Monday, November 20, 2017 - The Daily Cardinal

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Monday, November 20, 2017

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Sitting down with the Manitowoc Minute

Wisconsin remains undefeated against +SPORTS Michigan page 8

UW’s ‘Patronage System’

Over last two governor administrations, UW System regents defined by political influence and isolation from students

By Max Bayer SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Former regent Nino Amato was never one to mince words.

During his two-year tenure on the Board of Regents — the UW System’s governing body — Amato made a name for himself as someone undaunted by calling out his peers. He cemented this reputation in his final address as a regent in August 2004.

“The University of Wisconsin has sadly become a ‘gated community,” he said. “And an unacceptable number of young people and their families in our state are on the outside looking in.”

In the state’s 2003-’04 budget, under Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, the UW System raised tuition by 18 percent to make up for budget cuts. Since then, state funding for the school system has seen a steady decline and tuition has increased further to replace the loss of revenue.

For Amato, the story of tuition increases underscores a larger problem created by the UW System and maintained by the Board of Regents, which governs the system as a whole: the students are no longer the priority.

“I have seen … both under the Doyle administration as well as the

Walker administration that regents, by and large — not all, but by and large, have forgotten that we’re here for the students,” Amato said.

Stephanie Marquis, UW System spokesperson, referenced a state statute which she says “clearly states that regents are to serve the UW System and its students.”

Don Moynihan, director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs, said that over his last 12 years at the university, he has seen a “deterioration in relationship” between the regents and faculty along with students.

“I think the shift in tone on the part of the regents has been one where they seem to be more concerned with representing the views of the Legislature,” Moynihan said.

He added that campuses are being used like a “petri dish” for the testing of political ideologies from the state government.

Nick Hillman, associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, said, “some of the issues that they’ve focused on makes it unclear what the educational purpose is behind their agendas.”

According to Amato, the board has become a patronage system.

Using donation data accumu-

lated by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, The Daily Cardinal found that between 2003-’16, UW regents and their family members contributed almost $700,000 to political candidates running for state office.

Data wasn’t available for former regents Jessica Schwalenberg, Tommie Jones, Milton McPike, Kevin Opgenorth, Beth Richlen, Christopher Semenas, Thomas Shields, Aaron Wingad, Eve Hall, Janice Mueller, Drew Peterson or UW-Eau Claire student regent Ryan Ring.

Between 2003-’11, during Doyle’s term, political donations totaled more than $462,000. Of that, $222,000 was contributed to Democrats, $164,000 to Republicans and nearly $50,000 to candidates without party affiliation.

More than half of the Democratic total went to to Doyle specifically.

From 2011-’16, political contributions followed a similar trend, except the sum totals were significantly more partisan. Over that period, regents gave $214,000 in political contributions, $212,000 of which went to Republicans — one hundred times more than what went to Democrats. Gov. Scott Walker, like his predecessor, received more than

regents page 3

GRAPHIC BY GENEVIEVE VAHL

Regents have given almost $700,000 in political donations over the last two governor administrations.

College Republicans, Democrats clash over Facebook video poking fun at UWL student

By Kayla Huynh STAFF WRITER

A Facebook video mocking a UW-La Crosse student has created conflict between UW-Madison’s College Republicans and College Democrats.

After UW-La Crosse student Sarah Semrad resigned from her position as Vice Chair of the statewide College Democrats of Wisconsin organization when Twitter posts of

her saying that she “hates white men” gained state and national attention, UW-Madison’s College Republicans poked fun at the student in their weekly news round-up.

The news vlog showed College Republicans’ Communications Director Emelia Rohl and Deputy Communications Director Alesha Guenther laughing at the student’s situation and Twitter posts, saying that certain tweets would negatively

impact “her boyfriend prospects” and “maybe her job prospects too.”

Just two hours after the video was posted, UW-Madison’s College Democrats spoke out.

In a press release posted on Facebook, the College Democrats said they were shocked and saddened that “the College Republicans of UW-Madison would use their

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MAX HOMSTAD/THE DAILY CARDINAL

The UW-Madison community is alerted about crimes in the area via messages from the UW-Madison Police Department.

WiscAlert: How does UW police, campus respond after safety alert text messages?

By Sonya Chechik STAFF WRITER

On Nov. 1, Jack Sirek’s lecture in Birge Hall was just ending when he received a text warning him of an unconfirmed situation: a report of a man with a gun in the Law Library, a building next-door to him.

His peers’ phones buzzed, whispers were exchanged. They stayed late in the classroom, following the text’s instructions to avoid the area, but after a few minutes many students decided to leave, including Sirek.

Walking out of Birge, he saw cops with rifles hiding around the building.

“Then I don’t really know what happened but somebody started yelling ‘get out’ so everybody started running,” Sirek said. “I didn’t really know what for but I started running too.”

The first “WiscAlert” arrived at 11:45 a.m. The next message at 12:10 p.m., after the area had already been evacuated, gave the all-clear.

No further information was released via text message during or after the null incident.

By the UW-Madison Police Department’s definition, WiscAlerts — UW-Madison’s emergency notification system — aim to warn people of potentially dangerous situations promptly so the community can take action to stay safe without creating unnecessary panic.

WiscAlerts are sent to every “wisc.edu” email address and any registered phone numbers, according to UWPD’s website.

A WiscAlert is different from a Crime Warning. WiscAlerts are sent out while a situation is still unfolding and warns of an active threat to campus. A Crime Warning is sent to campus after a crime has occurred, but could potentially still pose a serious threat to campus.

Most crimes do not lead to a WiscAlert — the unconfirmed gunman was only the second within the last year.

A campus-wide reaction to WiscAlerts As soon as enough information is available to confirm a situation, the UWPD Manager on call has the authority to issue a WiscAlert, according to UWPD Director of Communications Marc Lovicott.

UWPD confirms the case by communicating with nearby officers and assessing the source of the claim after receiving a report of a potentially threatening situation.

The MOC then considers the location, the nature of the crime, the target of the threat and if the danger is still relevant. Additionally, they analyze the number of calls as well as the align-

WiscAlerts page 3

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

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Monday November 20, 2017

An independent student newspaper, serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison community since 1892 Volume 127, Issue 24

2142 Vilas Communication Hall 821 University Avenue Madison, Wis., 53706-1497 (608) 262-8000 • fax (608) 262-8100

dailycardinal.com

UW scientists evaluate risks of genetic editing

News and Editorial edit@dailycardinal.com

Editor-in-Chief Madeline Heim

Managing Editor Andrew Bahl

News Team News Manager Nina Bertelsen Campus Editor Lawrence Andrea College Editor Maggie Chandler City Editor Gina Heeb State Editor Lilly Price Associate News Editor Noah Habenstreit Features Editor Sammy Gibbons Opinion Editors Madison Shultz • Samantha Wilcox Editorial Board Chair Jack Kelly Arts Editors Ben Golden • Samantha Marz Sports Editors Ethan Levy • Ben Pickman Gameday Editors Ben Blanchard • Bremen Keasey Almanac Editors Ayomide Awosika • Patrick Hoeppner Photo Editors Cameron Lane-Flehinger • Brandon Moe Graphics Editors Amira Barre • Laura Mahoney Multimedia Editor Jessica Rieselbach Science Editor Maggie Liu Life & Style Editor Cassie Hurwitz Copy Chiefs Sam Nesovanovic • Haley Sirota Justine Spore • Sydney Widell Copy Editors Dana Brandt • Erin Jordan Kelly Ward Social Media Manager Jenna Mytton Special Pages Amileah Sutliff • Yi Wu

Dear Ms. Scientist, Why is some hair curly and some hair straight?

Sharon M.

COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS

Scientists like Dominique Brossard of UW-Madison met together to discuss the military and security implications of recent advances in gene editing technologies, as well as how to work with the public over these concerns.

By Jordan Gaal

Business and Advertising business@dailycardinal.com Business Manager Matt Wranovsky Advertising Managers Mckenzie Halling • Caleb Bussler Marketing Director Ryan Jackson

The Daily Cardinal is a nonprofit organization run by its staff members and elected editors. It receives no funds from the university. Operating revenue is generated from advertising and subscription sales.

The Daily Cardinal is published weekdays and distributed at the University of WisconsinMadison and its surrounding community with a circulation of 10,000.

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All copy, photographs and graphics appearing in The Daily Cardinal are the sole property of the Cardinal and may not be reproduced without written permission of the editor in chief.

The Daily Cardinal accepts advertising representing a wide range of views. This acceptance does not imply agreement with the views expressed. The Cardinal reserves the right to reject advertisements judged offensive based on imagery, wording or both.

Complaints: News and editorial complaints should be presented to the editor in chief.

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Letters Policy: Letters must be word processed and must include contact information. No anonymous letters will be printed. All letters to the editor will be printed at the discretion of The Daily Cardinal. Letters may be sent to opinion@ dailycardinal.com.

Editorial Board Madeline Heim • Andrew Bahl Dylan Anderson • Jack Kelly Ben Pickman • Madison Schultz Amileah Sutliff • Samantha Wilcox

Board of Directors Herman Baumann, President Phil Brinkman • Madeline Heim Andrew Bahl • Matt Wranovsky Phil Hands • Don Miner Nancy Sandy • Jennifer Sereno Ryan Jackson • Caleb Bussler Scott Girard • Alex Kusters

THE DAILY CARDINAL

Technology is advancing exponentially and the exciting field of genome editing is no exception. Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Morgridge Institute for Research are playing an essential role in ensuring the continued responsible development of this genome editing technology. They are exploring the intersection of genome editing technology and national security.

These scientists attended a three-day conference in Hanover, Germany on Oct. 11-13 with other bioethics and government experts to examine security questions relating to genome editing technology.

Genome editing is a type of genetic engineering that involves inserting, deleting or replacing DNA in a living organism using “molecular scissors”. DNA is the information code that makes up who we are and what we look like.

This rapidly developing technique of genome editing is more precise and efficient than ever.

Using technologies like CRISPRCas9, gene editing could have huge implications for agriculture, medicine and the military.

CRISPR-Cas9 is a novel “molecular scissors” tool that was discovered only a few years ago. It has unprecedented precision in its ability to cut genes and has been hailed as a revolution-

ary discovery and advance for the field of gene editing.

Dominique Brossard, chair of the Department of Life Sciences Communication at UW-Madison, explains that super-soldiers are a concern to many critics of gene editing. There is the possibility that national security could be put in jeopardy if militaries choose to genetically engineer superhumans. This may sound like science fiction or something out of a superhero comic book, but with the advent of gene editing, bioterrorism is a realistic threat.

When assessing the risks and concerns involved with geneediting, it’s important to consider all the stakeholders and the gap between scientists and the general public.

Brossard says when it comes to deciding what the risk of new technology is, “you may answer [a question] really well, but it’s the wrong question.” Scientists often examine the probability of a risk that a technology presents.

The public is more concerned about every potential implication, however small the probability of the implication happening might be.

When it comes to stakeholders that need to be involved in conversations about gene editing technology, Brossard says, “[Stakeholders] would be any group who is concerned about the safety,” or “anyone that can potentially be impacted [by gene editing technology].”

For scientists, this is a daunting task. The list of stakeholders for gene editing technology is long because the implications of gene editing are so broad and far-reaching. Pilar Ossorio, Morgridge bioethicist-in-residence and UW-Madison professor of law, discussed other potential bioterrorism implications of gene editing in a news release.

“There are safety and environmental concerns about releasing an organism that has a gene drive into the wild,” Ossorio said.

“But security experts also worry about a gene drive that could be used to gradually poison a food supply, or enable a mosquito to transmit more rather than less virus.”

It is important for scientists to involve the stakeholders now as these gene editing technologies develop and become more advanced and relevant.

Preparing the public for a technology as significant and extensive as gene editing will take time and effort.

It will require scientists and communicators to engage the public. As Brossard said in her keynote speech at the conference, public engagement exercises have to go beyond just informing and consulting the public audience. Instead, the exercises should emphasize cocreating the knowledge that society needs for the emerging genome editing technologies.

For the record Corrections or clarifications?

Call The Daily Cardinal office at 608-262-8000 or send an email to edit@dailycardinal.com.

COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS

Gene editing involves cutting out or inserting sections of DNA in a DNA sequence like the one pictured above.

Humans have a huge variety of hair types. Like all of our other physical and internal characteristics, hair structure is also mostly determined by our DNA, the blueprint for everything that makes up our body. Keratin, a protein that makes up our hair and our nails, differs in structure in curly and straight hair follicles. In straight hair, the keratin is symmetrical in structure, while in curly hair the protein is unevenly distributed.

Asymmetrical hair creates an oval shape and curls more as the hair grows, while symmetrical hair grows round and straight. Cellular receptors on the outer side of a hair follicle are also known to determine hair growth. Certain cancer drugs have caused straight hair to turn curly because they inhibit certain cellular receptors controlling hair follicles.

Dear Ms. Scientist, How are cats always able to land on their feet?

Colin O. Cats are able to land on their feet because of their “cat righting reflex.” Their ability for this reflex stems from their incredibly flexible spines and lack of functional collarbones.

There are four steps that cats do to land on their feet. First, they figure out which way is up either visually or by using their inner ear. Second, they bend their backs at a large angle.

Then, they tuck in their front legs and extend their back legs so they can rotate their front half to be upright. Finally, they extend their front legs and tuck their back legs so their back half of their body rotates to align with their upright front half. This quick succession of events is what allows a cat to twist and rotate their bodies so they land upright.

However, that doesn’t mean they’re prevented from getting injured! While a cat has several physical features to reduce the intensity of the impact, they can still break bones or even die when falling from high enough heights. There is some research showing that they start to suffer significant damage when falling from heights of five to seven stories.

Ask Ms. Scientist is written by Jordan Gaal and Maggie Liu. Burning science question? science@dailycardinal.com

news dailycardinal.com

Monday, November 20, 2017

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MPD arrests man who fired multiple rounds downtown

By Katie Kalvelage STAFF WRITER

Madison police arrested a man this week who allegedly fired multiple rounds of bullets into the air with a handgun in October.

The man, who police now say is Marquis R. Lampley, began firing near the intersection of John Nolen Drive and Williamson Street on Oct. 8, according to a Madison Police Department incident report. The shots caused multiple bystanders to take cover.

The suspect was driving a black Chevy Cruze before

from WiscAlerts page 1 ment of stories in these calls.

In rapidly shifting threats — such as an active shooter — UWPD immediately dispatches investigators to the scene and checks the campus security cameras.

Bill Curtis, UWPD’s emergency management director, said even with the presence of a time constraint “we take every precaution that is feasible to ensure that we are sending messages that are valid when it comes to the safe-

“If there is a threat to the campus community, we’re going to inform the campus community.”

Bill Curtis emergency management director UWPD

ty and security of the campus.”

Steven Barcus, director of communications for UW-Madison’s International Division, remembers seeing the Nov. 1 WiscAlert email, locking his door, turning off the lights, and then “just watching for more information as it came forward.”

UWPD policy does not mandate updates on specific time intervals throughout an emergency situation. It is the decision of the MOC or the incident commander on the scene to decide when to send an update.

Additionally, the Clery Act requires all universities to impose certain security and safety policies as well as to disclose certain crime statistics. A WiscAlert must be sent if the event falls within the list of Clery Crimes and is occurring within Clery Geography.

The Clery Geography includes on-campus property, public property within campus or immediately next to it and non-campus property that is used in direct support of university programs.

Whether or not a WiscAlert is sent for an incident in which pieces of Clery requirements are not met are “very instant specific,” Curtis said.

Even if a situation meets all Clery guidelines, UWPD may decide to not send a WiscAlert. This

stopping in traffic, getting out of his car, firing several rounds into the air and driving away, witnesses told police.

Additionally, a woman who was riding with the gunman got out of the car immediately before the incident took place.

Police did not say whether the woman has been identified.

Lampley, a 20-year-old with “connections to both Madison and Milwaukee,” was taken into custody in relation to the case Thursday. He was tentatively charged with second-degree recklessly endangering safety. typically takes place when UWPD has been informed of a crime and there is not a clear threat, but an active investigation is underway.

UWPD will always send an alert in situations that pose an immediate threat, such as an active shooter.

“If there is a threat to the campus community, we’re going to inform the campus community,” Curtis said.

Students, faculty handle situations separate from UWPD UWPD’s general recommendations to stay safe in an active shooter scenario are simple: run, hide and fight.

During the most recent WiscAlert, Sirek described the situation at Birge as confusing.

“I think it was a teacher [who told students to run], that’s what I heard somebody say, but I’m not positive who it was, I didn’t see,” he said.

To prepare for incidents such as an active shooter, UWPD occasionally conducts presentations to instruct students, staff and faculty on survival tactics.

According to Steven Barcus, director of communications for UW-Madison’s International Divisions, faculty and staff receive campus safety training during orientation and are directed to online resources that provide further direction in how to respond to various scenarios.

“I just remember being pointed towards the resources in one form or another and then looking at those,” Barcus said, noting he did not recall the exact format of his training.

Sirek said his professor did not receive the WiscAlert on Nov. 1.

When a student informed him of the warning, the professor told students to stay in the room until another update was sent. As students began to leave despite the instruction, he warned them to be careful but took no further action.

“He said that we should chill out for a minute before we really know what’s going on, but people kind of just left anyways,” Sirek said.

Individuals on campus can stay informed about crimes by reading the UWPD daily crime log, which includes all crimes reported within UWPD’s jurisdiction.

“When [students] receive a WiscAlert, we ask that they take it seriously,” Curtis said.

“We send them when we want them to listen, when there is a critical incident or something that requires their attention.”

GRAPHIC BY MAX BAYER DATA FROM WISCONSIN DEMOCRACY CAMPAIGN

from regents page 1 half of the total dollars given to candidates in his party.

It’s not entirely unusual that board members’ contributions would politically align. The governor nominates regents to seven-year tenures which are confirmed by the state Senate. No law prohibits regents from making political contributions.

But for Amato, the partisanship is troublesome.

“Because of the partisanship and the whole money in politics and the fiscal crisis that the university is in, instead of making your case and expressing your vision, you’re ‘kowtowing’ to whoever is governor,” he said.

Over the last two administrations, if UW regents have been fighting for more funding for the UW System, they’ve been largely ineffective.

In Doyle’s first year as governor, the UW System’s amount of state funding, adjusted for inflation, fell from $1.42 billion to $1.29 billion.

In Walker’s first year, the system’s budget fell from $1.28 billion to $1.06 billion.

In the most recent budget, the UW System received a boost of more than $100 million in state

funding with an additional $31.5 million tied into performance metrics.

Clif Conrad, who has been a professor of higher education at UW-Madison for 30 years, says that as of late, the regents’ focus has been directed too narrowly at the university’s ability to create immediate jobs, a characteristic that doesn’t speak to the true scope of the UW System’s impact.

“Historically, UW Colleges and Universities have done an exceptional job at envisioning our public universities as contributing to the public good,” Conrad said. “I would invite the regents to sit back and rethink going beyond the business model and beginning the discourse to think about what is a public university in the 21st century.”

Most recently, the regents voted to merge the system’s two-year UW College and UW-Extension schools with its four-year campuses. Faculty and administrators across the state said they felt left behind and ignored as the regents decided to move forward on the decision with little consultation.

Conrad said faculty often react harshly to systematic changes, although he noted that the regents moved swiftly on their decision.

“I think that it would be important that the regents …

take a step back and be transparent about how the decision was made so quickly to restructure our system,” he said. “I think it’s very important they be inclusive, that we need to draw on diverse voices and it’s not clear that that happened here.”

As universities look toward the future, the regents’ priorities remain unclear.

For Moynihan, regents should be stewards for a school system that has served the state for years.

“You have essentially an institution that generations of Wisconsin taxpayers have invested in and it’s — in my view — in the best interest of those taxpayers to keep that institution strong and healthy,” he said.

Hillman added that maintaining higher education is a shared responsibility between the taxpayers, students and faculty.

“I think it’s possible to have regents who are both concerned about public stewardship of resources and in that process, are doing right by students,” he said.

Amato believes this approach is going to take significant restructuring. In his final speech as a regent in 2004, he said just that.

“This attitude is not helping our cause for affordable education in Wisconsin,” Amato said. “And this mentality needs to stop.”

LEAH VOSKUIL/THE DAILY CARDINAL

UW-Madison’s College Republicans posted a video on Facebook mocking a UW-La Crosse student who resigned as vice chair of College Democrats of Wisconsin after her controversial tweets became popular. from video page 1 official platform to openly cyberbully an individual student.”

Brianna Koerth, the College Democrats chair, said in the post that they were disappointed the College Republicans used their news vlog to “publicly deride and make jokes at the expense of another student.”

Koerth said that maintaining respect between the two student organizations is of the

“utmost importance,” despite having different opinions on policy issues. She called on the group to retract their statement.

“The vicious comments made by College Republicans are what further the partisan divide, and we wholeheartedly denounce their actions,” Koerth wrote. “The College Republicans must apologize and retract these statements.”

Other UW-Madison community members shared similar sentiments. Many expressed

their disappointment in the College Republicans through both Facebook comments on the news video and reviews on the organization’s page.

Eliana Locke, a College Democrats of UW-Madison spokesperson, said there has not been any further communication between the College Democrats and the College Republicans on the issue.

The College Republicans of UW-Madison did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

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Charlie Berens, of ‘Manitowoc Minute’ fame, kept ‘er movin with Cardinal

By Maggie Chandler and Nina Bertelsen THE DAILY CARDINAL

With a Wisconsin accent and growing beard for No-ShaveNovember, Charlie Berens walked up to the fifth floor of Vilas Hall after sleeping on a plane. The J-School alum and former Daily Cardinal arts writer was in town for the Michigan game and spent the afternoon chatting with current Badgers. In his time away from Madison, Berens moved around a lot, taking risks and networking as a TV-broadcaster in Dallas before transitioning into satire and comedy.

Now the host of the “Manitowoc Minute,” Berens has gained popularity for mimicking a thick, Wisconsin accent while recapping news stories, telling his viewers to “keep ‘er movin.’” We sat down with him to discuss his show and his career path.

Why did you stay in Wisconsin? Why did you come to Madison? Why did you stay in Wisconsin and then leave afterwards?

I love Madison. I love the history of Madison. During the Vietnam era, you sort of romanticize that, at least when I was kind of — You know, I said I was into a lot of the music of the ‘60s and stuff, so I would always see Madison in the Vietnam protest, and I think a certain part of the reason I wanted to come here was the history of it. It’s a cool place, but I was here, and I left because I wanted to, I think, just create content and challenge myself and find people to help me create the content, and I never really planned on leaving, but I just went where the opportunities were. And so, that took me to Los Angeles, and then to other parts of

the country as well.

I watched an interview, I think you did with the Journal Sentinel, and I think you said that part of the sketch came from people making fun of your Wisconsin accent or pointing out words that you said wrong. Were there any specific words that they thought you said different?

‘Opinion.’ You know. Put the ‘o’ in front of it. Emphasize the ‘o.’

Obviously ‘bubbler’ is one. They’re like, ‘A bubbler? Are you trying to smoke weed?’ Or there’s another term for a bubbler which is ‘in an aquarium.’ People are like, ‘No, you drink out of a water fountain.’ The Belasio, that’s a water fountain. So I would say a lot of words, but also just general accent. I would put a ‘bag’ — I emphasized that word wrong.

Basically anything that rhymes with ‘bag.’ So yeah. If you’re going to be in the news business long enough, you have to neutralize your accent or it’s going to be a short, short time in the news biz. So, it wasn’t really my choice per say to get rid of my thicker Wisconsin accent.

What exactly is your process for coming up with these videos?

Do you find the news first and then you come up with the joke, or do you kind of think about a structure of it, and you just find the news that fits?

I’m really big on listening. I spend probably a lot of time just listening to feedback from people who are watching it. They send me messages, or they’ll comment or whatever, and that’s not time wasted; it’s time well spent, because you really get the feedback from your audience and you figure out where people are at with things. That’s the guide. This is

a show about the Wisconsin or the Midwest sensibility and it’s just trying to figure out where — because I know where I’m at, but I’m just one voice, and I’m trying to figure out where the whole area is at, or the whole state is at.

And you can never win doing that, but it’s good to get that constant feedback and to keep checking your intuition against it, and it’s a constant sort of re-directing. Like Siri.

‘Redirecting. You missed that turn.’

But back to your question, people will send me news stories or I will. I cruise news all the time, and so I’ll see something that piques my interest for one reason or another, and you attempt to just capture the thoughts and the feelings of the state and the country that week, and sometimes you’re more successful than others, but it’s a mix of local news, national news, and I like to find stories that highlight the absurd.

So not necessarily political, but things that we can all agree on. Bridge issues. Like, maybe we can’t agree on Republican or Democrat, but we can all agree that Charlottesville should not have happened. So finding issues like that, and just finding fun issues.

You know? They don’t all have to have a deep philosophical message behind them because if that’s all this was, people wouldn’t watch it. You can’t forget what makes people have fun and enjoy it. So that’s got to be center as well. So there are a lot of considerations that go into it.

You said that comedy writing is very similar to news writing.

Can you explain that a little more?

Basically the premise of all comedy writing and news writing is to reach the masses. With comedy, you’re trying to get jokes that

ANDREW BAHL/THE DAILY CARDINAL

UW-Madison alumnus Charlie Berens discussed his popular show. are going to get the room laughing, and that’s because they are basically understanding what you’re saying and you guys are on the same page.

In the same way, nobody is writing a news article to go over somebody’s head. You’re doing it because you either need to get the facts out, or if you’ve put enough time in to make an investigative piece, you want that to penetrate and hit the most people possible, especially these days when it’s all about Twitter and it’s all about short-form content. You need to make something quick and punchy and ‘Why do I care?’ ‘So what?’ needs to be at the end of it right away.

Now that ‘so what’ can be in the form of information, where

Journalism I think and comedy will put that ‘so what’ in terms of a punch line, but it’s a reason you’re getting it out there. So they’re very similar, and structurally speaking, you’re focusing on a generally younger reader.

You’re just trying to convey your point, and when you’re standing up on stage, if you’re taking people and they lose you, then you lose the room and it’s hard to get it back. So that’s why you don’t have many second chances I guess. If you lose the reader in the first paragraph, they forget about it. Then all the information is lost. You want to make every word count.

‘Lady Bird’ captures uncompromising reality of adolescence

By Christian Memmo FILM COLUMNIST

In preparing for Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut in “Lady Bird,” there was a sense of apprehension about the experience I presumed would happen. As industry costs increase and fall to the consumer, it becomes a greater gamble of financial precarity when $15 is the entry fee for the chance of an entertaining film and an enjoyable evening. Naturally, trailers yield the byway method of circumventing our concerns about this very problem, yet often find themselves under heavy critique for their own representation of the film they aim to market. With “Lady Bird,” I found an unfortunate parallel to this issue. However, it seemed to work astoundingly, and in a manner I hadn’t truly expected.

Looking at the trailer, the film may come across as a tonal reincarnation of mid-2000s coming-ofage comedies, maybe somewhere between the raunchy candidness of “Superbad” and the wholesome fun of “Napoleon Dynamite.” Characters are given a particular quirk which seem to define their portrayal in the world — an approach to characterization I’m particularly dismissive of. As for Gerwig’s characters, the shy, comedic relief of the best friend is matched with the persistence and cynicism of “Grand Budapest Hotel”

actress Saoirse Ronan’s titular character, only to be challenged by personalities of callousness and passivity in the reality she finds herself in.

“Lady Bird” involves Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson, a high school senior on the hunt for a college deemed sufficiently prideful in her eyes. Despite the ongoing criticism she endures for nicknaming herself, the tale is one of self-contentment in the annals of life’s hostile familiarities. Lady Bird strives for approval in nearly every facet of the daily challenges she faces, whether that involves the superficiality of school-grounded friendship, or the greater, more deeplyseated contention that sits at the core of her increasingly-estranged relationship with her mother.

Truthfully, the film took me by pleasant surprise. Where I anticipated a reskin of something closer to “Youth In Revolt”’s yearning to be idiosyncratic for the very sake of it, there are rich and nuanced layers just beneath the characterization in “Lady Bird.” Appreciably, the tone of the film is not set by the trite concerns of the high school student craving a corner of the world to place themselves. Rather, it tackles the issues of affluence and impoverishment, imagery of one’s self and the acceptance of their stature, depression, mental well-being and

an upright sense of relativistic stability and empowerment from within, unaffected by the woes of finance and lifestyle. Gerwig establishes a textured world of depth and interaction between her characters, inciting revisits to common, existential crises without a need for concealing the importance of their impact on the human psyche. Dialogue holds no reluctance in getting into the meat of what makes humans frightened, anxious or straightforwardly sad.

It’s a painful, cathartic experience to translate “Lady Bird”’s agitation towards the world reflectively into one’s self; simultaneously, though, it’s incredibly important. The narrative structure frequently bounces between high peaks of adolescent bliss, liberation and rebellion from adults within a rigorously systematic culture, to the low troughs of coming to terms with the reality of one’s existence in that happiness is not inherently accredited to all.

Visually, the film is unbelievably gorgeous. Colors pop in a muted vibrancy, patiently pacing their involvement in the world.

Lights dance and sparkle across the Sacramento landscape, juxtaposing serene nights of greens and blues with the warmth and energy of a hot summer day. Crisp cinematography matches these colorful techniques, giving meticulous insight into “Lady

IMAGE COURTESY OF DEADLINE

Saoirse Ronan stars as the titular character in Greta Gerwig’s film.

Bird”’s lower-class life — unlike that of her peers. The occasional visual gag is played coolly, shifting into the story with comfortable delight and evoking laughter where necessary.

There’s not much more to say here, as the form jells into the world so cleanly that I had practically ignored it — not out of its poor visual execution, but because of a masterful ability to quietly slip behind the narrative layer and boost its existence rather than pull attention away from the tale.

“Lady Bird” is a brave film with a fresh story, completely redefining my standards for the coming-ofage genre. The cast is a powerhouse of acting finesse, delivering heartfelt and all-too-common anxieties that bog us down into the cyclical

nature of euphoria and catastrophic distress. Identity is given room to breathe beyond the stereotypical precedents we place upon the characters of this tonally-familiar drama-comedy style, ascending its message into a distinctive, unique and courageous level of honesty.

More than anything, I think I was just pleased to see the dichotomies of internal conflict brought to the film medium in such a brash and entirely unapologetic manner.

At the very least, Gerwig can be thanked for thousands of phone calls to mothers across the world.

Watch a trailer if you must, but know the tearjerker will likely hit closer to home than a two-minute video can advertise.

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Today’s Sudoku

Monday, November 20, 2017 • 5 © Puzzles by Pappocom

First in Twenty

Scribbles n’ Bits

By Angel Lee graphics@dailycardinal.com

By Melanie Shibley graphics@dailycardinal.com

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.

Artistically Impaired

By Alex Pirkey graphics@dailycardinal.com

Today’s Crossword Puzzle Eatin’ Cake

BLISS? By Timothy E. Parker ACROSS 1 Lockable fastener 5 Hue fit for a duck 9 Toyota of old 14 “... happily ___ after” 15 Continental cash 1 6 Judge, at times 17 Big name in building blocks 18 Indeterminate long time 19 Crosswise to a ship’s middle 2 0 Accepts a proposal 23 Telling sign 24 Buddhist discipline 2 5 Scratch, as furniture 28 Persevere 31 Cobbler’s need 3 4 Belittle 3 6 Basker’s quest 37 Skin lotion ingredient 3 8 Unwanted welcome 42 Like Mr. Claus’ cheeks 43 Profit ender?

4 4 Implant snugly 45 Vein glory?

46 Involve deeply 49 Recognizes 5 0 Royal flush card

51 Lifted, as an anchor 53 Things issued before peoples’ “big day” 61 Ferric ___ (rust) 62 Connect 63 Turn over ___ leaf 6 4 Icicle sites 65 Clarinet kin 66 Pepsi, for one 67 Nobody’s fool 68 “Ahem” alternative 69 Cookbook abbr.

DOWN 1 “SOS!” 2 Affirmatively allege 3 Lily variety 4 Trailer, briefly 5 Relative of 4-Down 6 Oregon city 7 “Iliad” deity 8 Type of cause 9 Pollen-bearing organ 10 Like city residents 11 Dock 12 Raise, as young’uns 13 Private organization?

21 Move forward 22 Ultraviolet index factor 25 Computer shortcut 26 Dislike, and then some 27 Aggressive poker bet 29 Metric unit of volume

30 Bunt that moves one along, briefly 31 Accused’s need 32 Courted 33 Advances 35 Using trickery 37 Where to get your balance 39 Aden’s country 40 Sleep cycle acronym 41 Annoy 46 Superlatively slippery 47 Thick-skinned behemoths, briefly 48 Bulb’s place 50 Snake that puts two and two together?

52 Legislate 53 Travails 5 4 Academic challenge 55 Opera star 56 Hardly haute cuisine 57 Ad ___ (improvises) 58 High-hatter 59 Congers 60 Cashless deal

By Dylan Moriarty graphics@dailycardinal.com

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR NONTRADITIONAL STUDENTS If you’re a nontraditional UW-Madison student looking for financial assistance to complete your education, Adult Career and Special Student Services can help. Our scholarship competition for the 2018-19 academic year begins December 1.

For details and application information visit acsss.wisc.edu/scholarships

Adult Career and Special Student Services 608-263-6960 advising@dcs.wisc.edu

opinion 6

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dailycardinal.com

Monday, November 20, 2017

College Republicans avoid real issues to mock fellow student COLLEGE DEMOCRATS letter to the editor

T

PHOTO COURTESY CREATIVE COMMONS

Gun control is not the correct fix for gun violence — societal issues should be taken into account, too.

Background checks not enough for gun control BRETT DANEN opinion columnist

T

wo of the worst mass shootings in American history have occurred within the last two months. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there is an average of one mass shooting per day in America. Over 33,000 people died as a result of gun violence in 2016.

The media would have us believe that there are exactly two possible solutions to this crisis: we either enact a handful of basic gun control measures, or we do not. No one is permitted to ask whether the problem goes any deeper.

I will disclose that I do think certain gun control laws should be implemented, but it’s delusional to think that this would solve any significant part of the problem. Fiftyfour percent of all mass shootings in the United States are related to domestic or family violence.

Twenty-five percent of the fatalities were children. A study conducted by Every Town Research made the following conclusion: “The true picture of mass shootings in the U.S. is different than headlines suggest. While there are prominent attacks on public places — like the Pulse nightclub in Orlando — the majority of these shootings occur in the home, between spouses, partners, and family members.”

Something deeply nihilistic has seeped into the American psyche, and it is related more than anything to our rapidly deteriorating quality of life.

The life expectancy of middleaged white Americans, the most likely demographic to commit mass murder, has been rapidly declining since 1999.

The overwhelming cause has been the explosion of what economists call “deaths of despair,” i.e. suicide, alcoholism, and drug overdose.

The North American Free Trade Agreement and the TransPacific Partnership sent hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs overseas, leaving once vibrant towns to wallow in misery and decay. Pensions that were promised to workers and their children since birth were plundered by corporate bureaucrats and the corrupt unions that do their bidding.

Pharmaceutical companies incentivize doctors to over prescribe opioid painkillers, creating the worst drug epidemic in American history.

All the while, a relentless propaganda operation has worked to convince aging white men to engage in a culture of victimization.

The assault on communities of color has been even worse. The wealth of African-Americans was essentially wiped out by the Great Recession, and it is in no position to recover.

According to the Atlantic, “By 2031, the downturn will have decreased the wealth of the median black household by almost $100,000.” The prison-industrial complex works day and night to funnel blacks and latinos into penitentiaries, most of them for nonviolent crimes. People of color are

harassed, beaten, and shot with impunity by a fascistic and totalitarian police force.

Most of us accept that evil acts we hear about in certain other countries are at least partially the result of chronic social and economic conditions. Why should America be any different? Why is a lack of gun control the only explanation we’re willing to consider?

Is it because we’re afraid to talk about how bad things really are?

Or is it because the people who control our sources of information don’t want us to talk about it?

People who already suffer from a serious mental health condition, or who come from an extremely troubled past, can be pushed over the edge under desperate conditions. By focusing only on gun control, we continue to deny the severity of our situation. The killing will not stop until we take back control.

America must be transformed into a place where the safety, equality and economic wellbeing of every citizen is guaranteed.

The misery so many of us are forced to endure leads inevitably to psychological collapse. Most turn to drugs, alcohol, self-harm, or other forms of hedonism and despair; many others lash out in increasingly violent ways. To save the next innocent life will require far more than calling for cursory background checks.

What can we do to solve America’s problems, specifically gun control? Please send any and all of your questions and comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

his past week’s news headlines highlighted stories such as major sexual assault allegations and the House Republicans passing a dangerous tax plan, yet the College Republicans of UW-Madison chose to dedicate their “CR’s Newsflash” vlog about a tweet.

Not about one of the countless tweets made by President Trump irrationally insulting Kim Jongun, threatening a nuclear war, or spewing blatantly false facts. No, the College Republicans chose to “report” on a tweet made by a former College Democrats of Wisconsin board member, Sarah Semrad, who resigned after taking responsibility and apologizing for said tweet. However, the College Republicans proceeded to inappropriately deride and personally attack Semrad, effectively using their position of influence to cyberbully a fellow student.

This is a prime example illustrating where the CR’s priorities lie, as bullying someone is not reporting news whatsoever. It’s one thing to address her resignation, however the two news anchorwomen shamelessly laughed at her expense stating “Shoot, sounds like her boyfriend prospects might be dwindling” and “maybe her job prospects too.”

Sarah Semrad is a dedicated and intelligent leader and these comments are degrading and completely uncalled for. Talking about someone’s job or boyfriend prospects is simply not news.

This is a classic case of cyberbulling and if the comments weren’t enough, the fake laughter that followed shows how malicious it was intended to be.

The video is childish and a horrible abuse of power.

College Republicans are supposed to be representatives of a national political party and their juvenile actions make a mockery of it.

It is disheartening to hear two presumably intelligent women, members of the CR Executive Board, degrade another woman in politics by labeling her undesirable to men because of her actions.

Their attacks perpetuate the stereotype that a woman’s only goal is to find a boyfriend or

please men in life. Equating her “boyfriend prospects” to her worth is demeaning and a sorry attempt to push yet another woman down.

Despite Democrats and Republicans disagreement on policy issues, it is of utmost importance to maintain a decent level of respect. The political divide is wider than ever and the College Republican’s pathetic attacks are a prime example of why it continues to grow. We are young professionals and must act like it, yet this video was the exact opposite of that. Their actions are completely inexcusable.

The College Republicans inability to discuss more hardhitting issues in their vlog speaks to the larger problem seen nationally when Republicans, especially the president, avoid commenting on troubling news stories or admitting faults in the party and simply to stick to their political agenda. There is a reason why the CR’s Newsflash highlighted Al Franken but neglected to mention pedophiliac Republican candidate Roy Moore.

There is a reason they reported the Keystone pipeline leaked, but only gave their consolidations to “gas lovers” and fail to delve into the environmental repercussions the pipeline — which Republicans fought for — will have. The CR’s seemingly surrendered their integrity to stick to the party narrative. Their silence is deafening.

The Newsflash video is far more problematic than it originally appears. The two anchorwomen fail to report concrete news by omitting relevant stories and facts that do not fit the picture they attempt to paint.

Moreover, they blatantly bully a fellow student for a tweet and parade the video around like it’s news. Red flags were raised as soon as their party began holding a college student more accountable to a tweet than the President of the United States.

Claudia Koechell is the Press Secretary of the College Democrats of UW-Madison.

Did you see the College Republicans’ Newsflash video?

What are your thoughts? Send any comments to our email opinions@dailycardinal.com.

LEAH VOSKUIL/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO

UW’s College Democrats respond to a controversial viral video.

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Monday, November 20, 2017

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Poli Sci majors are now required to win their Thanksgiving dinner arguments in order to graduate

By Ayomide Awosika THE DAILY CARDINAL

Thanksgiving is a welcomed holiday for people all around the United States. It’s a time to reflect on the important things in life: The people who we care deeply about, the privileges and good fortunes that we take for granted, while ignoring the fact that we’re currently living on stolen land.

While most of us look forward to this time of year for a welldeserved break from school and work, before stomping each others’ heads for a Black Friday deal, Poli Sci majors at UW-Madison have begun to dread it the most.

Starting this year, the Political Science department at UW has put new requirements in place to help Poli Sci majors “fully utilize their studies outside of the classroom experience.” This new change is coming as a result of a

renewed effort to help students prepare for the inevitable political arguments they will one day have in their workplaces and at social gatherings. The most prominent of these being a new requirement to participate in and win in Thanksgiving dinner arguments.

The Cardinal reached out to the head of the Political Science department, Paul E. Tiks, for an explanation for the change in curriculum. “Over the past couple years we’ve been reaching out to our alumni to gauge just how effective our program actually is. Sadly, the results we’ve gotten back have not been positive.” He continued, “Many of our previous alumni told us they have been losing political debates to complete strangers, which is extremely concerning.

As a result of this, we felt that beginning political debate lit-

eracy at the most heated discussion table is necessary for high debate fluency. We do understand that this new change may be difficult for some students, because of this most Poli Sci professors are offering extra credit if students actively debate their racist grandfathers.”

Some students have been taking the changes very seriously, Libby Relle, UW-Madison senior, has spent the weekend leading up to Thanksgiving break cramming for the debates in Helen C. White library. “I’ve spent the entire weekend arguing in Facebook comments with uncle Jim about ‘the gays,’ ‘the commies,’ and how cutting taxes for big businesses is gonna help out his meth company.

He’s taken home the wishbone trophy for the past three years,

IMAGE COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS

Poli Sci majors gather at Friendsgiving for a mock Thanksgiving argument. but this time I’m going home

with the gravy.”

Student disciplined for his unusually loud sneeze during conservative speaker’s lecture

By Adam Fearing THE DAILY CARDINAL

Dean of Students notifying him that they would be following through with an investigation into his alleged disruption.

A spokesman for YAP had this to say regarding the incident.

“Look, I was near him when he says he sneezed.

That was no sneeze. His facial expression was completely off, and it was way too loud. I’ve seen dozens, probably hundreds of sneezes in my lifetime and not a single one even slightly resembled what he

did. It was an intentional disruption and I applaud the University for having the courage to prosecute such egregious threats to free speech on campus.”

After a thorough investigation and an extremely contentious hearing, the University decreed that Mullen was indeed purposely disrupting the lecture. They ruled that he must attend a training seminar on respecting different beliefs, in addition to writing an essay on appropriate times to sneeze.

Maintaining that he had absolutely no intention of disrupting discourse, junior Nicholas Mullen found himself reprimanded by the University of WisconsinMadison due to an allegedly voluntary sneeze that he had during the lecture of Dr. Gordon Biederman.

Biederman, a professor at the University of Alberta, was invited to give a talk on “owning liberals” by campus conservative group Young Americans for Prosperity (YAP).

Originally specializing in cartography, Biederman has found recent acclaim in conservative circles for his outspoken views on the silencing of free speech on campus by those unfriendly to conservative views.

Mullen describes himself as a liberal, but says he went to Biederman’s talk to hear views from a different side of the spectrum other than his own.

By his own account, he was seated near the front of the audience and listening quietly and respectfully until he sneezed.

“I don’t know what exactly made my sneeze so powerful, but it was loud enough for some members of YAP to hear it.” Mullen said. “I guess they filed a misconduct report.”

A few days after IMAGE COURTESY OF PATRICK HOEPPNER Biederman’s talk, Mullen The disruptive student was escorted from the hall during the lecture. received an email from the

IMAGE COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS

Air Force One landed with LiAngelo Ball, Trump, and the hair aboard.

LiAngelo Ball steals Trump’s hairpiece on Air Force One

By Patrick Hoeppner THE DAILY CARDINAL

Three UCLA basketball players were arrested in Huangzhou province on suspicion of shoplifting this weekend at a Louis Vuitton store. The players included LiAngelo Ball. James Curry, who has served as the Pentagon’s executive director of foreign policy intervention since his appointment in 2014, gave Cardinal reporters a look at the workings behind the deal. All opinions are of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or values of the Department of Defense.

“It’s really quite common for citizens to be freed by presidents. Think of this practice as an unofficial pardon,” Curry said. “It appears that Mr. Ball doesn’t believe Trump played too large a part in the release of his son.

That’s cute. Now try stealing signs from North Korea.”

Trump, in a rare gesture of individual goodwill, treated LiAngelo Ball to a ride on Air Force One back to the United

States. Upon arrival at Dulles Airfield in Washington, D.C, he stepped from the plane to a flurry of reporters and a briskly cold head.

“Dear me,” he said, “my hair’s gone!”

Trump’s pattern baldness had been known for some time but the extent of the follicular damage was not revealed publicly until LiAngelo snatched the toupee.

Sources say Ball, who is now in the custody of the Secret Service, stole the toupee on a dare from his UCLA teammates, who were relegated to steerage class aboard an Air China flight in reprimand for the athletes’ contemptible behavior.

“From a foreign policy standpoint, LaVar Ball’s behavior is fascinating,” Curry said. “For someone who names his kids LaMelo, LiAngelo, and Lonzo, he’s quite outspoken. For someone whose child has just been freed from indefinite incarceration in a despotic, authoritarian nation-state, he’s awfully ungrateful.”

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Monday, November 20, 2017

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Wisconsin’s young wideouts play crucial role in 24-10 victory over the Wolverines

After eighth consecutive conference victory, the Badgers are now 11-0 for the first time in program history

CAMERON LANE-FLEHINGER/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Behind breakout performances from UW’s young wide receivers (including this A.J. Taylor touchdown), the Badgers are now 11-0 for the first time ever. Wisconsin will have a chance to sweep the regular season next weekend when they travel to Minnesota. It will then play Ohio State in the Big Ten championship the following weekend.

By Jake Nisse THE DAILY CARDINAL

With 4:41 remaining in the third quarter, and the Badgers (8-0 Big Ten, 11-0 overall) staring at yet another three-and-out, sophomore wideout A.J. Taylor made perhaps the biggest play of his young Wisconsin career, wriggling loose of his man for a 51-yard catch.

“It’s fun seeing their growth and you know they can continue to get better.”

Paul Chryst head coach Wisconsin football

It’s not just that Taylor’s catch awoke a previously dormant Wisconsin offense or set up a score just four plays later.

Taylor’s miraculous performance on that drive, where he caught two balls for 75 yards and

a touchdown, assured fans that the Wisconsin receiving corps is far from dead after the season-ending injury to sophomore Quintez Cephus and the sudden absence of senior Jazz Peavy.

“We’ve got a receiver core developing,” Taylor said after Wisconsin’s 24-10 victory. “All of us, we’ve got a lot of work to do, but if we can keep doing this and keep showing that we are a dominant receiver core, than we can be successful.”

The Badgers’ receivers had an especially important role to play versus Michigan (5-3, 8-3) on Saturday, as the Wolverines stacked the box on defense and left their defensive backs one-on-one with receivers.

Outside of Taylor, Wisconsin’s wideouts were up to the task of winning their individual battles, as true freshman Danny Davis III made an important catch in the second half and redshirt freshman Kendric Pryor scored his second rushing touchdown in as many weeks.

Pryor did not have a catch in the game, but licked his lips during the

Number of wide receivers with five or more receptions on the season

week knowing him and his fellow receivers would receive opportunities to exploit the Wolverines.

“My high school coach always told me one-on-one is like oneon-none,” he said. “So that was just kinda my mindset going into this week, just going into this week, always winning our one on ones.”

“My high school coach always told me one-on-one is like one-on-none.”

Kendric Pryor redshirt freshman wide receiver Wisconsin football

The Wolverines’ choice to manmark Wisconsin receivers was likely borne more out of a concern for true freshman running back sensation Jonathan Taylor than a real confidence in their defensive backs.

And A.J. Taylor showed the dan-

gers of covering him with just one man on his explosive 51-yard grab.

“Whenever there’s a one-onone, we gotta take advantage of the opportunity,” Taylor said. “It’s more of just like a — I just get happy when they wanna play us one-onone, because if they don’t respect us then we just gotta earn it. And I love that challenge.”

Though Wisconsin’s current crop of young wideouts may be one of its most promising receiver groups in years, Cephus, Taylor, Davis III and Pryor are virtual unknowns to the college football fan who just recognizes Wisconsin for its running game and defense.

Still, the Badgers have managed to seamlessly replace, and possibly surpass, the production of Robert Wheelwright and Peavy with the play of guys who are all freshmen or sophomores.

“It’s fun seeing their growth and you know they can continue to get better,” head coach Paul Chryst said after the game. “I still feel like this whole team’s that way.”

Percent of passing yardage by wide receivers against Michigan 12

4

10

3 2 1

2016: Three (14 games)

“But I guess, I wanna say it’s kinda time for people to start knowing about us receivers.”

Kendric Pryor redshirt freshman wide receiver Wisconsin football

Certainly, he’s a special player.

But he’s not the only one helping the Badgers win games.

“We know we have a good running back in Jonathan (Taylor),” Pryor said. “But I guess, I wanna say it’s kinda time for people to start knowing about us receivers.”

With more one-on-one catches and highlight plays that will happen — eventually.

Wisconsin is a running school, after all.

Number of touchdowns scored by wide receivers on the season

5

2017: Five (11 games)

After his eighth game this season with over 100 rushing yards, Jonathan Taylor will likely draw the plaudits and praise once again.

2017: Twelve (11 games)

8 6

74.1%

4 2

0

2016: Six (14 games)

0 Cephus (30), A.J. Taylor (18), Danny Davis (13), Pryor (7) and Jazz Peavy (5) all have at least five receptions so far this season.

Wisconsin’s wide receivers accounted for almost three quarters of its passing yardage against Michigan. The season average is 60.1 percent.

Cephus (6), A.J. Taylor (4). Davis (1) and Pryor (1) have combined for 12 touchdowns so far this season.

Only two receivers scored touchdowns all last season.