Departing seniors leave legacy The Badgers were led by a diverse senior class this season. SPORTS | 8
THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1969 Volume XLIV, Issue 91
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
www.badgerherald.com
Finalist Kim Wilcox visits campus Bryan Kristensen Reporter The third finalist for the University of Wisconsin’s top job visited campus Monday and emphasized the importance of taking risks as a leader. Kim Wilcox, current provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Michigan State University, said that there are major similarities between the two institutions in terms of academics and research, specifically with the medical and science fields, ranging from veterinary medicine to natural sciences. He also noted the joint collaborations the two universities have taken up with one another. Wilcox said one advantageous difference was that while both are leading universities in the nation, Wisconsin is the leading university in the state. However, Wilcox said Michigan State is one of two top universities in Michigan. “This provides a different level of instrumentality both in research and education, but also in an educational policy setting, which would provide… the next chancellor with the ability
to be quite instrumental in shaping directions of higher education and research across the nation,” Wilcox said. Wilcox also said by observing dynamic personalities and risk-taking changes from prominent Wisconsin political figures like Gov. Scott Walker, he sees the connection between risktaking and moving policies and agenda onto the national stage. In order to affect policies across the nation, the next chancellor would need to be willing to take those risks that political figures make in important debates, he said. “We would have the potential to have our values be more real to the national conversation…when other universities shape national policies and conversations that means our values may not be as well represented as they should,” Wilcox said. Regarding tuition increases, Wilcox said all revenue streams need to flow and work together. He said he would focus on raising funds from the private sector and work with it creatively in terms of developing educational and research programming. He added the university
Mary Kucku The Badger Herald
Kim Wilcox compared the University of Wisconsin and Michigan State University in a public forum on campus. He also called for a leader that would take risks leading UW into the future. must be willing to think of creative solutions across the board to help solve the problem. Wilcox said as provost of Michigan State, he
has had experience working with the student government there and understands the structure of shared governance UW has
between students and faculty leadership. He said having opportunities to sit down with both students and faculty members to
try to understand how they view the university would be his main concern as chancellor.
FINALIST, page 2
Students fight to make Langdon historic area Sarah Eucalano City Hall Editor Members of the Langdon Street community introduced a petition calling for the neighborhood to be designated as a local historic district, an effort organizers said would preserve the character of the neighborhood, in a city committee meeting Monday night. The petition, which is currently being circulated online at change.org, aims to prevent high rise apartments from being built in the neighborhood by turning the area into a local historic district, community members said at the Landmarks Commission meeting. As on Monday, the petition had garnered more
Morgan Short The Badger Herald
Stuart Levitan, Madison Landmarks Commission chair, addressed a crowd opposed to the Holy Redeemer School and Church project, which was approved.
then 1,000 signatures since its launch. Connor Nett, a University of Wisconsin sophomore and member of and Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, said the petition started three weeks ago after he contacted groups who opposed recent development in the area, such as the recent approval of plans to build a six-story student apartment building on Iota Court. He said making Langdon a local historic district would set standards for development and prevent developers from building high rises. High rises jeopardize the feel of the neighborhood, he said, because the area has a special character and a specific scale and size. “It’s a highly dense, urban area,” Nett said. “It has a very
small-town, homey feel to it that a lot of people in the area really appreciate. The high rise has its place in the city but Langdon is just not one of those.” Nett said the Langdon neighborhood is currently a national historic district. He said this means property owners receive tax incentives to preserve the building and keep the integrity of the area. However, he said this is not enough because if the owners decide not to receive the tax incentive, they could develop their property how they want. He said the petition has received a high amount of support from the community. “The goal is to improve upon
LANGDON, page 2
Gov. Scott Walker signs iron ore mining bill Noah Goetzel State Politics Editor Gov. Scott Walker signed a controversial iron ore mining bill which streamlines the permit process into law Monday, more than a year after the legislation was first introduced. The bill, supported solely
by Republican legislators, will allow Gogebic Taconite LLC to create the largest open-pit iron ore mining operation in the world, according to a statement from the Wisconsin John Muir Chapter of the Sierra Club. Walker said in a statement he was grateful to legislators statewide for moving
forward a bill that will be deadline-oriented and environmentally friendly. He signed the legislation into law in Rhinelander and later in Milwaukee. The governor added he is optimistic his endorsement of the bill will create thousands of private sector jobs in the future.
However, Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, criticized Walker in a statement for signing the bill at Oldenburg Group Company and P&H Mining Engineering manufacturing plants because both locations are more than 100 miles away from the proposed mining site. Jauch said it is “quite puzzling, but not surprising”
Bill would target illegal gun sales Noah Goetzel State Politics Editor A Democratic legislator re-introduced a bill Monday that would make it a felony offense to knowingly possess stolen weapons or buy guns with the intention of giving them to people who cannot pass background checks. Sen. Tim Carpenter, D–Milwaukee, said in a statement the goal of the bill is to strengthen the criminal penalty for these actions to carry a felony
charge. Illegally obtaining these guns through “straw purchase” methods of trafficking currently do not have sufficiently severe consequences, he said. “Keeping guns out of the hands of convicted felons is not a political issue, it is a common sense crime prevention issue,” Carpenter said. The bill attempts to keep weapons out of the hands of criminals by increasing the penalties for accepting or concealing stolen guns and raising the penalty for
people who lie during their background check when purchasing these weapons, Carpenter said. The proposed legislation would elevate the significance of both crimes from a misdemeanor to a class H felony. Wisconsin AntiViolence Effort Executive Director Jeri Bonavia said Carpenter’s proposal is gaining bipartisan support due to the growing awareness among lawmakers of the low penalties straw purchasers
receive. She added prosecutors have “very little incentive” to spend resources on cases that yield little return on the investment. “The statement by law enforcement is they’re not going to spend a lot of time trying to go after straw purchases because the penalty is so minimal,” Bonavia said. However, Wisconsin Firearm Owners, Ranges, Clubs and Educators Inc.
GUN, page 2
© 2013 BADGER HERALD
Walker chose to celebrate the bill’s approval miles away from where citizens will be most affected. “One would think if the Governor were so proud of the bill, he would choose to sign it in Hurley or Mellen, two communities most economically impacted by the project,” he said. “Apparently,
he thinks it is good politics to talk about the mining bill everywhere except in the location where the mine project would occur.” Hurley Area Chamber of Commerce Chair and Wisconsin Mining Association member Bill Stutz’
MINING, page 2
INSIDE Jack stumbles up beanstalk in new movie
Should Wisconsin ban large sodas?
Nicholas Hoult reopens classic fairy tale with “Jack the Giant Slayer,” a violent, misdirected new film.
Kelsey Fenton argues that New York City’s ban on large soft drinks is crucial for a country with expanding waistbands.
ARTS | 5
OPINION | 4