'Hook, Line and Sinker' - Volume 54, Issue 2

Hook, Line and Sinker

Tackling harmful health risks of fish contamination for anglers, greater community

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Madison WI, 53703

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Published since Sept. 10, 1969

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Chair Katie Hardie Members Janani Sundar Audrey Thibert Caroline Crowley Olivia Evans Madison Hibner Maribel Barrera Parker Johnson Erin Gretzinger Arushi Gupta Phoenix Pham Maggie Degnan Elise Fjelstad Will Romano Anne Isman Lila Szyryj

UW PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM

4 SCIENCE OF THE SEASONS 9

The new program will support healthcare for mothers, infants to promote health equity for diverse populations

How the changing seasons inform climate change, what to expect from the seasons this year

POINT-COUNTERPOINT: ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN WISCONSIN 16

Two opinions on Wisconsin’s switch to electric vehicles: should electric vehicles be the norm or must they be implemented mindfully?

THE SMILING FACE BEHIND TEDDYWEDGERS

Anthony Rineer, the owner of Teddywedgers, works to build community through his restaurant, supports people through pandemic transition

Publisher Olivia Evans

Public Relations Directors Madison Hibner Maribel Barrera

New partnership allocates grants to maternal and infant healthcare

by Annie Pulley Reporter

The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health announced $1.5 million in grants that will be allocated to partnerships addressing maternal and child health disparities among rural, urban, immigrant, Latinx and Indigenous communities.

The funds will be distributed through the SMPH’s Wisconsin Partnership Program, under the maternal and child health grant division.

The WPP aims to promote health equity by targeting social determinants of health, such as where people live, work, learn or worship. Through this lens, public health takes a more community-driven approach to health and wellness, according to the WPP 2019-2024 FiveYear Plan.

An individual’s health is closely tied to social and economic factors including employment, education and support systems, according to the Wisconsin Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System 2018-2019 Surveillance Report. These factors account for 40% of an individual’s health, according to PRAMS.

The WPP operates out of UW’s School of Medicine and Public Health. They strongly emphasize funding initiatives that provide for maternal and child health.

Awards will be used to further existent community efforts to promote health equity through multidisciplinary channels. Grant recipients will work closely with local health organizations in order to maximize the benefits of the funding, according to the WPP grant announcement.

Roots4Change is among the 10 grant recipients throughout the state. Public Health of Madison and Dane County (PHMDC) will work in tandem with Roots4Change to appropriately allocate the funds.

The Roots4Change Cooperative is a Madisonbased organization that offers community-based wellness services focused on maternal and infant health, according to the Roots4Change website. The cooperative works with state and local health departments, nonprofits, faith-based organizations and research outlets across the UW campus.

WPP Program Advisor Renuka Mayadev said the need to invest in these populations is critical.

“Our greatest natural resource is our children,” Mayadev said.

According to the UW School of Medicine and Public Health website, Roots4Change and PHMDC partnership will receive up to $150,000 over two years.

Just like the WPP, Roots4Change and PHMDC embrace a multidisciplinary approach to public health. Roots4Change will use the grant awards to support its ongoing efforts, which include

perinatal doula services, labor and lactation support, postpartum care and community worker education, Mayadev said.

Investing in community-based projects and partnerships is the way to create change on the level that matters, according to Mayadev.

and reach to spread its message to Latinx communities.

The grant is coming at a critical time for these communities, Centeno said.

“The health of the unborn and pregnant people could be a thermometer for how the

Maternal and infant mortality, perinatal depression, mental health concerns and at-home instability are all on the rise within the Latinx community, according to Hughes.

The demand for public health services from Spanish-speaking community members has increased amid the rise in challenges to maternal and child health, Hughes said.

Statistical trends in Wisconsin and Dane County are sparking awareness of the growing challenges facing Latinx and immigrant populations. But these problems are not new, Centeno said.

“We know that when things are showing up in the data, that means we’re already too late,” Hughes said. “Every piece of data is a life and a human and a story and a family and that all has significance.”

In addition to rising rates of mortality and poor maternal health outcomes, Centeno emphasized that Latinx patients are routinely exposed to differential and improper treatment within clinics and hospitals.

Sixteen percent of Hispanic people who have given birth report experiencing interpersonal racism in the year preceding labor, according to the Wisconsin PRAMS report. Racial discrimination can increase blood pressure and heighten the risk of children being born with low birth weight.

Centeno said the diverse people who comprise Dane County’s Latinx community don’t have a robust system of healthcare providers equipped with the cultural and linguistic tools necessary to serve these populations. Having given birth herself, Centeno can relate to the struggles faced by this community.

“The nurses were great, but nobody spoke Spanish,” Centeno said. “I felt really lonely.”

Roots4Change is working to combat these systemic impediments by increasing resources for the maternal community of Latinx, immigrant and Indigenous families.

The WPP’s grant awards will specifically fund a project called Jardin de Espacios, or Garden of Spaces. Roots4Change is a “third space,” — one that is a sacred, accepting space designed to help Latinx and immigrant communities take root, according to Centeno.

“We’re like onions, and we were transplanted into a land that only grows corn,” Centeno said. “For Roots, our work is not work. It’s a commitment, and it’s a passion covered with pain.”

“That trusted relationship is really important,” Mayadev said. “That’s been evidenced and researched.”

PHMDC and Roots4Change have maintained a partnership since the cooperative’s inception.

Roots4Change manager Mariela Quesada Centeno said PHMDC has the data, resources

healthcare system functions,” Centeno said. “[The data shows that] Wisconsin is really sick.”

According to Mayadev, the infant mortality rate of Spanish-speaking children has doubled since 2015. PHMDC’s Immunization Coordinator and Roots4Change liaison Sarah Hughes confirmed this trend.

Mayadev said that past recipients of WPP grants, such as Harambee Village Doulas, who received funding in 2018, go on to make incredible contributions to their communities.

“The importance of our communities and our vibrancy is very much dependent on the health of our mothers and birthing people and our children,” Mayadev said.

Wisconsin Partnership Program grants aim to support community efforts aimed at promoting health equity among diverse populations

The UW School of Medicine and Public Health is to distribute grants through the Wisconsin Partnership Program.

ABBY CIMA. THE BADGER HERALD.

DHS grant will be used to address rising rates of suicide

by Troy McLean Reporter

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services received a grant for $876,000 from the Center for Disease Control. This funding is part of a larger five-year plan to address rising suicide rates in the state.

The funding comes as a response to a notable uptick in cases of suicide in the state of Wisconsin. According to data collected by the CDC, 866 deaths in Wisconsin were a result of suicide in 2020.

According to a press release from the Wisconsin DHS, suicide in the state has increased by 32% over the last 20 years, leading DHS Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake to declare the timing of the funding critical.

According to the Impact and Response report from Prevent Suicide Wisconsin, one’s gender, relationship status or their relationship with substances such as alcohol can all play a role in

suicide.

The mental health crisis in Wisconsin is disproportionately represented in minority groups such as those in the LGBTQ+ community and certain ethnic groups, according to the Impact and Response report.

The Impact and Response report examined the role race and ethnicity may play in mental health and crisis care access to gain insight on the people and populations who experience negative mental health effects. Their findings suggest distributional issues that may contribute to minority groups experiencing a more significant uptick in crisis care intervention.

In the 2021 DHS report on the difference in crisis services across race and ethnicity, it was found that people of color in Wisconsin were more likely to receive crisis services than white people. This report also found populations of

color utilized crisis services more than white groups.

While Wisconsin residents who identify as African American make up approximately 6.3% of Wisconsin’s population, they account for almost 15% of the people who use its crisis services, according to the report.

Wisconsin State Assembly Representative Dave Considine, D-Baraboo, said the distributional issues associated with mental healthcare and crisis care are heavily based on a lack of funding on a state and federal level.

Access to mental health services is linked to ethnicity and economic class, Considine said.

“Disparities certainly exist in mental health based on race,” Considine said. “Highly urbanized areas may have a lot of health care providers, but not a lot of those providers take people with no insurance. In urban areas,

minorities who may be in poverty have a hard time having access to mental health resources.”

Another finding from the DHS’s report indicates minority groups may be more reliant on crisis services than others because they lack the access to the intermediate care some other groups in society have.

The DHS’s report found, across multiple different ethnic groups, minorities in the state had significantly lower access to intermediate mental health resources and communitybased organizations. These community-based organizations mainly operate to prevent individuals suffering with mental health issues from needing crisis intervention care.

“Community-based resources help like crazy. Boys and girls clubs in South Central Wisconsin provide an invaluable service for kids,” Considine said. “These resources may not provide in-depth mental health services, but the stability they provide for children who may not have that in the home is crucial, and those things need funding.”

Considine said the state assembly plans to increase state funding for telehealth programs in order to address these growing trends.

Next congressional session, Considine hopes to accept more federal funds and use them to fund the counties which need it the most in order to increase access for those who lack the resources for high quality intermediate mental health care.

For students in Black, Indigenous and other communities of color who attend UW, finding mental health resources may serve as a challenge, according to UW Alumnus and founder of The Perspectives Project Anusha Ray Dey. A large student body coupled with the state trends found by the DHS can lead to the campus resources being overburdened, she said.

Ray Dey was motivated to start The Perspectives Project in order to address the struggle for people of color to find adequate mental health resources on campus.

“I saw that the options for mental health resources and resources that were sensitive to people of color were slim,” Ray Dey said. “UHS was overloaded, and I could not even find a counselor who was a person of color.”

The Perspectives Project hosted seminars and support groups focusing on mental health for the BIPOC community on campus. While no longer involved with the program directly, Ray Dey hopes the club will continue to grow and serve other students in the future.

“I would love for our resources to grow on campus,” Ray Dey said. “More seminars, more support groups and getting other student groups informed about the minority experience in Madison.”

have increased by

in last two decades

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services will locate grants to address rising suicide rates.

MARISSA HAEGELE. THE BADGER HERALD.

Community members call for action from MMoCA following vandalism

by Amanda Smith Reporter

Black artist Lilada Gee’s artwork was stolen and vandalized in June 2022 while being featured in an exhibit at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. Following the incident, Wisconsin-based artists, University of Wisconsin alumni, students and faculty are speaking out against the museum’s treatment of Gee and the other artists participating in the exhibit.

Gee’s art was part of the “Ain’t I a Woman” exhibition that sought to highlight the artwork of 23 Black women. MMoCA American Alliance of Museum Directors Intern Grace Ruo said the exhibit was designed to bring light to the work of these artists throughout various disciplines in Wisconsin.

The exhibit was announced in January 2022, with the intention of being out for display from April until October, according to MMoCA’s website. Despite the incident that occurred, the exhibit is still on display.

Following the vandalization and theft of Gee’s art, the MMoCA Executive Committee and Board of Trustees released a joint statement.

MMoCA Director Christina Brungardt contacted Gee, asking if the thieves would be able to keep her artwork — rather than contacting local authorities about the theft and vandalism, according to Ruo.

Following this incident, nearly half of the original artists pulled out of the exhibit, in solidarity with Gee. Madison-based artist and designer Ben Orozco said the artists and Gee are protesting the way in which the museum addressed the incident.

Ruo was surprised by the museum’s response toward the artists involved in the exhibit.

“I didn’t think that in 2022 I would be witnessing active whitewashing,” Ruo said.

Ruo called out the directors of MMoCA for refusing to display any empathy toward the artists involved in the exhibit. Since the original incident in June, there has been no dialogue between MMoCA leadership and the artists, according to Ruo.

Ruo said MMoCA was quick to make a list of demands to the Overture Center when a previous racist event occurred there.

But when MMoCA was forced to face racism on its own property, the leadership’s response fell short, Ruo said.

“They failed, and they are continuing to fail,” Ruo said.

MMoCA leadership avoided discussing the theft and vandalization with museum staff, according to Ruo. Employees were not informed about the theft or vandalization until

the day before an article on the incident was set to publish. Ruo said Brungardt instructed employees not to respond if anyone asked them about the incident.

Following the publication, Ruo described the office as being very tense and the theft of Gee’s artwork was a taboo topic nobody talked about.

In a response to the situation, more than 50 UW alumni, students and faculty wrote a letter that was read and delivered at MMoCA in early September. Orozco, a longtime member of the Madison community, took part in the letter.

Orozco has worked closely with curators of the MMoCA as an exhibitor and has been present for the “Ain’t I a Woman” exhibit since its opening. Since that time, he has seen both the exhibit and the museum itself transform into something he never imagined.

Orozco said seeing the walls of the museum becoming bare as artists pulled out of the exhibit following the incident between Gee and MMoCA was a grave feeling.

Orozco joined the group of alumni, students and faculty who took part in the letter to send a clear message.

“We are watching the museum and their lack of action or direct response to the situations that are going on,” Orozco said.

Through the sharing of the letter, the group meant to communicate a list of demands to the museum, including financial restitution with property toward Gee, the termination of Brungardt, the promise of no retaliation and a commitment from the museum to work to meet the needs of the artists involved with the exhibit, according to Orozco.

As an artist himself, Orozco was passionate about speaking out against MMoCA because he hoped the museum would show they are actually listening to the community.

When asked about MMoCA’s response, Orozco said he felt disappointed over the lack of dialogue and openness both with the community and artists themselves on the part of the museum.

“I had a sense of disappointment but also the sense that there’s something going on in the background,” Orozco said. “I can tell there’s a culture shift. There’s something going on within the leadership of the museum

and that’s why a lot of the letter was directed towards Christina Brungardt and the executive committee.”

Both Ruo and Orozcos’ experiences with MMoCA and their perspectives with how the museum handled the situation with Gee highlight the ways in which the museum has failed in the eyes of those in the community.

Ruo said the way in which the museum responded to Gee illustrates that their primary concern is to protect themselves from further scrutiny rather than supporting the artists they were meant to be giving a platform to.

Ruo said the “Ain’t I a Woman?” exhibit began as a platform meant to support Black women and their voices and experiences. But rather than supporting these Black women and the larger community, the museum chose silence.

“They could do so much better, and they have the platform to do so much better, I don’t think I would see myself ever going back to the museum,” Ruo said.

MMoCA failed to respond to an interview request.

‘They could do so much better, and they have the platform to do so much better,’ UW student says

Community members are disappointed with the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, following the vandalism and theft of artwork.

MADDIE

HERALD.

Athletic community reflects on 50 years of growth after Title IX

by Kara Kneafsey Print News Editor

As the University of Wisconsin celebrates the 50th anniversary of Title IX, students, alumni and the athletic department have reflected on the success of UW women’s athletics and the progress UW has made.

Congress passed the Education Amendment Acts of 1972, including Title IX, which forbids discrimination within educational programs based on sex in a program receiving federal assistance. The legislation does not include the word “athletics,” but athletic programs associated with federally funded universities had to equalize resources between men’s and women’s programs.

UW athletics has been hosting events throughout the year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX, including a fundraising campaign that will run through the end of the year to impact Badger women, according to the UW Athletics website.

The 50th reunion for UW’s class of 1972 featured a panel consisting of alumni and studentathletes in September that discussed the impacts of Title IX, the progress UW athletics has made and the disparities that still exist.

During the Badger football game against New Mexico State, UW honored previous members of the athletic community and celebrated the impact they made for UW women’s athletics.

Senior Women Administrator Katie Ahrens Smith said women’s sports have greatly benefitted from the enactment of Title IX legislation as it expanded opportunities for women within the athletic department at UW.

Throughout her past 25 years at UW athletics, Smith has worked with various athletic programs, enabling her to see the rise of many NCAA-winning teams such as women’s hockey and volleyball. She currently works with the football and volleyball programs.

Author and UW alumni Doug Moe said the accomplishments of these teams would not have been possible without the work of athletes before them as UW was slow to implement women’s programs after Title IX was passed.

This summer, the Big Ten Conference hosted the first Big Ten Women’s Leadership Summit

in celebration of the 50th anniversary. Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren highlighted the mission of this year’s summit and the Big Ten Conference overall within the realm of women’s athletics in a press release.

“This event is a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX and a reflection of our unwavering commitment to delivering transformational educational experiences and growth opportunities to our student-athletes,” Warren said.

Women’s soccer player Emma Jaskaniec, was one of three students representing UW at the

they had to make us charter, but the men’s team had been chartering since my freshman year,” Jaskaniec said. “I was always confused [as to] why we never got to, and we will never get to this year.”

The inequalities between mens’ and women’s athletics extend beyond the boundaries of UW.

Chancellor Edwin Young established a committee in July 1972 to elevate women’s athletics.

“The chairman of the committee was Elroy Hirsch, who was the men’s athletic director,” Moe said. “He didn’t have a real vested interest in it.”

summit. Hearing the struggles former women have faced when trying to access the same resources and opportunities as men’s athletics reminds her to be grateful but also to not stop persisting.

Jaskaniec believes UW has improved resources for women’s programs and has good policies in place. But, she continues to see inequities between her team and her male counterparts.

Having played in the Big Ten Championship and NCAA Soccer Sweet 16 twice, the only time Jaskaniec flew on a chartered plane was during the pandemic. Her friends on the UW men’s soccer team had been traveling on chartered planes since her freshman year even though they were not qualifying for these tournaments.

“I think the first time I’d ever charted on a plane was during COVID, and the only reason why was because of … some weird rule where

During the 2021 NCAA basketball finals, the organization faced heavy criticism for the disparities in the weight room and other amenities between the mens’ and womens’ tournaments, according to NPR. Several female players drew attention to the disparities and substandard facilities at the NCAA tournament as their gym facilities lacked in size and equipment.

According to NPR, NCAA responded to the criticism by apologizing for the events that occurred during the tournament and committing to addressing inequalities.

Within her experiences with the volleyball program, Smith has witnessed NCAA review all of their championships.

“Having been to fortunate enough to have been to three straight Final Fours with our women’s volleyball team, we noticed enhancements that were made to the women’s volleyball championship [this past year] in Columbus. So while we did see that nationally, we have witnessed movement in a positive direction,” Smith said.

After Title IX first passed, former UW

The committee only met once in the eight months after it was started. Shortly after, the U.S. Department of Civil Rights filed filed a complaint against UW for violating Title IX in April 1973, according to UW Badgers. Two weeks later, Young established a new committee to look further into women’s athletic programs which met 18 times that year.

Though club athletics existed for female students at UW before 1974, intercollegiate competition was nonexistent in athletics, as society feared it could damage women’s reproductive systems, according to UW Archives.

Saunders-Nordeen was announced as Wisconsin’s first director of women’s intercollegiate athletics on May 3, 1974. A month later, the UW athletic department officially added women’s badminton, basketball, cross country, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, rowing, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field and volleyball programs.

Forty-eight years later, the Wisconsin crowd set the NCCA regular season record for attendance in a volleyball game at the Kohl Center on Sept. 16. Smith described the match as “magical.”

“To sit at that score table and look up and see over 16,800 fans enjoying it, especially the young women or young girls that I saw in attendance, thinking about how they can picture themselves dreaming about being in that environment someday,” Smith said.

Despite losing that game, volleyball has represented the growth of UW athletics in the past 48 years, Smith said.

While UW athletics do not have current plans for volleyball to play again in the Kohl Center this season, Smith anticipates it returning in the future.

“I think we will always consider ways to grow and elevate the sport,” Smith said. “We don’t currently have plans set forth to do this on a more frequent basis ... It will be something that’s brought up to consider doing more in the future.”

‘Even though we’ve come such a far way, I still feel like there’s so much to grow upon,’ athlete says

CHARLOTTE BELLAMY. THE BADGER HJERALD.

Climate change negatively affects Wisconsin residents’ health

by Lydia Larsen Science News Editor

From severe weather to warming oceans, most people are aware of the many adverse environmental effects of climate change. But along with these concerns, climate change impacts human health in a myriad of ways, Nelson Institute professor Dr. Jonathon Patz said.

Patz has been studying climate change and its effects on human health for over a quarter century. When Patz first started working in environmental epidemiology, the study of environmental determinants of health, he realized climate change poses a unique challenge to human health.

“There are so many pathways through which climate change affects our health that I view this as the largest environmental challenge of our time,” Patz said.

Patz and colleagues at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa recently published a study in which they conducted a systematic review and found 70,000 scientific papers and 3,000 case examples of climate change affecting human health. These results indicated 58% of human infectious diseases are aggravated by climate change, and there are 1,006 distinct pathways where climate threats lead to pathogenic disease.

According to another paper Patz published in 2001, waterborne disease is strongly associated with heavy rainfall, which is becoming more extreme due to climate change. In 1993, Milwaukee experienced the heaviest month of rainfall in a 50-year period. The U.S.’s largest waterborne disease outbreak ever recorded followed this heavy rainfall. An outbreak of cryptosporidiosis, a parasite that causes vomiting, diarrhea and fever, infected over 403,000 people and killed 54.

“The most important health prevention to do in this case is to go to the source and recognize that energy policy, transportation policy and basically getting to a low carbon economy is in fact a central public health policy,” Patz said, “It needs to happen at that level rather than on an individual disease basis. We need a multi-pronged approach to prevention.”

Extreme heat is one of many ways climate change affects human health in Wisconsin and beyond. Climate and health program manager at the Wisconsin Department of Health Maggie Thelen said Wisconsin is becoming warmer and wetter. During heat waves when the temperature doesn’t drop enough at night, people’s bodies don’t have enough time to cool down and they can’t regulate their body temperature, Thelen said.

In Wisconsin, extreme heat kills more people than any other weather event combined, UW

hospital ICU nurse Alex Dudek said. Extreme heat often worsens air quality, which can lead to more hospitalizations for respiratory issues.

Additionally, when combined with COVID-19 infection, air pollution can lead to more patient deaths, Dudek said.

Interim chair of the Department of Medical History and Bioethics Richard Keller studies the social determinants of vulnerability during the 2003 heat wave that swept through

real wake up call for the scientific community and for society in general.

“This was a moment when it came home to the northern hemisphere and to Europe in particular ... that this is real and that it kills people,” Keller said.

In 2003, most deaths occurred in the elderly population because aging reduces people’s ability to regulate body temperature. According to the American Journal of

mosquitoes carry Zika virus and dengue fever, which is a leading cause of death in some Asian and Latin American countries.

Since 2004, tiger mosquitoes have lived in France, Keller said. In summer of 2022 over 40 people living in France contracted dengue. While people in places like the U.S. and France normally contract dengue abroad in tropical areas, the French cases occurred in people who did not have a travel history, meaning mosquitos are transmitting dengue locally.

“[Tiger mosquitos’] range is moving further and further north each year as a function of climate change,” Keller said. “So we will very soon be seeing this species of mosquito in a state like Wisconsin.”

It was in 2011 that UW school of nursing clinical instructor and PhD candidate Jessica LeClair first saw the effects of climate change in Madison communities, particularly through the effects of heavier rainfall and flooding. When she was working as a public health nurse in a north Madison neighborhood, a school principal told her more kids were coming to school with asthma and respiratory issues.

Upon further investigation LeClair learned the neighborhood flooded in 2008. By 2011, landlords had boarded up the basements of the houses, causing toxic mold to grow and seep through vents. LeClair said the toxic mold then made the families very sick.

Between families fearing eviction, a shortage of funding and policy issues LeClair struggled to find a solution. This experience led LeClair to pursue a masters in public health to better understand the connections between climate, health and equity.

“I took that knowledge back to our local health department and tried to convince them that as a nurse, all public health nurses should be addressing this,” LeClair said. “We’re embedded in the communities. We’re addressing health inequities in communities already. Climate change amplifies these health inequities so much.”

When it comes to those whose health will be most affected by climate change, LeClair said communities who live in poverty, experience systemic racism and experience other inequities will also be experiencing the brunt of the health effects caused by climate change.

western Europe, focusing specifically on France. During the August 2003 heat wave, 15,000 people died from heat related illness in two weeks, making the heat wave one of the most devastating weather disasters in modern French history, Keller said.

According to Keller, this heat wave was a

Physiology, elderly people are more at risk for hypothermia — a dangerously low body temperature — and hyperthermia — a dangerously high body temperature.

According to Patz, with higher temperatures and changes in precipitation comes disease ridden mosquitoes. Tiger

So while extreme heat affects all Wisconsin residents, it has a disproportionate impact on farmers, construction workers and other people who work outside, Dudek said.

“The health disparities are pretty extreme so that’s another one of my goals,” Dudek said. “Trying to address the health concerns of climate change in a way that is equitable and puts people who are most affected by it first.”

Fifty-eight percent of human infectious diseases aggravated by climate change, study finds

Climate change causes increased precipitation which leads to flooding and negative affects on human health.

DANIEL

HERALD.

by Scott McInerney Science News Editor

As summer leaves behind the memory of warm weather and lake days, fall brings with it an explosion of color. Cool temperatures and warm colored leaves push some people inside to Starbucks for a pumpkin spice latte, but others stay outdoors and observe nature at work.

Phenology is the practice of tracking the timing of seasonal events like birds migrating and flowers blooming, according to emeritus professor in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, Stanley Temple.

As the seasons switch, naturalists take to the wild to observe and document the changes they see. Documentation of phenological notes over the last hundred years now informs on how climate change affects the seasons, Temple said.

“Wisconsin has a big tradition and a big stake in phenology — the timing of seasonal events,” Temple said. “It’s a study of the timing of seasonal events, but we’ve played a big role in understanding how climate change is affecting plants and animals because we have such a rich historical sort of baseline to compare with.”

Key to Wisconsin’s influence in the field of phenology is Aldo Leopold. Leopold was a conservationist, author and naturalist, who became a professor at the University of Wisconsin in 1933, according to Temple, and by 1945 he accumulated decades worth of phenological records.

Leopold published a paper on his notes, which included over 10,000 observations and over 300 unique species. Later, his oldest daughter Nina Leopold Bradley retired and published her own findings that certain seasonal events occurred earlier in the year compared to when her father observed them.

These findings were consistent with what climate scientists were observing, Temple said. To this day, phenological records are still a common, important tool for naturalists and climate scientists alike.

Keeping phenological records aids climate science by providing historical markers for when events occurred in the past versus in the present, Temple said.

Climatologists can also use these comparisons to model and predict when events will occur in the future. Additionally, it can elucidate “phenological mismatches” which occur when two linked species, like pollinators and the plants they pollinate, respond to the climate differently. These mismatches could have consequences for those species.

Some of the changes expected in Wisconsin this time of year include seeds falling from plants, tamarack trees turning gold, whitetail deer making scrapes, frogs beginning to hibernate and wood ducks beginning to migrate, according to Temple.

seasons blossomed

All these changes come each year, as plants and animals are adapting to colder temperatures and decreasing daylight. One can see them outdoors daily.

“The fact that it’s a few tenths of a degree warmer this year than it was last year, that’s pretty hard for us to see or appreciate,” Temple said. “But when you can see these things right in your own backyard, in your own neighborhood, shifting, it’s one way that people can become aware that climate change is affecting where I live.”

The UW Arboretum is one place to see phenology in action, consisting of over 1,200 acres of land hosting a myriad of trees and wildlife.

Longenecker Horticultural Gardens Curator David Stevens said the living collection of woody plants at the Arboretum is the largest in Wisconsin and has species from 2,600 different taxa, or groups of species. The collection contains every tree native to Wisconsin as well as woody plants from around the globe capable of surviving the cold winters.

“We’re a great oasis right here in Madison,” Stevens said. “We do have the ability at least to have a great fall color display.”

Stevens said the Arboretum keeps a longstanding collection of phenological notes that Leopold started in the 1930s. Many of these notes are on spring changes like blooms and bird migration but also changes that come in the fall.

The seasonal changes seen at the Arboretum include the leaves changing colors, birds migrating south, acorns and fruits dropping from trees and deer and other mammals stocking up for the winter and many more, according to Stevens.

The seasons regulate when fall colors start to appear, Stevens said. Moisture and cold temperatures in the spring, as well as drought or storms in the summer, could affect when seasonal changes like frost and color changes occur in the fall.

When trees go from leafy green to the autumn yellows and oranges, this change is dictated by the decreasing daylight, Stevens said. Less daylight causes plants to stop producing chlorophyll, the source of their green color, and start producing carotenoids, the orange pigments in carrots. Trees start to prepare for the winter by internalizing nutrients, like sugar. When the leaves eventually fall off, the trees cover the sites where a leaf once was with a waxy coating.

Phenological records have shown how climate change is affecting the arboretum, Stevens

said. They will see spring and fall alike coming earlier or later than it historically has, which makes planning around those seasons more difficult. The Arboretum used to give visitors fairly accurate estimates of peak fall colors and peak flower blooms, but this is no longer the case, according to Stevens.

When Stevens is not at work “getting paid to geek out about trees and shrubs” he runs an organic farm in Baraboo with his wife. The changing seasons affect both his work at the Arboretum and his farm.

Stevens’ farm grows a variety of organic herbs like holy basil or lemongrass. He said the year’s first frost can dictate when to harvest his crops. He used to expect the first frost to come in the first week to ten days in October, but in recent years it has come sooner — a phenological indicator of climate change.

“It really shortens the growing season window and makes you have to really scramble,” Stevens said.

The early frost affects Stevens’ farm as well as local vegetable farmers, Stevens said, as they have to try to harvest all the crops that are not cold tolerant and cover those that they cannot harvest.

Phenology is also on full display at the Lakeshore Nature Preserve.

Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator at the Lakeshore Nature Preserve Bryn Scriver said the preserve spans 300 acres — taking up about one-

climate

third of campus — and contains lots of diverse ecosystems and wildlife.

“It’s a great place to go to relax, exercise and just have a place for rest and a place to go be in nature,” Scriver said.

This is the time of year when yellowjackets, a type of wasp, nest in the ground on the preserve. During this process, the yellowjackets become aggressive, according to Striver. Fuzzy caterpillars known as the wooly bear caterpillar begin to appear, flowers like asters and goldenrods are blooming, berries on the woodland plant jack-inthe-pulpit turn from green to bright orange and fungi like stinkhorns start to appear.

One event Scriver looks forward to is the first frost of the year, which is when the mosquitos die. She said a killing frost will kill the above-ground parts of many plants and grasses as well as dry out leaves. After a killing frost has occurred, they can begin to do prescribed fires — an important aspect of managing the preserve.

Of course, the seasonal changes are not only seen at the Arboretum or the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. What Aldo Leopold started nearly 100 years ago can be done anywhere outdoors. It is now a well-studied scientific practice that can be used to predict the natural world.

“Phenology has become sort of a big, big thing,” Temple said. “And it’s sort of transitioned from being this hobby of Victorian naturalists to now being a serious climate science.”

The Lab Report: Using social psychology to create equity in classrooms

by Kelli Marschall Science News Reporter

The Brauer Group Lab at the University of Wisconsin Department of Psychology uses social psychology to facilitate classroom experiences that are more inclusive for marginalized students across the UW system.

Led by psychology professor Markus Brauer, the lab focuses on diversity and inclusion. One project at the lab focuses on encouraging and facilitating the success of marginalized students in STEM classes.

According to the American Psychological Association, social psychology is a branch of research that investigates the complexity of social interactions. Internal biases, social norms and stereotypes all fall under this category. Thus, there are many different applications of this research and many different projects within the lab.

According to the Brauer Lab website, the existing strategies to reduce discrimination

in the classroom are not supported by research, meaning researchers and educators don’t know if current strategies actually reduce discrimination.

The Brauer lab aims to change this. Using a scientifically rigorous approach to correct this shortcoming, the lab analyzes empirical data such as surveys of marginalized students and grading statistics. This allows the lab to make more concrete conclusions about what measures teachers can take to increase inclusivity in their classrooms.

Currently, educators rely on small case studies to inform their inclusivity policies.

“The emphasis is less, now, on producing new findings but rather on producing findings that are solid and more universally applicable than single case studies,” Brauer said.

Brauer collaborates with instructors from across the UW system to design new inclusivity techniques. He designed an experiment to find the efficacy of various

inclusivity efforts. For example, he found increasing flexibility of due dates is a successful measure. Brauer said he aims to identify what social psychology techniques should be used to increase inclusivity in classrooms.

Brauer said collaboration in psychological research should happen between researchers and the marginalized students his lab aims to help — not just between the members of his lab and other experts on the topic.

“I don’t know anything about entrepreneurship,” Brauer said. “But, I know from surveys that female students are less likely to be interested in it than men. I work with professors on campus who teach entrepreneurship, and in turn I teach them how to make their classes more inclusive to women.”

Brauer said prejudices and stereotypes are a persistent issue not only in the classroom but in all facets of society. As such, another focus of the Brauer lab is collaborating with

experts in other fields to increase diversity in their own fields such as business and statistics.

Brauer said his lab creates inclusivity interventions employers can use to increase marginalized groups’ interest in fields with low diversity. Examples of interventions include conducting anonymous hiring processes, which combats implicit bias and increases marginalized groups’ success.

“I like the fact that [this research] focuses on tangible problems with clear solutions,” Brauer said. “People are very interested in what we have to say because it’s very obvious the positive impact of increased inclusivity on the learning experience.”

In addition to their research on discrimination and inclusivity, the Brauer lab also investigates communication techniques that will decrease the animosity between different communities. Their goal is to help increase cooperation between people of different political affiliations when addressing climate change and sustainability.

Undergraduate senior Jassia Ahmad has been a part of the lab for over a year. While assisting a graduate student in the Brauer lab she designed an experiment to study potential advocacy techniques. These techniques were designed to increase awareness of the climate crisis in conservative areas, Ahmad said.

Ahmad said effective communication and advocacy is highly dependent on context. Information that may convince a liberal voter to support climate change policy will often have the complete opposite effect on a conservative due to how it’s presented. As such, the goal of Ahmad’s research is to find methods of communication that convey the importance of climate intervention without alienating conservative communities in the process.

Ahmad is currently canvassing conservative areas and distributing door hangers with the same information on climate change presented in different ways as well as a survey for residents. She then compares the efficacy of the messaging based on how the information was presented. Once Ahmad collects the survey data, she will analyze the data to determine what communication techniques were most effective for changing the participants’ minds about the importance of climate change.

According to Ahmad, she will extrapolate how those techniques can be used to convey other important information.

“I’m very excited to be in the field with this project,” Ahmad said. “It feels great to know that the work I’m doing is having a real impact on people’s lives.”

Researchers in the Brauer lab study social psychology to create better political messaging, inclusivity

The Brauer lab in the UW Psychology department studies social phycology to better understand best political communication practices and equity in educational settings.

ABBY CIMA. THE BADGER HERALD.

facebook.com/badgerherald

by Sarah Matysiak Science News Associate Editor

What started in 2002 as an informal email list between early-career women amid the male-dominated atmospheric science field grew into an organization with over 10,000 Facebook subscribers. At the time, Tracey Holloway, one of the co-founders of Earth Science Women’s Network and president of the group from 2014-2017, never imagined the organization would have attracted so much attention 20 years later.

Holloway said the groups acronym, “ESWN,” was purposeful. It simultaneously represents the purpose of the organization, and also sounds similar to “ESPN,” so people would have an easier time remembering it.

According to their mission statement, ESWN aims to “support the scientists of today and welcome the scientists of tomorrow.” Ultimately, ESWN provides support and a network to its members, something lacking for many women and Black, Indigenous and people of color who are underrepresented in the geoscience and earth science fields.

What Holloway said she observed in the beginning years of ESWN was an exponential growth in membership each year. Holloway attributes this growth to ESWN’s unique ability to provide women support for both their professional and personal needs.

“Thinking about this from the perspective of women who were dealing sometimes with things that related to everybody but other times things that were uniquely gender[ed], and that may be what to wear to an interview or some of the challenges that come along with bringing your kids along for a professional meeting,” Holloway said.

Neither co-founder of ESWN and current ESWN president Meredith Hastings nor Holloway thought the group would grow to its current size when it started as an email list.

The founders knew the organization was growing and meeting an unanticipated need but didn’t recognize the exact reasoning for that need, Holloway said. All they knew was ESWN was working.

Hastings said she thought there would be enough women in science eventually that these women wouldn’t feel isolated and ESWN wouldn’t be necessary, but that didn’t happen. As it turned out, ESWN was the

exact thing women needed — then and now.

“I think I was very naive to think that things were changing, seemingly, rapidly and that this was really going to be a shortterm thing,” Hastings said.

When University of Wisconsin assistant professor in atmospheric and ocean studies Mayra Oyola-Merced joined in 2010 as a graduate student, she had no idea it would also lead to instructing at UW in the same department as Tracey Holloway.

In a field with mostly male professors, getting in touch with women was important for career development, building a community of support and making connections within the field, Oyola-Merced said.

Hastings said this connection typically occurred with staff members who were the only other women and very rarely with other women faculty.

The National Science Foundation reported that although women account for 48% of the total workforce, they comprise just 34% of the STEM workforce in 2022. This is an increase, though, from 2010 — the year Oyola-Merced joined ESWN — when only 28% of the science and engineering workforce were women, according to the Society of Women Engineers.

Even as a fairly young organization, the group focused mainly on peer mentoring — though they did not realize at the time the foundation it served for building the rest of ESWN, Holloway said.

Beyond providing professional development opportunities to its members, ESWN also supports women throughout different levels of their careers by covering topics intrinsic to women, such as motherhood, Oyola-Merced said. Covering topics as such allows women to have difficult conversations with and relate to other women, an ability they would lose amidst a male-dominated field.

But from the beginning, Hastings said she noticed the organization had a narrow focus on only amplifying women’s concerns and increasing the number of women in leadership positions. This caused ESWN to miss an opportunity to expand its outreach to women of color in the field as well.

What ESWN saw was growing numbers of white women scientists over the years who were utilizing its support services, but women of color were still vastly underrepresented, Hastings said.

This realization allowed ESWN to broaden its mission statement and find that diversity is what’s really important to science being successful, OyolaMerced said.

“It’s extremely important to have that diversity and those different backgrounds to look at very complex problems in different ways,” Oyola-Merced said. “And we’ve seen that there is a lot of success surrounding that. As we move forward with all the different challenges that we have — whether that is climate change or even when we think about space exploration — we do need to bring forward that spectrum of perspectives into what we do.”

Though the founders did not immediately

realize what inclusion truly looks like, today ESWN emphasizes inclusion throughout their group. All it required was centering ideas on building community within the organization, Hastings said.

Since, ESWN has maintained that name for itself and even developed a more descriptive mission statement today as a registered 501(c)(9) nonprofit, which was formalized by Holloway. It also receives an endowment from the Madison Community Foundation and earns large grants from well-known foundations such as NASA and NSF.

“What we found over time was that the power of a community can enact change — and should enact change — beyond just furthering themselves,” Holloway said. “And today the mission, I think, is best summarized by supporting the scientists today and welcoming the scientists of tomorrow.”

Over the years, ESWN has helped dismantle some of the stigmas of being a woman and/or a woman of color in a STEM field. It has experienced a lot of successes in the area of garnering open-mindedness within the workplace, both outside of it and among its members, Oyola-Merced said.

Still today, ESWN is as strong as ever, and the atmospheric and oceanic studies department is well-balanced between the male and female counterparts, which OyolaMerced credits to Holloway.

“It was that work done by Tracey and also [her colleague] that opened the path for the rest of us to be here right now,” OyolaMerced said.

National organization supporting thousands of women co-founded by UW professor

How women changed the game of community in STEM

“What we found over time was that the power of a community can enact change.”

- Tracey Holloway

PHOTO COURTESY OF

ESWN provides support for scientists who are women, Black, Indigenous and people of color.

Hook, Line and Sinker

Tackling harmful health risks of fish contamination for anglers, greater community

by Caroline Crowley Managing Editor

out … we’d just fish all night long,” Wiley said. “It was awesome.”

Wiley grew up fishing in Milwaukee. Now, due to concerns with the water quality in her hometown, she travels to Madison to cast her line.

“Now that water’s contaminated,” Wiley said.

Though the water in Milwaukee has more contamination than the water in Madison, the reality is both areas contain dangerous amounts of toxins. These toxins, in turn, are taken up by the fish — as a result, the Envi ronmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration recommend limited consumption of most species of fish. These consumption guidelines don’t just impact people who catch their own fish — they can extend to the fish at the grocery store, too.

But, according to a new study performed by the University of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, only around half of Great Lakes residents are aware of fish consumption advisories.

Further, the study found that racial and ethnic minorities were more likely to exceed these limits and were less aware of the advi sories in the first place.

Eating contaminated fish can have dire consequences for human health, yet many remain unaware of these risks.

ill.

Humans absorb almost 100% of methylmercury into their bloodstream, according to the Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health.

But mercury isn’t the only contaminant of concern for anglers. Other chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and per- and polyfluo roalkyl substances (PFAS) are also promi nent contaminants.

fetuses and infants can cause growth problems, severe impairments to mental functioning, decreased lung function and birth defects.

“[For] young children, developing fetuses during those critical periods of development, exposure to contaminants like these can have a much bigger impact compared to, say, an older adult,” Meiman said.

man found that most Burmese immigrants in Milwaukee were unaware of fish consump tion guidelines due to a lack of information in languages other than English. As a result, the levels of mercury and PFAS in their blood were several times higher than the U.S. average.

into the air through mining and fossil fuel combustion. PFAS are still widely released through waste facilities, the use of firefighting foam and other processes. As a result, these chemicals can be found in an array of food products and the environment.

sumers can vote for officials who support leg islation to prevent contamination and choose to purchase items that don’t use coal, fossil fuels or PFAS compounds, Mathewson said the weight of this contamination should not fall on the individual.

Zelda Wiley sat with two fishing poles, a cooler and a small cart jam-packed with food, bug spray, towels, a fish ing net and spare clothes. She smiled beneath her camouflage ball cap and sun glasses as she leaned her fishing poles up on the wall of the Monona Terrace.

Ever since she was young, Wiley has fished to relieve anxiety. She smiled as she fondly re called the memory of fishing with her mother as a girl.

“We fished all the time, she would bring us

Combating the problem of contamination through prevention and education is crucial to avoid the lethal impacts of eating contaminated fish.

From Minamata to Monona

In a small fishing town located on the Yatsu shiro Sea in the spring of 1956, a five-year-old girl had convulsions. She struggled to walk or speak. Within the same spring, her sister fell

This was the earliest documented illness from fish consumption, located in Minamata, Japan.

That year, early studies discovered 55 incidences of the illness, resulting in 17 deaths. Over the next 50 years, there would be more than 3,500 claims of cases of Minamata disease in Japan.

According to the Japan Medical Association, Minamata disease is the result of methyl mercury poisoning. In Minamata, mercury poisoning occurred as a result of the chemical companies Chisso and Showa Denko, which dumped methylmercury into the sea. This mercury proliferated through the fish and led to the contamination of thousands of people.

Mercury poisoning can result in poor muscle control, tunnel vision, problems speak ing, hearing impairment, tremors, burning or prickling sensations on the skin, the loss of smell and more.

Jon Meiman is a chief medical officer and state epidemiologist at the Wisconsin Depart ment of Health Services who has studied fish consumption and education about related health guidelines. Meiman said the largest source of mercury is the burning of coal.

After mercury is released into water, it accu mulates in fish and shellfish — these animals condense the mercury, Meiman said, contami nating the larger predators that feed on them with a higher level of mercury. Because it is released into the atmosphere, mercury can be found everywhere on Earth.

“It’s been that way as long as we have been using mercury or burning coal, which is a primary way of mercury getting into the environment,” Meiman said. “What it does, it ends up in the wildlife and accumulating in fish … Basically, the concentrations increase the higher you get up the food chain.”

Humans are the final link in this food chain.

You Are What You Eat

Toxic chemicals such as mercury can irrepa rably damage the human nervous system.

Though PCBs were banned in 1979, they still persist in the environment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, fish are a main route of human exposure to PCB contamination.

PCBs are carcinogenic and may lead to worsened immune systems, decreased birth weight for fetuses, damaged nervous systems and more, according to the EPA.

PFAS are contaminants of more recent concern, Meiman said. These chemicals can lead to impacts on the liver and cholesterol. They can enter the environment through several products, like firefight ing foam and common household items such as food packaging.

“For PFAS, that’s a much bigger topic,” Meiman said. “We’re not talking about one chemical, we’re talking about thousands.”

Mercury and PFAS can be found around the globe, Meiman said. Mercury can travel through the atmosphere, meaning it is found everywhere, while PFAS can travel through the groundwater.

PCBs are a more local contaminant, Meiman said, which mostly come from indus trial discharge and remain in the area to be taken up by wildlife. In Wisconsin, PCBs are prevalent in areas that were historically used for paper mills.

Additionally, different species of fish can carry different loads of each chemical. Ac cording to Public Health Madison and Dane County, all fish contain mercury. Carp and catfish contain higher levels of PCBs and white bass, bluegill and crappie have the highest levels of PFAS.

PHMDC suggests that people beyond childbearing age should only eat walleye, pike, bass, catfish and other species once per week. This group should only eat musky once per month.

Contaminants are especially dangerous for fetuses and young children — after it’s absorbed, mercury can easily accumulate in the brains of fetuses or in breastmilk.

According to the Journal of Preventive Med icine and Public Health, mercury poisoning in

But children under the age of 15 and those of childbearing age should still eat every species of fish once per week or less — bluegill, crappie, yellow perch, sunfish, bullhead and inland trout should be eaten once per week, according to PHMDC. Walleye, pike, bass, catfish and all other species should only be eaten once per month, and musky should never be eaten.

Certain lakes in Wisconsin have different advisories from PHMDC — for adults, carp located in Lake Wingra and Lake Monona should only be eaten once per month, and other Dane County and Madison waters have specific suggested limits on bluegill, crappie, largemouth bass, northern pike, pump kinseed, walleye and yellow perch consumption.

The Wisconsin Depart ment of Natural Resources created a guide for eating fish in Wisconsin, which contains general suggestions for fish consumption as well as a map of information about lake- and river-specific contamination levels.

Lake Michigan and the rivers in the Milwaukee area have elevated concentra tions of PCBs, while bodies in the Madison area have elevated levels of PCBs and PFOS.

No species of fish in Lake Michigan is spared from a consumption guideline due to PCB contamination.

Angling for Equality

“[Catching and eating fish is] culturally important for all different groups throughout the state and an important source of nutrition for people,” Meiman said. “And so we want to make sure that people can continue to do that, but do it safely.”

Fishing is important to many cultures sur rounding the Great Lakes, some of which have better access to educational information than others. For some groups, there is a language barrier. In other cases, information is just inac cessible or unavailable.

In one of his studies for the DHS, Mei

In a study from the American Fisheries Soci ety, African American anglers reported eating double and triple the amount of fish compared to Hmong Americans and white people. Hmong Americans were found to prefer spe cies with higher levels of contamination and were ultimately exposed to the same amount of contaminants as African Americans.

Though the majority of anglers in this study did not eat more fish than recommended, most of them shared fish with family members — one-third of anglers reported providing fish to children.

The African American participants of the study knew less about health advisories than other racial and ethnic groups.

Troy Winters, a Black angler, lives in Milwaukee and has worked at Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center for about 20 years. He’s married, with six children and seven grand children. Winters fishes to relax and get away from the city, but he cooks and eats his catch with friends.

“I love it,” Winters said. “It’s relaxing, so it relaxes my mind and gets me away from everything … I’ve got a bunch of guys that we get together and they let me do all the frying of the fish. So we catch them and we cook them and we eat them.”

Winters mainly catches crappies, bluegills and bass. He fishes in Lake Monona every year, where PHMDC recommends consum ing only one meal per month of crappie and largemouth bass. Bluegill should be consumed up to once per week.

Though Winters was fishing in contami nated waters for contaminated fish, he was unaware of the warnings from PHMDC about dangerous levels of fish consumption.

Despite the dangers associated with fishing in contaminated waters, there are ways to prevent and address this contamination.

All Hands on Deck

There are three strategies Meiman said that, when combined, can prevent harmful expo sures to contaminants.

The first two strategies are to prevent and address environmental contamination. PCBs were banned in 1979, according to the EPA. But PFAS and mercury are still being produced around the world.

According to the EPA, mercury is emitted

Preventing and addressing environmental contamination is a gargantuan task despite global efforts.

Scientist for Clean Wisconsin Paul Mathew son said there are initiatives to remove the PCBs that remain in Wisconsin’s environment by dredging the bottoms of lakes to remove PCB-contaminated sediments. But this process comes with a tradeoff — releasing some of the contaminants into the water.

Katie Johnson, a Black angler from Mil waukee, has been fishing for over thirty years. She refuses to fish in Milwaukee and travels to Madison and other waters in Wisconsin to catch fish from cleaner water.

“I guess they be trying to put something in it to take care of it but I don’t know,” Johnson said. “I just don’t think any of that stuff’s working.”

The main initiative to prevent mercury con tamination is reducing the use of coal and fos sil fuels on a national scale, Mathewson said.

When it comes to PFAS, the DNR cre ated an action plan with other agencies. But Mathewson said legislation surrounding PFAS is complicated — some legislation attempts to address single PFAS compounds of the thousands in existence. This strategy would require thousands of regulations to adequately address the PFAS problem.

Instead, Mathewson said it would make more sense to phase out PFAS. Though some compounds are essential for certain medical products or to put out high-intensity fires, legislation can target un necessary PFAS used for luxuries.

Ultimately, though con

“To the extent that [a person can] voice support for that and let their elected officials know that that’s what they want, I think really I’m not sure what else they can do … These are systemic things and the onus shouldn’t be on the individual,” Mathewson said.

For many, education is the only way to avoid these contaminants.

Meiman’s final strategy is to provide the public with education and tools to avoid exposure.

“Once people are given the right education, delivered in the right way, delivered by the right people, it does make an impact,” Meiman said. “It does end up resulting in not only changing consumption patterns but choosing safer fish, preparing in safer methods or in cer tain cases, when needed, reducing the overall amount of fish consumed.”

Educational efforts are ongoing. The Wisconsin DHS is partnering with the EPA on another education project, Meiman said. To ensure positive results, Meiman said the team has formed a community advisory board to shape the project.

Current education methods have worked for some anglers, though. Johnson strictly follows DHS advisories and doesn’t share her catch with other people.

Education and environmental change are essential for the safety of future generations. With the correct education and safe consump tion habits, fishing can be a safe and healthy experience.

“It’s relaxing, stress-free, calming, that’s why I love it,” Johnson said.

“[It] gets me away from everything … just love being out on the water,” Winters said.

“You get the pressure off your head to just vent out,” Wiley said. “It’s down time for me.”

CARES,

by Katie Sullivan Opinion Writer

provide internet services for low-income communities

Internet access, quality education and other public health determinants, which has posed barriers to community health during the pandemic.

The monetary support provided by pandemicrelief and broadband expansion legislation has enabled Wisconsin to begin addressing what has been dubbed the “digital divide” — a lack of broadband internet access in rural areas. According to the PSC, 21.8% of rural Wisconsinites do not have access to a single fixed broadband service with a speed of 25/3 Mbps or faster, which falls below the national average of 17.2% for others residing throughout the rural U.S.

Over two and a half years into the pandemic, many folks have returned to living life as they did prior to COVID-19 shutdowns. But, transmissibility of the virus remains high and the upswing of post-COVID conditions has prompted the need for comprehensive multimodal learning and continuing remote employment.

Inaccessibility of broadband network connectivity also disproportionately impacts people of color. According to the Dane County Equity Consortium, 13.4% of Black residents and 8.3% of Hispanic and Latinx residents in Wisconsin do not own a computer. For white students, that figure is just 5.8%.

Maintaining dependable frameworks for remote participation in work and education needs to remain a priority. Inequities have been underscored time and time again throughout the course of COVID-19, and grant funding is crucial for meeting public needs and addressing disparities.

Wisconsin Public Service Commissioner Rebecca Cameron Valcq endorsed a statewide need for equitable access to broadband. In a press release from the office of Gov. Tony Evers, she explained the benefits of affordable and consistent broadband connection.

Providing the resources communities need to be connected is a necessary step toward digital equity, Valq said. Making broadband more accessible and affordable is absolutely crucial in the modern technological era.

A September budgetary allocation audit by Wisconsin’s nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau reviewed the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act and the American Rescue Plan Act. The pieces of legislation provide pandemic relief, broadband expansion and other community-based services.

The Wisconsin Public Service Commission is the agency responsible for apportioning the funds from both of these acts. The PSC has received criticism for its poor oversight, as millions of dollars have been allocated to providing subsidies to telecommunication service providers in the state without proper documentation of expenditures.

The audit revealed the PSC used invoices, easement contracts and payroll paperwork in lieu

of documentation of contract fulfillment, which raised questions of whether or not broadband expansion has succeeded or where it has been implemented. The inspection, however, did not identify any unauthorized expenses or errors, and commissioners have plans to follow-up with providers on project progress.

These technical missteps in grant issuance fall in tandem with COVID-19 — an unprecedented public health crisis. Empathy should be extended to commissioners, who had to work quickly to disburse these grants in the interest of expanding public access to utilities such as broadband connectivity.

CARES and ARPA have both served a critical role in funding the establishment and refinement

of the regional infrastructure for remote forms of work and school.

Since the pandemic shifted everyone’s lives into a digital sphere in March 2020, some network operators have reported as much as a 60% increase in demand for broadband services. The surge in consistent internet users made itself known with network instability and outages in the initial COVID-19 lockdown period in 2020, posing difficulties for students and members of remote workforces who depended on reliable internet access.

Wisconsin is home to roughly 1.5 million people living in stretches of low population density areas. Rural municipalities often exhibit pronounced deficits in healthcare, food security, reliable

The internet is, in many ways, the heart of our lives. With increasingly virtual educational and employment experiences, internet use is becoming more fundamental for all sectors of society. Access to an increasingly necessary tool should not be considered a luxury.

Integration of marginalized communities in all facets of life is long overdue, and access to reliable connection should not be determined by socioeconomic status. Sustaining the progress of broadband expansion initiatives is crucial, and supporting the statewide efforts to enable reliable access to broadband is among the greatest means of ensuring opportunity and digital equity for all.

Katie Sullivan (kbsullivan2@wisc.edu) is a sophomore studying health promotion & health equity and communication sciences & disorders.

Broadband expansion, technology access for all Wisconsinites help address digital inequity

Renaming of federal lands aids in recognition of Indigenous cultures

by Emily Otten Associate Opinion Editor

Wisconsin is a state rich with Indigenous history and home to 12 different tribal nations. This history is evident in many of the names of Wisconsin towns, lakes and forests. Waukesha and Milwaukee derive their names from Potawatomi words, while Minoqua comes from the Ojibwe language. But only recently did the government remove an offensive term toward Indigenous people from the names of Wisconsin land.

The U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, started the process of renaming about 650 natural sites on federal land to remove a racist term from the titles of these locations. Twenty-eight federal sites in Wisconsin included the pejorative word used to refer to Native American women.

The renaming process was a nationwide effort that took about one year, beginning in November

2021. The renaming included a public survey for the new names of the locations, during which about 70 tribal governments participated and gave over 1,000 name recommendations.

The names of public sites such as parks, lakes or rivers are incredibly important because they reflect the history and pride of the United States. Many federal lands are named after significant historical figures or events, and the names of these places are important to remembering the history and culture of the United States.

Indigenous cultures already receive such little recognition from the U.S. government, so when that recognition is negatively expressed through derogatory terms, it is not only incredibly offensive but also creates an unequal power dynamic.

This unequal dynamic has existed since European settlement. The government over time

has continually overreached its power over tribal nations because they are not internationally or federally recognized in the same way as the U.S. government. The use of a derogatory term in an officially and federally recognized process — such as the names of public lands — is incredibly belittling to Indigenous cultures. It is a way for the government to acknowledge tribal nations in the most offensive way possible.

This is why the renaming of these federal lands is so important because it is no longer a federal exertion of power over tribal nations or a denial of their existence.

Ronald Corn Sr., the Chairman of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, welcomed the changes but admitted disappointment with how long the efforts to change such names took. For 20 years, activist groups have petitioned to remove the racist term

from federal lands, but only recently were their complaints acknowledged.

When tribal nations or other marginalized groups previously spoke out about the federally approved use of racist language, the government widely ignored them. Thus the problematic names of these federal lands and other American monuments remained for decades.

The greatest example of this is the Washington Football Team, which for 87 years had a racist term for Native Americans as their team name and a racist caricature as their mascot. During that time, tribal nations and activist groups heavily petitioned for a change in the name and mascot, but only in 2022 did the team officially rebrand as the Washington Commanders.

Even at UW, a rock that was previously atop Observatory Hill was removed from campus in August 2021. The rock had an offensive nickname and was a reminder to students of color of school-acknowledged racism, so officials removed it and stripped the rock of any offensive nicknames.

Renaming is a larger piece of activist efforts to slowly remove structural racism from the United States. The renaming of federal lands, buildings or monuments when offensive, racist or named after problematic individuals, are symbolic of lifting oppression.

Additionally, renaming such sites to have authentic Indigenous names roots those cultures to the land which was unjustly stolen from them. Renaming is also a stepping stone in other activist efforts to remove examples of structural racism such as monuments to Confederate soldiers or racist historical figures.

In Madison today, other renaming processes are taking place. Thomas Jefferson Middle School is in the final stages of renaming to remove the name of a slave owner from the title, according to the Madison Metropolitan School District website. Similarly in 2021, James Madison Memorial High School was renamed Vel Phillips Memorial High School in an effort to honor the woman who fought for desegregation and Black housing rights in Wisconsin.

The action of renaming might seem like a small action to solve a big problem, but it is the beginning of recognition for Indigenous communities — recognition they have not gotten for centuries.

In particular, the Ho-Chunk Nation was recognized on the University of Wisconsin campus in early September. UW officials and Ho-Chunk Nation leaders raised the flag of the Ho-Chunk Nation over Bascom Hill where it will continue to fly throughout the fall semester.

The actions of renaming and flag raising are small steps toward the recognition and appreciation of Indigenous tribes on the UW campus, Wisconsin and the entire country.

Emily Otten (elotten@wisc.edu) is a junior majoring in journalism.

Omitting racist language toward Native Americans is small step toward equitable recognition

Removing racist terms from sites and monuments symbolizes lifting of oppression.

ERIN GRETZINGER. THE BADGER HERALD.

Point-counterpoint: Should Wisconsin transition to electric vehicles?

Recent grant money dedicated to electric vehicle charging network raises debate over electric cars

Point: Electric vehicles should become the norm

by Brett Huser Opinion Writer

Over the last decade, there has been a surge in the use and development of battery-electric vehicles. With a concern for the ongoing effects of climate change, many car-buyers and manufacturers are transitioning to electric in hopes of saving energy and limiting air pollution. This comes with a higher demand for charging stations throughout the country. In response to this shift, the federal government apportioned nearly $78 million in funding to Wisconsin’s project to build more Electric Vehicle charging stations across the state.

These funds come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which Congress passed in November 2021. The Biden Administration hopes to renovate the country’s infrastructure to encourage the use of renewable energy vehicles. Wisconsin’s interconnected project calls for the construction of 400+ station locations, adding up to around 1,000 new EV Supply Equipment ports.

This investment seems to be a smart one, as it will reduce pollution rates, positively impact the fuel and energy economy and lay down a foundation for the future of electric transportation.

One of the obvious benefits of electric vehicles is their eco-friendly nature, most notably in regards to air pollution. While conventional cars rely on fossil fuels such as gas and diesel for power, EVs use electric motors powered by rechargeable lithium batteries.

This means EVs do not emit any sort of carbon dioxide emissions. Replacing conventional cars with EVs thus has the potential to improve our air quality. While a transition to EVs cannot fully eliminate emissions in our air, adopting and encouraging the use of EVs is certainly a step in the right direction.

Another aspect of the use of EVs is how it will affect the economy. Since these vehicles don’t run on fossil fuels, there is a rational potential for the average cost of fuel to reduce as demand for it lessens. This would also lead to less dependency on imported oil.

Consumption from locally produced electricity sources might increase in tandem, which could make our economy significantly more independent, as well as bring in new jobs in the energy sector.

EVs are also a good financial decision for consumers, as they will end up saving money on fuel costs. According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, drivers can save as much as $14,500 on fuel costs over 15 years by driving an electric vehicle. The cost of powering an electric vehicle is close to the equivalent of just two dollars per gallon.

Lastly, this investment will lay down the foundation and infrastructure needed for the future. While electric vehicles may not be extremely popular among certain groups, it is likely we will see more and more electric vehicles in the near future. Many private-sector companies such as Ford and General Motors have made commitments to go fully electric within the next 10 years.

While there is an argument that the price and effort to create the infrastructure necessary for these charging stations is too high, the eventual economic and environmental benefits will outweigh the costs. Today, it is common to see gas stations everywhere you go. Maybe tomorrow, we will start seeing charging stations along highways and among residential areas, ultimately for the better.

Brett Huser (bkhuser@wisc.edu) is a freshman studying journalism and mass communication.

Counterpoint: Electric vehicles must be implemented mindfully

by Celia Hiorns Opinion Editor

Generally, electric vehicles produce fewer carbon emissions than gasoline vehicles, according to the EPA. A transition to electric cars, however, must be examined closely, because EVs present their own unique challenges in the larger move toward sustainability.

For one, the system powering electric cars matters. According to the New York Times, most EVs draw energy from a combination of coal and sustainable power grids, which makes their environmental footprint smaller than traditional vehicles.

Using predominantly coal-powered grids, however, can actually produce worse environmental outcomes than something like a hybrid vehicle, which uses gasoline and an efficient battery to improve mileage. In the Midwest, coal-power grids dominate energy production, meaning EVs being charged in Wisconsin are likely not very sustainable.

Additionally, issues arise in sourcing materials such as cobalt to produce lithiumion batteries, which power electric cars. Obtaining cobalt can be environmentally damaging and unethical, according to the New York Times.

For one, the mining processes produce harmful waste products that impact the environment and surrounding communities. Also, the vast majority of the world’s cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where working conditions are largely unregulated, raising human rights concerns.

Obtaining materials for EVs can also be difficult for manufacturers. Minor disruptions in supply chains have caused some companies to halt production, according to Forbes. This raises questions of whether the economy is ready for the transition to EVs, as the Biden

administration suggests. It also introduces the possibility that companies will turn to unethical practices to meet market demands.

On the back end, problems persist with recycling lithium batteries once they’re done being used in cars. Economic and technical challenges of recycling these materials have prevented extensive research. But without a plan for how to reuse or recycle batteries on a large scale, many could end up in landfills in the near future.

Finally, the transition to electric vehicles, while beneficial by some standards, presents equity issues. Right now, the typical owners of electric cars are high-income men, according to the MIT Science Policy Review. This means the initial stages of the project would benefit this demographic before other subsets of the population.

Also, reliance on electric cars can exacerbate racial and income inequalities, according to NPR. Expanding the infrastructure for private transit draws resources away from public services. Public transportation is both a sustainable and accessible option for many Americans. The focus on individual EVs undermines the larger effort of effective urban planning that allows for easier mobility, stronger communities and more sustainability.

Undoubtedly, electric vehicles represent an opportunity to significantly reduce carbon emissions in the United States. But, unless we can answer the more difficult questions that address the nuances of a transition to electric vehicles, we may not be headed for a more sustainable future after all.

Celia Hiorns (chiorns@badgerherald.com) is a sophomore studying journalism and political science.

The Biden administration granted Wisconsin $78 million in federal funds to expand the state’s electric vehicle charging network Sept. 17. The approval is part of a nationwide effort to increase dependence on electric — rather than gasoline-powered — vehicles. Should Wisconsin continue to transition toward electric vehicles, or do the consequences outweigh the potential benefits?

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UW Health agreement delays inevitable union challenges

by Leah Terry Opinion Writer

A UW Health nurses’ strike was called off earlier this month after workers reached an agreement with the administration, just before the three-day strike was scheduled to begin Sept. 13.

While undoubtedly a positive step towards better working conditions for nurses at UW Health, there is much to be done to ensure the right to unionize is accessible and protected for public employees in Wisconsin.

The strike was organized after UW Hospital consistently failed to recognize unionization efforts and meet nurses’ needs during the pandemic. UW Health workers have spoken out in recent years on poor workplace conditions, such as overworking nurses and staffing issues.

The agreement was reached in the private residence of Gov. Tony Evers, who played a role in the mediation efforts. The Service Employees International Union Healthcare and hospital officials negotiated a plan that will produce a final answer from the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission on whether UW Hospital can formally recognize a union. WERC will determine the legality of UW Health bargaining rights under the Peace Act.

“We said for over a decade that the legal situation does not allow us to recognize a union,” UW Health CEO Dr. Alan Kaplan said in an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio.

Kaplan insists the process should only take months to resolve. He believes WERC will settle the dispute and put unionization efforts to rest.

But many interpret the legality of UW Health workers’ bargaining rights differently. For one, Attorney General Josh Kaul wrote in June that UW Hospital could voluntarily engage in collective bargaining with nurses and other employees.

Mary Jorgensen is a UW Health worker who also believes bargaining rights will be guaranteed for health workers following WERC’s official resolution.

“We’re quite sure that we are covered under the Wisconsin Peace Act and that WERC will straighten that out,” Jorgensen said in an interview with the Badger Herald.

This battle is not new. UW nurses officially began the push for a formally recognized union in 2019, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. The nurses have unionized before, but former Gov. Scott Walker’s Act 10 effectively ended all public employee unions in Wisconsin. While it is an encouraging step that an agreement was reached between the nurses and administration, pressure must not be let off UW Hospital.

Improved working conditions for nurses would improve the care patients receive at UW Hospital. The reluctance to allow nurses to unionize at UW Hospital is a continuation of putting profits over people in our healthcare system.

The news of this agreement came shortly after about 15,000 nurses in Minnesota began

the largest private-sector nurses strike in U.S. history. Minnesota nurses picketed for similar demands as UW Health workers.

Strikes like these highlight underlying patterns of mistreating essential workers in our healthcare system and a voluntary disregard for taking action that would help patients receive the best care possible.

“[Current working conditions are] not right for new nurses, it’s not right for experienced nurses and most importantly it’s not right for our patients.” UW nurse Shari Signer said at an SEIU Labor Day press conference.

This is a pivotal moment for public employees in Wisconsin. The State Legislature and UW Hospital administration are both in the position to make a change and prove their commitment to workers’ rights. The UW nurses’ movement has the potential to energize healthcare workers across the Midwest and the United States and serve as a leading example for demanding better working conditions.

A rally held on the day of the intended strike celebrated the cancellation of the strike and nurses’ newfound ability to address workplace issues directly with hospital administration. UW Health workers expressed gratitude for Evers at the rally and SEIU announced support for his reelection campaign as well as Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes’ Senate campaign. Both have been vocal supporters of the right to unionize and collective bargaining rights.

The UW Hospital administration also has a leading role to play. They could alleviate pressure from the nurses by voluntarily engaging with the public union, as Kaul noted earlier this year, or by meeting the basic needs their nurses are rightfully demanding. This does not appear likely, however, as the administration has made it evident that they have no plans of acknowledging a union unless it is required by law.

Elected officials have the power to prioritize workers’ rights and make Wisconsin a better place to live and work. The state legislature must undergo action to place legal protections on collective bargaining rights for public employees. This is the most long-term solution to ensuring workers are valued and protected.

WERC’s decision in the coming months will establish the legality of UW Health workers unionization efforts and set a precedent for workers throughout the state. Act 10’s legacy has had detrimental consequences on essential workers’ abilities to do their jobs in safe and supportive workplaces.

The wellbeing of our nurses affects the wellbeing of Wisconsinites. UW Hospital must begin to put people over profits and prove that they know the value of their nurses by recognizing their unionization attempt and providing better working conditions for essential workers.

Leah Terry (lmterry@wisc.edu) is a senior majoring in political science and communication arts and pursuing a certificate in public policy.

Better working conditions, union rights remain unresolved after recent agreement

UW Health nurses continue push for bargaining rights after recent agreement with hospital administration.

by Nick Woodhouse ArtsEtc. Editor

The Wisconsin Union Theater kicked off their 103rd annual concert series Sept. 27 with a major headliner. The Emerson Quarter, one of the world’s longest tenured and highest accomplished string quartets, graced the stage of Memorial Union’s Shannon Hall as part of the their final concert tour.

The quartet, currently made up of violinists Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer, violist Lawrence Dutton and cellist Paul Watkins, has been performing since 1976 when they met at the Julliard School of Music in New York City. After over four decades of producing original music, racking up countless awards and performing in music halls all around the globe, the group has decided to hang up their bows and turn their attention to instructing the next generation of aspiring musicians.

But, before closing the curtain on an illustrious career of over thirty acclaimed recordings, nine Grammy awards, an Avery Fisher Prize and Musical America’s “Ensemble of the Year” award, the quartet

embarks on an international farewell tour with stops in London, Madrid, Athens and — yes — Madison, Wisconsin.

The Emerson Quartet met with an energetic round of applause upon taking the stage. The group assumed their position and swiftly began their performance with Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Razumovsky.” No.2. The piece, commissioned in 1806 by Count Andrey Razumovsky, the Russian ambassador to Vienna, was among the first written works to be performed by a professional string quartet.

The second work of the “Razumovsky” collection is heralded as one of the toughest Beethoven pieces given its demanding mood and pace variations. Set in E minor, the song starts out vigorously with a tone-setting allegro, but gradually sheds its pace for a slower, theme-heavy bridge which includes perhaps the best melody of the night played by violinist Drucker. The song is concluded with a tumultuous shift back to a lighthearted and rather tranquil presto which bookends

Beethoven’s work.

An admirable quality of the group is their endurance. The ability to play pieces of classic music which demand one’s full respect and constant attention to detail is something that is certainly worth commending.

It is safe to say the Emerson Quartet won the hearts of the audience in their opening forty-five minute performance, underlining why the Emerson Quartet is an inundation of world-class talent.

Following a brief intermission, the Emerson Quartet retook the stage for the final part of their performance. This piece, B-flat major Op.130, was another tribute to Beethoven and consists of six original elements.

The sixth is the controversial “Gross Fuge” which 19th century audiences deemed to be “too complex and difficult.” As a result, Beethoven published the work independently as Op. 133. Once met with criticism, “Gross Fuge” is now treated as one of the cornerstones of Western classic musical.

“Gross Fuge” served as the show’s farewell gift to fans from the Emerson Quartet. While the first four movements of Op.130 showcase the reserved style of Beethoven, the 14-minute-long “Gross Fuge” is a different beast. A series of slow pauses with sudden interjections and restless pace creates a beautiful tension on stage.

The group’s final notes were met with a deserved standing applause from the Shannon Hall crowd that seemed to last an eternity.

The Emerson Quartet is the first of the many talented groups and individual performers who are scheduled to perform this fall as part of the Wisconsin Union Theater’s longstanding concert series.

The next few weeks bring vibraphonist Joel Ross Oct. 16, followed by Cory Henry Nov. 3. For tickets and more information about the upcoming performances, visit the Wisconsin Union Theater website and follow their associated social media accounts.

Smiling at strangers: The face behind iconic Madison restaurant

by Caroline Crowley Managing Editor

The farmer’s market crowds milled around the Capitol Square, creating a dull roar of voices that rang out over the cool, crisp morning air. The smell of dough, cheese and breakfast wafted all around the top of State Street.

A line of 10 people gathered outside the source of the smell — a small restaurant at the very tip of State Street. Only one group of customers fit in the tiny shop at a time. As they approached the counter, they were greeted by a smiling face and a cheery welcome.

“Yo, yo!”

Madison native Anthony Rineer opened Teddywedgers 10 years ago. But, unlike many business owners, he runs the front end of the business several days a week.

Rineer is passionate about being involved in the Madison community. Though being a part of the community has always been important to him, making it through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic made him even more committed to building and strengthening relationships.

“I think in this era of the United States we’re all incredibly isolated, especially after COVID,” Rineer said. “So, when I get to be a part of a community and I can branch people together, it feels really rewarding. Because I think we all crave that right now.”

Each person who enters the small shop earns a warm interaction with Rineer while he expertly wraps their delectable, warm pasty in a bed of tin foil and places it into a paper bag.

He knows his customers. He asks about their days, their families, their jobs — the list goes on. During this small interaction, he manages to fit what seems to be a 20-minute catch-up into an average of 15 seconds.

But, to wrap up every interaction, Rineer says just a few words.

“Did you want any hot sauce? Ketchup?”

And with that, each customer moves on to the next task in their day with a newfound smile.

Jessica Gregory goes to Teddywedgers on occasion for Rineer’s nostalgic pasties, but his

friendly personality has always been a reason for her to return.

“My New Years resolution is to become friends with the guy that works at teddywedgers,” Gregory tweeted.

During her time working remotely, Gregory said the occasional trip to Teddywedgers was a highlight of her day — talking to Rineer created much-needed human interaction.

“Those friendly interactions really make Madison what it is” Gregory said. “And so Anthony being so friendly and kind and truly caring about his customers in the way that he does at Teddywedgers really adds to the Madison experience and what it means to go and eat locally in Madison.”

To prepare the perfect pastries — and the perfect Madison experience — Rineer wakes up and bikes to the restaurant to start cooking.

“I wake up really early and start cooking right away and by the time that I gain consciousness, it’s time to open and I pretty much just get to talk and be part of the community for a couple hours,” Rineer said.

When the day is done, he returns home to his partner, four dogs, three cats and a turtle.

Then, the cycle begins again.

Rineer always wanted to open a restaurant — he comes from a family of restaurateurs. Growing up on the inner West Side of Madison, Rineer had been a customer at Teddywedgers since he was a child.

“I even applied here when I was in high

school, but at the time I was not Teddywedgers material,” Rineer said with a spirited laugh.

Despite wanting to open a restaurant, Teddywedgers was a last-minute purchase for Rineer and his sister.

When Rineer found out the previous owner put the iconic local restaurant up for sale, he asked if there were any buyers. Milio’s Sandwich Shop had an offer, and Rineer said he had to make sure the restaurant survived.

“I wasn’t expecting to open Teddywedgers — it was sort of a panic purchase … but I’m happy that I got to be a part of it,” Rineer said. “So I guess the moral is always panic purchase.”

And when Rineer’s sister moved to the Emirates, he became the sole face of Teddywedgers.

Now, Rineer has his sights set on a new endeavor. He purchased the Cardinal Bar with four other business partners with the hope of restoring the old Latin jazz bar. According to Rineer, the Cardinal Bar is another iconic Madison location — with the new venue, he hopes to continue to keep Madison’s identity alive.

If anyone can make the big city of Madison feel like a small, tight-knit community, it’s Rineer, waving at strangers and old friends through the windows of Teddywedgers.

“I feel like Anthony himself is just a Madison staple … he’s like Madison embodied in a person,” Gregory said.

Anthony Rineer’s devotion to reunite local community

Anthony Rineer, the owner of Teddywedgers on State Street, is a friendly face for many Madisonians in uncertain times.

CAROLINE CROWLEY. THE BADGER HERALD.

Ranking biggest wins for Badger football, basketball, since 2010

by Ian Patton Sports Editor

Over the past decade, Wisconsin has built a reputation of being one of the most consistent, successful athletic programs in the country. Since 2010, Badger men’s basketball and football have a combined win percentage of .708, which is the 5th highest in all of NCAA Division 1.

Though neither team has won a national championship recently, they have each earned many honors. The men’s basketball team has made the NCAA Tournament in 22 of the past 23 years, and the football team has made it to a bowl game every year since 2002.

Here are the five of the biggest and most memorable victories these teams have had since 2010.

Basketball: Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin shock unbeaten Kentucky in Final Four (2015)

The 2014-2015 team was one of the best teams Wisconsin basketball has ever assembled. Led by Naismith Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky, the Badgers, a one seed in the tournament, headed into this game with an impressive 35-3 record.

But the Badgers were still viewed as huge underdogs in this game, as they faced a seemingly unbeatable 38-0 Kentucky team. With an entire starting lineup of eventual NBA players, Kentucky had a much more talented roster.

Heading into halftime, the game was tied at 36. Despite being the smaller and less talented team, Wisconsin was still able to play their brand of basketball. Kaminsky was dominating down low in the post as he led all scorers with 20 points. Forwards Sam Dekker and Nigel Hayes each hit two 3-pointers and scored double digits.

The Badgers gained a solid lead in the final few minutes and were able to seal the game with free throws down the stretch from Kaminsky and point guard Bronson Koenig, who finished the game with 12 points. The Badgers ended up squeaking out a 71-64 victory, and the entire Wisconsin bench stormed the court as the final buzzer sounded. Kentucky players walked off in disbelief.

Football: Big Ten Championship shootout win over Michigan State (2011)

The 2011 Big Ten Championship, which was the inaugural Big Ten conference-title game, was an instant classic. Wisconsin had an elite roster, led by senior quarterback Russell Wilson and Heisman candidate running back Montee Ball. The Badgers were contenders for the National Championship but lost two very close games in heartbreaking fashion during the regular season.

One of those losses came to Michigan State on a last-second Hail Mary. The Badgers came out

thirsty for revenge, jumping out to a whopping 21-0 lead in the first quarter. The tables turned in the second quarter, as Kirk Cousins and the Spartans scored 22 unanswered points.

The Badgers found themselves down 34-39 with about seven minutes left to play. With four minutes left, the Badgers had a fourth and six at midfield and elected to go for it.

Wilson dropped back and threw up a ball in desperation to wide receiver Jeff Duckworth. Duckworth, who was in double coverage, was able to make a miraculous catch within the 10yard line to keep Wisconsin’s hopes alive. On the very next play, Ball barreled his way into the

wide receiver David Gilreath returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown.

The Badgers were a run-heavy offense and had a very balanced ground attack this game. John Clay led the way with 21 carries for over 100 yards and two touchdowns. James White added 84 all-purpose yards and two rushing touchdowns. The defense was anchored by J.J. Watt, who finished the game with three sacks.

The Badgers led for the entirety of the game and won the game by a final score of 31-18. This was the first and only loss Ohio State suffered that season. It was Wisconsin’s first win over a No. 1 ranked opponent since 1981. The fans

With less than 10 seconds left, the game was tied at 57. Michigan brought it down the court, and Michigan’s star shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. came off a screen and hit a very contested 3-pointer with three seconds left to play.

Wisconsin would need a miracle to tie it up. Coach Bo Ryan called a timeout to draw up a play. Wisconsin forward Mike Bruesewitz went to inbound the ball from under his basket and heaved it to guard Ben Brust who was streaking across midcourt. Brust caught it in stride, took one dribble, threw up a prayer and drained it at the buzzer to tie it at 60. The Kohl Center went wild, and the game headed into overtime.

Just like in regulation, neither Wisconsin nor Michigan could create any sort of lead. Heading into the final minute, the game was tied 62-62. With about 40 seconds left, Brust hit yet another clutch shot to break the tie and put the Badgers up 65-62. The Badgers were able to lock up on the defensive end and secure the win.

Football: Barry Alvarez-led Badgers squeak out OT win in Outback Bowl (2015)

The Outback Bowl was played on New Year’s Day of 2015 and was between No. 19 Auburn (8-4) and No. 17 ranked Wisconsin (10-3). Wisconsin was coming off of an embarrassing 59-0 loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game.

Following the defeat, Gary Andersen, the coach of the Badgers for that 2014-2015 season, surprisingly decided to part ways with Wisconsin.

Though this was unexpected, it did not alter the team’s motivation for their final game. Wisconsin coaching legend and athletic director Barry Alvarez decided to fill in as the interim head coach.

It was a back-and-forth game between two high-power run heavy offenses. Melvin Gordon, in his final game as a Badger, led the way with a whopping stat line of 34 carries for 251 yards, which is the most in Outback Bowl history, along with three touchdowns.

end zone for his third touchdown of the game.

This was a huge statement win for Wisconsin, as they were able to claim their second-straight Big Ten title and earn themselves a bid in the Rose Bowl.

Football: No. 1 Ohio State stunned under the lights at Camp Randall (2010)

The Badgers, who came into the contest at 5-1, ranked 18th in the country, knew they had a big test at hand with No. 1 Ohio State (6-0) coming into town. The Badgers started the game with a great deal of momentum, as senior

stormed the field after the win, which went down as one of the most memorable nights in the history of Camp Randall and Wisconsin Football.

Basketball: Ben Brust’s half court buzzer beater takes down No. 3 Michigan (2013)

Halfway through their Big Ten Campaign, unranked Wisconsin (17-8) took on a red-hot Michigan team, who were ranked third in the country and only had two losses in the season. The game was neck-and-neck, with neither team able to take any sort of comfortable lead.

Auburn took a late 31-28 lead with just under three minutes to go, as running back Cameron Artis-Payne scored on a two-yard rushing touchdown. Quarterback Joel Stave and the Badgers were able to rally down the field into field goal range, as kicker Rafael Gaglianone hit a last second field goal to knot it up at 31.

In overtime, the Wisconsin defense was able to hold Auburn scoreless, and Gaglianone hit a game winning field goal from 35 yards out to give the Badgers a 34-31 win. This was a great sendoff for Alvarez, as it ended up being the final game he coached for the Badgers.

Though Wisconsin’s football and basketball programs have many big wins in the past, it is certain more of these iconic moments are to come.

Most exciting victories from storied history of Badger football, basketball programs

SPORTS @badgerherald

Wisconsin has had many big wins in the past from its football and basketball teams

JUSTIN MIELKE. THE BADGER HERALD.

The cost of success: A look into Badger coaches’ salaries

by Cole Admunson Sports Writer

It is no secret that Division One athletic departments across the country spend an exceedingly high amount of money on their head coaches. Amidst a culture where winning matters most, it is without question that athletic directors are willing to pay top dollar to their head coaches in hopes of generating success in a certain sport.

The freshly inked contracts waiting on the athletic director’s desk certainly come with a hefty price. The question for all athletic directors, donors, fans, students and alumni ask — is it worth it?

The Wisconsin Badgers athletic department, like most Power Five athletic departments, are no stranger to spending the big bucks on their head coaches. In the 2021 fiscal year, the Athletic Department shelled out approximately $7.46 million dollars in head coaches salaries all together. As a matter of fact, former head football coach Paul Chryst leads the entirety of the University of Wisconsin System by collecting an annual salary of $5.25 million as of 2021-2022.

It is worth noting that over 90% of Chryst’s salary is actually paid by the University of Wisconsin Foundation rather than the athletic department. In other words, donors pay for his salary.

Chryst has sustained consistent success amongst the football program over his eight years at the helm. Though the Badgers have yet to

appear in the College Football Playoff, Chryst has accumulated a 67–25 overall record while going 43–17 in Big Ten play. Chryst is 6–1 in Bowl Games at Wisconsin and has finished no worse than third in the Big Ten West.

Regardless of the consistent success, Badger fans question the lack of progression under Chryst, arguing that the football program has become “stale.” Despite grumblings of a lackluster offense following the dismal Washington State loss and Ohio State blowout, the Badgers are still in solid shape under the leadership of Chryst. The question is, are the Badgers settling — or do they believe Chryst is the answer?

Record-wise, the donors are getting their money’s worth. Progression-wise, donors are clinging to the hopes that Chryst can get the Badgers into the College Football Playoff and beyond.

Another coach whose salary is largely dependent upon the University of Wisconsin Foundation is men’s basketball coach Greg Gard. In the 2021 fiscal year, Gard earned a total of $2.27 million, placing him second in the entirety of the University of Wisconsin System.

During his seven years as the Badgers’ head coach, Gard has garnered mixed reviews amongst the Badger faithful. While he has posted a strong .649 overall winning percentage, Gard has failed to take the Badgers on a deep postseason run.

To further exemplify, the 2021-2022 Wisconsin Badgers started the year unranked and climbed all the way to a three seed in the NCAA Tournament.

To show for that historic, Big Ten Regular Season Championship season? A defeating round of 32 upset loss to Iowa State.

Though the Badgers have experienced recent struggles in the NCAA Tournament, Wisconsin basketball still has a strong and consistent winning culture. Gard and his staff seem to have a knack for finding a way to make the pieces fit.

Following the footsteps of Hall of Fame coach Bo Ryan is hard to do. Winning in the NCAA Tournament is hard to do. And, at some point, rumbles will continue to occur if Gard’s Badgers continue to fall during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Fresh off a national championship in 2021, Badgers women’s volleyball head coach Kelly Sheffield collected a total salary of almost $346,000, not including his additional bonuses after their championship season. As of 2021, Sheffield has eclipsed an overall record of 236–53, which equates to a .817 winning percentage. With a national championship under his belt, it is fair to claim that Sheffield should be making much more money if compared to his counterparts.

Yes, it is true that the collegiate volleyball market is not as prominent in today’s society as basketball or football. On the contrary, bringing home a national championship to the University of Wisconsin should grant Sheffield a higher salary than what he is taking home currently.

Mark Johnson, the Badgers women’s hockey coach, has also brought home a national championship to the Badger state. As a matter

of fact, Johnson has brought home six national titles to Madison. The former NHL player and Olympic Gold Medalist collected a total salary of $384,206.21 during the 2021 fiscal year.

Mark Johnson is the first Division 1 women’s hockey coach to reach 500 wins. That alone further illustrates Johnson’s pivotal impact on the women’s hockey program itself.

Clearly, Wisconsin Badger head coaches represent a plethora of sustained success. From Rose Bowl appearances and Big Ten Regular Season Championships to National Championships, it is evident Badger athletics are in solid shape for generations to come.

The athletic department may hurl $20.85 million dollars towards their head coaches’ salaries as well as a strikingly wide salary gap between men’s and women’s head coaching salaries.

But as crowds from across the state and all walks of life flood into Camp Randall Stadium, the UW Field House and the Kohl Center, the pride for the Wisconsin Badgers can be felt from across the globe. Bursting, bright colors in a beautiful array of red and white swarm the stadiums as fans cheer ever so loudly for their Wisconsin Badgers.

Whether a touchdown is scored, a basket is made, a goal is scored or a spike is delivered, the tradition and pride amongst Badger faithful triumphs over any articulation towards a coach’s salary. The question for all athletic directors, donors, fans, students and alumni ask — is it worth it? Well, most can say yes, indeed it is.

Do head coaches’ salaries equate to success? Are there salary discrepancies?

Wisconsin has had many big wins in the past from its football and basketball teams

HERALD.

Wisconsin has had many big wins in the past from its football and basketball teams

RILEY STEINBRENNER. THE BADGER HERALD.

by Sexperts, The Managing

Everyone knows what an ick is. Actually, that’s not true — the girls and the gays know what an ick is. We’ve compiled a top ten list of icks to keep in mind the next time you start falling for a man.

Straight men, if you think you know what an ick is, you’re wrong. If you actually relate to anything on this list, you might need to pause and re-evaluate your sexuality. Reach out to The Badger Herald’s badvice team.

1. Bad Bitmoji

A bad Bitmoji is a top-tier ick. What is it that compels men to create a Bitmoji with red, green or a skin color other than their own? And why do they think it’s OK to make their avatar bald or give them a random, hideous hair color?

Creating a Bitmoji other than one that’s at

least similar to what you look like should be illegal. The Bitmoji creators allowing users to choose any skin color aside from a natural one is probably humanity’s greatest downfall.

2. Disproportionately big pecs, skipping leg day

Just last week, a self diagnosed “gym bro” snapped in half as he walked down State Street. This is just one of many recent incidents of TopHeavity, the state of carrying too much weight on the top one’s body. Madison is crawling with TopHeavity, with cases rising by the day. Are you next? Keep skipping leg day and you just might be.

Benching 200 pounds doesn’t mean anything if you can’t calf raise a five pound dumbbell. Get your chicken leg, upside down triangle, Mr. Incredible ass to the damn squat

rack.

3. Saying “cuddle,” “snuggle” or “frisky”

These words are disgusting. Who says “let’s cuddle,” “let’s snuggle” or “let’s get frisky?” It is 2022. We are not children.

When these words are said, something in my body clicks — let’s just say we will not be “getting frisky” anytime soon.

4. Likes Andrew Tate

It’s giving “insecurity.” What is it about the off-brand PitBull man boob that appeals to the male psyche so strongly? The breed of men — nay, boy — that idolizes Mr. Andy should be exiled from the University of Wisconsin campus.

If you find yourself entertained by the whiny, fast-talking influencer, take a step back. Reevaluate. Don’t be icky.

5. Emojis

If you’re still using emojis unironically in the 2020s — I hate to inform you — you’re not funny. The crying laughing emoji, kissing emoji and ESPECIALLY the winking emoji are officially off-limits if you’re not using them as a joke.

Little yellow round faces are not sexy. I said it. Not a hot take.

6. Fish pics

Fish should stay in the water and fish pics should stay in your camera roll. It’s honestly embarrassing. Fish pics are undeniably the greatest ick of the age of Tinder. One poor, innocent member of the Herald claims to have had to sprint to the bathroom to throw up out of disgust just at the sight of one. Do you want to be responsible for this?

You could have posted a picture with

LITERALLY any other animal.

7. Deals drugs

If you’re always staying up late to party and mysteriously in your car all the time with some suspicious Venmo transactions, it’s a turnoff.

Seriously, who drives their car that much? It’s not like I wasn’t they aren’t going to find out that he was you’re a drug dealer. And that’s just gross.

8. Changing to a frat voice only when other men come around

Picture this — you’re having a lovely conversation with your crush. “The boys” walk over, but you’re excited to meet them! Then, your crush opens their mouth and a completely different voice comes out.

The octave changes, the accent changes and the terminology changes. What is it that turns me into a “chick” when the guys are around? I am a woman, goddammit.

It’s just disappointing to see men feel too emasculated to use their normal voice and speak in a normal way when their friends are around. Though it makes me sad and I hope they seek therapy, it also disgusts me.

9. Patting to sit next to them

Don’t patronize me.

A man patting the seat next to him to encourage a woman to sit down is the equivalent of the unanswered mating calls of the Bird of Paradise in that one Planet Earth video. Hard to watch. This method has never, ever worked. Do better. Don’t pat the seat.

10. Uses the wrong “their”

Can’t grammar, can’t slam her. Simple as that.

Liking Andrew Tate is possibly the largest ick of them all. Get help, seek therapy and stay away from women for their safety.

AUDREY THIBERT. THE BADGER HERALD.

Computer Science Department to offer extra credit for showering

by Phoenix Pham Banter Editor

While computer science, often referred to as CS, is UW’s largest major by size, it is also — by many accounts — the smelliest. Non-CS students are known to avoid the CS building due to its stench, and CS students who do maintain good hygiene report having to wear N-95s just to participate in lecture.

“Some of my classmates have fleas,” CS student with good hygiene Elizabeth Nguyen said. “I’m not kidding. They literally have dirt smudged on their cheeks and bits of food in their hair. It’s like ‘Oliver Twist’ — only they smell like giant sewer rats.”

There has been no academic research into why CS majors emit such noxious odors, but Nguyen said that the smelliest students tend to be male and wear flip flops.

CS junior Carmelo Davidson, who is really stinky, said he wears flip flops and doesn’t shower to “enhance his coding abilities”.

“I think it uh ... has to do with ... um ...,” Davidson tilted his head to the side and scratched at his greasy hair with one longnailed hand.

Davidson’s mouth relaxed into an ‘O’, revealing yellowed teeth.

After Nguyen snapped her fingers in front of his glazed, vacant eyes, he startled and said, “Me code good! My smell makes me code good.”

After this statement Davidson shuffled off and went on his phone. Nguyen, who was interviewing with him, rolled her eyes and poked at him with a special six-foot pole she uses to interact with male CS students.

“You need to shower,” she shouted. “You have fleas.”

“Fleas?” Davidson said, frowning at the unexpected stimulus. “What are fleas?”

“A type of bug, you idiot!”

“Bug?” Davidson said angrily, displaying a rare flash of emotion. “Me debug good good!”

UW Public Health Professor Sarah Langley said the fleas CS students carry may be

linked to an outbreak of bubonic plague at the computer science career fair, held last Wednesday.

“One of the employers at the career fair started showing symptoms consistent with the plague shortly after the fair,” Langely said. “Then, he died. Not before infecting half of Chicago, though.”

Langely leaned and said in a whisper, “This isn’t scientific, but it was definitely from one of the CS students. Probably that one right there.”

Langely pointed at Davidson, who was curled in a ball on the ground, listening to “low-fi coding beats” on his phone.

In response to the accusations that its students are causing plague outbreaks, the CS department announced that all classes will be offering extra-credit to students who shower daily.

Nguyen said these measures are good but not good enough.

“We’re also going to need extra credit for wearing deodorant,” Nguyen said. “And for brushing teeth and for not talking about bitcoin.”

“Bitcoin?” Davidson said, perking up from his nap. “Me mine bitcoin good good.”

A

Course change comes after one employer came down with bubonic plague after attending career fair

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