The Spectator

THE SPECTATOR

THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-EAU CLAIRE’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1923

VOL. 92, NO. 27

NEWS PAGES 1-5

SPRING 2014

Thursday, May 8

SPORTS

OP / ED

CURRENTS

PAGES 7-9

Backlash

NATE BECK / The Spectator

STUDENT ACTIVISM: LEFT: On Wednes-

day students

We, Too, Are UWEC protesters revolt against ‘microaggression,’ demand university action NATE BECK

CHIEF COPY EDITOR When Adrian Kwong strolled into his friend’s room recently, the first thing she spouted off was, “Asian invasion,” he said.

“One way I can tell if my friend is sober or not is if she apologizes for her racist jokes,” Kwong said.

“OK, you’re my friend, I’ll put up with it, but I really shouldn’t have to.”

Kwong, a UW-Eau Claire criminal justice major and foreign exchange student from Hong Kong, sat at a table in Centennial Hall Wednesd a y draped in a baby blue scarf KWONG and jacket, behind a laptop cloaked in a blue case.

But a half an hour earlier he was on the first floor of the Davies Center, eyes fixed on a podium with a sign hooked around his neck, surrounded by a crowd of banner-toting Eau Claire students.

This was the rally after a march around the campus mall — called We, Too,

Are UWEC — protesting “microaggression,” backhanded slivers of bias that give away greater signs of intolerance at Eau Claire, Kwong said.

A hundred-odd people, ranging from UW-Eau Claire’s chancellor, community members — even a blonde-haired child pushed in a stroller — met mid-morning on the campus mall, circling academic and administration buildings.

Maya Witte, who helped organize the march, said a note taped to a photo display of Hmong students holding signs marked with stereotypes outraged student groups across campus and sparked the rally.

The note said: “this (is) one of the most racist displays I’ve seen. It promotes assumptions that you assume others have.”

“That was the final straw,” Witte said.

Students are fed up with racist notes in dorm rooms, offensive graffiti, and how the university ignores these issues instead of owning up, she said.

“It’s just not race and ethnicity,” Witte said.

“There are people who are not feeling safe on this campus because of these things and cracks people say and microaggressions

STUDENT LIFE PAGE 16

PAGES 13-15

PAGES 10-12

protested on campus to express frustration about diversity issues, including micro-

people might not realize.”

Last year, while Witte was working as a resident assistant in Towers Hall, students posted four insensitive signs aimed at Hmong students in women’s bathrooms.

She said the Residence Hall Association amended its training regulations following the incident, but housing staff “shut up” the R.A. who found the signs.

“They told her to stop talking about it, they would deal with it their way,” she said. “How they dealt with it was adding new training, which isn’t adequate … trying to shush things up is what’s been happening.”

Witte went to high school at a “diverse” school in Minneapolis, she said, and she’s lived in Laos and Germany. She settled on Eau Claire after a tour guide and brochure implied the campus climate was ripe with different ethnic groups.

But after enrolling, she learned Eau Claire was whiter than advertised, she said.

“I feel like I’m more of a critical thinker now, not because of what I’ve been taught in my classes, but because of the students that I’ve met that have

aggression, the current campus climate and the lack of safe spaces.

BELOW: The march began at Haas Fine Arts and ended in Davies Center where students and Chancellor Jim Schmidt spoke to the crowd.

>> RALLY page 2

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NEWS

NEWS EDITORS: Emily Albrent and Katie Bast

2

Thursday, May 8

THE SPECTATOR Confluence turns to Board of Regents

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A $25 million pledge to be acted upon in August Nick Erickson MANAGING EDITOR

On April 1, the Confluence Project took a step forward by getting 54 percent of votes among Eau Claire County residents to support a $3.5 million investment in the project.

This summer, it could take another bound forward by getting a $25 million pledge from the UW System Board of Regents to support the two-building, $77.2 million project that has been the staple of the university and city for the last two years.

The Confluence Project, which includes a privately owned and operated mixed-use building for student housing, and a publicly owned, state-of-the-art performance center, would replace the outdated Kjer Theater on campus and help take pressure off the 108 percent capacity university residence halls.

Chancellor Jim Schmidt said the Board of Regents could help fund the arts center, and one committee will look at the proposal in June.

“What we will be seeking is to have the Board of Regents include the $25 million from the Confluence Art Center into the larger proposal of all the capital improvements they hope to make system wide in the upcoming legislation,” Schmidt said.

Student Body Vice President Jake Wrasse said going through the Board of Regents is the first step to getting support from state legisla-

tors, which he said will be vital to the continuation of the project.

Wrasse also said going through the Board of Regents shows the commitment level the university and city of Eau Claire has for the project.

“There is no guarantee the message will continue, it could be drowned out by other pressing needs around the state,” he said. “But this one for us is such a unique public and private message and conversation to ensure its collaboration and starting point with other parts of the state is essential.”

At the April 1 election, there was a 210 percent increase in on-campus student voter turnout, according to a recent Student Senate resolution. Of those students who voted, 85 percent of students on-campus supported the $3.5 million investment for the project to continue while 78 percent struck down the city referendum, which would have killed funding for the project.

Board of Regents member Edmund Manydeeds, an attorney at Richie, Guettinger & Manydeeds in Eau Claire, said after the Capital Budget Planning Committee met about the Confluence Project two years ago, the Board wanted to see this type of support before having further conversation. But he said the Board endorses it because of the type of bipartisan effort put into it.

“It is a good example of collaboration between a campus and a community, and if it comes to fruition, which it hopefully will, it will stand as something accomplished between campuses and communities for the betterment

RALLY/ Students stand against insensitivity also gone through similar things,” Witte said.

Eau Claire freshman Alex Ignarski said there weren’t many minorities at his high school in Chippewa Falls although he visits family in Milwaukee and stays at his parent’s condo in Mexico.

He said in Murray Hall, his friends crack jokes that could be considered racist, but he doesn’t say anything offensive to minorities on campus.

“Everyone calls me Mexican, I don’t care,” Ignarski, who isn’t Mexican, said. “You wouldn’t say something racist like that (in Davies). We know it’s not the right thing to say.”

Eau Claire Chancellor Jim Schmidt spoke at the rally in Davies and trailed behind the blob of marchers on the campus mall beforehand. Dean of Students Joe Abhold held the front door of Davies open as protesters streamed inside.

“As far as we’ve come in the last several decades it’s clear we have so much work to do in the coming decade,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt said he first heard about the protest last Friday.

He wasn’t part of the event’s

of everybody,” Manydeeds said.

Schmidt said some opponents thought it would disconnect the campus and be too far of a walk for students to make it worth all the funding and construction. But high voter turnout and results from students on campus squashed some of that argument.

“Having the Student Senate clearly support it early sends a strong message to the Board of Regents that (the general student body is) OK with the pros of having a superior building,” Schmidt said.

While he said there are challenges left — as collaboration and partnership takes extra time — Board of Regents support, particularly with the outcome of April’s election, will be key.

“It’s a clear mandate from the public to continue to go through with this,” Schmidt said. “We would not have gone through all those efforts had we not believed we had ultimate support from the Board of Regents.”

The big message Schmidt, Wrasse and supporters are trying to convey is how it will benefit the university, community and surrounding area equally. Supporters believe the money put in now will pay-off in the near future.

“This is one project that, with a $25 million investment from the state, allows a $77.2 million investment in downtown Eau Claire,” Wrasse said. “For us, this is an opportunity for us to not only improve what we need to improve, but to become a more integral part of the community.”

Erickson can be reached at ericksna@uwec. edu or @NickErickson8.

planning process but walked alongside protesters to listen.

“This is still a societal issue,” Schmidt said. “I’m still new in Eau Claire, so I’m still getting a true sense of the community and

I think it’s clear that it’s going to take much more time and much more work.”

Beck can be reached at becknc@ uwec.edu or @NateBeck9.

NATE BECK / The Spectator

SPEAKING OUT: Students storm the Davies Center courtyard Wednesday to protest university’s reaction to string of anonymous, insensitive comments made on campus.

NEWS EDITORS: Emily Albrent and Katie Bast

NEWS 3

Thursday, May 8

Gold star students win Goldwater scholarships

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Two material science majors are among national winners for prestigious award

Courtney Kueppers COPY EDITOR

After a long application process for a prestigious science scholarship, junior Max Dylla checked the results to see if he had been selected.

Under the list of scientists selected from Wisconsin, he saw his classmate’s name, Tayo Sanders, but not his own.

“I thought, ‘Oh good job, Tayo, Bummer I didn’t get it,’” Dylla said.

Dylla later figured out the recipients’ of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in DYLLA Education Program were filed under their home state, and he was happy to find his name under Minnesota, he said.

Dylla and Sanders, both junior material science majors, are two of 283 awarded the nationwide scholarship for 2014.

The scholarship is exclusive to students pursuing careers in science, mathematics or engineering and includes a $7,500 stipend.

Each university can select four students to apply for the scholarship. Dylla and Sanders found out they had been selected to apply in early October, turned in their applications by the end of January and heard they had been selected by the end of spring break. They are two of the nine scholars selected from Wisconsin for this year.

“It was a little bit of disbelief,” Sanders said. “Eau Claire hasn’t had too many winners since we are a smaller school.”

To receive the Goldwater scholarship, applicants must have strong academics as well as research experience.

Dylla and Sanders have both been doing research within the material science department since they were freshmen.

Dylla works with professor Matt Jewell on researching superconductors, which create electricity without any resistance.

“He was a Blugold Fellow, this is a fellowship for incoming freshman who are high achieving and want to do research in the sciences,” Jewell said. “It allows us to identify top talents and get them involved right away. He ap-

>> AWARDS page 5

NOTABLE EVENTS HAPPENING BOTH ON AND OFF CAMPUS

THURSDAY, MAY 8

• 3 - 6:30 p.m. — Ropes Course Grand Opening, Environmental Adventure Center • 4 p.m., 7- 9 p.m. — Spring One-Act Festival, Kjer Theatre • 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. — Spring Wildflower Walk, Davies

SATURDAY, MAY 10

NEWS EDITOR

For healthy growth in children, many parents turn to encourage young ones to eat their fruits and vegetables.

UW-Eau Claire students tested whether incentives make a difference in how children view these food groups. The study involved youths ages 7 to 17 who attended an after-school program on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from September 2012 to December 2012 and January 2013 to May 2013.

Associate professor in economics Eric Jamelske is the faculty mentor for the research and director of the Chippewa Valley Center for Economic Research and Development.

“Since 2006, I have always had six or eight students working on some kind of project where we collect data and evaluate students’ consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables,” Jamelske said.

• •

SUNDAY, MAY 11 5 p.m. — Concert: Symphony Band, Gantner Concert Hall 5:30 - 8 p.m. — Spring Free Music Series, Fanny Hill

• •

COURTNEY KUEPPERS / The Spectator

WORTHY OF GOLD: Junior material science majors Tayo Sanders, front, and Max Dylla in the material science center in Phillips Science Hall. Both are recipients of the Barry Goldwater scholarship.

trition being a very athletic person growing up and living with a family who did a lot of gardening and around fresh fruits and vegetables,” Christner said.

She said she became a part of this project because she was interested in seeing how children picked fruits and vegetables. She said based on the study, incentives matter.

“They do make a difference,” Christner said. “Just encouragement and praise can make just as much as a difference as offering a kid a cookie or something of monetary value.”

But organizing the project was tough, Christner said.

“Trying to keep everything

“Just encouragement and praise can make just as much difference as offering a kid a cookie or something of monetary value.”

TIFFANY CHRISTNER Senior

10 a.m.- noon — Mom’s Day 5K or 8 mile bike ride, Phoenix Park 4 p.m., 7- 9 p.m. — Spring One-Act Festival, Kjer Theatre 8 p.m. — Caroline Smith, The Cabin

•

Study shows most kids get fruits and vegetables in school lunchrooms Jamelske said the group concluded kids don’t mind eating fruits and vegetables. But most of them get their fruits and vegetables during school and not a lot from home.

He said students preferred fruits because they were sweeter than vegetables. And children often asked for dip for vegetables which means higher calories.

Tiffany Christner, senior actuarial science major, said she had a class with Jamelske her first semester at the university where he spoke about his research project.

“I have always had a particular interest in health and nu-

Last day of classes 12 - 5 p.m. — Kaleidoscope of Nursing Research Day, Woodland Theater 4 p.m., 7- 9 p.m. — Spring One-Act Festival, Kjer Theatre

•

UW-Eau Claire students study effects on children’s health

Emily Albrent

FRIDAY, MAY 9

• •

straight is probably the most challenging aspect, because in total there were 181 who participated in the study, JAMELSKE so trying to keep track of all of their names and how much they ate of each different food item was interesting,” Christner said.

Students couldn’t identify clementines, but when they were offered the fruit, they said they had eaten them before.

“They all knew what it was, and they all liked them, but they just knew them by the name, Cutie, so that was really funny for us,” Christner said.

>> INCENTIVE page 5

• •

MONDAY, MAY 12 5 - 9 p.m. — Six string circle guitar club, Pizza Plus 6:30 p.m. — Author visit: Joe Niese, Altoona Public Library

TUESDAY, MAY 13 • •

5:30 - 6:30 p.m. — Yoga Flow, The Yoga Center of Eau Claire 7 - 8 p.m. — Writers Read: B.J. Hollars, L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library

WEDNESDAY, MAY 14 • •

6 - 8 p.m. — Bingo, Pizza Plus 9 p.m. — Karaoke Night, The Plus

Foster Gallery “Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Exhibition” 10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. — Mon. - Fri. 1 - 4:30 p.m. — Sat. - Sun. Runs from April 30 - May 12 Haas Fine Arts Center

UAC Films: “12 Years a Slave” A free black man living in upstate New York in the pre-Civil War United States is abducted and sold into slavery. This 2013 film won the Golden Globe award for Best Motion Picture.

7 p.m. — Fri. - Sat. 2 p.m. — Sat. - Sun. Runs from May 2 — 4 Woodland Theater, Davies Center

NEWS

NEWS EDITORS: Emily Albrent and Katie Bast

4

Thursday, May 8

“The Viennese Ball because there were so many different dances and I got to dance with a lot of lovely ladies.”

— Colton Ashley, freshman political science major “Homecoming week when Blu was out at the bottom of the hill and I was able to take a picture with him.”

— Darby Martin, freshman, undeclared “Welcoming week in the beginning of the school year. Everyone was greeting each other and was super friendly.”

— Sarah Tervo, freshman elementary education major

GRAPHIC BY KARL ENGHOFER/ The Spectator

“Making it to the regional championship for rugby, because it was the first time in ten years the team had made it” — Michael Lindquist, junior advertising major

FILE PHOTO BY NATE BECK/ The Spectator

“Being part of marching band because it was really fun and a great experience to be part of such a big group.”

— Matthew Seipel, sophomore information systems major

FILE PHOTOS BY ELIZABETH JACKSON/ The Spectator

just look at you like ‘what are you even talking about?’ And that is great, if you are a teacher and your students aren’t pretentious, but they are open to all sorts of ideas, they are engaged in a very good way and really lay themselves open for new ways of thinking.

Jessie Tremmel STAFF WRITER

Jessie Tremmel: If you weren’t teaching, what do you think you would be doing?

Gretchen Peters: I would like to be an archivist because I have always enjoyed archival work. But actually, now, I would probably choose something that would have to do more with politics and international work, non-profit work, that type of things. So that I would feel like I was acting on my social values.

JT: What do you like about UW-Eau Claire?

GP: What I really like about UWEC is that I think the students are a really nice combination. You get students who are not presumptuous and they aren’t pretentious. In fact, I think I said the other day that if you asked a student to be pretentious, they probably would

“Going to Ireland over Spring Break with Women’s Concert Chorale.”

— Abby Polipnick, freshman literature major

JT: Where is your favorite place in Eau Claire?

GP: My favorite place in Eau Claire is the farmer’s market. I feel like that’s just a place that has been totally transformed. When I was a girl growing up, that was just an awful place, a place where the two rivers came together. And for so long it was just ignored and just sat there looking industrial. And then it gets transformed, and we actually invested in a very positive way. So now it is special, I loved to see the transformation of it. For years, nobody ever floated down the river. The river was clean but nobody would float down it because they didn’t have a place to start from. You clean the park up, and all of a sudden people are tubing. Good things come from good things.

To read the full interview, go to spectatornews.com Tremmel can be reached at tremmejr@ uwec.edu or @jessietremmel.

“The Mixed Martial Arts Fights because the team did so well this year and improved a lot.”

—Johnathon Jones, senior philosophy major “When it started getting nice out again because, there were so many students outside and being active until late at night.”

— Sydney Gerbig, freshman kinesiology major “Making things explode in chemistry class.”

— Danielle Bredehoeft, sophomore biology major “Doing club Ultimate Frisbee and the memories I have made with my team.”

— Adam Bubolz, freshman actuarial science major

A century and a half of stories, one site Senate supports The New York Times online archive, health insurance plan, LEDs in The Cabin Nate Beck

CHIEF COPY EDITOR Instead of hunching over a microfilm machine in McIntyre Library, UW-Eau Claire students can now browse a complete New York Times archive online.

Student Senate voted during its last meeting of the year Monday to pledge $8,000 toward a $39,882 online database of Times stories dating back to 1851.

“The library is looking for ways to make it easier to get that hard information,” John Pollitz, director of Libraries, said.

Pollitz said McIntyre seized a chance to buy the database about two weeks ago. The library has been dumping its print records online for years, and unveiled an online search engine update this fall.

“Even I know — and I’m old — microfilm is not the best way to read articles,” Pollitz said.

Students can use the database

to find a Times review of Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass,” or search for Gettysburg Address coverage, Pollitz said.

But users can’t read complete Times issues, he said. The database isn’t set up for browsing, just searching specific keywords.

McIntyre asked Senate’s Information Technology Commission to pledge a chunk of its carryover fund toward the cost of the archive buy.

ITC Director Christian Paese said the commission declined a motion to pledge about $19,000 toward the Times archive and settled on $8,000 because a select group of Eau Claire students use the library search engine.

“When we’re doing projects it has to be highly visible to a majority of students,” Paese said. “I’m an accounting major, I’m probably not going to be needing an article from the New York Times from 1890. But we still feel like it’s a necessary thing to support.”

In other Senate news — LED lights will spotlight performers in The Cabin by next fall.

Senate approved about $28,000 to replace Cabin light bulbs with 27 LED lights. The Davies Center was equipped with LED lights before the new student center was constructed in 2011.

— Senate voted to extend Eau Claire’s campus health insurance policy unopposed with no discussion Monday. The plan, which costs about $1,400 a year for an unmarried student, was amended to meet Obamacare standards.

— A Senate resolution commended outgoing Director of Athletics Scott Kilgallon. Under Kilgallon’s ten-year tenure, Blugolds sports teams won three national titles and 27 conference championships. Athletes maintained a combined 3.0 grade point average or better during each year.

Beck can be reached at becknc@uwec. edu or @NateBeck9.

NEWS EDITORS: Emily Albrent and Katie Bast

INCENTIVE/ Incen-

tives are effective way to promote healthy eating for kids, study says She said it was also amusing introducing the children to fruits and vegetables they have never had before.

“My personal favorite was pomegranate, all the children were scared because they thought it looked weird, once we showed them how to eat it and they made faces and then their eyes got really big and said, ‘wow this tastes really good,’” Christner said.

Lainee Hoffman, senior biology and psychology double major at Eau Claire, said they have done a lot of different studies about incentives.

“Incentives that we usually use are something as simple as a sticker.”

LAINEE HOFFMAN Senior

“Our main goal for the project is to increase children’s fruit and vegetable consumption, and basically we are just trying to find the best, cheapest, most effective and practical way to increase their consumption and we figure some form of incentives is the way that is going to happen,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman said almost every time they used incentives, children reacted positively.

“We have found it works better in the school setting opposed to the after school setting program,” Hoffman said.

The team also found teacher and parent support is important to the incentive process.

“Incentives that we usually use are something as simple as a sticker on a wall chart in the classroom when you try a new fruit or vegetable or bring one from home that with fourth and fifth graders works,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman said they have also tried raffles with $15 or $20 dollar prizes and looked at a wide range of incentives.

This research project isn’t ending yet. Christner said next year they are hoping to get into some schools in Menomonie and study their lunch time salad bar consumption, but that is all still in the process of being put together.

Albrent can be reached at albrenec@ uwec.edu or @emilyalbrent.

NEWS

Thursday, May 8

5

Nursing students present capstone clinical experiences Students brought classroom education into the work field

Courtney Roszak STAFF WRITER

On May 5, nursing capstone students presented their clinical experiences from past semesters in evidence-based projects.

Students presented their projects in Woodland Theater in Davies Center, in front of nursing faculty, fellow nursing capstone students and community members.

Senior nursing major Marissa Tratz said the projects were based on “real-world problems” the class experienced during their clinical in acute care earlier this semester.

“To solve the problem, we had to make some sort of a product, present on it, and write a paper about it,” Tratz said.

The day started off with a welcome from professor of nursing, Arin VanWormer. Following the welcome, capstone students presented their projects and solutions throughout the entire day. There were 14 presentations throughout the day.

On capstone day, students were able to put what they learned in nursing school and real life experience into one project.

Senior nursing student Kristal Reszler and her group presented on nursing shift reports, focusing on disasters that have occurred with patient handoff, which is when a patient is passed from one nurse to another nurse.

The group researched and learned most facilities do not have standards for the switch. The group presented the problem, research and solutions for patient handoff.

“Through our clinical experiences we critically examined our environments and sought out to improve upon them,” Reszler said. “Capstone day is not just validation for our clinical work this semester, but rather validation of the work we did throughout nursing school.”

Students have been participating in clinicals

since their first semester of nursing school, however, each semester has been different. The capstone semester is more intense because students take on full registered nurse responsibilities.

The group of Rebeccah Fleege, Denae Nygren, Jacquelyn Pearson and Leah Schultz presented their research on the National Institute of Health stroke scale.

Pearson started the group’s presentation by describing her first day of her clinical when she was asked to do a stroke test with the scale which she was unfamiliar with using. Each member of the group had similar experiences.

From there, each member went through and described the steps of the scale and how it differs from other coma scales. Each member of the group learned it differently and never saw it done the same way because each nurse did it his or her own way.

The group said they believe the NIH scale should be incorporated into the university’s curriculum, allowing students to understand it prior to working in the field.

Senior nursing major Erin Stone and her group chose to do their project on effective interpersonal communication. The group said they had personal experience in situations when communication among nurses or nurse-physicians was not very positive.

The group’s goal was to explore methods to improve communication.

“The purpose of our project was to provide tools for our peers to use to effectively communicate with colleagues of various professions,” Stone said.

Many of the nursing students said they thought their capstone experience differed from others both in their professional career and daily lives.

Senior nursing student Robert Knoll said he felt his self-confidence grow while putting what he learned in the classroom to work in the field.

“I think our capstone experience is unique,”

AWARDS/ both scholarship recipients also have summer research positions through national program -proached me about it and said he was interested in my work.”

Jewell said Dylla’s ability to work independently and solve problems has helped him to excel like he has.

Sanders has spent his research time with material science professor Jennifer Dahl working with cross-linked gold nanoparticles.

When Sanders came to college he planned on being a biochemistry

“ Material science is just great because it’s kind of the crossroads between physics and chemistry, which is really great.”

MAX DYLLA Junior

SUBMITTED

PRESENTATIONS: Nursing Capstone students present their evidence based practice solutions to address real-life clinical issues on May 5 in Woodland Theater.

Knoll said. “It’s an opportunity for us to show our faculty and community members what we’ve learned and how we are going to use that information to improve the quality of care we provide to our patients.”

Roszak can be reached at roszakcm@uwec.edu or @CRoszak22.

major, but after working with Dahl he realized his love for material science, he said.

“No questions asked, Dr. Dahl has been the largest influence on my career,” Sanders said. “I started doing research with her freshman year and I fell in love with it. The material science classes are fantastic and the professors are really passionate.”

Dylla said his experience doing research has also affirmed for him that material science is the right career path for him.

“Material science is just great because it’s kind of the crossroads between physics and chemistry which is really great,” Dylla said.

“I think I’m just interested in working with solid materials instead of liquids like you would in chemistry,

which is why I think it is such a good fit for me.”

This summer, Dylla and Sanders will both participate in the National Science Foundation’s Research SANDERS Experiences for Undergraduates.

Dylla will spend his summer at Northwestern University and Sanders will be in France. Both will work on research in the field.

Kueppers can be reached at kueppecm@uwec.edu or @cmkueppers.

CLASSIFIEDS

6

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SPORTS EDITOR: Steve Fruehauf

Thursday, May 8

Blugold superfans Eau Claire couple provides support for athletic teams, students on campus Meghan Hosely STAFF WRITER

For Tim and Sue Rogge, being fans of Blugold athletics means more than occasionally going to a sporting event.

Since 2002, the couple has followed the women’s basketball team, volleyball team and softball team to as many sporting events as possible ­ — even most, if not all, of the away games. The couple has even travelled as far as Arizona and Florida, following the softball team on their annual spring break trip.

The support didn’t start until their three kids left for college in the late 1990s. To keep up a busy life, the couple started looking at campus sporting events and activities. “(We) really had a hard time getting into men’s basketball,” Tim Rogge said. “So we started going to the women’s games and we found we really enjoyed it. So that’s kind of where we started, with women’s basketball.

From then on, the Rogges found themselves going to volleyball games as well, but it wasn’t until the NCAA

Softball Championships came to Eau Claire in 2002 when Tim and Sue became involved with softball.

It was there when the couple met and became good friends with softball head coach, Leslie Huntington. The Rogges have been going on the spring break trip for about 10 years, and Huntington said they do a lot of things which saves the coaches a lot of time.

“It helps the coaches tremendously because when we’re on our spring break trip, the coaches are the ones that have to do the grocery shopping at one or two in the morning because that’s the only time we have,” Huntington said. “They go out and buy groceries, and we pay for it.”

Sue Rogge said planning meals for the spring break trip requires a time for her and Huntington to sit down and coordinate when the players have time to eat. If the couple is able to rent a house, meals are home-cooked. If the couple isn’t so lucky to have a house for the trip, they find alternative ways to give the players meals.

However, the Rogges don’t just make meals for the softball team. Since the women’s basketball team usually has to be in or around Eau Claire during winterim, the couple will host a brunch once every winterim. Junior forward Courtney Lewis said it’s the favorite memory she has of the couple and the time spent with them.

“They have a brunch over winter break since we’re usually … one of the few teams on campus,” Lewis said.

“We don’t always get a home-cooked meal because we’re here, so they have us over for brunch. That’s just a great time.”

But the support and friendships

SPORTS 7

don’t stop after the girls graduate. Tim Rogge said one of his favorite aspects of building these friendships is they continue on, no matter where they go.

Sue Rogge said she enjoys watching the players grow during their time here.

“Lots of times they grow in getting physically conditioned and doing all the weight lifting,” she said. “But they also grow not just in the knowledge that they have but the maturity level.”

Outside of sports, the Rogges are active in the Newman Parish located near campus. Sue Rogge said they support the arts and music scene at Eau Claire as well, and often go watch students perform or go to the art galleries

around Eau Claire.

Tim Rogge said he values the friendships he has made through both Blugold sports and the non-student athletes he’s encountered.

Huntington said the work the Rogges do time and time again don’t go unnoticed.

“They’ve been really valued in our program, and we include them in pretty much everything we do,” Huntington said. “We want to make sure they know how valued they are.”

Hosely can be reached at hoselym@ uwec.edu or @meghanhosely.

SUBMITTED

TRUE BLUGOLDS: Tim and Sue Rogge, center, pose with the UW-Eau Claire softball team earlier this season. The Rogges have been avid followers of the Blugold women’s basketball, volleyball and softball teams since 2002.

SPORTS SPORTS EDITOR: Steve Fruehauf

8

Thursday, May 8

Set for nationals After a fourth place finish at home, women’s golf team will go to national tournament next week GRAPHIC BY KARL ENGHOFER / The Spectator

The UW-Eau Claire women’s golf team finished its season at home last weekend. They placed fourth out of 11 teams at the Blugold Spring Invitational at Wild Ridge Golf Course in Eau Claire.

Freshman Katie Moore said having her family there to support her helped lead to her top finish of the season.

Moore finished in 13th place with 167 strokes. She was the second individual finisher for the Blugolds behind teammate Kate Engler. Engler tied for fifth overall, in the 70-golfer field, with 163 strokes. “(Moore) is a good player,” Engler said. “She fights for it.”

Despite finishing in the top five, Engler said she wasn’t very pleased with her personal performance.

“I just felt really off on everything,” Engler said. “I wasn’t able to control shots like I usually do.”

Engler said all the golfers seemed to have a tough time, which made up for her performance. She said the lack of practice due to rain contributed to her perforENGLER mance not being as good as she wanted.

Also, junior Emily Stone finished in the top 15 for the Blugolds, tying for 14th with 169 strokes.

Since the Blugolds have finished their regular season, the team has shifted its attention to the national tournament, Engler said. It will take place May 13-16 in Howey-in-theHills, Florida.

The tournament will be both a team and individual competition, consisting of 72 holes over the four days.

For team play, the lowest four scores from each day will count toward the

total score.

The team qualified for the tournament when they won the WIAC Championship last fall.

Since the tournament occurs during finals week, the golfers have been preparing to take their exams early or after they return, Engler said.

Moore said she has been spending most nights in the library to stay ahead in school while also focusing on golf and still having a social life.

Moore said she wants to do everything she can to help her team do well in Florida.

“Since it’s my first year playing golf, I just want to play strong, stay focused and not beat myself up if I have a bad hole,” Moore said.

Engler said she also wants to help the team do well. She also hopes to meet her goal of finishing in the top 20, she said.

Engler said she heard the course is hilly and may be kind of tricky, but she just wants to do her best and place well.

— The Spectator Staff

Sean Murphy Men’s Golf

Murphy led all Blugolds last Friday, placing second with 75 strokes at the Edgewood College Spring Quadrangular in Middleton, Wisconsin.

Although the men’s golf team placed first in their last meet of the season, they weren’t given a NCAA Tournament bid.

Getting to know Murphy: Favorite restaurant: Chipotle Dream job: Fishing guide Favorite movie: The Wolf of Wall Street

Junior Middleton Middleton High School

Now Hiring for Fall 2014!

- Come to The Spectator office, located in Hibbard 104, for full description of the position and application.

- Application deadline will be Monday May 5th at 12:00PM. Please submit applications to the folder outside our office.

Favorite college class: History 124: World History to 1500 Guilty pleasure: Wendy’s Frosty

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SPORTS EDITOR: Steve Fruehauf

Thursday, May 8

SPORTS 9

Blugold insight into the 2014 NFL Draft

Two staff writers discuss who the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings should choose with their first-round picks Austin Mai and Ellis Williams STAFF WRITERS

This year’s NFL offseason has been one of the most intriguing ones in recent memory. Draft experts Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN and Mike Mayock of NFL Network have both said this upcoming class has more depth at the skill player positions than in the last twenty years.

The NFL moved the draft back two weeks this year, and it’s been strenuous for football fans awaiting their team’s newest arrivals. In hopes of itching the scratch of fans, this preview of the draft and addresses what we see are the best selections for a couple different teams.

Considering the location of this publication, we will be focusing on the needs of the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings.

In a division featuring wide receivers like Calvin Johnson and the dangerous duo of Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, NFC North teams can’t have holes in their secondary. Therefore, the consensus is each team needs help safety position.

Outside of the secondary needs for Green Bay and Minnesota, it is clear each team is going to address different concerns in the draft. Below are the positions we believe these teams need going into next season.

CB

Vikings Needs: QB, OG, S, OLB,

Packers Needs: C, S, TE, DE, WR, ILB Vikings Draft Preview The Minnesota Vikings had a record of 10-6 in 2012 and took a step back last season going 5-10-1.

Many experts and fans believe the main cause of the regression was the inconsistent play at quarterback.

Minnesota started three different signal callers and was 23rd in total passing offense. It is clear the quarterback of the future is not on the Vikings’ current roster. That doesn’t guarantee the Vikings will select a WILLIAMS

quarterback with their eighth pick, but it does ensure they will select a QB early in the draft.

Williams’ prediction: The Vikings are in what former Colts’ front office executive and current ESPN analyst Bill Polian calls an “if” draft.

This means the Vikings decision with the eighth pick will hinge on what the teams picking in front of them do. If Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel is still on the board when Minnesota is on the clock, I believe he will be its selection.

Manziel is an electrifying and polarizing player who is said by some experts to have the highest ceiling of any quarterback prospect in this year’s class. He would bring excitement to the Twin Cities area and would be the driving force behind the team’s new future as it prepares to move into their new stadium projected in 2016.

But if Manziel is not on the board, then I imagine the best choice for the Vikings would be to fall back in the draft and stockpile additional picks. Falling back in the first round would position the Vikings to draft who I believe is the second best quarterback in this class — ­ Derek Carr.

Carr has a laser-rocket for an arm and quarterback guru George Whitfield Jr. said on ESPN he sees Carr as a young Matthew Stafford.

Simply put, the Vikings could use a Matthew Stafford.

Unless the Vikings want to be in the race for Jameis Winston next year then they must find their franchise guy in this draft.

Packers Draft Preview The Green Bay Packers barely won the NFC north division last year, finishing at 8-7-1. After losing Aaron Rodgers among other players, the team slipped into a lackluster state. Injuries aren’t supposed to be a reason why a team fails; all teams have injuries. But experts and fans agreed the green and gold were hurting without its premiere talent.

This offseason, the Packers did not re-sign tight end Jermichael Finley, safety M.D. Jennings, defensive lineman Ryan Pickett and offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith, among others. The four mentioned players were all starters, which

leaves Green Bay with holes to fill in the draft.

After re-signing defensive lineman B.J. Raji, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said he will likely be returning to the MAI nose tackle position, which leaves a new hole open to possibly be filled by last year’s firstround pick Datone Jones.

The Packers have been in the same situation since 2009. They have made the playoffs each year, which guarantees a first-round value between the 20th and 32nd overall picks. Packers general manager Ted Thompson has to decide between whether to draft a player earlier than projected to fill a position of need or to take the best player available with those mid-to-late first round picks. With the additional two weeks before the draft this year.

Mai’s Prediction: Even though this draft class has been touted as one of the best in the modern football era, I imagine the Packers won’t fill an immediate need with their first round pick. With that said, I believe the Packers will select Alabama linebacker C.J. Mosley with the 21st overall pick. As Ohio State’s linebacker Ryan Shazier continues to rise up mock drafts, Mosley has dropped over the last two months.

Originally, he was projected to be a top-12 pick, but since linebackers such as Buffalo’s Khalil Mack and UCLA’s Anthony Barr received a lot of attention lately, it appears Mosley has become an afterthought.

NFL Network’s Charles Davis said Mosley should be a top-10 pick in this year’s draft and is the type of player who can move all over the place to make plays. That’s exactly what the Packers’ defense needs after another less than great year from the pass rush.

Mai can be reached at maiat@uwec. edu or @austinisfresh. Williams can be reached at williaml@uwec.edu or @ BookofEllis.

GRAPHIC BY KARL ENGHOFER / The Spectator

Copy Editor Courtney Kueppers reflects on her first full marathon finish Saturday in Kenosha “Oh gosh, here we go,” I thought as my boyfriend Johnny and I crossed the starting line of our first full marathon Saturday in Kenosha.

With each blue mile marker sign we passed, my legs became more and more sore, but my confidence that we were going to accomplish our goal of finishing grew stronger.

By mile 23, tears began to well in my eyes. I couldn’t feel my legs, my brain felt like mush, and I just kept telling myself to put one foot in front of the other.

With 0.2 miles to go, I grabbed Johnny’s hand, we picked up our pace, focused on the finish line and crossed it hand-in-hand.

After six months of work, determination and training, we finished our first full marathon: I cried like a baby.

Moments after finishing my mind just kept saying, “I can’t believe we did it, I can’t believe we did it.” There is something truly incredible about attaining something you have wanted for so long.

I have thought about running a marathon for years and seriously working toward it most of this school year.

In this age of instant gratification, we sometimes lose sight of long-term goals. We want our food fast, grumble about slow Wi-Fi and demand news updates constantly, and working toward something bigger can certainly get lost in that day-to-day shuffle.

I implore you to make time for it. Set a goal you couldn’t accomplish today or tomorrow or maybe even a month from now and start working toward it — whether it’s running-related or not. I was so amazed by how it felt to accomplish my goal. A goal six months ago, I wouldn’t have been able to do.

Throughout training, people often asked me how long it would take me to finish the run, my response was always “I just want to finish.” It was true, it never mattered to me how long it took me as long as I crossed the finish line with Johnny by my side.

The course through Kenosha weaved all throughout the city, with an unbeatable view of Lake Michigan.

There were a few instances in which

the route led the herd of runners out and back in the same direction. It allowed us to get a glimpse at the top runners who were heading “back” as we headed “out.”

They were miles ahead of us, and their pace minutes faster than ours, but yet I felt united with them. We were all out there taking a stab at the same task, we all wanted the same thing and in that there was such a connection.

As they sped past us, we cheered them on, and they returned the favor.

Between the support of my fellow runners and the spectators I knew the feat would be possible.

Among the crowds of spectators was my mine and Johnny’s families. By bus and car they all traveled to see us take on the marathon. They screamed, cheered and waved fat heads of our faces in the air. Their support was priceless. Accomplishing the goal was incredible, but sharing it with them made it that much more special.

After finishing the race, many people have asked me countless times, and understandably so, how my legs felt.

For the first couple of days it mostly just felt like I had quickly aged 80 years. Each time I stood up I felt stiff and walked much slower than usual.

Now, I feel fine.

In the days since the race my life has, of course, gone back to normal. I am done running long miles, and it’s time to move on to my next bucket-list item. Only there’s one difference, I’m a marathoner and I have the bumper sticker to prove it.

It gives me a great sense of accomplishment, and it makes me feel like I can set my sights on any goal and work toward it. I’m thankful for the marathon, for the blisters, the pain and the joy it brought me.

The road to 26.2 miles was full of potholes, snowy days, icy terrain, laughs, tears and extreme highs with extreme lows and I wouldn’t trade any of it.

Kueppers can be reached at kueppecm@uwec.edu or @cmkueppers.

CURRENTS CURRENTS EDITOR: Zack Katz

10

Thursday, May 8

On the rise

Minneapolis-based hip-hop artist debuts album “Ascension,” reflects on experience so far A couple weeks after its release, UW-Eau Claire senior Nathan Ejuwa’s (EJ) breakout project “Ascension” is hardly an afterthought.

Even from Eau Claire, the Minneapolis native’s laundry list of features, including Rhymesayers Entertainment’s Dem Atlas, proves he’s not so far from home — it’s a collective of voices orchestrated by the lead of his charismatic flow.

The Spectator sat down with EJ to hear how the album has unfolded since it dropped. In just under an hour of music, the up-and-comer’s self-examining style suggests that staring out at the city skyline long enough will turn up your own reflection. Now that’s ascension.

Zack Katz: Now that the dust has settled, give a little insight into reception and the timeliness of the album’s release.

Nathan Ejuwa: I came to this point where I don’t just release music anymore, it has to be for a reason — I have to be motivated to do it. So when I released this album I didn’t set a date, why should I set a date? When it’s right I’ll know. Since then I’ve gotten some feedback, positive for the most part. I really think that when it catches with the blogs and newspapers, that’s when I’ll see what I’m looking for. But right now, I’m just chillin’. Because I know it’ll speak for itself.

ZK: Are you pushing for more performances of this album? How is it coming to life in that sense?

EJ: The first time I performed it, I didn’t really give any indication it was material from my album, I just played them. People seemed to like them. The time for me to really start telling people more and get physical copies will be on the May 22nd at CMJ’s release show at Honey in Minneapolis. That should be a pretty interesting time because basically everyone who is featured will be there to perform with me. I know that show is gonna be crackin’.

ZK: Let’s talk about who you’re collaborating and pushing forward with.

EJ: My man Konstant Movement, Stephen Sutherland. That’s the homie right now. In this town, this “void of hip hop,” we gotta stick together and find something.

ZK: You mentioned new material, does that mean you’re already flipping the page? Are you settled or unsatisfied?

EJ: Absolutely man, I started working on this next project before Ascension was finished. So it’s always going, it’s always in my head.

“...When you get a solid base of songs, you reach that point where it’s like ‘this is the description of my life’ ...”

NATHAN EJUWA Hip-Hop artist

ZK: If you’re constantly producing music, how do you find cut-offs for single cohesive projects such as Ascension? Are you conscious of the placement of material project by project, or does it just land where it falls?

EJ: At the beginning of the project, you don’t know. When you get that solid base of songs, you reach that point where it’s like ‘this is a description of my life for this amount of time, and I’ve reached a point where it needs to be solidified into one volume.’ When we were recording Ascension, we came up with a completely new song. So there’s no set equation, there’s no last time you can add a song until the release date.

ZK: When you’re writing something, sometimes the whole picture can form around inspiration from one word or idea. Is your writing process about growth from a single point or drawing from different places?

EJ: The writing process for me can sometimes be as simple as sitting down and listening to a beat until images come to my mind. A lot of the times I just freestyle, and sometimes I’ll reach a common theme. Sometimes it’s just born out of chicken scratch — just putting my thoughts on paper as fast as I can

before I lose it. It could take days, it could take like a minute and a half.

It just depends.

ZK: For those who have never heard of EJ, what do you have to say for your album?

EJ: This album Ascension speaks for itself ... so listen to it.

— The Spectator Staff

To hear EJ’s music, go to https://soundcloud.com/ej-nate-1/

ART BY LAURA MCDEW

MAESTRO: Released in mid-April, EJ’s 17-track album features artists from both Minnesota and Wisconsin, and was recorded at Cherry Sky Studios.

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CURRENTS EDITOR: Zack Katz

Thursday, May 8

CURRENTS 11

What’s up Dok? Local musicians fuse elements of jazz and hip hop on new record Steve Fruehauf SPORTS EDITOR

It all started with a whiteboard.

Last year, UW-Eau Claire juniors Rick Haneman and Andrew Bocher said they heard rumors fellow junior Stephen Sutherland made music. So one night, the two said they decided to leave their dorm floormate a note on his door’s whiteboard, hinting they all should make music together.

But what started out as regular jam sessions turned into a release under one name. Along with five other musicians, Doks Robotiks is finding their sound through funk, jazz and hip hop.

“All the things I know about music came from jazz,” Sutherland said. “Jazz is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, influence on our music, I would say.”

The group released their debut album, “Doks Robotiks Free Form,”

April 25 along with a release show.

Sutherland said some of the album’s notable tracks are “Bring it Down” and “Pavane.”

Along with handing out physical CD copies, the group has a bandcamp page which sells album downloads for $4. Haneman said response to the music has been positive.

“Its been good and I was kind of thrown off actually,” Haneman said.

“Honestly, I haven’t really gotten any negative remarks other than constructive criticism from other musicians.”

While each member has specific artists they pull inspiration from, Bocher said the group pulls sound from a ‘90s hip hop collective based out of Brooklyn, New York called Native Tongue. They featured artists like De La Soul, The Jungle Brothers, Q-Tip and Digable Planets.

“They actually sampled a lot of

jazz from the 50s and 60s, original Miles Davis and stuff like that,” Bocher said. “It wasn’t lost but its buried and we’re trying to dig it up.”

The group has done two live shows under Doks Robotiks, along with opening for Brother Ali last semester as well, one in the Twin Cities and one at The Mousetrap in Eau Claire. They plan to continue pushing their album for the next few months.

They are also looking to start collaborating with the many local and Twin Cities-based musicians.

Even though the group will be mostly separated this summer with different schedules, Haneman said they plan to come together in August and start pulling together their newest project.

Fruehauf can be reached at fruehasl@ uwec.edu or @Fruedaddy08.

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CURRENTS CURRENTS EDITOR: Zack Katz

12

Thursday, May 8

Student-made publication celebrates its completion Nota release party to feature readings, live music Katie Bast NEWS EDITOR

Each semester, students at UW-Eau Claire produce the only literary and fine arts magazine on campus. This semester’s edition of the book, known as NOTA, will be unveiled Thursday at its release party at the Volume One Gallery.

NOTA Editor in Chief, senior Charlotte Kupsh, said the party is to celebrate the publication and those published in it and it’s open to the public.

“Volume One does a great job of supporting people in our local community and we like to bring the community into it as well and showcase our artists off campus ... because during the semester it’s always on campus,” Kupsh said.

She said two versions of the book will be released. Pocket NOTA features a few longform prose pieces, while the full book has prose, poetry, art and even music. Each issue features bands and a mix CD. Lindsey Quinies, program director at Volume One, said it has hosted the event for the past few years. She said even though NOTA is in print form, the release party gives it a chance to come to life.

“It’s like an art reception set up with

some open mic and some readings (from contributors) and some music mixed in,” Quinnies said.

Kupsh said having the party at an off-campus venue allows for a realistic experience if the contributors were published in a non-univerisity publication and garners them more exposure.

“It’s nice to ... celebrate that in a way that’s different from the everyday,” she said.

“It’s nice to show that what they did was significant and this is a professional publication.”

She said the book itself is a great way for students to break into the publishing and art worlds and is a great KUPSH resume booster.

“It is a professional publication, and we do have our student committees who vote on their work so it does say that your work got reviewed and selected from a wide range of submissions, and that’s not something students get to do a lot as an undergrad,” Kupsh said. “It’s a fun thing to be able to say you’ve done and to see your work in print.”

Senior Erin Stevens was on a selection committee and has three pieces featured in

the book. She said she’ll be attending the event for the first time this year, but there’s a lot she’s looking forward to.

“The fact that it’s a student-made ... publication highlights how talented a lot of the university students are.”

Lindsey Quinnies

program director, VolumeOne

“Just listening to everyone else’s work who was published in NOTA because I haven’t seen who else is in it, so I’m looking forward to hearing everyone’s pieces,” Stevens said. “It gives students something free to do, and also eat food and support their fellow students, even if the don’t necessarily know the people in it, it’s just supporting the community they’re a part of.”

Stevens said NOTA marks her first time being published.

“Even though it’s undergrad, it’s still giving students experience and exposure and it’s helping foster our creative community on campus and I think it’s also helpful for the community to see the work that students are producing,” Stevens said.

Quinnies also said NOTA is a valuable platform for students.

“It gives talented students a platform to publish their work … it gives them a more comfortable platform to work off of before they’re released into the real world,” Quinnies said. “The fact that it’s a student-made, student-run, student-featured publication highlights how talented a lot of the university students are.”

Kupsh said anyone can attend and enjoy the event.

“They don’t have to be a connoisseur of art and literature to come,” she said. “It’s just a fun time to hang out and see people and hear what people have been doing.”

Bast can be reached at bastkv@uwec.edu. or @ Katie_Bast

Directing class brings student talent, on and off the stage Student directors showcase pieces after a semester of work Katy Macek

plays written by professional playwrights.

Three students in an advanced directing class will take over Kjer Theatre this weekend, with the help of student actors from UWEau Claire as a part of the Spring Short Play Festival.

Showtimes will be in the late afternoon and night Friday and Saturday.

This is the second year senior Jacob Lindgren has taken the class, and he said everything about the show is done by the students; professor Richard Nimke acts as a sort of mentor.

“We’re acting as a production team collectively for each show, but as a director we pick the show, we cast it, we costume design it and everything ourselves,” he said.

Lindgren, Aaron Suggs and Jena Skalisky, the only three students in the class, have been working hard all semester to direct the entirely student-produced

“Talley’s Folley” Lindgren directed this play, written by Lanford Wilson, about two lovers who must overcome their own personal fears in order to be with each other. It is set in Missouri.

The first time he read the play, when looking through his options over winter break, Lindgren said he didn’t like it because he didn’t understand it.

“It’s listed as a romantic comedy and I only saw the dramatic and sad parts,” he said. “Then I revisited it and did see the humor in it. It is very funny, but it’s real.”

He said one of his favorite things about it is everyone, in some way or another, can relate to it.

While Lindgren said he has directed several shows before, this one was especially difficult because there are only two actors in the full 90-minute show.

COPY EDITOR

“Literally carrying a show with two people is really fun but it’s also very scary because if something’s not locking or clicking in or making sense then it’s going to affect the whole piece,” he said.

The two actors have worked really hard to overcome these obstacles, he said, and he has seen their progress both on and off the stage.

Lindgren said one of his favorite parts of directing is telling the story of each piece and watching the actors create a subtext of their own in the way they portray every line.

“A Bench on the Edge” Written by Luigi Jannuzi and directed by senior Aaron Suggs, this play focuses on two men sitting at the edge of an abyss and discussing the consequences of suicide.

The struggle in figuring out the reasons for being alive when everything seems to be going wrong in someone’s life is something Suggs said he enjoyed watching unfold be-

tween the characters.

“You’ve got something,” he said.

“Even if you’ve got nothing, you’ve got something.”

He said he hopes the audience will understand this, especially if the members are going through a rough time in their lives and have contemplated suicide.

His favorite part of directing is seeing different elements he got to choose like the lighting and costumes, come together, he said.

“I’ve had this vision of what I want to do with the play, and we’re just getting to our tech week right now, so I was finally seeing all the pieces come together,” he said. “My actors are off-book now, I’ve seen all the lighting elements … I just saw all my costumes on my characters and that was really nice.”

“Something Unspoken” Jena Skalisky directed this play, written by Tennessee Williams. It is about a Southern woman battling insecurities and the

complex relationship she has with her live-in secretary.

“It’s really interesting because you don’t see a lot of power struggle between women in a lot of plays,” Skalisky said. “It goes into this idea that there might be something unspoken between them.”

The idea of two strong female characters stuck out to her, she said, and same-sex relationships between two females is something Williams doesn’t usually do in his plays so she was drawn to that.

“Talley’s Folley” will show at 4 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday, while “Something Unspoken” and “Bench on the Edge” will show at 7 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets are $3 and all shows will be in Kjer Theatre.

Macek can be reached at macekkm@ uwec.edu. or @KatherineMacek

Hello fellow Blugolds!

My name is Sam Fish and I am humbled and excited to be your Student Body President. My Vice President, Jake Wrasse, and I will be serving in office next academic year. We cannot wait to start representing all of you and hope that we can represent our student body and our university to the best of our abilities.

The end of the year is right around the corner and naturally we will all be spending a bit more time in the library getting in some last minute studying. We wish you the best luck with your finals and hope you take some time out of all of your busy lives to take some time to relax.

We hope you all have a safe and productive Summer Break and we cannot wait to see you all again come September.

Sam Fish & Jake Wrasse

OPINION / EDITORIAL OP/ED EDITOR: Alex Zank

Army hair rules: unkempt intentions The Army’s ban on ethnic hairstyles uses insensitive language and singles out black women Cori Picard STAFF WRITER

On March 31, the Army released an updated appearance policy called AR 670-1. The updates targeted hair styles and textures that are no longer acceptable to wear, including dreadlocks and thick cornrows or twists.

The new regulations even use the words “unkempt” and “matted” to describe unacceptable hair protocol, according to an article published on CNN’s news site. That kind of language could be seen as racial bias. And to single out black women like that is insensitive and unjust.

The changes came in an effort to keep Army personnel’s appearance uniform, professional and clean. It makes sense, especially in regards to safety. Hair must be controlled to prevent injuries.

PICARD But the new regulations don’t take into account the way some hair just is. I am not black, so I obviously can’t speak from experience, and I’m not the most knowledgeable in the

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subject, but I am a woman, and I understand that a black person’s hair can be different from a white person’s hair.

The new rules are trying to outlaw something some women can’t change without doing damage to their hair, whether it be harsh chemicals or harmful heat. How fair is that?

The offensive language in the regulation is extremely insensitive as well, and implies all black hair is the same, and that it’s bad. Not white. Not normal. This all stems from the idea that blacks are still outside the white cultural norm. And in this day and age, this really shouldn’t be an issue anymore.

Some people who are a bit more distanced from the subject may think, ‘It’s just hair, what’s the big deal?’ But the fight goes a lot deeper than just hair. This new regulation is just another example of how we are still discriminating against African Americans.

Yes, it’s the Army, and they have every right to enforce rules, but regulators need to consider the diversity of everyone in the Army. The whole institution was created to protect America, a country made up of people from all different backgrounds and cultures.

Affected women are not letting the new regulation stand as is. A sergeant of the Georgia National Guard start-

ed a petition in late March asking the Obama administration to look over and reconsider the policy. And as of April 11, it boasted more than 13,000 signatures, according to CNN. I think a petition is a great way to bring about change. It shows a lot of people are unhappy about the new rules, and since the Army is a matter of the nation as a whole, contacting the president directly is a smart move to get fast results.

I hope all the outcry and backlash can help fix or restructure the regulation so it’s not directly targeting people of one specific race. Yes, safety and protection are a very high priority, and the Army is not usually assumed to be a place where you get a lot of self-expression, but the hair types and styles the policy is banning are tied to race, and that’s something you really can’t change.

Many women don’t have a choice in the matter. They’re already sacrificing their lives to fight for this country.

They shouldn’t have to make ridiculous sacrifices to fit the rigid appearance standards of the Army.

Picard is a senior journalism major and staff writer for The Spectator. She can be reached at picardcf@uwec.edu or @CoriFPicard.

SUBMITTED

ARMY HAIRDOS: The U.S. Army recently gave its guidelines on approved hairstyles an update. The use of the words “unkempt” and “matted” led some to believe the new restrictions were racist in their phrasing.

For argument’s sake Challenging the professor’s lectures fosters better learning experience than blind acceptance

Elizabeth Jackson PHOTO EDITOR

After four years on campus and countless classes, I’ve participated in my fair share of classroom discussions.

Some have been more lively than others, that’s for sure.

But it wasn’t until this semester that I began taking notice of how these classroom discussions have yet to foster any extreme disagreement with a professor, and a questioning of the credibility of statements made by lecturers.

“If we ... disagree with something a professor is telling us, we should say something. And on the flip side of that coin, professors should welcome the disagreement.”

To make it clear, I don’t believe that professors don’t know what they are talking about, but there is seldom any challenge to a professor by students. Instead, we learn passively and take for granted that what we are learning is “the truth.”

But what kind of education does this foster? Not a very good one, I would say. The point is, discussion and learning should not be a passive task, especially at the college level. If we adults with hopefully some strong, well-formed opinions disagree with

something a professor is telling us, we should say something. And on the flip side of that coin, professors should welcome the disagreement.

In an opinion piece for Huffington Post, Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, an educator and writer, stated: “Many teachers have observed that students sitting in classrooms today are bored by the frontal authoritarian model of learning.” And how true is the use of “authoritarian?"

We’ll sit in classes and take notes on the professor’s Powerpoint slides (which could probably take up a whole other opinion column for me) and take for granted what they say — but this is not fostering good learning.

In some ways, I think this passive learning is equally the fault of students and professors. Discussions are used in almost every class offered on campus, yet how often are we too passive to really argue during a discussion, or feel like we can argue without being singled out and worried our grade might suffer?

I’ve always been an opinionated person, and while I’m fairly quiet, I’ve never really been one to speak out in class.

That is, until this semester. I’m currently enrolled in a class that is primarily discussion based. While we mostly talk about cultural topics, the discussion will often veer to talking slightly about a certain issue that is all over the news.

And, of course, my opinions differ greatly from that of the professor and some of the more vocal students.

But whenever this topic of discussion is brought up, I feel the pressure to keep my mouth shut, because my views (which are actually pretty moderate) differ from those of the professor and the other students. And over the course of this past weekend, I finally realized how that impacted my learning experience in this class. I’m an opinionated person, I’ll grant you that, but I’ve never been one who is not ready to discuss why I believe what I do.

I need to be challenged and questioned in order to learn, and I believe a lot of other students do, too. And professors, in order to have what they are teaching students stay relevant and fresh, need to be challenged once in a while as well.

We can’t have a full education until there is a healthy argument once in a while.

Jackson is a senior journalism and history double major and Photo Editor of The Spectator. She can be reached at jacksoec@uwec.edu or @ElizabethCeceJ.

OP/ED EDITOR: Alex Zank

OPINION / EDITORIAL

Benefits for students, society far outweigh cost of attending, funding college There is not a better way I can think of ending this column than with my own reflections of my academic experiences at UW-Eau Claire while tying it into politics.

The one thing I’ve learned from being a college student is that I really don’t know anything, which seems like the opposite of what an undergraduate degree is intended to do.

In reality, I have learned a lot. My liberal education has just opened so many intellectual doors for me that I now understand how much there is to still learn about the world.

I feel stupid knowing what I was like after graduating high school. I thought I knew a lot about my fields of study; I was supposedly well-versed in politics and a supposed fantastic writer.

I spent another five years learning more about these topics (and making an excellent choice to study economics as well) in college. Now, I realize that I knew nothing in 2009 compared to 2014. And I also know there is plenty more to learn.

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better odds of getting a good job for a second. Depending on what students do while attending, the college experience itself leaves graduates more satisfied in various aspects of their lives.

The economy reaps the benefits of a strong and educated workforce as well. This is no secret.

In fact, college towns like Eau Claire rely on the spending of university students and faculty to strengthen the local economy. Imagine if UW-Eau Claire was located elsewhere and stu-

dents were not here to spend money on groceries, restaurants and recreation.

Higher education is beneficial all around, although public investment surely does not reflect this.

Data from the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center website shows state appropriations to public colleges for academic year 2012-13 is the lowest it has been since at least the 1982-83 academic year.

I’m sure my personal experience is just one of many examples of why col-

lege is so crucial to both the next generation and the furtherment of society.

To ensure we progress at the highest degree, we must invest in the future like we mean it. This includes a renewed public investment in higher education.

Zank is a senior political science and journalism double major and Op/ Ed Editor of The Spectator. He can be reached at zankam@uwec.edu or @AlexZank.

In addition to an education, I think college gives us this revelation about ourselves. College grants students a degree as well as an experience.

“To ensure we progress at the highest degree, we must invest in the future like we mean it.”

The price we pay for college, though more expensive than ever, is small relative to the benefits.

A new Gallup-Purdue University study shows the type of experience we have at college improves our future life satisfaction. In fact, our college experience itself matters even more than the college we choose to attend.

Set aside the higher pay and the

Source: The College Board Advocacy & Policy Center

GRAPHIC BY ALEX ZANK / The Spectator

“F” FOR FUNDING: State appropriations per full-time equivalent students for the 2012-2013 academic year are the lowest it’s been over the last three decades at $6,600 per student for 2012-2013, down from as high as $10,000 per student. The data include enrollment for the fall semester of two- and four-year public colleges.

Ahoy mateys!

The Spectator staff would go down with it’s ship.

Have a fun and safe summer!

STUDENT LIFE

STUDENT LIFE EDITOR: Rachel Streich

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Thursday, May 8

GRAPHIC BY KARL ENGHOFER/ The Spectator

Students travel across western Wisconsin to act as entertainers and educators for nearly 5,000 children Rachel Streich STAFF WRITER

As a senior soon to graduate college, Claire Kafka Duda said she knows what it was like to sit in the audience as a child. She can still recall the impact a play with a good story and engaging actors had on her.

“I remember being a child and having a show really resonate and stay with me for a long time,” she said.

Kafka Duda has now moved from the theater seat to the stage. Along with nine other classmates, she gives children throughout western Wisconsin experiences similar to the ones she had as a kid.

For her last show as a UW-Eau Claire student, she has been acting in a production that travels to elementary schools Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

The Touring Theatre is part of a class offered once a year, which impacts both elementary school students and college students.

Each week the students in the class pack everything they need in a mini-van and drive about an hour or an hour and a half away to elementary schools.

At the end of the semester, the upperclassmen in the Touring Theatre will

have performed 17 shows reaching nearly 5,000 students in their school gymnasiums. The current show, “Wiley and the Hairy Man,” also appeared twice on campus and once in the Heyde Center for the Arts in Chippewa Falls.

The performances allow elementary school students to use their imaginations and creative thinking skills, Kafka Duda said. She said they also allow children to connect to adults on stage and learn important life lessons.

“There’s so much education that I am partaking in as an actor, it’s mind-blowing to me that I can have such influence on a child as a part of this process,” she said.

An appeal of the Touring Theatre for students is it satisfies the service learning requirement, Kafka Duda said. It allows students to use their talents for the good of the public.

“It’s so easy to see the connection of how I’m serving the community,” she said. “I’m bringing quality theater to kids, giving them messages geared toward them that they can connect with and bringing arts to the community.”

The Touring Theatre also allows schools to host yearly theater productions that they would otherwise not be able to afford. Jennifer Chapman, the professor of the class and director of the

NOTHIN BUT A HOUND DOG : Claire Kafka Duda performed her role as Dog at the Haas Fine Arts Center’s dance studio. She made her costume and designed her own makeup for the performance.

play, said she offers the production to elementary schools at a low cost of $300.

She said for many children, this is the only theater production they will see for the whole year.

Chapman said she has worked to give children the best experience possible by using a unique theater setting.

Instead of the typical theater, she uses arena staging. The students create a circular stage space and seat the kids on the hard gym floor around them. This allows up to 400 kids to sit very closely to the action.

“It’s really important to me in theater for young audiences that we always show the kids how the magic of theater happens,” she said.

In “Wiley and the Hairy Man,” children see magic and conjuring in a Southern folktale. The story is about a boy who must face his fears, without a grown-up doing it for him. Chapman said it honors how difficult and challenging being a kid is and it brings about a truthful message.

In addition to the children’s gain of seeing the plays, the cast obtains a positive experience as well.

Sean Porten, a junior theater major who plays Wiley, said he has seen the benefits of collaboration and working with a group of students even when it may be difficult.

“It’s challenging because it’s learning to be professional and not letting your lack of sleep or grumpiness get in the way of putting on the show,” Porten said.

Before they leave campus by 7 a.m. to perform every week, each student must work for seven weeks rehearsing and putting the show together, including making props and costuming.

Each student plays a part in building the show in some way. As Kafka Duda plays Dog in the production, she made her own costume and designed makeup in addition to acting. Chapman said the students must use elements of their theater education, such as set design and lighting, to create a show with integrity and interest.

“The Touring Theatre is really a culminating experience for students because they have to utilize all these different skills,” Chapman said.

Although Chapman and other faculty members help students, they are ultimately responsible for the end product.

Porten said the process of making the show happen is more involved than a main-stage show because students do

PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY JOCELYN BOLD REVERTING TO CHILDHOOD: Sean Porten plays Wiley, a boy who must face his fears in “Wiley and the Hairy Man.”

not just have one role. Yet he said the tiring amount of work all pays off when he can see the children’s reactions and the smiles on their faces.

“It’s very rewarding when within the first two minutes of the play you hear uproarious laughter,” Porten said.

“... it’s mind-blowing to me that I can have such an influence on a child as a part of this process.”

CLAIRE KAFKA DUDA Senior

He said the production also has an interesting connection to him because his father played the same character in the show almost thirty years ago.

Growing up with parents who were once theater majors has exposed to an arts environment and has led him to pursue a career in theatre one day himself, he said.

Porten said the class provides him a good stepping stone in the future.

“It gives you the sense of what it would actually be like to professionally tour a children’s show,” he said.

Cade Sikora, a senior theater major and the assistant director of this year’s play, said he has seen how working with the lighting and set design, among other things, has allowed him to understand what it is like to lead and put together a show.

He said it is a privilege to be able to give kids in small towns the chance to see a play on this level.

Two years with the Touring Theater have added to his education in a significant way, he said.

Apart from the abilities students develop on stage, Chapman said this class gives students everyday life skills.

“It is an incredible training ground for emotional intelligence, for endurance, and for a tolerance for failure,” she said.

At the end of each show, Chapman said she ultimately hopes the children can gain an experience that will impact their futures.

“We’re doing this to make kids see that they too are creative people,” Chapman said. “And that they too could be doing this just like us.”

Streich can be reached at streicrn@ uwec.edu or @RachelStreich17.