'Shut Down' - Volume 50, Issue 19

STUDENT MEDIA AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019 · VOL 50 Issue 19 · BADGERHERALD.COM

UW researchers, local businesses and federal government employees searched for ways to combat financial complications arising from January’s shutdown. pg. 12

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10 UW PROFESSORS HONORED 5

BAS ELECTRIFIES MAJESTIC

Awards for distinguished teaching recognize creativity and exceptional instructional techniques.

LA-based rapper brings nuanced style to Majestic Theater to hype up crowd.

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FEATURE

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NEWS

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OPINION

William Maloney Matt O’Connor Riley Liegel Jacob Bawolek Aidan McClain Peyton David Emilie Cochran Lucas Johnson Aly Niehans Izabela Zaluska Kristin Washagan Patrick WIlliams Haidee Chu Molly Liebergall Abigail Steinberg

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‘INVISIBLY SHACKLED’: PAROLE, PROBATION COUNTERPRODUCTIVE 15 Wisconsin needs to reform community supervision system as current practices trap people with no way out.

DIVERSIONS

MEN’S BASKETBALL: EXAMINING WISCONSIN’S WINNING FORMULA 21

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SPORTS

Wisconsin’s program over the past two decades has relied on finding players who buy into the team’s culture and commit to remaining in Madison beyond their freshman season.

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BAS LIGHTS UP MAJESTIC

Photo · Saturday night, Bas’s ‘Milky Way’ tour swirled its way through the Majestic in a rousing performance.

Quinn Beaupre The Badger Herald

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Ten UW faculty members receive 2019 Distinguished Teaching Award Award honors passionate teaching, creativity, innovative methods to improve classroom, learning quality for all

by Abby Doeden Print News Editor

Ten University of Wisconsin faculty members are being honored with the 2019 Distinguished Teaching Award, that recognizes the universities top faculty, according to a UW press release.

The awards recipients span many fields, including art history, nursing, journalism, law and psychology.

According to the Distinguished Teaching Award website, anyone is invited to submit nominations for the award regardless of a teacher’s rank or department. Sissel Schroeder, professor and chair of Anthropology at UW and co-chair of the Distinguished Teaching Awards committee explained in an email that after nominations are submitted, a committee of students, faculty and administrators score the nominees on a three-point scale and use composite scores to determine the winners.

“In the group of outstanding nominations, we look for professors who are passionate about their subject matter, clearly treat their students as individuals, put enormous and careful thought into their teaching, are original and innovative and can demonstrate that students are successful at learning in their classes,” Schroeder said in an

email to The Badger Herald.

Steven Smith, secretary of the faculty at UW, explained in an email to The Herald the variation in awards. Some are intended for assistant or associate professors only, while one is for outreach-focused work, another for servicelearning based work and one that focuses on diversity and inclusion. The committee is also currently exploring the possibility of adding an online or blending-learning award, he said.

Committee members are chosen from the pool of previous winners of the award and are appointed on a three-year basis, Smith said in his email.

For Michael Wagner, award recipient and associate professor of journalism and mass communication, the award struck an emotional chord. It was more than a testament to his teaching, it meant his work at UW made a positive effect on people’s lives.

“I put a lot of effort into my teaching, and I think about it a lot and I spend a lot of time working to help and develop and learn from my students, so it was really nice to hear that I got the award,” Wagner said.

Wagner talked about the development of his teaching throughout the years, saying his

Photo · A committee of students, faculty and administrators scored nominees on a three-point scale and used composite scores to determine who to honor with the award.

Marissa Haegele The Badger Herald 4 • badgerherald.com • February 12, 2019

time at UW has made his standards for what he considers excellent has significantly increased, while his strictness on deadlines has decreased.

He also credits his time here to thinking more about diversity, including how to best help students that are different than him learn.

Curiosity, Wagner said, is the key to finding how to best help those students succeed.

“It’s important to be curious about what’s going on with the students who don’t appear to be doing well in class,” Wagner said. “Is it that they have a unique problem that you can help with, or is it that they have a unique struggle where you can direct them to resources that will help them?”

Wagner also said he finds it important to give students easy ways to contact him so they feel comfortable. For this reason, Twitter has become a platform for him and his students to communicate better, he said.

Bianca Baldridge, award recipient and assistant professor of educational policy studies, also cited increasing creative technology in the classroom as something she has changed over her years of teaching.

“I’ve tried to be more thoughtful and intentional about assignments,” Baldridge said in an email to The Herald. “Instead of having students write a million pages, I’ve been asking students to be more creative in how they present what they know by using more creative platforms like film, technology, art/poetry, etc. I want students to be engaged and excited.

For Baldridge, technology in the classroom allows students to be more engaged with the materials.

Anna Andrzejewski, award recipient and professor art history, also shared this opinion, as creative platforms allow students to write for larger audiences. He also believes the ability to respond to each student individually is one of the most important characteristics for a professor and has helped her to become a better teacher.

“Each student is different, and as a professor, I try to make sure that even if not every student likes me or my class, they at least know I see them as individuals and I’m trying to meet them in the best way I can,” Andrzejewski said in an email to The Herald.

To Patrick Remington, award recipient and professor of population health sciences, the most important aspect of teaching is to not forget what it’s like to be a student and to take student feedback in strides.

To do this, Remington said he continuously looks for changes to his teaching material and uses real-world examples. In his experience, this keeps students engaged.

“I teach courses in public health, and [the field] changes every day,” Remington said. “In fact, I gave a lesson [a few weeks ago] and I [had just heard] that eating cheese makes you live longer and I took that and used it to talk about in class that day.”

Wagner talked of the importance of the award to the teaching community at UW, saying the award confirms that although the university is known for their research, they equally value the teaching professors do here.

Schroeder also spoke on the importance of this award allowing the teaching staff to be honored for the hard work they do.

“The best professors are compassionate and treat their students like people ... They are creative and thoughtfully integrate innovations into their classes,” Schroeder said. “The provide constructive feedback on student papers, assignments, and exams, using the feedback to help students understand their strengths and also their mistakes. The best teachers are often also the best scholars.”

Chancellor Rebecca Blank and Provost Sarah Mangelsdorf will present the awards to the ten winners April 10, in a ceremony open to the public.

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UW System announces task force to combat teacher shortage Decline in statewide enrollment, lack of certification among K-12 teachers is area of emphasis, administration says

becoming disheartened by the lack of support for students, and are concerned for the overall academic well-being of the students they teach.

“One of the main things [teachers] were The University of Wisconsin System striking over was the need to get more support announced the creation of a task force that in schools, like nurses,” Hess said. “A lot of will focus on how UW System institutions can them have also become frustrated with the combat teacher and educator shortages Jan. 25. prevalence of standardized testing.

According to a press release, They have not felt like its good for the eight-member UW System students and has actually made Task Force for Advancing their jobs much more difficult.”

Teachers and School Leaders in According to a report from the the State of Wisconsin will have NEA, Wisconsin schools have 2,359 recommendations and a report by students per school nurse.

May 1 of this year. It is to be led by According to a survey conducted Diana Hess, dean of UW-Madison’s by the NEA, 42 percent of teachers School of Education. surveyed said that an emphasis on The press release cited concerns improving standardized test scores such as a decline in enrollment in had a “negative impact” on their teacher education programs and the classroom. low number of accredited teachers Hess discussed one potential graduating from UW System solution to teacher shortages: loan schools. forgiveness.

Mary Gulbrandsen, executive “If we have salaries that are director of the Fund for Wisconsin already low, we want to make Scholars and member of the task college more affordable and make force, said the lack of supply of sure people graduate from college certified teachers has been steadily with no or little debt,” Hess said. increasing in recent years.

“We’ve been working really hard According to a blog post from on how to craft loan forgiveness the Wisconsin Department of Public programs that would work.”

Instruction, significantly fewer Gulbrandsen added that students are pursuing educationlooking at recruitment efforts from related degrees, and school districts graduate and paraprofessional across the state report shrinking schools, along with boosting applicant pools for available compensation packages, has teaching positions. potential to alleviate the issue.

Hess said one key issue is the When it comes to teachers of level of accreditation of those who color, Hess added that there are are currently teaching. populations that do not have the “[There are] teachers who are diversity of their students reflected teaching but are not fully licensed in their teachers. or certified because schools simply “In the Wausau area, there couldn’t find teachers who were Photo · Significantly fewer students are pursing education-related degrees, and school districts across the state are suffering from shrinkare families who are culturally fully certified,” Hess said. “We are ing applicant pools for available teaching positions.

Hmong, and the teacher creating special programs to make population doesn’t reflect that sure people who are teaching who Marissa Haegele population,” Hess said. “Maybe it aren’t fully licensed and certified The Badger Herald takes time, but we have to look at are getting licensed and certified.” that very diligently, and we want Hess said special education Gulbrandsen added that UW System schools teacher salary in Wisconsin for the 2016-17 to look at successful recruitment programs to and bilingual education are fields that are are also looking towards the state to see if school year was $36,983. The average in Illinois get that reflection.” particularly struggling. there is available funding to provide additional was $38,820, and the average in Minnesota was Hess said that Wisconsin teacher programs According to an article from the Post scholarships and aid. $37,644. In 2016-17 the national average for produce qualified, hardworking teachers, of Crescent, 2,432 teachers across Wisconsin Hess added, however, that UW-Madison’s starting teacher salaries was $38,617. which she is “very proud.” have an “emergency teacher ’s license.” The School of Education had actually seen higher According to an article from the Washington She also discussed her time as a high school Residency in Teacher Education program enrollment this year. She said that not only did Post, the differences between average salaries teacher, calling the experience difficult but very is DPI-approved and allows those with a UW increase its freshman class size this year, for all teachers was starker. The average salary rewarding. bachelor’s degree to earn a teaching license. but the elementary education program saw a 25 in Wisconsin for the 2016-17 school year was “I don’t know many professions that The article cites Nancy Jaeger, a RITE percent increase in enrollment. $54,998. The average in Illinois was $61,602, someone can go into right out of college and coordinator, who said that those in the program She said that while not all programs are fully and the average in Minnesota was $57,346. The can make an impact on so many people so come with expertise in the content of their enrolled, the recent increasing trend is hopeful. national average was $58,950. quickly,” Hess said. “Our teachers should be major, and the program works to show them Hess discussed another key issue with Discussing recent nationwide strikes held by very proud.” how to teach the material. teacher shortages involving neighboring states. teachers, Hess said that many teachers are also

by Nuha Dolby State Editor

Hess said the UW System is working towards measures to bolster education enrollment.

“There’s an effort to create a high school pipeline,” Hess said. “We’re successfully raising funds for undergraduate and graduate scholarships. It’s much easier to get scholarships now than ten years ago.”

“One particular problem is our neighboring states pay more than we do,” Hess said. “People who live here in Wisconsin are teaching in Illinois and Minnesota. It’s a problem when you have contiguous states with higher salaries.”

According to a report from the National Education Association, the average starting

February 12, 2019 • badgerherald.com • 5

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Wisconsin Partnership Program awards grants to improve community Grants aimed at improving wellbeing of people of color through community initiatives, trainings, mental health resources

by Jackie Miller Reporter

Within the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, the Wisconsin Partnership Program aims to improve the well-being of people in Wisconsin. According to their mission statement, they work to improve research and education around the state in order to reduce health discrepancies due to factors such as race, pay gaps, etc.

They currently administrate three highly competitive grant programs: Community Catalyst grants, Community Collaboration grants and Community Impact grants.

“When groups are systematically excluded from decisions about everything from where and how we live to who gets perceived as dangerous, they tend to suffer the consequences. ”

Paul Terranova Member of the Lussier Center

Catalyst grants are used to create equal access and opportunities to health benefits for everybody, according to their website.

The goal of collaboration grants is to provide the necessary training for people to recognize health disparities in a community and to eliminate them by taking action against policy and legislation. Lastly, impact grants are distributed for larger projects that want to see continual changes that will improve the health of people and the environment, not just now, but in the future.

Recently, the WPP awarded grants to several Madison-based organizations to improve the well-being of people of color.

Some of these organizations included Lussier Community Education Center, Anesis Therapy, Second Baptist Church, the YWCA, the Urban League of Greater Madison and Dr. Earlise Ward who is part of the Madison School of Nursing.

The Lussier Center received $50,000 in grants in an effort to create an alumni network for an existing program, the Neighborhood Organizing Institute. The NOI supports community leaders and organizers by providing training to create change in communities and practical application of this training to real-world situations. Lussier 6 • badgerherald.com • February 12, 2019

Center member Paul Terranova discussed the goals of NOI. “Neighborhood Organizing Institute’s curriculum is interactive, accessible and centers the building of People Power to effect change,” Terranova said.

When asked how this will improve health in our community, Terranova responded by saying that willingness to act, or “collective efficacy” can have a major impact on health issues ranging from obesity to depression.

Terranova also said that the demographic inequity in health could stem from abuse by people in power.

Some minority groups are excluded from important decision-making processes.

“When groups are systematically excluded from decisions about everything from where and how we live to who gets perceived as dangerous, they tend to suffer the consequences,” Terranova said.

Terranova said this exact problem is seen all over Dane County. Not only are there disparities between races in rates of poverty, unemployment and crime rates, but also in health conditions.

By training individuals to become leaders and help the people around them, NOI aims to eliminate these inequities in the community. Creating a network of trained leaders will allow these individuals to pay forward what they learned in the NOI and create change in their communities.

Anesis Therapy, another Madison-based company, is a mental health clinic serving not only individuals but families and couples. Staff member Myra McNair said that while they are inclusive of everybody, Anesis specializes mostly in serving people of color.

“Staff need to be informed and

equipped to serve our community in the best way.”

Myra McNair Anesis Therapy staff member

They plan to use the grant they received to provide two different extensive trauma trainings for their employees. One of these trainings, called Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, is a 12-month training which focuses on training employees on

Photo · The grants donated by the Wisconsin Partnership Program will help Madison organizations be better equipped to eliminate some of the health disparities seen in communities, officials say.

Good Free Photos treating older children in the 6-18 year range who have been through traumatic experiences.

The second is called Child-Parent Psychotherapy and is 18 months long.

This training focuses on treating younger patients, ages 0-6. McNair said that although their counselors are very well educated and trained for all types of situations, collegelevel courses don’t go into enough detail about trauma.

“Staff need to be informed and equipped to serve our community in the best way,” McNair said.

Training and education is important for any topic because it raises awareness for the situation. This grant will give Anesis Therapy the tools to provide proper care for clients who struggle with problems such as sexual abuse, gun violence and homelessness — issues that are prevalent in the Madison

area.

McNair said training staff members on trauma-related care will help them be more well-rounded and informed in their careers which will help provide better care for clients.

“Most trauma is intergenerational, and these modalities of treatment focus not only on the child’s trauma but their caregivers,” McNair said.

Overall, whether by providing more training and education for staff members or training community members to be leaders who have the determination to make a change in their communities, the grants donated by the Wisconsin Partnership Program will help Madison organizations be better equipped to eliminate some of the health disparities seen in communities, McNair and Terranova said.

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Democrats urge Republicans to collaborate on new budget Gov. Tony Evers will introduce 2019-21 state budget Feb. 28, leading Democrats share their perspectives on the fate of the proposal

by Hibah Ansari State Editor

As Democratic Gov. Tony Evers takes office in a Republican-majority state, experts and elected officials raised questions about whether or not the Wisconsin Legislature will see more compromise in the new administration.

University of Wisconsin political science professor John Witte said Evers’ compromising nature could enable cooperation amongst Republicans on the other side of the aisle to avoid gridlock in the state Legislature — which the federal government is just now recovering from.

“There’s a big incentive for both [parties] to compromise,” Witte said. “Without cooperation of Republicans on the legislative side, [Evers] can’t get much accomplished.”

On the other hand, Witte said that Republicans may benefit from compromising since the governor can utilize strong veto powers to block legislation he does not favor.

The Wisconsin governor holds some of the strongest veto powers in the nation.

If both parties want to make the most out of the next two years they will have to show some compromise in the months before the statewide budget is due in June, Witte said.

While Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, would agree that Evers is interested in creating a more collaborative environment in the state Legislature, she said she cannot say the same for the current Republican leadership.

“There’s a big incentive for both [parties] to compromise. Without cooperation from Republicans on the legislative side, [Evers] can’t get much accomplished. ”

John Witte UW political science professor

“There is a new era of compromise between individual legislators in both parties, but I also feel like the Republican leadership has never been compromising,” Taylor said. “They’ve also pretty much said they’re not going to consider the governor ’s budget.”

According to the latest Marquette Law School poll, only 22 percent of voters saw Republicans as cooperative while 47 percent said Evers is trying to cooperate with Republican legislators. Still, many voters do not know enough to say how well of a job Evers is doing.

Witte noted that it is too early to tell, and that the responses to the poll are very party-dependent.

“On any of those types of questions you’re going to get that partisan split,” Witte said. “Democrats will go in favor of Evers and say he’s compromising, while Republicans will say he’s not.”

“There is anew era of compro-

mise between individual legislators in both parties, but I also feel like the Republican leadership has never been compromising.”

Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison

In response to the poll, Evers released a statement saying voters are rejecting Republicans’ attempts to undermine the will of the people.

For Taylor, hyper-partisanship in the Legislature has led to Republican legislators leading in a very divisive way. As a result, both parties will have difficulty solving the state’s otherwise simple problems, she said.

“It is time for the Republican legislative leaders to really abandon this hyperpartisanship that they continue to demonstrate,” Taylor said. “I really call on the Republican leadership to abandon this failed hyper-partisanship that has really engulfed state government.”

Other Democratic leaders like Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, said the state may be able to benefit from divided control. For Risser, some of the best legislation has occurred when one party did not have all the power.

Risser has served in the Wisconsin Legislature under 13 different governors.

During this time, he experienced divisions in the government under both Democrat and Republican governors.

“When one party has full control of the process, it does not need to even listen to any ideas from the other side which means that a large section of the population represented by the minority party may have no input on

Photo · The statewide budget is due in June.

Katie Cooney The Badger Herald

“I’m going into the budget pro-

cess saying I will do everything I can to be a positive force in negotiating a budget that works for the people in the state of Wisconsin .”

Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison

the activities of government at all,” Risser said in an email.

Taylor, who serves on the budget committee, agreed that the government will be better when it collaborates. But she urged her Republican colleagues to give the governor’s budget close consideration.

While Taylor said she is going into the process with a positive outlook, problems

will arise if the Republicans dismiss Evers’ budget and decide to come up with their own.

“I am not going into the budget process with that on my mind,” Taylor said. “I’m going into the budget process saying I will do everything that I can to be a positive force in negotiating a budget that works for the people in the state of Wisconsin.”

Witte called this current air of compromise “a twilight zone,” where legislators on both sides are offering various positions to see how the other side will react.

Holding meetings and public forms is a way to figure out where people stand in terms of the budget, according to Witte.

“It’ll get serious once the budget is presented,” Witte said. “Positions will change. Right now they’re being nice to each other.”

The 2019-21 state budget will be introduced by Evers on Feb. 28. The final budget is due June 30.

February 12, 2019 • badgerherald.com • 7

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Microloans offer safety net to furloughed federal WI workers We Are Many - United Against Hate continues to raise money as the government shutdown’s effects are still felt in Madison

by Molly DeVore City Editor

When Masood Akhtar, the founder of We are Many — United Against Hate, first decided to give out microloans to furloughed federal workers, he had no idea how much support he would receive. But after fundraising $80,000, it is clear how eager people were to help.

After the federal government shut down Dec. 22, many federal workers were not paid and federally-funded agencies did not receive grants. The shutdown temporarily ended Jan. 25, but there is a chance it will shut down again this month.

During the shutdown, Akhtar saw similarities between the struggles of Madison’s furloughed federal workers and his own Muslim community.

“These people are just like our people, some of them are even protecting our lives, like the TSA at the airport,” Akhtar said.

“They are saving our lives and yet these people are not paid.”

According to their website, We are Many — United Against Hate is a nonprofit

dedicated to protecting all people from hate, bigotry and racism.

Though providing loans to furloughed federal employees is not a typical task of the nonprofit, Akhtar explained the loans are unique for other reasons. According to Akhtar, the microloans are interest-free and they add a “human element” to the loangiving process.

Akhtar said that the “human element” is key because it promotes engagement across many groups. He explained that if the person seeking the loan lives in Wisconsin, he himself will drive to where they are and learn about the issues in that person’s community.

“My intent is if you continue on this path and you help somebody in need I am pretty confident that whenever there is a need in the future, those other people will come forward and help these communities because they were helped by somebody,” Akhtar said.

Akhtar said he plans to continue giving these microloans out because many workers are still struggling. He explained that some workers even went into credit card debt

Photo · The federal government shutdown began on Dec. 22 and ended Jan. 25.

Amos Mayberry The Badger Herald

8 • badgerherald.com • February 12, 2019

trying to stay afloat during the shutdown, and because of this he wants to continue the loans until federal workers are financially secure.

Jirs Meuris, assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Business, stressed the importance of the loans.

According to Meuris’ research, employees who are financially insecure tend to be less productive. This financial insecurity leads to anxiety, making employees unable to focus on work, he explained.

“These interest-free loans are trying to create these safety nets for these workers … providing these safety nets can reduce a lot of the psychological strain that comes along with financial insecurity,” Meuris said.

Meuris also noted that uncertainty contributes to psychological strain, and explained that because workers did not know when the shutdown would end, their anxiety was likely made worse.

Robert Andresen, director of Research Financial Services at UW, said this same uncertainty has impacted other research being done at the university. One of UW’s major funders and a federal agency, the National Science Foundation, was shut down causing proposals for new projects to pile up. Going through the proposals could take weeks, delaying research even more, Andresen said.

“What our faculty were hoping to be able to do this year and next year they might not be able to do until next year and the year after that,” Andresen said. “When you’re dealing with science, that’s disappointing.”

Andresen said most of UW’s research is funded by the federal government through grants. These grants are given as reimbursements for costs incurred though, so during the shutdown, UW had to monitor its research spending and use funding reserves to cover costs, Andresen explained.

If the government does shut down again Feb. 15, things could get even tighter for UW’s research as much of their funding reserves have been exhausted, he said.

Jonathan Sleeman of the U.S. Geological Survey explained the concerns research facilities had during the shutdown. The USGS is also very reliant on federal funding, and, while they were able to protect all of their data, Sleeman estimates that it will take months to catch up on research, but their top focus is their employees.

“My concern is our staff and the morale … still, right now we’re trying to make sure everybody gets their back pay, that’s of equal concern to me, as our mission,” Sleeman said.

Meuris said some of this back pay may come too late. He said that throughout the

shutdown, people had to do things like sell their cars and spend their savings to get by.

These extreme acts will do longterm damage to their financial welfare, something that cannot necessarily be solved by back pay alone, he said.

To address this issue, Meuris suggested giving workers back pay with interest. He pointed out that there is a precedent for this as companies that receive federal funds get interest when payment is delayed. Meuris also said that stopping these shutdowns is important because eventually federal jobs will not be filled.

“My intent is if you continue on

this path and you help somebody in need, I am pretty confident that whenever there is a need in the future, those other people will come forward and help these communities because they were helped by somebody. ” Masood Akhtar Founder of We are Many - United Against Hate

“If you’re having these shutdowns continuously then the private sector becomes a lot more attractive and so you’re going to have this brain drain from the federal government to other types of work,” Meuris said.

Meuris said there is even talk of outlawing shutdowns without pay. Until some of these changes are made, Akhtar said he will continue to give out microloans.

Akhtar is not worried about running out of funds as he has actually received more donations than requests for loans.

With calls from Maryland to Florida, news of Akhtar ’s microloans have spread fast, and he said he hopes that his message of problem-solving through community engagement does as well.

“We can solve this problem and then move forward and build a community as a model in Wisconsin,” Akhtar said. “My intent is really that we are building a model of an inclusive community that I am hoping one day will become a national model.”

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Funky beats, improvisation to come in Too Many Zooz performance Three-member group combines brass, drums to create unique ‘Brass House’ sound in their upcoming performance at Majestic Theater Tuesday

by Ashley Evers ArtsEtc. Staff Writer

Too Many Zooz, an American music group based in New York City, is ready to rock Majestic Tuesday evening. The three-piece band features sounds of the baritone saxophone, trumpet and drums. The talented musicians Leo Pellegrino, Matt “Doe” Muirhead and David “King of Sludge” Parks are each equipped with their own instrument and bring a unique talent to the group’s unforgettable energy and sound.

They immediately gained fame when a video of one of their subway performances was recorded by a passer-by at Union Square station and went viral on YouTube in March 2014. Their music is now popping up in commercials and spreading on social media. The group’s sound couldn’t quite be placed in an existing musical category, so they curated their own genre termed “brass house.”

Muirhead, trumpeter, took time to comment on some of his personal experiences with music and what it is like being in such an eclectic group. He stepped out of rehearsal with the band to give me some insight and talk a bit more about their upcoming tour.

While a Boston native, Muirhead noted New York City, in particular, has influenced him and his bandmates as they started creating music together. “[New York City] is inherently a really special city ... the best place on earth in so many ways …”

Muirhead said.

Muirhead emphasized the importance that the city and its culture have on each of them.

He discussed the idea of this “fight or flight mentality” that artists may have when they move to New York City. In the long run, all of them just want to make a name for themselves and inspire others.

“You’re either going to start

working or start making money ... or you’re going to become homeless [living as an artist in New York City].”

Matt Muirhead Too Many Zooz trumpeter

Simply put, everyone is trying to do something grand and spectacular, but everyone is also doing their own thing.

“You’re either going to start working or start making money ... or you’re going to become

Photo The group has adopted what they feel is a totally unique sound.

Courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons homeless,” Muirhead said.

In particular, the New York City Subway provided them with a diverse space to experiment with their music. With a new audience trickling in every 10 minutes, the applause and feedback the group received was almost always from a new set of ears.

This subway story is quite unique to Too Many Zooz, and I couldn’t resist from asking the burning question of where their band name came from.

He was honest with me and said there is no true meaning to the odd title. But, he did get a little help from some friends of his who were coming up with names for their own band.

They all decided that they loved the name “Too Many Zooz” because it sounded different and didn’t really make much sense.

“We are also pretty bad at naming songs so it makes sense,” Muirhead said. “We added a ‘z’ and called it our own.”

With names aside, Muirhead explained what recording in the studio looks like for them being merely an instrumental band. He explained that over the years, they have created their own formula to use their different instrumentation to their advantage.

While most bands and musicians follow a specific pattern in the studio, he emphasized that this process is mostly based on finding the best way that voices can be used.

“The record-making process is totally based in formula but also totally random,” Muirhead said.

Too Many Zooz is constantly fishing to find new ways to create a different sound from the base layer of trumpet saxophone and drums, but all love the beauty of having something great come out of being spontaneous.

Muirhead is a huge fan of improvisation, which the band loves to dabble with at shows, and loves

“We are also pretty bad at naming songs, so it makes sense ... we added a ‘Z’ and called it our own..”

Matt Muirhead Too Many Zooz trumpeter

the surprise aspect of doing his own thing.

“It is tastier,” Muirhead said. “It is a new musical flavor every time.”

The group heads out for another segment of tour this month. Muirhead expressed his love for touring across America due to the familiar nature of things. It is easy for the band to feel comfortable and to focus primarily on putting on good shows for their audiences.

The group will still feature many tracks from their latest project, Subway Godz, but also has countless unreleased songs that they are excited to experiment with. Looking ahead, they will work with their label to find the right single to release and have a lot of other new music planned for the future.

The Too Many Zooz show is sure to bring energy, funk and jazz to fans of every genre and are truly claiming their own style and sound putting on a different show at every stop. The Madison show is sure to feature Pellegrino’s characteristic dance moves.

Too Many Zooz plays Majestic Theater with Kainalu Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 8:30 pm. Tickets are $18.

February 12, 2019 • badgerherald.com • 9

ARTSETC

Bas, collaborators illuminate Majestic with catchy, surreal sound Rexx Life Raj, Correy C, Innanet joined headliner for musical Saturday evening on ‘Milky Way’ tour stop complete with beautiful scenic effects

by Angela Peterson ArtsEtc. Editor

Saturday night, Bas’s “Milky Way” tour swirled its way through The Majestic in a rousing performance, even if it took a little while to get there.

Based out of Queens, New York, Bas has worked with artists such as J. Cole and A$AP Ferg in past collaborations. The particularly extensive association with J. Cole arises from Bas’s place on the roster of Dreamville records, J. Cole’s label.

The rapper released several mixtapes in the last few years before releasing his first album, Last Winter.

The “Milky Way” tour follows the 2018 release of Bas’s album of the same name and keeps Bas’s spirit of collaboration alive with the sheer number of guests on the tour. There were three rappers who opened for Bas on the Madison stop — Rexx Life Raj, Innanet and Correy C — and DJs and keyboardists who did not receive their own billings.

Needless to say, this was a long night of music. The nearly three hour show lasted until midnight, with anticipation growing through each opener ’s set until Bas took the stage.

Correy C began the night on a comedic note, telling the crowd he had been wearing, “big ass jackets for four days straight.” As the night’s performers were based out of Los Angeles, talk of the Wisconsin chilliness was a recurring theme throughout the evening.

While his fifteen-minute set was quite short, his energy built in each song and he ended with his most rousing number.

The next rapper, Innanet, really did me a journalistic solid by spelling his name at the end of the set. His beats were high tempo from the top of his set, yet I couldn’t quite understand the words to his and most others’ sets due to the acoustics of the Majestic.

After personally spending one too many concerts watching an audience member pass out in the middle of a standing room only crowd, I appreciated Rexx Life’s announcement to check up on the concert goers sharing the space around oneself and stay hydrated. As the last of the three opening acts, Rexx Life performed an extended set which periodically included a call-and-response to rile up the crowd for Bas, filling the lovely Majestic with a sea of, “Yee!” Rexx Life inserted plenty of physical energy into his songs, enhancing his performances as a result.

Once Rexx Life left the stage, the full setup for Bas’s landscape rolled on to the stage.

Two large, triangular acrylic boxes flanked 10 • badgerherald.com • February 12, 2019

both sides of the stage with an additional trapezoidal acrylic box labeled “Milky Way” in the center. The lights flicked through this boxes in a dream-like manner as they stood in front of a pastel mural depicting clouds and what appeared to be Bas and a few friends. The show utilized different lighting schemes and fog effects throughout quite effectively, but Bas was still the real star of the night.

What set Bas apart from his collaborators, and frankly from many performers regardless of genre, was his use of varied musical styles to give each of his songs a distinct feel and his mastery of his timbre of his voice to change the emotion of his sound.

For those readers who did not spending about 160 hours of their college lives in a music theory class slaving over terminology, timbre is the quality or color of a sound. It’s what makes a clarinet different than a tuba.

The voice is able to change its timbre, making it unique among all instruments.

“ I know music is my escape. If

you’re here tonight, it’s probably your escape too.”

Bas

Rappers, and singers for that matter, can often fall into a monotonous trap in their lines and keep a relatively stagnant timbre to their voice, but Bas’s was dynamic and reflected the vibe he wished to project in each line and the style of each beat.

The first couple of songs felt like a rap version of a smoky jazz nightclub. Musically diverse interludes aided in this feeling and the surreallness of the space in general.

Additional highlights include “Fragrance,” a laid-back collaboration which brought Correy C back out to the stage, and the hihat-centric remix of “Housewives.”

Throughout the set, Bas maintained a stable connection with the crowd.

“I know music is my escape. If you’re here tonight, it’s probably your escape too,” Bas told the crowd.

Indeed, Bas’s dreamy “Milky Way” tour provided a well-executed escape for the entire Majestic crowd. Hopefully, Madison will see his style pass through again as it continues to develop and bloom.

Photos ·Bas lights up Majestic crowd Saturday night.

Quinn Beaupre The Badger Herald

ARTSETC.

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‘A Little Night Music’ delivers moving night of musical theater Stephen Sondheim’s score, including ‘Send in the Clowns,’ brought to life by talented Madison Opera cast who wowed audiences this weekend

by Emma Grenzebach ArtsEtc. Staff Writer

The Overture Center of the Arts was packed to the brim Friday night as the Madison Opera performed one of their limited shows “A Little Night Music.”

The show was performed in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center, which prepared the audience for a grandiose experience even before the curtains were raised. The Capitol Theater is entirely modeled in shades of pink and turquoise, with decadent lighting and curtains strewn about the walls in a pleasing manner.

Although the show started a few minutes past its scheduled time, the beautiful theater and professionalism of the ushers made the wait worthwhile. The elegant theater perfectly matched the mood of the musical, which was filled with dignified and wealthy characters.

“A Little Night Music” follows the stories of a number of intertwined couples and their romantic hardships. The musical opens on the unnamed quintet, a group of five singers

Photo ·Emily Glick performs in ‘A Little Night Music.’

Courtesy of James Gill Madison Opera

who stand in for various roles throughout the play and narrate elements of the plot through song.

The musical then follows the lives of three couples — all of whom are unhappy and poorly matched — and their families.

The characters are connected through past romantic relationships and the plot comes to a climax when they are all invited to the same weekend in the country. By the end of the show, none of the characters are still in their original romantic positions.

Although “A Little Night Music” sounds as though it would be very simple and possibly overdone due to the fact that similar plots have been successful, the operetta brings a fresh comedic and dramatic approach to the situation.

This is due, at least in part, to Stephen Sondheim, the writer of the music and lyrics for the show. Sondheim has written the music and/or lyrics for many famous and well-respected shows, including “West Side Story,” “Sweeney Todd” and “Into the Woods.” Sondheim has won a multitude of awards for his work, including two Grammy

Awards and a Tony Award for A Little Night Music.

One of the Grammy Awards that Sondheim received for “A Little Night Music” was for Song of the Year in 1973.

The song that won is titled “Send in the Clowns,” and is performed in the show by main character Desirée Armfeldt, portrayed here by Emily Pulley. This song is widely known, even outside of the musical theater community, especially due to the fact that it has been covered by artists such as Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra.

On Friday night, the audience was rapt as Pulley performed the slow and heavy song.

Her performance of “Send in the Clowns” was followed by a long round of applause due to her full and haunting rendition.

Along with Pulley, all of the actors played their characters with devotion.

Because “A Little Night Music” is a comedy and a musical, it does not allow for very multifaceted characters. For example, the character of Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm, played by Charles Eaton, is very stiff and soldier-like the entire show. Eaton performed his role well, but if someone were looking for a show with complicated or relatable characters, “A Little Night Music” might not be the play to look for non-archetypal characters.

If one is searching for

a laugh, however, “A Little Night Music” is still a good place to look. Many of the characters delivered comedic lines or songs, such as the number sung by Daniel Belcher, playing Fredrick Egerman, about how he wants his virginal wife to sleep with him after eleven months of marriage.

Madame Armfeldt, the aged mother of Desirée portrayed by Sarah Day, provided the main source of comedy for the show.

Day delivered many well-timed and subtle jokes, mostly surrounding life lessons that her granddaughter, Fredrika, needed to understand, such as the fact that the only thing in life that you cannot lie about is Solitaire.

Aside from the wonderful performances, the show was also successful in its set design and lighting. The set was composed mainly of sliding frames with glass inside. The set would change whenever a new scene started or when characters needed to be depicted as being far apart. The transitions were seamless and done mostly by the accompanying quintet.

The lights were relatively simple, with a bright stage during the “day” and a darkened stage at “night.” When the characters went to the country, however, the set and lighting got more complicated, with lots of moving frames and lights to depict that they were in an elegant location.

“A Little Night Music” was truly an enjoyable experience. The show was beautifully done, with actors who had beautiful voices and an incredible score. The Madison Opera did not disappoint and I look forward to their next production.

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As interim appropriations bill is set to expire Feb. 15, UW faculty and government employees are wary of uncertain financial future

by Haidee Chu Print Features Editor

The government shutdown didn’t just affect government employees. It also affected squirrels.

These particular squirrels belong to Hannah Carey, a professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin.

Carey, who focuses on comparative biosciences, studies squirrels to uncover insights about how mammals work. In theory, her work could allow humans to achieve things we so far have only seen in movies.

She examines the hibernation of ground squirrels and how their biological mechanisms could be mimicked in ways therapeutic for humans. Specifically, Carey looks at the gastrointestinal tracts of squirrel for hibernation patterns that can help humans survive severe states such as trauma and extreme hypothermia.

Like a lot of research at UW, Carey’s is funded in part by the federal government. Twenty-nine percent of the UW’s annual funding comes from federal financial aid and federal grants.

“Most of this [federal funding] is competitively awarded to UW for specific research projects and supports salaries for faculty, staff and students, and funds research facilities,” UW Chancellor Rebecca Blank wrote in the annual budget report.

Carey’s grant from the National Science Foundation — which comes early in the calendar year — allows her and her team to study these squirrels in the winter months.

For Carey and many other scientists, who rely on federal agencies and grant money to carry out their experiments, the government shutdown meant years worth of research was jeopardized.

The ‘perfect storm’ The government shut down Dec. 22 after President Donald Trump failed to reach an agreement with Congress over an appropriations bill that did not include $5 billion for his proposed wall along the southern border.

Not every aspect of the government was shut down, as Congress failed in passing legislative measures to fund just nine government agencies. What ensued was the longest government shutdown in history, resulting in some 800,000 federal employees on furlough or working without pay.

More than a month later, Trump signed an appropriations bill to fund the government until Feb. 15.

Wisconsin’s 2nd congressional district, home to Madison and the surrounding area, has about 6,000 federal employees — “more than any other Congressional district in Wisconsin,” Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, said.

Around 3,600 Wisconsin workers, he added, were directly impacted by the federal government shutdown.

For some, like Transport Security Administration workers, it meant having to go to work without pay during the shutdown. For others, this meant not being able to work at all.

For new businesses, it meant they wouldn’t be able to file taxes with the Internal Revenue Service.

For researchers like Carey, the shutdown came at the worst possible time, which she described as a “perfect storm.”

For those studying hibernation, the winter months are the most vital because it’s when the animals are metabolically shut down. At the same time, Carey was expecting her next installment of grants from the NSF to arrive around the first week of January, just as the government was shutting its doors.

“We work very hard to plan these experiments out ahead of time,” Carey said. “If we don’t stick closely to the biological rhythm of these animals, we are going to be doing experiments that aren’t relevant to the biology that we are trying to understand.”

As of Feb. 6, Carey still hasn’t received her federal funding. To mitigate potential funding problems, UW will pay for the research needs of faculty who have ongoing, federally-funded projects in the event of emergencies like a government shutdown.

This emergency funding from the university and state treasury paid for Carey’s expenses and allowed her

research to continue in the interim.

This means her trainees and lab workers, as well as other researchers, will also be paid even if the federal agencies that fund their programs are closed. Carey realizes, however, that others might not have been as fortunate.

“I’m just one person who’s in this situation, and so … it’s likely others across our campus and across the system … [experienced] interference with what they’re doing,” Carey said. “You just don’t expect that political maneuvering is such that it would just shut things down. And if we weren’t supported by being at a university like [UW] it would be a travesty, it would be a shame … we just can’t do these experiments in other parts of the year.”

— Hannah Carey, professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine Giving back Others in the Madison community weren’t as lucky.

Pocan said federal employees who were impacted by the shutdown weren’t legally allowed to check their work emails. And if they did, they could be fined. This meant those who wished to work without pay weren’t even legally able to do so.

But for some, like TSA workers, it meant they had to show up to work without pay.

“Median salary is around $37,000 for TSA workers — many of them have second jobs just to get by,” Pocan said.

“An air traffic controller told me he knows people who had to sell cars for equity so they would have money for bills.

A person I talked to myself canceled their cable because he had to get rid of expenses that weren’t absolutely necessary during the shutdown.”

Pocan said he was impressed and surprised by how positive the workers he talked to were, considering they were approaching their second missed paycheck.

For others in Madison, the government shutdown was an opportunity to give back. As the shutdown affected Wisconsin and Madison families and individuals, the community sprung into action. Numerous organizations, businesses and individuals all opened their arms to give back throughout the month-long impasse.

Christy McKenzie, owner of Pasture and Plenty, a locally-sourced restaurant on Madison’s near west side, saw the shutdown as an opportunity to contribute to the community and to look after others.

“I think as a civil society we have a duty to think about how we take care of others and use the gifts and resources we have in order to support a healthier community,” McKenzie said.

During the last week of the shutdown, Pasture and Plenty announced they would be offering free meals to any furloughed workers and contractors. In that week alone, Pasture and Plenty served 16 impacted families or individuals. “[We know] the challenges of not having paychecks come in means food [in]security,” McKenzie said. “It was a place we could provide the message that we don’t agree with what’s happening … it’s something we can do to support people who are being put in that position.”

When the government re-opened Jan. 25, Pasture and Plenty kept the meals coming for another week.

“We had a lot of our regular customers reach out to us to say, ‘We are so grateful that you’re doing this, how can we help?’” McKenzie said. “It was really interesting to see how others in the community who weren’t directly impacted were [affected] by what we had decided to share.”

For others in the community, giving back meant helping

people where the shutdown hurts the most — their bank accounts.

Masood Akhtar is the founder of We Are Many – United Against Hate, an organization founded in 2016 that focuses on education and non-partisan policies to help unite people against bigotry.

To Akhtar, the shutdown was a way to help workers out when times were tough. With help from the Madison Muslim community, Akhtar helped raise more than $80,000 to give as interest-free loans to people in need — ideally targeting people who are paying between 18 and 20 percent interest on their credit cards.

By eliminating the bank from the equation, Akhtar believed he could facilitate growth within the community.

Those who were interested could set up flexible payback opportunities by email, providing affected members of the community with more options to get back on their feet.

For Akhtar, organizing the effort was an easy decision.

“These people are just like our people,” Akhtar said.

“Some of them are even protecting our lives, like the TSA at the airport. They are saving our lives and yet these people are not paid.”

Akhtar said that providing interest-free loans gives him the opportunity to travel and talk to people. Engaging with the community, he added, will help make Madison more inclusive, which he hopes cities nationwide will look to as an example.

“We, as Muslims, believe that all Wisconsinites are like one body,” Akhtar said. “If one part of the body aches, the rest of the body feels pain. We just want to make sure that these employees know that we are feeling their pain as well, and we will help them out as much as possible in these tough times.”

While financial obligations are a concern for many, so is unwinding from the stress of daily life.

Ahead of their Jan. 25 concert, the Madison Chamber Orchestra announced they would be offering free tickets to any furloughed government worker. About 20 people called in to claim the tickets, Sue Ellen Maguire, chief operating officer at the Orchestra, said.

“We are not just here to put on concerts,” Maguire said.

“We are really here to build community and make Madison a better place. We saw people going through a tough time and wanted to spark a little joy in their lives.”

Moving forward While the tough times are tentatively over for government employees, the approved interim funding is scheduled to run out Feb. 15.

Trump has already backtracked on his claim of needing funding for the wall and has nominally denounced his urge for building one at all. This is promising for the future of federal funding but falls short of ruling another government shutdown an absolute impossibility.

Pocan, however, is optimistic that Congress and Trump will be able to reach an agreement.

“I think it is unlikely we will have [another] shutdown,” Pocan said. “Even the president, for all his bravado, you have to look at the raw facts of what he did to the economy and that he didn’t get his wall. I think it would be hard for him to do something as irresponsible as shutting us down again.”

For people like McKenzie, another shutdown would mean a renewed opportunity to give back. She said Pasture and Plenty would give out free meals again if the government shuts down come Feb. 15.

As for Carey, another shutdown would mean a serious consideration of how long UW would be able to continue funding her research.

“The idea that [the government shutdown] would go longer than it did or even start up again is just frustrating, it is disheartening as a citizen and as a scientist,” Carey said.

While the immediate future of federal funding hangs in limbo, research will go on.

In the meantime, Carey will be in her lab studying her hibernating squirrels, using each day of funded research to get closer to unlocking their biological secrets.

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Madison gives vote of no confidence for local government Historically low voter turnout in local elections shows public knows their local leaders have very little influence

by Sam Palmer Columnist

Democracy in America is a practically endless affair. Some of us have barely sobered up from Scott Walker ’s gubernatorial defeat and already races for mayor, city council and school board are afoot.

Yet despite the apparent abundance of democratic procedures, there is shockingly low buy-in. For example, the 2018 spring elections — standing on their own without the presidential primary that sometimes buoys numbers — saw a “strong” turnout of just under 33 percent.

Even this dismal figure is probably the product of a particularly agitated political moment — the average statewide turnout for these elections since 2000 has been 21.5 percent.

Suppose, for the sake of argument, that abstention is a vote of no-confidence for an institution as it exists. Then it might seem like a crushing majority of Madisonians would prefer that local government, in its current form, didn’t exist.

Why is this? Why don’t people care enough to go down to their local rec center and pencil in a few bubbles once every six months or so? One could chalk it up to how difficult it is to vote — from getting time off work to ensuring all one’s paperwork is in order, it certainly can be a hassle.

But while logistical difficulties certainly do depress turnout to some extent in all elections, the other side of that reasoning is that if people thought it mattered, they would make time.

Madison thought the 2018 midterm elections mattered — that’s why twothirds of the city turned out. Let’s not beat around the bush. The fact is, people don’t participate in local elections because they don’t feel that they matter.

And to a certain extent, they’re right. Part of the trouble with these local elections is that casting a vote in them is a very indirect way of influencing someone who doesn’t have that much power to begin with. Take a look at how many significant areas of legislation are completely cordoned off to local legislatures.

Rent control is pre-emptively excluded by the state government, so you can basically forget about voting in an alderman to make your rent cheaper. So are minimum wage laws, so forget about having your paycheck track with that cost 14 • February 12, 2019 • badgerherald.com

Photo · When constituents lack confidence in their officials or in their municipal government, they have no desire to vote or participate in local government.

Rui Shen The Badger Herald of living you can’t control anyway. Sorry, schmuck. And that’s to say nothing of things that local governments don’t even pretend to have control over, like police conduct or racial segregation.

What this means is that regardless of who wins these elections, the vast majority of regular people will feel little change in their daily lives. One could argue that this is the case for state and national politicians too, but certainly less so — see the aforementioned state preemptions.

As students in particular, we feel this continuity. We have no power in the classroom. We have no real power on campus. We usually have no power at work. We aren’t satisfied by local elections because try as they might, they simply can’t offer sufficient relief to this helplessness.

They just add more procedure. All the bloviating about civic virtue can’t smother

the feeling one gets while voting in a smalltime election — the same feeling one gets waiting in line at the DMV just to be told at the counter that they can’t help you.

There are exceptions. After all, these officials aren’t just playing Minesweeper all day — they do actually do things. Take a look at the No Cops in Schools campaign.

The Madison school board, an elected council, can determine whether high school students will see a cop every day — which, in a city with staggering racial discrimination by police, is a huge deal. A community coalition saw this opportunity and tried to seize it. They protested and they lost, but they promised to be back around election time. They very well might win with this electoral strategy.

The problem is that there aren’t many situations like that. There are only so many things that a city council representative can

do, and sometimes even getting them to do it can require a huge amount of effort. So, right or wrong, most people stay home.

Maybe the question about local elections is what one defines as usefulness. In a very limited sense, local elections offer a chance for people to influence their lives. But even discussing what one can control by voting in a city election implicitly highlights what cannot be controlled in that way — and that sphere is enormous.

For people who want some sort of genuine control over their communities, their workplaces and their lives, that evidently is not enough. Expand the meaning of municipal democracy and perhaps people would care. Until then, get used to 20 percent turnout.

Sam Palmer (spalmer4@wisc.edu) is a recent graduate with a degree in biology.

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‘Invisibly shackled’: Parole, probation fail to serve productive purpose Current system creates insurmountable obstacles inhibiting rehabilitation which keep people trapped within criminal justice system

by Cait Gibbons Opinion Editor

Despite the fact that 1 in 55 Americans are currently on parole or probation, community supervision remains one of the least researched and least effective aspects of the American criminal justice system.

Created as an alternative to incarceration, community supervision has actually become a pipeline directly into prison. In 2016, nearly 350,000 people were sent to prison, not for committing a crime, but for violating one of the many complex, convoluted terms of their parole.

This is even more stark within Wisconsin.

According to a Wisconsin Policy Forum report, in 2017, 36.5 percent of Wisconsin’s prison admissions were related to parole, probation or extended supervision violations — not new crimes.

“Re-incarceration for technical rule violations is a culture,” said Robert Agnew Jr., an organizer for JustLeadershipUSA. “It is a power tool that keeps Wisconsin’s prison population at its max and beyond max.”

The opportunity for parole violation is vast

— the rules are extensive, and often not very straightforward. David Liners, state director for WISDOM, a grassroots organization seeking to end mass incarceration, explained that while some violations are pretty clear, such as failing a drug test, others, like borrowing money without proper permission, are less well defined.

“It’s hard to keep all these things straight,” Liners said. “In some cases, it is that people have messed up, but in that case, I don’t know that reimprisonment should be the default way to deal with it.”

According to a recent report from the Columbia University Justice Lab, those under community supervision — a blanket term for parole and probation — comprise nearly 50 percent of the Wisconsin prison population, which has tripled since 1990, despite a decrease in crime rates.

Wisconsin’s Truth in Sentencing practices have majorly contributed to Wisconsin’s increasing prison population, but they have also played a large role in changes to Wisconsin’s community supervision system, according to University of Wisconsin professor emeritus of

law, Walter Dickey.

Truth in Sentencing has led to the expansion of extended supervision, under bifurcated sentencing. Extended supervision is similar to parole, but it’s much more intense, according to Wisconsin Policy Forum spokesperson David Callender.

“Let’s say that you have three years on extended supervision,” Callender said. “If on the very last day you commit an offense and have to go back to prison, you could potentially go back for that entire three years. Generally, the longer that somebody is looking over your shoulder and the longer you’re under supervision, the more likely it is that you may do something wrong and end up back in prison.”

The evidence speaks for itself — the current system of community supervision isn’t working.

This system, which was meant to lower the prison population, has only served to raise it. Rather than aid people with reintegrating into society in a positive way, this system only creates innumerable tripwires designed to keep people trapped inside a system which actively works against them.

Photo · “Revocation with New Sentence” refers to those who were under community supervision and were sent to prison for committing a new crime. “Revocation Only” refers to those sent to prison only for violating a condition of their parole, rather than committing a crime.

Data courtesy of Division of Adult Institutions Prison Admissions Data report, 2017.

Designed by Cait Gibbons

“What that looks like on the day-to-day in our communities is 65,000 people invisibly shackled,” Agnew said.

And it’s not even helping the rest of the state. The Justice Lab report found that reincarceration without a new crime costs Wisconsin taxpayers $147.5 million. Wisconsin lawmakers have shown time and time again just how willing they are to turn out their constituents’ pockets to send people to jail, with very little benefit to show for it.

The problem is that the purpose of community sentencing and of the prison system as a whole is poorly defined. It’s not clear whether the system is meant to keep the general public safe, or rehabilitate those who have committed crimes.

As a result, the current system fails all around.

Rather than help those convicted of crimes learn and move forward, these tough-on crime practices just create more barriers between engaging with society in a positive way. And rather than helping to keep Wisconsin residents safe, they actually negatively impact society by keeping such a high percentage of the population in jail or on parole.

In the end, no one truly benefits.

Last September, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, a philanthropic organization which has taken on a vast array of social issues ranging from criminal justice reform to drug pricing, announced a new initiative to transform parole and probation and actively work to reduce recidivism and revocation to prison.

Kelli Rhee, President and CEO of LJAF, highlighted the lack of positive impact the current system has. “Probation and parole failures contribute to exceptionally high incarceration populations, increased taxpayer burdens, and decreased public safety,” she said.

America’s “tough-on-crime” practices have gone too far, with very little positive impact to justify the system’s failures. In the interest of the safety and prosperity of all citizens — those who have been convicted of crimes and those who have not — we must redefine the system’s purpose, and redesign the system’s practices.

Rhee agrees there is ample room for improvement, and it starts with actively working to aid those trapped underneath the weight of the criminal justice system.

“If we can reform these systems so they better position people for success—providing access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment, for example—we will make an enormous impact on the justice system and individual lives.”

Cait Gibbons (cgibbons@badgerherald.com) is a junior studying math and Chinese.

badgerherald.com • February 12, 2019 • 15

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It’s time to clear the air about climate change, extreme weather Understanding the difference between climate change and global warming is imperative to productive discourse

by Keagan Schlosser Columnist

At the end of January, Americans faced a polar vortex. Madison was hit with minus 26 degree weather, making Jan. 30 the coldest day in nearly 100 years. When brutal winter weather rears its head, so does the classic phrase: “If global warming is real, why is it so cold outside?”

More often than not, people wrongly use the phrase “global warming” in reference to climate change. There tends to be confusion around these two phrases, as scientists’ terminology has changed over the decades.

While climate change and global warming are used interchangeably, there is a distinction to be made and misconceptions to be cleared up.

“Global warming refers to the rise in global temperatures due mainly to the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,” the U.S. Geological Survey said.

“Climate change refers to the increasing changes in the measures of climate over a long period of time — including precipitation, temperature and wind patterns.”

In short, global warming is an aspect of climate change. Climate change is

multifaceted and affects animal species, the polar region, forests, bodies of water and us.

Those who generalize the world’s changing environment as “global warming” are mistaken and risk the chance of spreading misinformation.

For an example of someone who doesn’t fully know the difference between climate change and global warming, look no further than President Donald Trump. In several tweets from 2015, he mocked the idea of global warming.

“Record low temperatures and massive amounts of snow. Where the hell is GLOBAL WARMING?” Trump tweeted.

And it seems he hasn’t learned — just this month, Trump questioned the existence of global warming again.

In fact, according to NASA and NOAA, 2018 ranked as the 4th hottest year on record, with the last five years all falling in the top five hottest years on record.

“2018 is consistent with the long term warming trend,” Zeke Hausfather, a research scientist with Berkeley Earth, said. “It’s significantly warmer than any of the years before 2015. There’s still this big bump up after 2014, and 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 are

all in a class of their own.”

But overuse of the term “global warming” without acknowledgment of the broader issue — climate change — allows climate change skeptics space to easily dismiss the problem when the temperature plummets below zero.

Even though the planet is getting warmer, cold weather still comes into play regionally.

Our weather is a result of Earth’s tilted axis as it revolves around the sun. During winter, the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the sun, making temperatures lower. Climate change cannot affect the earth’s tilt, meaning that winters will most likely stay cold. What climate change can impact, however, is the extremity of the weather. Increased ocean evaporation leads to heavier rain and snow falls, and therefore life-threatening flooding and tornadoes.

If people continue to dismiss global warming simply because it’s not warm outside, they will believe that no action needs to be taken. They will not only ignore legislation and dismiss news sources, people might refuse to do simple tasks to prevent the impending damage that climate change will inevitably cause.

This ignorance is not quite the same

as not watching the news and not being affected by overseas crises. If people ignore climate change, chances are, its urgency will only escalate. United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund projects that by 2040, 1 in 4 children worldwide will live in areas with extremely limited water resources, resulting in higher chances of disease, malnutrition and death.

While it’s a bit dramatic to immediately assume misusing the phrase global warming will create devastating world effects, educating the public and clearing up misconceptions is a vital step in preserving our world. A simple Google search can clear the air for many, hopefully urging them to literally clear the air.

It often feels like there’s not much we can do to prevent the impending doom on our planet. The first step is education. People need to know the real, scientific facts of climate change and not just assume that subzero temperatures mean there is no problem at hand.

Keagan Schlosser (kschlosser2@wisc.edu) is a freshman majoring in communications.

Wisconsin is behind the times when it comes to DUI-related safety Pervasive drinking culture combined with DUI leniency creates severe public safety issue perpetuated by lawmakers

by Courtney Degen Columnist

When you think of Wisconsin, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? In a state that calls its baseball team the Brewers, there’s no denying that Wisconsin is known for its heavy drinking culture.

Despite losing its spot as top party school according to the Princeton Review, the University of Wisconsin was still named the school with the most beer in 2017, and the university is consistently trying to address the drinking epidemic with programs like AlcoholEdu. Wisconsin even somewhat encourages underage drinking in what many consider to be a “loophole” to the national drinking age, stating that those under 21 can possess and consume alcohol if supervised by a parent, guardian or spouse who is at least 21 years of age or older.

Wisconsin’s drinking culture truly gets concerning, however, when studying the 16 • February 12, 2019 • badgerherald.com

severity of alcohol-related car crashes statewide.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, “Alcohol remains the single greatest driver contributing cause of fatal crashes.” In 2015, on average, one person was killed or injured in an alcoholrelated car crash every 2.9 hours in the state of Wisconsin.

Despite this, Wisconsin remains the only state in the U.S. that does not criminalize first-time DUIs. Instead, a first-time DUI is treated in a manner similar to a speeding ticket.

The fact that Wisconsin treats drunk drivers with such leniency is, frankly, ridiculous and irresponsible. Despite the state’s national ranking as 20th in population, Wisconsin consistently ranks as one of the top 15 states in the nation for the most drunk driver arrests, proving the state clearly has a drunk driver problem.

Republicans Rep. Jim Ott and Sen. Alberta Darling have been working to criminalize

first-time DUIs in Wisconsin for several years now. When newly-elected Gov. Tony Evers expressed he would be open to seeing that happen, Ott and Darling reintroduced their idea, slightly changing it so that those arrested could seek expungement if they are able to avoid a second offense within five years.

Whether or not the bill will pass is up for debate — Ott himself admitted it will be a tough sell. “All we can do is put the legislation out there and do the best we can to get it passed,” he said. The main concern of the bill’s opposers is that having a DUI on one’s criminal record could negatively affect how future employers see them.

By profusely rejecting the criminalization of DUIs, however, Wisconsin is only perpetuating its own problem. Drunk drivers need to be held responsible for their actions, and knowing that their first offense will be treated in the same way as a traffic violation likely encourages drivers to not take caution with their alcohol consumption.

While opposers may argue one mistake should not define someone’s life, the “mistake” of drunk driving is a decision that affects not only the driver, but everyone else on the road.

Two out of 3 people will be affected by an alcohol-related crash at some point in their life, and of all Wisconsin car crash fatalities in 2017, 32 percent were caused by drunk driving.

The reality is that drunk driving is killing innocent people, and Wisconsin is the only state in the U.S. that still undermines its severity by treating first-time DUIs as a civil violation. In order for the state to show it truly cares about its citizens’ safety, Wisconsin needs to criminalize first-time DUIs, and catch up with the rest of the country in recognizing how serious drunk driving really is.

Courtney Degen (cdegen@wisc.edu) is a sophomore majoring in political science and intending to major in journalism.

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Evers’ efforts to remove state from ACA lawsuit symbolic win for voters Despite anti-democratic legislation getting in the way, the current administration works to accurately represent Wisconsin

by Abigail Steinberg Opinion Editor

In Feb. 2018, Gov. Scott Walker authorized Attorney General Brad Schimel to enter Wisconsin into a multi-state lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act. Brad Woodhouse, the director of the Protect Our Care Campaign said the lawsuit “could take health insurance away from 416,600 Wisconsinites, raise premiums and end the Medicaid expansion, which has been critical for combating the opioid epidemic and keeping rural hospitals afloat.”

Given the GOP’s strong stance against the Affordable Care Act, the only chance Wisconsin would have had to leave the lawsuit depended on the possibility of electing a Democratic administration during the next election season.

In this constant era of overwhelming political polarization, an election —

particularly one that results in the power being transferred from one party to another — should result in radical political change.

When party platforms and party members look nothing alike, it only makes sense the resulting policies look different as well.

Nearly a year later, Scott Walker and Brad Schimel have lost their seats in Wisconsin state government. After a heated midterm election, key constitutional positions were flipped from Republican to Democrat. One would think the policy resulting from this switch would be quite different from where we were a year ago, but the first month of the Evers’ administration can best be described as a stalemate.

Both Gov. Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul heavily campaigned on removing Wisconsin from the ACA lawsuit.

Evers even used his first State of the State address to announce he had directed Kaul to do so. In any other state, this would be a common procedure, but in Wisconsin, it

might not even be legal.

Though a month isn’t enough time to indicate the overall tone of an administration, it’s easy to say much of Evers’ tenure as governor will be characterized by the effects of December ’s lame duck session. Before the session, law would have allowed Kaul to remove Wisconsin from the lawsuit with Evers’ approval. The new legislation, however, requires Kaul to get the approval of state budget committee, in which Republicans hold a 12-4 majority.

Republican leaders were quick to suggest Evers’ request of Kaul was illegal.

So far, Kaul’s actions have been quite legal — Kaul sent his request to the state budget committee to remove Wisconsin from the lawsuit. Though Evers withdrew the authorization Jan. 22, the budget committee has signaled it intends to keep Wisconsin in the lawsuit. The chairs of the

Photo · Evers must persevere through lame duck legislation in pursuit of accurate representation and to leave ACA lawsuit.

Marissa Haegele The Badger Herald

committee, Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, and Rep. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, have continued to discuss the measure with their GOP colleagues, but their position is not likely to change.

Kaul’s catch-22 begs the question: Why would Evers have Kaul enter a fight he is designed to lose? Possible answers are abundant. Evers said, “We will obey the law as it exists but as a first step, I needed to inform the attorney general of my desire to get out of the lawsuit.” But given that both heavily campaigned on the issue, this seems a bit redundant. Evers spokesperson Melissa Baldauff said Evers “has simply withdrawn his authority for this lawsuit,” although lame duck legislation seems to do that for him.

But what really indicates the Democrat’s motivation for doing this is the numbers.

A Marquette Law School poll reported 48 percent of registered voters believe Wisconsin should withdraw from the lawsuit seeking to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. Regardless of recent legislation, it’s the governor ’s job to advocate on behalf of the people of the state. It appears Evers will do so, despite the opposition’s strong efforts to hold him back.

Since the power to remove Wisconsin from the lawsuit is out of the hands of the executive branch, Evers’ slight exhibition of civil disobedience is largely symbolic.

Really, removing Wisconsin from the lawsuit is largely symbolic as well — 18 other states and the governor of Maine are also plaintiffs in the suit, so litigation will proceed regardless of Wisconsin’s role as a litigant.

Despite all odds against the Evers administration and the lack of tangible change resulting from the effort itself, it is imperative for the Evers administration to keep fighting to represent Wisconsin as truly as possible. The payoff for removing Wisconsin from the ACA lawsuit may not be significant, but if anything, it shows the leaders we’ve elected truly have our best interests in mind.

“The people of Wisconsin voted for a change this November and asked us to stop playing politics with their health care,” Evers said. Whether or not Wisconsin “stops playing politics” remains to be seen, but the efforts to cease this game shows not everything in Wisconsin’s government is inherently broken.

Abigail Steinberg (asteinberg@ badgerherald.com) is a sophomore majoring in political science and journalism. badgerherald.com • February 12, 2019 • 17

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Men’s basketball: Evaluating Ethan Happ’s NBA draft stock before June No matter what Happs’ future holds, his career stands among the finest in University of Wisconsin basketball history

by Ben Kenney Staff Writer

There’s a saying that you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. A prime example of this in action resonates with the career of Wisconsin legend Ethan Happ.

Happ began playing at Wisconsin just one year removed from the team’s National Championship Game appearance with many expecting him to lead the Badgers back to that stage. Now, with his college career nearing an end in the absence of a deep NCAA tournament run, it’s time we recognize his place in Wisconsin basketball lore as one of the greatest Badgers of all time.

A three-star recruit out of Rockridge High School in Taylor Ridge, Illinois, Happ redshirted his freshman year in 2014-15. During the 2015-16 season, Wisconsin’s roster included household names such as Zak Showalter, Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig, but Happ started every game that season, averaging 12.4 points and 7.9 rebounds, earning him Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.

Since his freshman year, Happ has risen to the top of seemingly every Wisconsin career

leaderboard. As of last Wednesday’s victory in Minnesota, Happ has tallied 1,962 career points, 1,115 rebounds, 387 assists and 138 blocks. He has also shot a career 55 percent from the field, more than 52 percent each year and has recorded an impressive 29.1 career player efficiency rating.

This season, Happ is averaging 18.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 32.1 minutes per game along with two triple-doubles.

The other players in college history to average more than 18 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists per game in a single season? Zero.

No one else has done it.

The other players in the NCAA this season with two triple doubles?

Again, no one.

We could spend all day comparing his numbers to the all-time leaderboards, but what’s most impressive about Happ’s career is the success he has brought to Madison without a talented supporting cast.

His career record stands at 81-48. Winning 63 percent of his games — despite not having any recruits in the class above him following Bo Ryan’s retirement — is arguably the most impressive of all career accolades he has

achieved.

Still, one big question remains: what’s next for Ethan Happ after this season?

Happ declared for the NBA Draft after last season but did not hire an agent, making it possible for him to return to school if no teams showed serious interest. As many now know, that is exactly what happened, as he was not listed in any mock drafts and would have likely gone undrafted if he hadn’t withdrawn.

Now, why would a player with the career numbers like Happ not receive any interest from the NBA, especially after Wisconsin great Frank Kaminsky was selected in the top ten a few years prior?

The answer to this question is based around two aspects of Happ’s game — a lack of outside shooting and size.

Since he began his college career, Happ has attempted just 16 three-pointers, a tiny number considering the number of minutes he has played. Of these 16 shots, Happ has made only one. Today’s NBA emphasizes the ability of big men to stretch the floor and shoot from distance, a box that Happ cannot check.

Additionally, Happ’s offensive game only

mirrors that of a handful of current NBA centers, but mirrors that of seemingly every power forward in the 1990s and early 2000s. Back when NBA big men rarely shot from long distance, Happ would have excelled.

But, now that seemingly every player on the floor can shoot the ball well, Happ will struggle to battle in the post with players who share his old-fashioned playing style — players who are also several inches taller than him with larger and stronger body frames.

These deficiencies can still change if Happ can develop an outside shot before June’s draft. If Happ can miraculously model his skill set to be more like that of current NBA power forwards, he will pave a path to success at the next level.

As of now, he is currently projected to go in the middle of the second round in many mock drafts.

With all that said, don’t let Happ’s questionable NBA future take away from what he’s done and what he is currently doing for Wisconsin. His career will be over in a couple months, so it’s time we sit back, recognize his greatness and cheer him on as he hopefully leads the Badgers to a deep Big Ten and NCAA tournament run.

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Forward Madison FC: A sit-down with Head Coach Daryl Shore

As Shore prepares to lead Madison’s first professional soccer team, he offers insight, optimism on team’s inaugural season

by Harrison Freuck Staff Writer

Daryl Shore, the head coach of Forward Madison FC, the new professional soccer team that calls Madison its home, is an interesting character.

He was born and raised in New York and played soccer, basketball and golf growing up. The son of a basketball coach, he had coaching genes in his blood from the start.

Shore began his college career playing soccer for Birmingham-Southern College from 198993, where he earned the distinction of being a two-time National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-American. After graduating in 1993, he was inducted into the Birmingham-Southern College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.

He then began playing at the professional level with the Birmingham Grasshoppers of the United States International Soccer Leauge followed by a stint with the New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers, where he was a player-assistant coach. After Shore’s retirement from playing, he became the head coach of the team — which had changed its name to the New Orleans Storm — followed by a brief tenure as the head coach of the Lehigh Valley Storm.

From 2000-10, Shore served as an assistant

coach for the Major Leauge Soccer’s Chicago Fire, where he worked for Madison FC director Peter Wilt, who served as the team’s president and general manager. He then became the head coach of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers from 2010-13, followed by another assistant position with Real Salt Lake of the MLS from 2014-17 where he also served as interim head coach for a short period in 2017.

Today, he proudly serves as the first coach of Forward Madison FC. When it was announced that Peter Wilt would be the club’s director, Shore inquired about a position with the team, which Wilt then promptly offered to him. Shore said that with this being Madison’s first professional athletic team in years, he’s excited for the unique opportunity that lays before him.

In anticipation of the start of practices next week, Shore said that the team’s executives, including himself, were targeting the final players to complete the roster. He went on to say that they are all excited to just “get on the soccer field and take the balls out.”

As for expectations this season, Shore feels that the team has a real opportunity to be in the United Soccer League championship and hopes that the Madison community and the state of Wisconsin will welcome them with open arms. Expectations

in the long run, however, are quite loftier.

“Holding up a trophy, hopefully in front of a home crowd, as well as a parade down State Street,” Shore said.

The roster compiled by Shore and assistant coach, Neil Hlavaty, so far includes players of all shapes and sizes, including Wisconsin natives J.C. Banks and Carl Schneider. Overall, Shore and Hlavaty explained that they feel good about the roster they’ve built, as it is diverse and contains “unique players with unique backgrounds.”

The roster is comprised of players who also have the “right attitude,” according to Shore — competitive and positive no matter the results.

Shore wants his players to play with that spirit all season, so that fans leaving the stadium feel the desire to come back and watch the team win.

The players were hand-picked by Shore and Hlavaty, which means there are already existing personal connections within the team. Shore coached Jeff Michaud and Don Smart before, and he has also coached against J.C. Banks and Danny Tenorio. It seems that every player has at least some prior connection to either coach or their teammates. They all have in common what Shore calls the ability to “go to battle,” which is the reason they were chosen.

When asked about the importance of the

partnership with the MLS team Minnesota United FC, Shore said that knowing there is an MLS team affiliated with his squad should serve as motivation for the players. He went on to explain that understanding somebody is “watching and recruiting the team will force the players to play their best soccer, and hopefully improve the team into a complete unit.”

Logistically, Shore and Hlavaty plan to run an aggressive, offense-focused game plan, with the hope being to play most of the game on the opponent’s half of the field. Shore plans to implement discipline and organization within their defense as well, creating a well-balanced team. In all, he explained that he wants the team to play “efficiently and forward moving,” just as the team name implies.

In his closing remarks, Shore said that having this team here in Madison is an “exciting opportunity for students at the University of Wisconsin, so everyone should take advantage of having a pro team.”

He was also certain that the games would be a good time, regardless of result. He invited anyone and everyone to be a part of the Flock, the selfnamed fan club of Forward Madison FC, and hopes to see the fans pour in this summer.

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Men’s basketball: Examining Wisconsin’s success in one-and-done era Camaraderie, culture surrounding Wisconsin men’s basketball program has been the secret behind brilliant run

by Zach Lutz Staff Writer

From 1999-2017, the Wisconsin men’s basketball program had reached the NCAA tournament in 19 consecutive seasons, a streak that was upended last year during an injury-riddled season. Nevertheless, that near two-decade run placed Wisconsin in elite company — the Badgers were tied for the third-longest active tournament streak with fellow Big Ten powerhouse Michigan State and trailed only Duke and Kansas, two of the notorious “Blue Blood” programs.

The Blue Bloods’ decorated history and ability to guarantee success at the college level — paired with tremendous exposure, access and coaching (we’ll leave it at that) — leaves top-level recruits drooling at the opportunity to play for them.

Since the one-and-done era began in 2006, these few programs have seemingly held a tight monopoly on the pool of coveted five-star recruits. Duke, Kansas and others have dipped both feet deep in this pool and rank among the schools with the most freshman drafted in the NBA since 2006.

These players enjoy one successful college season and then depart for the NBA. The same programs then reel in next year’s best recruits, and the cycle repeats. The Blue Bloods have become a revolving door for one-and-done NBA talent.

So how do we make sense of Wisconsin’s success in all of this?

The Badgers have had just two five-star commits since 2000 — Brian Butch in 2003 and Sam Dekker in 2012 — yet they have been one of the NCAA’s winningest programs during that same span. When correlating recruiting with winning, the Badgers appear to be an anomaly.

“ It’s the lack of one-anddone players that has helped shape the culture and camaraderie surrounding Wisconsin men’s basketball. ” But the answer is simple. Former Head Coach Bo Ryan and former assistant-turned-head Coach Greg Gard — and the rest of their coaching staffs — have done an exceptional job recruiting players who fit the Badger basketball mindset and culture.

They have found the players who are coachable and the players who want to win at the college level and have developed them over a full college career.

Former Badger star Frank Kaminsky and current star Ethan Happ were both three-star

Photo · The Badgers seem to have found their winning recipe by recruiting dedicated players willing to subscribe to the team’s philosophy.

Jason Chan The Badger Herald

recruits coming out of high school. Through their careers at Wisconsin, however, they each maximized their development and became among the nation’s top players, with Kaminsky being a unanimous men’s National College Player of the Year in 2015 and Happ possibly on his way to doing the same.

One cannot expect every three-star recruit to mimic the careers of Happ and Kaminsky, but these young men experienced tremendous success because they bought into the program.

It’s not that the Badgers do not want five-star, one-and-done level talent. Just because these recruits have been few and far between here, every coach, team and fan wants players with skills that can take him to the NBA right away. It’s been difficult for Wisconsin to compete with the track records that the Blue Bloods have had with one-and-dones. It’s every coach’s dream to recruit players who possess elite talent, who fit their ideology and who want to win at the college level.

But coming across players who check all three boxes rarely happens.ww When it comes down to it, most coaches will take the player who fits and who wants to win at the college level. This has been the recruiting recipe for Wisconsin basketball, and evidence over the past two decades suggests it’s worked.

Again, the Badgers would love to bring in one-and-done talent when it makes sense, but maybe it’s not the worst thing if its recruiting style continues in the future?

It’s the lack of one-and-done players that has helped shape the culture and camaraderie surrounding Wisconsin men’s basketball. With one-and-done players, Wisconsin would have never experienced that special group from 201314 that brought the Badgers to their first Final Four since 2000, and then come right back the next year and finish as the National Runner-Up (to Duke, nonetheless).

These back-to-back runs were led by tenured players like Kaminsky, Dekker, Duje Dukan, Josh Gasser, Traevon Jackson and Ben Brust — guys who were praised for their dedication to the program by not just die-hard Badger fans, but fans and critics from around the country.

It is players like these with whom fans could form kinships and cheer for by name, a rarity in modern college basketball.

The programs who are constantly churning out NBA lottery picks miss out on the brotherhood that teams like Wisconsin’s back-to-back Final Four squad possess. Fans of those programs do not get to experience the relationships that Badger fans have formed with their players over the last two decades.

Those Badger teams in 2014 and 2015 were not without key contributions from young players such as Nigel Hayes, Zak Showalter, Bronson Koenig and Vitto Brown. This group of underclassmen had seen what their upperclassmen teammates had accomplished and were inspired to follow in their footsteps. So when the time came, they carried the torch and built their own legacy.

The Badgers have been fortunate to continue a run over the past two decades that strikes a winning balance between underclassmen and upperclassmen. The 2018-19 Badger squad is healthy and is following a beat reminiscent of those classic Bo Ryan-led teams from the past decade.

This unit features key contributions from veterans such as Happ, Khalil Iverson, Brevin Pritzl and D’Mitrik Trice, who have been building unique chemistry with each other on and off the court, as well as building a loyal following among fans. This team also features young guys like Nate Reuvers, Brad Davison, Kobe King and Aleem Ford, all of whom are making names for themselves and warming themselves to the Grateful Red. We do not know what the future holds for this group of players or what kind of legacy they will leave, but what we do know by now is to trust the system instilled by this program.

BANTER

Skating Olympics on Bascom Students slip to crowd’s delight, winner takes home Bucky prize

by Angela Peterson ArtsEtc. Editor

Now I know what you’re going to say.

The Olympics happened last year in South Korea. At least I think they happened in South Korea? I definitely remember Michael Bublé singing in a mountie costume one year.

Well, the International Olympic Committee decided to hold a special edition last week on Bascom Hill just for figure skating. Curling was unfortunately excluded from the activities.

“The uphill skaters were really the only ones who stood a chance in the games. ” Why exclude curling? In addition to no one knowing anything about the sport (when reached for comment, the editors of our sports section directed me to the wikipedia article on curling for guidance) the event does not allow for the same passion and artistry seen in figure skating.

The last-minute event came about as Madison suddenly decided to be warm for once in these cold, cold times. This allowed watery precipitation — known as rain in scientific communities — to transform into ice once it hit the ground.

Judges sat stationed on that random flatter part in the middle of the hill to determine which make-shift competitors deserved the gold, silver and bronze miniature “Bucky on Parade” statues for their feats.

The first competitors were unaware a competition was upon them. The brave, brave souls who have 8 a.m. lectures in Van Vleck and other halls did not check their weather apps prior to leaving the safe havens of their apartments and found themselves in the shelter of a power lecture when this downpour began.

Faced with a sheet of ice fresher than Fresh Madison Market, these brave souls focused mostly on balance and form instead of artistry. Going against the grain of the other competitors by traveling downhill, these skaters maintained composure during their descent down the hill. Judges deducted points for these rather straightforward approaches, especially from those who clung to the guardrails instead of freewheeling on the ice.

The uphill skaters were really the only 22 • badgerherald.com • February 12, 2019

ones who stood a chance in the games.

With their unique vantage point, a nuanced variety of new tricks and moves appeared on the rink.

Chief among these moves were tricks which attempted to evade the pavement even as peril seemed certain. A common move features both feet making small circles as both arms waved in the air, finished with a grande plié as contact with the ground was maintained. Given how common it was, judges were not wowed by this move and generally awarded these skaters with low scores.

Swirls and twirls garnered some praise from the panel. Horizontal crosses between the sides of Bascom deserved special technicalities to be developed and various artistic approaches. The panel lauded the fully extended arms of some students as they turned in circles on thße slippery ice. A slight separation of the fingers in this extension additionally helped a skater ’s score.

Of course, one must take the grand

The last-minute event came “about as Madison suddenly decided to be warm for once in these cold, cold times.

”

prize. In this case, a student who wished to remain anonymous took the grand, golden Bucky prize. They added a prop to their routine — a bicycle — to wow the judges. The student received perfect 10s across the board as he completely let go of his bicycle and then regained control with ease, potentially putting pedestrians at risk but looking super fly in the process.

In the future, as long as climate change still makes Wisconsin winters even more unpredictable than they need to be, expect to see more amazing winter sporting events come to Bascom Hill besides figure skating and the beloved Battle for Bascom. Plans for a speed skating competition are currently in place, measuring success as students attempt to get to Memorial Union for an interview following their class. Perhaps there will even be a curling match on the hill in the future.

If so, The Badger Herald needs to find people who understand curling.

The American Indian Studies Colloquium is a series of talks given by scholars, tribal officials, activists, journalists and other people active in the advancement of Native concerns, issues and causes.

Our goal is to create a forum wherein ideas and practices can be discussed among students, staff, faculty and community members that enhance the goal of self-determination for Indigenous Nations.

Assistant Professor, History, Bradley University

Assistant Professor, AIS & SoHE, University of Wisconsin -Madison

Publisher and Editor of Madison Magazine

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