disparities or disagreements in an effort to address BIPOC Coalition requests. “I have read their list of demands, I have talked with [BIPOC student leaders]. There are a number of them that we are working on,” Blank told student reporters. “Some of them non-starters and there’s other things that we are gonna try to do, and that’s the nature of the conversations that I hope we’re going to have as we work through whatever the disagreements are.” According to Stangler, miscommunication and misleading conversations that directly address the treatment of BIPOC community members are
not new patterns. Rather, she argues that the university’s desire is to push BIPOC demands aside. “In my understanding of how these conversations have gone, not even in the last few years, since the 60s and when the original [Black Student Strike] demands have been made. It feels like they [the UW-Madison administration] try to satiate BIPOC members by saying they will have meetings with them and we will do this but it keeps being pushed that we need to join certain committees and talk to this person to have a meeting,” she says. “Time then runs out by the time the leaders graduate and they hope that there is not enough infrastructure for the new group not to pressure as hard as the last group,” she continued. “It feels that they do not necessarily care and [are] trying to present the image the university is accepting and inviting to BIPOC but in reality, do not do anything to ensure that.” In the meantime, Stangler suggests that students pursue active involvement by showing support and raising awareness for the BIPOC community. She suggests listening and researching campus history — specifically its administration’s treatment of BIPOC students, faculty and Madison residents. “The BIPOC coalition hears you and we may not all share the same identities, so we can not begin to imagine the burdens that come with your identity but we will fight for you and we will do what we can to ensure that you feel that you are welcomed and feel safe on this campus,” Stangler says. “We will continue to push the administration for you.”
In Blank’s absence, BIPOC Coalition advocates at ASM meeting By Gina Musso COLLEGE NEWS EDITOR
The Associated Students of Madison (ASM) held a meeting on Tuesday where the UW Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) Coalition shared their demands for change at UW-Madison. Chancellor Rebecca Blank was originally set to attend the meeting, but sent an email saying that she could not attend within 24 hours of the scheduled time. A tweet posted on ASM Chair Matthew Mitnick’s personal account shared Blank’s email to Mitnick cancelling her appearance at the meeting. “Several weeks ago, we agreed that I would attend the ASM meeting on Tuesday, October 13; my office requested time right at the beginning of the meeting for approximately 30 minutes as I have another commitment following the meeting,” Blank said in the email. “The ASM agenda that was shared with me today is different than what had been
agreed upon.” Tarah Stangler, one of the founding members of the BIPOC Coalition, expressed her disappointment in Blank’s decision to withdraw from her commitment to the meeting. “We want to draw attention to the fact that Chancellor Blank did not come to this meeting tonight,” Stangler said. “Part of the reason why we were brought on this as a special order was to finally have an audience with Chancellor Blank, but after verifying her schedule with Chair Mitnick on the 10th of this month ... she pulled out.” The BIPOC coalition, a community of UW-Madison students working to amplify student voices to create an atmosphere where BIPOC students feel welcome, included and respected on campus, demands reforms from UW-Madison including the removal of the Abraham Lincoln statue and Chamberlin Rock, the enactment of the Teaching
Assistants’ Association’s “Moral Restart” and the defunding and eventual abolition of the UWPD. The Coalition hoped to share with Blank their desire to coordinate regular meetings between the Chancellor and BIPOC student organizations, so that together they can create initiatives for structural changes at UW-Madison. Juliana Bennett, a co-founder of the BIPOC coalition, also spoke at the meeting. “Racism is alive and well at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,” Bennett said. “There are several instances where students have harrassed other students. I can say myself as a BIPOC student that I have experienced racism from day one on this campus.” The BIPOC Coalition also expressed their gratitude and support for ASM’s vote of “No Confidence” in UWPD. BIPOC leadership criticized UWPD’s “performative activism,” citing UWPD’s statements on their commitment to racial
justice which was followed by no real reform. They also noted UWPD’s refusal to completely ban chokeholds and neck restraints, despite their claim that they follow all #8CantWait reform recommendations which include banning neck restraints in all cases. The BIPOC Coalition’s special order at the meeting featured Jayda Griffin, the volunteering coordinator for the Wisconsin Black Student Union (WBSU). Griffin presented WBSU’s four demands for Chancellor Blank that echo the demands of the BIPOC Coalition, which include the removal of Chamberlin Rock, the removal of the Abraham Lincoln statue, a meeting between Chancellor Blank and the BIPOC Coalition and the implementation of demands from the 1969 Black Student Strike and the Student Inclusion Coalition. “While we appreciate the aid and progress that has been made
on our Chamberlin Rock demand, we are frankly disappointed with the Chancellor’s overall dismissal of further action concerning our demands,” Griffin said. The BIPOC Coalition and other community leaders including Madison Common Council Alder Max Prestigiacomo also spoke in defense of Mitnick after UWPD responded to a tweet on Mitnick’s personal account. In the tweet, UWPD criticized Mitnick’s consistency in his views. “This idea of UWPD acting as a political identity and being able to throw opinions out there, it neglects to understand the power dynamics that are at play across campus right now,” Prestigiacomo said. “This is something I’ve noticed from UWPD for years and years of intimidation and political lobbying that I am not okay with and especially when we’re living on campus when Black, indigenous, people of color are saying that they are not feeling safe.”
“…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, October 15, 2020
Poll worker registration rises pre-election
An independent student newspaper, serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison community since 1892
By Jackson Mozena SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Volume 130, Issue 8
The City of Madison hired an unprecedented 6,000 poll workers this fall in anticipation for the upcoming Nov. 3 election, a total that dwarfs recent election cycles. The Madison City Clerk’s Office announced in late September that applications regarding poll work would no longer be considered because all 6,000 positions had been filled. This year’s turnout almost doubled that of past presidential election cycles, according to city officials. Deputy Clerk Jim Verbick believes the city’s implementation of proper
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protective measures to keep election officials and voters safe played a role in the rising interest in poll work. “I think much of the public feel a call to service to personally see that this election goes smoothly,” Verbick said. The upsurge follows a previous shortage this past April when concerns surrounding COVID-19 caused many poll workers — a large proportion of whom are older residents — to avoid volunteering. The shortage of poll workers resulted in long lines and waiting periods at polling stations, particularly in urban areas. As the pandemic continues to threaten older volunteers,
younger generations including UW-Madison students have filled the void, making up a considerable portion of new poll workers. The Clerk’s Office, which gathers information on poll workers on election days, confirmed a steady increase in student volunteers between the April and August elections. Reagan Eckley, a senior at UW-Madison who volunteered as a poll worker in past elections, also noticed a significant increase in student participation during the 2020 election cycle. “I remember when I worked the polls in 2018 there would be one to two
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other students there with me, but most other volunteers were in their 60s and 70s,” Eckley said. “This past August, I noticed a lot more students working at the polls and I know so many more students are signed up for this upcoming election.” First time poll volunteer and UW junior Zack Hurst attributed “civic duty” as the reason for why he decided to become a poll worker this year. “To me, volunteering as a poll worker is a way I can do my part and be involved in a local election,” Hurst said. “I just want to do my part to make sure this election goes smoothly.” The City Clerk’s Office hopes the influx in volunteers will help with absentee ballot processing on Election Day. The city issued over 99,354 absentee ballots to Madison residents of which 64,328 (or 64.7%) have been returned. “It helps to have a larger pool of ‘rapid response’ officials who we can move around to different polling places as needed, because they can help the processing of the large number of absentee ballots at each polling place,” Verbick said. “We will be tracking throughout the day how many absentee ballots have been processed, and can send help to those polling places that need help keeping pace to process all absentees by the close of polls.” Voters can still request mail-in ballots until Oct. 29 and vote as early as Oct. 20. Poll workers will be present at ballot drop-off sites to serve as witnesses while collecting ballots.
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COVID-19 field hospital opens as cases skyrocket By Nathan Denzin SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Facility, said during an Oct. 14 media briefing. There are currently no patients at the field hospital, which is located west of Milwaukee. However, Standridge said the facility is expecting some as early as Thursday morning. Patients who decide to transfer will be transported to the field hospital by ambulance, with the expectation they will need just
Wisconsin opened a field hospital for COVID-19 patients at the Wisconsin State Fair Park Wednesday morning to alleviate stress on state hospitals that have seen cases skyrocket in the last month. The field hospital’s opening comes nearly five months after it was created by an executive order. The field hospital had stayed closed over those months, but due to the surge in COVID-19 in recent weeks, hospitals in the region asked for it to be opened. “We hoped this day wouldn’t come, but unfortunately, Wisconsin is in a much different, more dire place today and our healthcare COU RT ES systems are beginning to YO FT HE become overwhelmed by NE W YO the surge of COVID-19 RK TIM ES cases,” Gov. Evers said in a release last week. The field hospital — which is designed for patients recovering from the virus but still in need of a low three to level of care — opened with 50 six days to recover. The cost of beds available. If the need arises both the ambulance and care for the site to scale up, it could received at the field hospiserve as many as 530 patients, tal is covered by $400 million though it will not accept walk- in federal CARES Act money in’s. Wisconsin has saved. “[The facility] is an alternative Of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, 57 to a hospital setting. So a patient are showing ‘very high’ activity for would be transferred, from a hos- COVID-19, while the remaining 15 pital somewhere in the state, down show ‘high’ activity, DHS Deputy to the alternate care facility,” Deb Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk Standridge, CEO of the Wisconsin said in the briefing. State Fair Park Alternative Care As of Wednesday, 1,017 patients
were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Wisconsin and 246 were in intensive care, nearly triple the numbers from a month ago. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is reporting over 83 percent use of both hospital and ICU beds. “It was our fervent hope we wouldn’t have to use the alternate care facility,” Van Dijk said during the briefing. “But the reality is that we are in crisis here in Wisconsin.”
Things could still get worse Wisconsin is arguably the epicenter of COVID-19 in America right now, trailing only the Dakotas and Montana in daily average cases per 100,000 people. Cases continue to climb across the board, with DHS reporting a 20.3 percent seven-day positivity rate, a number that has steadily risen since June and skyrocketed in the last four weeks. Wisconsin saw an outbreak of cases on college campuses at the beginning of September, which offi-
cials have said has leaked into surrounding communities. Officials have also warned that the situation will continue to get worse if people do not change their behavior. “This is not going to go away any time soon,” Van Dijk said. “When we see [over 3,000] cases a day we can expect more people to need hospitalization. We know the trajectory does not look good — we need to be prepared and we need to take action to make the curve reverse.” A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report found that pandemic fatigue has been setting in across the state as well — which is likely a factor in the outbreak of cases. And while a recent decision by a Circuit Court judge upheld Gov. Evers mask mandate, the decision is likely to be appealed to a higher court. Other efforts by Evers to slow the spread have been hamstrung by GOP lawsuits, dating back to the May State Supreme Court decision to strike down Wisconsin’s stay-at-home order. A county judge also temporarily blocked an emergency order Wednesday morning that restricted public buildings and gatherings to 25 percent capacity, while a lawsuit brought by the Tavern League of Wisconsin is litigated. The decision will force DHS attorneys to appear in court on Monday to defend the order. “The order we wrote was in compliance with the Supreme Court, and our attorneys are looking at the case now,” Van Dijk said. “But order or no order, I strongly encourage people in the state to avoid any type of mass gathering.”
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TODAY’S CROSSWORD PUZZLE
Across 1. Bearded animal 5. Boric ____ 9. Fable author 14. Jazz great ____ Fitzgerald 15. Bangkok native 16. Wood spinner 17. Water ____ (like some watches) 19. Teach 20. Like a bright night 21. Capital of New Jersey 23. Asphalt 24. Glide 25. Crack pilot 28. Sash 30. Oolong server 35. Harbor 37. Judge 39. Juice type 40. Land measures 42. To’s partner 43. Many times 44. Hen’s perch 45. Fork feature 47. Royal title 48. Tooth deposit 50. Light source 52. Cereal grain
53. Mature in an airport 55. Baby dog 57. Housing agent 61. Stops 65. ____ Banks of baseball 66. Play host 68. Roadside eatery 69. God of love 70. Region 71. Future flowers 72. Snoozes 73. Speech problem Down 1. Wheat ____ 2. Bogus butter 3. Moreover 4. Pollute 5. Dressed 6. Informal talk 7. Author ____ Fleming 8. Duplicate 9. Second self (2 wds.) 10. Merit 11. RBI, e.g. 12. Midwestern state 13. Actor Sean ____ 18. Thick slice 22. Rodent
24. Free from germs 25. Separate 26. Chocolate drink 27. Baseball blunder 29. Remaining 31. 32. 33. Puccini work 34. Dogma 36. Exam 38. 41. Appetizers 46. Female ruler 49. Mexican waterway 51. Feline sound 54. Primp 56. Flower feature 57. Cincinnati baseballers 58. 59. 60. Spoke falsely 61. On 62. Agra attire 63. Binds 64. Cinch 67. (abbr.)
science Dream Team comes ‘closer than ever to a cure’ for various pediatric cancers 4
Thursday, October 15, 2020
By Gavin Schopf SCIENCE EDITOR
When Kristina Schultz was little, she wished to be a bone marrow transplant doctor. She wished no child would have to go through what she had and planned to spend the rest of her life working to find a cure. Kristina was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on her fourth birthday in 2001. She was Philadelphia chromosome-positive -- a rare type of ALL that is difficult to treat. Following her six year fight with cancer, Kristina’s bone marrow stopped producing and she needed to have a stem cell transplant. Her young body was beat up and she was tired -- there was nothing more doctors could do. On April 9, 2007, Kristina Schultz passed away. She was nine years old.
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a nationwide team of passionate oncologists working to find cures for pediatric cancers. As a patient advocate and mother, Lori wants to spread the word that the City of Madison belongs to the North American Dream Team. Madison is home to six of the 36 Dream Team research trials. “The work of the Saint Baldrick’s Foundation Stand Up to Cancer Pediatric Dream is getting closer than ever to finding cures for childhood cancer and decreasing the life-altering effects of current treatments,” Lori said. The Dream Team is working on various types of cancers and treatment methods. Among those methods is the development of CAR T-cell treatments. Similar to getting a flu shot, CAR T-cell therapy “supercharges” patients’ immune systems,
Kristina and her mother Lori share a moment together during treatment. Thirteen years later, Kristina’s mother Lori Schultz still finds herself asking, “what would Kristina do in a situation like this?” Lori works for UW Health and is a patient advocate for the Saint Baldrick’s Foundation Stand Up to Cancer Pediatric Dream Team,
allowing them to more effectively attack cancer cells. The method allows doctors to treat children without breaking down their young bodies with chemotherapy and radiation, Lori said. Radiation based methods have their time and place but can
have debilitating effects on chil- Care allowed him to grant another dren like Kristina. doctor permission to use his pro“For the Saint Baldrick’s tocol, a decision her mother said Foundation Stand Up To Cancer “gave us two and a half more years Pediatric Dream Team, sarco- with Kristina, which we would not mas have really been a focus,” have had otherwise.” she added. “For me it is coming full circle. Sarcomas are an uncom- They got to treat my daughter and mon cancer type characterized help us through it and now I get to by aggressively spreading can- help them bring awareness, raise cer cells in the soft tissue. Young money and ultimately find a cure bodies can be particularly sensi- for childhood cancers,” she said. tive to radiation and chemotheraLori works directly with the py, two methods commonly used Madison oncology team, half of to treat sarcomas. which were Kristina’s doctors “Back when Kristina was going when she was treated there. through her treatment from 2001 “Kristina was bigger than life,” to 2007, pediatric treatment was Lori said. “She was always sure based on findings from adult they were going to find a cure for patient research trials,” she said. what she had.” Over time, doctors have learned Kristina fought for a cure, parthat kids are not little adults and ticipating in trials and lending her that their body makeup is actu- resilience to the cause. Before she ally quite different. Thanks to passed away at nine years old, she funding from Stand Up to Cancer started a fundraiser called Caps and the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, for the Cure. researchers on the Dream Team Students from Wisconsin, have focused their efforts on bas- Illinois and other states have paring pediatric treatments on pediat- ticipated in the fundraiser, bringric research. ing a dollar to school and wearThis novel approach to treating ing a hat for the day. Every penny childhood cancer has only been comes right back to American at work since 2009 but has made Family Children’s Hospital and great gains. Contributions from 36 the UW Kids Cancer Research different trials have allowed the Fund, Lori said. Team to work together, building Kristina was devoted to raison findings and ruling out ineffective methods. For Lori, everything came full circle at her first Dream Team meeting. Across the table from her sat Dr. Kirk Schultz, who was in charge of Kristina’s treatment plan. “That was on my list,” she said. “If I ever had the honor of meeting him and thanking him in-person, I had to do it.” When Kristina missed the deadline for trials with Dr. Schultz, a ruling under Compassionate Kristina Schultz in her favorite cap.
ing Caps for the Cure money until a cure was found -- a task her younger brother Christian has taken on since her passing in 2007. “If we cannot find a cure, it is about changing the treatments so they are not life-altering for the kids who do survive,” Lori said, noting that many children have survived with life-altering effects from treatments. “When we lost Kristina 13 years ago, there were not a lot of options out there so families had to do much of it on their own. We are blessed here in Madison to belong to the Pediatric Dream Team,” she said. Lori works with families at American Family Children’s Hospital by helping them deal with pediatric cancer and encouraging them to “always be their own advocates.” The St. Baldrick’s Foundation normally has head shaving events in March that run on community participation and sponsorship. The 2020 event occurred virtually due to concerns over the COVID19 pandemic. “We’ve got brilliant minds working on these cures and I know the Pediatric Cancer Dream Team will find cures in my lifetime,” Lori said. Schultz concluded with a thought from lead Dream Team doctor Paul Sondell: “he doesn’t know how far down the road, but someday, a doctor telling you your child has cancer will carry the same emotional impact as hearing your child has pneumonia -- it is going to be that easily curable.” To help fight childhood cancer, you can visit the St. Baldrick’s Foundation website, the Stand Up to Cancer website and the UW Kids Cancer Research Fund. All funds support trials and research for members of the Dream Team.
‘Curiosity unleashed’: Wisconsin Science Festival continues for tenth year, offering more than 100 virtual events By Simar Garcha STAFF WRITER
The Wisconsin Science Festival will be run virtually this year, offering over 100 events to attendees. Events include a variety of science-based activities including experiments, Q&A sessions, demonstrations, information on COVID-19 research efforts in Wisconsin and more. The Wisconsin Science Festival is a state-wide program for people of “all ages and interests,” meant to “inspire and engage us in the enterprise of science and discovery; to cultivate curiosity and com-
BRYCE RICHTER / UW-MADISON
municate the power of knowledge and creativity to change our world view; to promote innovation and to cultivate the next generation of global citizens,” according to the Festival and its statewide partners. The program is completely virtual due to the current COVID-19 situation, but will remain “widely accessible regardless of the circumstances,” according to the COVID-19 updates page. The Festival is designed to engage students with science at a young age and spark their interests by exposing them to a variety of topics and experiments. “Making science accessible and understandable is
BRYCE RICHTER / UW-MADISON
critically important, especially now, given the challenges we are facing,” the UW-Madison Dean of the College of Letters and Arts Eric Wilcots said in a UW News release. Last year, more than 33,000 were in attendance, over 300 events were provided by various Wisconsin organizations and more than 2,600 students participated in the festival, according to the 2019 Annual Report. The Wisconsin Science Festival is set for Oct. 15 to 18. Event dates and times can be found on the Wisconsin Science Festival’s event page.
JEFF MILLER / UW-MADISON
A young participant learns "what makes light different." Young attendees magnify the Wisconsin Science Festival. Sam Dennis Jr. teaches photo mapping to high school students.
arts Are you entertained? A Weekly Column dailycardinal.com
By Dominic LeRose, John Bildings STAFF WRITERS
Dominic LeRose and Johnny Bildings are seniors at UW-Madison who are fanatics about all things entertainment. Their goal is to recommend their favorite, movies, tv shows, books, music, documentaries and specials to make the dismal times of the current pandemic a little less sufferable. Here are Dom’s picks: “David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet” Maybe I’m biased because famed naturalist and BBC broadcaster David Attenborough has been my personal hero for years, yet anyone foreign or familiar with Attenborough needs to view his wonderful witness statement of a documentary. Traveling the world for decades and creating spectacular documentaries such as “Planet Earth,” “Blue Planet,” “Natural Curiosities” and “Our Planet,” Attenborough has brought the natural world to our screens and made us not only more appreciative of the rich biodiversity in the natural world, but more aware of the grave challenges it faces. His personal documentary recently released on Netflix is a call to action, a reflection after witnessing some of nature’s greatest phenomena on all seven continents and how he has seen drastic changes over the course of his 94-year lifespan. Coming to the final chapter in his life, Attenborough warns us about the grave dangers our planet faces from climate change, overfishing, deforestation, wildlife populations being decimated, and a number of other trag-
Thursday October 15, 2020
edies. Despite these tragic phenomenons, we’re given insight into how to solve these issues and are left inspired by someone with such reverence and knowledge of the natural world. “Drive” (2011) Nicolas Winding-Refn’s stylish, gritty, brutal, beautiful, electric and graceful action thriller stars Ryan Gosling as Hollywood stunt-driver who moonlights as a getaway driver for criminals and falls for his nextdoor neighbor whose ex-convict husband gets caught up with a network of ruthless gangsters. Relying more on its visual depth as opposed to character development and dialogue, “Drive” is a fullthrottle thrilled exploding with style and hooks you in from start to finish. Featuring some heavy violence that is sure to shock most viewers, Refn somehow finds a way to make every scene in this film beautiful and captivating regardless of what’s occurring on screen. Gosling, as an isolated and mysterious loner whose name we never even learn, embodies every aspect of a knight-in-shining armor in this modern Grimm fairytale that puts its place in history as one of the best noir films ever made. “South Park” Every time I watch an episode of the brilliant and tasteless cartoon comedy series “South Park” from masterminds Trey Parker and Matt Stone I wonder to myself how these two men have been able to get away from all of this unscathed. Unfiltered like no other writers, Parker and Stone have managed to tackle nearly every controversial subject and offend every single demographic imaginable, often times opening our eyes to the issues in our society with fresh, unbiased
attitudes and a desire to cross the line and embrace true freedom of speech. Without question the single greatest body of satire ever created, “South Park” is a true testament
— slew of Halloween’s night events and soon realizes it’s up to him to solve the big mystery and save the day. You know what you’re getting out of Happy Madison — familiar friends
COURTESY OF NETFLIX
Adam Sandler and Julie Bowen pair up for a spooky season comedy. to honest, raw comedy and after 23 seasons still manages to expose the lunacy in society with consistent satirical brilliance Here are Johnny’s picks: “Hubie Halloween” Sometimes all you need is Sandman, some — slightly — offensive mannerisms, and even worse ideas for movies as a sweet October treat in this messed up world we call our own. Released on Netflix Friday morning and immediately finding its way onto my screen later that evening, “Halloween” stars Adam Sandler as socially-awkward deli worker Hubie Dubois, the world’s biggest Halloween fan and Salem, Massachusetts’ biggest laughing stock. Hubie discovers a series of increasingly strange — and even less funny
Julie Bowen, Maya Rudolph and Kevin James all make appearances throughout the film. We even get treated to supporting performances ranging from “Goodfellas” legend Ray Liotta to up and coming “Stranger Things” star Noah Schnapp. This movie is not good, but will make you giggle at least a few times throughout its fairly short runtime — which I’d chalk up as a win. If anything “Hubie” will reaffirm we should all aspire to pocket Adam Sandler’s corner in life — making an awful lot of money for a lot of awful movies. “Barry” Featuring some world-class acting from former Saturday Night Live funny man Bill Hader, “Barry”
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swings back and forth from comedy to drama unlike anything I’ve ever seen on television — perfectly highlighting the depths to which comedic actors can stretch themselves for dramatic performances. With two seasons currently streaming on HBO services and a third coming in 2021, viewers will be left hanging in anticipation as Hader’s combination of flawless writing, impeccable direction and phenomenal lead performance carefully navigate through Los Angeles underworlds of theatre and crime simultaneously — met right down the middle with a self-aware performance from Henry Winkler (“Happy Days”) as acting coach Gene Cousineau that really drives home the human condition in more ways than one. Head into “Barry” with anticipation for one thing and come out with a truly jaw-dropping emotional experience unlike few others, and be ready to see more of Hader beyond fan-favorite comedies as he continues to ascend the TV-auteur ladder. “Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind” Paying tribute to a legendary performer and painting another portrait of a human being far more complex than anyone could truly comprehend, Marina Zenovich’s 2018 documentary “Come Inside My Mind” is a fascinating look at the story of Robin Williams and the personal battles he faced before tragically taking his own life in 2014. People looking to learn more about the man, his immense collection of work or the power of mental illness should consider this appointment viewing, surely finding themselves blown away by the depth of such an unbelievable person.
Samia catches eyes and breaks hearts with new record ‘Baby’ By Emily Knepple ARTS EDITOR
JESSICA DIMENTO
Samia Finnerty releases her first full-album, "Baby" with Grand Jury.
Two years ago, I couldn’t care less about social distancing. I was standing alongside hundreds of very sweaty people and if the occasional “Sorry! I didn’t see you there” happened, no death glares were given. (I miss you @TheSylvee) Hippo Campus was set to headline on a very cold Friday night in late April. One of my friends and I had caved and bought tickets to their meet & greet, we grabbed a photo and awkwardly said hello. We hugged them! Can you imagine? I can’t remember the last time I had a hug with someone that wasn’t in my immediate circle, let alone a celebrity. We got settled in the pit and waited anxiously for anything to start. As most concert goers know, that first hour before the show can be both extremely uncomfortable and unsettling; do you think I could make it to the bathroom? GOD! I would love to sit right now. I often research opening acts prior to a show so I can better understand what I watch on stage. Opening act syndrome can be real sometimes, boring your audience to death before your set is a risk bands take when they book something far from what their fans came for. This time, I fell short and Samia Finnerty, a 23-year old New Yorker caught us all by surprise. She was pretty, reckless, loud, and
fun. Samia seemed to serve as a symbol for unapologetic women who will say what they want when they want. She kept my attention, her music had meaning, every lyric felt personal . I left with something I always look for: another female indie artist to love and support. I went home and downloaded some of her music and soon forgot about it as I do with anything I don’t listen to five times a day. However, this past week, I found a new album on my Spotify from an artist I had let pass me by. Signed by the same label as Hippo Campus, Samia worked on “Baby” with Hippo frontman, Jake Luppen. “Baby” is an eleven-track record that dropped on August 28 and technically is her first ever album. On the first track “Pool,” Samia plays the last ever voicemail she received from her late grandmother. Quickly, we know that being honest is sort of Samia’s forte. She doesn’t waste time, she knows that as an artist, nothing is more intimate than the music you make and share. Samia slides smoothly into the indie-rock scene, she makes music to play on long drives, she lets her listener feel everything alongside her. This, in turn, creates a very special relationship with her audience, one that keeps her fans coming back and seeking that intimacy that she so gratefully shared. What clicks on this album is it’s
delivery, each song tells its own story, it takes you through Samia’s relationship with her twenties. Timely to the world we’re in now, “Baby” is an emotional rollercoaster, one that makes you just as happy as you are sad. On the last track, “Is There Something in the Movies?” Samia honors late actress Brittany Murphy, who worked alongside her mother in Hollywood. Murphy passed away when she was 32, something Samia continues to try and come to terms with. This song explores the relationship with glorifying legacy over life. She sings of the stuffed animal Murphy had given her when she was younger. “I carried around a stuffed pig in my arms / And I did it until I was five/ I got it from someone who died of attention / And lived an extraordinary life.” Samia is an icon for all things against the status quo. That’s largely why her fan base is frustrated feminists, done with letting genres and media speak for the artist before they’re given a chance to do it for themselves. Not to mention, her songs are great outlets for the way we all feel right now. Confusion, uncertainity, loads of anxiety, Samia is happy to write down our feelings for us on paper. Whether I was drawn to her because Timothée Chalamet follows her on instagram ( I know???? ) or it was her set that night at The Sylvee, I’m glad to have been brought back to the indie godess herself. All Hail Queen Samia.
almanac UWPD lashes out at ASM Chair with very high degree of confidence
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Girl who lives out of van to ‘find herself’ is disappointed By GILLIAN RAWLING Kelly Penelope BartholomewStevens, a self proclaimed travel blogger, explained that while other trips have been funded by her family and instagram base off her pyramid scheme business, that this trip was “supposed to be different.” After “days” of preparation for her journey across “SoCal” that included “binging cute netflix documentaries and youtube channels” of their own experiences with traveling through the United States in luxury RVs. She set out for her journey as the sun was still bright but quickly realized it was nothing like what she expected. “I really like, didn’t think it
was going to be that hard to be honest. Don’t like, a ton of people live out of their cars? lol,” she explained. She said that while she achieved her mission to find herself, she experienced many hardships along the way. “I had to like sleep on my non- tempurpedic mattress and I didn’t have cute travel companions like the other girls in the travel vlogs, so I had to do all 7 hours of driving myself.” She explained that the worst part of the journey was when she realized she stopped to hike at a popular destination and found that her $2,500 Go Pro camera was malfunctioning. “I had to record the vlog on my iPhone 11 pro … Like an animal,” she said, clearly exasperated.
PHOTO BY JEFF MILLER
By Jordan Simon In a classic 2020 what-thefuck plot twist, the University of Wisconsin Police Department attacked ASM Chair Matthew Mitnick on Twitter with a
strikingly large amount of confidence — especially for a department which faces a crisis of public confidence. Following a tweet on Mitnick’s personal account, in which he expressed an opinion that conflicted with the stance he held as a representative of ASM, UWPD responded, tweeting “Waaa waaa waaa. We’re a bunch of salty, immature cry-babies who are inept at dealing with justified criticism by activist college students. @matthewmitnick_ is a total meaniepants and we hate him. #mixedmessages” ASM Vice Chair Aerin Leigh Lammers weighed in on the incident, saying that UWPD’s twitter attack would be inappropriate no matter what Mitnick tweeted. “If he had said ‘UW Police Chief Kristen Roman is a
Singaporean iguana who is coming to take away our chewing gum,’ then sure, it would be concerning, but UWPD would still be wildly unjustified in attacking an individual student on social fucking media,” said Lammers in an official statement. Following the exchange, UWPD spokesperson Marc Lovicott doubled down and defended the police department’s Twitter attack. “UWPD feels threatened by literally one tweet from a college student, and so we will be the bigger person by reacting emotionally and irrationally,” Lovicott said. “We are also oblivious as to how this could support the narrative that we are not to be trusted, so we will conclude by saying Matthew Mitnick is a big stinky backstabber who breastfed until he was 14.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF FLICKR/APOLLO MOTORHOMES
The trailer home Kelly thought she was getting.
In lieu of canceled presidential debate, Fox News to just air ninety minutes of Trump screaming at a Mr. Potato Head By Jordan Simon The Presidential Debate Commission has canceled the second debate, initially set to be held on Oct. 16, in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus after Trump yielded a positive test. A virtual debate was suggested to both the candidates, however, Trump declined because of some bullshit his team made up — I don’t even know. Given that there will be no debate on Friday, Fox News has decided to just air ninety straight minutes of Trump screaming at a Mr. Potato Head. “We felt that this format would give Trump the opportunity to share the same information in the same tone of voice that he would have delivered to the American people in a presidential debate,” said Francine Walker, Fox News’
Director of Hating Immigrant Babies Per God Almighty’s Wishes and Assistant Programing Coordinator. “The best thing about it I think is that Trump can finally get a word in. He won’t have to contend with that damn Chris Wallace this time around.” When asked why Fox News chose a Mr. Potato Head as the subject to bear Trump’s verbal thrashing, Francine Walker said it was an appeal to Idaho voters. Among several topics Trump plans to touch on in this solo debate format, a spokesperson for the president said he is eager to address all the medical jobs he created by getting coronavirus, that Amy Coney Barrett should definitely be appointed to his dick and to finally reveal who Q is. GRAPHIC BY JORDAN SIMON
opinion UW BIPOC Coalition Demands Justice dailycardinal.com
By UW Madison BIPOC Coalition STUDENT-LED ORGANIZATION
George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Sandra Bland. Tony Robinson. The exhaustion that comes from being forced to recite that list over and over again, each time with an added name, is nothing in comparison to the exhaustion that comes from bearing the weight of knowing we lost another life to the systems of white supremacy and racism in this country.
1. Remove the Abraham Lincoln monument located at the top of Bascom Hill and replace it with someone who stands for the justice of all people. For BIPOC folx, this weight is increased exponentially. We cannot simply turn off the news and momentarily forget or ignore the institutions that have oppressed our people for hundreds of years — we have to bear the consequences of a system that has gone unchecked for too long. We have to demand justice and change in ways that non-BIPOC folx will never understand.
2. Remove the Chamberlain Rock, formally known as “N*ggerhead Rock,” located on Observatory drive. On Aug. 28, 2020, a group of students decided to honor those who have fought and advocated for BIPOC folx by holding a march in solidarity with the March on Washington — aptly titled the “March on Madison.” The morning of the event, organizers received an email from UW-Madison administrators under the guise that they were “assisting them with understanding the parameters for a successful and safe protest or demonstration.”
3. Enact a “Moral Restart” — not a “Smart Restart.” Considering their absence at other events earlier in the summer, we quickly concluded that this was a result of the march’s starting location on UW property — the beloved Camp Randall — and not the majority student attendance. The city of Madison and the University’s administration seemed to be using the same playbook, for they were more concerned with protecting property than they were with protecting their community.
4. Defund and subsequently abolish the University of Wisconsin Police Department. Included in the message was a “Protest Card” that listed guidelines that, should organizers fail to follow, may result in “conduct action and/or arrest.” The friend-
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ly tone of the email did not mask the malice behind its intent and we, as organizers, understood what we were being threatened with — “comply by our rules or face consequences.”
5. Reopen discussion on how the University can meet the 1969 / 2020 demands with student groups such as the Student Inclusion Coalition and the Wisconsin Black Student Union. To us, it became glaringly clear that the University was willing to go out of its way to ensure that BIPOC student activism on campus did not disrupt the comfortability of the majority. Anything to keep white donors happy, right? The day following the March on Madison, the same group of students collaborated with other Madison organizers and mobilized a second march demanding justice for Jacob Blake. This march, much like the first, was met with high turnout and media attention. Everyone began asking us who we were, what organization we were a part of and for lack of a better answer, we kept shrugging and replying with “we’re just students.”
6. Recognize the educational value of marginalized identitybased student affinity groups. In the following days, though, we realized we as “just students” managed to not only make those in an established institution fear our collective voice and power, but continuously encouraged large turnout at events centered around BIPOC concerns. As a result, we decided to refocus our efforts and utilize our newfound collective voice to fight for BIPOC folx on campus and in the greater Madison area by standing up against local injustices.
7. Implement a permanent funding structure for the student organizations that primarily serve and include predominantly marginalized groups, with funding allocated through the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs or Deputy Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion. The UW-Madison BIPOC Coalition formed under the shared notion that all BIPOC voices are important; because our goal is to demand equal justice for all marginalized groups on campus, we embody this understanding in all facets of our organization. We reject the white supremacist, patriarchal system of power and its notions of hierarchy and, as a result, do not have traditional
positions like “President,” “Vice President,” etc. Instead, we work in a shared governance model where each voice holds as much power as the next. Our name embodies our mission; we aim to coalesce a community of BIPOC leaders who will fight to ensure that all BIPOC students feel heard, respected, and welcome on this campus.
8. Improve the support system for marginalized students on campus. We are an organization of students, not a student organization — we work in tandem with different Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) on campus but we will remain independent from the University’s structure allowing us to fight for justice without having to worry about being held to specific University protocols. One thing our organization has become known for is our list of demands to the University. We want to stress that these demands are NOT new to administration, rather they are a compilation of demands that have been repeated by BIPOC students for years. We chose to champion these specific demands because we want to not only demonstrate how little the University has actually done to create a welcoming space for BIPOC folx, but to also acknowledge and continue the work of students before us.
9. Create a coordinated infrastructure to respond to acts of structural oppression. Each time BIPOC student leaders speak out against injustices on campus, we are exploited by the University and expected to do their job for no compensation, all under the guise that it will help future students. Once they have worked us to the point of exhaustion — or complete and total loss of faith in the system — they shuffle us out through graduation, dismiss our work and wait for the next round of students to repeat the process. We, as the BIPOC Coalition, say no more. You can shuffle us around, attempt to dismantle our efforts and organizations by funneling us through action groups, you — Chancellor Blank — can even attempt to ignore us, but we will not be silenced any longer. To all the BIPOC students on campus: we see you, we hear you and we will continue to fight with you.
10. Further action from Chancellor Rebecca Blank regarding the meetings between leaders and the general body of the Wisconsin Black Student Union regarding their experiences and recommendations in making this a truly diverse and inclusive campus.
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view
Cardinal View editorials represent The Daily Cardinal’s organizational opinion. Each editorial is crafted independent of news coverage. The Wisconsin Idea has come under attack by the people who are meant to uphold it. The Idea, which states “that education should influence people’s lives beyond the boundaries of the classroom,” has been overrun and overruled by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s top administrators today due to their lack of care and empathy towards marginalized communities on campus. In our classrooms, we — as students — are taught to think outside of the box, to understand people around us who do not share our same identity and to intelligently fight for what we believe in. Over the course of this summer and semester, we have seen that the UW Administration does not truly value the Wisconsin Idea; they have refused to meet with BIPOCled student groups and listen to their demands time-and-time again. If the Wisconsin Idea does signify the University’s commitment to public service, then it is their duty to serve all members of this community — this entails listening to BIPOC students and student organizations. By ignoring these crucial voices, the University’s administration blatantly disregards its very mission. T h e neglect of any student-led demands
by administration has become even more apparent as the official University of Wisconsin Police Department was caught on Twitter attacking the Chair of ASM for his personal beliefs, resorting to using juvenile hashtags such as #mixedmessages and ignoring ASM’s pleas for a better structured police department. Due to this lack of open ears on the University’s part, ASM was forced to have a vote of no confidence against the UWPD. Instead of empowering students to voice their opinions and act on them to make their community better — or in the University’s own words, “beyond the boundaries of the classroom” — University insti-
tutions are shutting students down and not focusing on their wants and needs. Former UW President Charles Van Hise first championed The Wisconsin Idea in 1905, and stated that he “shall never be content until the beneficent influence of the University reaches every family of the state.” However, these actions by the UW System administration have proved that the University will not be “content” until the University’s “beneficent influence” has reached every white family in the state. Meanwhile, they are complacent and cynical as students of color struggle to feel that benefit every day on campus. Must we as students really sit back and watch as our University leaders — the very leaders who have structured our higher education and molded our minds into ideas that they hold sacred — repeatedly ignore the demands of BIPOC groups who already feel silenced on campus? UW–Madison has failed its students this semester. They have continually failed BIPOC students every semester. The University continues to enable and actively support a culture of oppression by repeate d l y denyi n g BIPOC folx a
GRAPHIC BY LYRA EVANS
chance to be heard. For this reason, it is imperative that the University’s top officials stop shying away from hard conversations with their student body and with student organizations. The University must not only meet with and talk to, but listen to the BIPOC Coalition. Take their demands to make the University more accepting to students of color and marginalized groups on campus seriously. By claiming to not have enough time to meet with these groups of students, the University is continuing a cycle of aggression and institutionalized oppression towards Black, Indigenous and People of Color.
Life & Style Protecting yourself from fake news
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Thursday, October 15, 2020
By Kisa Sow STAFF WRITER
Fake news. The phrase most notably coined by Donald Trump, and the words we hear too often for our own liking. With the prevalence of social media in our day to day lives, it’s important to recognize the dangers that come with the free flow of information and the extensive reach of social media platforms. When it comes to consuming news, conventional news sources such as newspapers and cable news networks are being outpaced by social media platforms. According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2018, 43% of American adults consume news from Facebook, 21% use YouTube, and 12% look to Twitter for their news.
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Although news has become much more widespread and easier to access, social media and the promotion of the free range of information has also opened a dangerous gate for spreading information that is untrue and often harmful. With the election just three weeks away, we must start using the internet in a more responsible and effective way and hold ourselves accountable to the information that we come across. It might be easier said than done, but don’t believe everything that you read. There has been a flood of misinformation pertaining to this upcoming election and it is vital for voters to be critical when processing any kind of news. The best way to protect yourself from fake information is to be educated. Regardless
of your political affiliation, every American who uses social media is at risk of coming across some sort of information that is false. There are a variety of resources to help fact check and gain clarity on issues made available by a simple Google search, some of which include Pen America and FactCheck.org, which are both non-profit organizations who offer guidance to help spot fake information. PolitiFact is also a project which provides practical tools for checking the accuracy of information. It is unfortunate that our leaders are not ones who can be trusted to provide us with accurate information, so as voters, it is our responsibility and in our best interest to take matters into our own hands and seek the truth.
ZOE BENDOFF /THE DAILY CARDINAL
There are simple ways for you to protect yourself from circulating fake news.
Find your side of Tik Tok By Molly Schiff STAFF WRITER
JEFF MILLER/THE DAILY CARDINAL
Make sure to check out this business started by a student in La Crosse, Wisconsin!
College dream became reality By Samantha Benish STAFF WRITER
The world around us has been filled with a consistent uncertainty for months. While businesses across the United States have been struggling to survive, a Wisconsinbased sportswear company is flourishing. Shane Skaar, founder and owner of Streignth, is a current junior at the University of WisconsinLa Crosse. His business offers sportswear clothing, personal training and an overall core mission of inspiring individuals to become the very best version of themselves. After a life-altering chest surgery when he was younger, Skaar developed a determined attitude toward achieving the most that life could offer. After recovering from his procedure, he began lifting, slowly beginning to love the ambiance of fitness. His first semester of college led to his collective understanding of business, and it was here
that Skaar realized something: Why not combine his love of fitness and entrepreneurship into something positive? In January of 2019, Streignth was born. Over the past two years, Skaar’s company has sold to all 50 states, been featured in over 20 media outlets such as Yahoo! Finance, and has amassed a total of around 8,000 followers across their social media platforms. Recently, Streignth has collaborated with UW-La Crosse and La Crosse’s health department to provide over 6,000 masks to the community in efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. His brand features over 100 athletes and ambassadors who represent Streignth over the country with half a dozen located here at UW-Madison. Nikki Madden and Jayden Robinson are two ambassadors of the Lion Order. “The fact that Streignth started as a small business here
in Wisconsin is true to its virtues of drive and motivation,” Madden commented. “In the few months that I have been apart of the program, I have been able to watch Streignth’s growth and positive influence thrive.” Robinson has seen the same effect in his life. “Being a part of this team makes you feel like you are always working toward something. It makes me want to grind for a better version of myself, and it overall has impacted the way I live my life,” he said. In addition to providing exceptional clothing to his customers, Skaar aims to motivate others to push their boundaries in all aspects of their lives. Through hard work and determination, Streignth is quickly becoming the next big face of athletic wear. Follow Streignth (@streignth) on all social media platforms, and check out the gear for yourself at www. streignth.com.
Tik Tok may have taken the world by storm over a year ago; however, those at the forefront of the original burst of popularity no longer dominate the app. With quarantine came the development of many niches within the sixty-second video-sharing app; some examples being food Tik Tok, fitness Tik Tok, fashion Tik Tok, sport Tik Tok and even Harry Potter Tik Tok! The possibilities and accounts to look for under each of these categories are endless, so let’s dive right in. One of my personal favorites to look at throughout my time at home was, of course, food Tik Tok — specifically, healthy food. It was interesting and motivating to see so many people adopting healthy lifestyles and it was nice of them to share
their tips and tricks with the rest of us! When going to healthy food Tik Tok, you absolutely have to check out the account lizmooody. She posts quick and easy recipes with clean ingredients that any college student could follow. I definitely recommend scrolling through a few of her videos next time you find yourself needing a prolonged distraction from schoolwork. Going hand in hand with my interest in food Tik Tok, comes the fitness accounts that I’ve seen grow immensely over the last few months. Again, like the health food accounts, these fitness gurus provide quick and easy workouts that anyone could do from the comfort of their dorm room at college! Honestly, this app has made maintaining a lifestyle full of wellness while away from home much
more accessible. My favorite people to look at for workouts are lexxhidalgo and bellahoriszny. Both accounts provide workout insight that has definitely impacted my daily routine while in Wisconsin. I’ve also come to enjoy Harry Potter Tik Tok, which absolutely consumed the app within the last month or two. Growing up, I was a huge nerd for Harry Potter, so watching these videos almost brought back a piece of my childhood. It was also quite nice to see so many people coming from all different Tik Tok niche’s enjoy the same category of video, almost as if “Harry Potter” brought a good chunk of the Tik Tok community together. Next time you are on Tik Tok, make sure to check out these unique sectors. Who knows, maybe you’ll find the right side of Tik Tok for you!
PHOTO COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS - WIKIMEDIA COMMONS /THE DAILY CARDINAL
Tik Tok offers so many suggestions to its users on recipes, workouts, pop culture, etc.