UWM Post 02/13/2012

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Above the board

UWM hopes to gain new freedoms from state regulations

Photo courtesy of Megan McCormick / The Badger Herald

By John Parnon Assistant News Editor news@uwmpost.com UW-Milwaukee’s Chancellor Mike Lovell advocated for more flexibility from

the UW System at a legislative task force meeting on Wednesday, hoping to form an advisory board representing UWM to the UW System, as well as giving UWM more freedom to adjust tuition increases and faculty pay.

Burning desire

Alarming STD statistics for Milwaukee pose big threat for those who engage in risky sexual behavior

By Zach Brooke Assistant News Editor news@uwmpost.com While it’s no secret that sex is often a big part of the college experience, the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in a community seems to be a metric that largely flies under the radar given the social stigma surrounding them. Only by closer examination of the numbers is the true extent of these hidden health risks made clear.

Data from Norris Health Center shows that out of nearly 19,000 STD tests administered in 2011, 29 came back positive for chlamydia and 36 tested positive for herpes. Statistics for other STDs were not immediately available.

While that may seem insignificant, it’s higher than the numbers for Milwaukee at large, according to the Director of Clinical Services at Norris, Dr. Aamir Siddiqi.

“The percentage of both checking for STDs is higher, and on the same token, the percentage of positive I feel is somewhat higher. It’s not a signifi-

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February 13, 2011

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cant difference but maybe about five percent higher than the outside population,” Siddiqi said.

It’s a context that becomes much more dramatic when looking at STD numbers at the national level.

According to the most recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 11,512 cases of chlamydia, 3,425 cases of gonorrhea and 121 cases of syphilis diagnosed in 2010 in the Milwaukee Metropolitan Area, which includes Waukesha and West Allis. Collectively, those numbers place Southeastern Wisconsin near the top of the list of STD prevalence, according to Laura Otto-Salaj, an associate professor in the UWM Helen Bader School of Social Welfare.

“The Milwaukee Metropolitan Area for the combined rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea and primary and secondary syphilis has the second highest rate in the county. Memphis is the only city that’s higher than us.”

And those numbers appear to be getting worse.

“The past 10 years there’s been a 53 percent increase in reported STD in-

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FRINGE EDITORIAL

Wednesday’s meeting was held by the Special Task Force on UW Restructuring and Operational Flexibilities, a group tasked with finding ways to improve tuition, staff salary and transfer credits, as well as looking at a massive system-wide restructuring.

Lovell said he wants UWM to have more flexibility so that it would be able to adjust tuition increases to a “market rate” as well as adjust how faculty and staff are paid.

“One thing that’s broken is we can’t pay our faculty and staff more period values. So as we get new revenue streams, it doesn’t do any good if we can’t keep our teachers that are already here,” Lovell told the UWM Post on Feb. 7. “The biggest asset we have is the people and the students and the faculty and the staff.”

Lovell was also critical of the state’s recent decision to limit tuition increases to 5.5 percent a year, saying that it was a number that was set arbitrarily and didn’t represent the needs of each individual UW System university.

“By cutting our budget $250 million and giving us a 5.5 cap that only covers 30 creases in Milwaukee County,” OttoSalaj said.

And among persons 15-24 years of age, there were 9,963 cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis diagnosed in Milwaukee County in 2010, according to reports prepared by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

Those numbers are high enough to constitute an at-risk population says Aaron Buseh, associate professor in the UWM College of Nursing.

“College students fall in a group of young people that are making transitions … into a vulnerable population if you want to put it that way, and so what tends to happen is sometimes they make decisions they’re not supposed make. They make poor decisions.”

It’s a sentiment with which Siddiqi concurs. While encouraged by the willingness of UWM students to schedule STD testing, he feels more should be done by individuals themselves in the way of prevention.

“Any little symptom that they have, like a little irritation when they pee, they’ll be here,” Siddiqi said.

“That’s already late when they are coming for a test because they must have been involved in something that was riskier. The test will only tell them if they are positive or negative, which is good to know, but it’s already a late process.”

Among the services Norris provides are tests for chlamydia, gonor-

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Editorial: UWM needs flexibility from UW System page 12

percent of what they took away … that’s not the solution. I don’t think they did any real analysis there,” Lovell said. “If an institution such as Madison essentially could have a higher value that they could charge for the tuition … they could use the extra money they make in tuition to subsidize students that need more funding. I wouldn’t necessarily be against that.”

Both Gov. Scott Walker in his budget address in March 2011 and former UWMadison Chancellor Biddy Martin brought a serious restructuring of the UW System into the spotlight, calling for UW-Madison to leave the UW System altogether.

Lovell was one of several chancellors who spoke against the split, and Lovell instead advocated for more freedom for UW schools from state regulations while still remaining part of the UW System.

Lovell spoke to the task force on Wednesday about many of the same ideas he expressed last year, adding the concept of an advisory board for the UW System at the institution’s level.

UWM’s Vice Chancellor of University Relations and Communications Tom Luljak said, “Martin’s plan, good or bad, was essentially a separation … That system will continue to provide key essential services that are cost-effective for campuses like ours to tap into. But there’s a plus to it.

You add the local voice of a local governing board to do all of the positive steps or measures that the chancellor outlined would

SA branches call truce; focus on accountability Separation of powers deadline extended

By Steve Garrison News Editor news@uwmpost.com

Siddiqi estimates STD testing accounts for around 10 percent of all visits to Norris.

“On the days I see patients, out of the eight or ten or 15 sometimes, I would have three STD tests or something like that,” he said.

According to Siddiqi, those num-

Icy relations between Student Association senators and the executive branch began to thaw at Sunday’s senate meeting, with President Angela Lang extending the deadline for officials who must vacate either their senate seat or resign from the executive branch, as per the Jan. 29 “separation of power” executive order.

Previously, the four members of the senate who also served on the executive branch had until Sunday’s meeting to decide on which branch they would remain. They now have until the end of the month to make their decision.

Lang said that while she stands by her method of separating powers, she decided, “to allow more time for people to think and make a decision.”

Despite the extension, Senator Taylor Scott still decided to resign from his position as director of public relations.

“I find that my position as Student Association senator is more essential and better aligns with my vision of being able to reach out to the students and incorporate their vision and voice into student governance,” Scott said in his letter of resignation.

Deputy Speaker of the Senate Tereza Pelicaric also said she was willing to compromise with Lang on last week’s contentious Integrity of the Student Voice bill, approved unanimously by the senate on Jan. 29 and vetoed by the president.

The Integrity of the Student Voice bill would give a search and screen committee the power to nominate students for available positions on the executive branch. Lang said that although she supported the spirit of the bill, she felt it encroached on the president’s constitutional powers.

Pelicaric introduced a new joint resolution with President Lang that would only call for the creation of a search and screen committee if the president’s appointment does not receive approval from the senate.

Pelicaric’s bill was tabled by the

See STDS page 2

See SA page 4

See REGULATIONS page 2 rhea, syphilis, Hepatitis B, herpes, HPV (genital warts), mulscum, scabies, trichomoniasis and pubic lice.

Many of the tests are administered free of charge, though there is a fee for blood tests. And for the more painful tests, like chlamydia, students can elect to pay for a urine test. Should someone test positive, antibiotics are available at a subsidized rate in the pharmacy.

“The past 10 years there’s been a 53 percent increase in reported STD cases in Milwaukee County.”

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February 13, 2012

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National Council on Teacher Quality sues Wisconsin

NCTQ declares UW schools violated Open Records Law The National Council on Teacher Quality declared the UW System in violation of Wisconsin’s Open Records Law and is suing the UW System Board of Regents.

The non-profit group requested and was denied syllabi and other course materials from the 12 UW schools that currently offer teacher preparation programs. UWParkside is the only four-year university in the UW System that does not currently offer an education program.

UW-Milwaukee was one of the colleges contacted by the NCTQ in the hopes of acquiring these documents. UWM, along with nine of the other universities, denied the request.

According to the complaint, the remaining two public schools, UW-Oshkosh and UW-Superior, did not respond at all.

The NCTQ currently ranks Wisconsin education programs as a solid D; 27 of America’s 50 states currently reside in the D+ to D- range. Montana has an F. Florida, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Tennessee have a B or B-, the rest have a C

or C-. The ranking system is often viewed as unnecessarily tough.

“Many education schools have claimed that our ratings are in error,” said an answer to a frequently asked question on the organization’s website. “However, the interpretation of ‘error’ for schools is clearly different from NCTQ’s definition.”

The NCTQ is currently advertising that they will be releasing a “National Review of Teacher Prep,” which is scheduled to be available this fall, according to their website.

The Council intends to include around 1,150 higher education teacher preparation programs in the United States. The methodology that the NCTQ plans on using to draft this review includes the examination of syllabi and other course materials.

They hit a road block when Wisconsin schools refused to offer up the desired materials.

The official complaint states that Laura Pomerance and the NCTQ requested the materials from the UW schools on or around Nov. 2, 2011.

After receiving the denials, the NCTQ declared the schools in violation of the Open Records Law and Wis. Stat. §19.31-19.39.

UWM’s response to the request was

from Amy Watson, the public records custodian at the university. Watson said that course syllabi and rubrics are exempt from the law because of a subsection of the Wis. Stat in question, which states that records do not include materials to “which access is limited by copyright.”

“Such intellectual property is subject to the copyright of the creator,” Watson said.

Watson also said that the permitted fee for all the other materials would total $1,500, with advanced payment required.

According to Watson, much of the information that NCTQ desires can be found on the UWM School of Education’s website. The website lists all available majors and certificates. All required and recommended courses are listed, and with a little searching course descriptions are publicly available.

However, the NCTQ is stating that the syllabi are not exempt because access is supposedly not limited by copyright as UWM (and other involved schools) have said. The complaint also said that the UW System’s actions have caused “injury” to the NCTQ because they are depriving the NCTQ and the “rest of the public of their rights.”

The Board of Regents has not yet issued a response.

potential to bring in up to 1000 highachieving Chinese students to study at UWM, which would bring in 20 million dollars of tuition revenue.

A similar program is currently in the planning stages to bring over a large number of high-achieving Korean students to UWM. Interim Provost Johannes Britz said that one of the biggest benefits of the program is that it doesn’t require any contracts, fees or agents being signed, unlike the CERNET agreement.

Another benefit that Britz highlighted was that retention of foreign students is between 80 and 85 percent, which is almost double that of UWM’s total graduation rate.

Another potential for revenue generation comes from increasing student retention and graduation rates, which are currently at 43.6 percent at UWM, according

to Student Right to Know information.

Britz said that this statistic can be misleading because it will take about six years to see the effects of the current administration’s work make a difference in that percentage.

“Another really important thing for us to do is really work on retaining our students … if we just took that number up to 46 percent, it would add 100 million more dollars of revenue into the campus,” Lovell said. “So it’s a huge deal. We’ve talked about things like we’ve partnered with the two year colleges so we can have students who really want to be here.”

UWM’s University Committee, the faculty senate’s executive committee, also had a chance to address their concerns to the Special Task Force on UW Restructuring and Operational Flexibilities in a letter that was sent out on Jan. 24.

The UC outlined similar wishes to

Lovell’s, recommending that the task force form a separate UWM governing board that would be able to make decisions on financial issues.

According to the letter, the UC wants the newly formed board to work with the existing UW System Board of Regents and would have such abilities as to set tuition “at a price that is reflective of the cost of providing that education,” as well as “the ability to set compensation based on merit and market rates.”

“I don’t think we’re going to change our role [in the state]. We’re still going to be an access university, that’s something we’re not going to get away from, but I do think right now it’s really important for us, if you think about what’s going on with the economy, we really need to align our university with the needs of the state,” Lovell said.

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benefit the universities.”

Both Lovell and Luljak agreed that UWM is not considering a split from the UW System, nor is UWM working towards it.

Lovell told the UWM Post on Feb. 7, “The [UW] System we have now is 40... 41 years old... the system started when universities were funded 50 percent by the state, now we’re under 20 percent, so we need more flexibility to go after additional revenue and other resources.”

Lovell has already been seeking other avenues for increased revenue at UWM, with one of the most notable projects being the CERNET agreement.

Lovell said that the program has the

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bers show a willingness that stands in stark contrast to the community at large.

“I find that interesting. Most of them will say to the front, ‘I’m coming for an STD testing.’ There’s no stigma in coming for STD testing.”

Be that as it may, there’s still a powerful stigma associated having an STD, Buseh said.

“Nobody goes and gets tested and after you get tested you run down the street you say, ‘Guess what. I just came back from the doctor and have HIV’ or ‘I have an STD,’” Buseh said. “It’s different when somebody goes and has some form of cancer and they go and tell all their friends, ‘I went to the doctors today and the doctor said I have cancer.’ And then everybody feels sorry for them and everybody begins to assist them.”

So what can one do to avoid catch-

the uwm post

ing a STD and any associated stigmas?

Aside from the only total absolute preventive measure, abstaining from sex, condoms, if used properly are remarkably effective at reducing the risk of contracting an STD. “If they are used in the right way and used by their expiration dates, they are extremely helpful. [Condoms] should be good enough. Not 100 percent, but should protect for 99 percent or more of the STDs,” Siddiqi said.

And according to Buseh, the availability of condoms is just as vital as any campaign to raise public awareness.

“Knowledge may be important to young people to teach them and educate them and what not, but in some instances, you really want to be able to supply them with some of other things that would be needed. Make condoms available in the dormitories.”

Currently, Sandberg and Riverview are the only dorms where condoms are available, either for free or for purchase, but condoms may be purchased in bulk at Norris and are available for free in the Norris outreach clinic lo-

cated on the third floor of the Union.

Free condoms are also available in the LGBT and Women’s Resource Centers.

But while access and awareness can go a long way, notes Buseh, ul-

timately it’s up to individuals to take charge of their sexual health.

“Government cannot really police from behind the curtain. Nobody is in your bedroom to watch exactly what you’re doing.”

NEWS BRIEFS Former MATC official accused of thefts The former procurement manager of Milwaukee Area Technical College was charged with two felony counts Feb. 6 after allegedly embezzling over $250,000 from the school over a seven-year period.

Kristin Seimits, 44, stands accused of using an MATC credit card to purchase an astonishing amount of personal luxury items. Among the expenditures she’ll have to come up with a creative justification for are trips to Las Vegas and Florida, 10 f lat screen TVs, jewelry, a piano, a golf cart and a Mitsubishi Lancer.

Indian reservation suing five largest breweries The Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota filed suit against five of the world’s largest beer companies Feb. 9, alleging they knowingly contributed to the widespread alcohol-related destruction on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Among the defendants named in the suit are the makers Budweiser, Miller, Coors and Pabst Blue Ribbon, as well as four beer stores near the reservation.

Alcohol has been banned from the reservation for all but two months since 1832.

Separation of Degrees Hundreds of Dickinson State University alumni face the possibility of having their diplomas revoked after an audit determined that the North Dakota college granted several hundred degrees to people who had not met graduation requirements. The audit stated that only 10 of 410 foreign students who had completed joint degrees while enrolled at the university had sufficient accreditation to receive diplomas. Since the findings were made public, the university’s vice president has resigned and university administrator Doug LaPlante was found dead from an apparent selfinf licted gunshot.

Anonymous Hacks CIA Hackers claiming to be affiliated with Anonymous took credit for shutting down the CIA’s webpage on Feb. 10. One member of Anonymous released a manifesto explaining the attack, saying that it was done using hijacked child pornography servers as spam bots to attack the site. “[To the CIA] six compromised servers containing child pornography are actively DDOSing your webserver… It will stop 41.6 days after the time it began. Your only choice is to act, and have them taken off line, which should have already happened,” according to the released manifesto.

The CIA’s website has since come back online.

Marquette is endowed

The lobby of Norris Health Center. Post file photo

Marquette University’s endowment recently moved into the top 25 percent of all college endowments in the country, according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers-Commonfund Study of Endowments. The jump was fueled by a 22.3 percent return on investments in last fiscal year, exceeding the national average of 19.2 percent. Marquette’s total endowment is currently estimated to be $401 million.

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Rethinking BOSS Changing demographics place strain on transportation service

Unidentified student opts to be on the safe side. Post photo by Sierra Riesberg

By Justin Jabs Special to the Post news@uwmpost.com The Be on the Safe Side program is currently evaluating the services they provide to the student body. The assessment comes as part of a push for selfreflection throughout Student Life and Development units.

The safe transportation service was created in 2000 and has experienced little change in operations or boundaries since. Anthony Gomez was first involved with the program in 2002, serving as a driver for three years, and later became the BOSS director in 2010. The way students use BOSS, just like the university it serves, has changed significantly in the past decade, according to Gomez.

“We never used to go to Riverwest,” Gomez said. “Now we drive there all the time.”

The university has shifted from a commuter institution to a school where many students live on campus. With that change, the demand for BOSS has gone up. Gomez says the service transports approximately 20,000 students per month, an increase from a recorded average of 15,000 in 2008. Throughout its history, the boundaries and the first-come, firstserve nature of the service has stayed the same.

No changes to BOSS are officially planned yet or even proposed. Gomez says that any changes must first go through the Student Association, the dean, the vice chancellor and a number of other parties before going into effect.

The discussion now is purely assessment.

What Gomez is trying to do is ensure that BOSS is satisfying the student body.

“The goal is to aid our users and fill the needs that they may have,” Gomez said.

Some of the ideas discussed include boundary changes and prioritizing calls.

Currently, BOSS serves riders going

north up until Hampton Ave. However, the area between this cutoff and Capitol Dr. is scarcely used. According to Gomez and Interim Associate Dean of Students Robert Longwell-Grice, only 7.1 percent of rides begin or end in this area.

“We found that too much time is used taking one or two riders north of Capital,” Longwell-Grice said.

Gomez says sometimes a trip north of Capital can take up to forty minutes, and more students aren’t being picked up once the destination is reached. By cutting out that area of service, perhaps BOSS can carry more students and improve response time, Longwell-Grice said.

In addition to analyzing call logs to see where riders are going, Gomez has looked at other programs at universities across the country. While BOSS does not impose any limits on how many times the service can be used, other schools restrict that amount. UW-Madison, for example, has a six-ride limit per semester for their SAFEride Cab. Besides reorganized boundaries, another option to improve efficiency is to prioritize certain calls rather than fill them on a first-come, first-serve basis.

An informational brief completed last September suggests giving higher priority to callers who are alone or traveling to and from campus, and lower priority to lone callers going fewer than two blocks as well as those in groups of three or more. The challenge in improving BOSS, Gomez says, is the program is part transit, part safety.

“Who has priority? That’s something the students need to decide,” Gomez said.

Although Gomez said the program is going well, he indicated that BOSS could still be improved.

“Right now we’re servicing mass quantities, but perhaps not the highest quality of service possible,” LongwellGrice said.

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Golda Meir Library awarded $250,000 grant

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Continued from page 1 senate and Lang’s veto was sustained.

Speaker of the Senate Rick Banks said that while he did not have anything against the bill, “it’s a lot and I want to look through it.”

The senate also welcomed several

new members to the legislature, including two at-large senators, two from the Peck School of the Arts, one from the College of Letters and Sciences and one from the School of Nursing.

Junior Carmella Delucia said she wanted to increase awareness and safety on campus, stop the misuse of power and start being responsible with student segregated fees.

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the Council of Library and Information Resources. In December, it was announced that they’d been awarded a $260,000 grant, which they’ll use to hire an archivist and two half-time student assistants for three years.

“To be able to process and archive these materials, you’d like to consider original order,” Peschel said. “And you have to assume that there is order, which we’ve concluded there isn’t; it’s been interrupted.

We’re trying to put things back into the right order, and that will make the processing go better.”

To that end, Peschel has already purchased archival shelving and begun properly sorting materials into appropriate storage. By properly storing these materials, which include letters dating as far back as the 1850s, they can be kept in good condition and available for years to come.

The job of the archivist, once hired, will be to not only process the archives but also catalogue them and make them accessible to researchers both online and in the library.

“The records that are going to be available for primary research when we’re done with this program will be pretty significant,” Peschel said.

Once indexed, the catalogues will be available from a Google search, allowing scholars worldwide to pinpoint the exact location of what they’re looking for. There are also plans to scan documents as necessary and make them available online in their complete form. Ultimately, the project will add significantly to UWM’s contribution to the worldwide scholarly community.

“We’ve already been a draw to scholars all over the world, and we expect that there will be fellowships that will come here in the future and will want to get the AGS archives, in relationship to everything else that we have here,” Baruth said.

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Since 1978, the library of the American Geographical Society has been housed in UW-Milwaukee’s Golda Meir Library, now a collection of over a million items and one of the most comprehensive in the United States.

Recently, the library was awarded a grant of $250,000 from the Andrew Mellon Foundation to help finance and staff an important new project that goes right back to the Society’s own roots: archiving over five tons of US geographical records and publications compiled over the course of a century.

Originally, the library was part of the American Geographical Society’s headquarters in New York City, since their founding in 1851.

“For a long time, it was one of America’s most prominent scholarly societies and it had many major accomplishments,” Curator Emeritus of the AGS Library at UWM Christopher Baruth said.

“However, by the 1970s they found themselves in a situation where they couldn’t support the library and map collection anymore, and they put out a call for proposals for places with which they could affiliate.”

UWM was chosen as the new site for the collection in 1976, and the official move took place two years later.

When the collection was moved from New York, the society’s archives, which included over 100 years of correspondences, records and publications, remained. Over the years, however, the remaining space for even these materials slowly shrank as the Society moved locations multiple times. Finally, after recently moving to a new space in Brooklyn, the main offices accepted an offer from the library at UWM to take the archives and reunite the remaining parts of the AGS collection.

It was early last February that the AGS Library received the valuable archival materials from the Society’s main office. At the time a blizzard was approaching, but the library’s staff would soon find themselves caught up in a different kind of storm. Due to the lack of space and frequent moves in the AGS offices, the archives had become almost completely disorganized, and it became the responsibility of the library here to set about sorting the records.

“After we got the archives here,” Baruth said, “it sort of fell on our shoulders for us to figure out how we’re actually going to be able to catalogue these archives and process them.”

It’s a task that will require no small effort, considering the size of the collection: altogether over 540 cubic feet, or 10,000 pounds of archival material.

Baruth and visual resources librarian Susan Peschel have been working on the project since the materials arrived at UWM. In the New York offices, the archives had been stored in ordinary filing cabinets and storage space, as opposed to the carefully maintained archival shelving traditionally used by archivists.

“They ran out of space in the filing cabinets, and so one drawer would be continued over in another drawer because that drawer had space, but then they ran out of room there so it was continued over in a different room or a different building,” Peschel said.

In addition, Baruth says that when the archives were split from the library’s collection, the division separated a huge amount of important information. While many maps and photographs went to Milwaukee with the library, the lists that identified them were often left in the archives. To reintegrate these requires an extensive amount of work and organization.

To accomplish these goals, Baruth and his staff discovered a program offering a grant, called Cataloguing Hidden Resources in Libraries and Archives, from

B I S O N

By Gil Towers Special to the Post news@uwmpost.com

Three new senate members at the SA senate meeting.

Left to Right: Steve Heimerl, Carmella Delucia and Nancy Nguyen.

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University’s School of Freshwater Sciences receives unusual donation Remotely Operated Vehicle sparks new underwater adventures Consi is a part of the marine robotics and engineering education at SFS, and he noted the significance of having a donation such as the ROV in his field of study.

“The important thing is to have an underwater vehicle for underwater engineering. Besides doing research on fresh water, you have to train engineers of the future to understand equipment for the future,” Consi said.

While the donation was greatly appreciated by the entire SFS program, members of Collins, such as Browne, looked at the tool as a means of furthering the program’s studies with the goals of designing similar projects down the road.

“The donation will benefit students because they will have hands on opportunities with the ROV to research and explore technologies by modifying and improving its design,” Browne said.

Browne also said that the ROV had been in the company for many years and served Collins well. While something like that model would run anywhere from $25,000-35,000 brand new, Browne pointed out that the ROV is similar to a car in the sense that its value depreciates over time, making it hard to place an exact value on the tool after several years in service.

While the instrument has been widely anticipated and celebrated, there

are still a few things to be done before the vehicle is used for academic purposes.

First, Consi said, the ROV will need to undergo a number of test runs in order to grasp an understanding of how to use the machine most effectively. However, the SFS and its professors are familiar with the ROVs, making learning how to operate the recently donated machine smoother, Browne said.

“We reviewed the entire control system and umbilical cord, which is part of control system as it swims under the sea. All of those cords and controls were donated and we reviewed everything with SFS,” Browne said. “Not much training was necessary since operating an ROV is like driving a car or riding a bike. If you are familiar with the technology, operation of one particular model doesn’t vary much to another model.”

The donation was provided in the name of academics in hopes of providing an outlet of exploration for whichever field it may be used in, all with prospective towards the future.

“As new instruments become available, new science can be reached. With new science comes new instruments, and so on,” Consi said. “The vehicle is not dedicated to any particular science industry but rather an engineering test bed for students to learn from.”

Ready, set, recycle

tant complex coordinator.

“We’re really trying to increase communication with students and get them interested, especially this year,” Heindl said.

There are no prizes for the winners, but Nelson said for her, RecycleMania is all about the pride.

“We can’t manage what we can’t measure, and this gives us an opportunity to do that,” Nelson said. “And of course, it’s an international competition, so we can see how we stack up against the other schools.”

Throughout the competition, the UWM Office of Sustainability, Veolia and Waste Management will be tracking the campus’s waste and recycling extensively. Every pickup will be monitored to determine accurate statistics.

UWM offers a wide range of recycling options for students, including compost, computers, cell phones, pallets, carpet, metals, plastics and more.

“We actually offer more recycling than people are used to,” Nelson said.

“We recycle all plastics, one through seven. That’s very unusual.”

For Nelson, understanding recycling is comprehending the greater meaning of environmental sustainability.

“When you get recycling, you get the bigger picture. You can think beyond yourself and your daily operations,” Nelson said.

In addition to the RecycleMania program, Heindl and Nelson are planning a recycled art competition in the housing department.

“You’ve got to get the basics right, and recycling is the basics. It saves a lot of energy and a lot of money to recycle,” Nelson said. “It puts the environmental responsibility of this campus into everyone’s hands.”

By Zack Garhart Special to the Post news@uwmpost.com UW-Milwaukee prides itself on being home to one of the only fresh water study programs in the country and also the only graduate program in the nation.

On Jan. 27, faculty and students of the School of Freshwater Sciences were provided more assistance in furthering their studies when Collins Engineers, Inc. donated a Phantom-300 remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to the program.

The ROV is very unique, not only in terms of its versatility towards other programs within UWM, but also since it is the first donation of its kind received by the SFS in the program’s youthful three year existence. Individuals from both Collins and the SFS at UWM worked together to bring the ROV into the program.

Terry Browne, a Divisional Manager and Professional Engineer-Diver at Collins, was a big part of this movement after being introduced to the SFS through their involvement in Marine Advanced Technology Education activities in Milwaukee. In working as an industry mentor for local high school students participating in MATE, Browne was professionally linked with assistant professor Thomas Consi.

UWM set to participate in RecycleMania 2012

By Matthew Karwoski Special to the Post news@uwmpost.com UW-Milwaukee is set to participate in the 12th annual international RecycleMania competition, which runs from Feb. 5 to March 31. Over 600 universities will be vying to increase their campus’s recycling efforts in the eight week period.

2012 will be the fourth year UWM has competed in the program. During last year’s competition, the university was able to recycle over a half-million pounds, with a final recycling rate of 35 percent. The national average was 32 percent.

Kate Nelson, who graduated from UWM with a degree in conservation and environmental science, is the school’s first ever environmental sustainability coordinator. She has set the bar high with a 60 percent recycling goal this year.

“In 2011, we accelerated in the academic buildings with a 48 percent recycling rate. Unfortunately our rate was 21 percent in housing. That seems to be where we could make the most headway,” Nelson said.

Nelson has collaborated with the Student Housing Administrative Council in an attempt to increase the sector’s recycling percentages.

Melanie Heindl is the SHAC assis-

Know something we don’t? Send tips to news@uwmpost.com

February 13, 2012

√-1 Math Math = entertainment at latest Science Bag

By Clair Sprenger Special to the Post news@uwmpost.com Despite her claim “I don’t really like math,” attendee Samantha, 12, who came with her dad and brother, thoroughly enjoyed the first run of this month’s Science Bag. “Math Puzzlers and Brain Teasers” debuted Feb. 3 in the physics building and runs again at 8 p.m. every Friday in February. Admission is free and UWMilwaukee mathematics Professor Bill Mandella is the organizer and host.

Judy Lasca, wife of Science Bag director Norman Lasca Jr., is herself a Science Bag enthusiast.

“I enjoyed [the show] tremendously,” Lasca said, describing it as a “whole different presentation” compared with all the previous Science Bags she has seen.

At other Science Bags, there tend to be more props, which would not have worked for Mandella’s theme.

Audience members were given worksheets to use during the presentation as they filed into the auditorium for the first show. Families and groups of middle and high school-age students tried to answer questions and laughed at a slide show of math jokes while anxiously waiting for the show to begin.

The jokes continued as Mandella guided the audience through the worksheet and interacted with the audience.

He set up each problem and challenged audience members to solve it on their own. The crowd murmured, as they discussed solutions and Mandella played Jeopardy music teasingly.

After a minute, he asked for answers and then provided the correct answer.

People found most problems difficult until Mandella explained how to solve them easily.

“It’s like a magic trick - clever, but

5

once learned, obvious,” Mandella said.

When asked about how much time he put into organizing his Science Bag, Mandella bluntly began, “a lot.”

Mandella spent months brainstorming for his presentation since he was first approached about organizing a Science Bag last year.

He searched online and through books he has collected over the years with math puzzles to create the worksheet. He picked problems that are easy to set up, yet not to solve.

His system is to teach participants to “solve a simpler problem first,” in order to recognize patterns in difficult problems, through which he managed to explain calculus concepts in ways understandable knowing only basic fractions.

Mandella’s inspiration was a similar presentation at a mathematics conference he attended years ago. He considers this show and his similar to the puzzlers many NPR shows air.

“Frequently [the puzzles on NPR are] problems that you reason out,” Mandella said.

“Personally, I like puzzlers and brain teasers,” Madella said.

“There must be an audience for it.”

Mandella runs his Science Bag much like he teaches his classes, providing understandable solutions and using humor.

Interesting presentations he has attended that were not “humanized by way of humor” are what inspire Mandella to teach his classes with humor and why he geared his presentation towards general audiences.

Graduate student Andrew Parisi, who helped set up the week of the first presentation, praises Mandella’s use of humor as important.

“Students tend to be turned off by the word math itself,” Parisi said. “We need teachers who can connect with the students, make them laugh, make them realize that math is more than filling out a checkbook.”

Others who helped Mandella include director Lasca and Mandella’s wife Sarah, who made suggestions and changes, and a friend of Mandella’s who helped him cut blocks for one of the few problems that involved props.

Post Photo by Sierra Riesberg

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February 13, 2012

SPORTS

the uwm post

Panther tennis UWM Women Panthers can’t keep up with Detroit has Soule!

Forward Shareta Brown’s 21 in second half push Detroit past Panthers By: Eric Engelbart Staff Writer Sports@uwmpost.com

Maddy Soule has been vital in the Panthers’ recent success.

Post photo by Sierra Riesberg

Junior Maddy Soule has been a big part of the surging Milwaukee tennis program

By Tony Atkins Assistant Sports Editor sports@uwmpost.com In life, everyone embarks on their own individual journey as it helps mold them into the person they are today.

You are often a “product of your environment” and wherever you go, you represent where you come from.

In this case, UW-Milwaukee’s tennis captain, junior Maddy Soule, represents Panther tennis wherever she goes. Needless to say, she represents Panthers’ tennis quite adequately.

After earning the Horizon League’s Newcomer of The Year Award in 2011, Soule has had more than her fair share of wins in black and gold. Last fall, Soule amassed nine singles wins and eight doubles matches wins in one of the toughest tennis schedules in UWM’s long history.

Raised on the sunny shores in the great state of Hawaii, Soule began playing tennis at the age of five, hitting around with other locals at the courts in the area. This spawned a love for the game that would reside within her for years to come. Hailing from Hawaii, Soule took her talents all over America.

From Hawaii, she moved to Texas and then began playing college tennis at the University of Montana.

“I feel that the different experiences everywhere has helped me in the process of growing as a tennis player and a person. I feel that I have taken a lot from the different places that I’ve been and it will help me as I move forward in life” Soule said.

After leaving Montana, Soule ended up in Milwaukee where she continues her strong play as a Panther. Soule mentioned how staying humble and being around a supportive team has helped her in maintaining her strong play.

“I think the team’s dynamic is as strong as it’s ever been. We are very

supportive of one another on and off the court,” Soule said. “It makes for a very good environment on and off of the court.”

Many elite athletes have a special drive or something to prove, and Soule is no different. She recognizes that there is always something to learn from and become better.

“I took some losses [last year] and I want to beat those girls this year. There is always something to do to get better as a player and keep improving,” Soule said.

For years, the tennis program at UWM has been relatively unknown, even on campus. Year after disappointing year, the program has struggled to find its footing and now it seems that with hard working players like Soule and senior Megan Gow, just to name a few, this program is on the rise under coach Sean McInerney.

“It is really awesome that I have been a part of something like this,” Soule said. “The fact that I had a hand in recruiting two freshmen makes me feels good. It makes me want to work harder and that is just more motivation for me.”

Coach McInerney believes that strong leadership from players like Soule is vital in bringing this program to the top of the standings in the Horizon League.

“This year I couldn’t ask for more.

I think we have mature leaders in Maddy[Soule] and Megan [Gow],” McInerney said. “This is the type of leadership that coaches hope for and this year we’ve gotten it.”

Players like Soule may not be around when this program reaches its “golden years” down the line, but one thing is for certain, they had a part in getting them there. Until then we can just enjoy the Hawaiian girl that made her way to Milwaukee to represent the black and gold.

The UWM Women’s Panthers basketball team wrapped up a home stand against the Detroit Titans on Saturday afternoon at the Klotsche Center. The Panthers (6-16) had lost four in a row, and were coming off a difficult loss against Horizon League rival Wright State. The Titans had won four in a row, and were coming off of an impressive victory over then undefeated Green Bay. The injury ravaged Panthers jumped out early against the Titans, but weren’t able to hold on as Detroit prevailed 62-48 behind a strong effort in the second half.

Due to injuries to starting center Courtney Lindfors and starting guard Emily Decorah, Panthers’ coach Sandy Botham’s starting lineup featured three freshmen on Saturday. Along with freshmen point guard Kiki Wilson and forward Ashley Green, forward Janna Swopshire has recently stepped into a starting role in the absence of Lindfors.

The Detroit Titans feature star freshmen forward Shareta Brown, who

is averaging nearly a double-double (16 ppg, 8.7 rpg) on the season. Brown leads the Horizon League in scoring, and almost commands a double team in the post.

The Panthers were able to jump out to an early lead thanks to good ball movement, and two first half three pointers from Angela Rodriguez.

Sami Tucker led the team with nine points in the first half. The Panthers were able to maintain the lead in the first half, as Shareta Brown played only six minutes due to foul trouble.

The Panthers were able to build an 11 point lead early on at 25-14, but Detroit went on a 10-3 run to end the half and closed the deficit to 28-24.

Shareta Brown, who was limited to two points in the first half, came out in the second half looking to make up for lost time. Brown asserted herself in the paint against the undersized Panthers in the second half, as the Titans road her powerful left hand to a double digit lead. She outscored the Panthers by herself in the second half, scoring 21 points to the Panthers’ 20.

“We knew she was going to come out and be hungry and just take it to us, and we didn’t have an answer defen-

sively,” Coach Botham stated in reference to Brown’s second half outburst.

The Titans extended their lead in the second half behind the indefensible Brown, but the Panthers showed a few bright spots. Ashley Green was able to post up and score on the much larger Brown on a few occasions, and also did an admirable job defending Brown on the other end. Angela Rodriguez led the Panthers with 13 points on the night, while Green contributed 12.

The Panthers’ field goal percentage dropped off drastically in the second half, while the Titans’ improved drastically. The Titans’ improvement can be attributed to Brown’s role in the offense, while the Panthers’ failure came down to inexperience and an overzealous approach.

“I felt that at times we didn’t take care of the basketball, our shooting percentage was down, we were hesitant, forced some shots, and if we can take better care of our offensive end, [we can win more games.]” said Botham.

The Panthers’ schedule doesn’t get any easier, as their next game is on the road at division rival Cleveland State on Thursday.

Panthers Lose Big on the Road to Wright State UW-Milwaukee falls to sixth place in Horizon League standings

By Nick Bornheimer Staff Writer sports@uwmpost.com Wright State’s Cole Darling had 21 points off of the bench in the 70-46 trouncing of UW-Milwaukee Sunday in Ohio.

The Panthers (15-12, 8-7 Horizon) have now dropped six of their last eight games, and are three games out of first place with just three games remaining in conference.

The Raiders (12-15, 7-8 Horizon)

Post photo by Sierra Riesberg who snapped a three-game losing streak with the victory are still in the hunt for a first-round conference championship game at home.

Last year’s regular season champion Panthers are in trouble. Plagued by injuries, the Panthers will need to gain momentum to make a run at the tournament title, a feat they haven’t accomplished since 2006.

Wright State, who was only up by 7 at the half, exploded for 41 points in

second half. Reggie Arceneaux, Vance Hall and Julius Mays scored 14, 13, and 12 points for the Raiders on the afternoon, respectively.

Tony Meier and Shaquille Boga both had 10 points for the Panthers, who as a team shot a dismal 32 percent on the afternoon.

Milwaukee now looks to regroup for a big matchup with Cleveland State at home on Valentine’s Day. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

SPORTS

uwmpost.com

February 13, 2012

7

Turning around 2012 NFL offseason the Bucks to be overshadowed by The Bucks have struggled in recent memory but there are some solutions

quarterback movement

A look under the hood of the upcoming NFL season

By Nolan Murphy Staff Writer sports@uwmpost.com

The Bucks have had their fair share of ups and downs the last two seasons. More downs than up unfortunately. Photo courtesy of wbur.org

By Mitch Pratt Staff Writer sports@uwmpost.com The Milwaukee Bucks have watched the losses pile up since making it to the Eastern Conference Finals way back in 2001. The core group of those playoff teams, led by coach George Karl and the “Big Three” consisting Sam Cassell, Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson, all left following the 2002-03 season, and the Bucks have amassed a dismal 280-376 win-loss record. The best season of those came in the 2009-10, during the “Fear the Deer” run.

That’s almost 100 games under .500.

In other words, over the past 8-plus seasons, the Bucks have been nothing to fear.

Are there any solutions? Yes. Some are immediate, others will take time. It’s just a matter of patience for fans to see if this team can be back to where it was at the turn of the millennium.

It starts at the top. A new general manager is in order. John Hammond was brought in after the 2008 season when Larry Harris was relieved of his duties following a terrible year. Hammond immediately hired current coach Scott Skiles and since their tenure together began, there has been just one playoff berth for the Bucks and a whole mess of losses.

One could blame the head coach for this, but as the old saying goes, coaches can coach but it’s the players that ultimately decide the direction of the team, especially in basketball. Who puts these players together? That’s right, John Hammond. The constant turnover of the Bucks is something that has hurt them in the past five (or so) years. Alas, keeping Skiles would be a way to maintain some consistency within the organization.

The problem with the market size in Milwaukee is that Hammond can ill-afford a rebuild right now. The fans in this town are so “bandwagon-y” that if the Bucks were terrible for a couple years, they might lose fan support altogether.

Most loyal fans are probably dying to see whoever the GM is, blow the team up and keep a few key cogs. That however, would take a few years to see the result, and what if they’re still terrible after another three years?

Two immediate remedies are: Get rid of Stephen Jackson. The experiment that Hammond took a flier on to get rid of other ineffective talent in Corey Maggette and John Salmons has taken a turn for the worst. Jackson has now nearly become an after-thought in the Bucks’ huddle.

Also, it’s apparent the feeling is mutual. When Jackson was recently asked if he wanted to be in Milwaukee, he replied saying he couldn’t answer that question because he “would get fined” if he did.

It’s just not working.

Give more playing time to some of the young guys. It would make the most sense to see what we have. I’d start by giving this year’s first-round and second-round picks, Tobias Harris and Jon Leuer, more playing time. Harris is averaging 6.1 points and two rebounds per contest while playing around 11.5 minutes in those games. Purely speculating, do the math and say he plays 33 minutes per game - those stats would turn into 18 and six. Harris just understands how to play the game at this level. I wouldn’t mind seeing him in the starting five. I believe he’s that good and that we may have actually found someone worthwhile in the first round (other than Jennings) since Bogut.

This season has been full of disappointment. With that said, there has been some shining moments this year without Stephen Jackson and Andrew Bogut. The Bucks aren’t as bad as everyone makes them out to be, but in order to get back to respectability, they need to make some serious decisions. There is still time in this shortened season for the team to get it somewhat turned around but for now, it might just be the same old Bucks basketball.

Only six months ago, the thought of professional football being played in 2012 was becoming more and more unlikely as every hour passed. Then, it seemed as if God himself declared he could not imagine Sundays in autumn without 32 teams facing off on the gridiron, and the NFL lockout ended.

Two hundred and sixty-seven games later, including 11 playoff games, one team was left standing. The New York Giants were crowned Super Bowl champions in a run that made the Green Bay Packers’ run of last year look childish. Eli Manning became only the fifth player in Super Bowl history to win two Super Bowl MVP awards. The Giants also become the league’s first 7 loss team to win the big prize.

Heading into the 2012 NFL offseason, many questions linger about the future of some of best players ever to grace the trenches. None of them are bigger than the decision that the Indianapolis Colts face. The only four-time league MVP and record holder for most consecutive 4,000 yard passing seasons (11) has a future that has yet to be determined. Quarterback Peyton Manning may have played his last down in the Colts blue and white. Will Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, son of former NFL signal caller Oliver Luck, become Manning’s replacement and the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft?

2011 Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III is projected to be one of the top picks in the draft. To who remains the

Many are wondering where star quarterback Payton Manning will be playing next season. Photo courtesy of NFL.com question as the St. Louis Rams hold the second pick and have their quarterback of the future in Sam Bradford. The Cleveland Browns, Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins all have issues at quarterback. One should make a move in the draft in hopes of acquiring what they believe will be their franchise quarterback.

Coming off a record-setting season for a quarterback, breaking Dan Marino’s passing yard record with 5476 yards, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees will be looking for a payday. Will the Saints be willing to give Brees the five-year, $90 million contract Peyton Manning received last offseason, or at least something in the ballpark?

The New York Jets and quarterback Mark Sanchez have only been paired to-

gether for three years, but the big city life seems to be wearing on them. With the Jets already roughly $7 million over the projected $120 million 2012 salary cap, serious budgeting will have to occur to make a run at Peyton Manning.

Green Bay Packers back-up quarterback Matt Flynn will be an unrestricted free agent and will be in high demand after his impressive showing week 17 against the Lions with six touchdowns. The Browns, Dolphins and Seahawks will all make a serious run at him.

In the coming months, the league will be reshaped and reformatted. What teams will come out of the 2012 NFL offseason with a franchise quarterback remains to be seen. One thing is certain however, the biggest domino has to fall first. That domino is named Peyton Manning.

Keeping track

Panthers cross Lake Michigan and take on Grand Valley State’s Big Meet

By Erika Hanson Special to the Post sports@uwmpost.com UW-Milwaukee’s track and field team crossed the pond this weekend to take on several teams at Grand Valley State’s Big Meet in Allendale, Mich.

Numerous records fell as the Panthers took control of the track, leading to another weekend of success and promise for the Horizon League Indoor Track & Field Championship in two weeks.

Despite injury, a vicious stomach bug and hours of travel, the UW-Milwaukee Panther track and field team placed high in several events this past weekend at GVSU’s Kelly Family Sports Center in Allendale, Mich. Amidst numerous per-

sonal bests overall, a handful of Panthers placed in the top three in their specialty event.

Junior Durell Busby set a meet record and broke his own school record in the 60 meter hurdles with a preliminary time of 7.87 seconds. Later that afternoon in the finals of the event, Busby bettered his list of records with a blazing 7.80, now 15th in the country.

Adding to her arsenal of first place finishes, junior Samia Taylor took home the gold again in her event, triple jumping 40 feet, 2 1/4 inches. Although not a personal best, Taylor has set and broken her own school record countless times since her freshman year. Thus far, she is UWM’s only track athlete to achieve AllAmerican status, placing 18th outdoors

at the NCAA Championships last June.

Redshirt junior Shelby Schaal placed second in the pentathlon: five events covering all areas of the sport. She currently sits second in school history. Senior Laura Hamel followed Schaal on the scoreboard, boasting a third place finish and scoring a personal best herself.

Nearly half of the Panthers posted personal bests in their designated events.

As a member of the team myself, we’re feeling powerful as only two more weeks of training lie between us and potentially another Horizon League title. Looks like another fantastic start to a spring of fast running, incredible jumps and far throws.

Jeff Mangum emerges to enthrall Milwaukee

By Steven Franz Fringe Editor fringe@uwmpost.com Jeff Mangum is a man perfectly content to let his image be constructed by other people.

He wouldn’t even allow his photo to be taken.

He’s the JD Salinger or Thomas Pynchon of musicians, a recluse who (if you believe the stories; maybe you don’t) retreated into the apartments of his closest friends for a decade after the release of his last and greatest album, hiding from the public eye while his myth, profile, and ironically, his career all exploded. And the further he regressed into obscurity, the more popular he became, aided all the while by the fact that Jeff Mangum was whoever his fans wanted him to be, never emerging to settle the truth of the matter. The myth became more than the man; his words, bold and evocative and cutting in the context of his voice, became his defining characteristic and the one thing aside for his clanging acoustic guitar that could be connected to him, but even then only vaguely. There was still no hint of the actual man.

Then, inexplicably, Jeff Mangum himself emerged to play a short set at the Occupy Wall Street rallies last year, and everything

changed. YouTube videos littered the Internet; Jeff Mangum himself, a face and a body to connect to the voice. And from there, a tour was booked on the strength of a myth and a 13-year-old album that nobody heard of upon its release and everyone knows about now. Who knows why he did it; and why should it matter? Mangum’s inexplicable popularity with a generation that hadn’t graduated middle school upon his sort-of-disappearance had spoken for itself, aided by torrents and the easy word of mouth of the Web. So when Jeff Mangum emerged sheepishly from stage-right at the Pabst Theater last Wednesday, it was as if something had changed. Suddenly there was a human being there; Jeff Mangum was certifiably real.

He was humble, asking his good friends from fellow Elephant 6 bands Elf Power and The Gerbils to accompany him on tour, playing before probably the largest crowds of their (or his) careers. He was gracious, not only repeating his thanks endlessly to the enthralled mass before him, but encouraging

See MANGUM page 11

fringe

uwmpost.com

A shameful film

February 13, 2012

9

Now showing at a theater near you The troubling ineptitude of Steve McQueen’s Shame

Shame, the new film from Steve McQueen (no, not that Steve McQueen) is as vile as a serious film as it is ridiculous as an overwrought work of cheese.

By Steven Franz Fringe Editor fringe@uwmpost.com Steve McQueen’s NC-17 rated Shame is a wretched film, morally vindictive in its sexual politics and utterly inept in both its writing and its form. The parts of the film that aren’t amazingly, Puritanically moralistic are knee-slappingly, unknowingly ridiculous, bordering on Ed Wood-like levels of total incompetence that hilariously subvert the movie’s attempts to posit itself as a Serious Film. In many ways it’s an after school special, the Reefer Madness of the modern age that substitutes sex for marijuana but keeps the preposterousness intact, inventing nightmare scenario after nightmare scenario in which main character Brandon’s (Michael Fassbender) normal human sexuality is manipulated to seem monstrous. The absurdity of the film feels almost purposeful, as if McQueen is making fun of the viewer that would take seriously the overblown non-threat of Sex Outside of Marriage that Shame attempts to substitute for either danger or any sort of antagonist. It is outmoded, homophobic, sometimes misogynistic and easily one of the worst films in recent memory.

The following is a tremendously incomplete list of Shame’s most ludicrous moments: It includes a scene in which Brandon is at a restaurant, on a date with a coworker, who he seems to have coerced into the date just by having glared into her soul, for the two have not exchanged more than one line of dialogue up to this point and all interactions have involved him staring at her lasciviously (one of the huge faults of the

film is the way in which it depicts women as powerless beneath the strong stares of men). While on the date, the film takes more than a minute to allow the waiter, line by line, to go through the entire menu, letting the couple know about all the dinner specials, the soup of the day and the wine he would like to recommend (Pinot Noir, for those wondering, which, according to him, is quite light). This is done with one continuous shot, is never interrupted and is completely irrelevant to either the film at large or the scene in which it takes place. It is more than a little akin to a similar (famous) scene from Tommy Wiseau’s cult classic The Room in which several characters place detailed orders at Starbucks for absolutely no reason.

It includes a scene in which Brandon’s sister (who in perfect ridiculousness is named Sissy, get it, Sissy is like sister), played by Carey Mulligan, has sex with his boss at Brandon’s house. Having already established Brandon’s ravenous sex life – and watched him urinate for a good twenty seconds, one of the most uncomfortably stupid scenes in recent memory – McQueen suggests through Brandon’s behavior that it would be rude of him to kick his sister out of his own house for having sex with his boss because of the sexual double standard it would represent, failing to really understand that his sister, who is not even paying rent, is having sex with his boss in his house. And, you know, gross.

(The other interpretation of that scene, that Brandon’s displeasure at the situation springs from some sort of incestual desire for his sibling, would merely make him the world’s worst cartoon of a sexual deviant.)

It includes a scene in which that same

boss calls Brandon into his office at work to discuss the fact that gigabytes and gigabytes of hardcore pornography have been discovered on Brandon’s work computer.

In addition to the paramount lunacy behind the idea that anyone could get away with watching hours of porn in an office building with neither cubicles nor solid walls separating its rooms, the sequence begins with Brandon’s boss having a Skype conversation with his young son, the Shame equivalent of the Harry Truman campaign ad in which a little girl picks flowers before being annihilated by nuclear war. But after shooing away his son to go speak to his mother, he leaves his Skype window open while he graphically describes the types of porn discovered on Brandon’s computer, dropping a good dozen phrases like “facial” and “creampie,” which anyone on the other side of the line can hear him say.

(It should be noted that the film also invents scenarios to portray Brandon as a villain for watching pornography in his own home, which, needless to say, is nonsense of a caliber that can’t be measured by science. But the next time a former lover calls you on your home phone and leaves a voicemail threatening to kill herself while you’re distracted by internet pornography, be sure to pause your porn and talk it over.)

Lastly – and by “lastly” I mean no, not lastly, there’s just so much more – it includes a scene in which Brandon, having hit rock bottom, resorts to going to a gay bar. In addition to the utter cliché that is that “rock bottom” sequence from any addiction scare film – think the arm amputation from Requiem for a Dream – the sequence is also the most outright offensive of the entire film, in which homosexuality is portrayed not as being the imperative for, you know, homosexuals, but rather the last resort of desperate straight men who simply can’t get laid any other way.

And gay bars aren’t where gay men go to have fun, duh, they’re where despondent straight men go to indulge in unequivocally harmful desires and wallow in their own self-pity. It’s a terrifying scene in its reprehensibility, the last brick in the wall of Shame’s regressive, targeted, cruel sexual politics. And like most of the rest of the film, it’s so outrageous that it’s funny.

Stupid doesn’t begin to cover it.

A look at what’s to come at UWM’s Union Theatre

El Sicario is an intimate portrait of a notorious and anonymous cartel hitman.

By Kevin Kaber Assistant Fringe Editor fringe@uwmpost.com The UW-Milwaukee Union Theatre is one of the most notable and diverse movie theaters in the entire country, but it can be easy to overlook, in the context of studies and the day-to-day bustle of the UWM campus. Every week, the staff at the UWM Post provides a brief guide to the theater’s most notable titles, in an effort to encourage students to make the most of this unique and vibrant resource.

Valley Maker (Wednesday, 7 p.m.)

The Mississippi River has always served as an important piece of American culture.

Surrounded by a culture of its own, the Mighty Mississippi is a centerpiece of folklore, history and the United States’ geography itself. UWM film professor Sean Kafer’s first feature-length film, Valley Maker, is the documentation of Kafer’s own travels of the Mississippi. Traveling by means of a homemade raft, Kafer began his journey in Prescott, Wis., following the river to New Orleans. Kafer keeps his camera on the very unique and ultimately shadowed small town communities along the way. Skillfully crafted, Kafer’s master’s thesis project is an intriguing look at one of America’s greatest namesakes.

El Sicario Room 164 (Thursday, 7 p.m.)

So much is heard about the drug trade across the Mexican-U.S. boarder; however, most of what is heard is derived from police descriptions and records. El Sicario Room 164, on the other hand, gives a firsthand account from one of the drug trade’s most sinister, El Sicario. As a masterful hit man of the drug cartel, El Sicario claims to have taken hundreds of lives and now has a quarter of a million dollar contract on his life.

Though the tell-all documentary also keeps El Sicario’s identity under a strict veil, the assassin doesn’t stop to describe his doings freely – even to the point where he illustrates his actions with a magic marker and paper right before the camera.

Of Love and Other Demons (Friday, 9 p.m., Saturday, 7 p.m., Sunday, 5 p.m.)

This Columbian film adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez is, in fact, an adaptation of Márquez’s own grandmother’s fairy tale. Director Hilda Hidalgo’s depicts Of Love in a manner respectful to the novel.

The drama follows Sierva, a 13-year-old girl who has recently contracted rabies from a dog bite. Immediately banished from the community, Sierva is due to be exorcized to rid her of her demons. However, the exorcist becomes infatuated with the girl.

As cliché as this forbidden romance story sounds, Hildago’s adaptation is as classic as its roots.

10

fringe

February 13, 2012

the uwm post

Triple threat showdown All you can Milwaukee favorites set new course

By Graham Marlowe Assistant Fringe Editor fringe@uwmpost.com Under the banner of three heavyhitting local favorites, Cactus Club proved a great example of how diverse Milwaukee’s music scene really is on Saturday night. Filled with the dopey excitement of an impromptu high school party (a la Dazed & Confused), the near-capacity venue found that energy pulsing through the garage stall that is the CC rather immediately.

The relatively new Kane Place Record Club practically stole the room with its endearing homage to ‘70s pop, and with the ratio of danceable smartalecks to stoic, glass-clasping listeners, the environment grew entertaining as the latter converted to the former on a song by song basis. Led by Jon Scott’s warbly electric piano, the sextet draws liberally from Billy Joel’s 52nd Street, though the lack of a musical-spiritual center actually benefits their sprawling palette. Minus the music’s moments of morning-after ennui, it is always sung with the upbeat melancholy of Ben Folds.

More often than not, it’s as though we hear Scott sing through such moments. On Saturday it included Joel’s moody self-reflection (“Yoko”), the less-serious side of ‘70s orchestrated pop (“Dissatisfaction”), or shifty jazzpop with a funk jam driven by Eris Campbell’s slap-bass (“Virginia”).

Campbell’s lion-eyed presence made his every gesture comical if a little bit terrifying, complemented by Scott’s bobbing up and down forcefully like a crazed-chipmunk (who later broke a tambourine).

“Are you ready to go on?/I can’t go on”, Scott sang with sleepy resignation (“Headrush”), the words leaving his mouth as the audience realized they could and would…so long

as he kept the songs coming. KPRC’s brassy hooks are rock n’ roll enough for a Riverwest basement party and sincere enough for a roller-arena way back when. I’d be curious to know where their stomping grounds are a few months from now.

On the off-chance that you find yourself pairing – or accidentally mixing? – spaghetti westerns and psychedelic pop, you’d get something much like Milwaukee’s The Fatty Acids, a reduced-calorie version of Neon Indian’s triptacular indie-pop that long ago took the blogosphere hostage. But when the Acids get those elements together and take them out bowling, the procession moves forward like a stoned polka, despite the band’s self-perception as suburban aliens that runs through their short history.

Their calling card of predictable setlists played with unpredictable energy won out at this gig. Since their second, latest record (July’s Leftover Monsterface) the spaciness of their imagination(s) has begun to drip into their performances in a way comparable to the mainstreaming of The Flaming Lips’ The Soft Bulletin.

This worked to their advantage in newish cuts like “Creature”, which beg to be stretched out as much as possible, and tend to freshen the weary energy of staples like “Astrovan” and “Howl”.

If only for a few well-known excursions, the material pastels some maturity onto their faces that the group’s spray-on tans and bizarro dresses cannot. All in all, the fun side of the band and its songs took precedent, despite the age of the basement-composed songs.

One might expect the zaniness of early material to fade away like the outdated video game consoles Josh Evert’s keyboards sound like they’re fed through; fortunately, the buzz

and crackle of the material indicates otherwise. In Monsterface ditties like “Marks We Leave” and “Memory Banks”, Evert visibly enjoyed multitasking a second microphone selectively. As if the disorienting input of the rest of the band – including Kurt Raether’s forlorn trumpeting – wasn’t enough, Evert altered listener’s perception of their distance from the sounds.

Last was Fresh Cut Collective, one of the city’s hip-hop favorites for the last several years. Since the absence of original vocalist Adebisi, FCC remains a slowly unfolding mystery.

Taken over by Kiran Vedula (MC) roughly a year ago, the group drew virtually no attention to its self-titled debut of ‘10 during the course of events. In fact, Vedula announced this month that an untitled followup will be released next month. This gave way to an open, live hip-hop feel, stressing short jams in place of acid-blues guitar soloing (or interaction between samplers) – one of which was built from Nintendo 64’s Cruis’n USA into a sexy pillow-talk groove.

The only complaint to be offered in light of the newer cuts (ex: “Reaching Out”; “Let Go”) is Vedula’s occasional overemphasis of the duties of MC-as-cheerleader, knowing full well that he and Patricio Amerena (keys) can jam their hearts out and freestyle into the stratosphere at will. Yet the need for audience permission was blown away for good in their cover of Mark Morrison’s famous R&B anthem “Return of the Mack”. The performance filled the club with a ‘90s nostalgia that would make anyone else covering the song look like inauthentic fools. Judging by the flow of their latest tracks, it would appear another surprise in store for the patient this spring.

drink and hear

Milwaukee’s Castle Thunder headlined Do414’s first All-You-Can-Drink event

Patrons of the Riverwest Public House Friday night bobbed heads with Castle Thunder while enjoying all they could drink.

By Kevin Kaber Assistant Fringe Editor fringe@uwmpost.com Bar-goers and local band supporters alike found a prime oasis from the chill at the Riverwest Public House Friday night. Milwaukee’s own Do414. com had sponsored a $10 all-you-can drink (select varieties of course) event with local artists. It was the first such event for the event aggregator website, but after seeing the results Friday, it will not be the last.

Though the show started about a half hour late, the artists were quick to pick up the energy of the heavydrinking tavern. First on stage was Wolfgang Schaefer (not to be confused with the German choral conductor).

The solo artist’s minimalist setup – an electric guitar, harmonica and a voice – was at first received well in the room.

His lack of shoes in his get up circulated a sense of sincerity throughout.

Unfortunately for Schaefer, and likely due to technical issues left uncorrected, his voice was left floating in the air like an ambient hum. The hipster’s prose was hardly discernable, leaving the patrons to tap the free whiskey by 10 o’clock and wait respectfully for the next band.

Liar’s Trial on the other hand, energized the crowd immensely. Opening with a soft, acoustic folk melody the band then took a sharp turn into an abrasive punk style – which went hand in hand with the bar’s audio setup.

Their style might be more suited for places like Quarters or Cactus Club, but no complaints were aired. With a small but growing fan base, the band was eager to have the bar patrons take

pictures so that the band could add them to their newly minted Facebook page. The Liar’s heavy bass drums pulsated through the room, forcing up the free-drink-wristband-ed hands to modestly punch the air. The band’s front man eventually dispelled enough of his own aura into the crowd and collapsed at the set’s end, leaving him to catch his breath while lying down on the stage.

The transition into the next band, though quick, was an opportune time for Do414 to share the success of their first ever all-you-can-drink event.

Before the headlining act, Castle Thunder, began their set, Do414’s spokesperson of the night reminded everyone that they were “drinking the shit out of us” and that the drinks were only free until the last song. Castle Thunder toyed with this idea, claiming that their three-song set was going to be short.

But that definitely was not the case.

Castle Thunder induced a modest dance in all. The band’s bass drum thump and keyboards shifted the Public House’s noise to an almost Radiohead feeling. The impressive vocal range of lead vocalist Cory Gorman had many swaying and singing along when chants were repeated. Many were intent on the band, listening closely to songs like “The Observer.”

Castle Thunder’s energy continually built up throughout their set – only stopping to fetch a shot from the audience or to toy with the fact that they were in charge of the drink buffet’s finale. Castle Thunder is due for an album release soon, granting Friday night’s newly made fans a chance to follow the underrated, local act.

fringe

uwmpost.com

December13,5,2012 2011 February

11

Truth completes the circle

Van Halen’s latest a prequel to later fame

By Graham Marlowe Assistant Fringe Editor fringe@uwmpost.com By the time writer/director Cameron Crowe debuted his 1982 coming-of-age masterpiece (Fast Times at Ridgemont High), arena-rockers Van Halen had already monopolized the market several times over, leaving little room on the charts for anyone else looking to hear their own larger-than-life party-rock in the cesspool of America’s warehouses, suburban high schools and frat parties.

In an age where authentic sentiment is a thing of the past, the always entertaining, over-inflated ego of David Lee Roth (vocals) has returned - 28 years later and after the group’s numerous sort-of reunions - to re-spin old demos (‘75-‘77) into crafty radio-ready content. While the 56-year-old Roth doesn’t (or no longer can) reach for the high notes on the brand-new A Different Kind of Truth, the album has plenty of the monstrous harmony and rhythmic pummelage of the albums Roth fronted between ‘78 and ‘84.

In fact, Truth bears little difference from the sacred pillars of their punkrock melodicism. Yet for the xenophobic, the result is unmistakably blues-less and free of Sammy Hagar pedestrianisms of the later ‘80s and early ‘90s, that which made the rivalry between the two a philosophical debate on the screen of Wayne’s World. Producer John Shanks could just as easily have copied and pasted the rhythm tracks of 1980s Women and Children First without purists noticing a difference in the tone, attack or lockedin perfectionism of yesteryear’s Ted Templeman productions. (Like AC/DC, making roughly the same album several times over never hurt anyone.)

For the majority of Truth, the band’s punky theatricality is as prevalent as ever.

The problem is Roth takes it upon himself to update the formula with a modern ennui inspired by an overmedicated public content with Ambien prescriptions and the McDonald’s dollar menu.

His insatiable urge to infuse most of the songs with a smoky, half-baked speaksing suggests - for better and worse - that Roth and his band are still crazy from the heat (of Southern California). Thus, the “truth” of this album is thematically

the same - women, pseudo-philosophy, good times - as the one contained on earlier efforts.

In the new single “Tattoo,” along with “She’s the Woman” and “The Trouble with Never,” he greases up the progressions with spoken passages about false virtues, damaged reputations and “delusions of eloquence” in a sexed-up drawl that recalls the famous Oklahoman swamp-rocker J.J. Cale with a little backstage inspiration.

At other times, the interest wanes on repeat listens when one realizes certain passages - as in “Honeybabysweetiedoll” - are merely a chance for Roth to flaunt his perpetual bachelordom over sludgy downtuned pop-metal, replete with Eddie’s signature blur of majestic fretboard-tapping and hammer-ons.

The predictable rhythm section, topped off by Eddie’s 20-year-old son Wolfgang (bass), doesn’t bore as much as it unobtrusively complements his father’s not-that-recently cleaned-up liver (and emotionalism). Even in fun throwaway material like “Bullethead,” Eddie once again finds himself violently shaking the whammy bar of his guitar like a bad habit that's hung around a bit too long.

Those tactics also have familiar strains of beauty in should-be single “Blood and

Lunar voyage

Air’s second film soundtrack soars

By Samantha Radle Staff writer fringe@uwmpost.com There’s always a lot of anticipation when French duo Air releases a new album, and for good reason: they rarely disappoint. Other, similar artists can only dream of Air’s consistency in putting out solid albums, and each one has ardent admirers. Their astral pop is a rare breed of electronica that’s both accessible and distant. It’s hard not to respect their versatility, and they attract a fascinating range of fans. Their graceful score for The Virgin Suicides (1999) was an unusual feat – it’s rare that a single band can put out a major motion picture soundtrack that’s also an excellent, listenable album in its own right. Their studio albums are always highly polished and somehow manage to integrate fragile melodies with sharp hooks, danceability with leisure.

Like The Virgin Suicides, Le Voyage Dans La Lune is basically a soundtrack.

Air composed the score for the new, restored version of Georges Méliès’ visionary 1902 silent film of the same name, and it’s hard to think of any musicians better suited for the job. The duo basically creates atmospheres for daydreams and distraction, and their celestial quality seems tailor-made for such a dreamlike film.

While it is an excellent accompaniment to the movie, La Lune doesn’t have the same strength as something like The Virgin Suicides – it can’t quite stand on its own two feet as an album in its own right. It would be interesting to hear the thoughts of someone who’s never seen the film – what images would it conjure up?

Would it be cohesive? All I could think of was the mystical romance of Méliès’ film, with its grimacing man in the moon and fantastic homespun sets. The album

Fire,” where Roth gives his most shining moment of lyricism in years. “Forgotten empires/Lost victories long past/Every time I bloomed again/I thought it was the last.”

Not surprisingly, Roth later endrhymes with “victory dance,” to which Eddie grants the wish.

Without a prior introduction, the hypermasculine audience of classic rock may not cherish the sensitivity of Roth’s stream-of-consciousness ramblings in this context. Amped up to the nth degree, though, things change a bit when the band’s summery, bittersweet riffs (“Big River,” “You and Your Blues”) cast a positive sheen over the vocalist’s midlife introspection, and often lead gracefully to the song’s soaring, proto-metal conclusions.

In vintage VH fashion, the album even includes one raunchy, acoustic blues number (“Stay Frosty”), though without the epic breakdown of first-album cover choice (“Ice Cream Man”). Despite Roth’s latest experiment, the record hits far outweigh its misses, and since the record bears so much similarity to its preceding gold mines, one can’t help but view this page of the band as a welcomed prequel.

works perfectly in that sense: “Seven Stars” contains all the ambition of a new century, “Retour sur terre” all the pensive beauty. “Parade” is a standout track with its pleasantly curious approximation of surf rock in space. “Moon Fever” clearly evokes astronomical themes, even without its name or purpose, it sounds like music you’d hear at the planetarium as you lean back in your seat and the lights dim, and you wish the stars were in the sky rather than projected on the ceiling.

“Sonic Armada” sounds more typical of Air and recalls some of the jammier moments of Moon Safari.

“All of you will be back home safely, so join us with no fear on our fantastic trip to the moon,” echoes a disembodied female voice on “Cosmic Trip,” but unfortunately this time it sounds more suited to glorious cheesiness than Méliès’ charming cosmos. The final track, “Lava,” sounds overworked and excessive.

Le Voyage Dans La Lune is a great soundtrack, so much so that it doesn’t really work as an album. Those hoping for infectious singles along the lines of “Sexy Boy” and “Cherry Blossom Girl” or the detached breeziness of The Virgin Suicides will be sorely disappointed, but it does manage to exist in its own atmosphere with its own special charm. Just make sure you see the movie first.

MANGUM

Continued from page 8 them to sing along, disappointed if for a split second there was a pause in the voices of the thousand-plus spectators.

He displayed anger, quick to reprimand a Pabst security guard who attempted to escort aisle-standing spectators back to their seats. (The gesture was ultimately futile, as both aisles leading to the stage were filled to the brim with awestruck concertgoers by the time the set was halfway over, a fire hazard yes, but who cares? Certainly not Jeff Mangum.)

But his humanness extended slightly further. There was very little introduction aside from a quick thanks to his fans for making it out; there was zero banter of any sort between songs (a profound difference from the Gerbils/Elf Power set, which was full of honest small talk and short song introductions from the rotund, bearded Scott Spillane); and there was an initial tense nervousness to the set that suggested that, yes, Jeff Mangum is the type of person to be uncomfortable with his fame. He was stiff, focusing his eyes intently on some point in the second balcony, at first reticent to even let the suggestion seep through

that he was actually enjoying himself.

The enigma of Jeff Mangum was slightly explained: a man of extreme talent but equal awkwardness whose distaste for the public sphere is so palpable that it becomes understandable.

But as the set wore on, built mainly from the Neutral Milk Hotel classic In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, the nature of the Pabst Theater’s atmosphere, which Mangum actually took time to comment on, contrasting it with the small, quiet clubs he’s been used to playing over the course of his tour, became too overwhelming to ignore. Words of encouragement were shouted from the seats – “I’ve been waiting eleven years for this!” bellowed one man – and as Mangum’s broad smiles became less rare and even less nervous the stiffness disappeared and the man allowed himself to get as lost in his own music as his wide-eyed spectators were. As “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” concluded, played not so much as an encore but after a brief gap in the set that mostly served to acknowledge the expectation of an encore, the Pabst roared as loudly as I’ve ever heard it and a humbled, human Jeff Mangum gave a wave of very sincere thanks.

Hopefully that wasn’t actually the end of it.

the uwm post

February5,13, 2012 2011 12 December

EDITORIAL

LETTERS

TO THE EDITOR

The following piece represents the views of the Editorial Board of THE UWM POST. The editorial board is not affiliated with the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and these views do not represent the views of the university.

More flexibility for UWM means a better UW System More local advocacy will pinpoint the unique needs of UWM

By Editorial Board editorial@uwmpost.com In 1971, the two public university systems of Wisconsin became one under a united board of regents. The board was bestowed with the power to approve university budgets, set admission policies and establish the rules and framework that the individual universities abide by.

Since its birth, the UW System, which is the nation’s eighth largest university system, has been a leader in providing quality higher education to Wisconsinites with relatively low tuition. In fact, the cost of attendance for UW schools is 25 percent lower than the national average for public universities. With a total of 26 schools, 13 four-year and 13 two-year, Wisconsin public universities educate over 182,000 students.

Unfortunately, since the system’s birth, state funding for higher education has been significantly reduced and continues to dwindle. As the state continues to dedicate less of its budget to universities, chancellors are working hard to generate new and creative revenue to compensate.

We support Chancellor Lovell in seeking more flexibility from the system to better serve the specific needs of UW-Milwaukee and the surrounding Milwaukee community. To do this, UWM would create a local board mostly for advocacy, comprised of community members and business leaders as well as people from the university that could lobby as a united front on behalf of the entire region. The current vision would be similar to the public university system in North Carolina, where there is a board for each school that works under a board representing all of the schools.

This would be much less dramatic than the proposal made that ultimately failed last year regarding a complete separation between UW-Madison and the UW System.

A united public university system is in the interest of all Wisconsinites, but we believe more local representation should be included for UWM and other UW schools. Being located in Wisconsin’s largest economic powerhouse, having a board that includes representatives from Milwaukee’s most prominent businesses would give more weight when UWM lobbies the UW System and state legislature. A collective voice, made up of various institutions located around the Milwaukee metropolitan area, will be much stronger than 10 or 15 speaking alone.

Being located in Wisconsin’s largest economic powerhouse, having a board that includes representatives from Milwaukee’s most prominent businesses would give more weight when UWM lobbies the UW System and state legislature.

Our current leadership in Madison seems to think that in making public education a top priority, they have to put Wisconsin’s economic and business interests second. This is quite the contrary.

Investing in our schools will generate a highly educated workforce, which is

increasingly important in our changing economy. UWM and the chancellor already have plans to bring up to 1000 foreign exchange students over from China, which will increase school revenue and improve economic development.

UWM is unique in being both an open access and an urban research university. A local advocacy board would benefit our lobbying efforts in Madison, but it would also keep the regents of the UW System more informed about our specific needs as a region and a university.

The board could also provide better analysis about where tuition levels should be, determining UWM’s market value while keeping costs low. The state legislature made large reductions to school funding, but tuition could only go up a maximum of 5.5 percent, which covers a fraction of the amount lost in budget cuts.

The advocacy board wouldn’t necessarily want to raise or lower tuition, but rather set it at a value that actually represents the school’s value, rather than being set arbitrarily. Schools should be given more flexibility to set their own tuition and determine teacher’s pay so that they better reflect the economic market they’re in. The individual units that make up the UW System know best how to use their scarce resources.

In these still fragile economic times with decreasing revenue and dramatic budget cuts, it’s time that the UW System allows more flexibility for each university. Although every Wisconsin school shares the goal of providing quality higher education to its students, they are still very diverse in how they want to educate, which fields of study they wish to focus on and how they connect to the specific community and region they’re located in. Giving more power to the universities will only strengthen the UW System as a whole.

All of us at THE UWM POST want to hear what you think and welcome your letters to the Editor. Feel free to comment about articles, opinions or anything you find in our weekly issues. Send your letters in an email to letters@uwmpost.com. In your submission indicate whether or not you wish to remain anonymous.

Contribute to your own future

In Response to: Education in a State of Emergency By: Nick Smith

Wisconsin Democrats forget where all the government worker’s luxuries come from. Not only do Wisconsin taxpayers have to pay for their own pension and health care (if they can even afford it), they have to pay for the teacher’s as well? My dad doesn’t get a pension. He actually contributes to his health care and 401(k). Why is that such a radical idea to have to contribute to your own future? Government workers still don’t contribute even close to the amounts my dad has to, yet they still complain. If I can speak for the rest of Wisconsin and say one thing to those teacher unions and government workers, it would be “Welcome to the reality.” Both of my parents were teachers at one point in their lives. So if anyone could say, “I can see why they’re upset,” it would be them. Not once have my parents come close to saying that.

A more optimistic take In Response to: Milwaukee registers lowest black employment rate in the country By: Joseph Ohler, Jr. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel already covered this story in late January, except their writers phrased the statistic more optimistically as “47.3% of black men ages 24-54 years in Milwaukee County are employed.” If the author is talking only about the city proper instead of the county, then she should have made the distinction within her article. A more compelling approach would have been to examine the extent to which higher education tends to improve or not improve the employability of black men.

Costing more doesn’t make it better In Response to: Making the cut By: Milan Moravec Every qualified California student must get a place in public University of California (UC). That’s a desirable goal for UC. However, UC-Berkeley Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau displaces Californians qualified for education at Cal. with foreign students paying $50,600 tuition Paying more is not a better education. UC tuition increases exceed the national average rate of increase. Birgeneau has doubled in-state tuition/fees. Birgeneau jeopardizes access to Cal by making it the most expensive public university.

UC President Mark Yudof uses tuition increases to pay for faculty and administrator salary increases. Payoffs like these point to higher operating costs and still higher tuition and taxes. In-state tuition consumes 14% of Cal. Median Family Income. President Yudof is hijacking our families’ and kids’ futures: student debt.

I agree that Yudof and Birgeneau should consider the students’ welfare and put it high on their values. Deeds unfortunately do not bear out the students’ welfare values of Birgeneau, Regent Chair Sherry Lansing and President Yudof.

We must act. Birgeneau’s campus police deployed violent baton jabs on students protesting Birgeneau’s tuition increases. The sky will not fall when Chancellor Robert J Birgeneau ($450,000 salary) ‘honorably’ retires.

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February 13, 2011

13

The astounding arrogance of social conservatives Santorum’s recent resurgence in primary should concern those who believe in freedom

By Brian Holmes Staff Writer editorial@uwmpost.com Rick Santorum has recently been revived in the GOP primaries by taking Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri in addition to his razor thin victory in Iowa.

Although this does not assure his nomination, it has given a candidate previously left for dead a Messiah-like resurrection.

A once long shot candidate, Santorum now appears to have a viable chance.

What makes Santorum suddenly so desirable to GOP voters? Now that Michelle Bachmann has officially dropped out of the race, Santorum is the most socially conservative candidate in the Republican primary. During a time when America has reached an economic low supposedly not seen since the Great Depression, voters must ask themselves:

does the nation really need a self-righteous social conservative for president?

Santorum’s primary concerns are not jobs or the economy but to shamelessly condemn those who do not share in his beliefs. After the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent decision that California’s ban against gay marriage is unconstitutional, Santorum expressed his displeasure on Twitter.

“7M Californians had their rights stripped away today by activist 9th Circuit judges. As president I will work to protect marriage,” he tweeted.

It is hard to see how individuals who are in no way involved in the lives of gays who want to marry being stripped of their rights. Are their marriages being questioned for legitimacy?

How can Santorum or anyone else claim to “protect marriage” unless they believe themselves to be morally superior

to others who disagree with their limited view of the world? Is marriage Santorum’s possession to protect in the first place?

Santorum bases his view of homosexuality on his unyielding faith in fundamental, evangelical Christianity. He has repeatedly called America a “Christian nation,” founded on the ideals and morals of Jesus Christ. Try telling that to the American Indians.

He insists that it is not only the government’s job to govern, but to instill his Judeo-Christian “morals” on the masses.

Never mind that there are people of other faiths or (gasp) no faith at all.

It is not the intention of this editorial to bash Christianity, but rather to question why some individuals deem it necessary to force their intolerant views on the masses. Telling two consenting adults that they cannot get married is an oppression of their civil right to pursue happi-

ness. However, attempting to explain this to a social conservative is like banging one’s head repeatedly against a brick wall.

As a lifelong heterosexual male, I cannot even begin to comprehend the romantic love towards another man.

However, I do not feel it is my right to tell others they cannot do this because I don’t understand it. It’s called tolerance.

While many social conservatives want smaller government and unlimited rights for big business, they don’t see a problem with this same government telling people how to live. This is what they are doing by banning gay marriage.

Who one chooses to marry, as long as it is a complying adult, has nothing to do with governing a nation. It is in no way infringing on anyone else’s rights. It is not being forced to happen in anyone’s home or church. There are other ways of getting married then by a priest or min-

ister. Some Christian institutions have even embraced the concept of gay marriage and that is their right as well.

In Santorum’s own book “It Takes a Family,” he advocates his belief that the government should be allowed to get involved in the bedroom and that traditional conservatives understand that people can’t “go it alone.” He goes on to state that he is not aware of any society where “radical individualism succeeds as a culture.”

Asking Rick Santorum’s approval of what two consenting adults do in their bedroom should give anyone with an ounce of common sense the creeps. In a country that prides itself on freedom, it is astounding that Santorum and others of his ilk insist on telling people how to live and think, and it is even more astounding that much of the population supports this injustice.

Valentine’s Day special Green, more green and technology It’s all about the heart

By Krislyn World Special to the Post editorial@uwmpost.com

Valentine Trivia: If lovers are said to be “star-crossed”, their relationship is? a. ideal b. stormy c. doomed d. meant to be Which of these animals mate for life? a. dolphins b. chimpanzees c. cheetahs d. wolves Once called the “love apple”, this plant is native to the new world: a. breadfruit b. artichoke c. kumquat d. tomato Romance languages like French and Spanish developed primarily from this source: a. Spoken Latin b. Greek c. Arabic d. Hebrew Approximately how many Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year? a. 5 million b. 500 million c. 1 billion d. 1 trillion Valentine’s Day is a time remembered by all, young and old, whether the day is celebrated or ignored.

It can be a day of great joy or great pain. It can be a day of “whatever” or a day of non-stop expectation. We tend to compare last year’s Valentine’s Day to this Valentine’s Day, as better or worse.

From year to year, some of us practice complete selective amnesia. Some say the entire day is overrated. While others say it’s their favorite holiday.

Some people give in excess and delight in the joy of bringing someone else pleasure, while others will receive some unexpected material goodies, wanted or unwanted. Some will fall in love, while

others will be reminded of love lost or the love they desire to gain. No matter what position you might take on this Valentine’s Day, remember it’s all about the heart. The exchange of roses, candy, cards and expensive dinner is “all good,” and there is a history attached to the culture we practice on Feb. 14.

According to Wikiquote.com, “Saint Valentine’s Day, commonly shortened to Valentine’s Day, is an annual commemoration held on Feb. 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD. It was deleted from the General Roman Calendar of saints in 1969 by Pope Paul VI. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as “valentines”). The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. Modern Valentine’s Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.”

It’s all about the heart. What always makes Valentine’s Day sweet is that on that day only, love can be expressed purely and unashamedly. It can be viewed as silly or foolish. It can also be expressed with the utmost seriousness and sincerity. Love, originally, comes from the heart. No matter how much we as human beings attempt to guard our heart, this emotion of love has a way of penetrating what we sometimes deem inaccessible.

This Valentine’s Day, declare to yourself, if to no one else, that you are special and loved. Love the skin you’re in.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Answers to Valentines Trivia: 1.c. doomed 2.d. wolf 3.c. kumquat 4.a. Spoken Latin 5.c. 1 billion

Using technology and going green can save some greenbacks.

By Miranda Rosenkranz Staff Writer editorial@uwmpost.com Computers have been around for almost 60 years, yet the modern ‘green’ movement started only recently. Instead of pitting technology against the environment, it is time to use the web and computerized software to reduce our impact.

To say using technology wisely can save the environment is an overstatement, but it can lessen the damage, specifically in saving paper. Businesses can send emails instead of junk mail and letters. Companies can print double sided and use excess paper as scrap. Also, businesses, schools and households can lessen the amount of energy consumed by not using copiers or printers. Almost 60 percent of the electricity used in the United States is generated by coal. Coal creates the largest quantity of the most harmful greenhouse gases. Every step taken to reduce, reuse and recycle is one less footprint on the environment.

The fact that technology is constantly evolving can be harmful to the environment. Older models of phones, laptops, mp3 players and televisions are obsolete.

People keep upgrading and swapping

Meat is murder

Some thoughts for the beginning vegetarian

By David Rangel Staff Writer editorial@uwmpost.com

As technology increasingly simplifies our lives, obesity rates in America have been on the rise. According to a report from Trust for America’s Health, adult obesity rates increased in sixteen states in 2011 and did not decline in any.

We are becoming a more stagnate population due to advances in other ar-

their old for new. The outdated tends to head to the trash. Twenty years ago it was nearly impossible to find a place to recycle old technology, but now it’s possible to go to a local Goodwill store to drop off old gadgets. The recycling methods used have yet to be perfected, but recycling means to keep improving.

Technology can help the environment, but how can it help your wallet?

First of all, save money on office supplies. Individuals can use the same steps businesses take for reducing consumption. However, changes need to be implemented on the large scale.

Look at UW-Milwaukee. The university offers online classes, saving segregated fees allocated to departments by reducing the amount of paper used to print syllabuses, assignment rubrics and other handouts. All notes and materials are posted to D2L and students can access this database from any computer with an Internet connection. Online classes also save UWM the costs of using a classroom. Because classes are online, professors do not have to turn on lights, use projectors or any gadgets that suck up electric juice.

In theory, taking online classes should be cheaper. After all, it saves the university paper costs and higher electric

bills. On a tangent note, students who solely take online classes do not have the access to the Klotsche Center or a bus pass which saves UWM money. Yet, in order to take an online class, students must pay an additional fee. In order for individuals to start saving money, institutions must advance their methods and eliminate these “convenience fees.” In theory, there will be a trickle-down effect of funds and thus save students some cash.

The university could save money in other ways by becoming more environmentally friendly. For example, departments have thousands of files on hand.

Each student in this educational establishment has at least one file full of transcripts, requirement assessments and other important paperwork. Despite the fact that there are hundreds of companies and computer programs dedicated to digital filing and organization, the university still has these files, forms and lists.

This article only discusses a few examples of how individuals, corporations and universities can lessen their impact on the environment. The benefits are greater than just saving money; it can save the earth.

eas of our lives that formerly kept us active. We can now do almost anything online, never having to leave our desks to so much as go and pick up a pizza.

Even while we continue to put on the pounds, sales of health elixirs and the latest “new products for your health” continue to take in millions of dollars.

Faddish “miracle products” aside, we can take sensible, natural steps to improve our health, weight problem or not.

Eliminating or cutting down considerably on meat in our diet does wonders for our health, ecology and animal cruelty.

My interest in vegetarianism only came about this past December. I was attending a concert by British rock artist, Morrissey. The singer, a staunch vegetarian since childhood, incorporated a beyond disturbing video of animal cruelty as a video backdrop during the performance of his cult hit, “Meat is Murder.”

While most of us probably have an idea that animals raised for food often receive less than humane treatment, the graphic video on the screen during

Morrissey’s performance showed animal atrocities that many don’t likely consider.

The video was a temporary “buzz kill” to the show, but it served its intended purpose and made people think.

After the show, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) were outside distributing literature on the social and health benefits of vegetarianism. As I read in more detail about animal cruelty in slaughterhouses as well as the positive benefits of going meatless, I vowed that I would go meatless for thirty days and see how it made me feel. While I did not go the route of a complete vegan, I was on a mission to not eat red meat or poultry for a month.

Read the rest online at uwmpost.com

14 February 13, 2012

COMICS

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Primal Urges

She Said, He Said

Andrew Megow

Mock Duck Soup

I Like Your Shoes

Kat Rodriguez

Mitchell Moeser

Carol Brandt

PUZZLES

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THEUWMPOST CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Having hearing devices, maybe 6 LOL! 10 Male deer 14 More crafty 15 Bambi’s aunt, and others with the same name 16 Word after bat or man?

17 Ron Popeil product (2 wds.)

20 Teeter-totter 21 Nerve impulse passage 22 Magnate 25 Quarrels 26 Last wds.?

30 Imitated 32 Airport sign word 35 Spring holiday 41 Ron Popeil product (5 wds.)

43 Hidden 44 Indie film word 45 Car part 47 Ball holders 48 Moisten the meat 53 Extend the arm 56 “Objects in motion” word 58 Gulf of Arabia (2 wds.)

63 Ron Popeil phrase (3 wds.)

66 Sign 67 Not fatty 68 Play the banjo 69 Bird’s home 70 Whirlpool 71 Takes a deep breath, maybe DOWN 1 Sixth senses 2 Lotion ingredient 3 Sushi ingredient 4 “There’s a mouse in the house” sounds 5 Imagine 6 Playboy Hugh, to friends 7 Blackbird 8 Burden 9 Pale 10 Piece of junk

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SUDOKU INSTRUCTIONS: Fill in the squares so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9 exactly once.

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Jonas Wittke, 2012

11 Florida City 12 Nautical command 13 They’re inherited 18 Deuce 19 Type widths 23 Big party 24 Hoity-toity 26 Honolulu’s island 27 Muffin ingredient 28 Eye part 29 Wear out 31 Depression 33 Contend 34 Ms. Kournikova 36 Fire remnant 37 Jane’s dog 38 Verifiable 39 Facilitate 40 Bread types 42 Region 46 Took a really good look at? (hyph.)

48 American buffalo 49 Japanese cartoons 50 “Battle of the ____” 51 Reznor of “industrial rock” 52 Airport abbr.

54 Weep 55 Certain plant fibers 57 Little land mass 59 Sandwich shoppe 60 Cozy 61 Carve into metal 62 Begs the question 64 Word after mouse or shoulder 65 Some

solution found on page 4

ANAGRAM CRACKERS INSTRUCTIONS: Unscramble the letters below to spell out everyday English words. When you’re finished, unscramble the circled letters to find the missing word from the quip!

PLIDI

––––– RAUZE

––––– GNOPES

solution found on page 4

–––––– QUILCE

––––––

Q: Why did the child bring her dad to school?

A: “Because she had a ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___” solution found on page 4

IN-WORD Find as many words as possible using only the letters from this week’s IN-WORD. Words must be four or more letters long. Slang words, proper nouns, and contractions are not permitted. Only one form of a verb is permitted. Words that become four or more letters by the addition of “s” are not permitted.

PIGEONS

Can you find 29 or more words in “PIGEONS?” Our list can be found on page 4.

solution found on page 4

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February 13, 2012

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