STUDENT MEDIA AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2016 路 VOL 47, ISSUE 24 路 BADGERHERALD.COM
CONFRONTING #TheRealUW A trending hashtag reveals pervasive incidents of hate and bias on the University of Wisconsin campus. page 14
Photo by Marissa Haegele The Badger Herald
FORWARD
@badgerherald
From the desk of the editor: Hate, bias incidents not isolated events, time to acknowledge the real UW by Aliya Iftikhar Editor-in-Chief
It’s time to talk about the real University of Wisconsin. Not the UW that’s considered one of the top party schools in the country, not the UW that’s nationally ranked as a top public institution and not the UW that’s good at sports. Let’s talk about the UW where minority students remain marginalized. The UW where racial issues continue to be glossed over. The UW where several students have been victims
of sheer hatred, getting spat on and receiving threatening notes in places that should be safe, that they should be able to consider home. These are not isolated events; rather, they are revealing of a greater climate of ignorance and intolerance that persists at UW. Until every student and community member can acknowledge the harsh realities of our campus, little progress can be made in creating a UW that is inclusive and home for all. But simple acknowledgement
isn’t enough. An inclusive UW can only be formed through the combined work of students and administration. It’s up to students to speak up in the face of hate and bias incidents. And it’s up to administration to listen — and react. To me, #TheRealUW embodies the strength and resilience of minority students on campus. And now that it’s finally caught people’s attention — it’s important to maintain the momentum. In this issue, that’s what The Badger Herald hopes to do. We
are dedicating our cover story and expanding our opinion section to feature student voices and experiences in an effort to continue the conversation. UW prides itself on the Wisconsin Experience. Let’s make sure that’s an experience that includes every Badger, not just majority students. Any students that would like to share their thoughts and experiences, I encourage you to send a submission to opinion@badgerherald.com.
SUMMER SESSIONS 2016 Enjoy all that Chicago has to offer this summer while taking a class to lighten your load for the fall. Chicago • Online • Study Abroad Cuneo Mansion and Gardens (Vernon Hills, IL) Retreat and Ecology Campus (Woodstock, IL) APPLY NOW • For a list of courses and to enroll, visit LUC.edu/summer.
152 W. Johnson Suite 202 Madison WI, 53703
Find us online at
http://badgerherald.com
Follow us on Instagram
Opinion Associate Sports Editor Sports Content Editor Sports Associate ArtsEtc. Editors ArtsEtc. Associate Copy Chief Associate Copy Chief Photo Editors Design Directors Comics Editor Social Media Coordinators Banter Editor Banter Associate Video Director Video Associate
@badgerherald
Like us on Facebook
http://facebook.com/badgerherald
Herald Business
Aliya Iftikhar Briana Reilly Rachael Lallensack Hayley Sperling Margaret Duffey Emma Palasz Riley Vetterkind Anne Blackbourn Cyan Zhong Teymour Tomsyck Vidushi Saxena Emily Hamer Luke Schaetzel Aaron Reilly Phil Michaelson Nick Brazzoni Eric Goldsobel Zac Hepps Frankie Hermanek Henry Solotaroff-Weber Rebecca Lawson Amy Sleep Helen Matsumoto Alice Vagun Marissa Haegele Katie Cooney Alix DeBroux Julia Kampf Joshua Duncan Kevin Castro Melanie Tobiasz Aaron Hathaway Yusra Murad Nolan Ferlic Nyal Mueenuddin Violet Wang
Publisher Business Manager Business Associate Marketing Director Marketing Manager Brand Ambassadors
Nate McWilliams Robert Zanotti Luke Presberg Nick Sheahan Genevieve Hoang Grady McHugh Kelly Doherty Kayla Myhre Daniel Clark
Herald Advertising Advertising Director Advertising Manager Advertising Executives
Advertising Associate
Max Rosenberg Connor Dugan Margaret Naczek Taylor Murphy Sam Streeck Domnic Ricci Jacob Balowek
Board of Directors Chairman Vice Chairman Vice Chairman Vice Chairman Rachael Lallensack Nick Sheahan Nate McWilliams
Polo Rocha John Batterman Aliya Iftikhar Max Rosenberg Briana Reilly Hayley Sperling Connor Dugan
TABLE OF CONTENTS
5
NEWS
14
FEATURE
24
MISNOMER
6
PHOTO PAGE
16
OPINION
25
DIVERSIONS
10 ARTS
21
SPORTS
APAR TMENT?
@badgerherald
11,000 copies printed Tuesdays. Published since Sept. 10, 1969
Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Managing Editor News Editor Digital News Editor Features Editors Campus Editors City Editor State Editors Opinion Editors
L O O K I N G for Your
Follow us on Twitter
Telephone 908.257.4712 Fax 608.257.6899
Herald Editorial
STILL
26
SHOUTOUTS
DON’T WING IT
HAS THE JSM Properties APARTMENT
You Have Been Searching For!
OPEN HOUSE FRIDAY APRIL 29TH 12PM-5PM 101 N MILLS STREET
www.jsmproperties.com
608-255-3933 101 N Mills Street
Enter the Buffalo Wild Wings Blazing Wings Eating Challenge The Winner Will Receive FREE Wings Monthly for a Year & a Trophy Eating Contest Begins at 11:30am Contact melissa@jsmproperties.com to Enter the Contest
Enjoy Buffalo Wild Wings While You Sign Your Lease! YOU WILL LOVE THE BLAZIN’ RENT SPECIALS! *NEW LEASES ONLY
Voting in Wisconsin now requires a VALID photo ID. If you don’t have a Wisconsin driver’s license or U.S. passport, get a free UW–Madison Voter ID card at the Wiscard Office in Union South. UW–Madison student IDs are NOT valid for voting.
Learn more at vote.wisc.edu April 5, 2016 • badgerherald.com • 3
MADTOWN CRIER
@badgerherald
Madtown Crier Tuesday 4/5 X Ambassadors at Orpheum, 7 p.m., $25
Wednesday 4/6
Saturday 4/9 Geographer at Majestic, 9 p.m., $12 Wave Racer at The Sett, 9 p.m., FREE
Sunflower Bean at The Frequency, 8 p.m., $10 Tacocat at The Sett, 8 p.m., FREE
Sunday 4/10
Thursday 4/7
BLOOM! - Kanopy Dance Company at Overture Center-Promenade Hall, 2:30 p.m., $29
Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play at Overture Center, 7:30 p.m., $45 Alex G + Porche at The Sett, 9 p.m., FREE
Friday 4/8 Mustang (2016) at The Marquee, 5 p.m., FREE Instead We Smile at High Noon Saloon, 5:30 p.m., $5 Deer Tick “Acous-Tick” at Majestic, 9 p.m., $20
2 • badgerherald.com • November 17, 2015
Jennifer Morales on “Meet Me Halfway” at Varsity Hall, 4 p.m., FREE
Monday 4/11 The Moth Madison StorySLAM at High Noon Saloon, 7:30 p.m., $10 Marquee Mondays: The Walker (1987) at The Marquee, 7 p.m., FREE
NEWS
facebook.com/badgerherald
Despite national growth, wind power production stagnant in Wisconsin Only 10 turbines built in state since 2012; new projects on way, but expert says support from Legislature crucial for sustainability by Emily Hamer State Editor
While the use of wind power has been on a steady rise nationally, Wisconsin has seen minimal growth in the past four years. Experts say this is because of a lack of support for wind in the state. But the future of wind could be changing because of 2017 plans for a new wind farm in Lafayette County, a county southwest of Madison and just north of the Illinois border. EDP Renewables, a global renewable energy company based in Spain, plans to build nearly 50 wind turbines, which could generate up to 99 megawatts of electricity, Tyler Huebner, Renew Wisconsin executive director, said. Despite this new project, renewable energy advocates say more action needs to be taken in the state to move toward sustainable energy.
Amount of wind power in Wisconsin
In 2013, only six new wind turbines were built in the state of Wisconsin, according to Renew Wisconsin numbers. In 2012, only four new wind turbines were added. No new wind turbines were created in 2014, 2015 or so far this year, Huebner said. In 2014, Wisconsin was among the three lowest states for total electricity coming from wind power, according to the U.S. Department of Energy 2014 Renewable Energy Data Book. The cumulative electricity is measured in megawatts. Seven megawatts is enough electricity to power around 1,000 average sized homes for one year. In the midwest, some states’ electricity from wind in 2014 was more than 5,600 megawatts, according to the data book. Wisconsin, however, only had a total of 648 megawatts from wind. The last time significant contributions to wind were made in Wisconsin was in 2011, when We Energies built 90 turbines in Columbia county, according to Renew Wisconsin numbers. National wind power installations, however, have steadily increased every year since 2000, according to the data book. In 2000, the total megawatts produced by wind electricity was only 2,578 megawatts. In 2014 that number rose to 65,879 megawatts. Keith Reopelle, Clean Wisconsin senior policy director, said wind power is a rapidly growing source of energy for the U.S. “We [as a nation] are building more wind power than anything else,” Reopelle said.
‘Anti-wind’ attitudes in Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, there have been “anti-wind” sentiments, especially from realtors and lawmakers, Reopelle said. The lack of growth in wind power in Wisconsin is largely due to lack of legislation
to support renewable energy, Huebner said. He said there are no longer policies in place to encourage renewable energy investment. “We’ve got enough power plants, and we’ve met our renewable policy standard and so there’s no driver for further investment in wind at this time for many of the utilities,” Huebner said. Huebner said a policy passed in the mid 2000s that required Wisconsin to have 10 percent of its statewide electricity sales comes from renewable sources. But once that benchmark was met in 2013, companies stopped investing in wind power, Huebner said. Rep. Amanda Stuck, D-Appleton, said another example of lack of support for renewable energy in Wisconsin is a bill that would cut $7 million to Focus on Energy, an organization that helps solar power users by providing rebates and information. The bill is headed to Gov. Scott Walker’s desk to be signed. Reopelle said yet another bill, which would have put limits on how close a wind turbine could be to a building, created a “hostile” environment for wind power in Wisconsin. The bill did not make it through the Legislature. The legislation, which was backed by Walker, would have made the distance so far it would have essentially prevented new wind turbines from even being created. Reopelle said the fact the bill was even considered shows lack of support for wind energy. Some have expressed concern wind turbines could pose health consequences, with some saying the turbines gave them migraines, according to USA Today Network-Wisconsin. Reopelle, however, said there is not a single study that indicates a health risk associated with being near wind farms. While he voiced his concern for the health of individuals, claims of health risk are not scientifically supported, he said.
renewable sources. The new wind farm being built in Lafayette County could also help to solve Wisconsin’s wind energy problems. Huebner said if the project comes online it would create a 15 percent bump in Wisconsin’s wind capacity.
Stuck said she hopes to see more state investment in wind in years to come. “Wisconsin should not lag behind in anything … but definitely not renewable energy because those really are the jobs of the future,” Stuck said.
Advantages of wind power
Reopelle said wind energy is the least costly and the most effective renewable energy. He said wind energy is compatible with farming, and most wind farms are put on agricultural land. Another advantage of wind power is turbines take up a small amount of space, but have a big energy contribution, Huebner said. Each individual wind turbine adds two-anda-half megawatts of electricity. To get the same amount of power from solar panels, it would require six or seven acres of land.
Possible solutions
Reopelle said one of the best ways to get wind power growing again in Wisconsin is to increase the standard that requires 10 percent of statewide electricity sales to come from
April 5, 2016 • badgerherald.com • 5
PHOTO
@badgerherald
Photo · Dancers wear traditional regalia during their annual Spring Powwow at the Alliant Energy Center April 2-3. Katie Cooney The Badger Herald
6 • badgerherald.com • April 5, 2016
NEWS
facebook.com/badgerherald
Tech on Deck Racing team pushes boundaries of engineering, design through car building UW students manufacture, race Formula-style car in national competition; look to innovate in field by Cadence Bambenek Tech. Writer
Most engineering students spend their time cranking out math equations or grinding away for their next midterm. For Wisconsin Racing, midterms and coursework take a back seat to designing, manufacturing and building a model race car ready to test the racetrack. Wisconsin Racing, is a student vehicle team run through the University of Wisconsin College of Engineering. About 30 engineering students work intensively throughout the year to design and build a race car about one-third the standard size of Formula-style race cars to compete in international and national races every May and June, Max Liben, a sophomore mechanical engineering student on the team, said. SAE, which stands for Society of Automotive Engineers, organizes the annual SAE Collegiate Design Series. The student design competition started in 1978, but teams from Wisconsin only began competing in 1998. Each team races car prototypes in different events to compete for points, Liben said. In May, while the rest of campus is sweating over finals, Wisconsin Racing ships off to Brooklyn, Michigan, for the first competition of the summer. Around 120 SAE design teams and cars from around the world come to race
in the international championship. The second competition is held mid-June in Lincoln, Nebraska, Liben said. Competition days are no easier than finals days. “You have 15 to 20 people who have spent an unreasonable amount of time on this car and all of that work boils down to four days and how it performs over four days,” Liben said. “Everyone is in overdrive trying to get everything as perfect as possible.” When the competitions wrap up for the summer, the team immediately launches into the design phase of next year’s model. They work constantly to make the driver’s life as simple as possible, Liben said, acknowledging winning isn’t just about great engineering, but great driving, too. While engineering may not be everything, the team has a history of strong design and strives to push their design and engineering as far as they can. “Because we have been competing for so many years, we are sort of able to push boundaries at the competition,” Liben said. In the past, Wisconsin Racing has pushed the envelope so far it forced race organizers to change competition rules. About 15 years ago, the team implemented an electric throttle to their design, Liben said. The next year, electric
Photo · In the past, the College of Engineering team’s creative designs have forced race organizers to change the rules. Cadence Bambenek The Badger Herald
April 5, 2016 • badgerherald.com • 7
throttles were banned. The ban on electronic throttles has since been lifted, but the team is looking to push boundaries again. This year, the team is developing an electric clutch to control the vehicle launch through the touch of a button, Liben said. In the accelerant event of the competition, where cars go 0 to 70 mph in a matter of seconds, every second matters. An electric clutch reduces launch time, making the car more competitive, Liben said. And if an electric throttle and clutch weren’t ambitious enough, Liben wants to build and race a completely electronic car in 2017. Right now, eight students comprise a separate team working on the preliminary designs for the electric model. Liben said he believes the automotive industry’s shift to electric cars is a matter of “when” rather than “if.” He said he sees potential to do good and make an impact through engineering. “It’s not something you’re always going to be credited for … but if you design something that’s 1 percent more efficient [and] it’s technology that ends up in a larger industry and the whole industry is 1 percent more efficient, from a global standpoint, that’s a lot of energy that you’re not wasting,” Liben said. Billy Kucinski, a senior mechanical engineering student, is one of the eight members behind the electric car effort. He joined Wisconsin Racing the summer after his
freshman year. Looking to get more handson experience, and having grown up going to car shows, building race cars sounded like the perfect fit. With so much hands-on experience, many of the student vehicle team members go on to intern for companies like Volkswagen, Ford and SpaceX, Liben said. As for himself, Liben is taking his experience to California to intern with Tesla this summer while Kucinski is headed to work with Volkswagen in Germany. Kucinski said the chance to be part of Wisconsin Racing over the last few years has taught him more about cars than most people ever learn in their lifetime. With the hands-on experience and opportunities Wisconsin Racing has provided him with, building an electric car team is Kucinski’s chance to give back. Right now, Nebraska is the only North America competition open to electric cars, but a sparse number of teams compete annually, Kucinski said. By starting a Formula SAE electric team on campus, Kucinski and Liben said they hope to increase the number of people involved and increase the number of students graduating with experience developing electrical vehicles. “You could definitely say we’re kind of crazy for trying to do this,” Liben said. “The combustion car on its own is already an enormous amount of work … but there’s too much not to gain to not pursue it.”
NEWS
@badgerherald
Pipeline expansion could pose risks, but will reduce maintenance costs Endbrigde Energy’s history of spills raises questions about its environmental impact, community well-being by Vidushi Saxena State Editor
Enbridge Energy’s new projects to expand and reconstruct fuel transportation pipelines could have environmental consequences for Wisconsin, leading some to question the sustainability of such pipelines. Enbridge initiated two projects that work on pipelines in northern Wisconsin. The first is the Sandpiper project, which involves the construction of a new pipe from Cayuga, North Dakota to Enbridge’s main terminal in Superior, Wisconsin. The second project involves a complete replacement of Enbridge’s Line 3, which begins in Alberta, Canada and ends in Superior as well. Line 3, which spans approximately 1,100 miles, is a “vital part” of Enbridge’s pipeline system, Enbridge spokesperson Shannon Gustafson said. Throughout 2015, Line 3 underwent several maintenance activities to retain safety standards. But because maintenance is costly and there were an usual amount of problems, Enbridge decided to reconstruct the pipeline as a whole and make it bigger, she said. “There is a crucial need for safe operation and [Enbridge pipeline projects] will reduce future maintenance programs,” Gustafson said. But these projects could have consequences for the environment. Construction of one or both projects could potentially disturb nearby wetlands and waterways, Department of Natural Resources wetland and waterway permits specialist Ben Callan said. Some of the construction would require that forests be cleared, which would threaten habitats of certain plant and wildlife species. Water quality would also be impacted, he said. The DNR said in a statement, that Line 3’s construction could impact six rare and endangered plants and one rare turtle species. While the construction will not significantly reduce the species’ likelihood of survival, it will still have an adverse impact on them. But Gustafson said reconstructing Line 3 would be more ecological in the long run, as maintenance costs would be less. The current Line 3 poses a higher risk of environmental damage because it is not as safe as it should be. Replacing it would make the line safer and less prone to problems. Gustafson said the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which manages pipelines at the federal level, said pipelines are one of the safest methods to transport energy sources. Gustafson said they cost much less than rail or road transport methods and have 8 • badgerherald.com • April 5, 2016
a smaller carbon footprint. She said protecting wildlife habitat and the environment is the “core of Enbridge’s commitment to safety.” “Safety and reliability comes with tremendous responsibility and that’s why our number one priority is the safety and reliability of our work,” Gustafson said. The projects have been approved in Wisconsin but Enbridge still needs DNR approval to build in the rare species’ habitats. Apprentice with The Sierra Club’s John Muir chapter in Madison Cassie Steiner said pipelines and their construction affect the environment and human life as well. Instead of expanding and reconstructing pipelines, she said Wisconsin should invest in alternative, renewable energy sources. Many of Enbridge’s pipelines, including Line 3, transport tar sand, which is a thick, heavy fossil fuel, Steiner said. Tar sand extraction can lead to deforestation, and the chemical is difficult to clean if spilled. It sinks into water and can only be removed by completely dredging the affected water source, she said. “Not only are the chemicals transported in pipelines, like tar sands, less effective and a lot harder to clean up but they’re also more costly,” Steiner said. “They are some of the dirtiest fuels ever.” Steiner said transporting chemicals like tar sands in pipelines is an overall unsustainable process that impacts biodiversity. Tar sands are often mixed with chemicals to thin them for easier transport in pipelines. These chemicals can evaporate and pollute the air with benzene and other harmful compounds, increasing the carbon footprint and affecting people living near the spills. Callan said spills are handled through different federal agencies including Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. On a local level, parties responsible for a spill have to contact the DNR to minimize its impact, and address appropriate remediation and restoration of the area. He said no matter how safe a pipeline is, it poses several risks that must be accounted for in advance. “The risk doesn’t go away,” Callan said. “The goal is to try and stay ahead of it and prevent it from occurring.” Gustafson said Enbridge may have a history of spills, but it always takes responsibility for damage it causes. Since 2012, Enbridge has invested more than $4 billion in safety and maintenance projects. She said the company continues to invest in tools, technology and training to make all projects more efficient. Enbridge Energy is awaiting Minnesota’s approval on the projects. The projects have already been approved in Wisconsin and are expected to be completed in early 2019.
UW alumna says US Constitution was not political masterpiece
Current Boston College professor wins prestigious history award for book on Constitutional Convention by Emily Hamer State Editor
As the face of U.S. currency and national monuments, the founding fathers are iconic of America, but a new historical investigation suggests the framers of the Constitution may have just been ordinary guys who didn’t know what they were doing. Mary Bilder, Boston College law professor and University of Wisconsin alumna, tackles this question in her book, “Madison’s Hand: Revisiting the Constitutional Convention.” Her work won the Bancroft prize, one of the most prestigious awards in American History, for challenging the way most Americans view the Constitutional Convention of 1787. There is always debate over whether or not the Constitution should be interpreted according to its “original intent” of the founding fathers, Bilder said. But she argues the founding fathers didn’t even have an intent when they were writing. Bilder said people often think of the Constitution as a great work of political theory, when in actuality, the framers “couldn’t see where they were going.” “We have tended to think that the people who wrote the Constitution ... were sort of like gods, or we make them into statues,” Bilder said. “I think [my book] reminds us that they were ordinary people, and that they were struggling to sort out how to stabilize a country.” To come to this conclusion, Bilder compared the fourth U.S. president James Madison’s notes on the convention — a primary historical account of the event — to an official record of the proceedings kept by George Washington, which Madison had made a secret copy of. Bilder analyzed these documents to demonstrate that Madison’s notes on the convention were significantly revised. Everyone always knew Madison’s notes were revised, but Bilder said her research indicates the revisions were much more significant than originally thought. The book also argues that Madison carried significantly more responsibility for the protection of slavery in the Constitution than many historians talk about. She said her book attempts to put people back into the moment of the drafting of the Constitution, rather than just accepting Madison’s notes at face value. Bilder said working in the maledominated field of history has illustrated how important it is for women to become involved in the dialogue of the U.S. history. She said it is important for women to engage with the Constitutional Convention, so men aren’t the only ones who are a part
of that history. “When all the voices who talk about the founders look just like the founders, that’s not very helpful,” Bilder said. “It’s a moment when the country [was] founded — I don’t think that history should be written entirely by men.” She said she is trying to write a book about women and the framing of the Constitution, but has run into challenges since there weren’t actually any women there at the convention. Bilder said she first learned to read carefully, critically analyze text and write clearly while earning her undergraduate degree at UW. She said she carried these lessons with her her whole life. “I’m just really feel so grateful to have been given such a great education there,” Bilder said. After graduating from Madison, Bilder went straight to Harvard Law School where she earned her law degree. She then earned her masters and her Ph.D. from Harvard University in the field of history. Though she is now in Boston, Bilder said she grew up in Madison. “Honestly, I still think of myself from Wisconsin,” Bilder said. She said whenever she loses her keys, her colleagues know they must be hers because of her UW key chain. Bilder encouraged UW students to take on independent projects and take advantage of opportunities available to them. She also added that it’s important for students to always be critical of the world around them. “The more we ask those questions as young people, the more we don’t assume that everything we’ve been told is necessarily historical truth,” Bilder said.
Courtesy of Lee Pellegrini
NEWS
facebook.com/badgerherald
Federal bill would help combat Wisconsin’s opioid abuse epidemic Legislation would push state drug treatment programs forward, have ‘positive impact’ on treatment initiatives by Vidushi Saxena State Editor
Though Wisconsin’s legislators have worked on several bills to address the statewide opioid epidemic, a federal bill could push their initiatives further, streamlining funding for treatment programs and drug courts. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 is a federal bill that would divide grants worth more than $300 million among state attorney generals. Attorney generals can then use these grants to fund opioid and heroin treatment programs that involve providing Narcan, a drug that counteracts the effects of opiate addiction, creating drug courts, issuing stricter guidelines on prescriptions and providing alternative treatment options for drug addicts, among other programs. U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisconsin, said the bill, which he cosponsored, would expand Wisconsin legislators’ initiatives and programs already in place in the state. It would increase education efforts, access to treatment and recovery opportunities. He said the bill takes a “comprehensive approach” and focuses on the overall improvement of education, prevention and treatment within the state.
“As a cosponsor and strong advocate for the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, I believe it takes a needed evidence-based approach to combat the opioid epidemic that is devastating our communities,” Pocan said.
Financial support treatment programs
for
Wisconsin’s
Department of Justice spokesperson Johnny Koremenos said several of Wisconsin’s legislators’ initiatives can be difficult to finance, and place a burden on resources. He said the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act would help lessen this burden through grants. Koremenos said having greater financial support from the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act could also encourage passage of more legislation and initiatives addressing Wisconsin’s opioid epidemic. According to a statement from Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, 16 bills that were part of his Heroin, Opioid Prevention and Education Agenda were signed into law in March. The HOPE Agenda is a prominent piece of legislation that sets limits on prescriptions of opioids as pain medication, criminalizes cheating drug tests, improves data collection and reporting on drug usage and increases treatment programs for addiction, among
2 to de! 2 2 i 4 to 4 ate Gu ” e t u dua Grad a r e t “G fre Tex your e eiv rec
Learn how Stritch can prepare you for your future and career! Visit: go.stritch.edu/Madison OUR MISSION IS TO HELP YOU FIND YOURS.
other things. Alternative treatment programs like Treatment and Diversion Programs give addicts the opportunity to bypass jail and seek treatment for their addiction instead. A HOPE Agenda bill currently awaiting Senate approval would expand drug courts that manage these programs through $2 million grants, Koremenos said. Koremenos said 80 percent of people in prisons were there because of drug addiction and related problems. He said alternative treatment programs would keep Wisconsin’s prison population low because they divert inmates struggling with addiction to treatment opportunities. “Having access to alternative treatment programs statewide incentivizes good behavior for addicts,” Koremenos said. Wisconsin United We CAN spokesperson Lori Cross Schotten said the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act would give Wisconsin’s existing programs a financial boost and “expand on what we already have.” She said this would enable more people to be treated.
Improving drug abuse education outreach
In addition to funding more treatment programs in Wisconsin, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act looks toward educating medical
professionals and patients about safe drug usage. According to Nygren’s statement, one law will require methadone clinics to collect data on patients receiving care for addiction, and report it to the Department of Health Services. DHS will then use this data to educate public health and treatment professionals about patient outcomes. Another law would require medical-affiliated boards under the Department of Safety and Professional Services to prepare guidelines highlighting best preventive practices for opioid addiction, which will help control over-prescribing and opioid misuse. Cross Schotten said education initiatives such as the ones highlighted in these laws would have a positive impact on drug addicts. This combined with the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act’s education component could educate more doctors and patients in Wisconsin on the risk of opioid medications, she said. “The education component for both doctors and patients is key to prevention,” Cross Schotten said. “Understanding the risks of opioid medications allow a patient to have an educated discussion on the risk-benefit factor of using these drugs.” The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act passed in the Senate March 10. It now heads to the House of Representatives.
ARTSETC.
@badgerherald
Though success came as surprise, X Ambassadors won’t be slowing down Alternative rock band looks forward to impress with music based off eclectic, inspirational mix April 5 in Madison by Rebecca Lawlor ArtsEtc. Associate
When X Ambassadors watched their latest single climb the music charts, it came as a surprise — then again, rapidly rising to fame isn’t usually foreseeable. Last March, the alternative rock band released “Renegades,” another single from their first full length album that would finally give the band the national recognition they had longed for. And as the old saying goes, good things happen when you least expect them. “When you’re creating stuff, you are living in this vacuum where you don’t know what’s good and what’s bad,” Adam Levin, the band’s drummer, said. “That was just another song to us — we had no idea that was going to be the one.” The band, consisting of brothers Casey and Sam Harris, Adam Levin and Noah Feldshuh, began writing and playing music back in 2006 when they met in college in Manhattan. Levin said the success of “Renegades” in 2015 has given the band the vehicle to keep doing what they always wanted to do. They are now able to continue touring and even expand to add dates and eventually release
more music. The single became a national hit and reached No. 17 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart last November. Continuing the momentum, the band’s latest single “Unsteady” is currently No. 11 on iTunes’ alternative charts. X Ambassadors will be making a tour stop at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Madison April 5. The audience can expect the show to be high-energy with a full production, Levin said, as the band will play songs primarily from their latest album. “We’ve been working on this album and this tour for a long time, so we’re really excited to bring it to you guys,” Levin said. After two EPs, the band released their first full-length album VHS last January. The inspiration behind the album lies in the everyday lives of the band members, particularly in growing up and simply said, living life. “It’s honestly just about our lives and telling our story,” Levin said “There are a lot of interludes on the album that are actually taken from real home videos and videos from our childhood. This was something we always really wanted to do.” Simultaneously, X Ambassadors is currently working on their second album
as they tour. Levin said that it’s important to always grow as musicians for subsequent albums since “no one wants to hear the same thing twice,” he said. Musically, the band is primarily influenced by hip-hop and rock, but still takes inspiration from a variety of artists, such as Kanye West, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine-Inch Nails, Chris Stapleton and the Beatles — quite the eclectic mix. From the band’s intricate lyrics to the “Renegades” music video — which features stories of people living with disabilities — the band clearly isn’t afraid to leave their audience with a strong message, an aspect often lacking in rock music. With a unique sound resulting from a fusion of other musical styles and artists, X Ambassadors has followed through as a band to keep a close watch on. And after almost 10 years of playing together, the band has every intention to continue on this high — one that simply came as a
Photo · X Ambassadors’ track “Renegades” brought them the national attention that has allowed them to expand their tour. Courtesy of Natalie Mantini
Café Maya stands out from crowd with creative originals New coffee shop delights with offerings such as Café de Olla, Mocha Maya, among sourced baked goods by Meghan Horvath ArtsEtc. Staff Writer
With an abundance of coffee shops in Madison, it takes some ingenuity to stand out from the rest, but Café Maya does just that. Recently replacing the old site of Victor Allen’s Coffee at the intersection of Odana Road and Whitney Way, Café Maya offers a fresh, Mexican-inspired take on quality cups of coffee and locally sourced baked goods. In addition to the traditional latte, cappuccino and espresso drinks expected of a java joint, Café Maya serves a few signature drinks that are in line with the Mexicaninspired concept. One such drink, the Café de Olla, follows a recipe adapted from how coffee is traditionally prepared in Mexico. To create the drink, coffee grounds are combined with water, cinnamon, orange peel and a touch of piloncillo — a pure cane sugar typical of Central and Latin America. The result is a cup resembling black coffee, yet rich with 10 • badgerherald.com • April 5, 2016
cinnamon and citrus notes. The sweetness from the piloncillo is subtle, but the flavors from the spices and orange shine through enough so added sugar may not be necessary. Another offering unique to the café is the Mocha Maya drink. It’s made with a base of espresso and Mexican hot chocolate, which means another cinnamon-infused, slightly spicy drink. Café Maya also showcases a latte made with homemade horchata, appropriately termed the Horchatte. Horchata is a type of flavored, sweet milk made of rice, vanilla and, again, cinnamon. Though often served cold as a refreshing drink, horchata is just as good when heated and paired with espresso. The creaminess and sweetness of the milk is strengthened when swirled into fresh coffee, and the flavor of the latte remains unique from the cinnamon and vanilla elements of the horchata. Unique drinks aside, Café Maya also serves an assortment of baked goods, as well as heartier food options like waffles
and oatmeal, or sandwiches, soups and quesadillas for lunch. Arrive early for the greatest selection of bakery items, as the display case empties out quickly and is limited once afternoon hits. The reason? Café Maya sources their baked items from a local favorite and French bakery around the corner, Le Petit Croissant. From fresh chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies to sizable double chocolate muffins and of course, flaky croissants, the sweet stuff is not to be missed. The environment at the cafe is welcoming thanks to a staff that goes beyond the expected etiquette of a traditional coffee shop. Workers walk around to tables checking on customers and holding conversations with its older base of patrons who frequent the shop. Attracting customers with quality food and service alike, Café Maya is likely to warrant excursions to Madison’s west side for a long time.
Photo · Replacing Victor Allen’s Coffee, newest addition to Madison’s west side features a Mexican-inspired take on coffee, including drinks made with homemade horchata. Marissa Haegele The Badger Herald
ARTSETC.
facebook.com/badgerherald
Photo · Patricia Dillon, criminal justice reform advocate and journalist, purposed art exhibit “Faces of Incarceration: Changing the Narrative” to offer a fresh perspective of incarcerated individuals. Marissa Haegele The Badger Herald
Art exhibit changes perception of incarceration Curated by Dillon Gallery, showcase to debut April 8 at Winnebago Studios by Kristin Washagan ArtsEtc. Staff Writer
For criminal justice reform advocate and journalist Patricia Dillon, “Faces of Incarceration: Changing the Narrative” is more than just a standard, everyday art exhibit. Also the curator of the event, Dillon purposed the exhibit to change the way society perceives incarcerated individuals through the use of art and prose. The opening reception of “Faces of Incarceration: Changing the Narrative” will be held at Winnebago Studios April 8 and will contain portraits of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals accompanied by stories of the subjects written by Dillon. The images were created by a group of artists, including Fikrye Oz, Philip Salamone and Vera Nikiforov, among many others. The idea for the event was born out of Dillon’s passion and personal ties to criminal justice system reform. After seeing how the system has negatively affected the lives of loved ones and acquaintances, she felt the need to take an active approach toward making a change. The main focus of the event is the discrimination found in the criminal justice system, Dillon said. She said because of Wisconsin’s disproportionate incarceration rates of men of color, she believes Madison is a prime location to start raising awareness. “Wisconsin has the highest incarceration of men of color,” Dillon said. “But it’s also a national crisis.” The portraits displayed will be of a variety of different mediums and styles, ranging from realistic depictions to more abstract paintings. Each tells the true stories of currently or formerly incarcerated individuals, and works towards humanizing our preconceived ideas of what it means to be a criminal, Dillon said. Along with the portraits displayed at the opening event, there
will be also be performances by motivational speakers and slam poets starting at 7 p.m., including Sabrina Madison and Oscar Mireles. Live music will also be provided by Soulmen, a jazz band from East High School in Madison. Through different art forms, Dillon hopes that a crucial message of tolerance will be clearly displayed for the audience. The exhibition has received overwhelming praise from the community for challenging societal notions and giving a voice to the voiceless. Along with this, however, the upcoming event has raised a few concerns and criticisms from those who find the subject matter taboo. But those involved in the event stand behind the benefit of holding this exhibit and fundraiser, and understand the important steps toward informing the public. “If it doesn’t make people uncomfortable, then you’re not raising awareness,” Dillon said. After the opening event at Winnebago Studios April 8 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., the portraits and stories will be displayed in Mickey’s Tavern until April 30. Although the main objective is to spread understanding of the perceptions and discrimination surrounding mass incarceration, that is not all this event is doing to aid incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals. A portion of the proceeds earned by Dillon Gallery from this event will benefit families of the incarcerated and corresponding organizations. The future of the continuation of “Faces of Incarceration: Changing the Narrative” is still unclear. But through collective work and fundraising for the focus of the event, it is making an effort to change the discourse surrounding disproportionate incarceration and also make a difference in people’s lives. Because of this, Dillon hopes that this project does not end after its stint in Madison. Dillon is currently working with other activists and artists to potentially travel nationally with the project. “My goal is always just to create awareness,” Dillon said.
April 5, 2016 • badgerherald.com • 11
ARTSETC.
@badgerherald
Fresco serves as ‘sophisticated’ dining option for classy Madisonians Executive chef Chris Myers strives not only for great food, but quality experience with fresh atmosphere by Hunter Reed ArtsEtc. Staff Writer
State Street has everything from burger shops to pizzerias, authentic Japanese hibachi and an endless variety of food cart fare. But some stomachs in Madison crave something a little more sophisticated. The answer, on the top floor of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art on State, is Fresco. Inside, Chris Myers sits at the throne of his kitchen, bringing his unique culinary background, leadership, creativity and flavors to the table. Myers has a deep history with food in Madison. He achieved his first professional training in the culinary arts while attending Madison Area Technical College. After a few years away, working in New Orleans French bistros and bayou restaurants, Myers returned to his home turf in 2012. His connections here led him to Fresco and, eventually, to his position as executive chef. “The previous chef and I worked together at culinary school here,” Myers said. “I contacted him when I was moving back to Madison to get a job. From there, I just worked my way up and when he left, I just took his job.” Over the past four years, Myers has grown with Fresco. Together, they’ve both changed for the better. Myers’ influence is clear on the restaurant. His time in New Orleans allowed him to understand what makes a restaurant run smoothly and added to his ability to be creative when it comes to culinary atmosphere. While Louisiana gave him plenty of fine
dining experience under his belt, Myers is still evolving into a more effective leader and a stronger chef. “It has been really an education for me,” Myers said. “I had previously been part of the industry for a long time, but learning how to manage was a big change. Some of the creative aspects really challenged me as well.” Though demanding at first, Myers has quickly adapted and thrived in his new role as executive chef. His leadership has allowed Fresco to continue its tradition of creating a modern culinary experience — and not just throwing a dish down on the table. That’s not to say Fresco’s seasonallyprepared salmon and famous buttermilk beignets aren’t absolutely delicious, but it also highlights how important the setting is when eating out. This atmosphere is just as important as the food. Every detail, no matter how minute, adds to the refined quality of the restaurant. Rooftop views of Madison, curated wines and carefully-crafted, seasonal menus all make dining at Fresco an experience — something to enjoy for its overall quality, not just its individual parts. It’s all deliberate, for it takes time and effort to bring together all of the elements that make Fresco unique. “The palette and the demand of our clientele has certainly changed since I left New
Orleans” Myers said. “We talk at length about what sort of trends our diners are ready for. They are much more diverse than I would say they were even 10 years ago, but we still are in a smaller town and people like what they like. Our goal is really to find that balance.”
That balance is key to finding success here in Madison. With Myers, Fresco is keeping modern, fresh and sophisticated dining alive and accessible to the Madison community — one that is hungry for not just quality food, but a quality experience.
Photo · After working at French bistros and bayou restaurants in New Orleans, Myers incorporates his Louisiana culinary background to bring together all the elements that make Madison’s rooftop restaurant unique. Marissa Haegele The Badger Herald 12 • badgerherald.com • April 5, 2016
ARTSETC.
facebook.com/badgerherald
Wave Racer to bring genre-defying electronic music to Sett From humble beginnings to Coachella, Sydney-based producer to share unexpected success at free concert by Matthew Cejka ArtsEtc. Staff Writer
A Sydney-based producer will bring his signature sound to Union South on April 9 for free. Tom Purcell, who performs under the name Wave Racer, became an overnight sensation after posting his debut singles “Rock U Tonite” and “Stoopid” on SoundCloud just three years ago. During this time, the futuristic genredefying Wave Racer has remixed many prominent artists including Foster the People and Flume, and has released numerous originals that have earned him millions of plays on SoundCloud. Coming from humble beginnings, though, the Aussie artist is still looking for more opportunities to advance his music career. “I think three years ago was when I
started the Wave Racer Project, I’ve never really had a moment where I was like ‘oh, yeah I made it,’” he said. “I’m just going with the flow and seeing where it takes me.” And it is indeed taking him places. Since the project’s inception, Wave Racer has played at some of the nation’s most respected electronic festivals, such as Electric Forest and Ultra Miami, along with an upcoming spot on this year ’s Coachella lineup. Now, he will take this acclaimed sound to Madison April 9 as part of his 2016 Flash Drive North American Tour. For these performances, attendees can expect Wave Racer to keep the energy upbeat by combining his bubbly originals with unexpected, captivating trap sounds. In October, Wave Racer released more originals on his debut EP Flash Drive through the Australian label, Future Classic. The EP is a complete
collection of diverse styles gained from touring Australia and the U.S., featuring collaborations with Lido and Cosmo’s Midnight. For Wave Racer, the EP itself was driven by a desire to do something more than releasing singles. “I thought it was something that I should do instead of releasing singles. I buckled down and created a nice cohesive piece of original work or original project, ” he said. As for anyone wondering why he chose a flash drive to entitle his first piece of work and tour, Wave Racer explained that the title doesn’t have a particular meaning. Instead, he thought it’d be a nice symbol to tie everything together. Many Wave Racer tracks are substantially diverse and combine a variety of elements from hip-hop instrumentals to Jersey Club. Classified mostly as futuristic, Wave Racer is influenced by a variety of genres and
styles of music including disco. “If you compare an Earth, Wind and Fire song, you can hear the melodies in those songs that I put in my own music, but I just do it in a different way. So, I guess that’s sort of how disco makes its way into my music,” he said. Looking back, he said he is most appreciative of all the opportunities that he has been able to take advantage of in music, something that seemed out of reach just a few short years ago. “Before it was my own career, it was something I had to do on the side, but the fact that I can make music now all the time without any secondary thing — that’s a rewarding part,” he said. “I think that’s why I do it, I don’t really do it for touring or playing shows or really anything else. I just do it because I like to make music.” Wave Racer will perform at The Sett April 9, along with PRXZM, a DJ/ Production duo from Indiana.
At Wizard World Comic Con, fans embrace authentic selves Barry Bostwick of ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ discusses upcoming Alliant Energy Center event’s ‘celebration of pop culture’ April 8-10 by Jake Mellor ArtsEtc. Staff Writer
Barry Bostwick, most famous for his role in “Rocky Horror Picture Show” as Brad Majors and now a mainstay of comic cons, did not grow up reading comic books or having much experience with fantasy culture. This, however, has not stopped him from becoming revered by fans of the genre, and he’ll be one of the most popular celebrities to meet at this weekend’s Wizard World Comic Con at the Alliant Energy Center. Comic book conventions, better known as comic cons, are gatherings of superhero, pop culture and cult fiction buffs, which take over arenas for a few days at a time. Fans of any subsection of the massive fantasy world can live for a few days in their fictional universe, or can simply walk the floor as a mere human and see how vast those universes truly are. Celebrities who appear in films and TV shows popular in the genre often attend comic cons, performing meet-and-greets with the fans, as well as checking out the booths like everyone else. And one of those celebrities who will be in Madison this weekend is Bostwick, also having starred in “Megaforce.” “It’s a celebration of pop culture,” Bostwick said. “It’s vendors selling everything from comic books to posters to things to wear, collectibles. It’s artists who
are famous for their comic book art, writers who are famous for their sci-fi and/or fantasy writing and some television and movie celebrities who just want to interact with their fans.” Bostwick especially enjoys con-goers who partake in costume play, otherwise known as cosplay, in which fans of a series will dress up as their favorite character. These fans typically pay a great deal of attention to getting every detail of the costume exactly as it appears in its original form, often coming as different characters each day if fans come for an entire weekend, Bostwick said. “They’ll come up to me on Friday and we’ll chat, and I’ll say, ‘Well who are you going to be tomorrow?’ Bostwick said. “And they say, ‘You’ll never recognize me tomorrow, but I’ll come up and introduce myself again.’” Comic cons often have many misconceptions surrounding them. People who have only heard about them and have never seen one in person might think of them as “nerdy.” People who don’t know very much about the fantasy world might feel like they may not belong at a comic con, or don’t have much to gain from going. Bostwick, however, is confident that there’s something for everyone at a comic con — one just has to be willing to look. “Be curious, come for fun,” he said. “Every turn you make in the convention hall, you find something else that’s interesting that grabs your fantasies.”
Bostwick also described how many Con will be at the Alliant Energy Center people he had met through comic cons April 8 to April 10. Some of the other told him how they were able to identify celebrities set to appear are David Tennant with a new group of people after going to of “Doctor Who,” “Jessica Jones” and a convention. “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” Billy He has met several people who found Boyd of “Lord of the Rings” and Jeremy inspiration from his movie “Rocky Horror Shada of “Adventure Time.” Picture Show.” As the movie says, “Don’t And no matter where fans’ franchise dream it — be it.” And he said fans have loyalties lie, it’s safe to say this con will reacted saying, “I could just be who I provide a community for all of them. wanted to be and there’s nothing wrong with that. I can love Support for Women & Babies who I wanted to love and there’s nothing wrong with that.” With this, Bostwick was confident the same sentiment applied to the comic con community at large. “You find your community, you find the things that you really enjoy,” he said. “A lot of people are really quiet in life. They come to these things, and they can leave that part of themselves behind and really celebrate their wholeness, their eccentricities and their weirdness — and that’s what I love.” 608-222-0008 Wizard World Comic pregnancyhelpline.net
Support for Women & Babies
Helpline
Pregnancy
Se Habla Español.
˜ Se Habla Espanol.
608-222-0008 pregnancyhelpline.net
FEATURES
@badgerherald
Beneath a progressive facade:
Marginalized students reveal experiences of an unwelcoming UW L
auna Owens, a 19-year-old black freshman at University of Wisconsin, woke up slightly late for class Thursday morning in her third floor Sellery Hall dorm room. Her tardiness was the least of her problems that morning — placed underneath her door was a crumpled sheet of white paper containing damning racial epithets in burnt-orange letters, along with four tally-marks, one of which was exed out, signaling a potential threat to her life. The note, Owens said, may have been motivated by a photo she posted on social media, which featured her and three friends standing in front of Gordon Commons with a banner displaying “#TheRealUW.” Owens said she and her friends were spreading awareness for an April 29 #TheRealUW event, which will feature discussion on issues of race and diversity on campus. Owens, who grew up in Milwaukee, said she has felt threatened before, but did not expect the same from seemingly liberal Madison and the UW campus community. At the same time, she was not completely surprised. Students in classes and at her place of work have questioned whether she deserves to be at UW, claiming she only has a scholarship because she is black. In one instance last semester on Langdon Street, people called her various racial slurs while throwing glass bottles at her. “Madison is supposed to be all liberal, and definitely not like where I grew up, but now I have my heightened senses back again,” Owens said. “I look behind my back now, and triple check my door is locked, and walk a little faster at night.” UW Chief Diversity Officer Patrick Sims lashed out at the still unknown perpetrator behind the note Owens received in a video. He encouraged students to speak up about incidents of racism they see on campus because “no letter from the provost, the chancellor or the vice provost for diversity is going to stop this from happening.” “This is not the forward-thinking institution
14 • badgerherald.com • April 5, 2016
by Emma Palasz and Riley Vetterkind Features Editors
that I thought it was,” Sims said in the video. Owens’ is not an isolated case. Stories of hate and bias like hers are increasingly being reported to UW administration, and are also being publicized on social media via #TheRealUW. Dozens of students have come forward with their stories, all in an effort to reveal the UW that lies beneath its progressive veneer.
Administration #TheRealUW
responds
to
In response to these incidents, UW administration has expressed deep disappointment, but did not hasten any concrete policy initiatives until Chancellor Rebecca Blank’s March 15 open letter to students. Blank wrote the cases of hate and bias on campus were “completely unacceptable.” Her open letter called for a pilot program on cultural competency, hiring more staff for student support counseling at University Health Services and funding students to visit other Big Ten schools and their campus cultural centers. The university will hold an informational session about how to report hate and bias incidents April 7. Blank also called for co-generated proposals for change from student groups. She said in the letter she has committed funding to test and scale promising proposals. Dean of Students Lori Berquam said administration will appoint a committee, which will include students, to read through each proposal. Berquam said the cultural competency program, which is still in the designing process, will focus on the idea that students are joining a new community when they arrive at UW. Because students come to UW from all over the world, Berquam said the program will cover how to talk about being in a new community and how students can respect each other while developing
a sense of self. “We want our students to be culturally competent,” Berquam said. “The experiences many students are sharing are their voices and they’re painful to learn about and even more painful for students to have experienced.” Several experts, however, contend that cultural competency programs are not proven to be effective. Karma Chavez, a UW communications professor, is one of them. “The chancellor said they’re going to do that because it’s low-hanging fruit,” Chavez said. “It doesn’t require a lot of effort.” She said programs addressing cultural competency are not proven to work, and student activists were misguided in demanding that type of program from administration. Markus Brauer, a UW social psychologist, agreed, adding that research has left few definitive answers on cultural competency programs. “I don’t know a lot of research that shows that they’re effective,” Brauer said. “Most of these types of training sessions have not been evaluated. It’s just been done, and then there is some indirect
feel like it’s kind of superficial “atI this point. Every letter feels the
same to me and I feel like nothing changes.
”
Alyssa Daniels evidence that it should have a positive effect.” Rather than attempting to address racism in specific individuals, Chavez said an approach that focuses on structural issues would be more effective because individual instances of racism cannot be cured.
One example of a more effective campus effort would be to address the university’s ethnic studies programs, whose faculty are far more knowledgeable on topics of hate and bias, Chavez said. But the programs are underfunded and lack focus on racial power dynamics and sufficient funding, she said. “It’s embarrassing for the university to devalue ethnic studies so much — not the ethnic studies requirement, but ethnic studies as a discipline that studies race, ethnicity, indigeneity and power,” Chavez said.
Students respond to administration
Kenneth Cole, founder of the UW Black Out Movement and a member of Blind Side, said he is glad Blank is addressing incidents of hate and bias at UW, but he believes her initiatives are long overdue. Cole said administration should have been more proactive in taking action on issues of hate and bias at UW. Alyssa Daniels, a 20-year-old biracial junior, said Blank’s open letter seemed like nothing new compared to what she has written in the past. “I feel like it’s kind of superficial at this point,” Daniels said. “Every letter feels the same to me and I feel like nothing changes.” But many students such as Cole agree UW administration should create a cultural competency training program to educate students who didn’t grow up in diverse areas.
Social media and #TheRealUW
Berquam said while #TheRealUW on social media “allows students to use their voice in elevating their experience,” she feels students online misconstrue administration’s efforts. When a Jewish student in Sellery found an antiSemitic flyer posted on his door, Berquam said administration responded efficiently. “It was something we believed had been
FEATURES
facebook.com/badgerherald
Photo · UW students like freshman Launa Owens (third from right) are spreading awareness of the hate and bias they have experienced on UW’s campus. Chancellor Rebecca Blank responded March 15 with an open letter describing a set of new policy initiatives to address diversity on campus, including a cultural competency program. Katie Cooney The Badger Herald appropriately responded to, yet when it hit social media, there was no context,” Berquam said. “When there’s no context, people will fill in the blank.” She said Sellery residents, along with students at Hillel and Chabad House, were the first groups notified of the incident because they were the community “directly affected.” Berquam hopes the April 7 informational session on hate and bias reporting will help both students and administration get a better understanding of the extent of the reporting process. “What we want to commit to is to be transparent as possible,” Berquam said. “The more people know about the hate and bias reporting, the more we will learn about the hate bias on our campus. It helps us get a total picture.”
A segregated campus
Some students believe there is not only a divide between majority and minority students, but also
between different marginalized groups. Lauren Gonitzke, a 21-year-old Asian-American junior, said part of the problem of race relations at UW is that minority groups often only associate with those who have the same ethnic make-up as them. “This campus is the most racially segregated place I’ve ever seen,” Gonitzke said. Like Daniels, Gonitzke feels after her three years on campus, administration has not changed in terms of discrimination issues on campus. “There’s been a fever pitch of racial issues coming to attention and nothing comes of it,” Gonitzke said.
A mutual effort toward change
Several students said it is ultimately up to the individual to change any ignorant views they may have about a certain race or population, but that administration should help educate students about different cultures. Cole said students of color are often the ones
educating others on campus. “The biggest issue is students are tired of being teachers, where we have to learn and teach counterparts what is and isn’t acceptable as far as race relations go,” Cole said. “It’s not our job, and we don’t have time for that.” Berquam said all students must be willing to engage in creating change. While the university has behavioral expectations for its students, students must ultimately take responsibility for their actions, she said.
The biggest issue is students are “tired of being teachers, where
we have to learn and teach counterparts what is and isn’t acceptable as race relations go.
”
Kenneth Cole Founder of UW Black Out
Emma Palasz The Badger Herald
“It should be a commitment by all of us to engage in discussions that may not be comfortable,” Berquam said. Andre Hunter Jr., president of the class of 2017, said the student body has as much responsibility for solving UW’s diversity problem as administration does. “It’s not just the UW administration — we can also fix these issues ourselves,” Hunter said. “If you’re being apathetic toward the issue, you’re really just helping the oppressor.” He said students should direct their efforts toward electing those from diverse backgrounds to student government. These students, he said, are the ones who will choose to fund multicultural student organizations whose mission is to educate fellow students on multiculturalism. But another principle — individual accountability — is key in making it clear that hate and bias are not welcome on campus, he said. “It’s our job to look out for one another to make sure that when issues like this happen, people understand there are consequences,” Hunter said. “There is no room for [hate and bias] in the 21st century, and no room for that at UW-Madison.”
April 5, 2016 • badgerherald.com • 15
OPINION
@badgerherald
VOICES OF UW
In light of recent events of hate and bias on the University of Wisconsin campus, students have been using #TheRealUW to share their stories. These are not random, isolated events — rather, they are a sign of a chronic issues at UW. These issues affect everyone, and these are a just a few of #TheRealUW stories. Following are a series of letters, submitted by students, highlighting their own individual experiences on campus.
‘This hate is normalized’ I recognized some of these stories from years ago, which proves to me that #TheRealUW is more of an archival tool than some brand new thing describing out-ofplace, brand new injustices. These stories are critical in describing what it really feels like to be a marginalized student on University of Wisconsin’s campus before the hashtag emerged. The great thing about the hashtag is that so many experiences are now catalogued and getting attention from people who have the power to act. It’s my third year on campus and these conversations aren’t new to me. I’ve sat on panels and told stories to faculty and staff about things that mirror what you see on Twitter. Saying what happened to me or my friends is not new, but I hope with the revelation that these issues are persistent, administration will act with urgency. On campus, it seems any time an incident similar to the ones described in #TheRealUW is discussed, particularly in conversations with people who have the liberty of ignorance, the students expressing their truths are met with disbelief. Often, that disbelief is another form of hostility — “You’re lying. That didn’t happen here.” My favorite antagonizing comments are of the “If you don’t like it here, leave” genre. Using #TheRealUW, retweeting and quoting with different experiences is how students
have been able to say, “Me too, that happened to me too.” Though the amount of students of color alone is laughably small, the answer to these issues will never be asking us all to leave, anonymous white peer on YikYak. The thing that #TheRealUW has highlighted for me — the thing I hope administrators are paying attention to — is the frightening
“We need consequences
because part of the issue is that this hate is normalized and telling the truth in #TheRealUW is considered rare and hard to work with.” nature of the majority students’ mindsets. #TheRealUW is to marginalized students what being racist and cruel on YikYak is to hateful majority students. That is to say when #TheRealUW first started to pop off, YikYak posts from majority students were attached as receipts of what seems to be so difficult for my white peers to accept both online and in real life. I paid as much attention to those posts as I did to the jarring yet unfortunately familiar testimonies shared in #TheRealUW.
I began to consider how much the internet marries and mirrors the connection between the virtual world and my vivid, everyday, flesh-and-blood life. The experiences recalled and archived in #TheRealUW existed in the world and on campus before they were put in 140 characters and distributed for all to see. Away from Twitter, the discomfort, fatigue, pain, anger and shame attached to those experiences still linger, as do those YikYak posts and the unmitigated caucacity and ignorance necessary to type them. When I think of those YikYak posts, I realize I am sitting in classrooms full of students who need rehabilitation. When they express these ideas in the sterility of lecture halls, it often goes undetected and unchecked. When the ignorance manifests in action, administration is aghast, but students who see and hear these quips on a day-to-day basis are unsurprised. I know they don’t think I belong here, they have merely taken the time to show it. While it is noble and necessary to provide better mental health support for students who have experienced the blunt end of whiteness, we need mental health support and additional education for students who think they are
more deserving of education and comfort. We need consequences because part of the issue is that this hate is normalized and telling the truth in #TheRealUW is considered rare and hard to work with. But it must be worked with. I hope that with #TheRealUW the administration sees what we are up against every day and works with us to address it.
-Hiwot Adilow
Spitting not ‘mature and respectful’ A true story: I was walking to the SAC minding my own business when out of no where, this white man, a middle-aged adult might I add, SPITS on me and tells me to “go back to China.” He was with a group of people and none of them said anything, they just laughed and
16 • badgerherald.com • April 5, 2016
kept walking past me. OK SIR AND FRIENDS JUST A FEW THINGS I’D LIKE TO SAY TO YOU: a) How rude and immature are you to SPIT on someone because of their race b) Keep your saliva to YOURSELF c) I’m VIETNAMESE
d) Consider yourself lucky I found the willpower in me to politely ignore your racist comment and walk past you because I am a MATURE and RESPECTFUL human being that doesn’t feel the need to belittle other people for their race or spit on anyone??? (ew)
Okay story over, have a nice day everyone! Side note: Immediately after this incident I showered for 10 years. #TheRealUW
-Karie Lee
OPINION
facebook.com/badgerherald
What #TheRealUW is
‘Being torn down’
#TheRealUW is being told it was easier for me to get accepted because of the color of my skin. It’s looking around in a lecture hall of more than 300 students, and realizing I am one of two women of color present. It’s having a white guy run his dirty, greasy hands over my hair for five minutes at a party without asking my permission. It’s being mistaken in an honors class of 15 for the only other black girl in the room. And the worst part? #TheRealUW is experiencing all of this while still in the midst of my freshman year, while knowing that some of my peers have experienced much worse in the same amount of time. It is not the responsibility of minority students to educate their white peers about how to be decent human beings. First and foremost, our priority is to GET an education, not to GIVE an education. Shame on UW for placing such a large responsibility on minority students to help educate their ignorant white peers.
#TheRealUW is when people driving by in a car find it necessary and comical to roll down their window and scream “Lalala Allah Akbar” at me and my friend, both hijab-wearing women. #TheRealUW is when my friends took the time to talk about their experiences as Muslim women on campus wearing their headscarf and their experiences with Islamophobia (which is very prevalent today) in an article written by the Daily Cardinal, only to have to sit there and read comments of people tearing them down, calling them disgusting things and disregarding their experiences entirely. #TheRealUW is when I am asked, “How is Al-Qaeda doing?” - Amal
Ayesh
-Betty Nen
‘How can I call myself a Badger’
‘No resources for me’
I went home for Spring Break and saw the difference in the space I filled. For a week or so, I felt that this time, my body was meant to be here. My experience at UW varies on how quickly I can make it from my dorm room to class. I no longer feel that I belong here. This isn’t an experience anymore. I feel that a part of me is only here to give this school a reason to use the word “diversity” on their website. In reality, how can I call myself a Badger if I only feel like a brown boy who searches for spaces that can keep me safe? Shouldn’t this university be a safe space? Shouldn’t being of color and a scholar be a cohesive pair instead of a separate entity? There is no possible way to address racism on this campus if those that are committing these discriminatory slurs remain anonymous. As weeks pass, midterms pass, finals on the way, I shouldn’t have to balance my mental and emotional health while amidst the racism that my friends and I encounter, every single day. I’ve been a witness to the hopeful students taking a tour of UW and I wonder if they know how this campus treats their students of
As young as 4-years-old, my parents told all my siblings that we must go to college, but to get in for free. I did that, thanks to my PEOPLE scholarship. I was excited to attend UW, but eventually I questioned my decision. I had beer bottles and cans thrown at me and was called monkey and n****r on Langdon Street near the frat houses. I’ve had to defend my spot here because white
color? I wonder if being of color is something they think about? Do you acknowledge us besides our music at the late night parties? Do you see us protesting our bodies on the streets instead of asking us how we can teach you how to twerk? Being on this campus is a protest. Existing like I am today, brown, is a protest. I would consider this a rant, but if my voice is only heard if the incident is sent in an email the morning after, did it really happen? Would I matter more if I was white? Would I matter at all if my protest was only behind closed doors? Tweeting to @UW-Madison on Twitter and receiving a response within minutes will not change the fact that UW can answer their students on social media, but cannot answer the real question that walks up and down Bascom: racism. I don’t want another biased incident email. I know what it feels like to be the biased incident. I want a climate change that won’t keep putting people of color into the fire, and letting them burn.
-Francisco Velazquez
“My campus job doesn’t pay
a sustainable wage. I work at Gordon and can’t afford to eat there.” students thought I only got in because I’m black. White students also thought I only got my scholarship because I’m black. White students assumed I had a low GPA and ACT scores in high school. I’m a low-income student and there are no resources here for me. I recently had to pick up a second job because my campus job doesn’t pay a sustainable wage. I work at Gordon and can’t afford to eat there. I cross my fingers every time the cashier swipes my Wiscard. I have to take a twohour round trip bus ride to an affordable
grocery store. I can easily work 25 to 30 hours a week (while also taking 15 credits), which takes a huge toll on my class work, and professors and TAs don’t care that I need an extension. They tell me to manage my time, even though I have little time. I have been mocked by both students and professors for my income status.
-Launa Owens
April 5, 2016 • badgerherald.com • 17
OPINION
@badgerherald
‘The real UW is ugly’ Four years ago, around this exact time of year, me and eight other students, predominately of color, were elected into the 19th session of the Associated Students of Madison Student Council. We ran a progressive platform called the BOOP Slate that demanded: 1. Transparency between UW administration and the student body 2. Reform of the culturally insensitive allocation policies of our segregated fees (look into the defunding of student of color organizations) 3. An increase in student involvement (11.3 percent voter turnout) 4. An increase in administration accountability Those in addition to many other issues. Due to a bogus technicality about canvasing, we were denied the
ability to be sworn into our respective positions during the first meeting, where all leadership positions were both nominated and elected. The
“#TheRealUW is a student government that willfully denies students of color the ability to hold leadership positions.”
chair denied a motion to postpone these elections until the next meeting, intentionally barring elected students of color from both running and voting
‘Not feeling safe here’
#TheRealUW is me being a part of group projects where I am the only person of color and not only do the other students actively ignore me when I’m speaking, but deliberately talk over me and exclude me from project decisions, then give a group assessment saying I did not contribute to the project. I say to my discussion peers of Chem 103, 104 and Anthropology 105, fuck you and farewell.
“Seeing that these incidents
have happened to other students of color all around campus only increases my impression of not feeling safe here.”
18 • badgerherald.com • April 5, 2016
-Devon Hamilton
Exclusion is #TheRealUW
#TheRealUW is, in not even my first four months of college, I was followed by two guys in a black car who repeatedly honked their horn while simultaneously yelling “FUCK YOU N****R” at me from their car window. The fact that I was walking alone and there were barely any people around to do anything frightened
me a lot. From that point on I found it extremely hard to feel safe in the place I had to live for the next four years. Seeing that these incidents have happened to other students of color all around campus only increases my impression of not feeling safe here.
for leadership positions, a crucial moment that defined the direction of the work the 19th session would carry out that year. #TheRealUW is a student government that willfully denies students of color the ability to hold leadership positions in its council. #TheRealUW is also the ability to win a majority of 16 seats occupied by students of all colors in the same space, four years later. (Shout out Blindside!) The real UW is ugly, BUT FAM WE LIT, and we gon keep shining on ‘em until they get it!
-Nia Benton
No student should have to be fearful of just walking down the street. They should not bear the burden of being harassed and the next day expected to attend class with a clear mind.
-Imani Wilson
‘So that’s what their hair feels like’ #TheRealUW is a place where a white man in my African American lit discussion section feels the urge to touch my hair without asking permission and then say, "So that's what their hair feels like."
-Samantha Adams
OPINION
facebook.com/badgerherald
‘UW uses us as a learning experience’ #TheRealUW is when you are sleeping in your room freshman year and you hear your roommate, who is also in your room five feet away from you, telling someone from your floor he “would have preferred a white roommate,” to which the other person responds, “Well, at least he isn’t black.” During sophomore year I was attending a ceremony where I, along with many other people from my Posse Cohort, were being awarded for all our hard work freshman year. Before we got our awards, we got to hear how Posse was started on campus — hold on to your seats everyone. So this old white man that helped make the decision got on stage and talked about how University of
Wisconsin lacked so much diversity that large companies would stop coming to job fairs because the students here (read: white students) had no experience or competence interacting with people of color.
“Shame on UW for using their students of color as tools.”
So their solution? Start bringing Posses, which are largely made up of people of color, from different cities in order to make this campus more
diverse. Think about that. One of the big reasons this university wanted my scholarship program here was so that it could get larger companies to come back and hire their mostly white graduates by showing that they have experience interacting with people of color. UW uses us as a learning experience for our white peers in order to make them more appealing to employers. Shame on UW for using their students of color as tools.
-Damien Outar
Courtesty of Damien Outar
‘Wisconsin experience not for me’
Courtesy of Lauren Gonitzke
My “Wisconsin Experience” thus far: Year 1: Consolidation of Ethnics Studies, #ITooAmUWMadison, A Marginalized Student and construction makes the Multicultural Student Center difficult to get to. Year 2: Black Lives Matter movement comes to campus, the die-in at College Library makes the racists come out from their hiding places and on top of that, the budget cuts. Year 3: Even more bold hate crimes and incidents of obvious racism, #TheRealUW and construction yet again makes MSC difficult to access. #TheRealUW is coming from a rural, white Wisconsin town only to be disappointed at the amount of
Impromptu story time: I was told at one point that diversity was important to the UW because otherwise graduates won’t be hired. Employers will assume they don’t know how to deal with different kinds of people and cultures. In conclusion, I feel like I am only here to further the white students’ educations at the cost of my mental health. #TheRealUW was not made for people like me, with melanin like mine. The “Wisconsin Experience” is a white one. My “Wisconsin Experience” was and is learning every day, every year that this university is not meant for me and does not care about me besides for my color and to fill a diversity quota.
-Lauren Gonitzke
‘Never responds to the student and the issues’
‘What else are you?’ #TheRealUW is being called “white” and in the same breath asked, “What else are you?” It’s being asked about powwows and spirit animals while also being told, “But you’re not really native.” It’s being told my mom is the real thing, but I’m not quite. Not NDN
“diversity” at University of Wisconsin. It’s hearing buzzwords like “diversity” and “inclusive” to refer to existing racism, disparity and inequality. It’s sitting in a 500-level Asian American studies class while the professor tries to nicely play devil’s advocate with a white male student to convince him racism still exists. It’s not being seen or heard as others talk over you on a daily basis. It’s being an object of white gaze everywhere I go and feeling uncomfortable in my existence on this campus. #TheRealUW is that these white, rural, Midwestern kids are only required to take a single, three-credit ethnic studies class. In contrast, the ethnic studies schools are struggling to survive and serve the people of color for whom they exist.
enough and not white enough either. #TheRealUW is apparently a place where biraciality doesn’t exist. What am I?
-Alyssa Daniels
#TheRealUW is when you travel to the White House to share your story, your work and your recommendations and the next day you and your story as a homeless, first-generation, low-income, disabled, FAFSA-Independent McNair Scholar with $70,000 in student loan debt are featured in an op-ed in the New York Times in December 2015, raising the issue of rising tuition and skyrocketing cost of living as
well as the changing demographics and identities of college-goers today ... ... and UW puts your New York Times op-ed on the front page of the wisc.edu website to make a branding profit from it ... ... and never responds to the student and the issues featured.
-Brooke Evans April 5, 2016 • badgerherald.com • 19
OPINION
@badgerherald
‘There is no excuse’ My name is Andre Hunter, and I’m the senior class president for the class of 2017. I wish to quickly state my experiences with the racial and campus climate at UW. I always knew Wisconsin was known for being somewhat unfriendly or accepting to diversity and peoples of different socio-economic backgrounds. But I’ve never been so challenged until I came to UW. My freshman year, a group of Caucasian students was walking down the street toward me. Without cause, one of the white students proceeded to call me a “fucking chink.” Regardless of if you are barely tipsy, there is no excuse to degrade a fellow human being, even if it was a simple joke. It’s an insult to the
people before us, who fought and died in the pursuit of equity and equality. It’s even worse, as an Asian and African American student from Chicago, to have someone state that I cannot be “black” or “Asian” because I do not adequately embody enough of the physical characteristics to be labeled as one. I’ve had a student in a dorm say that I’m not Asian enough to be a genius and not black enough to be an athlete. It’s a shame that students, many who have had it worse than me, must focus on surviving the day, rather than surviving in the classroom. It’s time for the UW administration to pick a side. They can either hide behind their desks and schedule planners and hold dearly
to the status quo or they can join students in the classrooms and the streets, so that we can make UW the hospitable and inclusive place of education it should be. UW should be known for its ability in the classroom and producing impactful graduates, rather than be known for repeated injustices toward fellow Badgers. My hope is for greater collaboration and dedication toward fulfilling such a goal. I’m most certain there are people out there, both students and administration, who seek the same.
-Andre Hunter Jr.
‘Events like this aren’t so rare’ My name is Synovia Knox and this is my REAL UW story. On March 12, between the early hours of 1 and 2 a.m. , in the “safety” of my dorm floor, I was the victim of a bias incident. What started as my friends and I calling it a night early and heading to my room to watch Netflix, ended with having to give the MPD a statement and watching my neighbor be escorted from the premises for his and our own safety. Admittedly the volume of our voices probably didn’t reflect the hour on the clock. Admittedly we were probably laughing loudly down this hallway. But by no means does that give my neighbor the right to come out of his room and upon passing us tell us to “shut the fuck up.” I was having such a good night that I had to stop and ask my friends if he was serious, to which he replied, “Yes I am serious! I’m tired of you guys feeling like you can walk up this hallway and make all this noise. So Y’ALL NEED TO SHUT THE FUCK UP RIGHT NOW!” By this time my friend has had just about enough of being cursed at
20 • badgerherald.com • April 5, 2016
and disrespected, and asks who my neighbor thinks he’s talking to? I step in front of my friend because I don’t want this to escalate. In an effort to calm the situation I say, “Look, you have your toothbrush in hand, obviously you didn’t come out here to have an argument. Why don’t you just go on to the bathroom, and we will go to my room, and this can just end right here.” He says no. He then goes on to explain that HE is talking US! That we are on scholarship, so we have no right to be here anyway. That we are poor, and his parents can sue us for everything we own, which isn’t much. That we don’t belong here, and aren’t pulling our weight. That we need to shut the fuck up in “his” hallway, and get out. He is red and sweaty and clearly out of line. By this time people have started to come out of their rooms because they can hear the yelling. My friend and I are now yelling too. Yelling back at him, trying to defend our families, our scholarships and our entire races. My neighbor is angry too. Angry
because we are still in “his” hallway? Angry because we are still loud? Angry because we are on scholarship? I don’t know. All I know is that in the midst of his yelling he pushes me and my body hits the wall behind me. He continues yelling, now close to my face and I can smell the alcohol on his breath. A little piece of spit comes from his mouth
“How could a night that started off so simply have ended up so out of control, so wild?”
while he’s yelling. Then he full on looked down at me and spat in my face. Right above my lip. My cohort, members of my scholarship program, who have found themselves in the hallway upon hearing the yelling grab me and escort me and my friend to my room. Despite our obvious anger from the disrespect shown, my neighbor continues to yell and taunt us down the hallway. Other
people stayed behind to hold him back, to keep him from following us. We close and lock my door but can still hear him from inside. Calling us poor, telling us we don’t belong here, telling us to bring it on because if we touch him, we are getting sued for everything we are worth. Nearly my entire cohort has gathered either in my room to make sure I am OK, or outside to try and convince my neighbor to go to his room. When the house fellows finally come down the hall, we explain to them what happened. They ask if we feel safe on this floor, and if we are alright. When the clear answer to both of those questions was no, we decided to call the police and file a report. How could a night that started off so simply have ended up so out of control, so wild? Well the truth is, events like this aren’t so rare on this campus, but they are rarely reported. This IS #TheRealUW.
-Synovia Knox
Photos not labeled taken by Katie Cooney The Badger Herald
SPORTS
facebook.com/badgerherald
Talent on display as volleyball team works way through offseason After coming up short past two years, next season has potential to be best in program history by Zac Hepps Associate Sports Editor
Simply put, this could be the year for the University of Wisconsin women’s volleyball team. There is a mutual understanding among the players and coaching staff that what is done over the next few months in their offseason training program will pay huge dividends in increasing their chances at an elusive NCAA title. This team is loaded with talent for next season and should be one of the highest ranked teams entering the fall. Returning all but one contributor from last year ’s Sweet 16 team, next year ’s version of Wisconsin volleyball will have a target on their backs. Despite the high expectations, head coach Kelly Sheffield and the rest of the Badgers are putting their head down and putting in the work to make sure they are the last team standing this time around. “It’s exciting to see people competing,” Sheffield said. “This time of year, you see who has it in them to take the extra step.” Senior All-Americans Lauren Carlini and Haleigh Nelson will lead to the charge for the Badgers next season and will be pushed by last season’s all-Big Ten performers in Tionna Williams, Kelli Bates and Lauryn Gillis. The team is also loaded with depth and should reap the benefits of a topranked recruiting class sooner rather than later. Key supplementary players Romana Kriskova and Amber MacDonald should step into bigger roles next season and top-10 recruit Molly Haggerty will push for early playing time. MacDonald has the spotlight on her this offseason as she is the favorite to replace departing senior Taylor Morey as the team’s libero. That competition will be one of the key developments to follow as the team moves through the offseason. Although replacing Morey will be no small task, senior leader Carlini believes MacDonald is up to the challenge. “Taylor is a huge piece that needs to be replaced and she was an amazing player,” Carlini said. “She was a vocal leader who was the firebomb on the team to get people motivated. [MacDonald] has really been trying to move into that role and find her voice and position as a leader. I think she has done a great job so far. She is obviously a great volleyball player, but she is trying to find her voice and how she
Photo · While Lauren Carlini continues to serve as the team’s leader, fellow All-American Haleigh Nelson (above) will look to remain dangerous both at the net and from behind the service line. She led the team in aces with 31, second in blocks with 144 and third in kills with 307 last season. Jason Chan The Badger Herald
fits into the role.” The lone negative this offseason is that rising sophomore Madison Duello injured her knee in a training session at the end of January and will be sidelined for seven to nine months. Although Duello wasn’t pegged to be a major contributor this season, her absence will slow her development moving forward. “I’m really disappointed for [Duello],” Sheffield said. “It was obvious she worked out hard over break, spent time in the gym and was ready for a great spring. Unfortunately, 10 minutes into her first open gym in the Field House, she ends up having a non-contact knee injury. Unfortunately, these things happen.” In the immediate future, the team will turn its attention toward three exhibition scrimmages taking place over the coming weeks. They begin with a matchup against Marquette at the Field House April 9. The exhibitions will give the Badgers an opportunity to practice some of their new formations and skills against a live opponent with fans in the seats. The team is eager to get back to playing real competition and Carlini mentioned the importance of having chemistry on the court, and that the exhibitions will provide a learning opportunity for the team. “It’s going to be fun to play,” Carlini said. “We haven’t played a spring game in years, so it will be fun to get on the court and compete with another team — to get the cob webs out and get into a flow with each other ... To see how we are connecting on the court and see how plays are being made without [Morey].” These exhibitions will provide a solid litmus test for the Badgers to assess where they are in their offseason training program. Although the results are of less importance, the team wants to make sure they are on track for next season. Carlini refrained from stating the obvious in regards to next season, saying instead that at this program, expectations are always high. Sheffield, however, was willing to put the hammer down, understanding the opportunity this team has. “This could be the best team in Wisconsin volleyball history,” Sheffield said. In order to reach that potential, everyone — from the players to the staff — is putting in the long hours now to assure they receive their due in praise and glory next December.
April 5, 2016 • badgerherald.com • 21
SPORTS
@badgerherald
Badgers looking to make big splash in 2016 despite ‘rookie team’ status
UW softball team’s 18-14-1 start is among best in history for one of Big Ten’s newest programs by Kristen Larson Softball Writer
In one of the most promising starts in program history, the University of Wisconsin softball team is hitting the ground running this year in hopes that they will finally secure their place as a top competitor in the Big Ten. The Badgers (18-14-1, 3-2-1 Big Ten) are off to one of the best starts in the history of the program, even though they just played their first home game March 30. Being on the road for two months on opposing or neutral sites meant that the Badgers couldn’t rely on their home audience. They needed to find their own momentum and that required a lot of hard work, resulting in some very hard fought games. That being said, the Badgers are still viewed as a relatively new team coming in the Big Ten. Considering teams like the University of Michigan and Ohio State have had their softball programs for around 38 years, Wisconsin’s 19-year-old program makes them newcomers in some eyes. Head coach Yvette Healy knows that having this “rookie team” status means
that the Badgers need to fight for the same respect that Michigan and Ohio have earned over the years. Healy knows that her team is willing to play the big teams to help them earn their stripes. “I think this team just wants to take a swing at the big teams and see if we can get a little bit of respect out of it,” Healy said. “While softball is not only a relatively new sport within the Big Ten, it is a fairly new sport to Wisconsin itself. With the team having less than 20 seasons in Madison, Healy knows that being this new to the school means that sometimes softball gets overlooked on campus. Her goal is to get softball to be the same kind of powerhouse team that men’s basketball or football has been for the university. “Softball is not a sport here that’s been a powerhouse yet,” Healy said. “It’s not a men’s basketball that goes [to the NCAA tournament] every year or a football that’s always been in a bowl game. We’re trying to become that type of team. There’s nothing about it that’s easy, especially when you’re a warm weather sport playing in the cold and spending your first 30
Photo · With just four seniors on this year’s team, the Wisconsin softball team may be light on experience, but their strong start to their 2016 campaign shows the future is promisng. Marissa Haegele The Badger Herald
22 • badgerherald.com • April 5, 2016
games on the road. You have to work for it.” With only two NCAA tournaments under their belt, Healy knows that there is a lot of work cut out for her and her team to get to the same level as men’s basketball at UW, but this season has shown that significant progress is being made toward reaching that goal. One thing this team has going for them is that they don’t take national tournament appearances for granted. At the end of last season, when the team knew that they would not go on to the Big Ten tournament, they worked to come back even stronger this season, and Healy has taken notice. “I think they just want it,” Healy said. “The senior class especially, they’ve been to two NCAA tournaments so last year was a tough year, but they want to get the program back on track. They’re fighting for it.” And the way the players have been swinging their bats has really helped them bounce back, as it has become quite clear throughout the start of the season that this year ’s Badgers have improved immensely on offense. For several games this year, the Badgers
walked off the diamond with a 10-1 score, which sophomore utility player Kelsey Jenkins knows is both a combination of luck and determination. “One inning, the rails just come off and you just keep going,” Jenkins said. “Everything finds a hole and everything finds the bat. We’ve put a lot of work in this season, especially with the [quality at-bats]. It really enforces us to just really push the pedal. We work towards those and the beginning [of the winning process] comes from that.” As the season goes on, and if Wisconsin keeps putting up the numbers that they have been putting up, it is only a matter of time before the Badgers find themselves in the position they want to be in. Healy knows that one of the best motivators this team has going for them is the way last season ended. “I think they just want it,” Healy said. “This is a group that, the senior class especially, they’ve been to two NCAA tournaments. Last year was a tough year, but they want to get the program back on track. I think there’s a lot of pride that they came here trying to get Wisconsin to be a nationally ranked team.”
SPORTS
facebook.com/badgerherald
Despite some new faces, much remains same for Wisconsin’s linebackers
Badgers return six of seven starters from unit that was second in nation in scoring defense last season by Ben Cross Staff Writer
Key departures have overshadowed the bright future awaiting University of Wisconsin football next season. These three weeks of work before the annual spring game will be crucial for the Badgers, who look to replace key talent all over its roster. But while the process is seemingly daunting, it actually isn’t. Despite all the big name departures (Defensive coordinatior Dave Aranda, quarterback Joel Stave, linebacker Joe Schobert) this squad has seen this offseason, the Badgers actually return most of their key players on both sides of the ball. In fact, the least turnover of any position for Wisconsin is in the defensive line-backing core. “One thing that a guy like Schobert always did for the defense was make sure the young guys were in the drills and staying active,” sophomore T.J. Edwards said. “All of us being here for a while now gives us that ability to keep all the new guys in the rotation.” Despite this being Edwards’ first set of spring
practices, the sophomore led the team in tackles as a freshman last season (84). Six of the seven starting linebackers from last year’s number one ranked scoring defense are back, including now senior captain Vince Biegel. Biegel had a standout season as a sophomore, but assumed a diminished role last year behind Schobert’s dominant senior campaign. He now looks to return to the top of the draft board and the team as a projected preseason First Team All American while also leading a young, promising line-backing core. “Biegel was such a leader for us last year and I think even more of one now coming back for his senior year,” outside linebacker coach Tim Tibesar said. “He’s stepped up and he wants to be that leader. He doesn’t just want to teach the linebackers or the defense, but the team. I think he’s really embraced that role.” Tibesar is one of the few familiar faces left on a defensive front that enters 2016 without Aranda and their former defensive back coach Daronte Jones. Aranda left to be defensive coordinator for LSU and Jones left to be an assistant defensive back coach with the Miami Dolphins in the NFL. New defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox takes
Photo · Senior linebacker Vince Biegel passed up an opportunity in the NFL to play one more season at Wisconsin. He finished last season with the second most sacks with eight and third most total tackles with 66. Marissa Haegele The Badger Herald April 5, 2016 • badgerherald.com • 23
over Aranda’s duties as head of inside linebackers following a failed one year stint at USC as defensive coordinator. He even coached against the Badgers in the Holiday Bowl last season. “We want to be experts at our position and learn the situations of football,” Wilcox said. “Spring ball goes back to fundamentals and learning the verbage of the schemes. Talent is important in football and we have a lot of talent on this team; it just comes down to how you utilize that talent.” Wilcox’s intent on playing intelligent football is reminiscent of how the program has carried itself historically. While never boasting the top recruiting class, Wisconsin has always done more with less. Much of that comes from playing in an informed manner. “Wilcox calls it ‘getting your Ph.D.,’” Edwards said. “Our inside linebackers need to know every little thing so we can make our checks and we’re sure about our decisions. He’s really good with the fundamentals.” After a lot of conversation this offseason, the man who looks to be filling that final, seventh spot on the defensive front is redshirt junior T.J. Watt. T.J. Watt, the third and final Watt to come
through Wisconsin, gained valuable experience subbing in for a tired Biegel whenever he needed rest at the end of last season. His play was indicative of the type of player he can be: one that will fit in nicely with Wisconsin’s current core of linebackers. “As a group, we want to be able to create more takeaways and make it harder on opposing offenses,” Tibesar said. “We just hope we can make more plays as a line-backing core and some of these young guys will help us do that.” With some new faces, there are ever present worries. But coaches and players have faith in one another. The resounding message coming out of spring practice from both the coaches and players was the importance of leadership in the linebackers. “Leadership just kind of comes with knowing the defense,” junior Jack Cichy said. “It allows you to help lead and direct people where to go. It gets to the point where you can do it thoughtlessly and these first few days have been great to get our feet wet with it.” The new but old set of linebackers will debut for the Badgers at the Wisconsin Spring Game, noon on April 23 at Camp Randall.
MISNOMER
facebook.com/badgerherald
The Badger Herald partners with...
Preview of the 2016 Best UW Experiences Finals Four ‘Not Living in the Hub’ could be greatest Cinderella Story since unlikely victory of ‘Being a FIBs’ in 2007 The field of 32 has been narrowed down to the prestigious Finals Four, leaving two matchups that are guaranteed to entertain. On one side of the bracket, top-seeded
powerhouses “Tom” and “Having sex with Bucky” will face off, and on the other side, ‘’Caring’ about your TA’s thesis” and “Not Living in the Hub” will compete to prove
who is the better underdog. This year ’s tournament has continued to spark interest and conversation from students all across campus. With the Finals
Four upon us, supporters of every team have been pleading their case for their favorite to be the best UW experience. “I love caring about my TA’s thesis sarcastically,” senior Kim Duluth said. “One time my TA talked about how she was basing her thesis off her own research on the migration patterns of snails, and I pretended to care for an entire discussion period. I consider this to be one of my greatest accomplishments, and easily my best experience at UW.” “In my three years at UW, I’ve lived in Shitty Witte, the Sophomore Slums and a house on Langdon infested by flying ants. I would live in all those locations again over the Hub, which is why not living there is the best UW experience,” junior Mike West said. “Normally, I don’t talk about my sexual experiences, but when I had sex with Bucky, I screamed it from atop Bascom Hill,” sophomore Kelly McBride said. “He just had so much energy and skill. It went on for like three hours, and he didn’t break a sweat. It was a little odd when he started doing pushups for every orgasm I had, but I’d still call it my best experience at UW.” All three of these members of the Finals Four have been supported by a large number of students, but the final member of the group, Tom, continues to cause the most heated arguments on campus. “Last week, somebody mentioned that Tom was their favorite UW experience, and somebody just started fighting them. I personally don’t have an opinion, but if he’s causing this much hatred on campus, he clearly can’t be that great,” freshman Sean Fox said. All week, strong opposers of Tom have stood in solidarity on Bascom Hill, arguing that he shouldn’t have made it this far in the tournament. “We will not rest until Tom is permanently removed from the competition,” Anti-Tom Party Leader Grant Hogan said. “I’ve met the guy and he is nowhere near as good as people say he is. I mean, sure, he can drink like a fish, always has your back in a bar fight and he makes the best fucking pregame eggs in UW history, but — actually, nevermind. Go Tom!”
READ BRACKET ANALYSIS AT MADISONMISNOMER.COM. THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED BY THE MADISON MISNOMER DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE HERALD.
April 5, 2016 • badgerherald.com • 24
GODZILLA VS. THE DIRTY BIRD
GODZILLA
comicsclubuw@gmail.com
April 5, 2016 • badgerherald.com • 25
SHOUTOUTS
@badgerherald
DIVERSIONS
Like our Shoutout page? Tag your tweets and instagrams #bhso to see them printed in future issues.
Just purchased a jumbo bag of cheese for 50% off so things are looking up. Amy Wilson @amywil8
badgerherald.com/shoutouts @bhshoutouts
Drunk bacon is the best bacon Chuckboi
@charlieDW
One day back from #sb2k16 already feeing like dropping out and moving to a small goat farm to live in solitude and peace #5ever In Krust We Trust @kryskrysobie
Everyone in madison at 10:30pm: woooo let’s get drunk and party!a!! Me at 10:30pm: time to go home, I’ve had two drinks and I’m tired. bye. If you don’t like the weather in Wisconsin, wait 15 minutes (literally).
Cherie #blessed @supersaiyancher
Alex Johnson
Go home weather, you’re drunk.
@a_johnson1
Nate Wilkinson @nate_w17
Getting trapped in freshmen tour groups while in USouth, just trying to print homework...<<<<<<<<<<<
Wisconsin weather makes less sense than Donald Trump. Hannah Hageman @HagemanHannah
Rachel The Unburnt
general summary of Wisconsin weather Allison Chang @duskqueendom
26 • badgerherald.com • April 5, 2016
@Rachelandrew4
WHITE BREAD AND TOAST
MIKE BERG
toast@badgerherald.com
Reccomend your favorite cartoonists and comic book artists to be the #CartoonistOfTheDay on Twitter!
FRESHMAN PARKING LOT
MICHAEL HILLIGER
hilligercartoon@gmail.com
SUDOKU
Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. This puzzle has a difficulty rating of 3/5.
winter blues getting you down?
Think Smart.Think Summer.Think UW Colleges Online. We’re offering over 80 online courses in four sessions to help you stay on track. • Summer I : 5/31–8/19 (12 week class) • Summer II : 5/31–6/17 (3 week class) • Summer III : 6/13–8/8 (8 week class) • Summer IV : 7/11–8/19 (6 week class) » » »
$238/credit – Lowest online tuition in the UW System. Transferable credits Consortium agreement – you may be able to use your financial aid from UW-Madison to pay for an online class at UWCO. online.uwc.edu 877-449-1877
If you like the Badgers (duh). If you like sports. If you like chicks who like sports. If you don’t like sports, but like funny stories. If you are single (call us). If you aren’t single, but like funny stories. If you’ve ever swiped right. If you like breadsticks. If you like the feeling of mesh shorts on your thighs. If you dislike guys wearing Crocs with socks. If you are Nigel Hayes (call us). If any of these things are true, we are the podcast for you.
LAST WEEK’S BALLS A Podcast On Sports & Dating LastWeeksBalls.com | @LastWeeksBalls | iTunes & Stitcher