'Fighting Spirits' - Volume 50, Issue 22

STUDENT MEDIA AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2019 · VOL 50 Issue 22 · BADGERHERALD.COM

In days leading up to city elections, questions loom about the future of liquor licensing in downtown Madison. pg. 12

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SIDEWALK SALT CAUSES RUNOFF 4

BOLLYWOOD FUSION DANCE

After high levels of snowfall, UW experts discuss the negative environmental impacts of salting walkways.

Collegiate groups from across the nation visited Madison for a night of exciting competition.

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PHOTO PAGE

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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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POINT COUNTERPOINT: WISCONSIN’S EDUCATION ACHIEVEMENT GAP 15 Wisconsin has one of the worst achievement gaps between Black and white students, prompting political groups to analyze possible solutions.

DIVERSIONS

BREVIN PRITZL COULD PROVE TO BE BADGERS’ GAME CHANGER

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ARTSETC

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SPORTS

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After recently improved shooting and a higher scoring average, Pritzl’s production may be integral to Wisconsin’s postseason success.

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PHOTO

Wisconsin clashes with Michigan

Jon Yoon The Badger Herald Photo · After sweeping home series against Michigan, Badgers prep for Big Ten Tournament.

March 5, 2019 • badgerherald.com • 3

NEWS

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UW addresses harmful environmental impact of sidewalk salt Salting sidewalks during extreme winter weather can cause runoff, affecting lakes, freshwater, water quality, experts say has standards in place to describe which chloride concentration levels become toxic to organisms. Essentially, if fish and other wildlife are exposed to chloride Anyone who has been on campus this concentration above these levels for too past week has likely experienced the result long, they will die, Magnuson said. of the varying temperatures — ice. Many While the lakes in Madison are on students have fallen victim to the slick track to be in serious trouble in the sidewalks and lost their footing more times following decades, there are other areas than they can count. that are experiencing these dangers now.

While University Health Services Magnuson said shallower water habitats, advised “walking like a penguin” to such as marshes or wetlands, experience avoid falling in an Instagram post Feb. higher levels of chloride concentration 7, the tip seems to have evaded students than larger bodies of waters do. as complaints about slippery sidewalks “There’s a little bit of runoff and a continue to escalate on social media. big volume of water so that the salt Students believe the solution is simple: concentration is very diluted, and even UW needs to apply more salt on campus that, eventually, will be a problem,” walkways.

Magnuson said. “But if you have really There is a lot more at stake than poor shallow water, where storm sewers are footing or university penny-pinching, running into it, like the 1918 Marsh, or the however. Assistant professor Hilary Dugan salt pile is stored next to it, they’re shallow from the UW Center for Limnology said enough that the concentrations are much road salt usage has immense impacts on higher in the water than they are in Lake Mendota.”

While the environmental impact of salt is alarming enough, there are more effects even closer to home — the faucet. Both Dugan and Magnuson said that road salt usage is also playing a huge role in the quality of Madison’s drinking water.

Poor water quality resulting from road salt usage has already caused at least one well in the Madison area to exceed the sodium limit in place by EPA guidelines.

According to a water quality report put out by MWU, Well Unit #6 of Dane County had a sodium level of 26 mg/L, six mg/L over the EPA limit for drinking water.

All of the previous negative effects of road salt leaves the UW campus in a tough spot, one that they put a great deal of effort into mediating. Building and Grounds Superintendent Ellen Agnew relayed several initiatives taken by campus, one of which was the broom Photo · Salt coating UW sidewalks after extreme weather works to minimize the risk of falling, but its environmental impact is tractors being used on startling. campus.

“We are able to broom off Erik Brown the snow and not have to The Badger Herald put material down. That’s

by Lauren Henning Reporter

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freshwater environments.

“Chloride pollution is another example of human’s impact on the environment,” Dugan said. “High salt loading into lakes affects aquatic species and drinking water.”

Dugan said when salt is spread onto roadways and walkways, it does not stay in one place. Water runoff carries it to water sources like Lake Mendota.

Chloride levels in Lake Mendota have increased 48 mg/L in the last 78 years.

Dugan stressed that if more changes are not made to salt usage in the Madison area, the chloride concentration will reach toxic levels. Dugan also noted that while the chloride levels in Lake Mendota have increased significantly, Lake Monona and Lake Wingra have experienced even greater increases.

Emeritus professor of integrated biology and former director of the Center for Limnology John Magnuson said that while chloride is not thought of as toxic, the Environmental Protection Agency

what we try to do and we try to minimize the amount of material we have to use by getting as close to the pavement ahead of time,” Agnew said.

Other measures UW takes that Agnew mentioned are using sand when the temperature is too low to use salt, as well as using salt brine before a storm hits. Salt brine is a salt and water mixture sprayed on to roads and sidewalks before a winter storm. When salt is put down with water, it sticks to the road and is not washed away as easily by water runoff. This makes it more effective and environmentally friendly.

Director of residence hall facilities Mike Kinderman stressed that housing is working 24/7 to ensure housing facility areas are clear for residents. Not only do they have full-time staff on the clock constantly, but student employees are often called in at 6 a.m. to assist during big snowfalls. Kinderman hoped that students understand campus is always trying to maintain safety — but welcomes feedback.

“When you have a campus this size, I do think there’s always going to be some situations that are not great because you just can’t get to everything right away,” Kinderman said. “I just appreciate everyone’s patience. Like I said, I do think it’s always okay to provide feedback.”

Amidst the environmental cost of salt is also the very real monetary cost. Agnew estimated that campus has used over 800 tons so far this year, and even with the contract that UW has with a company, salt costs approximately $70 per ton. This means that UW has spent about $56,000 on salt alone, not to mention man hours.

Winter is not over yet, and the numbers will continue to climb.

Kinderman, however, reinforced a key focus of campus and Housing. The mantra of housing is “Badgers Live Sustainably.”

UW campus prides itself on its efforts to minimize its effects on the environment.

While the monetary cost is large, campus is more concentrated on the environmental costs of salt.

“There is a tradeoff and I do think salt is costly,” Kinderman said. “I think the bigger piece that we consider is really the environmental impact and you always want to think about that when you’re trying to weigh out what should actually be used to make it safe to walk through.”

For more information on how road salt impacts the environment and how to salt responsibly, visit SaltWise.

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City departments work through cold temperatures, extreme snowfall Workers aim to keep Madison running smoothly in the wake of extreme weather brought by winter storms, polar vortex

by Molly DeVore City Editor

done with a “robot arm,” allowing workers to stay inside the truck, there are some areas of Madison that can only be collected by a worker hanging off the side of the truck.

Johnson said crews managed exposure through frequent rotation, ensuring that no one was outside for more than 15 minutes.

cold. As much as we tried to suspend any criminal behavior, we were still out there and we managed to get through it,” Chaney Austin said.

The polar vortex may be over but Madison is still experiencing plenty of extreme weather, receiving over 50 inches of

While classes may have been canceled during the polar vortex that Madison experienced at the end of January, there were plenty of people that still had to go to work. The many water mains that burst kept Madison Water Utility busy during the vortex.

MWU spokesperson Amy Barrilleaux said that they had seven water main breaks in one day during the vortex.

When Madison gets a cold snap, the frost line pushes into the soil and then the soil pushes down, putting pressure on the water mains. When it gets warm, the frost line suddenly moves back up through the soil and the soil shifts again, putting pressure on the mains, Barrilleaux said.

This kind of shift in pressure is damaging to mains, especially in Madison, where, according to Barrilleaux, about 300 of the 900 miles of main are old and need to be replaced. Barrilleaux said the vortex was a very “relentless” time for the crews that had to repair the mains.

“I know it was a really tiring stretch for those crews, seven main breaks in one day is a lot and so that meant they were working all night long in the coldest part of the day to fix those water mains,” Barrilleaux said. “But the only other option is to not fix them and then you’ve got people without water.”

To protect against the Photo · City employees work around the clock during winter storms to assure safe travel for citizens and students alike. dangerous conditions, crews took frequent breaks, Barrilleaux Jason Chan said. Main breaks that would The Badger Herald normally take four hours to repair took closer to six.

Barrilleaux said though there Police officers working during the vortex snow this winter, according to the Wisconsin were no injuries during the vortex, they were also very cautious of the cold. Captain State Climatology Office. Johnson said had to take extra precautions because when of Traffic and Specialized Services, Brian Madison was having a fairly mild winter crews repair breaks they get soaking wet, Chaney Austin said officers were allowed up until about six weeks ago when the making the freezing temperatures all the to wear items that weren’t approved in their snowfall drastically increased. This change more dangerous. normal uniforms such as face masks. Chaney in weather has made Madison Streets and MWU wasn’t the only city department Austin added that officers assisted people Recycling very busy, with many workers that had to brave cold weather during that were outside during the vortex such having to work double time to plow and the polar vortex, Madison Streets and as the homeless and metro transit riders. sand all of Madison’s streets.

Recycling continued regular trash Chaney Austin said school cancellations did Despite the extreme weather, Madison collection throughout the polar vortex. A not mean people stayed home.

Streets and Recycling were not caught off spokesperson from the department, Bryan “Crime didn’t stop just because it was guard, according to Johnson, the department Johnson, said though regular trash pickup is

has two seasons — snow and preparing for snow. Johnson said that being prepared is essential because plowing is a job that has to get done.

“When it comes to snow and difficult weather, we’re basically the emergency services … Snow is like a really low-grade natural disaster,” Johnson said.

“If we have to plow the city, we’re gonna plow the city.”

The time it takes to plow the city can be a source of tension for Madison residents, according to Johnson who said he gets a lot of emails from upset citizens regarding street conditions.

Johnson is sympathetic, saying that dealing with the snow is “uniformly difficult.”Johnson said some of these complaints come from a “gap in information” and because plows can’t start clearing the streets until the storm is over, many people get frustrated with how long it takes. Johnson said because this is more snow than we’ve had in the past few years, people need time to adjust to the conditions.

He believes a more direct line of contact between streets and the public may increase understanding.

“I would love to get every alder and the mayor in all these plows just so they can see, this is what your neighborhoods are wrestling with and this is what we’re wrestling with at the same time just so our only interaction with it isn’t the complaints that you get via email,” Johnson said.

Chaney Austin said patience is key when it comes to navigating harsh weather, saying that every year people forget how to drive in snowy conditions, increasing the number of accidents. By February, most drivers have adjusted to winter weather, Chaney Austin said. But according to Barrilleaux, the frequency of these intense storms may require changes in protocol.

“We’re in an uncertain climate future right now, so we don’t know what to expect ... This could become the new normal for a time and then we have a new-new normal,” Barrilleaux said. “We just try to make sure that we are prepared.”

March 5, 2019 • badgerherald.com • 5

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Following national trends, local businesses advocate for livable wages New Delta Beer Labs experiment with livable wage model to help employees as minimum wage rises across the nation

by Maddy Phillips City Editor

After Gov. Tony Evers proposed increasing Wisconsin’s minimum wage by $7.75 per hour, businesses and organizations in the state have continued to advocate for livable wages.

A statewide minimum wage change hasn’t occurred since 2009, but some Madison businesses pursued their own course of action on this issue. Delta Beer Labs, which recently opened this month, decided to build livable wages into their business model.

Chief beer officer Tim Piotrowski said Delta Beer Labs decided paying a livable wage was the right thing to do for their employees and their business.

“When staff work for tips, they work for themselves,” Piotrowski said. “We wanted to foster an environment where [Delta Beer Labs’] mission was so valuable that our staff would work for our mission to expand the craft beer community regardless of gender, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation.”

Minimum wages have been on the rise in the last few years in several states across the U.S., according to the National Conference of Legislatures. The Massachusetts Institute of

Technology livable wage formula looks at the cost of living in a specified area, such as the city of Madison, and calculates the per-hour wage it takes to live in that area.

Community and environmental sociology professor Gary Green said the economic policies of former Gov. Scott Walker’s administration focused on a trickle-down system whereas Evers’ new administration appears to be looking at a more grassroots construction of the economy.

“The whole idea is by raising the floor of a segment of the workforce with a living wage that will ripple out to other employers will have to pay a similar wage,” Green said. “… It’s a different approach than giving something like tax breaks to a corporation like Foxconn and it will trickle down.”

The living wage approach assumes that, by raising the wages of low-income workers, a better economy is built, Green said. Critics often charge that employers can’t afford to pay these wages, therefore, won’t hire as many workers Green said.

The traditional approach to economic development, Green said, is that localities have to offer cheap labor to attract businesses and that, over time, wages will rise. But we’re not seeing low-income worker wages rising, Green

said.

Piotrowski said that Delta Beer Labs sees the model as a kind of test for Madison’s economy.

“It’s kind of an experiment to see if the Madison community will support our decision to take tipping out of the equation,” Piotrowski said. “To charge slightly more for our beer in order to build that into our revenue-sharing program.”

The revenue sharing program is one way Piotrowski said he hopes employees won’t only receive a wage to afford to live off of but to have the opportunity to save for themselves as well.

Any employee is eligible to benefit from this program and receive a percentage of the revenue that comes in alongside the hours they work, Piotrowski said. All hours worked in the month get divided out by the revenue brought in so everybody gets “an even share of the pie.”

“Our employees benefit from the areas that they each touch,” Piotrowski said. “They all benefit from their work which encourages teamwork … the incentive is to help each other out and carry the burden.”

Paying livable wages is helpful in attracting good workers, Green said. A lot of employers are finding with the low unemployment rate it is getting increasingly difficult to retain skilled workers, Green said.

It is critical for employers to find a way to attract and retain skilled workers and that without that retention, they’re going to have high turnover rates, lose workers to other businesses and see a cutback in productivity, ultimately hurting profits, Green said.

Enforcing these policies is difficult to do on a state level, Green said. Most state legislatures are more conservative than big cities that often support livable wage ordinances, creating pushback to these policies, Green said.

“It really does vary by locality,” Green said.

“The cost of living in Madison is quite different than the cost of living in Hayward, Wisconsin … it makes sense to [implement living wage policy] on a regional or local basis.”

Most policies like this surrounding the economy are made on an ideological basis, Green said. Politics and partisanship can prevent research from being the foundation of policies such as minimum or a livable wage, Green said.

Businesses like Delta Beer Labs and organizations such as Fight for 15 remain active advocates for livable wage policies in the U.S. and within local communities. Piotrowski said he thinks it’s important for a company to not only do well in their community but to do good for their community.

Gov. Evers calls for marijuana decriminalization in new state budget

Proposal to allow individuals to carry, distribute up to 25 grams of marijuana, as well as approve various medicinal purposes

by Sunmi Famule Reporter

Gov. Tony Evers announced Monday that his state budget would include plans to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana and legalize it for medical use.

The proposal will allow individuals to carry up to 25 grams of marijuana. It would also allow manufacturing and distribution of up to 25 grams, according to Evers’ official press release.

Those with medical conditions such as chronic pain, cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder and seizures will also be able to use marijuana for medicinal purposes under the proposal, according to the statement. ”Wisconsinites overwhelmingly agree that this is a critically important issue,” Evers said in the press release. “But it’s not just about access to health care, it’s about connecting the dots between racial disparities and economic inequity.”

Already, 16 counties and two municipalities voted by a majority last year to approve a nonbinding referendum which asked if marijuana should be legal for medical or recreational use.

State Rep. Melissa Sargent, D-Madison, is 6 • badgerherald.com • March 5, 2019

amongst those who support the proposal. She has previously introduced marijuana legalization in the state Legislature during multiple sessions.

“I think it is really refreshing that we have a governor in the state of Wisconsin that is actually ready to hear the voices of the people in our state,” Sargent said.

The proposal will also call for expunging the records of those previously convicted with possession of small amounts of marijuana and have already completed their sentences or are on probation.

Evers also noted that Wisconsin has the highest incarceration rates in the country for black men.

Sargent also said that decriminalization stops the state from spending millions of dollars on the criminal justice system. Sargent believes decriminalization is a path to legalization.

Though the full proposal has not been released, it has already met some resistance.

Republican Assembly speaker Robin Vos — who was open to medical marijuana in the past — commented Thursday on the likelihood of the proposal passing.

“There’s no chance republicans are going to go for recreational marijuana,” Vos said at a WisPolitics

luncheon. “We’re not going to decriminalize it so people can carry around baggies of weed all over the state.”

Passing the proposal would mean that Wisconsin would join 30 other states and the District of Columbia in the legalization of some form of marijuana use according to Evers’ official release.

Sargent said she believes Wisconsin will see full legalization in the next five years.

“It is time the people of Wisconsin hold their elected officials accountable and make sure that they do what they promised during the campaign cycle,” Sargent said.

According to Sargent, full legalization will create tens of thousands of jobs, hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue and billions in economic stimulus. She added that it could be a larger economic opportunity for the state — larger than the Foxconn deal, for example.

Sargent also said that the proposal should include a public education component — especially for minors.

If the proposal passes, it is a little unclear how the University of Wisconsin and other Wisconsin universities will be affected.UW police department communications director Marc Lovicott said in an

email that the UWPD follows state statutes and laws when it comes to marijuana use.

He also mentioned that if there are changes to the law, the UWPD would follow those changes when they go into effect. UW’s current drug policy states that students involved in a marijuana-related violation of university policy must attend cannabis screening and intervention for college students. It is unclear if this stipulation would change should Evers’ proposal pass.

For University Health Services alcohol, tobacco and other drugs prevention coordinator Jennifer Damask, prevention is important in the conversation about marijuana.

“How we are making sure we have funding and money to put into efforts of prevention — and then on the other side — rehab and support for people who are abusing or addicted,” Damask said.

Damask added that, when it comes to policies, it’s important to be proactive and think of all the public health concerns that go along with it.

She also said that should the proposal pass, the university would take the necessary steps to inform students.

Evers’ proposal will be heard during the 2019 Budget Address.

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Dane County Humane Society converts shelter into thrift store

A decrease in animals under center’s care has opened new space for a source of revenue with community improvement in mind

by Anna Walters City Editor

In response to a low number of homeless animals under its care, the Dane County Humane Society recently closed the doors of their Westside Adoption Center on Grand Canyon Drive, converting the space into a thrift store. The revenue generated from the thrift store will support the dayto-day work done at the DCHS. DCHS spokesperson Marissa DeGroot said the Westside adoption center was unutilized. While the space was capable of housing 15 to 20 cats, often there were closer to five or six. The few animals who were still there were brought to the DCHS Main Shelter location on Voges Road.

“We anticipated not being able to keep enough cats there through the winter months and brainstormed about other things we could do with the space,”

DeGroot said.

DeGroot said the low number of homeless animals coming into the center can be attributed to efforts made by the DCHS to prevent cats from becoming homeless.

Some of these programs and methods include spay and neuter services, a lost and found program to reunite lost pets with their families, microchipping services, adoption services, pet rehoming services, humane education programs and outreach programs like Pets for Life.

Shannon Meyer, a Dane County Animal Services officer, said microchipping animals in attempts to get more animals back to their owners has played a role in this decrease of animals at the shelters. ”Before they had this service, all animals had to go to the shelter to be located by their owners,” Meyer said. “A lot of people are microchipping their animals, and now that we can scan them, we should see a

decrease in animals going to the shelter if we can get them back to their owners that way.”

The number of homeless cats taken in annually by all DCHS locations decreased by approximately 800 from 2014-18. In addition to less cats coming in, the average length of stay for each cat also decreased.

The length of stay for cats has been trending lower due to efforts to keep cats at the shelter healthy and prevent disease, open selection — which means that stray cats who are good adoption candidates can be viewed by the public and adopted once their stray hold period is over and they haven’t been redeemed by an owner — as well as shortened stray hold period, which is now four days.

Less cats combined with shorter lengths of stay meant there was less of a need for additional space to house homeless cats.

The thrift store has been open for a little over one month, and according to DeGroot,

it is a successful form of revenue for the DCHS so far. She said the public’s reception of the thrift store has been good.

As a private, non-profit shelter, DCHS depends on a variety of revenue sources to support the work they do. The goal of the thrift store is to raise $100,000 in 2019.

DCHS plans to evaluate the store’s success when the five year lease expires. Their sources of funding come from individual donors, fundraising events, adoption fees, grants and programs like the thrift store.

“So far we are very happy with the results,” DeGroot said. “We have been excited and grateful for our community which has come out and embraced the new thrift store and the cause it supports. We have had great donations of gently used pet supplies, clothes and house goods as well as donations of brand new items. Shoppers have been coming out not only to find great deals but also support Dane County Humane Society and animals in need.”

UW School of Education to launch new health promotion major Demand for health education workers in Wisconsin predicted to grow by 13 percent by 2024, UW to add two majors

by Anna Walters City Editor

As the demand for health education workers is predicted grow exponentially in the coming years, University of Wisconsin hopes to contribute well-prepared graduates with the approval of the new undergraduate health promotion and health equity degree.

The major will launch in Fall 2020 with plans to supply communities with graduates who are not only ready to promote health, but also to advocate for inclusion in health care.

Department of Kinesiology Chair Gary Diffee said the major will be housed in the School of Education’s Department of Kinesiology, however, this is a unique major in that it is a collaboration between three School of Education departments.

The core coursework of Health Promotion, Health Equity is a combination of kinesiology, counseling psychology, rehabilitation psychology and special education, among other broad possible electives.

Department of Kinesiology undergraduate program coordinator Morgan Shields noted that this major makes for both a good doublemajor or stand-alone major. She said it will be easy to tailor coursework to students’ specific areas of interest and career goals.

“The flexibility, breadth and potential for widening that lens even further is something

the students will hopefully really appreciate,” Shields said.

Diffee said that kinesiologists like himself often think about exclusively biological health, but he has started to consider that it may be time to think about why simply telling people they need exercise more is not an effective method for improving health.

Educators and health professionals must start to ask themselves what barriers — psychological, emotional, cultural — are causing their administration of healthcare to be ineffective for some people, Diffee said.

“I’m excited to take the holistic view of health to address some of those fundamental issues that any one piece of that cannot address by themselves,” Diffee said.” The uniting of these three departments will allow us to address health from all of those different aspects. I think we’re going to end up training students that are really competent to think about health in the most broad sense.”

UW student Hanna Kremsreiter is planning to go into nursing, but she is also looking into the HPHE major now.

“I think that this major will provide me with a lot of helpful information that will help me to be a better advocate for my future patients,” Kremsreiter said. “I also am really drawn to the equity part of the major because there are so many disparities in our healthcare system.

I think that it is neat that I will have this

knowledge to put into practice later on in my career.”

Growing job demand in health education fields has spurred student interest in healthrelated majors.

In the most recent first destination survey, 12 percent of undergraduates at UW entered health-related professions.

One of the reasons Diffee and his colleagues moved forward with the program is that there is currently no degree on the UW campus that trains students at the undergraduate level to specifically work in the health education arena — or even a Bachelor’s degree with the word “health” in the title.

Diffee said one of the main goals of the program is to provide a pathway for people, specifically underrepresented and minority students, who are passionate and interested in working in health but are not in a position or have the desire to go into further training after their undergraduate studies.

Racial and ethnic minorities are significantly underrepresented in health professions, despite research showing that diversity is important in healthcare and in health education environments.

While the health promotion half of the major focuses on promoting health in various ways, the other half of the major, health equity, is a unique aspect of the program that recognizes that health education is going to look different

among different populations of people, for example, rural versus urban and in different minority groups, Diffee said.

“The way they’re going to receive health information is going to be very different, so we want to be sure that we are training our students to be able to communicate to a wide variety of different populations,” Diffee said.

“We really are interested in not just promoting health behaviors in one particular cultural group, but making sure there is equitable access to that health information across society.”

Diffee said health education jobs can come in many different forms, and job prospects for students graduating with this degree are in high demand right now.

Currently the School of Education is working on getting the word out about the new major to prospective students.

Diffee said they are specifically looking at students who are attending Student Orientation Advising and Registration, where there are more students that identify interest in health-related careers than anything else.

“I think [the combination of departments] brings in components that are often overlooked, and may be the big contributors to health in general,” Shields said. “There is going to be some exciting opportunities for collaboration that you wouldn’t know if you were just one of those majors.”

March 5, 2019 • badgerherald.com • 7

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Flood prevention initiatives underway after summer’s intense weather Concerns over high lake levels, water runoff prompts city to take action before next summer, organizations suggest possible solutions

by Malina Barker Reporter

In light of last summer’s intense flooding, Dane County and local organizations have suggested possible solutions to mitigate further flooding but remain undetermined as of now.

The flash flooding that occurred last August and September was due to an unusually high amount of rain, which resulted in higher than normal lake levels and backwater problems.

Deputy City Engineer Greg Fries said the city has now allocated $7.5 million toward flood mitigation. This money will go toward construction, acquisition of land for future mitigation projects and hiring studies.

“The storm pointed out issues that exist in the city of Madison,” Fries said. “But, [the city] has to be careful of not just moving the problem. [We] must look at the whole system to improve the flood response for everyone, not harming anyone else.”

Fries said about $3.5 million will be put towards construction and the other half will go toward land acquisition and studies hiring. The studies — about $250,000/each — help create infoSWMM’s, software that models urban drainage and sewers.

This will guide the city on how to improve future flood response.

The Lake Levels Task Force, created in early November by Dane County, has released technical reports and has had two out of its five guidance meetings.

It will go through the reports and then make a recommendation of what should be done about flooding due to the high levels of the Yahara Chain of Lakes, that consists of the Yahara River connecting lakes Kegonsa, Mendota, Monona, Waubesa and Wingra.

“There are options to reduce the chances of flooding,” Fries said. “But they are only from an engineering perspective. They are meant to move water more efficiently out of these lakes in order to prevent flooding.”

According to a research report done by Yahara Lakes Association president Dan Schultz, the most favorable options are dredging sections of the Yahara River, rerouting and pumping water from Lake Waubesa to Badfish Creek, or a combination the two.

Clean Lakes Alliance marketing and development director Adam Sodersten offered a different perspective.

“We need to reduce runoff,” Sodersten said.

This is the answer for everything. If it happens to the land, it happens to the lake.”

Runoff is the prominent issue facing the Yahara River watershed, Sodersten said. It pollutes the lakes and increases the risk of flooding.

Sodersten emphasized that reducing runoff means increasing the quality of the Yahara chain of lakes. Decreased runoff will diminish blue-green 8 • badgerherald.com • March 5, 2019

algae blooms due to less nutrient runoff from agricultural land and urban surfaces.

To mitigate potential flooding, Sodersten and Fries recommended the community create rain gardens.

“Rain gardens take roof runoff and put it into a bathtub, giving the water to native plants,” Fries said. “These plants have tap roots 3 to 4 feet deep.

This helps to quicken water infiltration down into the soil.”

Both Sodersten and Fries agreed that reducing flooding will need a community-wide effort.

These changes will be most effective through word-of-mouth and leading by example. Like recycling, Sodersten and Fries are hopeful that

through this process, a majority of the community will begin and continue to take an effort to minimize flooding.

If the Madison community participates and actively attempts to reduce runoff, the issues of flooding and the impacts on lake quality will be lessened, Fries said.

“It almost requires a societal change to how people look at their relationship with the land and runoff,” Fries said.

Individually, it is difficult to make a difference in the effects of flooding on the community and the Yahara Chain of Lakes, Sodersten said. If the community implements changes together, they will be able to have a larger impact on their future

Photo · The City of Madison allocated $7.5 million toward flood mitigation efforts for future summers.

Sarah Godfrey The Badger Herald

and that of the lakes.

“Knowledge is power,” Sodersten said. “The more people that know how the community works and how runoff affects lakes, the more they will want to change it.”

The flooding last summer helped the city and Dane County prioritize solutions to the problem.

Runoff has decreased the quality of the lakes, and the flooding has been damaging to the community.

Sodersten stressed the importance of the lakes to the Madison community.

“The lakes are why we are here,” Sodersten said. “Without the lakes, people might leave and Madison no longer be as great of a city as it is right now.”

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Cuarteto Casals takes stage at Shannon Hall for classical showcase String quartet performed global music, demonstrating technical mastery of Hungarian classics alongside influences of modern folk music

by William Lundquist ArtsEtc. Staff Writer

The Cuarteto Casals is my new favorite string quartet after their performance Friday. I didn’t really have a favorite one to begin with, but when you make two hours of Haydn, Bartok, Purcell and Debussy feel like they flew by because your performance was so riveting, you take the cake.Cuarteto Casals made a stop on their international tour to perform in the 99th annual Concert Series at Shannon Hall. The event felt formal but friendly, and there was a buzz around the theater with people mingling and buying CDs before the concert began.

Cuarteto Casals are world renowned and have performed at some of the most distinguished concert halls in the world, such as Carnegie Hall in New York City, Kolner Philharmonie in Germany and Cite de la Music in Paris, among others. They have been honored as cultural ambassadors of Spain, and they are residents of the Royal Palace in Madrid. The group formed at the Escuela Reina Sofia in 1997 and has

been going strong for over 20 years, with a discography of 12 CDs. Their repertoire ranges, but they are widely known for their classical performances of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven.

As soon as the quartet began their first piece, Haydn’s “Opus 33 No. 3 in C Major,” the flare and chemistry of the group was on full display. The musicians read from iPads and large scores, seldom flipping a page. Their eyes were on each other as much as they were on the music, and they maintained a concentrated look on their faces while effortlessly finessing every note and detail of the piece.

The delicate pianos were shaped with passionate crescendos. No intricacies were spared, and I attempted to relish every detail as the musicians passed harmonies back and forth like ping pong balls. Every once in a while the cello player would crack a smile, perhaps unable to contain his enjoyment of a particular flourish.

I usually consider listening to classical music for a long period of time boring or

even mentally taxing. The music demands certain attention that so few members of our generation are willing to give to be entertained.

I was lucky enough to experience “the culmination of talent and hard

work, which can only be described as a musical masterclass.

”

Cuarteto Casals commanded my attention because they have a certain allure to them.

The group is something of an anomaly as well — they play music from 500 years ago while reading it on iPads designed less than 10 years ago.

The group displayed a technical mastery of their instruments by playing some of the most difficult music in the world, but made it seem easy.

Bartok’s “Quartet No. 3” was the second song the group performed. It was a piece

heavily influenced by Hungarian folk music. They maintained their attention to detail while exploring more adventurous harmonic patterns. The piece was a nice transition point, which happened in between their classical mixed with 20thcentury folk music. The piece was more experimental and abstract.

The notes constantly clashed and resolved in different rhythmic patterns, and the dynamic contrast was at the forefront of the power in the music. The dexterity of the group was fully apparent by the time the group was playing Debussy, and the music shifted to an impressionist, distinctively 20th-century French sound.

It is unlikely that I will ever see a string quartet perform music at such a high level ever again. I was lucky enough to experience the culmination of talent and hard work, which can only be described as a musical masterclass. Perhaps most importantly, Cuarteto Casals showed us that music has no expiration date, and can be preserved forever through our love and appreciation.

UW a cappella group advances to contest regional quarterfinals In historic finish, all-female group Pitches and Notes tied for second place after delivering an empowering performance to Madison crowd

by Emma Grenzebach ArtsEtc. Staff Writer

The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella held the fifth Great Lakes region quarterfinals at Shannon Hall Saturday. The top two teams from the competition were set to move on to the Great Lakes Semifinal, but a very rare, incredible tie occurred for second place, resulting in three collegiate teams moving on to the semifinals in Chicago.

One of University of Wisconsin’s own a cappella groups, Pitches and Notes, tied for second place and will be competing March 16 to move on to the ICCA finals in New York City. Pitches and Notes is an all-female a cappella group that works to provide entertainment and empowerment to UW and the surrounding community, event emcees said.At the fifth Great Lakes Quarterfinal, Pitches and Notes performed three songs in their 12-minute slot. They started off with “Make it Holy” by the Staves, then moved on to “S.L.U.T.” by Bea Miller and finished with “God is a Woman” by Ariana Grande.

The auditorium was full of Pitches and Notes fans before they even started performing.

Many people sported Pitches and Notes t-shirts

to support the popular campus group. The group’s set was received very well — with a gigantic round of applause.Pitches and Notes came in second place with 311 points, accompanied by Basses Wild Men’s A Cappella, a group from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Basses Wild opened their set with “Start a Fire” by John Legend from the “La La Land” soundtrack. They then moved on to perform “Garden” by Dua Lipa. Finally, they performed “It’s Raining Men” by The Weather Girls.

The auditorium was full of Pitches “and Notes fans before they even

started performing. Many people sported Pitches and Notes t-shirts to support the popular campus group.

The group’s set was received well with a giant round of applause,

”

Not only did Basses Wild receive a secondplace score, but they also had a group member receive two special awards. The judges can give awards in four categories — outstanding soloist,

outstanding vocal percussion, outstanding arrangement and outstanding choreography. In another rare turn of events, the judges gave out five awards, awarding two groups awards for outstanding choreography as another reminder of how stiff the competition was Saturday.

Drew Baker of Basses Wild received two of the four, outstanding arrangement for “Garden” and outstanding choreography for the entire set, exciting him and his entire group.

From 7Days A Cappella, Callie Marino received the outstanding soloist award for her rendition of “The End of Love.” From the same group, Ethan Gormony received the award for outstanding vocal percussion for the entire set.

From The Enchantments, Theoni Kolas received the award for outstanding choreography for the entire set. The volunteer judges were in charge of awarding the honors as well as points to each team.

The points were tabulated based on elements of vocal and visual performance from each of the groups. The judges for the ICCA quarterfinal all had strong musical backgrounds.

The Enchantments from the University of Minnesota were awarded first place, earning 353 points, more than 40 points ahead of the second place score. The Enchantments are an all femme-identifying group that makes it their

goal to empower women and encourage them to stand out, emcees said.

The Enchantments wowed the crowd during their twelve-minute slot with “God is a Woman” by Ariana Grande, “Fall In Line”

by Christina Aguilera ft. Demi Lovato, “The Other Side” by Ruelle and closing the set with an incredible rendition of “Cringe” by Matt Maeson.

The top four teams were joined by Nova from Alverno College, Perfectly Authentic from Carthage College, The Carthachords from Carthage College, The Treblemakers from Northwestern University, Under A-Rest A Cappella from UW and Vocal U A Cappella from the University of Minnesota. All of the teams performed very well, keeping the audience’s energy high.

The competition was hosted by another of UW’s a cappella groups, Fundamentally Sound, who had already moved on to the ICCA Great Lakes Semifinals in Chicago. During the tabulation of scores, Fundamentally Sound performed their own set to keep the audience from getting restless.

The competition ended on a high note, with another one of UW’s own teams moving on to the next level of competition. Keep an eye out for the results from the Great Lakes Semifinals March 16.

March 5, 2019 • badgerherald.com • 9

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UW alum searches for comedy in world’s most dangerous locations Aaron Ohlmann collaborates with Seinfeld director Larry Charles on ‘Dangerous World of Comedy’ after following his dreams, traveling world

by Emily Penn ArtsEtc. Staff Writer

University of Wisconsin alum Aaron Ohlmann recently produced a new original documentary Netflix series, “Larry Charles’ Dangerous World of Comedy.” Known for making award-winning films in dangerous places, this series took Ohlmann to Nigeria, Somalia and Saudi Arabia, among other places across the globe.

After graduating in 2003, Ohlmann moved to Los Angeles to work on documentaries and music videos. His path to filmmaking was a trial and error process, though. After a failed attempt at majoring in philosophy and art, Ohlmann made the switch to follow his passion.

“I kept getting distracted — documentaries were something that helped keep me engaged

and dealt with my curiosity about the world,” Ohlmann said.

Ohlmann said his recent series was the brainchild of Larry Charles — a man known for his boundary-pushing humor. Ohlmann is a fan of Charles’ work, who is best recognized for directing “Seinfeld,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Borat.” Ohlmann claims “Borat” to be one of the most hilarious movies he’s ever seen.

The idea of this new series came from Charles’ curiosity about comedians. There was a realization that in other parts of the world, telling the wrong joke can have severely high repercussions. Ohlmann said as he had previous experience producing films in complicated parts of the world, a friend thought they’d be a good fit to work together.

“It just instantly connected,” Ohlmann said. “I

loved the idea.”

Ohlmann said the best part of this series for him was the opportunity to go back to places he’s been and cover them in a different kind of way. Ohlmann has done documentary work for VICE covering poverty and displacement in Iraq, “covering it in ways we all know it has been covered,” he said.

“Larry Charles’ Dangerous World of Comedy” allowed Ohlmann to tell a new type of story.

“We get a chance to see a real and authentic representation of parts of the world that are only known in one-dimensional ways,” Ohlmann said.

Seeing how these war-zone countries have a vibrant comedy scene was the most memorable part of this project for Ohlmann.

Though some would classify traveling to

locations such as Saudi Arabia to be dangerous, Ohlmann was more concerned about how humor would translate there.

“You can learn another person’s language, eat their food, understand their architecture, but humor is one of those things that is the last and deepest thing to cut through,” Ohlmann said.

Rather than focusing on the danger of their locations, Ohlmann and Charles wanted to make sure they could document this series in a way that does justice. Ohlmann, who has years of experience traveling to “dangerous” locations, said it’s possible to go just about anywhere safely if you do it right.

One of the more profound experiences of producing this series for Ohlmann was meeting Ahmad Al-Basheer, whom Ohlmann refers to as the Jon Stewart of Iraq. He said Ahmad AlBasheer is one of the most important voices in Iraq. Al-Basheer currently does stand-up comedy show for a broadcasted audience of 19 million people in exile due to the current Iraq situation.

“It’s incredible to see how he uses humor to, in his own way, make the world a better place,” Ohlmann said.

It’s a good idea to just do the thing “that you want to do. If you want to make films, beg, borrow, steal a camera and do it. Don’t spend too much time working on something else and waiting to do that thing.

”

Aaron Ohlmann

Photo - Aaron Ohlmann said he believes people are hungry for human stories that inspire laughter, no matter where they come from.

Courtesy of Flickr user Jeff

10 • badgerherald.com • March 5, 2019

Even multiple near-death experiences haven’t stopped Al-Basheer. Ohlmann recognized that no comedians in the U.S. have to take those kind of risks. Ohlmann said in other parts of the world, humor is used as a survival mechanism.

So far, Ohlmann said the feedback this Netflix series has gotten has been overwhelmingly positive. The directing and producing duo have been getting calls from people in all parts of the world.

“People are hungry for stories about humans and comedy and laughter in those parts of the world as well,” Ohlmann said.

As for advice for aspiring filmmakers, Ohlmann kept it simple.

“It’s a good idea to just do the thing that you want to do,” Ohlmann said. “If you want to make films, beg, borrow, steal a camera and do it. Don’t spend too much time working on something else and waiting to do that thing.”

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Dance competition showcases Bollywood flair at Overture Center Student-run competition featuring dance groups from colleges across country lights up Madison stage with intense, vivid production

by Angela Peterson ArtsEtc. Editor

It’s easy to overlook the logistics which go into artistic performances and competitions when one reclines back in their chair and takes in the event with awe. Performers need to be lined up, lights and projections need to sync up perfectly with the music, trophies and awards need to not cause any Steve Harvey-esque problems and be awarded to the correct teams.

I was amazed students could produce such a well-rounded, impressive event by themselves while watching Aa Dehken Zara’s competition Saturday night at the Overture Center.

The night featured five traditional bhangra teams and eight fusion dance teams competing for points to secure a bid to Bollywood America nationals later this year in Atlanta.

Bhangra, formed from traditional Punjabi

dance styles, is far from how my schema for traditional dancing is set. High energy routines combining hip hop music, a percussive sliding instrument called a sapp and elaborate dances create a stunning display of human art. Colorful traditional costumes, each uniquely crafted for the particular bhangra teams, aided in creating vivid stage pictures throughout the evening.

The fusion dance teams craft styles which are a bit harder to define. While borrowing elements from traditional dance styles, each team crafted its own genre-mixing routine based on the strengths of its members. Many dancers on these teams brought prior training in ballet, lyrical, Bollywood, hip hop and other dance styles to add diversity in their show’s choreography.

For those who have not had a chance to view a fusion dance set, I can best describe it as a standard Humorology-style lip sync mixed

Photo - Dancers from Purdue strike a pose in Bollywood dance competition.

Angela Peterson Badger Herald

with a higher level of dance techniques and a Bollywood flair. Each group devised a storyline for their routine based off a piece of pop culture.

Audiences enjoyed retellings of “Robin Hood,” “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” and “Coco” among others.

Each set began with a video introduction to the storyline which set up the lead dancers and the general vibe for each group’s performance.

Some groups, like New York University’s NASHA, took a more interpretive approach to storytelling and included no dialogue. Others like WashU Chaahat utilized elaborate sets and highly edited videos to capture their tale.

Such a high level of talent was displayed by all groups in attendance, I could not imagine having to judge which group performed the best. Everyone displayed a high level of stamina throughout the non-stop sets while still emotionally conveying the story through their

choreography.

Capping off the night’s entertainment, University of Wisconsin hosts from the Indian Graduate Student Association and Wisconsin Surma Dance Team performed various sets as the judges tabulated the night’s results. IGSA’s first performance was especially interesting.

A violinist took the stage and played in the darkness to a contemporary backing track, inherently denoting the fusion of styles which was to come. One dancer, dressed in a modern jacket, began to dance in a hip hop style, followed by a lyrical dancer and closing with a traditional dancer. Relating to the fusion witnessed earlier by the competitive dance teams, this performance encapsulated each thread that combined to create these entertaining performances.

Despite technical glitches at the top of their set, Wisconsin Surma’s “Mulan” story was wellcrafted and ready for their own competitions later in the season. IGSA also delivered a short fusion routine mostly mixed to a Bollywood style cover of Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You.” The event ran quite smoothly and even ended before a predicted 10 p.m. end time, which is always welcome for weary student viewers.

Spartan Bhangra of Case Western Reserve University and Boiler Bhangra of Purdue University took home first and second place in the traditional bhangra category, respectively.

Minnesota Junoon pleased many fans who made the short trip across state lines when it earned first place in the fusion category with its “Home Alone” routine. Northwestern Deeva, an all-female group, and all-male newcomers Detroit Kohinoor from Wayne State University received second and third prize respectively.

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Upcoming city elections crack open the issues of liquor licensing for downtown and State Street establishments

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Economic concerns, spike in alcohol-related violent crimes downtown have city officials, police rethinking city ordinances

by James Strebe Copy Associate

For many years, Taco Bell asked customers to “Think outside the bun.” Ever since the fast food chain’s State Street location applied for a liquor license just over a year ago, some in city government want the restaurant to think outside the bottle.

Though a majority on the Alcohol License Review Committee voted to grant the Taco Bell Cantina on State Street a liquor license, Ald. Paul Skidmore, District 9, opposed the license, as he was concerned about the consequences of increased availability of alcohol in the community.

“On one hand you could say, ‘for goodness’ sake, it’s only a Taco Bell. You go there to buy food, you’re only going to have a few drinks and it’s going to be very expensive,’” Skidmore said. “True, but you could go next door and you could buy alcohol or you could go next door to that and get alcohol or you could go to a bar on the corner. Does every place need to have a liquor license?”

For city officials who have fought the license, the answer is no, and for every push Taco Bell has made to sell alcohol with their chalupas and quesadillas, the city has pushed back just as hard.

Which is City Attorney Mike May sent an email earlier this year to Mayor Paul Soglin and the Madison City Council regarding the Taco Bell Cantina on State Street.

“As we recently told you, the Circuit Court ruled against the city’s decision to deny the liquor license on State Street.” May said in the email. “I have reviewed the decision … We have determined to appeal the ruling.”

Madison’s City Council originally voted to grant the business a liquor license last year, but Soglin vetoed the move. The appeal marks yet another chapter in the Taco Bell saga — an affair that has been closely covered at every step. The debate on whether to allow the restaurant on the 500 block of State Street to sell alcohol has been contentious.

But Taco Bell is only the jumping-off point for a much larger conversation. Concern about the prevalence of drinking in the downtown area and its potential adverse effects have raised questions about what actions — if any — the city should take to keep drinking under control.

With unusually competitive municipal elections this year prefacing decisions that will have huge implications for the downtown area, the fate of liquor licensing remains uncertain.

Disturbing the peace On any given Saturday at 1 a.m., the majority of the city of Madison is soundly asleep. While the rest of the city slumbers, a platoon-sized force of officers are awake downtown. The bottom of State Street and the 600 block of University Avenue are the most heavily patrolled regions of the city, Jason Freedman, the Central District Captain of Police, said.

“There’s a reason for that,” Freedman said. “The reasons are the sheer quantity of humanity and alcohol that are interacting.”

The combination of large crowds mixed with alcohol 12 • March 5, 2019 • badgerherald.com

consumption breeds conflict, Freedman said. His officers have encountered everything from public urination to assault on weekend nights. Alcohol and crowds, Freedman said, impact decision-making and can make people more vulnerable to crime.

Julia Sherman, the senior outreach specialist for the Wisconsin Alcohol Policy Project, said that higher concentrations of alcohol outlets, like the downtown area in Madison, correlate with higher rates of alcohol consumption, crime and disorder.

“There’s been research emerging since the 80s,” Sherman said. “It crosses countries and it crosses cultures.

It’s not about Madison, it’s not about Wisconsin, it’s about the fact that we’re all human.”

Alcohol has been on Freedman’s mind too. Close to a year and a half ago, the Madison Police Department analyzed data on the downtown area and saw that there had been a spike in violent crime.

“I grew up in Madison, I went to UW-Madison, I’ve been a cop a long time,” Freedman said. “We’ve always had issues downtown because of alcohol and density, but what we saw were significant increases in some of these more violent offenses that really made us pause and say, ‘OK, something has changed, we’ve got to do some different things.’”

Rowdy crowds and the rise of violence are not the only concerns being raised for the downtown area.

The prevalence of businesses selling alcohol has also affected the downtown ecosystem, according to Soglin and others on the city council. Downtown property owners know that tenants who sell alcohol can generally afford to pay more in rent, Soglin said, and faced with rising rent costs, retailers are driven out of the downtown area.

Tiffany Kenney, executive director of Madison’s Central Business Improvement District, is skeptical that alcohol is driving retail off of State Street. Converting a retail space into a restaurant space can cost a property owner hundreds of thousands of dollars, Kenney said.

“Most property owners don’t really want to convert their property from one to the other,” Kenney said. “It’s a really expensive endeavor. What I do think is that we’ve got smart property owners who are trying to figure out a really diverse mix of buildings downtown.”

Another concern of the city is the cost of keeping the downtown area safe. Doing so requires a lot of manpower — anywhere between six and 26 cops in addition to the eight police officers already on patrol in the area.

This presents a challenge for Freedman, who says filling the assignments can be difficult at times. The hours are late, the weather conditions can be extreme, and many of the interactions police have are with drunk people.

“It’s certainly not seen as a cush, easy way to earn money,” Freedman said.

The city does what it can to encourage officers to take overtime hours, but policing State Street doesn’t come cheap. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the city spends between $100,000 and $200,000 a year on police overtime.

Alcohol is also the number one reason behind calls for police — more so than any other drug, Freedman said.

After 22 years in law enforcement, Freedman said that he is comfortable saying that the downtown area would

be better off without the heavy drinking behaviors so commonly seen in the central district.

Fermenting chaos While pedestrian and transit malls across the country have failed, State Street has proven to be an exception to that rule. Verveer gives credit to Soglin for building State Street into what it is today — arguably the most famous street in the state.

“We survived the regional shopping malls,” Soglin said. “Now we are in effect a victim of our own success — namely the attraction of out of town and local money that want to sell large quantities of alcohol.”

Twenty years ago, retail made up 50 percent of all greater State Street area businesses, according to the 2018 State of the Downtown Report. But last year, retail made up only 22 percent of State Street businesses, although that total number almost doubled over that stretch of time.

Verveer, who sits on the Alcohol Licensing Review Committee, said previously the city allowed too much alcohol growth downtown.

“I might go so far as to say we came close to creating a monster,” Verveer said.

“We’ve always had issues downtown because of alcohol and density, but what we saw were significant increases in some of these more violent offenses that really made us pause and say, ‘OK, something has changed, we’ve got to do some different things.’”

­ — Jason Freedman, Central District Captain of Police

Sherman said expectations for the downtown area have changed in the past 10 years as more high-end housing entered the space. With high rises now located so close to the downtown area, concerns over noise and trash were quickly brought to light.

“Those considerations are always going to be there now, because there are some really great homes,” Sherman said.

“The issues changed as the downtown has changed.”

Sherman also said until around a decade ago, new bars were considered a positive economic development because they were businesses that served as a source of employment and brought people to the community. Now, Sherman said, there is growing recognition that bars are not a positive economic development and are in fact a drain on the city’s resources.

“Not all businesses are equal,” Sherman said. “Some

will cost you more in the long run, and alcohol is one of them.”

Freedman said he’s quick to point out that Madison’s bars are not the only cause behind downtown’s heavy drinking problems.

Outside of the bars, Freedman said, more can be done to make public spaces downtown safer, and to dismantle the strong drinking culture among UW students.

“The bars have been there forever,” Freedman said.

“The upticks in violence are more recent. That would suggest to me that, while the bars play a role in this, they’re not necessarily generating some of these issues.”

Freedman said he doesn’t have a clear answer as to why violent crime is rising on State Street. But he speculated that a handful of key factors have contributed to the trend.

In recent years, Freedman said he has seen an overall increase in violence throughout the city, a rise in harmful drug and alcohol practices, such as ordering drugs off the internet and greater levels of defiance toward police.

But the most significant factor, Freedman said, is that there are simply no other large venues open into the late night with no cover charge and less limited hours of operation.

“There’s a vacuum,” Freedman said. “You have a vacuum where there’s a lot of alcohol, there’s a lot of people, there’s the anonymity of the crowd, and it’s a reflection of the broader societal trends.”

Hangover issues For years, the city of Madison has enforced an alcohol overlay district, an ordinance which bans new alcohol licensing for bars and liquor stores in the downtown area.

The ordinance stretches across the 500 and 600 blocks of State Street and University Avenue, between Broom Street and Lake Street. The measure has kept several businesses, such as the 7-Eleven on the corner of Lake and State Street, from acquiring liquor licenses. The alcohol overlay district does not prohibit the city from granting liquor licenses to restaurants.

But written into the ordinance is a sunset provision, which will cause the alcohol overlay district to expire in June, just after the next city council and mayoral election in April. Not only is it possible that Madison will have a new mayor, but facing an unprecedented number of retirements from the council this year, many seats will be filled with newly elected council members.

One of the first issues the council will face is deciding whether or not to keep the alcohol overlay district in place.

“By the end of the semester, these conversations will really be coming to a head in many respects,” Verveer said.

It’s hard to foresee how this new council will respond.

Liquor licensing, Verveer said, is not a commonplace topic that candidates bring up when they campaign door-todoor.

The most notable attempt to address liquor licensing in the downtown area came last year when Soglin proposed a moratorium that would have extended the existing hold on liquor licenses to include the vast majority of State Street and stretch as far down as West Washington

Avenue. Verveer initially worked with the mayor on the plan but parted ways when they couldn’t agree on specifics — particularly those surrounding restaurants within the affected area.

The proposal gained little traction and was quietly dropped. Instead, the council adopted a separate resolution to launch a study of alcohol density across the city. The methodologies of the study were presented at a ALRC meeting Feb. 20 and the findings of the study will be presented in June — the same month in which the sunset provision of the current moratorium takes effect.

Kenney said she believes it is time for the sun to set on the license hold downtown. For the many years it has been in place, there has been no evidence that the measure has been successful in curbing negative alcohol consumption, Kenney said. She added that the city could be more effective focusing its limited time and resources on treating the effects of binge drinking and supporting viable alternatives to drinking on State Street, such as the Madison Night Market.

“Community energy would be better spent on [other] solutions than an additional moratorium because we’ve had one that hasn’t really made any impact, positive or negative,” Kenney said.

Skidmore, who serves on the ALRC, agrees that the moratorium is not a full solution, but he said that it’s important to call a timeout to study those problems — not add to them.

“You don’t throw gas on a fire to put it out,” Skidmore said.

Restaurants aren’t explicitly prevented from having a liquor license as a part of city ordinances. But Soglin has attempted to prevent several restaurants from obtaining liquor licenses — most notably, Taco Bell, but also Mad City Frites and Lotsa Pizza, both of which were formerly housed on State Street.

The city has also stopped downtown restaurants from selling late night alcohol.

This can put restaurants in the State Street area in a tricky situation. Restaurants sometimes operate on slim margins, and not being able to sell alcohol can impact their ability to survive financially downtown.

Freedman said he cannot support granting liquor licenses to any downtown businesses in problem locations.

His focus is on public safety and the wellness of the community. Freedman said the interests of the businesses are sometimes in conflict with the interests of the broader community.

“We’ll have a restaurant come in and they have good ownership and good management,” Freedman said. “I’m very confident they’re good people, but I say, ‘while I have no concerns with you as ownership, because of where you are looking to open … I can’t advocate or support your trying to sell alcohol after midnight.’”

This is what makes the fate of the Taco Bell lawsuit so important. The initial ruling claimed that the city acted arbitrarily in denying the restaurant a license. May said requiring the city to provide justification for every alcohol license denial is too stringent of a requirement.

The city’s primary concern is not the individual license, but that it may put the city in a difficult situation, May

said. Everytime the city denies a license, the city will be forced to spend a large amount of time justifying the differences between two establishments.

It’s rarely restaurants that are troublemakers downtown, Verveer said. On the rare occasion that they do cause trouble, it’s usually been because they morphed into a tavern during late night hours.

This is what caused Verveer to part ways with Soglin, who desired to expand alcohol serving limitations within his proposed moratorium.

“My perspective is that I would rather have a restaurant than a vacant storefront on State Street,” Verveer said.

Another concern, which led to the creation of the alcohol license density study, is that combating alcohol sales at bars may just lead to higher rates of pregaming.

If Madison doesn’t tackle both, they may just end up pushing the problem around, Sherman said.

“No one in Wisconsin has to go too far for a drink, whether they buy it and take it home, or buy it and drink it there,” Sherman said.

Final call Many do think that they can effectively make the downtown region a safer area.

When the 600 block of University saw a spike in violent crimes — many of which involved weapons — police took action. In 2018, the city put around $80,000 into better lighting in the area and mandated that none of the bars in the region allow new entry after 1:30 a.m.

Officers downtown believe the 1:30 a.m. rule has been effective in curbing problem behavior. There have been talks of expanding the measure to include a greater expanse of the downtown and campus area, including well-known hangouts like The Kollege Klub, Whiskey Jack’s and City Bar, among others.

There has also been renewed conversations with UW about introducing ID scanners to bars and liquor stores across the downtown area.

City officials have considered shifting more financial burden of downtown safety measures onto bar owners.

Alcohol licensing fees in Madison range between $500 and $600. In comparison, the average cost of liquor license fees across the country was just over $1,400 as of June 2018.

Verveer said that out-of-state entrepreneurs looking to open a new business in Madison are blown away by how little it costs.

Madison currently has no plan to offset the cost of drinking by increasing the fees bars pay to the city. But the study could give the city enough data to support adding a special charge to certain properties that see a disproportionate number of calls for service, Verveer said.

Ultimately, many of the policy decisions that will be made this spring and summer are dependent on the results of upcoming city elections and the findings of the alcohol density study. While conversations may differ about what policies are best for Madison’s beloved downtown, one thing is certain — it’s going to take a lot of work to change the region.

“There are no magic bullets in this sort of public policy debate,” Sherman said. “No one thing is going to remedy the problem.” badgerherald.com • March 5, 2019 • 13

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Pardons offer chance to reform Wisconsin’s criminal justice system

In a complete 180 from the Walker Administration, Gov. Evers’ proposed use of pardons increases focus on rehabilitation

by Adam Ramer Columnist

Midway through February, Gov. Tony Evers announced he would be looking into issuing pardons as governor in order to help rehabilitate and restore the rights of those in the criminal justice system.

This marks a distinct difference from the stance of then-Gov. Scott Walker, who believed pardons undermine the decisions made by courts and juries.

But Gov. Evers is correct to be considering issuing pardons across the system — they’re effective ways to give people a second chance in a system that’s notoriously less than lenient and is a step toward furthering rehabilitation instead of punishment.

Wisconsin is among 24 states who grants their governors the power to grant pardons for any crime other than treason, which allows them to have a direct impact on those serving time.

The term pardon is often used rather colloquially to mean any proclamation by an executive to relieve the conviction of one, which is technically wrong. A pardon by definition is the way to restore the rights of the convicted, whereas commutations are reducing the length of the sentence and a reprieve is essentially a delay or stay, where the convicted and their sentence is put on hold or suspended for a time period.

All three are popular in both gubernatorial and presidential administrations. Former state Govs.

Jim Doyle, Scott McCallum and Tommy Thompson all issued pardons during their tenures as heads of the state, with Doyle issuing nearly 300 in his two terms as governor. On the presidential side, President Barack Obama and President George Bush both issued around 200 pardons in their 8 years, while Obama issued around 1,700 commutations to Bush’s 11.

All of this is to say is that there’s no reason for Evers to not pursue a policy that helps rehabilitate the lives of hundreds, if not thousands. Pardons are a vital part of the governor ’s prerogative and to use them is to help out constituents across the state of Wisconsin.

It’s a common stance to say pardons a tricky business politically — and it’s easy to get trapped up that pardons should be based on leveraging political clout and capital, but that’s morally wrong. Pardons should be pursued because it’s the right 14 • March, 5 2019 • badgerherald.com

Photo · If Gov. Tony Evers issues pardons to inmates, he will join a long line of Wisconsin governors bringing mercy and rehabilitation into the state’s criminal justice system.

Jon Yoon The Badger Herald thing to do for the thousands imprisoned or without rights.

First off, pardons and commutation can be a way to give those another chance.

It’s not a coincidence that the phrase “the U.S. prison system is legalized slavery” is popularly thrown around. In particular, young people of color are far more likely to be imprisoned than their white counterparts, and pardons and commutations are a way to bring justice to those who are disproportionately targeted.

There should be more pardons for other drug-related felonies and non-violentcrimes simply because rehabilitation is what the justice system should strive for, not punishment. There is no reason why someone selling drugs should have to

suffer their entire life because a decision they made that could have been spurred on by financial need or lack of judgment.

Naysayers believe pardons mean people are more likely to be repeat offenders — the evidence says otherwise. A study on recidivism rates among crack-cocaine traffickers found people are no more likely to recommit crimes involving the substance than those who served their full sentence.

There is no sound reason for why convicts should not be allowed to vote or retain civil rights. Florida recently passed a historic amendment that gave over 1.5 million former felons their ability to vote again. Progress is being made. A felony doesn’t need to be a life-altering and liferuining sentence.

Pardoning non-violent and youth offenders allows for those caught up in the system to have another chance. Wisconsin has 23,000 state inmates, more than twice that of Minnesota while having around the same population. For those 23,000 inmates, it means 23,000 families and communities impacted. A pardon is a way for many in the system to start over. It’s not just good politics — it’s the right thing to do.

The criminal injustice system changes the lives of those it eats up, not always for better. There are a million ways to change and overhaul the system, but issuing pardons is a good place to start.

Adam Ramer (aramer2@wisc.edu) is a senior majoring in political science and history.

Point Counterpoint: Wisconsin’s education achievement gap College Republicans: Voucher program mends achievement gap Gov. Tony Evers failed to address the achievement gap as State Superintendent of Public Instruction and now wants to freeze a program proven to address the problem.

Wisconsin has one of the worst academic achievement gaps between Black and white students in the U.S. Black students fall considerably behind their white counterparts across all school subjects. Furthermore, the disparity between Wisconsin’s Black and white students’ graduation rate is the largest in the nation with a difference of nearly thirty percent for the 2015-16 academic year.

Evers himself characterized the achievement gap in Wisconsin as “extraordinarily horrible,” yet he did not do anything to tackle the problem when he held the optimal position to do so as State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Within the 17 years he was in office, the achievement gap barely shifted.

Now, as governor, Evers has decided to address the achievement gap problem by proposing to suspend expansion of independent public schools and freeze or cap enrollment towards Wisconsin’s Parental Choice Program which allows students to attend private schools using a taxpayer-funded voucher.

Evers plans on cutting academic opportunity and funding to the very programs that have challenged achievement gap problems most beneficially. School choice programs have consistently improved academic performance across racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps.

In a research study comparing school choice programs and achievement gaps, William H. Jeynes of California State University found that school choice programs could reduce the achievement gap by 25 percent more than their public school counterparts. Additionally, school choice addresses both a racial and socioeconomic platform found in achievement gap disparities.

Therefore, Evers is perpetuating the viability of achievement gap in Wisconsin. He is attacking a program proven to work in the fight combating achievement gap inequality. Consequently, from this action, he is also harming the opportunity for public schools to address the problem.

Because school choice increases the quality of public schools, Evers is also harming the already struggling public school system by limiting school choice programs. School choice creates positive competition between schools which produces an environment of continuous improvement.

It forces private and public schools alike to critically evaluate their methods of instruction

and educational atmosphere and work to advance themselves for the good of their students.

Specifically in Wisconsin, school choice results in more money per student for public schools.

Also, the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program accumulated $500 million in economic benefits alone.

The fact of the matter is simply this — even though he had seventeen years to do so as State Superintendent, Evers is only now addressing the achievement gap for personal political benefit. His actions would be favorable to him twofold — he could punish the parental choice programs under the guise of academic equality while appeasing big donors and teachers’ union lobbying groups simultaneously.

Instead of working with the Wisconsin legislature to improve academic achievement equality in all of our schools, Evers has chosen the side of politics. He has disregarded the fact that parental choice promotes higher academic performance in all students, no matter their race or socioeconomic background. In the meantime, our children are the ones being hurt the most. The Executive Vice President of the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, CJ Szafir, said it best, “Evers is putting himself in front of the schoolhouse doors, telling low-income children that they cannot go to the best schools. ”In light of the successes the Wisconsin Parental Choice Programs have had against achievement gap inequalities, Evers should reconsider freezing its enrollment. He is using the achievement gap as a mask to disguise his attacks on school choice. Evers needs to put the future of our children and their education at the forefront of his actions instead of adhering to political ulterior motivations.

Wisconsin is in a real crisis regarding the achievement gap and something drastic must be done to preserve equality and opportunity for generations to come. No child’s education should be stifled due to their race or socioeconomic background. Even more importantly, no child’s education should be used as a pawn for political advancement.

Emily Smith (ersmith22@wisc.edu) is a sophomore majoring in political science and philosophy. She is the policy director for the College Republicans of UWMadison.

College Democrats: School policy alone won’t close achievement gap As University of Wisconsin students, we may take our institution for granted and we commonly forget a quality education is not always the easiest to come by. While all students have different educational experiences, certain factors have distanced students from opportunities to succeed.

The educational achievement gap can be defined as a disparity in academic performance between different demographics of students. Factors such as socioeconomic class and geographic location contribute to one’s ability to do well in school. Some students are held back from future success because of certain aspects of their personal and educational lives.

Methods like standardized test scores or high school graduation rates can be used to identify the achievement gap.

There have been certain measures taken to help bridge this gap at both national and state levels. Nationally, the No Child Left Behind Act from the Bush era and the Every Student Succeeds Act from the Obama era both attempted to do so. At the state level, Wisconsin’s Achievement Gap Reduction program intends to minimize the gap as well — yet, a large disparity remains.

Moreover, these problems aren’t equally dispersed across the nation or even across the state. Instead, certain communities are more significantly impacted by the educational divide. Wisconsin is one of the worst ranking states in the nation for having a prevalent achievement gap, and Madison and Milwaukee are the most severe cases. In order to solve this problem, we must examine the issue at a local level with individualized responses. While these larger aims have had good intentions, dismissing the localized facets of the issue hinder its resolution.

School districts alone will not be able to bridge the divide, as there are many circumstances that can impact a student’s performance or ability to learn. Out-ofschool factors like housing insecurity, income inequality and community safety can all contribute to a student’s ability to succeed. That’s why this response must be comprehensive, looking beyond the limits of solely school-based solutions.

For these reasons, College Democrats of UW-Madison care strongly about finding several outlets to minimize the gap. Right now, socioeconomic status is beginning to contribute more significantly to the achievement gap. Students that drop out of high school are more likely to come from low-income families, so addressing income inequality is of high priority to Democrats.

Additionally, supporting free-and-reduced lunch programs for low-income families is a priority with some proven success. Our children should not have to worry about where their next meal will come from.

Within the schools, we need to ensure that all of our students are set up to succeed, and this may demand several reformative steps to take place. College Democrats of UW-Madison supports the expansion of early childhood education opportunities, as the success of students can be shaped in their early years. Other strategies for gap minimization include decreasing class sizes and providing tutoring opportunities.

Furthermore, we also need to ensure that our schools strongest teachers are located in the schools with the greatest need. Instead of creating new charter schools or funding voucher programs, our priority should be in funding schools with the most significant achievement barriers. Finally, we must show our students that we believe in their ability to flourish.

Unfortunately, the education achievement gap will not diminish overnight, so we must make continual strides to achieve the change our students deserve. We must also increase our understanding of how these achievement gaps come to be so that we can better understand methods of prevention and mitigation. Increased research and policy analysis on the subject is critical. In the meantime, College Democrats of UWMadison will continue to advocate for and support local leaders that will strive to make this goal a reality.

Cecelia McDermott (camcdermott@wisc.edu) is a freshman majoring in political science and geography. She is also the press secretary of the College Democrats of UW-Madison. badgerherald.com • March 5, 2019 • 15

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Wisconsin must grapple with challenges of marijuana legalization Marijuana legalization will likely have similar socioeconomic effects to other vice industries, like alcohol and tobacco

by Sam Palmer Columnist

For a country which regularly puts people behind bars, restricts voting rights and denies housing to people because of marijuana and marijuana-related crimes, it is perhaps a little odd that the question of whether the drug itself should be legal is practically a settled issue among the general population.

The Pew Research center found more than 62 percent of all adults in America support legalizing marijuana, including 74 percent of millennials. In states where the plant is already legal, the whole discussion seems quaint. After all, people have been legally lighting up for almost a decade in some states now and society has not collapsed yet.

The issue is so noncontroversial that Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a man who is not really known as a political brawler, said he will propose legalizing medical marijuana to the Republican-dominated state legislature. Who knows? It might even pass, and in a few years we might have legal recreational weed, too. But just because it seems like prohibitionism is headed out the national door doesn’t mean we are headed for a fringe-filled, grassed-out utopia. Let’s think about what marijuana legalization would look like in Wisconsin.

What was always bizarre about marijuana prohibition was the fairly uncontested fact that tobacco and alcohol are worse for users from a health perspective. As we learned a long time ago, prohibition on those items doesn’t work. Even the argument about marijuana specifically leading to harder stuff could be easily dismissed — after all, how many people addicted to heroin hadn’t touched beer or cigarettes first?

So in that sense, removed from American cultural context and our bizarre fear of the drug, it was always insane that marijuana was illegal. It certainly goes some way to explaining why legalization seems like a shoein now. But that’s not the end of the story — and few involved in the policy debate seem willing to grapple with the consequences of marijuana’s legal commodification.

The most essential point for understanding marijuana legalization is understanding that the state would be legalizing the industry of marijuana, not just marijuana itself. That is to say, the government will try to sand away the rough edges that had come with prohibition.

They want to minimize negative social phenomena like violence while legalizing the structures that push weed. Kingpins will be replaced by CEOs. Small-time dealers will be replaced by tellers and assistants. Marijuana 16 • March 5, 2019 • badgerherald.com

Photo · Legalizing marijuana does not just legalize its usage, but also the marijuana industry, which presents several of the same socioeconomic issues as other vice industries.

Herald Archives The Badger Herald companies will be able go public, participate in the stock market and do anything regular corporations do — as long as the federal government keeps its hands in its pockets.

Weed will shed whatever outlaw cache it has left, much like alcohol did after its prohibition ended, but it will gain access to the sort of legitimate business practices that make tobacco and alcohol multi-billion dollar industries.

Freed from the entrepreneurial constraints of criminality, marijuana companies can expand their user base. As the social stigma of prohibition fades, people who were previously put off by the idea of breaking the law may decide to give it a shot.

Regular use will become easier and cheaper. Dispensaries will pop up in lowincome areas, where rent is cheapest, bringing poverty and substance abuse into an evertighter embrace. The correlation between

addiction and class will continue to be barely reckoned with and concealed behind a veil of legality, just as it currently is with alcohol.

And this is not even to mention the countless lives which have already been ruined by the prosecution of marijuana-related crimes.

Marijuana will be seamlessly integrated into our existing societal structures of exploitation and inequity. The contradiction baked into marijuana’s legalization is the problems that come along with it will be distributed to the broader society, while the profits will go to private companies. This is, of course, a well-known problem with the vice industry. There have been attempts to square this circle — for example using tobacco tax revenue to fund public health campaigns or even state monopolies over drug sales, but they are swimming upstream. What those efforts are trying to resolve is not really a quirk of the vice industry, but the life force of

capitalist economic relations.

The driving force of our economy is not the personal well-being of anyone, but impersonal accumulation and growth. And yet, we are supposed to believe that stiff regulation will solve everything. Meanwhile, no one has seen a tobacco ad on TV in fifty years and that industry still succeeds at killing almost half a million people in the U.S. every year while raking in billions. The marijuana industry may be bridled as soon as it comes into being, but it will still be what it is.

Like it or not, marijuana legalization is probably on its way. But when it comes, don’t expect a hippie paradise. Expect our present, troubled world — just a little hazier.

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

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Former Gov. Walker’s in-state UW tuition freeze must remain

The tuition freeze is one way the state legislature can check UW System spending and prevent inflated tuition prices

by Lianna Schwalenberg Columnist

Gov. Tony Evers announced he intends to fully fund the continuation of Gov. Scott Walker ’s tuition freeze on all UW schools.

This cap on college tuition has been in the state’s budget ever since its inception in 2013 and is meant to maintain affordability of college while ensuring UW campuses get the funding they need to operate at a high level.

This issue is really exciting because it tends to unite the two parties. It is attractive to every college-attending voter, but the UW System and ordinary taxpayers can also reap benefits from a well-funded tuition freeze. The benefits are almost innumerable — there’s affordability, the economic advantages of having a college-educated populous, easier class mobility and the

ability to make the University of Wisconsin a competitive post-secondary institution.

But let’s look at the benefits in a more historical context.It begins with asking why tuition is so expensive in the first place.

Why is it so difficult for the state to keep costs low and maintain affordable tuition for its schools?

William J. Bennett is the author of a famous 1987 New York Times article, “Our Greedy Colleges,” also known as the “Bennett Hypothesis.” He served as Secretary of Education from 1985 to 1988 under Ronald Reagan. He said, “I postulated that the availability of a large amount of federal money was driving up tuition and in the long run making it more difficult for poor students to go. It’s common sense. The more you subsidize something, the more you get of it.”

Research exists to support the plausibility

of federal subsidies playing a role on, even directly influencing, the price tag of higher education.

Federal student loan providers are doing to students now what mortgage lenders were doing to prospective homeowners back in the early-to-mid-2000s. Whether this is a bubble about to burst is another story — student loan collateral is on future income and not on a physical object that needs to be bought back and resold at a loss, and is thus less likely the student loan bubble will burst — but the correct comparison remains.

When one makes college affordable to just about anyone, universities can and will increase their spending.

Prior to the 2013-14 academic year, there was no statutory restriction on the amount by which the UW Board of Regents could increase tuition and as it turned out, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau found in the

Photo · The tuition freeze enjoyed by in-state students prevents inflated tuition prices, reckless spending by the UW System and garners the favor of Democrats and Republicans.

Kirby Wright The Badger Herald

six years from 2007-08 through 2012-13, resident undergraduate tuition generally increased by an average of 5.5 percent annually.

They also discovered a cash surplus of $648 million at the end of the 2011-12 fiscal year — $414 million of which came from tuition. About $207 million of that surplus had unrestricted purpose. The state put an end to this in the biennial budget (see 2013 Act 20 §9148 (4n)) of 2013 by requiring the Board of Regents to not charge resident undergraduates more in tuition than it charged in the prior year. Ever since then, undergraduate residents have been paying the 2012-13 tuition rate.

Initially, many came out in defense of the surplus as a business-as-usual practice, to protect against revenue volatility. ThenSystem President Kevin Reilly said the cash balances were viewed as cushions against future enrollment losses. But ultimately, this discovery led the state Legislature under Walker to freeze tuition in an attempt to make the UW System use its surplus and as a convenient selling-point to voters, save students some money.

Since then, tuition carryover rates have sharply declined from 16 percent in 2013 to 6 percent and remains today at 6 percent which they still hold onto for undesignated purposes.

In sum, the tuition freeze has done a lot of good for students. According to the LFB, if tuition increase trends had continued, in-state tuition at UW would be about $12,786 per student per year.

The tuition freeze has also forced the UW to operate at a more stable budget, not one that is expected to increase. But like some have pointed out, this freeze cannot continue indefinitely.

While a single entity cannot pull all the levers, at least three important levers exist in this situation when it comes to tuition costs — student loan providers who make the burden of tuition easier, but may unintentionally inflate costs, the Board of Regents who directly control the cost of tuition but are under the influence of changing educational demands and shifts in state funding and the state legislature who can pen statutes over what the Board can and cannot do with its revenue. The tuition freeze is definitely one successful tool for keeping college affordable and the UW System spending in check.

Lianna Schwalenberg (lschwalenber@ uwalumni.com) is a recent graduate with degrees in communication arts and philosophy. badgerherald.com • March 5 2019 • 17

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Men’s basketball: Pritzl could be Badgers’ postseason secret weapon

After proving his worth in a 17-point outing versus Penn State on top of improved shooting, Brevin Pritzl adds positive bench value

by Harrison Freuck Staff Writer

Brevin Pritzl was born and raised here in Wisconsin. Playing basketball at De Pere High School — just outside of Green Bay, Wisconsin — Pritzl led the Red Birds to four conference championships in four seasons.

Pritzl also solidified himself in the school record books as a prolific scorer, with 1,720 points over his career, helping the Red Birds earn 84 wins in the same period, an average of 21 wins a year.

Pritzl has gone on to be an impactful yet underthe-radar bench player for the Badgers over the past four years. As a redshirt junior this season, Pritzl has averaged 5.1 points per game to go along with 2.3 rebounds per game. Pritzl has also shot 45.4 percent from beyond the arc, leading the team in three-point percentage.

While most University of Wisconsin basketball fans know exactly who the sharpshooting junior is, many fans outside of Wisconsin have never even heard his name.“Playing steady and solid is all you can ask for,” Pritzl said in reference to how he contributes to the team.

Pritzl has only scored 149 points this entire season, but 90 of those have come from behind the three-point line.

Pritzl has also stayed under-the-radar by consistently coming off the bench, with just 21 starts in his career, all of which came last season with a young Badgers squad riddled by injuries.

Pritzl’s shooting abilities have also helped to open up the floor for the rest of Wisconsin’s roster.

Clutch is a very prevalent word to describe Pritzl. He doesn’t always post the big stat lines, but it seems as if every time Wisconsin finds themselves in a mid-game run, Pritzl gets his hands on the ball somehow.

“It’s just me staying ready and being shot-ready

at every moment. Knowing where the shot is going to come from or how you’re going to get to them, it’s just staying ready,” Pritzl said.

In the Badgers’ loss to Indiana last Tuesday, Pritzl was second on the team with a +11 rating, second only to Kobe King at +19. This shows that Wisconsin was, in general, more successful with Pritzl on the floor, including during their comeback in the middle of the second half.

Pritzl also serves as a fairly good indicator as to whether the Badgers will win or not.

In games Wisconsin has won this season, Pritzl is averaging 6.3 points, shooting 51.3 percent, including 47.1 percent from three and also pulling down nearly three rebounds per game.

On the contrary, Pritzl is averaging just 2.5 points, 1.2 rebounds, and shooting 41.2 percent in games lost by the Badgers. These stats are fairly telling of Pritzl’s impact on a game, even if it is a small one.

While it is clear that Pritzl, who has shot 14for-19 — 73.7 percent — from three in his past ten games, is a great shooter, his greatest weapon may be his ability to get involved in anything that is happening on the floor.

This includes being sixth on the team in rebounds, assists and getting to the free throw line. Pritzl is also fifth in generating steals. All of these stats lead the bench players for the Badgers, showing his efficiency when he is on the floor and how he truly represents the title of the sixth man on this Wisconsin team.

Pritzl talked about being the sixth man on the team and how important it is to provide depth to the Badger offense.

“It’s really important. If you can have people come off the bench and perform for extended periods of time it allows starters to get some rest so they can perform at their best ability,” Pritzl said.

One such example of this is from the Badgers’

game against Michigan State at the Kohl Center earlier in mid-February. With the game tied about halfway through the first half, Pritzl drew a flagrant foul from Michigan State’s Matt McQuaid.

Pritzl proceeded to sink both free throws and in the ensuing possession, drained a corner three to complete a five-point possession individually and give the Badgers a five-point lead. Pritzl finished that game with seven points, two rebounds and a block.

Three other games from this season stand out as Pritzl-esque, including Houston Baptist in mid-November, Illinois in mid-February, and the Badgers’ most recent game against Penn State.

In the Badgers’ blowout win against Houston Baptist, Pritzl provided value all across the board, shooting a lights out 5-for-5, including 3-for-3 from three-point land, finishing with 17 points. He also added three rebounds, an assist and a steal.

During the Illinois game, some of Wisconsin’s top offensive and defensive producers struggled to find their stroke. While Ethan Happ and Trice

combined for a total of 13 point — a value both have surpassed alone multiple times this season — Pritzl’s play was able to make up for these losses by way of a six point and game-leading ten rebound game.

In Wisconsin’s most recent game against Penn State Saturday, Pritzl tied his season-high for points by pouring in 17 points on 5-for-5 shooting, including 4-for-4 from three. He also added two rebounds and hit a free throw late to put the game away.

The overall lesson that can be learned here is that Pritzl, while not the most flashy player, may be one of the most valuable bench pieces for Wisconsin.

Without Pritzl, the Badgers may not find themselves primed to go into the NCAA Tournament as a potential 4 or 5 seed in March.

While Head Coach Greg Gard’s use of Pritzl may come into question at times, there’s no question that Pritzl is a player that any team headed into March Madness would want to add as valuable depth.

University of Illinois Master of Science Financial Engineering College of Engineering | College of Business

Photo · Brevin Pritzl averages an under-the-radar 6.3 points per game, but has shown higher levels of production as of late.

Daniel Yun The Badger Herald

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Football: Comparing 2019 Wisconsin recruits to those of Big Ten West Next year’s Badger recruitment class boasts plenty of three and four-star athletes, including an electric quarterback hopeful

by John Spengler Staff Writer

Last year’s football season was undoubtedly disappointing for the University of Wisconsin.

Coming into the season ranked No. 4 in the nation and returning the previous starting quarterback, running back and offensive line, it seemed as if the stage was set for a successful 2018 campaign.

Marred by injury and poor play, the Badgers never managed to achieve the expected level of success and failed to even capture the Big Ten West title. But, a new season brings new opportunitie s and new players, so how does the recruiting classes of the top teams in the Big Ten West shake things up?

Beginning with Wisconsin, it would be impossible to ignore the signing of four-star quarterback Graham Mertz to play for the Badgers in 2019.

Mertz put up record numbers at the Army All-American game and put up high school numbers that grabbed the attention of power-five teams around the nation.

It is even more likely that Mertz will see significant time this season following the decision by former starting quarterback Alex Hornibrook to enter the transfer portal for the 2019 season.

The Badgers desperately need help with their air threat, as they ranked dead last in the Big Ten West in average pass yards per game, ending the season with an average of only 158.

Also joining the Badgers passing game are three-star tight ends Hayden Rucci and Clay Cundiff as well as three-star wide receiver Stephan Bracey.

Part of the reason that the Badgers struggled so much passing the ball is that they were able to reliably count on Jonathan Taylor and their offensive line to put up huge numbers rushing.

In fact, Wisconsin finished the 2018 season ranked first in the Big Ten and sixth in the nation for rushing yards per game as well as yards per attempt.

Taylor returns but much of the Badgers all-star lineup at offensive line graduated.

Luckily for Wisconsin, they were able to snag five-star offensive tackle Logan Brown out of Grand Rapids Michigan.

The 6-foot-6, 305-pound tackle is the highest ranked signee in Wisconsin’s 2019 recruiting class and is the second highest

ranked recruit in Wisconsin football history.

The Badgers also add a plethora of three and four-star offensive lineman in order to completely reload on talent following the departure of this year ’s graduating class.

of New Year ’s six bowl games due only to a loss against Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game.

The Wildcats relied heavily on their passing game last season, as they finished the year in last place for total rushing yards

Photo · Wisconsin hopes the 2019 recruiting class will provide valuable replacements for recently-graduated key players.

Dakota Roettger The Badger Herald With significant additions made to both skilled positions and the offensive line, the Badgers certainly seem to have begun the process of filling the offensive gaps that haunted them last season.

For last year ’s Big Ten West Champions, Northwestern, the recruiting class is unsurprisingly weak.

Pat Fitzgerald has consistently coached his way to Big Ten success despite the fact that Northwestern never managed to procure a highly ranked recruiting class within the conference.

Since 2015, the Wildcats’ recruiting classes have ranked outside of the top ten in the conference each year.

In that same time period, they signed a total of just two four-star recruits. Yet the Wildcats came out on top of the Big Ten West last season and missed out on one

and third for total passing yards within the Big Ten. Their 2019 recruiting class continues this focus of the air attack, as their two highest ranked recruits are three-star wide receivers Genson Hooper-Price and Bryce Kirtz.

As shown by last season, Northwestern is able to play with an ability greater than the sum of all its individual parts.

It’s difficult to assess what type of actual impact a recruiting class will have on their team, but look for them to continue to thrive in the air next season with returning quarterback Clayton Thorson at the helm.

The Purdue Boilermakers have managed to obtain the fifth-ranked recruiting class in the Big Ten and the highest ranked class in the Big Ten West for the 2019 season.

This level of talent in a single recruiting

class is uncharted territory for Purdue in recent years. Between 2015 and 2017, the Boilermakers had the lowest ranked recruiting class in the Big Ten. Purdue struggled all of last season to stop their opponents run game. They allowed more rushing yards than every team in the Big Ten West except for Nebraska and Illinois — two of the bottom three teams in the West.

Their top recruit of this year should help to alleviate their defensive woes against the run.

George Karlaftis, a four-star, 6-foot4, 265-pound defensive end from West Lafayette will join his hometown Boilermakers for the 2019 season.

Purdue also made valuable additions to their skill positions in the form of four-star wide receivers David Bell and Milton Wright.

Purdue was second in the Big Ten in both passing yards per game and pass yards per attempt during the 2018 season.

With the loss of starting quarterback David Blough, Purdue’s new recruits, as well as existing talents, will have to aid their greenhorn quarterback if they are to repeat last season’s performance.

Finally, Iowa will enter the 2019 season with the ninth-ranked recruiting class in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes’ defense dominated their opponents all season long, as they allowed a conference-low 17.77 points per game.

Their offensive line also protected their quarterback better than any other team in the conference, allowing only 13 sacks across the entire season.

The Hawkeyes are sticking to their guns with their most recent recruiting class, as all of their top four recruits are either linebackers or offensive guards.

Iowa is reloading in the trenches, staying true to their traditional style of Big Ten football.

It’s tough to tell what type of specific impact these recruits will have on the landscape of the Big Ten West in the 2019 season. But a plethora of star recruits is certain to bring new talents to the conference as well as replace graduating ones.

Only time will tell how these new signees will pan out in their respective programs, but it seems as if competition in the West is going to become a lot stiffer in the coming years.

March 5, 2019 • badgerherald.com • 19

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SPORTS

Basketball: An inside look at UW’s basketball environment at The Shell

Wisconsin’s professional basketball fandom inspires competitive, yet welcoming atmosphere to play sport casually

by Justin Mielke Staff Writer

“Slide Shell” has become common among campus vernacular at the University of Wisconsin, especially for those who share a love for the game of basketball.

The phrase refers to the students who frequently travel across campus to The Shell — one of UW’s recreation facilities — through the harsh Wisconsin winters equipped with only hoop dreams. The Shell, located on Monroe Street right outside of historic Camp Randall Stadium, is one of the most frequented spaces on campus.

“No

matter how good you are, you can always have fun with basketball here,” Anthony West UW Student

Wisconsin has an emphatic hoop culture, especially in Madison and Milwaukee.

The Milwaukee Bucks currently boast the best record in the NBA — proud owners of the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. The team is also home to one of the most compelling players in the league and the frontrunner for MVP — Giannis Antetokounmpo, commonly known as the Greek Freak.

The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team has been dominant since the start of the 21st century, tallying three trips to the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four, 19 NCAA Tournament appearances, four regularseason Big Ten titles and three Big Ten tournament championships within that timeframe.

The state has been blessed to see bigname players pass through — from Michael Finley, Alando Tucker and Jordan Taylor to Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker and Ethan Happ.

Madison is also the heart of Wisconsin high school hoops.

The Big Eight conference, which is part of the WIAA, is year in and year out the most rigorous conference across the state that sees sell-out crowds of 3,000 plus fans on a 20 • March 5, 2019 • badgerherald.com

weekly basis.

“With four high schools in Madison, there was a rivalry game every night,” former East High student Caleb Smith said. “And with the State Championship in Madison, it shifts the focus of basketball from Milwaukee to the center point being in Madison.”

The state of Wisconsin has produced some of college basketball’s top players in recent years — Keshawn Justice to Santa Clara, Kobe King to Wisconsin, Jordan Poole to Michigan, Tyrese Haliburton to Iowa State, Jordan McCabe to West Virginia, Joey and Sam Hauser to Marquette and Tyler Herro to Kentucky.

Jalen Johnson is currently the top player in the state at the high school level, terrorizing his competition in Wisconsin.

The five-star recruit plays for Nicolet, a Milwaukee-area school, and is still deciding on his commitment between Duke and Wisconsin. Johnson is the thirdhighest recruit in the nation for the class of 2020.

The long line of Wisconsin hoop culture does not end there, all one has to do is venture into The Shell and discover a whole new world of basketball.

“No matter how good you are you can always have fun with basketball here,” UW student Anthony West said.

The pick-up basketball that you find in Madison creates an intense and competitive culture, participants said.

“Half of the people who go to The Shell played a varsity sport every day in high school,” UW student Nick Johnston said.

to The Shell,” Johnston said. “It’s natural for humans to have that drive to compete.

We come to The Shell to compete and get all that bound up energy out.”

The competitive nature represents the high level of talent in conjunction with the quality effort everyone puts into each game.

“If you are not a demon on the court, you do not survive, that is the hoop culture in Madison,” Johnston said.

With great competition comes great respect. That is all you see at The Shell. “No matter who you play against or with, it is still a tight community,” Johnston said. “What is on the court is different from what is off the court.”

There’s a level of respect for every hooper who plays, but once you step on the hardwood, feelings are dropped, and all that remains is a desire to lead your team to victory.

The Shell is an amazing place to release your mind from stress, get a great workout in and meet different people from all over the country that bring their own style of basketball to the table.

“The Shell is the place you go to find community and get busy,” Smith said.

If you ever find yourself at UW with the urge to get some buckets, always remember to “slide shell.”

“The

Shell is the place you go to find community and get busy,” Caleb Smith UW Student

A good portion of the basketball culture on campus draws from the pool of locals who once played high school basketball in Madison.

“A lot of people who graduated from Madison high schools are still around, and they bring the same energy when they come

Photo · Wisconsin basketball isn’t defined by just the Milwaukee Bucks and the Badgers. The Shell fosters competition in some of UW’s most passionate athletes.

Daniel Yun The Badger Herald

SPORTS

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Men’s basketball: Two games remain to secure high postseason seed Wisconsin seeks wins over Iowa and Ohio State to guarantee high seed and earn double-bye in 2019 Big Ten Tournament those top four teams as well as favorable matchups.

Last Tuesday night’s heartbreaking and exhausting last-second loss to Indiana in double overtime cost the Badgers a tie with Maryland for fourth in the conference at 125.

At that moment, it seemed as if the Badgers chances for the four seed and double-bye had completely slipped through their fingers.

But Penn State proved last Wednesday night that their hot streak is for real in a decisive win over Maryland at home.

This means that Wisconsin sits in the same position of opportunity they were in prior to the Indiana loss, but this time with one fewer game to change their fortune.

A half game up on Wisconsin, Maryland finishes their season with two home games.

One against a top 10 team in Michigan and the other against a Minnesota team desperately searching for a big road win to build their bubble resume for the NCAA Tournament.

Even though Wisconsin split their homeand-away series with Maryland this season, if both teams win out and finish 14-6 in

conference, Maryland would win the battle for the four seed because this means they picked up more wins against the top three teams in the conference in Purdue, Michigan With just two regular season games and Michigan State. remaining, and given the bounce-back Due to this, the only way Wisconsin can success of Head Coach Greg Gard’s 2018get the four seed and double-bye in the 19 unit, the University of Wisconsin men’s tournament is if Wisconsin finishes one game basketball team (20-9) are fifth in the Big Ten better than Maryland. with a chance to earn the coveted four seed This is entirely possible — however, in the conference tournament. the Badgers do not control a lot of their So, what will it take for Wisconsin to earn own destiny as they need Michigan and or that coveted four seed, and what do the Minnesota to beat Maryland.

Badgers need to do over their last two games If the Badgers finish the season fourth regardless of seeding? in the Big Ten they would await the winner Wisconsin already accomplished one between the five seed — likely Maryland — task by defeating a soaring Penn State and whoever wins between the 12 and 13 team at home. They will face an offensive seeds beforehand, which could be a variety of juggernaut in Iowa on senior night and a teams at this point. tough Ohio State team on the road. There This bye would give the team an extra is a good chance they can lock up the four day to rest and prepare while the five seed seed and earn the double-bye in the Big Ten risks the chance of either losing before the conference tournament if they can win out. matchup with the four seed or becoming With fourteen teams in the conference, fatigued as the conference tournament runs the top four finishers in the Big Ten’s regular on consecutive days. season earn a bye through the first two If the Badgers do not get the four seed it is rounds of the tournament, granting rest for highly likely they land the five seed, though a loss to Iowa could lead them to sixth.

The lowest seed Wisconsin can get in the conference tournament is seven.

Though this would take Wisconsin losing their final three games and Ohio State winning their final three games, we will label that possibility unlikely.

Due to Wisconsin playing the 11th most difficult schedule in college basketball this year, their overall success against conference and non-conference foes and their ability to win on the road, the Badgers seem comfortably in the NCAA Tournament regardless of how their regular season ends.

This should not deter them from playing their hardest over the final two games. There is a lot to play for and a lot for this team to clean up.

Most notably, the Badgers need to improve their free throw shooting.

On the season, the team shoots a lousy 64.6 percent from the charity stripe. Wisconsin’s methodical offense and stingy defense usually put them in low scoring close games and when you play those types of games you have to hit free throws throughout and especially at the end to ensure victory.

If Wisconsin wants to make a run, Photo · Khalil Iverson, Brevin Pritzl, Kobe King and Aleem Ford will all need to play at their best to earn the team a this aspect of their game is priority double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament number one for improvement.

Additionally, the Badgers need to Daniel Yun

by Zach Lutz Staff Writer

rely on role players such as Khalil Iverson, Brevin Pritzl, Kobe King and Aleem Ford to add to the scoring depth of the offense.

Getting these guys more involved will open up more opportunities for the starters.

“We need more people to contribute,” Iverson said. “It gives us a better chance of winning and ... it takes the stress off guys who normally score most of the points for us.”

“We

need more people to contribute,” Iverson said. “It gives us a better chance of winning and ... it takes the stress off guys who normally score most of the points for us.”

Khalil Iverson Badger Forward Wisconsin also needs to be more consistent from deep. They rank as one of the top teams in the country in three-point percentage at 38.2 percent, but two of their past three games they have shot 27 percent and it almost cost them in one case and actually did in the other.

“We’re going to take things one game at a time, every win moving out and every game is a huge opportunity,” sophomore guard Brad Davison said. “It’s also a huge challenge, we’ve got a big target on out back along with everyone else at the top of the Big Ten right now, so we’ve got to take it one game at a time.”

Keep an eye out for these aspects of Wisconsin’s game over the course of these last couple games during the regular season.

Improvement in these areas may go a long way in determining where the Badger ’s regular season will end and how they will be ranked in the Big Ten Tournament.

The Badgers will play Iowa at home Thursday at 7 p.m. before they finish out their season on the road versus Ohio State.

The Badger Herald

March 5, 2019 • badgerherald.com • 21

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Naps on campus: Your one stop shop for prime snoozing spots

Mourning death of ‘Craps on Campus’ content brings from ashes new generation of ideas for ideal napping spaces, cow friends

by Angela Peterson

ArtsEtc. Editor

Once upon a time, when we still had a banter editor, the column “Craps on campus” popped up in the section’s inventory of articles to the world’s delight. At least 10 articles were published between fall 2015 and spring 2017, garnering more page views than half of the cool things I write about over in the arts section.

No one knows why “Craps on campus” disappeared — it might as well be University of Wisconsin’s version of the Loch Ness Monster.

Perhaps it succumbed to the lack of further available bathrooms to test, a changing of the guard, or a certain former banter editor who goes by “Angela Peterson” who commonly feels uncomfortable typing the word “craps” as she tries to further the professionality of her career.

Luckily, a certain rhyming word is here to save the day (and anyone’s who’s heard my freestyle bars knows I love rhyming): “Naps on campus.”

Substituting the first two letters of “crap” with “N” creates the wholesome content we like to see in this section. Who doesn’t need a little

respite between their power lectures?

I’ve scoured the campus for the best nap spots and am delighted to share with my large, enthusiastic audience all of the best little tufts of campus space for a daytime doze.

The Rotunda in Der Rathskeller This spot in the union is high key the only place I can study outside of my apartment, so it makes sense it’s also high key a place I would nap outside of my apartment. Light fills this space in a soft, zen manner, a great background for your closed eyelids in nap state and padded booth seating lends the napper a little bit of fluff.

Early morning naps are best suited for this space as few patrons fill the establishment at that time. Der Rathskeller is a horrid choice for the standard midday nap due to the raucous yelling which occurs for no reason within its confines during this timeframe.

Humanities Staircase You’ll never be found here! If you’re wary of seemingly camping out in university buildings, the staircases of humanities are a safe bet to help you keep your cover. No one really knows

where any of them lead to, even if they spend all of their time in this building. There are a couple of significant downsides to this napping spot, namely the fact that the concrete lining the stairs are not fluffy at all. Changing elevations on the stairs also is a problem with Humanities naps.

Dairy Cattle Center One simply has not had the full UW experience until they are stuck without explanation on the far west end of campus with no food or friends and need a nap. Thankfully, there are cows to fill that loveless void. Eightyfour cows are here to nap with you, and the convenient viewing hours in the late evening coalesce perfectly with ideal napping times as clarified by science. This one possibly involves the most sneaking, as actually making contact with cows likely violates many trespassing laws.

Union South Hotel Room Sometimes, you have to splurge for the perfect nap. A Simmons mattress, 310 thread count sheets and more await tired students in the Wisconsin Union hotel. The amenities could not be better, yet this choice again either

requires sneaking in or hunkering down a swath of money for a quick respite. Still, we can still dream to live our “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” dreams with the hotel here.

Abe’s Lap Yes, it’s supposed to be a signature spot for graduates, but Abe’s embrace is so close and affectionate that it creates the perfect environment for a daytime nap. Simply bring your blankie and a pal to help you leap up to his lap and you’ll be all settled in for a nap. Perks to this spot include its central location on campus near many academic buildings, lending ease to post-class naps. It’s just a short walk away from any Van Vleck nightmares which may haunt you. Of course, its outdoor location isn’t ideal for mid-winter naps, limiting Abe’s potential.

He could still maybe be a good president someday, who knows?

So students, sit back, relax and enjoy a campus nap of epic proportions. If it turns into a sleep, all the more power to you!

Disclaimer: The writer of this piece and The Badger Herald do not endorse sleeping on campus property.

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