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SOMETHING IN THE WATER
Thursday, September 17, 2020
BIG TEN RESTART FLOP +SCIENCE, page 5
+SPORTS, page 4
Council urges legislature for PFAS, nitrate By Emma Grenzebach STAFF WRITER
The Groundwater Coordinating Council (GCC) of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources released their annual report on Sept. 1, containing recommendations for the state legislature. The report’s priority recommendations include protecting groundwater from nitrate, addressing public health and environmental concerns regarding PFAS and evaluating groundwater for other pathogens. The GCC’s report paid increased attention to PFAS, which have been detected in municipal and private drinking water sources throughout the state. PFAS are a group of synthetic, potentially harmful chemicals used in household products and industrial processes. According to the GCC’s recommendations, PFAS exposure
“may affect childhood development, decrease female fertility, increase the risk of high blood pressure in pregnant women, increase cholesterol levels, increase the risk of thyroid disease and decrease antibody response to vaccines.” “It’s been in there in the past as part of emerging contaminants…The feeling was PFAS have definitely emerged. They are an issue,” Bruce Reinecke, groundwater section leader for the DNR, told the Wisconsin State Journal. The surfacing of PFAS is not the only concern in this year’s report. The GCC also paid close attention to nitrate, which remains the state’s most common water contaminant. Rep. Katrina Shankland, D-Stevens Point, is pushing the legislature to listen to the GCC’s
recommendations and give them more resources. Shankland was Vice-Chair of the Speaker’s Task Force on Water Quality, which probed water quality issues across Wisconsin from March 2019 to February 2020. After its initial investigation, the task force put forward and passed 10 bills in the Assembly with unanimous support. According to Shankland, these bills varied from “sweeping measures on private wealth, septic systems and nitrate contamination to a bill for PFAS contamination and to invest in clean water at the UW-System in terms of research and workforce development.” While these bills include many of the same goals as the GCC’s annual report, they have not yet been taken up by the Senate. “The State Senate hasn’t acted yet and that’s really frustrating
because the Assembly passed these bills in February,” said Rep. Shankland when asked about the barriers to passing the bills. “Anytime you can get the State Assembly to pass a bill unanimously, that says a lot.” Shankland said another obstacle is the COVID-19 pandemic. Shankland worries that the economic downturn could present funding issues, but she also said the legislature needs to invest in clean water now in order to prevent harm and save taxpayer money in the long run. Besides the health effects of PFAS, nitrate and other pathogens, Wisconsinites’ quality of life is also a concern. More than one third of the water used for commercial and industrial purposes comes from groundwater supplies, according to the DNR. The DNR said pesticides are
also estimated to be present in about 40 percent of private drinking wells in Wisconsin. Regions with high agricultural activity have higher frequencies of detections of pesticides and nitrate. “We need the Senate to do their jobs; they need to convene,” said Rep. Shankland. “Second of all, we need every member of the legislature, not just some of them, to understand that when someone can’t drink water from their tap it’s a public health issue, but it’s also a quality of life issue.” Shankland also said that county-level organizations have signed unanimous or nearly unanimous resolutions calling for the Senate to convene. She also said constituents have been calling their Senators, asking them what they are doing to prompt the legislature to take action.
New ASM chair seeking change in suburban communities By Sophia Vento STAFF WRITER
Robyn George, a first year student and the new Legislative Affairs Chair of ASM at UW-Madison, is hoping to create change in suburban communities through the non-profit organization Suburbs for Equality, where she currently serves as founder and president. Suburbs for Equality, per its website, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which strives to utilize the disproportionate economic and political resources found in suburban communities in order to achieve equality and bridge the opportunity gap between urban and suburban communities. The organization also emphasizes the importance of equality among all communities through local involvement and civic engagement, especially among young adults and elected officials. Created in response to the recent protests concerning racial injustice around the world, Suburbs for Equality and its explicit messaging has a strong personal connection to George and her experience growing up as a person of color in Wisconsin. “I got the idea while organizing my first educational rally/ protest in my hometown,” said George. “I felt very alone and organizing in the suburbs was very different from organizing
in urban areas where a lot of the leaders I knew were from. Things like going to meet with the police chief, reading over state statutes that regard liabilities really scared me and I could’ve really used a support system.” “We realized that, due to the economic and political privilege we, as community members of suburban areas, [have], we have a specific duty to educate our community, as well as assist with uplifting those in other communities.” George moved from Milwaukee to the suburbs around six years ago and found it to be quite a culture shock, to say the least. “My senior year of high school, I was the only black person in five of my six classes, which nearly all happened to be Advanced Placement courses,” said George. “This alone illustrated the intense segregation between Milwaukee and it’s suburbs, as well as the opportunity and achievement gaps between the two environments. I also saw many of my classmates of color falling behind in school and seeming rather unmotivated. I never want a young student of color to feel discouraged academically because of the color of their skin, where they’re from or what they have going on at home.” George has a strong interest in public policy and governance. Last year she served as a Senate Scholar with the Wisconsin State Assembly, where she became well versed with the
importance of directly advocating for legislation and communicating with legislators. “Showing up to elections is always the number one priority, but in my opinion, the path to true equality cannot be made without utilizing those other forms of democracy,” George explained. “Lobby, email your elected officials, hold them accountable and remind them that they work for you. Propose policy that you feel strongly about, and see how many other people in your community see a need for that policy, because it’s likely more than you think.” Suburbs for Equality currently has a campaign advocat-
ing for an Equity and Inclusion Commission in Menomonee Falls, the home of the high school where George graduated from this past spring. Education is also crucial to Suburbs for Equality’s mission. The organization has established a Book Club which strives to “broaden the understanding of [the] members to the BIPOC experience and history,” and has created Community Facilitated Discussions that emphasize the discussion of BIPOC issues in communities. “A mentor of mine...said, ‘Miseducation is when you aren’t given the resources to
COURTESY OF ROBYN GEORGE AND ADAM DUNNE
Robyn George, founder and president of Suburbs for Equality spoke at a BLM rally.
know better, it can be solved. Ignorance is when you are given the resources to know better, but choose not to believe them,’” George said. “Since then, I’ve decided to spend less time on ignorance and do all I can to solve miseducation. That’s why education is always the forefront of our campaigns.” To further her club’s education, George chose September’s Book Club pick to be Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye,” while the monthly discussion is about fair housing in Milwaukee and other urban communities. “The executive board and I always want the main priority of this organization to be progress,” said George. Now, as a student at UW-Madison and the Legislative Affairs Chair of ASM, George hopes to aid in progress beyond the UW community and throughout the Big Ten. “As a native student, one thing I really appreciate here is land recognition,” George said. “I’d like to use our presence in the Association of Big Ten Students Legislative Affairs Council to promote land recognition to other schools in the Big Ten.” Furthermore, George hopes to work with the vote coordinator of ASM to assist in making sure all students’ votes are safe and secure this election; she would also like to form strong bonds between ASM and the local and state governments here in Madison.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be
news
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Thursday, September 10, 2020
Students foster, adopt dogs amid pandemic
An independent student newspaper, serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison community since 1892
By Rosie Marder STAFF WRITER
Volume 130, Issue 4
Missing the companionship of her dog at home, UW-Madison senior Becca Bell decided to bring the comforts of a furry friend to her college apartment. Instead of shipping her dog out to Madison, however, Bell took a different approach — fostering and then adopting through a local non-profit dedicated to providing unwanted, neglected and abused dogs with new owners. After a quick and easy application process, Bell fostered Delilah, an Australian Shepherd. Within two weeks, the two became inseparable. “I think my first mistake was letting her sleep with me, because I got super attached, but I knew she was a great dog,” Bell said. “She was calm, she slept all the time and she’s so smart because she’s an Australian Shepherd, so she was very easy to train.” When the fostering period ended, Bell spoke wholeheartedly to her parents about keeping Delilah permanently. They obliged, and on Aug. 29 she officially became Delilah’s owner. “When I got that email, I started crying,” Bell said. “I didn’t want
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“74 percent of pet owners reported improvements in their mental health from owning a pet.”
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to think about giving her up.” Amid a pandemic defined by social distancing from friends and feelings of isolation, Bell’s experience follows many who have fallen in love with their foster puppies in providing emotional and psychological relief. Through Fetch Wisconsin Rescue, some UW-Madison students have benefited in multiple facets from sharing their homes with a new pet. The Science behind Animal Companions Dogs In a survey administered by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 74 percent of pet owners reported improvements in their mental health from
owning a pet. Pet owners also report lower rates of depression and related symptoms. “The calming presence and the social bond that pets bring can be very powerful,” Gary Christenson, chief medical officer at Boynton Health Service at the University of Minnesota, told Psychology Today. “Animals provide a distraction from the negative thoughts a depressed person is prone to have. When a pet pays attention to you, they’re giving you love and acceptance.” Nonetheless, through Fetch Wisconsin, students’ interest in fostering and adopting dogs enable them to take some control back over their lives. Olivia Schlesser, another student at UW, noted her dog helped her escape the “quarantine slump” she found many people to be in. The newfound responsibilities of being a dog owner also got her out of her residence to be more active. “She definitely got us outside a lot more,” Schlesser said. “There was one point where I took her for like almost two hour walks, and I would never have done that by myself.” As cases of COVID-19 continue to surge within the UW community, with residence halls and a number of Greek Life organizations being quarantined in addition to a directive from UW Chancellor Rebecca Blank for all undergraduate students to limit their in-person activities, students have found solace in fostering and adopting dogs with others interested in following suit. “Ever since I’ve gotten back to school we’re not really doing anything and we can’t leave and it’s just not the same,” Eisen said. “Having a dog will definitely bring out a lot of joy in my life.” Providing Dogs With New Homes Founded in 2013, and working in conjunction with a number of partner businesses, Fetch Wisconsin Rescue based in nearby Verona has rescued over 2,500 dogs and offers a wide array of services and opportunities to help. While adoption may be the end goal, Fetch Wisconsin customers can participate as foster owners, by placing dogs into their homes so they may be evaluated and adjusted to homelife for 1-3 months before being eligible for adoption. In addition, interested par-
PHOTO COURTESY OF BECCA BELL
Through Fetch Wisconsin, students can adopt or foster puppies. ties can also volunteer through planning fundraising events, transporting dogs from shelters to a foster home ranging from 50-1,200 miles and arranging home visits between prospective adopters and a dog. As the prevalence of COVID19 continues to increase, Fetch Wisconsin has shifted some of its protocols, namely house visits and meet-and-greets to virtual formats. Despite asking customers to consider the long-term commitment of taking care of a dog, the organization still encourages people to adopt or foster and is offering assistance as well. “We strive to help our dogs become confident, balanced dogs and for our volunteers to be confident assertive pack leaders,” Fetch Wisconsin’s website says. Fetch at UW As students wade into an usual semester of hybrid learning and social distancing due to COVID19, some enjoy the company of a new pet — and others have become interested in fostering and adopting as well.
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COURTESY OF BECCA BELL
Fostering or adopting a dog during the pandemic works to help relieve stress and provides flexibility.
As he sat bored in his room taking online classes during the summer, UW student Grant Seils stayed positive all because of his fostered puppy in passing the time and completing his coursework. “The dog was an excellent distractor from the melancholy of everyday life,” Seils said. “It gets pretty boring sitting there doing [Organic Chemistry] all day.” Students who do not wish to own a dog full-time can also engage in dog sitting, another popular way of volunteering with Fetch Wisconsin. As owners grapple with work schedules or go on vacation, students have jumped at the opportunity to temporarily take care of a dog. “I miss having a dog, so I wanted to find a way where I can have a dog in my apartment to play with and take care of, even if it’s just for a short amount of time,” said UW-Madison sophomore Alex Feinstein. Feinstein and her roommate Charli Eisen decided to babysit two dogs at the same time in order to cope with an altered lifestyle during the pandemic. Eisen believes the pandemic will ultimately distract her from the uncertainty around COVID-19 and its overall impact on her college experience. “I’ve been in my apartment a lot just not really knowing what to do,” Feinstein said. “If I have a dog here, it’s someone I could spend time with and it gives me an activity to do, which makes me think less about what’s going on in the world.” At the same time, while she could never have a dog at home because of her dad’s allergies, UW senior Gabby Miller fulfilled her dream in becoming a pet owner after hearing about the positive impact others had. “I thought this is the perfect time to [adopt] because we have much more flexibility with our schedule with being mostly online,” Miller said. “If I’m gonna sit on my bed and do homework, I might as well have a dog next to me.”
photo 2020: A different look for campus dailycardinal.com
Thursday, September 17, 2020
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COLE HOOPER/THE DAILY CARDINAL
September 12 2020, a Saturday where on any other given year, would have been a day with a packed Camp Randall. This year, COVID-19 made safety measures like social distancing necessary.
COLE HOOPER/THE DAILY CARDINAL
Henry Mall has been converted into a drive-thru COVID-19 testing center.
JOSH PRADO/THE DAILY CARDINAL
Daily protests calling for the end of police brutality have continued since early June.
JOSH PRADO/THE DAILY CARDINAL
Two campus dorms, including the pictured Sellery Hall, have been put on a two week lockdown.
COLE HOOPER/THE DAILY CARDINAL
Unlike previous years, Engineering Hall's lawn is not covered with students.
sports Big Ten football to return in October
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Thursday, September 17, 2020
By Dexter McCann STAFF WRITER
When the Big Ten announced a postponement of fall sports on Aug. 11, it was hard to muster any kind of optimism for the prospects of a 2020 football season. But, seemingly against all odds, the conference announced today that a season will be played after all, with kickoff taking place on October 23 and 24. The Presidents and Chancellors of the member schools voted unanimously on Tuesday to return to play after a set of presentations were made by the conference’s “return to competition” task force, who assured the administrators that a football season could be played safely. Each team will play eight conference games, six of which will be against divisional opponents. After the conclusion of the eight game regular season, every team will play a ninth game against a cross-divisional opponent during championship week, with matchups determined by seeding. For instance, if Nebraska were to finish seventh in the West and Rutgers were to finish seventh in the East, the two teams would play each other, and so on and so forth. The winners of each division would then play each other in the Big Ten Championship. The conference championship game is scheduled for December 19th, a day before the selections for the College Football playoff.
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The full schedule will be released later on this week. Wisconsin will play four games at home, but no fans will be allowed at Camp Randall nor any other Big Ten venue. The decision to return to play was widely influenced by the increased testing capacity that has recently become available to athletic departments. Every Big Ten school will test their players and staff daily using rapid diagnostic testing, and every positive diagnostic test must be confirmed by the more reliable, albeit slower, PCR test. Any player that tests positive cannot return to competition for a minimum of three weeks, and any program with a one-time positivity rate of 5% or a population positivity rate of 7.5% will be forced to suspend practice and competition for seven days. In addition to testing, each Big Ten school will have access to cardiac MRIs to test for myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle that can be caused by COVID-19. Earlier reports on the prevalence of myocarditis in COVID patients helped influence the conference’s decision to cancel in August. “Everyone associated with the Big Ten should be very proud of the groundbreaking steps that are now being taken to protect the health and safety of studentathletes and surrounding communities,” said Dr. Jim Borchers (via ESPN), the head team physi-
cian at Ohio State and co-chair of the Big Ten’s return to competition task force. Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez was one of the key figures involved in the discussion about the viability of a football season, and he approved of the
Badgers, who have already seen 42 players and staff test positive for COVID-19, according to the Dane County Public Health Record. It is not known as of now when those individuals tested positive, or if there are any players or staff currently infect-
place right now, in terms of where we are conditioning wise… this is a real good looking football team.” Wisconsin will have a leg up on some of their biggest Big Ten competitors, as the program has been one of the few that hasn’t seen at least
COLE HOOPER /THE DAILY CARDINAL
Camp Randall will see live action for the first time since November 23, 2019, when the Badgers beat Purdue. decision made by the conference’s presidents and chancellors. “There were too many questions initially… so as we progressed the doctors came up with more and more answers, and in the end, they answered all the questions the presidents and chancellors had,” Alvarez told members of the media. Answers to those medical questions are paramount for the
ed with the disease. Wisconsin suspended football practice for two weeks on Sept. 10 after a wave of infections in Madison forced the school to impose tighter restrictions on residents and move all classes online. Despite those setbacks, Alvarez was optimistic about the team’s prospects on the field this season, and asserted that “[Wisconsin football is] in a good
one player opt out. Penn State EDGE Micah Parsons, Ohio State’s OG Wyatt Davis and CB Shaun Wade, Michigan QB Dylan McCaffery, Minnesota WR Rashod Bateman, and Purdue WR Rondale Moore have all opted out of this year’s season, although Wade, Davis, and Moore haven’t signed with an agent and can theoretically opt back in.
Column: The Big Ten’s return to play plan is almost as irresponsible as UW-Madison’s “Smart” Restart By Joe Rickles SPORTS EDITOR
I see you. I see you celebrating the triumphant return of Badger football, reposting BadgerBarstool’s instagram post on your story to show all 700 of your followers how much this means to you. You see the headline, “The Big Ten is BACK!” and can’t help but rejoice and crack a warm Hamm’s during your online lecture. I don’t get that satisfaction, because I actually read the plan, and I’m making that your problem now. #Sorrynotsorry. In the first paragraph of their “well laid out plan,” the Big Ten is kind
enough to let us know that this plan was unanimously approved by the Board of Presidents/Chancellors. Which means, yes, Chancellor Blank approved this plan. Nevermind the skyrocketing cases in Dane County, or the fact that the entirety of freshman dorms Witte and Sellery are quarantined. Or that Dane County executives are begging her to send students back home. Or even that Public Health Madison & Dane County released a statement today that noted “42 [Badger football] players and staff have already tested positive for COVID-19.” Football is here! You all like me now,
COURTESY OF THE BIG TEN CONFERENCE
The Big Ten Conference is performing a blatant cash grab right in front of our eyes.
right? No? Ok, what about this: Alexa, play “Jump Around!” But enough eviscerating UW; our ed board did a good job of that. Let’s hop into what exactly makes the Big Ten’s plan so bad for both studentathletes and students in general. The elephant in the room is the rapid antigen testing that is vital to the success of college sports right now. These kinds of tests are great: they are relatively accurate for a COVID-19 test and they get results back within hours rather than days. Big Ten players will be tested every day with these testing kits. Which is nice… for them. The blame clearly isn’t on the athletes here, and if you need me to tell you that, you have some problems to deal with. But the idea that only the athletes who a) make up an extremely small part of the student population — only around 170 players and staff out of over 40,000 UW undergraduates — and b) have a multimillion dollar money-making machine built on their backs get access to rapid tests shows the Big Ten’s priorities. They are significantly more concerned with the money that comes with college football — TV contracts, merchandise, bowl games — than the safety of their players, not to mention the rest of us schlubs. The part of the statement on heart conditions makes this even more clear. Big Ten athletes will have greater access to cardiac screening, which is nice, but there are no plans to actually take care of the athletes that develop COVID-related heart issues. Their only plan is to “establish a cardiac registry” that tracks the symptoms
and “will attempt to answer many of the unknowns” about COVID-related heart conditions. There is an enormous difference between caring about your athletes and using them as guinea pigs for the rest of the country. (Side note: It would be a really bad look, given the clear financial greed, if someone went in front of, I dunno, a Senate committee and gave a written statement that included the line, “we’re not running sports to primarily make money.” Which is exactly what Rebecca Blank did yesterday.) This isn’t even half of it. The schedule doesn’t include space for bye weeks. The team positive case threshold is just five percent, meaning that if five percent of the players or staff contract the coronavirus, practices halt and they cannot play their next game. Most other conferences have a threshold of ten percent. Positive cases could, and probably will, jeopardize a number of games. This sucks. I love college football so much it hurts. I can’t watch any other conferences right now because of how much my heart aches for the Big Ten. It’s even worse for the athletes and coaches that put countless hours into building their teams and preparing to play in the off-season. But the harsh reality is that Big Ten schools lost the right to lament the lack of college football when they decided to bring back thousands of 18-year olds into packed dorms and expected them to sit in their rooms for 24 hours a day. With that decision, they chose tuition money over college football money. This greedy desire to have their cake and eat it too has already put both the athletes and the general student population in legitimate danger. But they won’t stop until they can cash their checks.
science UW-Madison wastewater surveillance program begins statewide sampling dailycardinal.com
Thursday, September 17, 2020
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WSLH scientists, along with the UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences, are searching fecal matter for SARS-CoV-2
By Gavin Schopf STAFF WRITER
In March, Martin Shafer, a scientist at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) and UW-Madison College of Engineering, noticed a trend in COVID-19 testing techniques. Scientists in the Netherlands and Paris had begun using wastewaterbased epidemiology to paint a picture of community-wide virus levels. States including Virginia, Utah and Oregon were not far behind. At the time, human testing was being organized but remained unavailable in most places. WSLH, though, had the expertise and molecular tools for wastewater testing in house. “This is something that our lab, as the primary public health lab in the state, should pick up on,” Shafer thought. Now, almost seven months later, Shafer and his team at WSLH, in collaboration with Sandra McClellan and scientists at the UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences, have begun sampling for SARS-CoV-2, the genetic material that causes COVID-19, at wastewater treatment facilities statewide. “We pressed start on the program after recruiting about two-thirds [66] of the [98] facilities that we had planned on,” Shafer said. “It’s the largest program of its type, in terms of number of facilities, in the country.” A majority of the participating
facilities have already been sent sampling supplies which workers use to “take a subsample of the sample they are already collecting.” Samples are then sent to WSLH either once or twice weekly for testing. “The statewide wastewater SARS-CoV-2 monitoring program covers facilities in all but five of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, including four tribal facilities, representing 60 percent of the state’s population and offering statewide geographic coverage,” wrote Kelly Tyrrell, director of University Research Communications. While some carriers of COVID-19 never show symptoms, most shed virus into their fecal matter — which can be detected in wastewater. “Following that trend can help public health officials determine the need for further mitigation or control measures in that community,” Shafer said. Data from on-campus monitoring has been available to UW-Madison administration since the third week in August, allowing mitigation efforts to be accessed at a multiple dormitory level. “It [wastewater testing] certainly indicated, like the human testing did, the presence of significant levels of infected population in the dormitories.” As for the 340-some-thousand served by Madison’s main sewage treatment facility, an integrated picture of commu-
JAN KLAWITTER/ WISCONSIN STATE LABORATORY OF HYGIENE
Dr. Kayley Janssen adds sewage sample to filter to collect genetic material.
JAN KLAWITTER/ WISCONSIN STATE LABORATORY OF HYGIENE
Dr. Dagmara Antkiewicz of the WSLH places a plate of samples into the qPCR instrument for analysis. nity virus levels is being created. A surge in cases has yet to be seen among this population, according to Shafer. The utility of the Wastewater Surveillance Program goes beyond providing early warning signals and indicating trends in virus levels. Wastewater based approaches are quite cost-effective and allow researchers to assess a larger community. Additionally, sequencing of genetic material allows scientists to look for shifts in virus strains — shifts which could have important implications for vaccine development. “We hope it will provide complimentary data to that of the human testing, and where there is no human testing, provide early virus warnings and tracking,” Shafer said. Moving into the flu season and whatever the next pandemic may be, Shafer believes wastewater epidemiology will allow researchers
to follow multiple viruses at the same time — providing important confirmatory and primary data. “It offers potential well beyond the pandemic at this point,” he concluded, “there is a large team at the state lab that is dedicated to seeing this program
and its significant public health benefits through.” Funding, provided by the WSLH, UW-Milwaukee, DHS and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, totals $1.25 million and allows the statewide project to run until next June.
JAN KLAWITTER/ WISCONSIN STATE LABORATORY OF HYGIENE
Filtering setup with wastewater sample (left) and clean filter (right).
OVCRGE releases statement on graduate research By Joe Mitchell STAFF WRITER
Even though UW-Madison’s in-person instruction will be suspended from Sept. 10-25, students will be allowed to report to their jobs in research labs under strict guidelines, Steven Ackerman, Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education, said in a press release Thursday. Students must not be under quarantine and must gain approval from their supervisors before returning to research labs. Additionally, students must adhere to all Dane County health ordinances including wearing a mask
indoors, social distancing and following density limits. This does suspend all face-to-face interactions between students and research subjects until Sept 25, Ackerman said in his statement.
During suspension of in-person classes, many campus buildings will remain open, Ackerman said. Chancellor Blank has asked for employee meetings of ten or fewer for essential purposes only during the suspension. Percent positive test results at UW rose everyday in the month of September until reaching a peak on
September 7, with 22.6 percent of tests returning positive. The seven day average for percent positive tests at UW has risen everyday this month. Recently, hitting at an all time high of 10.4 percent, according to the UW’s Smart Restart Dashboard The State has seen a rise in Covid-19 percent positive results as well. On September 14, Wisconsin saw an all time high seven day average, hitting a 13.8 percent positive rate. This coming after the three percent positive rates Wisconsin observed in June, according to the Wisconsin DHS’s website.
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Thursday, September 17, 2020
dailycardinal.com
Professor requires use of catheter during exams Sinkhole to ensure students not hiding notes in urethra By Anupras Mohapatra
I find myself writhing in bed Fending off the voices in my head For the umpteenth time, I remember it all Perhaps back then, I had been gall I had let them into my innermost space Sharing with them my life and everything I had faced I feel cold. Cold because they had rendered my soul nude Cold because they had been chillingly callous and rude Looking out the window, I see spots of light dotting the stretch of dark Like they populated the murk of my heart The streetlights still live on While they are long gone For years I have carried this baggage Too much for most to manage Most wish well but don’t want me, I can tell Perhaps I can now sleep and escape this hell And in my dreams a sinkhole can open beneath Swallowing me into a world away, where everything’s swell.
GRAPHIC BY JORDAN SIMON
Mr. Try-Hard McStemMan, seen above, overly enjoyed to catheterize self in order to ensure academic integrity during exam. By Jordan Simon In a semester that is now entirely online, several professors have chosen to implement new technology to ensure academic honesty. Many classes now require students to use certain programs which can detect if students open up a new window during online exams, or even video a student’s room to catch if notes are being used. One professor has taken these anti-cheating measures one step further. Dr. Armando Wallace wrote in the syllabus for his Fluid
Dynamics class (because of-fucking-course it’s STEM) that students will be required to wear a “medical grade catheter outfitted with a camera” during exams so that students cannot bypass other anti-cheating technology by hiding notes in their urethra. “What the actual fuck,” reacted Gina Damien, an angered student of Dr. Wallace’s. “If somebody wants to hide notes in their goddamn urethra, I would honestly just give them their diploma. They are clearly dedicated enough to their field, and also just get them out of here because I don’t want
them near me, because literally who the fuck does that? Goddamn! I don’t want Professor Wallace videotaping my fucking pee-hole!” Dr. Wallace defended his course policy by stating, “I need to keep these cheating scoundrels in line, I can’t have them taking advantage of online courses. I don’t care if my students are ‘adults who should be treated as such’ or if I should be more ‘understanding’ because there’s a global ‘pandemic.’ I’m a STEM professor, I run the world and these students are just going to have to toughen up — specifically in their nether
regions because catheters sometimes cause muscle damage.” The professor’s decision remains controversial, and those who have been, or will be, wronged by a fluid dynamics class in the past, present or future have strongly questioned whether the use of a medical grade catheter is necessary. There was also concern from one student who is worried that he could be wrongly convicted of cheating on exams, since he has a UTI which causes redness in the exact shape of the NavierStokes equation.
GRAPHIC COURTESY OF PIXABAY/OPENCLIPART-
Cases in Witte Residence Hall Skyrocket and the “Shower Shitter” resurfaces By Gillian Rawling The hallways of Witte painted a stark contrast this weekend to what they looked like during the alleged lockdown. Maskless freshmen crowded the lobby and elevators in their best crop tops and jerseyhoodie combos in pursuit of the allusive bar scene and Langdon houses that had yet to be shut down. They were able to evade being blocked from leaving the building because all available resources had been allocated to finding a bandit who repetitively poops in the public shower stalls. RA’s Anne and Reed explained that “while the
residents’ safety is our main concern, our main purpose as administrators of our floors cannot be restored until the dumping has stopped.” They explained that since the beginning of the year, they had received multiple complaints but did not believe it for themselves until one day, Kwame happened to walk into one of the perpetrators previous crime sights. “I couldn’t believe my eyes,” he elaborated, with tears brimming his eyes. “What started as a harmless prank last year has transpired into a truly horrifying string of events,” Witte house fellows said. “We have not yet been able
to determine whether this is the same delinquent as before, or merely a copycat.” What little evidence they do have of this bandit is terrible. Each attack is signed by a calling card — a threatening note spelled out with words from cut up UHS pamphlets. One read, “I will not be stopped until we are liberated.” “What specifically he is talking about has not been determined,” explained UW-Madison Chancellor Becky Blank as a cohort of freshmen openly played beer darts in the hallway behind her, some audibly coughing, “what we do know is that until he or she is caught, no one is safe.”
GRAPHIC BY GILLIAN RAWLING
Becky unveils her decree; the shower shitter hath been warned.
opinion Smart Restart: What did you expect? dailycardinal.com
Thursday, September 17, 2020
view
Cardinal View editorials represent The Daily Cardinal’s organizational opinion. Each editorial is crafted independent of news coverage. As we have all experienced over these six months, the COVID19 crisis has upended normalcy.
Certainly there is plenty of responsibility to go around. Social gatherings that violate public
blaming the inevitable campus shutdown on student behavior. The UW administration had over five months after the March closure to plan this semester. In that time, they could have sought to follow the best advice of local and national public health experts. They could have listened honestly to the faculty, teaching assistants and undergraduates who
clear that UW cares more about budgets and profits over the protection of its students. As more than a quarter of Wisconsin’s record-breaking 1,547 new daily cases came from UW-Madison students on Thursday, the situation in Madison is increasingly worrying. Continued spread among offcampus communities endangers
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we certainly will not consent to choosing between our education and our health — to believe this is a logical decision to be made. If the University truly cared about the wellbeing of its students more than lining their pockets, they would have put in place a Moral Reopening — grounded in decency, equity and accessibility — from the get go. Instead, we now live in the reality they chose to create.
Do you think UW-Madison’s leadership was irresponsible during the COVID-19 pandemic? Do you think Chancellor Blank needs to make a new plan for a ‘Moral Reopening?’ Send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com
LYRA EVANS /THE DAILY CARDINAL
UW's irresponsible leadership amidst the COVID-19 crisis has left campus in shambles, endangering both students and community members. From remote working to virtual learning, the loss of healthcare to the loss of loved ones, the coronavirus has forced us all to operate under a new, frightening reality. At the same time, it has brought into crisp focus our society’s greatest inequities and our leaders’ misplaced priorities. With over 1,700 cases and the semester barely under way, the University of Wisconsin-Madison has already lost its fight against COVID-19. We lost it because of our administration’s inexplicable insistence that it was a fight we could win, that the fight was worth the risk at all. And we, at The Daily Cardinal, cannot sit idly by as these reckless decisions are being made — as inadequate leadership from our administration continues to jeopardize the lives of students, faculty and the greater Madison community. It is unacceptable to give students two hours notice before a two-week lockdown. It is unacceptable to not release information regarding the criteria for a campus shutdown. It is unacceptable to continue to follow a plan that endangers peoples’ health and wellbeing, for the virus has shown to have lasting effects on vital organs and mental health. Simply put, UW’s blatant disregard for human life — specifically, the lack of care for the immunocompromised, BIPOC students and other vulnerable populations — is humiliating. GRAPHIC BY RILEY SUMNER
health guidelines have been common on and around campus, and those who find themselves at bars or in crowded apartments undermine the best efforts of our community to keep itself safe. That behavior is selfish and dangerous, as the university has not hesitated to point out. As disappointing as those individual actions may be, the fact remains: This all could have been prevented. If the plan, as it seems to have been, was dependent on the collective restraint of the entire student body, then it wasn’t a plan — it was wishful thinking. To stake the success of the semester — and the safety of all of Madison — on that wishful thinking was, at best, a damning display of incompetence and unwillingness to listen to the many, many people who knew exactly what would happen and said so. At worst, it was a bad-faith attempt to collect as many tuition and housing checks as possible before
voiced their concerns about the restart. They could have focused the dogged, passionate efforts of this university’s staff on planning a robust and engaging virtual semester. Instead, Chancellor Blank and her fellow administrators spent five months squinting at the writing on the wall while they accelerated towards it. We can think of no greater betrayal of the Wisconsin Idea than the danger UW-Madison has brought to the city it calls home. We can think of no starker contrast to the sifting and winnowing our campus strives for than such an arrogant and insistent lack of foresight. Now, after just five days of inperson classes, the “Smart Restart” has unraveled. Professors are scrambling to shift classes online. Two residence halls and 26 Greek life chapters are under quarantine. Local officials are pleading with University officials to close campus. Conveniently, administrators have now dodged and equivocated their way to today’s 100% tuition refund deadline. The unraveling of events has made it abundantly
all of Madison and Dane County, jeopardizing lives, local businesses and any return to normalcy. This doomed attempt to reopen will ultimately saddle local authorities with an outbreak that continues long after campus facilities close. In short, what we all had feared — what we knew would be inevitable — has come true. The exponential growth of COVID-19 cases, the lockdown of campus dorms, with the misdirection of faulting individualistic behavior, UW-Madison has now fallen to the same fate as other universities around the country. And if leadership had made responsible decisions from the outset of this crisis, that is to protect its students and the greater Madison community, we would not be here, and we should not forget that. UW-Madison must move to fully online instruction for the entirety of the semester. A “pause” of in-person classes for the next two weeks is simply not enough. Frankly, it is hard to imagine what would be enough at this point. The cat is out of the bag. The virus is alive and well in Madison. The Daily Cardinal does not want to write obituaries. We will no longer accept being gaslit by those in positions of power. And
arts A B.I.G. impact: Ready to Die turns 26 8
Thursday September 17, 2020
dailycardinal.com
By Seamus Rohrer STAFF WRITER
Twenty-six years ago this month, The Notorious B.I.G dropped his legendary album, Ready to Die. 1994 was an absolutely riveting year, not just for pop culture but for the world. “Pulp Fiction” and “The Shawshank Redemption” both hit theaters less than a month apart, while Amazon got its start in a garage in Bellevue, Washington, and Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s first ever Black president in May. Needless to say, 1994 was also a magical year for music. Beck’s Mellow Gold and Pavement’s Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain which defined the alternative/ indie niche while elsewhere in hip-hop Nas’s Illmatic would eventually become one of the most critically acclaimed rap projects of all time. But on Sept. 13, 1994, under the brand new label Bad Boy Records, Ready to Die introduced the world to hip-hop’s most recognizable superhero, Biggie Smalls. Ready to Die is the only Biggie album ever released in his lifetime, but it’s a heaping helping of hip-hop perfection that is more than satisfying. The album is semi-autobiographical, starting with Biggie’s birth in the “Intro” and ending with his eventual suicide in “Suicidal Thoughts.” It’s as close as an album can get to a movie, with a generous amount of skits and interludes, giving it an almost conversational feel at times. Rather than simply having them as their own separate tracks, the skits and dialogue are woven into songs, adding elements of storytelling and narrative that make music personal. Lyrically, Biggie never fails to impress, as one gets the sense he could flow continuously for hours on end. His flows and rhythms intertwine beautifully with the boombap beats, one never distracting from the other. Biggie has clever lines and hilarious remarks, but they never feel forced. In fact, he makes them feel completely natural, as if his listeners wouldn’t expect anything less than
JIM SMEALS/WIREIMAGE
Sean Combs and Biggie in 1997.
CHRIS WALTER/WIREIMAGE
Biggie Small's Ready to Die turns 26 this September, calling for a reflection on his impact on current hip-hop. lyrical perfection. Musically, Ready to Die is the epitome of 90s boom-bap. Sample-based beats are driven by funky bass lines. Plenty of record scratching and analog drum sounds make the music feel very live. Throughout the album, atmospheric sounds and effects in the background create a gritty, ambient soundscape that thoroughly fills the stereo width of one’s headphones. However, there is plenty of distinct creativity. On the third track “Gimme the Loot,” Biggie pitches up his voice for half of his verses, having a rap conversation with himself. “ “One More Chance,” the seventh track, begins with running through an answering machine, revealing the wide range of women trying unsuccessfully to contact Biggie. Twenty-six years later, in 2020, hip-hop has changed substantially in more ways than one. However, it’s unquestionably the top genre worldwide. Not only is it the most popular, but it’s never been more accessible and there is quite the surplus of things to listen to. Streaming services like Soundcloud make it incredibly convenient for a rapper to record an entire album in his bedroom, upload it, and become an internet sensation. Thus, choosing current rappers to reflect upon in the context of Ready to Die was daunting, but we’ll go with three — the wildly popular Pop Smoke and Juice WRLD, and the lesser known duo Blu & Exile. While Pop Smoke and The Notorious B.I.G’s music sound like they could be from two separate planets, the two are eerily similar in a few ways. Both hailed from Brooklyn, and both rappers had their morethan-promising careers cut tragically short. They were each shot and killed in California. Despite these similarities, though, these Brooklyn rappers generations apart sound almost nothing like each other. While many of Biggie’s songs begin with a skit or a sample, many Pop Smoke songs begin in an increasingly predictable way — with a producer tag. Hip-hop has always been a highly collaborative genre.
This is especially true nowadays, with producers placing a telltale audio bite in songs they engineered to stake their claim. However, Biggie’s all star lineup of producers on Ready to Die — DJ Premier, Lord Finesse, and Sean “Puffy” Combs to name a few — clearly believed overall album flow was more important than having their signature embedded in the music. For example, the way the last word, “Brooklyn,” of the skit at the end of “Me & My B*tch” leads into the next track “Big Poppa” is a stroke of genius. Listening to a Pop Smoke album all the way through, the songs seem detached and not nearly as interconnected. This is simply an artistic choice, and with today’s society’s everdeclining attention span, it’s absolutely a smart commercial choice. Lyrically, Pop Smoke errs on the side of melody and autotune. This is a stark contrast from Biggie’s more monotone, steady vocal tone. He’ll fluctuate occasionally for emphasis, whereas Smoke’s voice rises and falls consistently throughout the duration of each of his tracks. In the realm of hip-hop, Pop Smoke’s style can most closely be described as drill or trap, which relies heavily on computerized sounds and a heavy bass line, that attracts listeners. There are similarities and differences here, as Biggie easily has a more analog, retro sound, but also uses a heavy bass line to keep his beats moving. Clearly, bass has remained an important constant in rap. Furthermore, the seemingly random samples that carried boom-bap beats of old are less present in modern trap, but are certainly still there. For example, on For the Night, Pop Smoke uses a very similar wah-wah sound effect that Biggie uses on the fifth track of Ready to Die, “Warning.” Another rapper that also tragically lost his life on the cusp of his global takeover is Chicago-born artist Juice WRLD. WRLD occupied a place in the up-and-coming emo rap genre. Musically, Juice and Biggie are generally far apart on the hiphop spectrum. Juice WRLD’s fast-paced trap is often melodically based onguitar
sounds and samples. Juice’s autotuned voice provides an additional high-register melody on each track. It sounds very colorful, and a bit chaotic. Meanwhile, Biggie’s slower, dark, brooding boom-bap beats paint a completely different mental image. Sampled conversations and skits repeatedly appear in Ready to Die, and while Juice doesn’t employ nearly as much of this, there is a
BAD BOY RECORDS
Biggie's debut album "Ready to Die." sample of an argument in the intro of “Lucid Dreams,” which is widely considered his breakthrough song. Evidently, the importance of sampling and dialogue in rap isn’t completely lost on this trap-oriented generation. Biggie could flow endlessly and eternally, the same can’t be said about Juice WRLD mainly because of the production style. On “Bandit,” Juice’s flow is dis-
tinctly broken up, meaning his verse wasn’t recorded in just one take. In other words, the vocal track sounds broken up with each line. Moreover, listening to an entire Juice WRLD album, the memorable part of most songs tends to be the hook. While this is true for lots of popular music today, on Ready to Die, Biggie’s non-stop flow and lyrical witticisms are what holds the audience’s attention. Indeed, the chart-topping rap of today tends to be mostly trap, but not all modern rap follows this trend. Take Blu & Exile, the Los Angeles based producer-MC duo that has been in the rap game since their debut album in 2007. With production reminiscent of early Kanye West and Pete Rock, Blu & Exile are one of the closest things to boom-bap you can find in today’s hip-hop. Their tracks are awash with mouth watering samples and record scratches for old-school hip-hop fans, and the modest production style of Exile transports you directly to the 90s. The wordplay of Blu is one of the most impressive aspects of their music, as he, very similar to Biggie, spits slick lines that work well musically and don’t seem forced — “To say it simple/yo we simply the best” — on tracks like “True & Livin.” Blu also exhibits a deep vocabulary, similar to Biggie, but for the most part it’s devoid of the slang and street terms used so frequently in Ready to Die. In their most popular song on streaming services, “Dancing in the Rain,” an intricate guitar melody accompanies the boom-bap drum and bass. Musically, this is an elemental crossover between modern trap — which loves guitar melodies — and classic boom-bap. Across this modern musical landscape, we might have a wider range of music than we’ve ever had before. As evidenced, hip-hop represents this perfectly, as it can take on so many forms and sounds. The hip-hop tradition is constantly being carried on by new voices, creating their own legacy while paying homage to the old. In 2020, Ready to Die stands as a fundamental classic that’s ideas are still evolving and mutating in modern rap.
DAN GARCIA/GETTY IMAGES
Juice WRLD, who passed away in Dec. 2019, exhibts a fast-paced rapping style.
comics dailycardinal.com
Thursday, September 17, 2020 • 9
GRAPHIC BY JULIA WEILER GRAPHIC BY LYRA EVANS AND ZOE BENDOFF
GRAPHIC BY ZOE BENDOFF
Life & Style TV shows to watch in your free time
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Thursday, September 17, 2020
By Megan Girod STAFF WRITER
Are you bored with some of the extra free time you have? Are you trying to find a good TV show to watch, but just can’t find the one that you want to put time into? I have the perfect suggestions for you! These are the shows that almost everybody knows; some love them and others hate them. Regardless, these shows are good to watch because then you can keep up with all of the references your friends are making. The Office: An adaptation from a British comedy series, this show was on the air from 2005-2013. Starring Steve Carrell as the main character, this show is an inside look at the “average” American office. Witty commentary drives the show’s comedic appeal while a relatively interesting plotline keeps the audience entertained. This show is available to watch on Netflix. How I Met Your Mother: This show ran for 9 seasons and follows the storyline of the narrator telling his kids how he met their mother (clever, I know). It tells the story of a group of friends as they navigate adult life in Manhattan. This show is great to watch as a long study break because you will probably want to watch more than one episode at a time. You can watch this show on Hulu. Grey’s Anatomy: This show will make
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you cry and will make you want to be a doctor. Running for 16 seasons, Grey’s has plot twists and turns that will keep you on edge the whole time. These episodes run for about an hour each but good luck turning it off after just one! This show is also available on Hulu. Warning: not for those who are triggered by blood, gore, or violence. Supernatural: If you like attractive characters, a thick plotline, demon hunting, and loud cars, then this show is for you. Supernatural is coming to a close with its 15th season premiering on October 8th of this year. Go on hunts with Sam and Dean as they take on angels, demons, God, and everything in between. Available to stream on Netflix. These shows are ones that you may not have heard of or you saw them on your suggested page. Cults and Extreme Belief: This show follows what is considered extreme religions/cults and gets the viewer an inside look at what it is like to have been a part of such an organization. It is fascinating as it dives into religions many have never heard about, such as, NXIVM a cult that gained world-wide infamy when one of its former members came forward about the horrendous things she endured. This show is available to stream
on Hulu. Dead to Me: Just renewed for a third season, this show is one of my all-time favorites. An exciting plotline keeps the viewer on their toes and guessing every second. Follow the story of a widow as she discovers a newly made friend is the one who killed her husband and the drama that follows afterward on Netflix. Next in Fashion: Hosted by Tan France from Queer Eye, this show takes you into the world of fashion design. Fall in love with the designers and their designs that range from practical to totally outrageous. Available to stream on Netflix. Glow Up: Follow along as these makeup artists create amazing works of art while competing in Glow Up. This competition shows the incredible skill and talent that goes into makeup artistry, available to stream on Netflix. Peaky Blinders: Set in 1919 Birmingham, England, the Peaky Blinders are a violent and ruthless gang of brothers and friends. Follow their story through the drama of their lives. Warning: violent, bloody, rape and gore in some episodes. Available to stream on Netflix. Hopefully, with all of these suggestions, CHLOE SHEFTEL /THE DAILY CARDINAL you won’t find yourself staring at your blank Sit down, relax, and watch some TV shows! TV with nothing to watch!
Outside dining options By Clara Huskin STAFF WRITER
JENNIFER SCHALLER/THE DAILY CARDINAL
Living in an apartment for the first time is a learning experience, but can be a lot of fun.
Four tips for living in an apartment By Jenna Kestan STAFF WRITER
Moving into a dorm freshman year is a big transition for any teenager. It is the first time you are living on your own and fully responsible for your own decisions. For many college students, last year was definitely a transition coming back home in March. After six months of being home and no longer having to live on my own, I encountered an even more drastic change when I moved into an apartment with my two roommates. This was different than living in a dorm because I no longer relied on a meal plan, I had to clean my own space and had to restock on items such as toilet paper and hand soap on my own. Here are my top four tips on living on your own and how they can make you a successful, independent student! 1. Never go to sleep with a sink full of dishes Due to the small size of an apartment, the kitchen can up a lot of space. Having a clean sink and kitchen makes the apartment more open and easier to maintain. In addi-
tion, no one wants to wake up in the morning and smell food that’s been sitting in the sink. When I wake up and walk into a clean kitchen, it makes me feel so much more productive. Having a clean space can give you a better mindset to tackle the day. 2. Buy in bulk Moving to Madison from across the country, it is hard to buy for an apartment without having a car. When my roommates and I were buying necessities for the apartment, we decided to shop at Costco. We chose Costco so we could buy our groceries and household items in bulk. This way, we don’t have to make a trip to the grocery store every week. A Costco membership is about $60, so it’s a very helpful move to split it with roommates. 3. Learn how to compromise with your roommates Living with multiple people means sharing spaces, which also means that you share a lot of belongings. It can be hard agreeing on what items you all want in the
apartment and who is paying for what. For example, many of the things in our apartment were split equally by all of us. However, if someone wanted to keep an item after college, they bought it and then will be able to keep it. Simple compromises like this can avoid awkward situations later on. 4. Invest in your own coffee machine/ espresso maker My freshman year of college, I spent a lot of money on coffee. As someone who relies on caffeine multiple times a day (especially during midterms and finals), buying an espresso machine has been an amazing addition to my life. There are many types of espressos machines with prices ranging from $30$300. I purchased a $40 Mr. Coffee espresso machine from Walmart. Each coffee machine comes with instructions on how to create your perfect drink! Investing in one of these machines can save you a lot of money and give you energy to last throughout ALL of your online classes!
With the libraries here at UW-Madison closed and the only thing left to do is sit at our desks for hours on end, sometimes the perfect dinner night get-away with your friends is all you can ask for — while respecting the COVID-19 guidelines of course. Luckily, I have three restaurants with outdoor patios for your perfect evening. Starting with my most recent visit at Vintage Spirit and Grill, this aesthetic restaurant is located at the corner of University Avenue and North Frances Street. Here, the only thing between you and the night sky are the beautiful hanging lights dancing above your head. As an added bonus, prices here won’t pick your pocket, leaving you feeling both full and satisfied. If you are looking for a refreshing location with illuminating energy coming from the surrounding
community, Vintage is the place for you. Thinking about having a taco night? I have the perfect place for you. Luchador is the newest addition to State Street located right next to Potbelly’s, and will fill your cravings while maintaining the so-loved ambiance of State Street. Luchador holds some of the best tacos and also has many options such as burrito bowls and salads. Personally, one can never go wrong with the Garlic Shrimp Tacos, which only cost $5.18. This Mexican haven also serves burrito bowls, salads and appetizers! Luchador is inexpensive but will guarantee a good time. Stop by and have a taste of State Street and of course, the tacos too. Lastly, but certainly not least, Camp Trippalindee is the perfect escape from reality. Located at the top floor of The Graduate Hotel with a view overlooking
the city of Madison, it seems life couldn’t get any better. Not only is the location of Camp Trippalindee exceptional, but the outdoor patio filled with campfires for s’more roasting seems to top it all. That’s right, for only $6.00 you can roast s’mores all night long with your friends. Be sure to also order some of their fried pickles, burgers or Caesar salad, because it all doesn’t disappoint. This restaurant is reasonably priced for its location and cook-out amenities. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going, or so they say. When life becomes unmanageable, grab a group of your friends and make a memorable night at any one of these three restaurants. Each is a bang for your buck with perfect outdoor seating to respect your COVID-19 needs.
GOODGLE MAPS /THE DAILY CARDINAL
Vintage has oudoor seating for you to enjoy the weather and yummy food with friends.