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March 17, 2016
INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN OSHKOSH
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ADVANCE-TITAN VOL. 121, NO. 18
University lays out goals for campus excellence by Jason Neumeyer
neumej25@uwosh.edu hancellor eavitt released a new five-year strategic plan earlier this month, outlining the University’s forward-looking goals which are meant to enhance student success, promote academic excellence, expand community involvement and build an inclusive and supportive environment at UWO. The Chancellor believes this plan puts UWO on a path toward continued success in the future, in part because it was put together through what he calls a “comprehensive strategic planning process,” something he has been an advocate of for a long time. “I was on the [UWO] website not too long ago and saw y very first press conference which occurred on the twenty-ninth of September in eavitt said was in y office in Georgia, they had just named me into the role as hancellor earlier that day and the first thing I started talking about was the need for a comprehensive strategic plan.” Leavitt believes that although he has many great ideas moving forward, the most important visions are the ones that come from within a variety of different areas of the University. “What people will say is, ‘Chancellor, what is your vision for the institution?’” Leavitt said. “While I would certainly be happy to provide lots of examples of great vision, the only visions that really matter are ones which come from ALISON HERRMANN/ADVANCE-TITAN within and so it is all about putting together that Above: UWO student Serena Larie is crowned Miss Oshkosh 2016 by MeKenzie Lund, Miss Oshkosh 2015. Below: Larie waves to the crowd very comprehensive process.” Leavitt said he began on this process almost after receiving her crown and bouquet of flowers. In June, Larie will go on to compete for the title of Miss Wisconsin. immediately after arriving on campus and assigned Provost Lane Earns the task of putting together a team and report by early this year. “When I got here, it was during the summer or early fall, I charged the provost the task of running a process which would produce this strategic plan by sometime in January or Februnerve-wracking part of the pagby Jessica Johnson ary,” Leavitt said. “And so he went about and eant was the onstage questions, johnsj09@uwosh.edu where she ended up learning a PLAN, PAGE A2 UWO student Serena Larie valuable lesson about being huwas crowned M iss Oshkosh man. 2 01 6, supporting her platform “This year I was asked about Get Involved V ia Engagement what makes Oshkosh stand out, (G.I.V .E). and I know Oshkosh is event The 2 01 6 pageant was held city, we have so many events to Saturday, M arch 1 2 at Oshkosh offer, but halfway through anWest High School’s Alberta swering I forgot my question, K imball Auditorium. and I just kind of blanked a little According to Larie, she was bit,” Larie said. “I was confident inspired to run for M iss Osh- in everything else, and I think if kosh by her sister, Janelle Gal- anything I really learned from ica, a former UWO student and that, and it is an opportunity to by Ti Windisch M iss Oshkosh winner who was tell everyone I speak to that is windit83@uwosh.edu crowned 1 0 years ago. okay to make mistakes and that UW Oshkosh students will be able to de“I was around nine or 1 0 when no one is perfect.” clare the Global Scholar Option, a self-directed she was crowned, and I watched Larie said her favorite part course of study leading to a “Global Scholar” her become a role model for her of competing for M iss Oshkosh distinction at graduation, starting in fall 2 01 6. community and the impact she was all of the people she met Provost’s Leadership Fellow for Global Studhad on people and that was when along the way. ies Druscilla Scribner said students who wish I decided this is something I re“Everyone describes the M iss to become Global Scholars may be incoming ally want to do,” Larie said. “So, America Organiz ation as a sisfreshmen in the fall, returning UWO students or 1 0 years later I was crowned terhood, and it is an opportunitransfer students. M iss Oshkosh, and we are also ty to make friends,” Larie said. “It’s open to everyone in every college,” 1 0 years apart in age, so that 1 0 “The scholarship is also really Scribner said. “Current students may be able to years is really significant to me.” significant and helps so much. I complete this option, and should see their advisLarie said this is the second guess it is just how much everyer to find out time she has competed in a pag- one wants to help you and supAssociate Dean of the College of Letters and eant. The first time was in 2 01 5 port you along the way.” Science Franca Barricelli said the current Globwhen she was the first runner up M iss Oshkosh pageant co-proal Scholar Option grew out of talks that began in at the M iss Oshkosh pageant. ducer and choreographer K elsey just one college. Larie, who is majoring in M cDaniels said she is happy for “As these discussions got bigger and bigger communications and minoring Serena, and knows she will do a they moved beyond Letters and Science to inin business administration, said great job as M iss Oshkosh. clude the Colleges of Nursing, Business, and winning the M iss Oshkosh title “She is already very engaged Education and Human Services,” Barricelli said. felt both amaz ing and surreal. in the community and I look “At that point it became a university-wide pro“I felt very good about my per- forward to seeing what else she gram.” formance, and I am very pleased does now that she holds the tiStudents in the University Studies Program to serve Oshkosh for this next tle,” M cDaniels said. “I know could already be prepared to start the Global year,” Larie said. she’ll be an excellent representaScholar Option, as a required class for USP also M ariah Haberman, a judge at tive for our City and I’m excited hkosh instills confidence and and non-finalist talents, which serves as the first step on the ourney to beco the M iss Oshkosh pageant and to follow her journey.” a past M iss Oshkosh titleholder, One of the first things Larie each receive an extra $ 3 5 0. The empowers women to accomplish ing a Global Scholar. “The Non-Western requirement in USP besaid she was looking for the next plans to do with her title and as Oshkosh Area Women’s Associ- their wildest dreams. “I have yet to find another or- comes Global Citiz enship,” said Scribner. M iss Oshkosh to be well-spoken, part of her platform is to share ation is a wonderful organiz ation hat first class is used as a stepping stone kind, healthy and passionate about G.I.V .E and also share that fundraises throughout the ganiz ation that has made a more powerful impact on my life than year to give young women these for students to become Global Scholars, accordabout her platform, and that Ser- success stories of those who the M iss Oshkosh Organiz ation ing to Barricelli. scholarship opportunities.” ena was “the whole package.” G.I.V .E. Haberman said she hopes the has,” Haberman said. “Hats off “We wanted the advanced level of the curric“She answered tough ques“I would also like to start a to the amaz ing volunteers who Oshkosh community underulum to build off of the one piece in USP,” Bartions in our interview, she danced page kind of like the Humans of beautifully on stage and I could Oshkosh, but maybe like a Hu- stands how lucky they are to commit their time and effort year ricelli said. The Global Scholar Option is designed to tell she takes her platform very mans who G.I.V .E, and also to have the M iss Oshkosh orga- after year.” Larie said she hopes to be a niz ation in their backyard, and focus on the upper-level courses more than the seriously,” Haberman said. open it up as a Facebook page Larie said the platform she is for people to talk about how to of all the pageants she has seen voice as well as a role model for first course that students ay have already co advocating this year is G.I.V .E, G.I.V .E and their experiences,” across the states, she has never her community during her year pleted. seen one compare to the program as M iss Oshkosh. “We focused energy on what we do with the which is a way people can give Larie said. “I will be speaking to a lot of advanced level of the curriculum, and that’s back to the community in any M cDaniels said the top five Oshkosh provides. “The Oshkosh Area Women’s schools and places of employ- where the Global Scholars program came from,” way possible. contestants receive scholarships “There are so many things you ranging from $ 9 5 0 to $ 3 ,5 00, all Association has cultivated a phe- ment about my platform and ba- Barricelli said. Scribner said Global Scholars at UWO will do can do to get involved, and that courtesy of the Oshkosh Area nomenal scholarship program sically what they take away from that makes a difference not only it is going to be huge, and I’m ore than si ply ta e specific courses here is is mainly really what I want to Women’s Association. try and promote this year, how “The contestants all receive a on the woman who is crowned, really excited,” Larie said. “It another requirement that does not take place in important it is to give back to $ 4 00 scholarship for participat- but all of the others who compete is just the beginning and I can’t university classrooms. “The program includes an out-of-classroom a community that has given so ing in the pageant,” M cDaniels and also each receive a scholar- wait.” In June, Serena will go on to experience that’s globally focused,” Scribner much,” Larie said. said. “There are also awards for ship,” Haberman said. compete for the title of M iss Haberman also said M iss OsAccording to Larie, the most the best non-finalist interview SCHOLARS, PAGE A2 Wisconsin.
UWO student crowned Miss Oshkosh
Global Scholars option to be offered in fall
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NEWS Advance-Titan
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PLAN FROM PAGE
“The plan finally got to me pretty Even with this shift to more of late in the process where I had the a research-friendly position for opportunity to make some of my UWO, Leavitt said the main focus own comments and suggestions,” is still on the students and their achievements while on campus as Leavitt said. One of the major components outlined in the Strategic Priorities of this plan is an increased focus section of the plan. “Students will always continue on faculty research opportunities, especially if that research is being to be our first priority,” Leavitt said. “Looking at our first strategic done with a student. “I know first-hand the profound priority, Enhancing Student Suctransformative effects that un- cess, my favorite one is increasdergraduate research has on the ing the retention, progression and undergraduate student,” Leavitt graduation rates. We need to insaid. “We have crease those, in a tremendous efI know first-hand the pro- sense that we are forts going on in putting a lot of our campus right found transformative effects current resources now, but I see that undergraduate research at the institution how we can do has on the undergraduate into improving so much more if student. them. This is we paid some atwhat we think — Andrew Leavitt that the Univertention to it. We Chancellor sity Studies Prohave an excellent faculty and it’s gram (USP) is about engaging all about. Some them in what they love and what other kinds of strategies we have they really love to do is work with- employed just this year will be in their discipline with students.” helping in really moving the numLeavitt also said moving to- bers and making sure that our stuward a research-enhanced com- dents are as successful as they can prehensive university is another be.” UWO senior Jade Johnson agreed goal of this plan, in the continuing effort to make UWO a more re- with the Chancellor that improving the graduation and retention rates search-friendly campus. “This is meant to allow faculty is an important part of this fiveto move in directions that are both year plan. “I think that the second goal unbeneficial to them in their work life while at the same time enhancing der the Enhance Student Success the experience for undergraduate [priority] is important because students,” Leavitt said. “What we graduation rates are pretty low,” are doing here is looking at what Johnson said. “I know sometimes we are doing in research and say- the idea of a liberal education can ing ‘How can we position research get in the way of that [goal]. Some to be more beneficial to not only people get weened out by that bethe institution, but also the stu- cause they want to do what they are dents?’ So that’s what it means to interested in instead of taking some classes that they don’t care about be research enhanced.”
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assembled a roughly 60-person committee, which contained not only representation from the four shared governance groups, with students being one of those, but also across classifications making sure there were faculty, academic staff, university staff and we engaged people from the outside as well throughout the process.” Leavitt said the plan was sent through a number of advisers and committees before finally reaching the goals of the plan, which they would use moving forward. “We had a person who is very knowledgeable about running these processes come on our campus and help facilitate this process,” Leavitt said. “And they had four, pretty intense, three-hour meetings in which they put together pretty much the bones of what the plan would look like.” The plan was sent to the steering committee for three or four months before the priorities emerged. “The action committee then took the strategic priorities as they began to form and worked with them until they got to the goals and so forth,” Leavitt said. In addition to this rather lengthy process, Leavitt said the progress was continually examined in the public through open houses. “We went to our alumni association, our foundations board, the board of councils and advisers and the students to gain input [for] the plan,” Leavitt said. The plan reached the Chancellors Desk toward the end of the process, according to Leavitt.
SCHOLARS FROM PAGE
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said. There are several options that will likely be available for Global Scholars to choose from to fulfill that requirement, according to Scribner. “Study abroad, an internship and alternative spring break are among potential experiences,” Scribner said. Social Sciences representative on the Global Scholar Council Angela Subulwa said that aspect of the program is one thing the Council is working on at the moment. “We’ve been spending time thinking about who’s going to look at the out-of-classroom ex-
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periences,” Subulwa said. Subulwa added that the Global Scholar Council is also looking into providing a way to display the work Global Scholars accomplish out of the classroom to the community at large. “We’re considering showcasing what the global experiences look like at some venue, either online or in person, to show what this option allows you to do,” Subulwa said. Barricelli said students could use the Global Scholar Option to help give a boost to their transcripts, as there will be documented proof from the University provided to any students that complete the option. “I think having a Global Scholar designation on their transcripts is valuable to students,” Barricelli said.
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engagement and economic development. This section, according to UWO senior Jordan Hansen, is the most important to students because it pertains to life after college. “We are here in college to get an education,” Hansen said. “We are paying for a service and that is to teach us something that is going to help us and benefit us in the future. This goal discusses economic development and entrepreneurship, as well as community engagement efforts, which are integral parts of education, especially with the business school.” Hansen said this section, although it does not explicitly talk about life on campus, is important because a major goal of getting a college education is becoming hirable after graduation. “This goal is related to what we do here,” Hansen said. “The point of going to college is to be able to go out and get a job. We aren’t just coming to college to learn some things and not do anything with it; we are coming to college to prepare ourselves for a future career.” Overall, the Chancellor said the plan is something he takes pride in and he is very excited to see it implemented university-wide in the near future. “I am very excited about this plan and this is going to be the blueprint as to how we operate this institution for the next five years,” Leavitt said. “It is a living and breathing document, one which may transform a little bit here and there as we actually get the plan into practice, but I am very pleased and proud of the efforts of this University to produce this quality of a plan.”
Scribner said the program will also provide value to students in a less tangible sense. “We need to shift students thinking away from east versus west, to global,” Scribner said. “If we want our students to become globally aware and prepared to contribute to and thrive in an interconnected world, that takes more than one class.” UWO junior Ethan Felhofer said he can see the benefits of the program. “I would definitely say it sounds valuable to students looking for opportunities once they graduate,” Felhofer said. Students interested in the Global Scholar Option can get more information on the University’s website, or from their advisers.
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very much. While the idea of a liberal education can be helpful in some areas, sometimes it is not.” UWO junior Stefan Jacobson also named the goal of increasing retention, progression and graduation rates as one of the most important to him. “I like the goal to increase retention, progression and graduation rates because it is something that can be measured,” Jacobson said. “Some of the goals on here, like transform the life of the faculty, may be hard to determine success.” In addition to increasing graduation and retention rates, the Chancellor said he is a big advocate for another goal: Increasing equity, diversity and inclusion across every level of the University. “We are already an increasingly popular school for students of color, students of diversity and we need to make sure we are building the kind of inclusive and welcoming environment to sustain them,” Leavitt said. “This is a very important goal to me; to make sure we are moving the needle on equity and diversity.” Jacobson said he believes this goal is an essential part of the fiveyear plan. “I like the idea of increasing equity, diversity and inclusion because this campus is not very diverse,” Jacobson said. “As someone who has lived in places that are more diverse, there are definitely advantages to having a more diverse community; it gives you experiences which make you a more well-rounded individual.” In addition to the two goals the Chancellor outlined in some detail is a subsection of goals which focuses on expanding community
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The UW Oshkosh Advance-Titan is written and edited by students at UW Oshkosh who are solely responsible for its content and editorial policy. Any UW Oshkosh student is welcome to work on the newspaper staff. Advertisements printed in the Advance-Titan don’t necessarily represent the opinion of the newspaper staff. Other publications may reprint materials appearing in the Advance-Titan only with
written permission from the editor and if proper credit is given. The Advance-Titan is published each academic Thursday. Third class postage paid at Oshkosh, Wis., Postmaster: Send address changes to Advance-Titan, 800 Algoma Blvd., Oshkosh, Wis., 54901. Readers are permitted one copy per issue. Additional copies may be purchased with prior approval from the editor for 50 cents each. For additional copies or subscriptions, contact the Advance-Titan at 920-4243048. Those who violate the single copy rule may be subject to prosecution for newspaper theft and fined a minimum of $10,000.
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Nyreesha Williams-Torrence - Opinion Editor Questions? Email: atitan@uwosh.edu
March 17, 2016 — www.advancetitan.com
by The Advance-Titan Staff atitan@uwosh.edu
Information travels quickly in today’s society. A photo or status update posted online can go from only being seen by a few people to trending worldwide in a matter of seconds. In this era of Internet challenges and instant fame, it’s important for students to use discretion when deciding what they deem appropriate to share. Just weeks before the April 5 elections, the liberal political group One Wisconsin Now discovered several editorial columns, written by Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice R ebecca Bradley for the M arquette Tribune in 1 9 9 2 . In addition to homophobic comments, Bradley was critical of those who voted President ill linton into office in 1 9 9 2 . “We have now elected a tree-hugging, baby-killing, pot-s o ing flag-burning queer-loving, bull-spouting ‘60s radical socialist adulterer to the highest office in our nation,” Bradley said. “Doesn’t it make you proud to be an American? We’ve just had an election which proves the majority of voters are either totally stupid or entirely evil.” She also wrote pieces claiming the feminist movement was “ largely composed of angry, militant, man-hating lesbians who abhor the traditional family” and suggested women play a role in their own date-rapes. It’s worth noting Bradley was a 2 2 -year-old college student, attending a Jesuit university, when the columns were written. She has also apologiz ed for the comments, stating they are no longer reflective of her worldview “I was writing as a very young student, upset about the outcome of that presidential election and I am frankly embarrassed at the content and tone of what I wrote those many years ago,” Bradley said. “These comments have
Cartoon by Eric Fennig
nothing to do with who I am as a person or a jurist, and they have nothing to do with the issues facing the voters of this state.” At any rate, she’s spent the better part of the last two weeks defending her younger self, instead of proving to voters why she should be elected to Wisconsin’s high court.
The discovery of Bradley’s columns should serve as a warning to students. If 2 4 -year-old editorials from a print-only, student-run campus newspaper can be found, there’s undoubtedly nothing that can stay secret in the digital age. M ost students understand that and police their online ac-
tivity accordingly. Still, apps like Y ik-Y ak provide a seemingly repercussion-free space for students to make threats or spew hate with the illusion of anonymity. Students can prevent a potentially disastrous unearthing of information by realiz ing not everything requires a response.
People’s opinions are not valid simply because they have them. And unless a student feels they have something worthwhile to add to the conversation, whatever they’re going to say probably isn’t worth documenting publicly. Students should use caution or risk every emotionally mo-
tivated rant of their twenties coming back to haunt them when they’re applying for jobs and internships or running for public office Students can no longer feign ignorance when they’re held accountable for what they say, whether it’s in a published editorial or on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.
Letter to the Editor L E T T E R
G U I D E L I N E S :
The Advance-Titan welcomes and reads all letters. Timely, well-written, provocative opinions on topics of interest at UW Oshkosh are given first priority. All letters are subject to editing; not all letters can be published. Letters
of length exceeding 300 words may be edited at the discretion of the Advance-Titan staff. Name, position, address and daytime phone are required, even in email submissions (only name, position and city will be published along with the article). The Advance-Titan does not publish
poetry, anonymous or open letters, and letters printed elsewhere. Each writer is generally limited to one published letter to the editor per month. We cannot acknowledge receipt of all submissions. If your letter is chosen for publication, we will attempt to contact you for verification via email or phone.
F o r m o r e in fo r m a tio n , e m a il u s a t a t i t a n @ u w o s h . e d u , c a l l ( 9 20 ) 4 24 3 0 4 8 o r v is it o u r w e b s ite .
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AMPUS ONNECTIONS
Emilie Heidemann - Campus Connections Editor Questions? Email: atitan@uwosh.edu
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Heid Music promotes music education by Kellie Wambold wambok23@uwosh.edu
Heid M usic is celebrating and promoting music education with The Big 1 0 Giveaway, a photo contest for elementary, middle and high schools to show off their music spirit. All month long, schools across Wisconsin have been submitting photos that represent their music programs to be voted on by the public. The 1 0 schools whose photos have the most votes at the end of M arch will choose between a variety of priz es, including sheet music and new instruments. Heid M usic started the Big 1 0 Giveaway five years ago to promote M usic in the Schools month, a celebration that lasts all of M arch and raises awareness for the im-
portance of music education. “The statistics and stories surrounding the value of music education need to be shared and we must advocate for the importance of music in our schools,” Executive V ice President of Heid M usic Dede Heid said. Heid said some of those statistics include higher test scores, attendance and graduation rates. “Children who study a musical instrument are more likely to excel in all of their studies, work better in teams, have enhanced critical thinking skills, stay in school and pursue further education,” Heid said. M usic programs across the country are disappearing, despite their importance. “M usic programs are constantly in danger of being cut from shrinking school
budgets even though they’re ing that same opportunity is proven to improve academ- horrifying.” ics,” Heid said. Beecher said this parM any UW Oshkosh stu- ticipation should continue dents have noted the advan- into college, even if it’s not tage of having music educa- someone’s field of study. tion before college and the “Whatever form it takes, benefits it provided. the reward is incomprehenV ocal performance ma- sible because of all the acjor M atthew tivity that’s Beecher, going on in Children who study who particiyour head pated in his a musical instrument are when you high school more likely to excel in all comprehend choir, said of their studies... what’s on the opporthe page tunity for — Dede Heide and produce young peoExecutive Vice President of [the music] ple to parothHeid Music with ticipate in ers around music is irrey o u , ” placeable. Beecher “Those three years shaped said. the type of person I was goM usic industry major Gaing to be,” Beecher said. “To brielle Hass said, along with think that there might even increased brain activity, mube a chance of kids not hav- sic provides a support sys-
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CHELSEA PHILLIPS/ADVANCE-TITAN
ABOVE: Avenues playing at the fifth annual RUB WISCO! the Music Fest event last Thursday evening, among other bands. BELOW: Mozaic performing at RUB WISCO! along with fellow guests Keag Dittel, DJ G-Spot and CDS Thursday night.
RUB hosts fifth annual music fest selves to something new.” by Michael Semmerling According to Tisdale, the semmem78@uwosh.edu event provided popcorn, R eeve Union Board host- snow cones and priz es to ed their fifth annual con- students in attendance. cert, WISCO! , on M arch “Organiz ing a theme is 1 0, which consisted of six the most difficult part bedifferent bands, including cause you have to find, not last semester’s Battle of only decorations, but also the Bands novelties and winner, The posters and There’s something for all sorts of Present Age. “The thing everyone, and they can fliers that cothat sets stick around and expose incide with W I S C O ! themselves to something the theme,” apart from Tisdale said. new. other Local This year, Live M usic the theme — Jakob Tisdale Nights or Reeve Union Board Member was a M arjust having vel/ DC Comconcerts out ics mash up. here in general is that we To promote the event, R UB have six different bands, six provided the campus with a different types of genres,” video, posters and an X box R UB member Jakob Tisdale game for students to play said. “There’s something for that were all related to the everyone, and they can stick theme. around and expose them-
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tem for students. “I do think it’s important to try to increase the number of people who participate in music because group music making builds community,” Hass said. R adio/ TV / film major Joshua Decker said he is not involved with music programs but music is still one of the things that inspires him as an actor. “It’s important for music to always be a part of education,” Decker said. “It allows for kids to experience a different way of thinking.” History major K aitlyn Cartwright said music is not just for music majors because of the several ways music forces students to use different parts of their brain. “There’s a great correlation between music and creativity,” Cartwright said.
“M usic has an analytical element that is easier for people that don’t like using the left side of their brain to understand.” Heid said the creativity and teamwork skills music fosters are two of the top qualities companies look for when hiring new employees. Throughout the rest of the year, Heid said Heid M usic has several other programs to help promote music education, such as clinics, solo and ensemble workshops and teacher workshops. “We feel that music is too important to be reduced or cut and that is why we take an active stance in helping educators throughout Wisconsin strengthen their music programs [by] being a solid and reliable resource for all things musical,” Heid said.
by Michael Semmerling semmem78@uwosh.edu
“We aren’t quite classical, and we aren’t quite rock, and we aren’t a free jaz z ensemble,” R eifsteck said. “I really think that this music is sort of just trying to dance around all these different genres and avoid trying to set ourselves down into one set label.” According to R eifsteck, Slipstream has been getting into a lot more improvisation, and one of the tracks on their new EP, is one-hundred percent improvised. “For Northland, we really didn’t have any sort of parameters set up,” R eifsteck said. “We just said ‘Lets do something that feels like Wisconsin, Winter, Northland, sort of themed,’ and this is just what we came up with.” According to Blanck, improvising can be influenced in many ways, including someone’s overall mood or emotions. He said some of his favorite moments are when a bunch of people stop and take their own moment. “We’ll be playing, and then suddenly, we’re in this entirely different place,” Connor said while discussing Slipstream’s improvisation. Slipstream recently recorded a four track EP, titled “Northland.” According to Blanck, physical copies of the EP will be available at their show on Thursday. Slipstream’s performance in Oshkosh will feature songs off of their EP, some improvisation, as well as their original inspiration, Hout. “We’ve been trying to branch ourselves outside of the conservatory here,” said R eifsteck. “I feel like the UW Oshkosh crowd really enjoys thoughtful music that’s performed at a high level.” Connor said the group has a lot of fun on stage, and he said audiences are always receptive to the music they perform. Slipstream has recently played at the M useum of Contemporary Arts in Chicago. According to R eifsteck, Eighth Blackbird invited them. They are a chamber ensemble based in Chicago. “We’re trying to continue this tradition of chamber music of having composers write for you and really being master interpreters as much as we can be,” R eifsteck said. “But [the band is] also trying to expand our repertoire in our own way with our own voices, whether that’s through composing as an ensemble, composing individually, or just improvising and trying to create music in the moment.”
Slipstream to perform on campus UW Oshkosh Department of M usic will present a guest recital of the quartet Slipstream, a new music group consisting of guitar, piano, saxophone and percussion M arch 17. Dan R eifsteck, who plays percussion for Slipstream, said the group formed back in 2014 at Lawrence University after being inspired by a song written by Louis Andriessen. “I was recommended by one of my teachers to play a piece called Hout, this really craz y challenging piece where we’re all playing the same thing, except we’re a sixteenth-note off of each other,” R eifsteck said. According to Ilan Blanck, the guitarist for Slipstream, R eifsteck and him played in a big band together, and the pianist and I played in a smaller, classically oriented group. They met under a varity of musical circumstances. According to R eifsteck, shortly after forming, they had the idea of doing a commissioning project where they ask composers to write pieces for them to perform. “We’ve been lucky enough to have encountered a bunch people who write really great music,and a lot of them are our friends that we’ve known through school around here,” Blanck said. According to Joe Connor, the saxophonist for Slipstream, being able to work on a piece with friends creates a much more personal feeling. “There’s much more back and forth, and not just something that is delivered to us,” Connor said. R eifsteck said John M ayrose, one of the professors at UWO, wrote a piece for them, and he wrote the piece called “Slipstream.” According to Blanck, Slipstream combines a multitude of different musical elements into their sound, as well as displays a wide array of influences. “I feel like this group in particular is definitely fun when you put funk guitar, and bluegrass guitar, and jaz z , and rock, and then all the classical training that we’ve had through the conservatory here and putting all that together into something,” R eifsteck said. “I feel like it creates a really compelling sound.” According to Blanck, they are trying to find out what their genre is. It draws a lot of rhythms from modern jaz z and contemporary classical music.
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AMPUS ONNECTIONS
Ac r o s s 1 Library recess 7 Brief amt. of time 1 1 K araoke need, briefly 1 4 Slanted 1 5 With 3 4 -Across, concert band instrument 1 6 Big fuss 1 7 Parody involving molten rock? 1 9 Sneaky job 2 0 APA member?: Abbr. 2 1 M ed. test 2 2 Eight-time co-star of Joan Crawford 2 4 Teeth: Pref.
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2 7 Note 2 8 Wind god’s whaling weapon? 3 3 Crybaby 3 4 See 1 5 -Across 3 5 Arctic flier 3 6 Stalling-for-time syllables 3 7 Honor earned by 2 7 Super Bowl QBs 3 9 Light lead-in 4 1 Scoreboard fig. 4 2 Director Preminger 4 4 It borders It. 4 6 Sparkling wit 4 8 Blubbering Belgian?
5 1 8 th-century Japanese capital 5 2 R uns while standing 5 3 Try a new color on 5 5 June portrayer in “Henry & June” 5 6 R epeat, but more softly each time 60 First name in shipping 61 Hollywood harlequin? 65 Java 66 Eclectic quarterly digest 67 Hard to read, maybe 68 Animal in some fables 69 He says to Cordelia,
“Thy truth, then, be thy dower” 7 0 Cerebral _ _ D o w n 1 _ _ breve 2 Pastures 3 Home team at Cleveland’s “The Q” 4 Uninterrupted 5 M ph 6 Former PBS host LeShan 7 Place setting items 8 Tough march 9 1 9 4 0s stage for Ike 1 0 _ _ eel 1 1 Apple with a Force Touch trackpad 1 2 Fan club focus 1 3 Lane-closing sight 1 8 Physical leader? 2 3 Gear on stage 2 5 K ind of tchr. 2 6 Buddhist state 2 7 K linger’s first name on “M * A* S* H” 2 8 V ital supply line 2 9 Where to find Java 3 0 M agic show prop 3 1 _ _ the cold 3 2 Democratic donkey drawer 3 3 Litter cry 3 8 Wrinkly little dog 4 0 _ _ R oyale, M ichigan 4 3 Skin care brand 4 5 Pool party? 4 7 Be the subject of, as a painting 4 9 Furious 5 0 Not much at all 5 3 Indian noble 5 4 Love deity 5 5 Forearm bone 5 7 Egyptian Christian 5 8 “The thing with feathers / That perches in the soul”: Dickinson 5 9 Cameo stone 62 Suburban trailer? 63 The Trojans of the Pac1 2 64 “Alice” spinoff
Answers to last week’s puzzles
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Women remember Championship
Athletes from the 1996 women’s basketball team reminisce on their success by Erik Buchinger buchie90@uwosh.edu
Wednesday marked the 2 0year anniversary of the day the UW Oshkosh women’s basketball team defeated M ount Union College (Ohio) 66-5 0 in the national championship game. The Titans capped off their perfect 3 1 -0 season in front of a record-setting crowd at the K olf Sports Center on M arch 1 6, 1 9 9 6. t was definitely a sense of accomplishment,” then-head coach K athi Bennett said. “It was something we did together that nobody at Oshkosh had done in women’s basketball.” Shelley Dietz shot 6 of 9 from the -point line and finished with a game-high 2 0 points for the Titans. “We had the national Division III Player of the Y ear on our team, Wendy Wangerin, who was a post player,” Dietz said. “M ount Union double and triple teamed her at times leaving the perimeter players a little more open. I luckily had the hot hand, and my teammates were able to get me open and get me the ball.” he itans road to their first national championship in school history began the year prior when they were defeated in the title game by Capital University hio to finish the season. “That was devastating,” Wendy Wangerin (M eka) said. “That game probably sticks out in my head more than the championship game we won, and it’s a game that will stick in my head for the rest of my life.” According to Wangerin, with five inutes re aining and the lead, she looked across the lane and to teammate Natalie DeM ichei while waiting for an upcoming free-throw attempt. “I said, ‘We are going to win this game,’” Wangerin said. “She looked at me, and she’s like, ‘Y ou just jinxed it.’ Sure enough after that if something could go wrong, it did. It was just one thing after another, and we just couldn’t do anything right. No matter what we did, something bad happened. It was just out of our control, and that’s what it felt like. It was insane.” Oshkosh lost the game 5 9 -5 5 to the rusaders who finished - as the first tea to go undefeated in NCAA Division III women’s basketball history. According to Bennett, the national title game loss made the Titans better heading into the next season. “I think they had a sense of what it takes – the discipline, the work you put into the summer, the camaraderie and how you have to trust each other,” Bennett said. “I think it just helped the figure out what tournament time was all about.” Bennett said she walked the
tea to the trac and field and men’s and women’s cross country trophy case to show her players what it’s like to be the best team in the country. rac and field and cross country coaches] Deb V ercauteren and John Z upanc had established a program, and we were trying to establish a program as well,” Bennett said. Heading into the 1 9 9 5 -9 6 season, Oshkosh was not thinking about becoming the second team in program history to go undefeated. Early in the conference season, the team’s attitude changed while stretching prior to a practice in Albee Hall, where the UWO women’s basketball team played its home games at the time. “I know we didn’t lose, but we played poorly in a couple games,” Bennett said. “I remember we were in the stretching circle, and I was trying to get them to understand that this is going to take a lot more, and I asked them, ‘What is it that you want?’” When nobody responded to the question, Bennett called on Wangerin. “Then she calls me out. ‘Wendy, what is it that you want out of this season?’ I just looked at her, and I’m like, ‘I want to go undefeated’,” Wangerin said. “That kind of set the stage for the rest of the season with where we were going and what we were going to be about.” Bennett said Wangerin’s answer was a turning point to the season. “I think from that point on, we had a little bit more of a laser focus I would say,” Bennett said. “I thought our intensity level got jacked up.” Oshkosh won 2 3 of 2 5 regular season games by double digits heading in to the NCAA Tournament, and Wangerin said the team never felt the pressure of finishing the season with a perfect record. “We never talked about any of that,” Wangerin said. “It was just focusing on our opponent, destroying them, and moving on to the next one.” fter five wins in the Tournament, the Titans advanced to the national championship, which was moved to olf where fans cra ed in to set a NCAA Division III record for a women’s basketball game. “I think once we walked out the door and saw all the people, we had never had that many people at a game before,” Wangerin said. “It was a whole different world for us to walk into. It was craz y, amaz ing and the feeling was incredible.” According to Dietz , the atmosphere was unique, but the team was focused on basketball once the game started. “Listening to the national anthem being played by a
COURTESY OF UW-OSHKOSH ATHLETICS
Above: Head coach Kathi Bennett at the 1996 National Championship post game interview. The Titans finished 31-0. Below: Wendy Wangerin cutting down the nets after the National Championship win over Mount Union College at Kolf. harmonica and the cheers that came after, it got loud in there,” Dietz said. “But once the ball is thrown up, the focus becomes between the lines with your teammates and your coaches.” Wangerin, who is currently the program’s all-time leading scorer with career points said she is still unable to explain the feeling of winning a national championship. “Words can’t describe that, but I think it was a combination of excitement and relief because it was something we worked so hard for all season,” Wangerin said. “Being able to share that with our teammates, and our family and friends were there, it was just such a great time because we got to share it with everybody” In addition to being the second undefeated team in Division III women’s basketball history, the Titans outscored their opponents by nearly 2 8 points per game, and Bennett and Wangerin were named national coach and player of the year, respectively. Following the national title victory, Bennett moved on to coach for 1 9 years at the Division I level, including head coaching positions at the Uni-
1996 NCAA Tournament Run First Round 77-45 over DePauw
Second Round 69-50 over Beloit
Sweet 16 75-53 over Wash. U
Elite 8 62-57 over UWEC
Final 4 62-37 over NYU
National Championship 75-53 over Mount Union
versity of Evansville, Indiana University, an assistant at the University of Wisconsin and a head coach at Northern Illinois University. “The group of players that I had that allowed me to go the next level,” Bennett said. “They allowed me to coach the way I did and have an intensity level about myself, and I feel like I owe my success to that group.” Wangerin is now a principal at Landau Elementary School in Cathedral City, Calif., and Dietz co-owns three Subway restaurants in Green Bay with her brother. n addition iet is a certified official and has refereed nine Wisconsin women’s high school basketball state tournaents and she beca e the first wo an ever to officiate the boy’s state tournament in 2 01 5 . After resigning at Northern Illinois in April 2 01 5 , Bennett now works with Eastbay in Wausau. Looking back, she said the 1 9 9 6 championship season is still one of the best memories as a coach. “They were one of the hardest-working teams I’ve ever coached, and over the years, I’ve really appreciated them for that,” Bennett said.
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Former Titan participates in Pro Day by Erik Buchinger buchie90@uwosh.edu
Former UW Oshkosh tight end Joe Sommers finished among the top players in multiple events at Wisconsin’s Pro Day on M arch 9 in front of 31 representatives from 2 6 NFL teams at the Dave M cClain Athletic Facility in M adison. Participants alongside Sommers included 1 2 former Wisconsin players and four others from the WIAC, including former Titans’ wide receiver Z ach K asuboski. Sommers recorded the highest vertical of the group with 36 inches. He finished third in the 40- yard dash with a time of 4.61 and placed second in the bench press with 23 reps of 25 pounds. While Sommers had high expectations for himself, he said others may have doubted his athletic ability as a Division III athlete. “I met my expectations,” Sommers said. “I think other people didn’t know I was going to do that well because I’m a small-school guy, but myself and people close to me knew I was capable of the numbers I put up. There’s a lot of jitters for a guy that’s not been on the big stage that
often, but I was happy with my numbers.” After graduating from UWO following the fall semester, Sommers signed with agent R on Slavin of BTI Sports Advisors. “I’ve had some success with some Division III guys, so Joe reached out to me based on that,” Slavin said. Slavin has represented former Division III athletes who moved on to the NFL including Tony Beckham, Clint K riewaldt, Derek Carrier and Jake K umerow. “NFL teams view Division III athletes more as a player being a project,” Slavin said. “It’s such a big jump in competition.” In late December, Sommers and his dad, M ike, met with Brad Arnett of NX Level Sports Performance training facility in Waukesha. “I met with them and talked them through the process,” Arnett said. “I wanted to help him understand the process of what he has to go to through and what’s going to be involved. He wanted to come train right away and we got started and went to work.” For 1 0 weeks, Sommers trained at NX Level five days per week for 3- 4 hours a day.
“The biggest thing for Joe is that the NFL puts a lot of stock in straight-end speed because the position of tight end has changed,” Arnett said. “They’ll use a tight end or combo guy to use as just a blocker, but they also want tight ends that can give them a vertical threat as someone who can catch the ball – kind of like [R ob] Gronkowski types.” Also training at NX Level in different sessions were NFL players J.J. Watt, DeAndre Levy, Dan France, K evin Z eitler, Emmett Cleary, Nick Hayden and Chris M aragos. “They worked out right before us, and we were there at the same time as them quite often,” Sommers said. “It was cool to interact with them a little bit, and they gave us some tips on what to expect.” After the Pro Day, Sommers moved back to his parents’ house in Hortonville where he will be training to stay in shape before the NFL Draft. He also said he plans to run routes 2 -3 times per week with UWO quarterbacks Brett K asper and Connor Senger. Slavin said he spoke with all 32 NFL teams about Sommers and had serious conversations with about 18- 20 of them with
private workouts coming in the future. “He’ll be working out for the Packers at Green Bay,” Slavin said. “They have a local workout for anybody that grew up around the Green Bay area. The K ansas City Chiefs are going to bring him in for a visit as well.” With the NFL Draft coming up on April 28- 30, Sommers said all he wants is an opportunity. “Teams have graded me from the seventh round to a priority free agent, which is what a few teams had me before the Pro Day,” Sommers said. “I’m not expecting anything but just to get a chance basically.” Following Wisconsin’s Pro Day, NFL.com Senior Analyst Gil Brandt had a brief writeup of Sommers on the league’s official website, listing his results and wrote that scouts described said he was looking good moving around and catching passes. “Last spring, I would have said I was surprised, but this has been a reality for the last three months,” Sommers said. “I’ve devoted my life to it, so it’s almost expected. It doesn’t hit me too deep anymore. It’s starting to become a reality.”
Joe Sommers Pro Day results
40-yard dash
3 cone drill
4.61 (seconds)
6.84 (seconds)
Vertical Jump
Agility
36 (inches)
4.27 (seconds)
Broad Jump
60-Yard Shuttle
9-2.5
11.59 (seconds)
Bench Press 23 REPS (225)
Men’s volleyball gets revenge by Brady Van Deurzen vandeb30@uwosh.edu
The seventh-ranked UW Oshkosh men’s volleyball team traveled to M ilwaukee on M arch 1 1 and defeated third-ranked M arquette University with set scores of 2 5 2 1 , 1 6-2 5 , 2 5 -2 0 and 2 5 -1 8 , improving its record to 2 8 -3 overall and 1 2 -0 in conference. This matchup of National Collegiate V olleyball Federation Division I top 1 0 teams is a rematch of two previous meetings where the Golden Eagles defeated the Titans. The victories claimed by M arquette weren’t considered conference games and with UWO’s win over M arquette, the Titans remain undefeated in the conference on their way to win its eighth straight conference championship. Senior left-side hitter Alec R edlich said they were not going to be caught unprepared again. “Honestly, because we knew M arquette would be our strongest opponent in the conference, a lot more went into preparing for our match against them,” R edlich said.
“I think that everything from our practices that were geared to prepare us during the week, to the warmup before the match, to the focus we had from the very first point all contributed to our success.” R edlich said the Titans have reestablished themselves after being shocked by M arquette in the M idwest 1 0 Tournament. “The M idwest 1 0 Tournament was a wake-up call when we ruined our perfect season and lost to M arquette,” R edlich said. “From that point forward we’ve been trying hard to come together as a team and fix some of our weaknesses and I think that the win against M arquette this week shows the progress that we’ve made.” R edlich provided 1 3 kills, two service aces and two blocks in the Titans’ win over the Golden Eagles. Senior setter Travis Hudson was also a large contributor in the win over M arquette as he added five kills, five digs, eight blocks and 3 5 assists. Hudson said he thought the win was more of an overall team success and was very
glad the team could perform as a whole. “[Winning] feels great; we knew we could do it, just had to put some pieces together,” Hudson said. “Not being able to play our best lineup last time hurt, but with everyone back and playing we knew our energy and feelings towards payback would help.” Senior left-side hitter Wesley M orioka provided nine kills and five digs while junior right-side hitter Allen Grunert contributed eight kills, two service aces and three blocks. Hudson said the Titans can learn a lot from their season and believes the Titans’ season could have been better. “I think the season went pretty well,” Hudson said. “Not as good as we hoped, but besides the couple losses it was a good season.” Head coach Brian Schaefer said the Titans have the conference title pretty much locked up. “We have a two match lead in the conference,” Schaefer said. “So we are almost guaranteed to win our eighth straight to WV C championships because we won’t have two teams that will beat us.”
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No. 4 Wesley Morioka watches as No. 14 Travis Hudson sets the ball on March 5.
Track and field competes at nationals by Nathan Proell proeln91@uwosh.edu The UW Oshkosh men’s and women’s track teams wrapped up the season on M arch 1 2 at the NCAA Division III indoor championships held in Grinnell, Iowa. The men finished 1 3 th with an overall score of 1 3 and the women finished 1 7 th with an overall score of 1 1 . Senior Z achary Baehman, freshman Wal K hat and freshman R yan Powers each earned All-America accolades for the men. Baehman finished third in shot put with a toss of 5 7 -7 . The first place toss was by UW-Whitewater’s Theron Baumann with a toss of 5 8 -3 and runner up Alex M ess of UW-Eau Claire had a toss of 5 7 -9 ¾ . R egardless of the third place finish, Baehman said he is very pleased with his result. “I was happy with the way I had competed at nationals,” Baehman said. “I would have liked to see a different outcome. M y story as an athlete is not over yet. I will
finish writing it this outdoor season. Hopefully the story ends on top of the podium.” K hat placed fifth in his 8 00-meter run with a time of 1 :5 5 .9 1 . The first place finish for the 8 00-meter run went to M itchell Black of Tuffs University who finished with a time of 1 :5 2 .4 8 . Powers earned his first All-American after running the second best 4 00-meter in program history, placing sixth with a time of 4 8 .7 seconds. Ben Z ill’s 2 01 0 time of 4 8 .3 3 is the only other fastest race. Head coach Ben Dorsey said he is nothing but excited about Z ill’s performance. “For a freshman to come through big like he did is very exciting for the next three years,” Dorsey said. Four other men represented UWO at the national competition. Junior Hunter Effa took 1 0th place in the long jump with a leap of 2 2 -0 ¾ while sophomore Devan Gertschen took ninth in pole vault with a best clearance of 1 5 -7 and sophomore R oberto Lara took 1 2 th in the mile-run preliminaries with a time of
4 :1 6.01 . As for senior Naji Allan, he tied the school record in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.8 6 seconds and finished ninth in Friday’s preliminary round. This was the first time ever in Division III track and field history the time of 6.8 6 seconds has not made it to the final round, but Dorsey said he is still proud of the senior. “In that situation it’s hard to be real frustrated,” Dorsey said. “I just hope that he realiz es that he had done everything that was asked of him. He left it all out there.” As for the women, senior Taylor Sherry claimed her third career indoor All-American laurel after she placed fourth on Saturday in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8 .7 2 seconds. Sherry said she was happy with how her senior season came to a close. “I did what I was supposed to do,” Sherry said. “I wanted to run a little faster but I was pleased with my place.” Junior Eliz abeth Abhold made it to the final on Saturday thanks to her throw of
5 7 -7 in the final round of the preliminaries. Dorsey said he is very pleased with her performance en route to her first All-American. “Getting your first All-American is always the hardest so for her to have that breakthrough is huge as we enter the outdoor season,” Dorsey said. “I’m extremely happy for her.” After coming into the nationals meet seated 1 5 th, sophomore Emily R eichenberger finished sixth in the 2 00-meter dash with a time of 2 5 .5 2 seconds which led to her first All-American. Dorsey said he is very proud of her making it that far. “That’s what you need at a national meet,” Dorsey said. “Y ou need the people that overachieve.” Also representing the UW-Oshkosh women’s indoor track team was K asey Ederer who finished 1 1 th in the high jump with a height of 5 -5 , but came up short of earning All-American status. The outdoor season begins on April 8 when the team travels to UW-Whitewater.
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Different programs, same vision UWO basketball coaches look back on first four years by Michael Johrendt and Morgan Van Lanen atitan@uwosh.edu
At the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh there are two basketball teams; a men’s and a women’s. However, if you were to ask any of the players, coaches or staff on either one of the two teams, they would all tell you they make up one unit. During the 2 01 2 -1 3 school year, both basketball programs at UWO hired a new head basketball coach. Pat Juckem, previously the men’s basketball head coach at Coe College in Cedar R apids, Iowa, became the head coach for the men’s team. The women’s team brought in Brad Fischer, previously the top women’s basketball assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at UW-Parkside. According to Juckem, he and Fischer created a very strong bond from the beginning, as they both worked to rejuvenate teams that had strong histories but had struggled recently. “M y players have incredible respect for Coach Fischer and his staff and their program,” Juckem said. “I think we share some commonalities in what we look for and what we value. And as a result, the men’s team and the women’s team have a connection. We are really excited for each other when the other one does well, but we also are competitive. Each program wants to do their part and really become the ‘basketball school’ in the greatest league in the country.” Since Fischer and Juckem arrived, both basketball programs have seen improvement and success on the court. Previous women’s head coach Terri Schumacher posted a 7 -1 8 overall record and a ninth-place conference finish at 1 -1 5 in the 2 01 1 -1 2 season. Schumacher stepped down, and Fischer was handed the reigns to the team in 2 01 3 . In his first season, the team won 1 3 more games than the prior season, as their 2 0-6 overall record and 1 2 -4 conference record earned them second place in the WIAC. This season marked the third consecutive postseason appearance and the fourth consecutive second-place finish in conference for the women. According to Fischer, Oshkosh was a team he looked up to when he was coaching at other schools. “When I was at La Crosse and trying to build the program there, Oshkosh was so success-
ful at the time,” Fischer said. “They were sort of a measuring stick for what we wanted to be at the time, so it was always a place where I knew you could be successful. Opportunitywise, since I have been here, our administration has been so supportive in allowing us to do things the way we think, not being micromanaged, not being told who to recruit, and not putting any restrictions on how we should do things.” On the other hand, Ted V an Dellen, who retired after 2 2 seasons, was the men’s head coach before Juckem stepped in. The year prior to Juckem’s arrival, the Titans overall record was 4 -2 2 and their 0-1 6 record in conference placed them ninth in the WIAC. During Juckem’s first season, his team again placed ninth in conference with a record of 2 -1 4 . The next two years they took fifth with records of 7 -9 and 8 -8 . Their greatest success came during the 2 01 5 -1 6 school year when they went 9 -5 in conference and took second place. The men went on to win the WIAC Tournament Championship against UW-R iver Falls and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division Tournament. Juckem stated rebuilding the team has taken a lot of time and effort, but it has been worth it. He believes it all started with doing his homework to recruit players who would be the best fit for the program. “It’s been a gradual, brickby-brick approach,” Juckem said. “We deliberately chose not to go with a quick-fix approach. We wanted to work on building a culture. It starts with identifying and evaluating and ultimately recruiting the right kind of players: players who are high-character, good student athletes, committed, are going to be great teammates.” While the men took slower steps to building their program, the women’s saw immediate success after their new coach stepped in. In his first year at Oshkosh, Fischer lead the Titans to their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2 000. Fischer believes his achievements are in part due to his approach to recruiting, something he acquired when he was still an assistant. “It is still about trying to find the best players that fit and end up in our level, and it is a part of our challenge,” Fischer said. “I have never thought that that was a huge hurdle for us to try and overcome. I think that we have a good [amount
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UW Oshkosh men’s and women’s basketball teams pose with their 2016 WIAC Championship plaques on Feb. 28. of] experience here and that is what our job is: to find the girls that [want] this to be the place they want to be and to show them that this is a good place for them.” The men’s and women’s successes on the court are not the only things that make them special. R ather, the type of culture the two teams create from the players’ sportsmanship make them stand out among the rest. Both Juckem and Fischer agree that what they look for in a player is not just his or her skills. R ather, they look for young athletes who are both responsible and respectful, Juckem said. Senior guard Alex Olson has seen first-hand the progression his team has made over the last four years he attended Oshkosh, he said. “The culture has changed for both programs over the past few years,” Olson said. “There has been quick success, especially for the girls programs, but also for ours. It’s not just all about what happens on the court; lot of it is the off-thecourt stuff. The coaches are recruiting players who have good character, on and off the court.” Fischer’s coaching history can be traced all the way back to 2 000, when he was an assistant at Western Wisconsin Technical College for their 2 000-01 campaign. He went down to the high school level
for a few seasons at GaleEttrick-Trempealeau High School from 2 001 -03 . M oving back to the college level, Fischer became an assistant coach at his alma mater, La Crosse, from 2 003 -06, while also completing his master’s degree in 2 005 . From La Crosse, he joined Division II Parkside and held the role of assistant coach and recruiting coordinator until 2 01 1 , when he joined Oshkosh. Fischer believes going through the coaching process is one of the best ways to reach full potential, as it gave him many different opportunities to learn everything that goes into coaching. “I think being an assistant coach is a really important part of the journey,” Fischer said. “Everyone wants to be a head coach, and I think people who want to rush through being an assistant to be a head coach miss out on a lot. As an assistant coach, you do not have the same pressure and same responsibility, so if you take advantage of your time and really assess what your head coach is doing, the things you really like, and the things you may not like, it helps build your philosophy.” Fischer keyed in on a moment in time in which he did not believe he would be a basketball coach, but he took the opportunity he was handed and ran with it.
“R ecruiting is really the thing that got me into college coaching,” Fischer said. “When I was at La Crosse, it was not my plan to be a college basketball coach. Coach [Lois] Heeren at La Crosse asked if I would be interested in helping out that first year and that I move from high school to her side. And I enjoyed it, but it still was not a thing that I was going to do. The first year she really let me get out and recruit and try to identify players that we thought could be successful. That was the first time that I really got into the thinking that this might be something I want to do, because it was a huge challenge.” Just like Fischer, Juckem never had plans to become a basketball coach. He attended Lawrence University as a psychology major and played on the basketball team there as well. After changing his major to education and staying at Lawrence for an extra semester to complete his student teaching, he became a graduate assistant for the basketball team. Juckem then took the head coaching job for the men’s basketball team at M anitowocR oncalli High School, which he held for three years where he was also a psychology teacher. He went back to Lawrence University to be the assistant head coach for six years and then moved to Cedar R apids to
coach at Coe College. “First of all, I really had a great experience at Coe,” Juckem said. “I liked the community, my youngest child was born there, we had our program in a really good spot, but [UWO] and the conference it is in always appealed to me. And I competed against Oshkosh when I was at Lawrence. So I was very familiar with not only the institution, but the quality. I just had great respect for the tradition of the conference and the potential of this university with this basketball program.” Although basketball has always been a huge part of Juckem’s life, he always makes sure to remind his players that there are other things besides the sport they need to focus on. He believes one of the best things about being an athlete at a Division III school is not only having the opportunity to compete as an athlete, but also being able to join clubs and work internships. “I always counsel our guys when they are thinking about careers and occupations and what they want to do,” Juckem said. “And I tell them that, if you can wake up every day excited about what you’re doing and not feel like it is a job, then you have a great thing going. And that’s how I feel about coaching in my position. I never wake up dreading going to work. And I feel very fortunate about that.”
Men’s and women’s basketball conference records Pat Juckem
Overall Record 53-54
2012-13 2-14, 9th in WIAC
Brad Fischer
2012-13 12-4, 2nd in WIAC
2013-14 7-9, 5th in WIAC
2013-14 13-3, 2nd in WIAC
2014-15 8-8, 5th in WIAC
2014-15 11-5,2nd in WIAC
2015-16 9-5, 2nd in WIAC
2015-16 11-3, 2nd in WIAC
Overall Record 92-23