'The Professor's Dilemma' - Volume 49, Issue 8 by The Badger Herald

STUDENT MEDIA AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017 · VOL 49 Issue 8· BADGERHERALD.COM

THE PROFESSOR’S DILEMMA

Competitive external offers and friction with state government continue to render future for UW faculty uncertain. pg. 14

Riley Steinbrenner

MADTOWN CRIER

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Madtown Crier Madtown refuses to slow down. Here are some upcoming events The Badger Herald recommends to keep you up to speed.

Tuesday 10/31 Brew n’ View: The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Majestic, 8 p.m., $10

Wednesday 11/1

Thursday 11/2

“Cheeseheads: The Documentary” at the Wisconsin Historical Museum, 5:30 p.m., $5

Tango Lessons at Union South, 8 p.m., FREE

Thursday 11/2 Kip Moore at the Orpheum, 8 p.m., $51-101

Friday 11/3 Luminescence: A Spectacle of Fire and Light at Monona Terrace, 7 p.m., $10

Friday 11/3

Saturday 11/4 Wisconsin Book Festival at the Wisconsin Historical Museum, 12 p.m., FREE

Sunday 11/5 John Paul White at tehe High Noon Saloon, 8 p.m., $15 Fall Book Sale at Memorial Library, 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m., FREE

2 • badgerherald.com • October 31 2017

Saturday 11/4

Monday 11/6

Yoga with Moda at Memorial Union, 10 a.m., $5

Hippy Hideout at the Frequency, 9 p.m., $5

152 W. Johnson Suite 202 Madison WI, 53703 Telephone 908.257.4712 Fax 608.257.6899 11,000 copies printed Tuesdays. Published since Sept. 10, 1969

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BILL SCANS SANCTUARY CITIES 5

UNDEFEATED

Under a proposed bill, local law enforcment would have to cooperate with federal immigration authorities

Badger football prevails at Illinois, team rises to fourth place in the national rankings.

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RICHARD GOODE VISITS UNION THEATRE

He will play classical piano music from artists such as Bach and Beethoven

POINT COUNTERPOINT: GERRYMANDERING College Republicans, Democrats spar in the wake of Gill v. Whitford.

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UW students partner with Dane County to improve development UniverCity Year program allows students to address issues affecting greater Madison community from inside classroom by Abby Doeden Reporter

For University of Wisconsin graduate student Mitch Running, learning extends past the classrooms and lecture halls of the campus. Through the UniverCity Year program, Running applies what he learns from class to impact the Madison community. Running, along with UW graduate students Sam Aisen and Lily Thompson, participate in a program called UniverCity Year. The program helps the community around UW by partnering with Dane County on issues they don’t always have time to cover. “I think it’s really great for us as students to be able to have an impact in the community, and to get a lot of experience from it,” Running said. The UniverCity Year is a program under the UniverCity Alliance program and is focused on four project areas: economic development, closing the housing gap, frequent users of county services and water quality and nutrient balance, according to the website. Students at UW take courses coinciding with these ideas to learn both in the classroom as well as take what

they’ve learned and apply these concepts to Dane County. Students could choose this class from their list of classes when registering, and were next able to choose a topic and submit project proposal to Dane County. In Running’s public health principles course, the students focus on background research on the population of people using community resources in general, and then tailor it to Dane County to figure out the next steps to address their needs. Director of the Nelson Institute, Paul Robbins, has been working on this program since its inception. He believes it captures the Wisconsin Idea because it extends the campus’ reach into the community. “The university doesn’t have any boundaries, it just flows right out into cities and counties in this region and around the state,” Robbins said. “It’s always good, when you have a chance to do that, it’s what this university was built to do.” Today, there are many programs throughout the campus that contribute to this idea, and the UniverCity Alliance is one that embodies the idea perfectly, Robbins said. According to Robbins, he will go to meetings

with municipal or county leaders, and ask what issues they can’t get to. He will then turn to faculty and find classes that already teach in a similar area, and cater that class to the county’s problem. “It’s like a laser instead of a shotgun. [The UniverCity Alliance] focuses on one place, and

“ I think it’s really great for us

as student to be able to have an impact in the community, and to get a lot of experience from it.” Mitch Running Graduate student at the end of the year, hundreds of students have focused their research time getting to know the

university, the municipalities problems, and help to solve them,” Robbins said. “Then, [we] make sure to follow up with them, making sure to keep touching base with those communities to see if they have other needs.” In the future, Robbins hopes this program has the potential to partner with other schools in the UW system so they could perform similar work in their regions. Along with advantages for Dane County, the program also comes with many advantages for the students and faculty. According to Robbins, it opens up networks and career paths for the students involved. According to Robbins, at the end of the school year, the University will meet with county officials to assess the advantages and disadvantages of this program, which will determine the future of the UniverCity Alliance system. “The students are able to interact with county officials, including private firms who might be involved,” Robbins said. “You can really see different paths forward after college, and exciting applications of the things they are learning [in class],” Robbins said.

ASM, Vote Everywhere unite to encourage student voting Voter Palooza aims to increase turnout for elections by educating student body, despite ‘confusing’ voter ID laws by Emilie Burditt City Editor

According to a survey from the University of Wisconsin, about 17,000 voters from the Dane County and Milwaukee County did not vote in the 2016 presidential election. The two main researchers on the study were UW political science professor, Kenneth R. Mayer, and affiliate faculty of the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs, Michael G. DeCrescenzo. Researchers think the low voter turnout could be due to Wisconsin’s voter ID laws, which the survey reports caused confusion among viewers. The law states a voter must have a valid photo ID such as a drivers license, identification card, military ID or U.S. passport. Wisconsin recently started accepting unexpired veterans cards from the Veterans Health Administration of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs. The Wisconsin voting website also states the address on a voter’s license does not need to be up to date. It says the name on the ID does not have to exactly resemble the name used in the poll book, but your ID should look like you. Ambassador at the Morgridge Public Service Center for Vote Everywhere Laurel Noack is hoping the organization Vote Everywhere will help voter turnout. “Vote Everywhere is working on a petition letter for all the UW Systems schools to help combat voter ID 4• badgerherald.com •October 31, 2017

laws which target students,” Noack said. Associated Students of Madison outreach director, Yogev Ben-Yitschak, said ASM’s main goal with Voter Palooza is to encourage UW students to vote. Voter Palooza is designed to help students vote by increasing their knowledge of voting and the voting process and showing them the power students can have in government. Overall, Voter Palooza hopes to create less confusion about voting obstacles like voter ID laws and eligibility. Ben-Yitschak said ASM cannot technically register people to vote, so they will instead offer students the opportunity to vote if they want to. “We are doing the first steps of registering to vote,” Ben-Yitschak said. ASM plans on taking on the initiative by helping students through all the steps of voting, such as paperwork and making the voting process as easy as possible. Ben-Yitschak said about 10 to 15 volunteers will be available to students who wish to have more support in filing paperwork. ASM will also provide an online registry to help students on Nov. 9, Ben-Yitschak said. ASM is hoping to increase voter turnout from students to show students they can make a difference politically. “All about that theme of student power,” BenYitschak said. Voting, lobbying and student government is very important, Ben-Yitschak said. He added that it is also

important to have legislators that support student rights. Ben-Yitschak said a lot of legislators know many students do not vote. This allows them to push for policies that do not favor students. Ben-Yitschak said if ASM and other organizations help start the process of helping student register to vote, they will know they have the power to vote-out candidates they do not like. Noack is hoping students will continue to vote in the future too. She wants to keep the voting process as easy as possible with new voting legislation for students. “After ASM approval we hope to take this to other UW System institutions to sign on to protect the voting rights of students and those who do not have a Wisconsin Driver’s License or another form of Voter ID,” Noack said. Noack said the Nov. 9th meeting will refresh those on the online voter registration system. It will also inform students and campus leaders on how to improve voting on campus through a discussion-based talk. Noack encourages anyone to join the conversation. She said the goal of Vote Everywhere is to increase voter registration and turnout and increase participation in democracy. “I choose to be involved in the voting processes of UW-Madison because I care that each student has the same opportunity to participate in democracy and let their voice be heard,” Noack said.

Photo · The goal of Vote Everywhere is to increase voter registration and turnout. Katie Cooney The Badger Herald

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SnapPlus software program increases efficiency in agricultural practices

First created in 2005, SnapPlus has new added features including mapping technology to maximize profit for farmers by Madeline Boulanger Reporter

Since the creation of the SnapPlus program in 2005 by the University of Wisconsin Department of Soil Science, there have been several updates to the software to advance agricultural tools for farmers, the biggest being the addition of mapping technology. SnapPlus helps farmers decide the amount of fertilizer and nutrients they need to add to their fields, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection representative Sue Porter said. The SnapPlus program prevents soil erosion, protects groundwater and protects surface water quality. “We’re trying to reduce extra nutrients, fertilizer or manure that goes on fields beyond what the crop needs,” Porter said. “We want to get the amount that’s going on to equal what the crops need so that we will have less runoff and less leaching of nitrogen into groundwater.” It also helps farmers to develop a clearer picture of the effects their farming practices have on the environment and soil quality,

Department of Soil Science Associate Scientist Laura Good said. Using SnapPlus, they are able to adjust their practices if they are eroding too much soil or not meeting Nutrient Management Standards. The software helps farmers pinpoint where exactly they need to make changes and how those changes affect their land, Good said. “It’s not always easy for anyone to say how much losses from one field are really affecting water quality altogether, but it helps you to look at what’s happening on that field,” Good said. “It has helped farmers understand how their field management effects water quality.” Farmers also become more profitable through SnapPlus because the software tells them the exact amount of fertilizer they need, Good said. Since farmers know the exact amount of fertilizer rather than just guessing, they can order the correct amount and, in turn, save money and not overfertilize their crops, Good said. Each year they release new updates based on feedback from the farmers and the agencies they work with, Good said. “The biggest improvement has been

adding the mapping technology,” Good said. “You used to have to look at maps separately and then enter information about your soils and areas where you could and couldn’t put in manure and enter them by hand, but now the software is linked to a [Geographic Information System]

“We’re trying to reduce extra

nutrients, fertilizer or manure that goes on fields beyond what the crop needs” Sue Porter Wisconsin Department of Agriculture,

that has all these things in it. If you just

draw your field outline on the map, it will automatically download this information to the program so you don’t have to enter it by hand.” Continuous improvements make the software more accessible to farmers, Good said. They are also able to get help and set up their software at their county Land Conservation Offices. The technology also allows farmers to write their own nutrient management plans after soil tests in the fall, Porter said. “Every year it gets easier for a farmer to start and end quicker,” Porter said. Both Good and Porter say the technology is exclusive to Wisconsin. Good says that this is because all of the databases, Nutrient Management Guidelines, soils and maps in the system are exclusively for Wisconsin. Other states have their own systems, though Porter believes none is as comprehensive as Wisconsin’s. “What it takes is a lot of coordination. The university is working with the department of agriculture, and also working with the DNR and NRCS,” Porter said. “You just don’t see that kind of coordination in every state.”

New bill sparks controversy on immigrants safety in sanctuary cities Legislation would require law enforcement to comply with federal immigration authorities, legislators argue it will increase public safety by Izabela Zaluska State Editor

A bill in the state legislature has revived the debate on the safety of sanctuary cities. Senate Bill 275 requires law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. If the city fails to do so, it will be fined between $500 to $5,000 for each day. Sanctuary cities can be a county, city or state with policies that obstruct immigration enforcement and protect individuals who have been arrested by local police from U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to Center for Immigration Studies. In Wisconsin, only Milwaukee County is listed as a sanctuary city and would see potential impact from the bill. This bill is similar to legislation that was introduced in the last legislative session which passed the state assembly but didn’t reach the state senate. Proponents of the bill have argued this type of legislation and these types of precautions will make the state safer. State Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, has called the legislation a common

sense way to protect Wisconsin residents from becoming victims of crime because sanctuary cities shield dangerous convicted felons. Similarly, Rep. John Spiros, R-Marshfield, said in a statement that sanctuary cities put the lives of their citizens at risk. Spiros said the bill does not target immigrants and it will only impact those who pose a legitimate public safety risk to the state. It’s important individuals still feel safe reporting crimes to local officials, Spiros said. “We want those living in our communities to feel safe, so it is important to note that those who are the victim of a crime or witness to a crime can still feel comfortable reaching out to authorities without fear of being turned over to federal immigration officials,” Spiros said. Rep. Lisa Subeck, D-Madison, however, said this is the kind of bill that breeds fear among immigrant communities and divides people. “Law enforcement has worked so hard to build positive, trusting relationships with immigrant communities, and this is exactly the kind of bill that undermines all of that

work,” Subeck said. A number of cities and communities nationwide have said that reports of sexual assault and domestic violence have decreased during the Trump administration, supervising attorney at the Immigrant Justice Clinic Erin Barbato said in an email to The Badger Herald. Barbato has worked with immigrant victims of serious crimes who have assisted the investigation and prosecution of those crimes, leading to the apprehension of career criminals, gang-members and human traffickers. The bill has the ability to destroy this trust and make everyone less safe, she said. “If immigrants without documents fear contacting law enforcement after witnessing criminal activity or being a victim of a crime, not only will those individuals become even more vulnerable, all residents of Wisconsin become more vulnerable,” Barbato said. What’s also frustrating to Subeck was that during the bill’s Oct. 12 hearing, no arrangements were made to have interpreters, nor did anyone even consider the need for interpreters to be present. This is relevant especially because many

individuals who came to testify were not native English speakers. Community members stepped up and translated for one another, but Subeck said it’s the legislature’s responsibility to provide a way for each resident to testify if they want to. She said a similar thing happened during the last session’s hearing. After the hearing, Subeck called for a hearing on a bill she authored that would provide accommodations at hearings for individuals who need an interpreter or need materials in an alternate format. So far, however, she has not gotten a response from committee’s Republican chair. Last year, immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera organized the “Day without Latinos” protest when similar legislation was introduced. If the bill moves forward, Voces de la Frontera is committed to organizing a strike that lasts more than one day, the group’s executive director Christine Neumann-Ortiz said. “Wisconsin should always be moving forward, this [legislation] would be a substantial step backwards in protecting our communities and the pillars of the U.S. Constitution,” Barbato said.

October 31, 2017 • badgerherald.com • 5

New research at UW finds link betwen socioeconomic status, autism The UW study found children of lower socioeconomic background are diagnosed with autism less than those of wealthier backgrounds by Madeline Westburg Reporter

A study conducted by a team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin discovered a link between socioeconomic status and the diagnosis of autism. The main finding of the study reported children from a lower socioeconomic background were less likely to receive diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder. There is a greater amount of autism diagnoses in children from more affluent backgrounds. Dr. Maureen Durkin, an investigator for the Waisman Center and professor at UW, said this study was part of a Center for Disease Control surveillance program that monitors data related to autism. Durkin said data regarding autism prevalence is constantly collected and published every two years. The study, which targeted years 2002 through 2010, focused on eight year olds. It looked at factors like household income and education levels, then compared them to the prevalence of autism diagnosis. “In the history of autism, which was first described in the 1940s, it was mainly occurring in

affluent families,” Durkin said. In the 1980s, Durkin said, researchers started finding that children from wealthier families were the ones receiving diagnosis. Durkin said this study was trying to answer the following question: “Did the pattern we saw earlier persist over time?” The study was unable to identify the cause of the differences in diagnosis, but Durkin speculated it was because of certain people’s lack of access to services that diagnose autism. “[We need to] figure out the barriers to families getting a diagnosis,” Durkin said. One of those barriers, Durkin said, is long waitlists. Since there aren’t enough trained people to make autism spectrum disorder diagnoses, it can take a year or more to get an evaluation. Dr. Tina Iyama-Kurtycz is an associate professor of pediatrics at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health and has 38 years of experience. She specializes in diagnosing developmental disabilities. Long waitlists for diagnoses may have been caused by a recent policy change, Iyama-Kurtycz said. “One new development that could be a game changer in these numbers is that in January 2016,

any child with a medical assistance card would receive autism treatment fully covered for up to three years of intensive therapy,” Iyama-Kurtycz said. Iyama-Kurtycz said this policy didn’t exist during the years Durkin’s study covered, and this change in policy may impact future research in interesting ways. The pediatrician said intensive therapy could cost around $75,000 a year and involves specialists living in the homes of children receiving therapy. This program is run through the Department of Health Services. Payment for these services should no longer be a barrier to care, Iyama-Kurtycz said, but the number of new referrals have overwhelmed local autism providers. While the support from DHS seriously increases access, Iyama-Kurtycz said access isn’t only determined by cost, insurance or waitlists. “More than just insurance, which many disadvantaged families have, there are the problems of transportation, jobs with little flexibility to take off time, get child care or other children, or distance from autism centers,” IyamaKurtycz said. She also mentioned distrust of healthcare

systems can play a role in impeding autism diagnosis, in addition to families trying to balance other priorities like where to find food and shelter. Even though there are factors that could impact diagnosis rates, Durkin said autism diagnoses have increased since 2000. Durkin’s study said the prevalence of autism has increased by more than double from 2002 to 2010, reaching 14.7 cases for every thousand children in 2010. Diagnosis of autism involves “looking at social, emotional and behavioral facets of development,” Iyama-Kurtycz said. Autism Spectrum Disorder involves a collection of behaviors and relates to development and anything that might change it. Iyama-Kurtycz said it could be caused by hundreds of different things. At UW, the Waisman Center is central to studying human development and developmental disabilities, Iyama and Durkin said. The rise in diagnosis and the shortage of trained professionals relates to UW students, Durkin said. “We need to train more students to provide autism training and services,” Durkin said.

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UW researchers receive grant to investigate Midwest opioid epidemic The $3.8 million grant will be used to improve services for opioid addiction, MPD handling issue aggressively, MPD spokesperson says by Gretchen Gerlach Reporter

University of Wisconsin researchers received a $3.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to improve the health care services surrounding opioid addiction in the Midwest. Under the direction of senior scientist Todd Molfenter, the partnership between UW Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies and Addiction Technology Transfer Centers plans to improve upon work force development in the treatment, recovery and health care field and provide greater access to treatment for patients suffering from opioid addiction in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the rate of opioid use disorders has more than doubled since 2005, and opioid related deaths have been on the rise since 1999. “While Wisconsin is by no means the state most adversely affected by the opioid epidemic, there is undoubtedly room for improvement,” Molfenter said. The general cause for this epidemic stemmed from the liberal prescribing practices of health care providers in the 1990’s, as well as the American public’s inherent interest in alcohol and drugs, Molfenter said. The addictive and potentially lethal properties of opioids were greatly underestimated, Molfenter said. The availability of pain relievers for patients suffering from chronic pain rose as a result. Accidental deaths became increasingly more common as patients would take time off from the opioids they were using and start up again with the same dosage they were taking before, Molfenter said. The body’s resistance goes down quickly over time, and patient’s run the risk of overdosing. Although prescription painkillers are becoming less available, and the criteria patients must meet before being prescribed opioids is more stringent, the use of heroin and fentanyl remain a growing concern, Molfenter said. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported that heroin-related deaths have been on the rise since 2005. Heroin is being used increasingly as a substitute for prescription pain relievers as it is cheaper and in greater availability.

Though Molfenter is confident the grant from CHESS will allow GLATTC and researchers at UW to continue to make strides in combating the opioid epidemic. This money will enable further research and development in treatment and technologies. Researchers are currently working on improving mobile apps for families with patients of opioid addiction, allowing them resources outside of formal treatment, Molfenter said. “This trend [of mobile apps] in society is one that could really benefit patients and their families,” Molfenter said, “and it gives researchers a better idea of how family support impacts patients.” Improving workforce development, training, technical assistance and equipment are all areas that will be targeted with the grant money as well, Molfenter said Molfenter said recruiting and retaining people in this field is challenging as this

field is not viewed as “attractive” and training programs in health care do not focus as heavily on addiction and treatment. “We want our therapists and physicians treating patients with the best practices possible,” Molfenter said. “Better training will help peer recovery specialists to feel even more skilled and confident.” But with this grant, Molfenter believes better training and more job opportunities will be made possible. He said a greater interest has been taken in the field, and people have started to find it incredibly rewarding. Moreover, the health disparities within GLATTC, Molfenter said are being addressed in terms of socioeconomic status and race. “Making treatment and recovery possible for all people and all demographics is a major priority of this program,” Molfenter said.

Community and law enforcement support has always been and will continue to be crucial to combatting the opioid epidemic. Madison Police Department spokesperson Joel Despain said MPD is on the “cutting edge” of eradicating the opioid epidemic in the Madison area and nationally. MPD views users as victims, and offers them treatment over jail time as often as possible, Despain said. MPD’s job is to focus on the dealers through drug task forces, not the users who are victims of lethal drugs. MPD has also been aggressive in its approach to combat opioid abuse, and will continue to work with the community, Despain said. “Any effort to bolster treatment, research, support and so on is good,” Despain said. “It’s what we need to continue to keep the public safe and to stop the abuse of illicit drugs.”

Photo · The grant would provide greater access to treatment for patients suffering from opioid addiction in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio Marissa Haegele October 31, 2017 • badgerherald.com • 7

FreakFest 2017

Photo · Thousands took to State Street for the annual Freakfest celebration to show off their costumes and listen to musicians, including Grammy-nominated DRAM. Ella Guo The Badger Herald

October 31, 2017 • badgerherald.com • 8

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Proposed ‘Respect Women Act’ advocates for access to abortions Democrats Rep. Chris Taylor and Sen. Jon Erpenbach introduce bills removing barriers for women’s healthcare by Kai Brito State Editor

Earlier this month, Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, and Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, unveiled a package of bills, referred to as the “Respect Women Act,” that advocate for women’s access to reproductive health care. Taylor said the introduction of these bills was in response to the Trump administration’s new ruling to allow religious or moral objections to contraceptives covered in healthcare plans. Taylor said the three bills, known as the Respect Access to Care, Respect Medical Accuracy and Respect Patient & Provider Safety bills, were designed to place a priority on women’s healthcare issues and support them in making their own decisions regarding reproductive health. “The Respect Women Act draws attention to the fact that it’s the Republicans and their idea of big government [that] have decided that women are incapable of making healthcare decisions on their own and couldn’t possibly know what’s best for them,” Erpenbach said. Erpenbach said, collectively, the bills are meant to remove political interference from women’s individual health decisions, but each addresses a different angle of the issue. The Respect Access to Care and Respect

Medical Accuracy bills are meant to ensure health care providers will always offer medically accurate information so patients can make practical decisions, Erpenbach said. Dr. Amanda Schmehil-Micklos, a practicing obstetrician and gynecologist physician in Madison, said current laws sometimes require physicians to offer medical advice that is not in the best interest of their patients. She believes the Wisconsin legislature has undermined and ignored the value of her medical expertise in healthcare policy decisions. “This intrusion into the physician-patient relationship is troubling because these politicians aren’t trained in medicine,” Schmehil-Micklos said. “They haven’t gone through the rigorous training and education and passing the tests in medical knowledge that is necessary to have these discussions with patients and come to these really tough decisions that patients have to come to.” Schmehil-Micklos recollected her past experience with a patient that was projected to have a stillborn pregnancy and needed an abortion to avoid the complications a cesarean section necessary to remove the fetus at birth. Her patient could not legally undergo an abortion in Wisconsin, however, due to the 20-week abortion ban passed in 2015. The Patient and Provider Safety Bill is meant to address the harassment,

intimidation and violence patients and providers face at reproductive health care facilities, Erpenbach said. According to the National Abortion Federation, abortion clinics, providers and patients have been victims of countless bombings, shootings and chemical attacks by anti-abortion extremists. The NAF violence statistics shows five cases of “extreme violence” in Wisconsin since 1999, with two recent incidents of an attempted murder and arson in 2011 and 2012. Mike Murray, policy director for Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health, said while these are just two isolated incidents in Wisconsin, it’s part of a larger narrative of women who are harassed when they try to enter women’s health facilities. “We’re in no way trying to [sensationalize] or anything, but it is a real issue that people [who] either go into that line of work or women who are considering having access to that care have to deal with on occasion,” Murray said. Even so, not all legislators in Wisconsin believe these laws would be beneficial for the state. Last week, two bills referred to as the “Heal Without Harm Legislative Coalition,” were introduced by Sen. Terry Moulton, R-Chippewa Falls, and Rep. Joel Kleefisch, R-Oconomowoc, to outlaw the use of unborn children for fetal body parts, according to a

press release. With the introduction of two bills with opposing goals, some Democrats do not believe their odds for enacting this legislation are in their favor. In recent legislative sessions, Democrats have introduced similar legislation on women’s reproductive healthcare that have not passed. Others, like Murray, also believe this bill will not pass, but believe it’s important to remind Wisconsin citizens of the importance these bills represent. “We’re realists… we know they’re not going to pass this immediately,” Murray said. “Part of the duty that we have doing this work is to actually coalesce around an agenda that paints a legitimate vision for the future that can someday be enacted.” Erpenbach and Taylor, however, are hopeful that their legislation can become law. Both said they would continue to introduce the legislation until it becomes law. Taylor said these bills show what she believes the future of reproductive health should look like and will continue to work to make it happen. “This is really about getting back to basics, this bill,” Taylor said. “It’s about taking personal private healthcare decisions away from the people in this capital, away from politicians who are interfering, and putting them back where they belong, between the women and their healthcare provider.”

Neutrino telescope ‘IceCube’ detects fast radio bursts in space IceCube telescope surveys sky, collects data to determine causes of radio bursts, provide theorists more insight into universe by Emilie Burditt City Editor

As scientists continue studying fast radio bursts in space, the most sensitive neutrino telescope, known as IceCube, has set out to perform projects that will help detect more FRB’s. Justin Vandenbroucke, a University of Wisconsin physicist and founder of IceCube, wants to demystify radio energy pulses. “FRBs are the fastest, yet they only last for a few thousandths of a second. The discovery of an entirely new type of astrophysical event only happens once in a generation, or even less, so it’s very exciting,” said Vandenbroucke. “FRBs are still a complete mystery, so it’s important to study them with every tool we have.” The IceCube team is continuing their research by watching the entire sky and continuously recording all the collected data. Vandenbroucke said FRBs happen at 10• badgerherald.com •October 31, 2017

random times in the sky and are spread out, which makes it difficult to spot them. IceCube not only watches the entire sky but also calculates the time and direction of neutrino emissions, which indicate FRBs. “There is one direction from which radio astronomers have detected multiple FRBs,” Vandenbroucke said. “It’s still not clear whether this repeating source is unusual or if we just haven’t detected repeating bursts from the others yet.” Vandenbroucke said this is only the beginning for IceCube and the detection of FRBs. He added they’re using new radio instruments to detect FRBs. One of IceCube’s goals is to collect as much data as possible to help scientists determine what is causing the bursts, Vandenbroucke said. He believes more data will also lead to more discoveries that today’s scientists could not even predict. “I was thrilled by the idea of combining particle physics with astrophysics and doing so using such a creative technique in one of the most amazing places on Earth,

and I still am!” said Vandenbroucke. Vandenbroucke hopes to continue working on IceCube just like co-founder of IceCube and fourth-year graduate student Sam Fahey. Fahey works to analyze data for neutrinos from IceCube that help to show more about FRBs. “I’m looking to see if neutrino events in IceCube are correlated with FRB observations,” Fahey said. “Do neutrino interactions in our experiment occur at the same times as FRBs? Do neutrino events tend to come from FRB locations with any statistical significance?” Fahey said the research must begin with what is even possible plausible for observation. The next step is to create a model of what an observation might look like. Fahey said, for example, researchers must consider other light factors like the observation of visible light or x-ray light, and how much of it there is. After a model has been made, Fahey said researchers can use it to determine if their hypothesis is true or false. Fahey said

overtime researchers are able to learn more about their observations and therefore learn more about their discoveries and an understanding of the universe. “The history of physics is littered with unexpected discoveries and revelations, and as a community we know very little about what causes them. I just hope we can help theorists by doing our part to constrain models,” said Fahey. Fahey believes there is an element of excitement for studying FRBs. He explained there is no definite answer to what researchers will find since they haven’t found it yet. This said, Fahey believes whatever discoveries are made, will help advance our knowledge of the universe.

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Wisconsin alumna Megan Tuohy to showcase artwork at Black Locust Cafe Black Locust Cafe, in collaboration with Queer Pressure, will host gallery night featuring Tuohy’s drawings, LED art by Morgan Grunow ArtsEtc. Staff Writer

On Nov. 2, the Black Locust Café will feature an exhibit titled FLORA//FLOUA, featuring artwork from Megan Tuohy, University of Wisconsin alumna. Within the exhibit, Tuohy has created an environment that welcomes all, and emphasizes a unique approach to art. Partnering with the student organization Queer Pressure, Tuohy is taking part in the group’s month-long showcase of queer and queer-friendly individuals at Black Locust. Together, they are working to not only showcase art in a different setting, but also to “promote having a good time,” Tuohy said. Black Locust is also interested in providing this type of environment. “I’m just excited to work in nontraditional gallery spaces,” Tuohy said. She also remarks that Black Locust is eager to “provide a new type of space to have fun in rather than just the traditional bar or club scene.” It seems like the café will be a perfect place to showcase FLORA//FLOUA. With a combination of botanical drawings and monstrous-themed landscapes, the title

is unique in itself. The two-part aspect is evident as FLORA represents the flowers, while FLOUA is presenting the monstrous side. With this blending of opposites, the exhibit brings out a “Grimm’s fairytalestyled landscape.” “I like to make things that are fun to look at and technically sound,” Tuohy said, which typically involves a lot of detail and time. With a “whimsical” artistic style, the artist focuses on bringing sometimes difficult subjects to surface in a way that “doesn’t have to be so bruiting or negative.” In such an environment, Tuohy enjoys working with neon, as she finds it to be a very accessible form of art in modern society. “Neon is visible everywhere in our lives, whether it be on a bar sign or a in a fine art museum, so having something that people can link memories to is the easiest way to [have] a real connection,” states Tuohy. With this, viewers can have individualistic experiences that go beyond the content in the gallery. The gallery is an opportunity to “[take] a break from a lot of the art gallery experiences in which we [have] things thrown at us all the time, with an expectation to react.” Tuohy wants to focus on providing viewers

with “a place to rest [rather] than react.” Creating such an environment will hopefully extend exposure boundaries to communities beyond the typical artistic realm as well. The “juxtaposition of scientific and fictional imagery” is also something focused on within Tuohy’s work. “I think it’s funny because people take things too seriously and it eventually leads to problems,” she states. Tuohy is “trying to bring things out of the realms that are so often [associated] with negativity or seriousness” and put them in simpler formats or in common terms. With this strategy, it may be easier to open such areas up for discussion and resolution. One piece that illustrates this well is titled “As Above” and is one of the highlighted pieces. Described as a “narrative landscape” with various “contingent” parts, “there are multiple lives going on within the same landscape.” If followed throughout, it is noticeable that all parts are working together and communicating throughout the drawing. The rest of the pieces, as Tuohy explains, are mainly floras and nature, which accompany the main narrative well. Altogether, the exhibit took about a year to compile, with the floras created during the

last three years of her work year. The work is lighthearted in nature, as Tuohy does not like to place “super definitive reasoning for the imagery because the imagery itself isn’t that serious.” This definitely opens the art up for a lot of interpretations and creates a welcoming environment for viewers. “I want people to enjoy the show, I want people to laugh at things, I want people to be a little grossed out by some things. But mostly, just be amused,” Tuohy states. It is evident that one of the main goals of her gallery is to enable viewers to feel comfortable when examining the art, but more importantly, allow them to interpret the pieces on their own terms and open some of the topics up for discussion. Tuohy also notes that she encourages readers and viewers to tell her their favorite flowers, if they like what they have seen, and she will draw more. There is an opening reception for the gallery at the Black Locust Café on Nov. 2 from 6-9 p.m. The art will also be available for viewers throughout the month of November.

Photo · Tuohy’s artwork involves monstrous creatures, which she labels “FLOUA” as well as flowers. Courtesy of Megan Tuohy October 31, 2017• badgerherald.com • 11

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Broadway cast member Jeremy Stolle to bring dinner cabaret to Overture Center Guests will enjoy hors d’oeuvres prepared by Catering a Fresco’s executive chef Jason Egner prior to Stolle’s musical performance by Molly Miller ArtsEtc. Staff Writer

All of us grew up having a dream of some kind but for a lucky few, like Broadway star Jeremy Stolle, that dream becomes a reality. Jeremy Stolle’s acting career began around age 16. He started doing high school musicals and realized that was what he was meant to do. He attended the University of California-Irvine on scholarship and soon after started to audition for professional theater companies. “There is a moment when you realize this is what you want to do with your life, and that came pretty quickly after starting to do theater,” Stolle said. His first big professional role was Gaston, in “Beauty and the Beast.” The production took place in Orlando, Florida for Disney. His career has come a very long way since then. Stolle considers himself very lucky to have been able to keep a steady job in his field for the past 10 years with the “Phantom of the Opera.” He originally auditioned to play the Phantom for the touring company but was eventually moved up to the Broadway cast.

He described his 10 years at Phantom as “delightful.” He has been able to pursue projects and concerts and has always been able to return to his home at Phantom in New York. His producers have been flexible in letting him pursue other opportunities, which is often rare. There’s no complaints about any of the experiences throughout the years, Stolle said. The albums of broadway performers and original cast recordings always had a huge influence on Stolle while he was growing up, and he always wanted to make one of his own. “It’s always been a dream of mine to do a studio album,” Stolle said. His latest album, In The Moment, is a collection of songs that Stolle discovered over the years, he said. The songs range from pop to, of course, musical theater that Stolle either has performed in a show or just loves to sing. The album is a highlight of the past 10 years, Stolle said. He tends to sing big songs that require a wide vocal range. This is definitely obvious in his recent album. He noted that he has stuck to this because he has done well in concert with these songs and they’re what people like to hear. Stolle will be in Madison on Nov. 2 to perform

a cabaret act. This will take place at the Overture Center and will be a unique musical dining experience. People will be greeted with hors d’oeuvres in the lobby and then will move into the theater where they will enjoy a gourmet meal prepared by Chef Jason Egner of Catering a Fresco. Arri Simon will join Stolle at the performance. He is a composer, actor, singer and piano player. Simon will be accompanying Stolle on the piano and providing backing vocals. The two will also duet and tell stories about their experiences in theater. “We just really like to have fun and try to not take life so seriously,” Stolle said The stories they will tell are very upbeat and centered around their happy and funny experiences. The pair will also be performing an array of different musical numbers. They will be doing a song from the hit musical “Hamilton” as well as a song from up-and-coming artist Michael Mott. “It’s going to be a touch of Broadway, a touch of storytelling and an invite into the world of a dreamer from California,” Stolle said. Non-Broadway fans shouldn’t dismiss the show. The event will feature something for everyone.

There will be radio songs and pop standards, and everyone should find the stories entertaining, Stolle said. After his Madison show, Stolle will set out for a tour in China. He worked originally with a group called Bravo Michi, an opera band, but his promoter thought he had a lot to offer and asked if he would be interested in going out on his own. “I started writing scripts and developing arrangements in my dressing room during Phantom,” Stolle said. They sold the show as a tour and it was picked up by China’s promoter. It wasn’t necessarily planned, but it just ended up happening, Stolle said. He is excited to perform in a new location. Stolle recognizes how lucky he is to have such a successful career. He had a hard time deciding his career highlight, but helping to develop “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” with Disney was his coolest opportunity yet. He was able to build a new musical with big names such as Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. Jeremy Stolle is excited to share his show with the Madison community. He hopes it will be a glimpse into the world of Broadway for the public, and hopes to have fun while doing it.

Photo · Stolle will perform alongside Arri Simon, composor, actor and piano player. Courtesy of Jeremy Stolle

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Chicago-based dance group Pyrotechniq to make their Madison debut Dancers integrate fire, LED into their performance to create a unique dance routine which will be showcased at Monona Terrace by Aidan McClain ArtsEtc. Editor

The Monona Terrace Community Center host Pyrotechniq on Nov. 3 — a Chicago based dance group that specializes in fire and light dancing. The 75-minute performance, titled “Luminescence: A spectacle of fire and light,” will be separated into two acts. For the first half of the show, the dancers will incorporate LED props into the performance, while the second half of the show will be fire dancing. It takes approximately 20-40 hours for the dancers to perfect each piece, but the the group also trains the public to dance with fire and light with six week lessons. The dance group has performed for clients such as the Museum of Science and Industry, the University of Illinois and Navy Pier, but their November performance will be their Madison debut. “I think that the city of Madison is really going to like it,” Ashley Bertling, Pyrotechniq’s owner, said. “I think this is going to be up their alley, so that’s what excites me.”

New dance pieces are created when the dancers ask themselves, “What need do we need?” This can be the need to be expressive as an artist or the need to challenge themselves as dancers, Bertling said. This thought-provoking task is the beginning of the process for developing choreography that will one day be performed on a stage. One person is usually in control of the choreography and planning process to prevent a clashing of ideas, and no more than two people will work on any given piece at the same time. There are a total of six dancers, with the addition of two fire-safety members. The fire-safety is on stand by in case anything goes wrong during the performance. The dancers use a variety of props, but one intricate prop is the contact staff. This prop is not held, but rather rolls over the body. This creates difficulties because the dancers must move their bodies to prevent hitting the staff in the wrong way, all the while planning ahead to know where the staff will move to next. The selected prop influences how the dance will be shaped. Different props

lead to different possible movements. “The fire and the lights become an extension of your arms and the rest of your body,” Bertling said. “The prop would not be able to move without our bodies. So the dance of fire is driven by whichever prop you’re using.” The selected song also has a huge importance in determining the dance movements. The group listens to songs on repeat until they find the perfect one that matches their feelings and the envisioned dance movements. For this reason, choosing a song is the most difficult step, Bertling said. Blocking out choreography is next in the procedure. This is when the dancers listen to the song and decide what specific moves they want to do. Blocking is vague at first. The dancers think of certain poses or moves for specific times in the song. For example, they may decide to do the splits when the song drops. Then, pieces are filled in and the dance becomes finalized. This creative process and style of dance is the team’s passion. One of the

goals of Pyrotechniq is to have everyone involved dancing for a full-time job as opposed to part-time, Bertling said. Another goal for the future is to move to a larger space. Anyone is capable of learning how to dance with fire and light, but it’s going to take some time. There is a six-week training session that teaches the basics for one prop. On the sixth class, students are allowed to work with fire for the first time. The six-week training isn’t going to make anyone a professional, but advanced classes are offered for those who wish to one day perform on stage. The Madison performance is set for 7 p.m. on Nov. 3 and tickets are $10 for adults, and $5 for youth (age 11 or younger). The dancers’ passion will surely make this a great performance. “Pyrotechniq was formed by a group of individuals who didn’t want to do anything else with their life besides firedance,” Bertling said.

Pianist Richard Goode to play classical pieces at Wisconsin Union Theater First American-born artist to complete Beethoven’s sonatas, Goode will perform Op. 101 as well as compositions by Bach, Chopin by Aidan McClain ArtsEtc. Editor

Grammy award winner Richard Goode will be performing classical piano pieces at the Wisconsin Union Theater on Nov. 4, including compositions by Bach and Beethoven. Gramophone magazine, the Financial Times and other publications have recognized Goode as a world-renowned piano player. Goode is the first American-born artist to complete Beethoven’s sonatas cycle, which is compiled on a 10-CD set. He interprets classical pieces by investigating them as thoroughly as possible, where he tries to understand the emotional tell of the piece. In his set at the Union Theater, Goode will start his program with Bach. Specifically, Selections from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II (ca. 1740). According to Goode, artists such as Bach, Mozart and Beethoven made him the artist that he is today. He fell in love with their music at a young age, and is now sharing their work with the world. The program opens with Bach because ultimately, his work is the foundation that has inspired so many other artists, Goode said.

The second half of the program is different. The music draws on facets of landscape, poetry and English novels. One of the most important aspects of interpreting a piece is understanding the emotions behind the song. Every song is capable of conveying emotions in a way that ordinary life can’t, Goode said. “Every single one is a favorite piece,” Goode said. “I never play anything I don’t care a lot about or love.” The structure of the program may include different pieces which elicit different emotions, but Goode appreciates every song. However, Goode said that when asked about his favorite piece, he’ll occasionally cite Beethoven’s Op. 101. Its powerful structure relates to the romantic period and almost predicts it. “Beethoven is sort of looking forward to a different period of composition,” Goode said. “Beethoven is looking back at one of his great idols, Mozart, and looking forward. And it doesn’t get much better than that.” The songs lack lyrics, but that shouldn’t be deterrent for college students. Radio-pop songs may draw fans, but Goode suggested that classical music and current music are intertwined.

In fact, classical music and other types of music are all growing closer, Goode said. This includes folk music, pop and more. If people are interested in music, they are most likely interested in all music, Goode said. Music’s classification is becoming more a mixture than individual categories. The most recent piece that Goode will play is more than 100 years old, but the music is historic. Learning the pieces was no trouble for Goode. He began playing at a young age and had the benefit of having a wonderful teacher. He even received copies of the music scores that had annotations from other piano players. Today, Goode is recognized as one of the world’s best piano players. He has performed across the globe, including performances at the Cleveland Orchestra with Dohnanyi, the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Manze and the New York String Orchestra with Laredo at Carnegie Hall. Goode’s Madison performance will include a pre-concert lecture by Wisconsin Public Radio’s Norman Gilliland at 6 p.m., and the concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. University students receive a discounted price of $10.

Photo · Goode is recognized as one of the world’s best interpreters of classical music. Courtesy of Frank Salomon

October 24, 2017 • badgerherald.com • 13

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UW professors look ahead toward uncertain future Tenure, salary, political climate continue to loom over UW faculty, officials by Avery Aurand and Matt O’Connor News Associate Editors

Each year, thousands of prospective college students choose from numerous higher education institutions to pursue their academic goals. In 2015, however, students weren’t the only ones facing this difficult decision. Professors who had dedicated their professional careers to the University of Wisconsin were confronted with a similar dilemma on a scale rarely seen before. In 2014, 100 outside offers were extended to UW professors from other higher education institutions, up 43 percent from the year before. A year later, new reports citing a similar increase emerge — once again, an increase of 44% from the previous year’s already irregular figures. UW saw 144 efforts by peer institutions to recruit faculty in 2015. These repeated outside offers left many professors unsure of their future at UW, as other institutions promised higher salaries and stable sources of funding. The number of outside offers in 2015 was the highest the university had encountered in the preceding decade, with the number of offers skyrocketing following a decade-low in 2013. Over this two-year period, the number of annual outside offers increased 106 percent. The salaries at the time of UW professors who received outside offers were an average of 30 percent less than the offers made by other institutions. “The most common issue reported when our faculty leave, or report why they’re even considering an outside offer, is salary because our salaries are well below many of our peer institutions,” Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Sarah Mangelsdorf said. “So, that’s an issue.”

Still, the university retained considerably high numbers of professors who received outside offers and reported salary as an issue. Retention rates remain steady Since the salary offers from competing institutions exceeded UW’s, many speculated salary concerns would push professors to other institutions. Caroline Levine, former chair of the UW English department, said salary was not a personal consideration in her decision to leave in 2016, but that she could understand why it would be for many who work in academia. “For people who are struggling with student debts themselves or trying to send their kids to college, higher salaries are definitely attractive,” Levine said. Yet, the university retained high numbers of professors who had received competitive offers from other universities — even those who had listed salary as a reason to consider leaving UW. In 2014, UW retained 82 percent of professors who cited salary as a concern. That number rose in 2015, reaching a retention rate of 95 percent for those who reported salary as an issue in 2015. UW’s retention rate was also high for those professors who did not list salary as one of their concerns. In 2014, 77 percent of professors who had received outside offers elected to stay at UW. This number was maintained in 2015 when UW again saw a 77 percent retention rate for those professors. And though these years also had the highest number of outside offers, UW retained faculty at rates higher than years past. From 2012 to 2016, the average retention rate was 74 percent. But for 2015, these high rates came at a cost of $23.6 million. UW spokesperson Meredith McGlone said this number was an increase relative to past figures, but UW did not collect comprehensive data before 2015. Though retention rates have remained steady and salary did not play as much as a role as some may have speculated, tenure and state political climate loom as potential issues for professors at UW. Tensions with tenure Tenure is a contractual agreement between a university and a professor in which he or she is granted a permanent position. A professor granted tenure cannot face removal from his or her position without just cause. But in 2015, control over tenure policy transferred from the state Legislature to the UW Board of Regents, which opened the door to what some saw as a threatening rewrite of policy. After the transfer, the Board

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of Regents rewrote the language within the tenure policy. The policy now stipulates tenured faculty could be let go for reasons including “program discontinuance, curtailment, modification or redirection.” In other words, changing or canceling a designated curriculum or other educational program could result in loss of tenure status. Rep. Dave Murphy, R-Greenville, said tenure should “absolutely” be regulated by the Board of Regents, not the state Legislature, as the regents are more closely connected to the university. In a 2016 statement, however, Chancellor Rebecca Blank said this new legislation countered faculty expectations. Tenure positions and the requirements drafted by the Board of Regents were unclear, lacking concrete language defining means of termination. “Any change was bound to create controversy because tenure has such importance to faculty as an assurance that they can pursue open inquiry and innovative research,” Blank said in the statement. “Like many of the faculty, I wish our existing tenure policies would have remained unchanged in state statute.” UW associate professor of educational leadership and policy analysis Nicholas Hillman also expressed these concerns. Hillman said tenure changes at UW have thrown a lot of uncertainty into traditional parameters of what it means to be a faculty member at UW. William Jones and Christina Ewig were married UW professors who left to teach at the University of Minnesota. Jones articulated that uncertainty surrounding tenure was a major part of their decision to leave Wisconsin. “It wasn’t clear how the tenure policy was going to turn out,” Jones said. “My wife and I felt the changes in tenure and budget created a climate where we felt that we had to search for alternatives to UW.” But Mangelsdorf said UW never planned on getting rid of tenure. She emphasized it still exists at the university despite misconceptions and press coverage surrounding the issue. In addition to making some professors uneasy about staying at UW, Hillman said the tenure status of an individual professor can also affect the university’s ability to retain them. It would be much more expensive to retain a tenured faculty member than to hire a new faculty member, Hillman said. He described the market for tenured faculty members like a “ratchet,” in that it only cranks tighter. “If you pay a tenured faculty member a certain salary you’ll either have to meet that salary, or go beyond it, in order to keep them,” Hillman said. As the Dean of UW College of Letters and Science Karl Scholz said, however, there is no “magic money tree,” and funds must be distributed in a way that best serves each academic department in times of financial strain. This is a reality which inevitably involves tradeoffs, Scholz said. Paying generous retention packages to professors who received an outside offer can mean neglecting to raise the pay of those professors who didn’t receive any such offer. Political climate is also a concern for professors As a public institution, a large portion of UW’s funding comes from the state government. The amount designated to the university depends on the biennial budget, which is introduced by the governor and approved by the state Legislature.

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The UW System received $2.33 billion in general purpose revenue from the state government in its 2013-15 biennial budget. In the next biennium, the budget for 2015-17, the system received $2.08 billion, down $250 million from the previous budget. Taylor said the budget cut and tenure modifications — which were largely supported by Republicans — foster low morale amongst faculty and increased outside offers. Taylor said Republican legislators have a “lack of respect” for the university. But in a Facebook post, Gov. Scott Walker said the decrease in funding was only 2.5 percent of the total UW system operating budget, and the system was offered multiple benefits in exchange for this cut. In return, Walker said the system received long-term flexibility and savings. Murphy further rebutted Taylor’s comment, saying state budget trends do not indicate that the cuts were responsible for a loss of faculty or inability to pay faculty at UW. But UW faculty who left the university have cited the state government and its decision to decrease funding as motivations for pursuing professional opportunities elsewhere. Levine, who wrote an opinion column denouncing state Legislature Republicans after Cornell University recruited her in 2016, said the state government does not care about the university or its quality. “The state government has been and will continue to be happy to see UW decline in quality,” Levine said. “They don’t care that it’s a strong university.” This, Levine said, is a dangerous institutional set up, as the Legislature holds massive funding power over the university. Noam Lupu, a former UW professor of political science who Vanderbilt University recruited in 2016, said the lack of support from the Legislature made UW’s future, and his position there, uncertain. “The political climate raised questions about the long-term, including where the university was going to be in the future and what kind of resources the university was going to have,” Lupu said. 2016 and the road ahead While some professors have already left, newly released statistics for 2016 indicate improvement from where the university has been throughout the last two years on many fronts. The Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs annual report on faculty retention for the academic year of 2016 showed other universities extended 92 offers to UW faculty in 2016. This number is 36 percent less than the year before — the lowest the university has seen since 2013. The 2016 retention rate was consistent with years past, at 74 percent. The price to keep professors, on the other hand, lowered as the university spent $16.5 million on faculty retention in 2016, 30 percent less than in 2015. Additionally, the state government’s 2017-19 biennial budget will include both an increase in funding to the university and a pay plan containing two separate raises of two percent for UW faculty

salaries. While UW’s salaries in 2016 were still 25 percent lower than outside offers and remain considerably lower than many peer institutions, Scholz said it is “terrific” to see an increase in pay. “The gaps that we have relative to our peer group is much, much larger, but nevertheless the budget is welcome news after several years of budget cuts,” Scholz said. Mangelsdorf was pleased at the pay plan, as she has made increasing faculty salaries a strategic priority for the university. Pay raises and the longterm ability to pay faculty higher base salaries makes UW less vulnerable, Mangelsdorf said. In 2016, UW was able to bring 105 new faculty to campus, people who Mangelsdorf has described as “top notch scholars.” “I worried when we didn’t have very much money for hiring. When people are being recruited out and retiring, and you’re not hiring, that’s a problem,” Mangelsdorf said. “But as long as you’re still bringing great people in the door, some of that flux is part of what happens at all institutions. With 105 new people, that made me feel really great.” Russ Shafer-Landau is one of those hirings. The former chair of the UW philosophy department, Shafer-Landau decided to leave the university in 2015 for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 2017, he decided to return to UW primarily for its “terrific” environment. He said this environment draws many professors to Madison and encourages them to stay despite comparatively lower salaries. “Madison’s a terrific place, it’s got a lot of benefits, and salary is not the only thing that matters,” Shafer-Landau said. “It would be ridiculous to say that salary makes no difference at all, of course it does. It’s important for a variety of reasons. But the fact that other places can pay more is not always determinative of whether someone is going to jump ship.” Still, some believe UW will continue to face issues that will make retaining professors and hiring new professors more difficult. Levine said the state legislature continues to place very little value on higher education in Wisconsin. Moreover, she is skeptical Wisconsinites will want to support the university, something that’s crucial before UW will reach its former prestige. “It’s going to take a lot of popular pressure for the university to come back, and I don’t know if it’s there,” Levine said. Hillman predicted it will be harder in upcoming years for UW to attract talent with an uncertain political climate. Additionally, he said it will be a challenge to retain the high caliber faculty members that the institution is accustomed to. Scholz, however, continued to identify faculty payment as the primary challenge for the university. Faculty compensation, Scholz said, is inextricably bound to the quality of the university, both now and in the future. “If we’re not able to [pay faculty competitive wages], then we will see an erosion in the quality of the university,” Scholz said. “I think people are very focused on that now, and how we navigate that in the coming years will have a lot to say about the quality of the university.”

October 31, 2017 • badgerherald.com •15

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“Cheeseheads: The Documentary” explores life of Wisconsin residents Filmmaker John Mithcell talked to a variety of poeple to understand Wisconsinites’ way of life, from Paul Soglin to Miss America by Kristin Washagan ArtsEtc. Editor

The Wisconsin Historical Museum has scheduled a screening of Wisconsin film, “Cheeseheads: The Documentary,” followed by a Q&A session with the director, John Mitchell for Wednesday, Nov. 1. Mitchell debuted the documentary in 2015, and has scheduled screenings of the movie across the state in the years since its release. The film explores the Wisconsin identity through an assortment of interviews, customs and anecdotes. Through dissecting the state’s culture, the documentary attempts to both define what a “cheesehead” is, and explore the different ideas and connotations that word holds. From sports fans to Miss America 2012 Laura Kaeppelar to Madison Mayor Paul Soglin, Mitchell generated a diverse definition of the Wisconsin identity through his interview subjects’ voices. Mitchell grew up in northern Wisconsin in a town called Cameron. While he was a particularly shy kid, he found his voice in writing early on. “I was always the little kid in the back of

the class telling my buddy a joke, and he’d say it out to the class and they’d all laugh. So I was like, ‘oh, I guess I’m not meant to be a standup comedian, I’m meant to be a writer.’ You know, the guy behind the scenes,” Mitchell said. In sixth grade, Mitchell wrote his first play, a short science fiction story based on the “Buck Rogers” television series. After performing it for the class, Mitchell realized how much he enjoyed making others laugh through his jokes. “And for me, that was like a moment where I said ‘I made somebody laugh. I want to write,’” Mitchell said. Mitchell soon realized his natural affinity for writing in high school, as he excelled in all English studies and literature courses and set his sights on a career of entertaining others. While Mitchell has spent a great deal of time away from the state since his childhood, he always carried hometown pride and identity with him. “When I would move to another city, whether it was in Oklahoma or California or anywhere else, I still always identified as a Wisconsinite, just proudly from the Midwest. The dairy state, the ‘cheesehead’

state,” Mitchell said. “And it’s something I never got rid of, never could.” At 22, Mitchell sought out to chase his dream of being a filmmaker by moving to the west coast. In California, a majority of the people he met were not native Californians, but instead were people who moved there like him. However, many didn’t express the same pride or unified identity with their home state as Mitchell felt he did for Wisconsin. Guided by his experiences living in other states, one purpose guiding the film, according to Mitchell, was to correct misconceptions on what it means to be a “cheesehead.” Mitchell recalled wearing his “cheesehead” hat around L.A. and being ridiculed by friends. Mitchell noticed that from an outside perspective, many people didn’t understand that the identity was much deeper than just being a fan of a sports team. “They didn’t really understand the deeper aspects to it, the cultural aspects to it,” Mitchell said. While the film revolves heavily on the support of Wisconsin’s beloved team, the Packers, it is not a film solely about football.

After about two to three months of researching, Mitchell created a loose outline of what he envisioned the film would be. Mitchell based this both on parts of the state that he personally loved, and things he wanted to learn more about. “Yes, I’m a loyal Packers fan, I do own stock, but the film isn’t about the Packers,” Mitchell said. “That’s just the impetus: What inspired the film was tailgating.” However, this vision was altered over time, as his interview subjects guided the project. Mitchell expressed excitement in returning to Madison, a city that is heavily featured throughout scenes of the film. “To consider locally what Madison’s all about, I was so enamored by Madison when I first arrived that there’s a lot of it in the film,” Mitchell said. “To me, it feels like if I had to pick to live in one place, it would be Madison. I just love that town.” The film screening at the Wisconsin Historical Museum will begin with a preshow meet and greet at 5:30 p.m. Tickets cost $5.

Photo · The film originally debuted in 2015, but the film has recently been screened around the state.

Photo · Wisconsin food-based companies such as New Glarus Brewing Company are highlighted in the documentary.

Courtesy John Mitchell

Courtesy of John Mitchell

16 • badgerherald.com •October 31, 2017

OPINION

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Gerrymandering: Should it be discussed nationally? College Republicans: Gill v. Whitford provides no manageable standard College Democrats: Gerrymandering should be discussed nationally Wisconsin is at the forefront of national politics once more. One would think we’d get sick of having one of the best governors in the country who brought a historic FoxConn agreement to Wisconsin. Or perhaps being the proud home of the Speaker of the House. Or how about the home of former Chief of Staff to President Trump? This time, the spotlight comes with more scrutiny. Gill v. Whitford was heard in front of the Supreme Court on October 3 this year and represents the strongest test of political gerrymandering the highest federal court has undertaken, with new Justice Neil Gorsuch playing a shining role in the appellee portion of oral argument. In 2010, as Republicans swept statehouses across the nation, Wisconsin was no exception. Obtaining sole majority of all state level offices after the 2010 census, Republicans were in a unique position to redraw the Wisconsin voting district lines. This practice of redrawing lines, colloquially called gerrymandering after Governor Gerry back in the early 19th Century, is widely criticized because it often allows a single political party to draw the lines in a way that is favorable politically. This type of gerrymandering has come under much scrutiny. While racial gerrymandering --grouping certain racial groups within districts to limit minority representatives --- was found unconstitutional back in 1993 in Shaw v. Reno, political gerrymandering has largely stood the test of time. While gerrymandering may seem like a threat to democracy, I’m reminded of that famous Churchill quote about how democracy itself is the worst form of government beside all the others. Gerrymandering may seem like a poor system to determine how we geographically position our representatives, but we have yet to see a better proposal. Since Gill v. Whitford is the topic of debate between ourselves and our friends in College Democrats, I’ll try to scratch the surface of some of the legal arguments made in oral arguments a couple weeks ago. Some of it may seem wonky, but I’ll keep it simple. The first main source of disagreement was who had standing to bring the case forward. The main plaintiff resided in Southeastern Wisconsin, while the case largely dealt with districts in the North. We’ll set that part of the argument aside because

it doesn’t deal with the real argument about the validity of gerrymandering. The second argument dealt with what the plaintiff argued should be the manageable standard. A manageable standard is simply the basis by which Paul Smith, the appellee attorney, would like to see the court rule whether a district is gerrymandered or not. Partisan asymmetry is ultimately the goal of the plaintiff within districts, so each party would receive the same number of votes if the district was gerrymandered in their favor. This is largely measured by the efficiency gap, which for simplicity’s sake, is the percent of wasted votes, which the court has usually assigned an acceptable value of 7 percent. The justices rightly questioned the validity of this measure, as it does little to ensure that the gap is the direct result of gerrymandering. While other measures were evaluated, none passed a test in my eyes, or in many of the justices, that would be a justifiable manageable standard. The other worry of the justices was that the efficiency gap is not a Constitutional matter, as Justice Roberts says, “It is just not, it seems, a palatable answer to say the ruling was based on the fact that EG was greater than 7 percent. That doesn’t sound like language in the Constitution.” Third, the appellant attorney, Misha Tseytlin, rightly brought up the study that of seventeen of the absolute worst cases of gerrymandering, ten were drawn by nonpartisan commissions or courts. This study, evidence brought forward by the appellee mind you, demonstrates exactly how hard it is to draw politically neutral lines, and why legislative drawing should be upheld. Lastly, Mr. Smith worried that not holding this case unconstitutional would open the flood gates to new, more egregious cases of gerrymandering. Mr. Tseytlin swiftly refuted that at the end of oral arguments, pointing out that gerrymandering was far worse as far back as 1972, than it is today, and that need not be a worry. Our friends across the aisle will demand that the votes of all should be given equal weight, which sounds great to us too, but if the appellee failed to provide a manageable standard by which we can better control for gerrymandering, be wary that the College Democrats can either. Jake Lubenow (lubenow@wisc.edu) is a senior majoring in political science and finance, he is also chairman of College Republicans.

57% of Americans believe that their vote doesn’t really count in the elections. As disheartening as this number is, this may actually have validity in Wisconsin due to extreme gerrymandering done by the Republican-controlled legislature. The political districts were so skewed in the Republican’s favor they won a supermajority in the assembly even after losing the popular vote in 2012. In this case, seemingly countless democratic votes didn’t “count” because they were so packed and cracked into conservative districts their voices were lost completely. Political gerrymandering occurs when a party draws district lines to benefit their own party. This means both Republicans and Democrats can be guilty of it, yet the Supreme Court case sparking conversation right now is Gill v. Whitford which challenges the 2011 redrawing of Wisconsin’s state legislative map by Republican lawmakers. The districts were manipulated with computer models and voting data to redraw political boundaries. Our representative system in America has been manipulated into a political tool parties use to shape districts in their favor. Unfortunately, our voting system has become less and less representative of the actual people and more and more shaped to favor party interests. The manipulation was so extreme, the federal District Court found, that it violated the “one person, one vote” principle and the Democratic voters’ rights to fair representation required by the Constitution’s promises of equal protection. Virtually, Democratic voters’ votes didn’t count. The US Supreme Court has tried to evade cases about gerrymandering, as districting is a power entrusted to the legislative branch, not the judicial branch. However, it is the court’s duty to check clear oversteps of power which is precisely what the Wisconsin Republican legislature is guilty of. The landmark case could greatly change the way the nation’s elections work. Those who benefit from this, the legislators, have no incentive to fix this problem which is why it is crucial that the higher court intervenes when such a threat to democracy is rampant. In the three elections since the redistricting, Democrats have never won more than 39 of the 99 seats, even when they won a majority of the votes cast statewide for Assembly candidates. With such an advantage, why would the legislators ever want to end the

system that makes them immune to being voted out? Gerrymandering should not be a partisan issue, especially because either side can be harmed by it. No matter which way an individual leans, they have a right to be heard in our democracy. Even high-profile Republicans like Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich stand with Democrats against the threat gerrymandering poses to democracy. Within the case, the main legal arguments focus on the Constitutional violation of equal protection and free expression, as voters packed into skewed districts have less of a voice in the political process and are arguably penalized for their party affiliation. Moreover, extreme gerrymandering can undercut democratic competition, they argue, which weakens public faith in government and lawmakers are not encouraged to make compromises. The bipartisan briefs include research that shows that several sets of alternative maps demonstrated that the Appellants could have achieved their valid redistricting goals without handicapping either party’s supporters. Based on this, arguments that insist it is impossible to draw fair districts are simply unfounded. The legislators used a powerful new gerrymandering tool, based on sophisticated computer modeling and the public must be protected from this invasive new technology. One of the key aspects of democracy is electing officials to represent the people. However, those in office secured their seats by stripping Wisconsin voters’ voices. Although the Supreme Court’s conservative wing will most likely argue that judges should stay out of redistricting, this is a landmark case that sparks conversation about an important issue. For America’s sake, let’s hope that the Court rules to end gerrymandering in a government that is supposedly by the people and for the people --not for politicians who have no right to be in office. Claudia Koechell (ckoechell@wisc.edu) is a sophomore majoring in history and political science. She is the press secretary for UW College Democrats.

October 31, 2017 • badgerherald.com • 17

OPINION

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To combat low grade averages, STEM courses must re-evaluate style All courses should balance academic rigour, intellectual stimulation with rewarding students for hard work by Lucas Johnson Opinion Editor

Receiving a shockingly low grade on an exam you truly worked hard for is as demoralizing a feeling imaginable. Rampant red pen stares back at you as you flip to the back page and face your humbling score. Feeling disappointed, insufficient or just plain angry are all common responses to this experience. After poring over textbook passages, notes and lecture slides and still coming up short absolutely robs a student of their passion for the subject. Rather than seeing their hard work rewarded in a solid grade, they are left feeling uncertain about what more they can do to succeed. Classes in which midterm and final exam grades hover around 50 to 60 percent as an average should reevaluate their methods in reaching students. A string of tests that bear these grades do nothing but stunt a student’s confidence in the subject. Generally, such test averages are characteristic of STEM oriented courses. Per the University of Wisconsin’s grade distribution database, mathematics classes showcase the general trend of lower “A’s” received, sometimes as low at 9.1 percent of students receiving such a mark, and a higher number of students receiving “BC’s” or “C’s”, sometimes as high as 29.5 percent of students receiving “C’s”. It would be remiss to suggest that this pattern is absolute, and that students who study diligently for a subject are doomed from the start. Unfortunately, the issue is more nuanced. There will always be someone to argue that grade distribution is a direct reflection of a student’s willingness to apply the work and time necessary to receive and exemplary grade. While this assertion has truth to it, there is statistical evidence to suggest that classes may be to blame for low grade averages.

“It would be remiss to suggest that this

pattern is absolute, and that students whoe study diligently for a subject are doomed from the start.

”

According to a report of a decadelong experiment conducted by Princeton University, lopsided grade distribution may be as much the university and teaching staff ’s responsibility as it is the student’s. The experiment was conducted as follows. “In the course of its work, the committee sought broad input. We surveyed current faculty members and undergraduates, 18 • badgerherald.com • October 31, 2017

created a public comment website to elicit feedback from alumni and parents, and met with a range of administrators, faculty members, and students to discuss their perspectives on and experiences under the grading policy.” the report claims. Based on this holistic research, the report found that classes in the humanities averaged a much higher percent of distributed “A’s” than did the average STEM class, sometimes by as sizable a margin as near 40 percent discrepancy.

... humanities classes are simply more “adept at reaching their students ... ” This is same case at UW, as classes in the humanities consistently rank higher in “A’s” distributed than do STEM courses. Per a column published by The Washington Post’s Catherine Rampell, differences between grade distributions across subjects may have to with the nature of the field, but, perhaps more likely, the issue lies in the nature of the classes themselves. “A cynic might argue that smaller departments that don’t focus on skills in high demand on the job market are trying to lure students in with easy grades. I think that’s part of the story. But I also think it has to do with the nature of the assignments used to determine grades, the typical size of classes, how specialized or advanced the work is and the composition of the students taking the classes,” she said. What Rampell is eluding to is the fact that it’s more challenging to distinguish a higher or lower grade on a paper than it is to determine which multiple choice question was correct or incorrect on an exam. However, I do not believe that humanities classes are inherently easier than STEM courses, I feel that paints too broad a picture and generalizes a student demographic with differing skillsets and passions. Rather, I believe that humanities classes are simply more adept at reaching their students, and STEM classes should reevaluate course tactics accordingly. To assume that STEM classes can be made more understandable just by taking a page from the humanities playbook would be to drastically overlook the fact that the two areas of study are as far from similar as possible.

Photo · By making it far too difficult to obtain high grades in math and science courses, professors cheat students of what many of them deserve. Joey Rueteman The Badger Herald However, I do not think it is unreasonable to suggest that STEM classes could implement strategies common in humanities courses in an attempt to make their course content more widely understood. Perhaps STEM courses could make real world and timely examples of course content more frequent, so as to diversify the forms the information takes. Perhaps STEM courses could provide students with a more open ended

Ideally, such modifications would “make the given information stick more effectively, and, as a result, average grades would rise with student satisfaction close behind.

”

opportunity to express their knowledge on exams and quizzes, rather than dominating them with multiple choice. Perhaps STEM courses could make the future prospects of their line of study known early on so as to interest students in the current matter as a means to an eventually rewarding end. This line of suggestion is not to excuse poor grades that are given deservedly so and characterize them as a result of a simple pattern, rather this is a suggestion of how to better teach genuinely important information. Ideally, such modifications would make the given information stick more effectively and, as a result, average grades would rise with student satisfaction close behind. Lucas Johnson (ljohnson52@wisc.edu) is a sophomore majoring in journalism.

OPINION

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Cultural appropriation is exploitative, indicative of deeper problems

Repurposing, capitalilizing on marginalized identities is inexcuseable, yet remains rampant come Halloween by Abigail Steinberg Columnist

There are some things in this world that as hard as you try, you can never forget. I remember such a feeling during my freshman year of high school, when I was sitting in English class, and looked up to my classmates giving me a “Sieg Heil.” I felt it four years later, when I sat down to a desk that was vandalized not with song lyrics or lewd drawings, like everyone else’s, but with death threats and swastikas. I felt it just a few weeks ago, when I found out that a monument near the Gates of Heaven Synagogue, right here in Madison, had been covered in Nazi symbols just hours before the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Even though my ancestors have shed their yellow star patches, we will never fully be free of them. As a member of an ethno-religious minority, I will never forget the feeling of wanting to strip myself of this identity when faced with hatred. I will never forget wishing it was as easy as taking off a costume. I am sure a member of any minority group in America, whether they be African American, Native American, Muslim, Indian or Latinx,

understands this feeling. Although we are proud of our identities, unique cultures and rich heritage, blatant bigotry makes being different bittersweet. You cannot have the positive experiences of belonging to a minority group without the negatives. Well, unless you are a white person on Halloween — or rather, a portrayer of cultural appropriation. Oxford Dictionary defines cultural appropriation as the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society. The systemic power dynamic and lack of mutual respect that occurs in this cultural phenomena are what separates cultural appropriation from cultural exchange. From minstrel shows of the early nineteenth century, to popular musicians like Madonna, Gwen Stefani and Miley Cyrus, it is obvious that cultural appropriation has been a component of American popular culture for decades, but has only recently been gaining attention by the general public. No matter how many celebrities practice it, or how cute the costumes or trends may be, cultural appropriation is never okay and there are no exceptions, regardless of the intent of the portrayer. The negative effects of

cultural appropriation are numerous, and demean minority cultures. In terms of fads, costumes and fashion, cultural appropriation makes certain styles seem cool and edgy for white people, but too ethnic for people of color. Standards of professionalism in many business places bar African American women from wearing their natural hair in cornrows, dreadlocks or an afro, making them choose between being themselves, and succeeding in the business world. But white women, such as Kylie Jenner, are lauded when they choose to wear dreadlocks or cornrows. The fact that African American women have to fight to wear cultural expressions that white women are celebrated for wearing tells African Americans that their natural beauty is only beautiful on a white woman — that they will never be beautiful until they present like white people. Given that Halloween season is upon us, culturally insensitive costumes are bound to be rampant. If the above reasons are not enough to convince you of making sure your costume isn’t appropriative of any culture, remember that cultural appropriation says more about the person appropriating the culture than it does about the

culture itself. It blinds us from historical fact. If you see a non-Native American girl dressed as Pocahontas, she is not just portraying a Disney princess, but rather a child who was abducted, forced to marry an Englishman and used as racial propaganda until her death at the young age of twenty one. Wearing a Pocahontas costume, or any culturally appropriative styles at any time of the year, shows how privilege makes us so blind to the struggles of minorities, that we trivialize them as costumes. If you do not want to appear ignorant and arrogant, make sure not to dress like you are. Cultural appropriation is unacceptable in this day and age, regardless of intention or portrayal. These costumes and styles are insensitive, inaccurate, and draw on racial stereotypes that minimize the experiences of the most tread-upon groups in America. If you cannot be an advocate for minority groups, at least be kind enough not to rub salt in their wounds, wounds created by systemic racism. Even though you can take off a costume, the people who are represented with such stereotypes cannot control the skin they are in. Abby Steinberg (abigailsteinberg@outlook.com) is a freshman majoring in political science and intending to major in journalism.

UW System university merger plan fails to account for student needs Integral voices silenced in decisions concerning for all campuses, Board of Regents lacks perspective only students can offer by Yogev Ben-Yitschak Columnist

Although the University of Wisconsin System, which represents all UW schools across the state, is meant to be a resource and governing body for the universities across Wisconsin, it seems fairly reasonable to say that decisions involving universities should be discussed with the students they will directly affect. Except they aren’t. “We question the absence of communication with student leaders, being that student success is the driving motive of this initiative,” the University of Wisconsin Student Representatives recently stated in their official response to the decision of UW Systems to merge their two-year universities with four-year universities. Student leaders across the state were left in the dark on this. In such divisive times, especially with the recent Board of Regents’ decision on free speech, it’s hard not to question in

whose interest the Board of Regents or the UW System act in. Especially in issues as close to home as whether or not to merge universities together, the lack of communication with students is concerning. The system president and the Regents might not understand how to handle smaller, yet crucial, details, such as allocable segregated fees or student governments. And even with the bigger details, with an aggressive timeline that pushes for a vote on the proposal within the next month, so many details are left to iron out. How will athletics change? Or professor tenure? Each school handles these issues differently, and the thought of merging the schools before having such important questions are answered is worrisome. UW System President Ray Cross, who came up with the proposal to merge the institutions, doesn’t deny it, saying,“We did work on this without bringing a lot of input in.” When holding a conference call between

the UW System student representatives and the representative leaders across the state, most questions couldn’t be answered. Statements such as “we’ll figure that out soon” or “this is unknown yet” were said more often than actual, reasonable answers. We were left with more questions than answers. The proposal, for its timeline, isn’t well planned out. Without communication from student leaders, it’s hard to imagine a proposal like this could ever be. In an attempt to curb lower student enrollment and higher school costs, the idea to merge the schools together is bold. But like every idea, it has its drawbacks. Students who want to stay in a two-year institution, or can’t afford the changes Cross proposed, could transfer to the technical colleges around Wisconsin, such as Madison Area Technical College. UW schools could lose donors or professors. But in a rushed plan, leadership only started thinking of these drawbacks after the proposal John Peralta, chair of the UW Student

Representatives, stated, “as shared governance partners, students need to be at the table to help strategize plans for equitable solutions that affect us directly.” There’s a lot to think about when it comes to a decision as big as this. But it’s impossible to plan with only half the voices that would be affected by this actually present at the table. It’s the responsibility of the UW System and the Board of Regents to address the needs of communities directly affected by the decisions they make. Student participation will be key to creating a plan that will have a positive effect on our universities, and UW System needs to understand that. At the end of the day, these decisions affect every student across each campus, and we deserve to have a voice. Yogev Ben-Yitschak (ybenyitshak@wisc. edu) is a sophomore majoring in marketing and digital studies. Ben-Yitschak is a member of the executive board for UW system representatives. October 31, 2017 • badgerherald.com • 19

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Gun violence cannot be understood without research into cause, preventative measures Without proper funding for research on nuanced relationship between mental health, mass shootings, ‘thoughts and prayers’ aren’t enough by Aly Niehans Opinion Editor

In the wake of the Las Vegas shooting at the beginning of October that left 58 dead and more than 500 people wounded, politicians and citizens alike sprung into an action that has become far too commonplace over the past decade: calling for increased gun control only to be met with deaf, conservative ears. It’s no secret that America has an egregiously unparalleled problem with gun violence and mass shootings when compared to other developed countries worldwide. Following the deadliest mass shooting in this country’s history, even the National Rifle Association acquiesced to the calls for more gun control, claiming that there need to be additional regulations on “bump-fire stocks,” devices that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire like entirely automatic weapons. However, the political conversation has rapidly reverted to topics such as tax reform as a way to avert attention from reforms that so desperately need to happen regarding gun control and mental health. The gun violence epidemic primarily stems from the prevalence of firearms in American society. However, an equally damning factor is the complete lack of research about preventing gun violence and mass shootings. Gun research in the United States effectively froze in 1996. Prior to the freeze, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control was charged with conducting research in this area, but was accused by the NRA of promoting gun control, resulting in Congressional threats to strip funding from the agency. The result was the Center for Disease Control shutting down the vast majority of research into gun violence, which in turn meant the effective shut down of all research in this area, as private funding was scant and insufficient. Research has somewhat resumed following the tragic Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, when former President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order that would reinstate funding to the CDC to reinvigorate gun violence research and preventative measures. However, the CDC continues to shy away from pursuing research in this area, as the issue has become one of many divisive ideological debates driving the polarization of America. Congress has also played an instrumental role in deterring the CDC’s pursuit of any

20 • badgerherald.com • October 31, 2017

Photo · Preventing future issues of gun violence comes down to proper funding for mental health research and patterns of mass shootings. Herald Archives research regarding gun violence, blocking proposals in two of Obama’s budgets that would have provided the agency $10 million in additional funding. As liberals call for gun control and conservatives shoot back that the solution to preventing more mass shootings is introducing even more firearms into society, what is missing from either argument is concrete and time-sensitive research supporting their stance. The lack of research into what causes and what could prevent gun violence makes solving the pressing problem increasingly difficult, as does the staunch pro-gun attitude of the conservative Congressional majority.

With the last two most deadly shootings in American history occurring in a years’ time, something needs to change, and that something is the utter lack of research providing policy makers with concrete indication as to what preventative measures will make a difference. It is not enough for politicians to call for gun control or to condemn the individuals who carry out mass shootings, it is not enough for laws to be changed regarding guns if there is no research proving that the changes will have the desired and necessary effect. Another area in desperate need of attention and funding is mental health research, second to the destigmatization of

mental health issues. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, following the Las Vegas shooting, tweeted that “mental health reform is a critical ingredient to making sure we can try and prevent these things from happening.” Ryan is not wrong: understanding mental health issues and treating them in a better and more efficient way could possibly prevent some of the annual gun violence. What is troubling about his statement is that it comes at a time where the Republican party is incessantly attempting to reform healthcare in a way that would prevent individuals with mental health issues from accessing affordable and appropriate treatment. While, thankfully, the Republican’s blundered attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act have not been successful, each draft proposed would allow insurers to either deny coverage or increase the rates for individuals who have a pre-existing condition, such as pregnancy or mental health. Twenty percent of American adults have a mental illness, and more than half do not receive treatment for the illness. Under any Republican healthcare plan, 20 percent of Americans are at risk of paying astronomically high premiums for insurance coverage worth far less than the asking price solely because they have a mental illness. If the Republicans truly believe that increasing mental health awareness and advocating for higher treatment rates will prevent gun violence more than decreasing the supply of guns available to citizens, they certainly should not make it one of their key goals to make insurance and treatment for mentally ill individuals even more inaccessible than it already is. It is imperative that this country finds a way to dig itself out of the gun violence epidemic it finds itself in. Government funded research into the causes and preventative measures of gun violence and mass shootings, as well as research into mental illness and better, more accessible treatment options are both necessary steps in doing so. With the current leadership, the future for both of these look unfortunately bleak. Aly Niehans (aniehans@badgerherald.com) is a sophomore majoring in international studies and intending to major in journalism.

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Badgers hockey goaltender talks uncertain future of women’s sports Wisconsin’s Kristen Campbell reflects on transition to Wisconsin after cancellation of North Dakota women’s hockey program Kristen Larson Sports Editor

No one expected the University of North Dakota to cancel their women’s hockey program at the end of the 2017 season, not even the players of the North Dakota team. On March 30, 2017, UND announced that after financial aid cuts from the state government they would be forced to cancel three of their athletic programs. Out of those three programs, two of them were women’s sports: hockey and swimming. What makes this series of cuts even more unfortunate was the fact that North Dakota had not informed teams that budget cuts would be made to their athletic programs. Many thought that after budget cuts from the previous year, which would see the loss of the North Dakota baseball team, that finances at the university were finally stable. So you can imagine the shock on the face of Kristen Campbell and her teammates when they found out their head coach was going to meet with school officials to discuss the future of their program. Campbell and her team already knew that this was not a good sign, since this was the exact same dialogue that happened between the university and the baseball team one year prior. “Our coach came into the locker room and said that they had a meeting at three,” Campbell said, “which was never a good sign. When baseball got cut the year before, they got a text saying that they had to go to a meeting.” Campbell and her teammates knew something was wrong when they saw their senior class watching over them at practice. Since this was a spring practice for the team, seniors were not required to attend practice, but the senior class of North Dakota came to watch their teammates play one more time. A few of the seniors had found out about the demise of their program from Twitter, where stories and rumors were already beginning to spread in the area. While all of these stories were not technically confirmed yet, the senior class had a pretty good idea of what was about to happen to their team. Campbell recalled the strange events of that day, and remembers that the team knew something was off. Still, the team practiced on, not knowing that this would be their final practice together. A heartbreaking photo came out a few hours later, with North Dakota’s Gracen Hirschy showing the team practicing for the

2017-2018 season that they were looking forward to. This caused an uproar in the women’s hockey world, and many people began to wonder what kind of school could just simply get rid of a program without bothering to tell them they were on the chopping block. Many asked for North Dakota to reconsider, or to give the team a year to make up the deficit, as they had allowed the men’s golf team to do the year prior. North Dakota’s president Mark Kennedy denied many of these requests, stating that the matter was over and that this is what the university Photo · Kristen Campbell is making the most of her second opportunity here at UW. needed to do. Many people, including Daniel Yun former women’s The Badger Herald hockey players, began to show their scholarships for the athletes of the recently disappointment canceled program, many of them were in their alma mater, with the hashtag forced to quit a sport that they loved and left #NotUNDProud. The appeal to get the women’s hockey without any means of continuing at UND. Wisconsin was only able to acquire one program back at UND soon began, with the person from the North Dakota program, hashtag #NeverEndtheFight uniting people across both the U.S. and Canada in their and Campbell is now the starting goaltender here at the University of Wisconsin. Looking mission to bring back the program. back at the unfortunate end of the women’s Many thought that the outcry from the public would be enough to make the hockey program at UND, Campbell feels as though this loss was a major loss for the university reconsider, but in the end, North Dakota held firm in their decision with the entirety of women’s hockey. “It hurts women’s hockey, it hurt’s the team. By the time that May rolled around, game,” said Campbell. “But a program like many of the players began to receive offers [North Dakota] can get cut. It became a fight to attend other universities, many of which for the future of women’s hockey. We tried the best we could to raise awareness because were in the WCHA. The team was fractured, we didn’t want this to happen to any other and many of its players still feel pain when program in the NCAA.” they think of the fate of their former team. This unfortunate event shows just how Some players were not as lucky as others, fragile the world of women’s sports can be. as many colleges and universities already North Dakota is not the only school that had their roster spots filled for the 2017-2018 season. While North Dakota still provided has canceled a female sport due to budget

concerns, nor will they be the last. Wisconsin is currently home to 12 different women’s sports, and it is sad to think that there might come a day when we lose one of them. Wisconsin has a strong fan base that provides for many of the women’s sports that they have, but the same cannot be said for other institutions. What happened at North Dakota is a tragedy, and calls to question how secure the world of women’s sports really is. These kinds of events cause many to lose interests in women’s sports and are extremely discouraging to any female athletes out there who want to continue playing their sport at the next level. Supporting a women’s sports team at this time is crucial, and doing anything is better than doing nothing. North Dakota should serve as a turning point in the history of women’s athletics, not as a catalyst.

October 31, 2017• badgerherald.com • 2 1

SPORTS

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THIS WEEK IN WISCONSIN SPORTS

Mens hockey draws in series against St. Lawrence, dropping two spots in national polls, Peyton showed strong goalkeeping skills in game 1

Photo · St. Lawrence entered Wisconsin 0-6, and leave with one win under their belt. Daniel Yun The Badger Herald

Photo · Wisconsin’s performance, especially in game 2, caused them to fall from No.5 to No. 7 in the polls. Daniel Yun The Badger Herald

Football recap: Wisconsin prevails at Illinois, remains undefeated Badgers continue overcoming turnovers as they move to 8-0 on the season, 5-0 in conference play, national rank rises to 4th by Brice Schreter Sports Editor

The University of Wisconsin football team went on the road and defeated Illinois during their homecoming 24-10 to remain undefeated Saturday afternoon. Playing through wet conditions for most of the afternoon, Wisconsin once again had to rely on the defense to make plays when it mattered. The defense forced three turnovers in the contest, two interceptions and one fumble. The first interception came on the first drive from the Fighting Illini. After Wisconsin started the game with a quick three and out, Illinois started their first drive with two incompletions before Derrick Tindal intercepted the third-down pass from Cam Thomas. Despite the field position, Wisconsin was unable to capitalize on the possession, once again going three and out before being forced to punt.

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From there, Wisconsin’s offense started to find their groove. On the ensuing drive, the Badgers drove the ball 92 yards on 15 plays during a drive that lasted over eight minutes long. The drive represented textbook Wisconsin football, with 87 of the yards coming on runs from five different players while the other five yards were from a defensive penalty. Alec Ingold capped the drive with a oneyard touchdown dive to give the Badgers a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. By the end of the first half, Wisconsin had padded their lead to a 17-3 margin off of Rafael Gaglianone’s 52-yard field goal in the final seconds of the second quarter. In the second half, neither offense was able to move the ball. Both teams were unable to score until Wisconsin pulled a trick play to seal the game with a 24-3 lead with less than five minutes remaining on the clock. On the play, quarterback Alex

Hornibrook took the snap from under center and rolled out right. After a couple steps, Hornibrook spun around before tossing the ball backwards to left tackle Michael Deiter, who had blockers lined up in front of him and was able to run into the end zone untouched. Despite the win, Wisconsin showed some of the same struggles on offense they’ve been showing all season. What the first few Big Ten games can reveal about Wisconsin football’s future After an outstanding performance in Nebraska and Northwestern, the University of Wisconsin football team has positioned itself to be number Read... In the first drive after Wisconsin’s touchdown, the offense had driven the ball 30 yards to get the ball near midfield. But on second and seven, Hornibrook missed Illinois defensive back Bennett Williams dropping back in coverage, who was able to easily intercept the pass intended for Troy Fumagalli. Hornibrook

has now thrown seven interceptions in the team’s last five games, a growing concern for the Badgers’ offense. Between Hornibrook’s struggles and the wet conditions, Wisconsin found themselves relying heavily on the running game to move the ball. Jonathan Taylor, Garrett Groshek and Bradrick Shaw all had 12 carries in the game to combine for 164 rushing yards. Taylor led the way with 73 rushing yards while Groshek had 51 and Shaw finished with 40. It was the first time this season that Taylor failed to rush for at least 80 yards. In the end, Wisconsin managed to stay undefeated as they continue their march through the relatively weak Big Ten West. Next up for the Badgers is a crossdivisional showdown on the road with Indiana before they return home for consecutive home games against Iowa and Michigan.

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Jonathan Taylor: Wisconsin’s next Heisman recipi-

Freshman running back leads undefeated Badgers as they fight for spot in playoff as he continues to climb the Heisman ladder by Brice Schreter Sports Editor

In college football, the Heisman trophy is the shining gem that every pee-wee football player grows up dreaming about. The golden bronze trophy and an allexpenses paid trip to New York for a ceremony watched by millions is the top goal, aside from maybe winning a national championship, for every college player in the country. The University of Wisconsin hasn’t had a player win that trophy since Ron Dayne did it in his unforgettable 1999 campaign and hasn’t even had a player invited to the ceremony since Melvin Gordon in 2014, who finished 3rd in the voting. That all could change this year with the breakout emergence of superstar running back Jonathan Taylor. Taylor is currently leading the Big Ten in both rushing with 1,185 yards and in scoring with 11 touchdowns. He is setting an unprecedented pace through eight games all of which have been Badger wins. The current Heisman frontrunner is

Saquan Barkley, a running back from Penn State, who had an underwhelming second half in their loss to Ohio State. Although Barkley has been huge thus far, his performance along with Penn State losing and falling below Wisconsin in the rankings opens the door for Taylor. This holds true especially if the Badgers remain undefeated and make it into the college football playoff for the first time. With Ohio State now on the fast track to make it the Big Ten Championship game and play the Badgers, it looks likely that we’ll miss out on the Barkley Vs. Taylor matchup we’ve all been clamoring for. Avoiding Penn State may not be the worst thing in the world considering they beat us in the Big Ten championship and took us out of playoff contention last year. Whether Taylor can continue putting up these historical numbers remains to be seen, but what’s for certain and even more exciting is that we have a stud freshmen running back who will lead this team for years to come. Or... at least until he decides to turn pro.

Photo Jonathan Taylor, freshman running back, taking the Big Ten by storm. Daniel Yun The Badger Herald

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SPORTS

D’cota Dixon blends faith with football One of the best safeties in Wisconsin history describes finding religion in college by Stephanie Browne Associate Sports Editor

While many people know D’Cota Dixon as one of the best safeties that Wisconsin has seen in school history, relatively few people know him as man who is currently building his relationship with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. When Dixon came to the University of Wisconsin back in 2014, he would not have considered himself religious. His family wasn’t the kind of family that went to church, and being at a school that supported him religiously was not high on his list of priorities. It was during his freshman year Dixon was first introduced to Athletes in Action. Dixon recalls the idea first being brought up as he sat in class with a female UW athlete, who continuously asking him if he was a Christian. At first, Dixon ignored her requests to take him to one of the AIA meetings, but she would eventually peak his interest enough to get him to attend one of their meetings. It would be Brian Smith who would become a disciple to the freshman safety. Dixon admits that he was curious as to what could possibly bring so much joy to a person that he just met, and his interaction with his female classmate was the last push he needed to decide to attend an AIA meeting. It was this meeting, and meeting Smith, that would be the building blocks for his relationship with Christ. “I never understood why [she kept asking me to attend AIA],” said Dixon.” I used to ignore her. But she was so persistent in asking me, and she had a glow about it when she would ask me. I figured I would go and check it out. I’ve been going ever since.” As Dixon has continued his career here at Wisconsin, he has also been building his relationship with his Lord and Savior. The building of his religious relationship has helped him grow in his football relationship, and vice versa. One thing that Dixon was surprised to find, aside from Jesus, was how much finding this new religion would challenge him. Whether it was 24 • badgerherald.com • October 31, 2017

attending meetings of the AIA or interacting with the new people he met, Dixon found that the one constant in his life would be the challenges that he would face. However, Dixon says he didn’t believe that the challenges were bad things, and often times looked at Jesus as an example for what to do during tough times. While it might not have been his favorite thing to do, getting out of his comfort zone was something that he needed to do if he wanted to build a deeper relationship with God. “For me,” said Dixon, “in order to get to know Christ on a personal level I have to get out of my comfort zone and I have to love people the way that he loves people. That’s what motivates me to do things, whether that be a prayer group or a Bible study.” This love for everyone is evident when you get to talk to the UW safety, who always tries to treat everyone with the utmost

respect, and always has a smile on his face. It is clear to see that the development of his religious relationship, along with the constant push to get outside of his comfort zone, has really made a positive impact in Dixon’s life. In his time with AIA, Dixon has made it a mission of his to attend as many meetings as possible, while also leading a prayer group during the 2016-17 school year. Dixon has also stepped up to take leadership roles on the field, both within the safety position and within the defense as a whole. One thing that Dixon is always slightly wary of is telling people that he is religious, specifically for the modern implications that it might carry. Dixon instead chooses to turn the conversation to the relationship that he is working on building, and wants to ensure that everyone knows that he is not your a-typical Christian.

“I don’t like to identify religiously, because I feel like there are a lot of politics in today’s world with religion,” said Dixon. “I just say that I have a relationship with Christ, Jesus, I have a relationship with my personal Lord and Savior.” This relationship, that seemingly started at the same time that Dixon began working on his collegiate football career, has been something that has continued to grow and shape the young safety over time. Dixon is constantly working on building both things, and working on constantly challenging himself to be a better person on and off the field. For now, Dixon is just trying to do two simple things: play good football and continue to treat everyone with the same love and respect that he is shown by his Lord and Savior.

Photo · Involvement with Athletes in Action pushed Dixon to come even closer to his religion, and he now strives to balance football with Christianity. Sarah Godfrey The Badger Herald

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Scams that target college students Even the smartest students can fall victim to a scam. And, did you know that you may not even recognize a scam when you come across one? Better Business Bureau Serving Wisconsin (BBB) is warning students of the top five scams affecting students. According to BBB Scam Tracker, online purchases were the top scam affecting college students in2016, with 2,341 total scams reported in the U.S. and Canada. The list was compiled based on more than 7,077 scam reports filed by consumers on bbb.org/scamtracker. BBB offers tips for college students on how to avoid the most common scams: Online Purchases. Online shopping is a popular way for students to shop for college necessities, but it’s also a popular way for scammers to steal personal information. Scammers create websites that claim to sell items that often look legitimate to the average shopper, but instead collect the victim’s information and vanish from contact. Tips to avoid these scams: Check out the business at bbb.org to look up BBB Customer Reviews and complaints. Be sure the site is legitimate, and that it even exists. Also, make sure the site is secure and only pay with a credit card when shopping online. Read over the website’s Privacy Policy to make sure your information is safe. Employment. Students tend to search for parttime jobs on recruiting sites that allow them to work from their computer while still enrolled in school. While this new trend is a common tactic for job-seekers, BBB Scam Tracker has received reports of fake job offers sent to applicants’ emails. These scammers claim to be responding to a submitted application or have viewed a resume on an online recruiting site. Also, beware of ads that pop up near campus offering jobs with “no experience necessary.” If you are interviewed in a hotel lobby, required to sign a contract, or asked to pay money to “get started” - walk away! Tips to avoid these scams: Check if the contact information in the email matches that on the actual website and online recruiting page. Never pay up-front fees for promises of guaranteed income. Be cautious if you sense urgency or have received the same inquiry multiple times. **Report scams and fraud to BBB’s Scam Tracker. Contact the BBB Serving Wisconsin at1-800-2731002. Follow the BBBonFacebook (facebook. com/WisconsinBBB/) and Twitter. (https://twitter. com/WisconsinBBB)

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BANTER

me @ my professors: teach.......but then actually explain things

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JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I HAD NOTHING ELSE @netflix DECIDED TO TAKE TWILIGHT OFF ON NOVEMBER FIRST CAN A GIRL CATCH A BREAK PLEASE

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the evolution of man is when you’re younger and afraid of being called weird but in your 20s you just openly identify as a cat and a witch

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one day I’ll wake up and dark under eye circles will be a fashion trend. and I will have reached my Highest Self. Alanna Goldman @goldmnretriever

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