THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1969 Wednesday, November 2, 2011
www.badgerherald.com
Volume Vo ollu um mee XLIII, XL LIIII, Issue 42
SPORTS | FEATURE
NEWS | CAMPUS
ARTS | PREVIEW
After being held under 100 rushing yards for the first time since 2009,, Wisconsin is looking for answers this week. | 16
Following the accidental death of a UW electrician in July, the university introduced new plans for tougher safety measures | 5
Bob Saget tells The Badger Herald he intends to pull out a more crass brand of jokes at his performance Friday. | 12
Have you seen Wisconsin’s running game?
Saget to pack full house at Orpheum
Landlords given controversial rights Assembly passes bill allowing personal tenant information to be required for rent Samuel Schmitt News Reporter A bill that gives landlords more leverage in tenant agreements by altering 25-year-old housing ordinances passed the Assembly last night. The landlord bill was introduced by Senators Frank Lasee, R-De Pere, Pam Galloway, R-Wausau and Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, and affects several Madison housing ordinances that involve security deposits, apartment showings and renter’s protections. Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said the bill would have a significant impact on
the working relationship between landlords and tenants. “All the rights evolved in Madison in the last 25 years will go away,” Resnick said. According to the bill, security deposits will no longer be limited to one month’s rent, check-in and check-out forms will not be required and landlords will not be obligated to include photos or an itemized list for any deductions from a security deposit because of damages. Landlords will also not be required to give 24 hours notice to tenants in order to show an apartment — it will now be reduced to 12 hours notice, and there will be no restrictions on entry to show the apartment. In the past, landlords were limited to three hour increments, three days a week to show apartments, according to the bill. Owners can also now
require Social Security numbers and deny renters on the basis of income, according to the bill. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said he believes the legislation will have a detrimental effect on all renters, but students will be especially affected. “A lot of students don’t have much negotiating powers because there are not a lot of vacancies,” Verveer said. “They won’t think twice about the money in the deposits.” Verveer emphasized that the thousands of students who live off campus are subject to the most adverse effects from poor handling on the landlords’ part. Executive Director of the Madison Tenant Resource Center Brenda Konkel, which helps students avoid mistreatment from landlords, said she has many concerns about the bill. She expressed concern
for the international students who do not have Social Security numbers as well as for students whose parents do not pay their security deposits. Still, those in favor of the bill said it provides landlords with necessary protection. Rep. Robin Vos, R-Burlington, said the bill seems like “common sense.” “Why would we want to discourage people from making money by renting?” he said during debate on the Assembly floor. “Renting to good people and knowing they’ll take care of your property is important. Why wouldn’t you think we should be able to ask people how much they make and whether they’ve committed a crime?” Madison Chief of Police Noble Wray also stressed the importance of
Megan McCormick The Badger Herald
Changes to Landlord-Tenant Law Protects a landlord’s right to: • Obtain personal information of prospective tenants • Consider a prospective tenant’s personal information as far back in time as desired • Show properties on 12 hour notice and enter into a rental agreement with a prospective tenant while a current tenant resides there
LANDLORDS, page 2
Source: 2011 WI Senate Bill
Committee reconsiders Union redesign plans Danielle Miller News Reporter Following a recent student vote against a proposed redesign project of the student theater lounge addition to the Memorial Union, members of the Memorial Union Reinvestment Design Committee considered their next steps in moving the project forward at a meeting Tuesday night.
The Associated Students of Madison referendum asked students to vote on the proposed glass extension to the existing theater in the Memorial Union and found a majority of students voicing opinions against the proposal. The committee is now faced with options to move forward with renovations that coordinate with what students want and the preservation of the
historic building. Speakers laid out concerns during the meeting’s open forum with an overwhelming sentiment among speakers in support of the student vote rejecting the lounge design and favoring protection of the building’s architectural integrity. Speaking against the referendum, Dierk Polzin, who has been an employee at the Memorial Union for 35 years, said
Belt it out! Cast members Shannon Prickett and Aldo Perrelli perform in the Nov. 1 version of the University Opera’s La Bohéme. The production ran last Friday and Sunday, with its culminating performance Tuesday for the UW School of Music. Tom Zionkowski The Badger Herald
the committee’s redesign proposal was overreaching. “[The committee] overstepped with the Union Terrace ‘glass box,’ and I think that was pretty obvious with the student referendum,” he said. The results showed students voted down the lounge design with 50.24 percent support. One option presented by Student Project Manager Colin Plunkett was to
revisit the plan presented in the 2006 referendum that would have erected a glass wall under the current canopy. Committee member John Staley, who serves as a University of Wisconsin faculty and staff representative, proposed the possibility of moving the existing glass of the building outward to keep the same lines and shape of the building as is.
Union Associate Director Hank Walter said the new plan should incorporate better accessibility to the theater balcony on the second floor. Currently the balcony is inaccessible to students and faculty, remaining locked except for private events. UW students and committee members Katie Ruocco and John Skic voiced their
UNION, page 5
GOP senator opposition could stall redistricting Tori Thompson News Reporter Although state senators introduced a bill Monday that would put controversial district redraws into play for potential senator recall elections in the coming months, one Republican senator has spoken out against the bill, posing a potential roadblock for its smooth passage in the body. Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, announced his opposition to the bill Monday, which Common Cause in Wisconsin Executive Director Jay Heck said could block the bill entirely from a passing vote in the Senate. The bill would move up the date the new boundary lines go into effect, which Schultz has said would allow voters to recall him that were not the original
constituents to put him in office. “I’m not going to vote for it because the people who sent me to Madison are the ones who should decide whether I ought to be recalled or not,” Schultz said. Without Schultz’s opposition, Heck said, the bill would still pass in committee, but would not pass in the state Senate, where the Republicans have a one-seat majority. “Schultz is absolutely right [in his opposition of the bill],” Heck said. “The voters of these districts were told they would be changed in November of 2012.” According to Heck, the redistricting bill, which passed with its original enactment date over the summer, draws up new districts that favor Republican candidates. This bill is an attempt to give the Republicans
an advantage before the general elections in 2012 and a response to threats of recall. Andrew Welhouse, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said the bill is a necessary measure and would clear up confusion before recall elections could take place. “There were a lot of questions about what representation means,” Welhouse said. “This bill was an effort ... to clear up a lot of issues and a lot of those unanswered questions.” Currently, Wisconsin has one district with more than 35,000 above the average requirement and one with 19,000 people below it, Welhouse said. He said elections cannot be run well with districts that are not constitutionally proportional.
REDISTRICTING, page 2
Debate erupts surrounding affirmative action legislation Adrianna Viswantha News Reporter
Matt Huppert State Editor In a marathon Assembly meeting Tuesday night, House members were split along party lines as contention rose surrounding a last minute proposal which would make it harder for minority students to receive a higher education grant.
Late into Tuesday’s Assembly meeting, an amendment proposed by Rep. Peggy Krusick, D-Milwaukee, to a bill on enrollment requirements for talent incentive grants in higher education was met with scorn from fellow Democratic representatives. Krusick’s amendment would prevent the Higher Education Aids Board from granting a talent incentive program grant to a student based on their status as a minority. These grants are
limited to no more than $1,800 for an academic year. Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, said Republicans were purposefully ignoring the committee process on this particular amendment, which he called an abuse of power. Rep. Brett Hulsey, D-Madison, said the amendment was “just plain racist.” He said the measure would succeed in preventing minority groups from receiving jobs they
would have been eligible for if they had been able to afford higher education. With the elimination of a minority based determination, Rep. Joan Bellwag, R-Markesan, said a student of any race would have an equal opportunity to receive a grant. As of a 4 a.m. press time, the Assembly floor was in recess for a Democratic caucus on the measure. Legislators also debated the appointment method for the University of Wisconsin
© 2011 BADGER HERALD
Board of Regents and whether or not constituents in certain areas of the Capitol should be allowed to have cameras and video recorders in light of the recent revelation to allow concealed weapons in the building. An Assembly bill introduced by Rep. Erik Severson, R-Star Prairie, and other members of the Aseembly expands the appointment of members to the UW System Board of Regents. The bill passed in
hearings Tuesday. David Giroux, spokesperson for the Board of Regents, said the board has taken a position in favor of the bill. According to Giroux, the government appoints 16 of the 18 members of the board, including two student members. The exceptions are the Superintendent of Schools and the Wisconsin Technical Colleges Board President,
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION, page 3