The Spectator--Oct. 2

THE SPECTATOR

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

VOL. 93, NO. 5

NEWS PAGES 1-5

Health inspections not rare

SPORTS

OP / ED

Skipping sickness

Wisconsin mom campaigns against meningitis, campus officials lend tips and tricks to staying healthy

Earlier this week, Gail Bailey sat in the living room of her Madison-area home and looked at a photo of a smiling young boy.

That young boy was the apple of her eye. He grew to be more than six feet tall, graduated as the valedictorian of Jefferson High School and had a kind heart, his mother recalled.

It has been 12 years since Bailey last saw that smiling face of her son, Eddy, who died of Type C Meningitis on Nov. 12, 2002.

“Our lives were never the same,” Bailey said.

“Every fall at this time of year I get this feeling that we need to tell people to protect themselves.”

Just 16 hours before he died, 20-year-old Eddy arrived back at his Madison apartment where he was in school for economics and finance. This was after a weekend of visiting a friend at UW-La Crosse. He started to feel ill, with chilled hands and cold-like symptoms, but he wrote it off as the flu.

However, it wasn’t just the flu, and the next morning Eddy’s family was notified of his death and their lives were never the same.

Following their son’s death, Bailey and her husband, Phillip, helped pass Act 61 in 2003, which states the availability and effectiveness of vaccines against meningococcal diseases must be provided to each student who resides in a dormitory or residence hall.

While Bailey is proud of the work that has been done, she said she refuses to stop until there are no more meningitis deaths and no more families have to go through the “hell on earth” she endured.

The first step toward healthier college campus-

MANAGING EDITOR

STUDENT LIFE PAGE 16

PAGES 13-15

PAGES 10-12

Glen Olson

>> INSPECTIONS page 4

FALL 2014

CURRENTS

PAGES 7-9

Courtney Kueppers

Hearing that Eau Claire County’s health departments housing program will be inspecting your home can be surprising and nerve-wracking.

But the reasons are not usually as extreme as that may it seem.

According to the county’s Housing Maintenance and Occupancy Code, if a “structure, equipment, sanitation, maintenance, use or occupancy affect or are likely to affect adversely the public health, (including the physical, mental, and social well-being of persons and families), safety and general welfare,” there is cause for investigation and possibly penalties.

Tate Zurbuchen, housing program manager, said there are three major ways the health department initiates investigations.

First, a renter or landlord can call the health department to report specific violations.

That would be anything from exits blocked, unsafe electrical use or unsanitary garbage pile-ups around the house.

Second, the city has the ability to decide to investigate the health conditions of a house based on the outside condition, which Zurbuchen said is a proactive approach.

meet meeting gives Brady Hanson and the UW-Eau Claire men’s golf team new life. Page 9.

Thursday, Oct. 2

Calls for need to communicate with landlords STAFF WRITER

Back on track: A mid-

es starts with the students, Bailey said.

“The young people have to look out for each other on campus,” she said. “Look out for one another and get the vaccine.”

Although meningitis hasn’t reared its ugly head at UW-Eau Claire in recent years, the bacterial in-

fection has invaded Wisconsin’s Most Beautiful Campus in the past, like most UW System campuses.

In 2002, a 22-year-old Blugold contracted the disease and died following hospitalization.

Staying healthy While meningitis is rare, other ailments are not. Laura Chellman, director of Student Health Service, said SHS diagnosed roughly 2,900 problems related to eyes, ears, nose and throat last school year and upper-respiratory illnesses have hit the ground running already this school year.

>> SICKNESS page 2

ANNA MATEFFY / The Spectator

CONTRACTING GERMS FROM OTHERS: Freshman Ryan Battist came to Student Health Service for a physical and to see if he had asthma, a condition he said thinks came from living in the dorms.

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NEWS

NEWS EDITOR: Kristina Bornholtz

THE SPECTATOR

THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - EAU CLAIRE STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1923

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Thursday, Oct. 2

Glen Olson STAFF WRITER

The Student Senate’s Monday meeting had no new business but detailed plans for continuing campus projects.

Information and Technology Commission Director, Christian Paese, discussed the commission’s progress so far this semester, which is preparing to launch its technology survey for this year.

The survey, which will be sent to students

by Oct. 8, is used to guide the commission’s actions throughout the year.

“We’re going to use the survey as a way of evaluating what students feel we should be doing better at, what they feel we should be doing more of,” Paese said. “That will help give us a direction as the commission moves forward.”

The data collected from this survey is used to allocate the technology fee, which is part of the segregated fees students pay, Paese said.

The survey will include a video, which the information and technology commission made, explaining what the tech fee is and how it is used on campus.

Paese said several projects have come out of the survey, including the mobile printing

stations.

The ITC also looks at lab use, based on the survey and other data.

The 24-hour lab, which was redone this summer, has been well received, Paese said.

“ We’re anticipating that our enrollment will naturally decline.”

JACOB WRASSE

Student Body Vice President

“We’re getting some good responses from other areas on campus,” Paese said. “They’re looking at what they can incorporate into their spaces to make it similar and as useful.”

The Senate also discussed enrollment issues facing campus and their goals for meetings regarding the proposed Menomonie Street events center.

Jacob Wrasse, student body vice president,

SICKNESS from page 1 “Germs are a part of life,” Chellman said. “You can’t control that, but you can control are your eating habits, sleeping habits, exercise and just having a well-balanced, healthy life.”

Chellman said illnesses spread rapidly anywhere there are large congregations of people, like in the dorms. She advises students do not share water bottles or utensils, stay three feet away from people who are already ill and wash their hands frequently.

Chellman noted it is important for students to get flu shots, which will be available on campus for $15 for students, which is one sure way to decrease the risk of getting influenza, Chellman said.

TJ Gouker, a senior psychology student, has been a resident assistant in Towers North for three semesters. During his time as an RA, Gouker has seen his fair share of coughs and colds circulate through his wing. The sure signs of sickness have already shown themselves this semester, Gouker said.

“A ton of guys have been getting sick the last week, and it’s spreading all over the place,” Gouker said. “A lot of sinus problems but no flu systems yet.”

As a preventative measure, Gouker strongly encourages his residents to get enough rest, he said.

“Living in a dorm area, people stay up really late as it is so I recommend they rest and get to sleep soon enough and that is usually the first step,” Gouker said. “Also, a lot of Vitamin C.” Keeping up Common side effects of illnesses among college students include absences and stress, Joe Abhold, dean of students, said.

Abhold said the first thing students should do if they’re going to be out sick is contact their professor, honestly explain their situation and work toward possible solutions.

While the university absence policy excuses “illness, injury, or emergency of such severity as to prevent the student from being able to attend class,” Abhold said there is something missing from the list of excused absences which concerns him: mental health situations.

While the Dean of Students Office isn’t directly involved in excusing student absences related to illness or otherwise, students often approach Abhold’s office when they are feeling over-

said there has been a recommendation by a task force formed to look at enrollment.

Wrasse said the task force recommended increasing enrollment by about 500 students in coming years by changing policies and looking at how students are attracted to the university.

The report examines ways to gather more transfer students, retain the students currently at the university and expand the recruitment area.

The recommendation does not include changing the required ACT scores for incoming freshman.

“Which is fairly ambitious,” Wrasse said.

“We are anticipating that our enrollment will naturally decline, so we’ll lose about 280, but we’ll want to gain all those back plus another 250.”

The report is available to students and the public on the chancellor office’s website.

Olson can be reached at olsongp@uwec.edu or @GlenPOlson.

whelmed. school, crunching leaves and flu “Sometimes people skip class and cold season. For Gail Bailey to do something fun, sometimes it is also marked with a reminder it’s because they had too much of intense emotional turmoil. fun the night before but some“The fall is always a really times it’s because they are feelhard time because everything ing anxious and overwhelmed,” comes to the surface,” Bailey Abhold said. said. “It was just a horrible time.

Abhold encourages students It has been about 12 years and to go to class even if they are feelwe are coping better than we did ing overwhelmed, noting honest at first. When you are in college communication with professors you get so run down, you have to is important. take care of yourselves.”

“Absences are a big deal at UW-Eau Claire because there is a focus on attendance,” he said.

“I think it can be very helpful for students to think about the consequences of their absences.

It makes a headache to deal with absences when you’re actually Kueppers can be reached at sick.” kueppecm@uwec.edu or @cmkuepAutumn is marked by back to pers.

SHS provides immunizations and vaccines, including: – Hepatitis A and B – Tetanus / diphtheria (Tdap) – Influenza vaccine – Menangitis vaccine – HPV vaccine – PPD for tuberculosis testing – Allergy shots ordered by your allergist For appointments, call (715) 836-5360, and for more information, call (715) 836-4311.

NEWS EDITOR: Kristina Bornholtz

NEWS 3

Thursday, Oct. 2

In the name of safety

COMMUNITY CALENDAR NOTABLE EVENTS HAPPENING BOTH ON AND OFF CAMPUS

THURSDAY, OCT. 2

Police chief says arrests are made to reduce chance of harm in area

• 12 - 12:30 p.m. — McIntyre Library Tour, McIntyre Library • 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. — More Than Meets the Eyes, Phillips Planetarium

FRIDAY, OCT. 3

Nick Erickson At this point, it isn’t exactly breaking news. But the question as to why is always a timely discussion.

Two weeks ago, Rehabs.com published a report stating UW-Eau Claire ranked second in the nation for on-campus drug arrests, according to 2012 data. This data measured universities per 1,000 students.

Eau Claire was one of five schools in the UW System to rank in the top 50 of the report.

David Sprick, chief officer of the University Police Department, said it is important to note the report from the U.S. Department of Education includes both criminal arrests and ticket citations. He said of the 160 people cited, only 21 were criminal, and including both types of citations skews the statistics.

He also noted how the statistics don’t really differentiate between types of drugs.

While many of the citations were from marijuana use, he said this too skews the statistics because recreational use of marijuana is legal in a couple of states.

Yet, these statistics do exist, which raises the question of police involvement on Eau Claire’s campus, community and region.

In 2009, the city of Eau Claire drew another top-10 national ranking for safest places to live. According to a report from Farmer’s Insurance in December of that year, the city ranked ninth in this category.

Sprick said the university and region holds a high standard, and citizens and students are quick to report something that would prevent criminal activity.

“Our philosophy, our approach is that hopefully by tempering some of this illegal Rachael Berard Freshman Undeclared

3:00 p.m.- 5 p.m. — Women’s Tennis vs. Stevens Point, McPhee Center 7:30 p.m. - 9 p.m. — Varsity Night Live, Zorn Arena

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EDITOR IN CHIEF

•

• •

SATURDAY, OCT. 4

11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. — UWEC Homecoming Huddle, Owen Park 2:30 - 5:30 p.m. — Football: Blugolds vs.

UW-Platteville, Carson Park

SUNDAY, OCT. 5 COURTNEY ROSZAK / The Spectator

KEEPING ORDER: UW-Eau Claire ranked second in the nation for on-campus drug arrests. University Police Department Chief Officer David Sprick said it is a result of attempting to keep campus safer.

drug activity throughout the whole region, it makes our county safer, our city safer and hopefully our university safer,” Sprick said.

He said more than half of the drug-related citations he and his department issue come from the residence halls, where SPRICK they are usually tipped off by someone else in the dorms. The other half, he said, come from vehicle stops or something of that nature where they smell an odor that leads them to believe drug paraphernalia could be present.

“It’s not as if our police officers were going through the halls and detecting this,” Sprick said. “We were responding to reports.”

Junior Taylor Gilbertson said he is somewhat surprised at how high Eau Claire ranked in drug arrests.

While he has never been arrested for

Allison Manson Junior Public relations

“Yes, I have never felt “Yes, the swipes in the threatened. I have class until dorms make me feel safe. I 9 p.m. and never feel unsafe struggle to get in sometimes walking home from it.” so I’m not worried about others getting in.”

Following last week’s practice run of the campus-wide emergency notification system Op/Ed Editor Jessie Tremmel asked students,

•

drugs, he said he believes police officers in the community and university are quicker to respond to students.

“Even walking down Water Street, you • feel sort of honed in on,” he said. “I think cops are definitely looking out for kids our • age and keeping an extra eye on us.”

Gilbertson, however, said he always feels fairly safe and comfortable in Eau • Claire.

• Sprick said he sees students arrested more because it is the first stage in their • lives when they become independent. However, he thinks Eau Claire students are vigilant and do a good job of alerting authority figures where suspicious activity lurks.

• “Our campus, collectively, tries to send messages relative to harm reduction, what- • ever it might be,” Sprick said. “(That’s) sort of our approach, I think.”

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

Andrew Rust Freshman Undeclared

“ Do you feel prepared for an emergency on campus?” “Yes, I have never had problems or been nervous. I got the text and the email.”

Gabrielle Rigden Freshman Chemistry and biology

8 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. — Festival Foods Farmers Market, Festival Foods parking lot 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. — The Foundry Sale, The Foundry

•

MONDAY, OCT. 6 4:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. — Authors Celebration 2014, Davies Center 6 p.m. & 8 p.m. — Loopy’s: Amp Quiz Trivia, Loopy’s, Chippewa Falls

TUESDAY, OCT. 7

10 a.m. - 1 p.m. — Benefits Fair, Davies Center 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. — National Student Exchange Info Meeting, Davies Center 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. — Gilligan’s: Amp trivia Quiz, Gilligan’s

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 8

2 - 5:30 p.m. — Study Abroad Fair, Ojibwe Ballroom, Davies Center 4 - 6 p.m. —Women’s Soccer vs. Luther College (Iowa), Bollinger Fields

Foster Gallery “Hell Is a Place We Make: Vision’s of Dante’s Inferno” 7:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. — Mon. - Wed. 6:00-8:00 p.m. — Thurs.

1 - 4:30 p.m. — Fri. - Sun. Runs from Oct. 2- Oct. 30 Haas Fine Arts Center

Have a fun and safe homecoming Blugolds!

“Yes, I haven’t had anything happen that would make me feel unsafe. I registered for text alerts after I got the email.”

NEWS

NEWS EDITOR: Kristina Bornholtz

4

Thursday, Oct. 2

Discussing the Future Chancellor James C. Schmidt sits down with students at Chancellor’s Roundtable

Sam Martinez STAFF WRITER

Although the table may have been rectangular, Chancellor James C. Schmidt fielded questions from students at this year’s first Chancellor’s Roundtable event in Davies Center.

The event, which was open to all students and university members, was a time for the chancellor and members of his executive staff to answer questions about university projects and initiatives. The focus in this chat was on the Menomonie Street event center.

The event center, which will be constructed on the land donated by the County Materials Corporation, will be the largest single gift in the history of UW-Eau Claire, with more than $10 million donated in land and money. When completed, the multi-purpose event center could seat between 8,000 to 10,000 people for Blugold basketball and volleyball games, graduation and other campus and community events.

Students were curious to learn more about the event center, asking questions about parking concerns and whether an off-campus arena would affect game attendance.

Eau Claire senior Brittney Gonzales was in attendance, and she said there were some points about the event center that she hadn’t heard of before.

“It was kind of new to me to hear some of the other things the chancellor talked about such as putting up hotels, restaurants, parking,” Gonzales said.

Schmidt said the university would like to see the site developed professionally to accommodate some businesses and their private money. He said this event center would need to hold many community events, in addition to university functions.

“We can’t build this events center just to be used by the university,” Schmidt said. “We can’t afford to operate it (by ourselves).”

When the issue of bike safety on campus came up, the discussion turned to a campus design that better supports bike traffic. Mike Rindo, assistant chancellor for facilities and university relations said sometime during the summer or fall of 2016 the aging utilities under Garfield Avenue will be replaced. This will be a rare opportunity for the university to redesign Garfield Avenue in a way that may be more conducive to heavier bike and pedestrian traffic.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to really take a serious look and make some major changes to the Garfield corridor,” Rindo said.

This project will have a $12.4 million budget, and the university will start the architecture and engineering firm selection process on October 22.

The next Chancellor’s Roundtable will be held on Nov. 19 in the chancellor’s room located on the third floor of Davies Center.

Martinez can be reached at martinsp@uwec.edu or @ smartinez102.

SAM MARTINEZ / The Spectator

KNIGHTS OF THE CHANCELLOR’S TABLE: The chancellor (far right) spoke to an audience of students and faculty about campus construction projects and bike safety.

INSPECTIONS from page 1 Third, and most common, the health department does yearly inspections of what are referred to in the housing code as rooming houses, which are properties with five or more unrelated tenants, through their rooming house program.

“If you’re in a rooming house and the landlord shows up with the health department, that’s me,” Zurbuchen said.

“I’m writing down code violations that the landlord has responsibility to fix, and if there is things that are the responsibility of the tenant, such as cleaning or sanitation, those are brought to their attention as well.”

Zurbuchen said because of the yearly inspection, it is rare to find the larger issues, but because there are so many people living under one roof it generates maintenance issues.

The responsibility to notify the tenants that this will happen, however, is a communication responsibility on the part of the landlord, who can waive the right to a 24-hour notice.

Senior Robert Riley, whose home falls under the category of a rooming house, said his home was recently inspected twice.

The first time was to identify any problems and the second to make sure they were in compliance after being told of code violations.

He said the effort to fix it became contentious when they were accused by their landlord of causing the violations, which in addition to some related to cleanliness included

structural problems with stair railings.

“We got a letter, I guess, from our landlords telling us we were disrespecting property,” he said. “And then they said ‘if this doesn’t get fixed we’ll take you to small claims court.’”

Riley said his landlords had not informed him or his roommates about inspection requirements when he began renting.

The owners of the property, a Northwoods Equity Improvements LLC, could not be reached, but operate out of Humbird, an hour southeast of Eau Claire.

Zurbuchen said students can minimize the risk of violations of any type by being familiar with the housing code and the expectations for both tenants and landlords.

He said students can take some of the responsibility to further diminish any problems by “routine cleaning and maintenance, maybe doing a weekly survey of the residence to see that there isn’t a concern with extension cords, or fire hazards, that the exits are readily available...and concerns with sanitation are being addressed.”

The Housing Maintenance and Occupancy Code can be found in the health department’s area of the city of Eau Claire’s website.

Olson can be reached at olsongp@uwec.edu or @GlenPOlson.

ANNA MATTEFY / The Spectator

UNDER CLOSE INSPECTION: Editor In Chief Nick Erickson, Eric Anderson and Robby Riley live at a home that was inspected in early August. They and their three other roommates were threatened to be taken to small claims court.

NEWS EDITOR: Kristina Bornholtz ANNA MATEFFY/ The Spectator

HELPING HANDS: Tutor Josie Knauber, left, helps Emily Long with her homework in the Academic Skills Center, an area all students can go to receive tutoring and supplemental learning.

National Disability Awareness Month brings awareness to community STAFF WRITER

In October, UW-Eau Claire will hold two events recognizing students with disabilities on campus and in the community. October is Disability Awareness Month, and the Services

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Thursday, Oct. 2

Helping all students succeed

Nick Robinson

NEWS

for Students with Disabilities Office will hold a Recognition Awards Ceremony for faculty and staff as well as a forum in the middle of the month said Vicky Thomas, director of Services for Students with Disabilities.

For this event, students who have any kind of disability, but mostly those

who have dyslexia, nominate faculty and staff. A student on campus who has dyslexia, for example, can nominate a professor or any other staff member who has worked with them to be successful here on campus with their course work.

Dyslexia can be the reversal of

letters or numbers or an inability to recognize a symbol in the same way other people would recognize it. In one example, an individual reading might mistake a ‘P’ for an ‘R’ or a ‘B’ or some other letter in reverse, Thomas said.

For students who have dyslexia, the best solutions to this disability involve voice-over or voice-to-text technology. This technology includes symbols, letters and numbers for not just reading but also for specific subjects like math, Thomas said.

This ceremony is held every October to formally recognize faculty and staff who support and treat students with disabilities in an exceptional manner.

The second event, a forum, is hosted by Kathy Schneider, a former professor at Eau Claire. Schneider has a foundation with the university that sponsors one person every year, Thomas said. The Recognition Awards ceremony will take place this year on Oct. 14, and the forum will occur on Oct. 16.

For the staff and faculty recognition ceremony, the Services for Students with Disabilities Office coordinates the event. For the forum held on Oct. 16, the SSD Office coordinates it, along with the university foundation, Foundation Inc. and the College of Education, Thomas said.

National Disability Awareness Month brings awareness to the peo-

ple who are hard-working and highly capable individuals who contribute to the community and society on a dayto-day basis, Thomas said. Every year in October the president gives a proclamation to the audience recognizing National Disability Awareness Month, Thomas said.

This month also brings awareness to our campus, the faculty, staff and students by allowing them to realize there are students who have special needs who need a little extra help or some different kind of help, Thomas said. They call this awareness Universal Design, which is to present course topics in a variety of formats in ways to help not just one student learn, but all students.

It shows that October is an important month, said Dr. Audrey Robinson, the program director of the Academic Skills Center.

“Even if you have a disability, such as dyslexia, you are able to succeed here at UW-Eau Claire. We are here to support ways in which students can succeed given any disability,” Robinson said.

To read more about National Disability Awareness Month go to spectatornews.com

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SPORTS EDITOR: Ellis Williams

SPORTS

Thursday, Oct. 2

7

Game, set, match

Blugold women’s tennis captains use different strengths on and off the court to aid team it comes to the game of tennis, Gillman said one of the biggest aspects is communication.

This is something that Rossebo, the third captain, focuses on during the season.

Rossebo said she is known as the communication girl when it comes to working around issues with the girls or class obligations, which helps keep the coaching staff in the know.

Communication is also something the team tries to work on in practice,

GRAPHIC By JOSH THORSON/ The Spectator

really is our second family, so no matter how hard practice is, it’s always fun and a big stress reliever.”

Although the position as a team captain can be stressful at times for the girls, Johnson believes the benefits far outweigh the few drawbacks.

“The best part of being a captain is being able to lead the team and be role models for the younger girls as

“ With this group of girls, it’s hard to find anything that they just can’t handle....

They are always positive and look to help out others before themselves. ” TODD GILLMAN

Head women’s tennis coach

ANNA MATEFFY / The Spectator

THREE TO LEAD: The Blugold women’s tennis team’s three captains, Madison Rossebo, Renee Nelson and Maddie Johnson all lead in different ways, but their leadership skills complement each other so well that head coach Tom Gillman decided to name all three seniors captains this fall.

Trent Tetzlaff COPY EDITOR

One is the enforcer, one is the conditioner and the other is the communicator.

These are the three identities that the UW-Eau Claire women’s tennis captains go by, but more officially they are known as Maddie Johnson, Maddie Rossebo and Renee Nelson.

All seniors at Eau Claire this year, these three come to practice every day ready to not only improve themselves, but also to do their individual jobs as captains to better the team and the teammates they work with every day.

“With this group of girls it’s hard to find anything that they just can’t handle,” head coach Todd Gillman said. “They are always positive and look to help out others before themselves because they are already successful.”

Captains for the Blugold women’s tennis team are normally voted upon each year. However, Gillman made

the decision this season to make all three seniors captains.

Johnson, who Gillman described as “the bad guy,” or the “mother hen”, said she is in charge of making sure everyone is doing their job at practice, everything is staying on task and if there are any issues to bring it up to the coaching staff.

Nevertheless, besides working

hard at being on task in practice, the girls also continue to work on conditioning as well as having fun while practicing and playing. Nelson said.

“My job is conditioning, so I try to keep us in tip-top shape all year,” Nelson said. “But I also am the fun one.”

Although having fun with the game, working hard and staying on task are three important tasks when

they look up to us,” Johnson said. along with the physical aspects.

One may be the “bad guy”, while Johnson said they try to keep one is the conditioner and the other practices pretty straight forward and is the communicator. But when it all similar throughout the year to keep comes down to it, the Blugold womthe team working hard throughout en see themselves as family at heart the season. while striving to do their best on the A normal practice, Rossebo said, court while having a blast. consists of a warm up, forehand drills, volley work, drilling on five or six different drills. Then near the end of the session the girls finish with match play and conditioning.

Nelson said the Blugolds are an extremely close team, and even if the girls are stressed with the extra responsibility and school, being with the team can solve that.

“I think we are a super close-knit team, and we are all best friends out Tetzlaff can be reached at tetzlata@ uwec.edu or @ttetz5. on the court,” Nelson said. “The team

SPORTS SPORTS EDITOR: Ellis Williams

8

Thursday, Oct. 2

The end of a streak Women’s volleyball four-game winning streak gets snapped, look to rebound after back to back conference losses Austin Mai STAFF WRITER

Andrew Rust Golden Valley, Minn.

Men’s Tennis

Rust competed in the ITA Regional and Midwest open at Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) last weekend. In his singles bracket, Rust advanced to the semifinals, defeating five opponents in a row before losing to Christian Beck of St. Olaf (Minn.). In doubles action, Rust and sophomore Will Weyenberg made it to the bracket final before falling to a duo from Carleton College (Minn.).

Get to know Rust: Favorite place to eat in Davies: Erberts and Gerberts Favorite superhero: Batman What do you think of Myspace: Old and outdated Pump up song: “All of the Lights” by Kanye west

For head coach Kim Wudi, always believing the team can win and never losing focus is what it means to play Blugold volleyball.

For junior Jenna Smits, losing focus is why she believes the UW-Eau Claire volleyball team lost their match Saturday against UWLa Crosse 3-2.

The loss snapped a fourgame winning streak.

The Blugolds faced off against the Eagles on Saturday for what seemed like would be a win after two sets.

Eau Claire hit well and won the first two sets 25-20 and 25-11 while only committing a combined four errors compared to La Crosse’s 12.

For the remainder of the match, Eau Claire struggled to find the rhythm it had in the earlier sets and lost the next two sets 25-22 and 2519.

“We started to lose focus and our mental toughness,” Smits said. “We started to struggle as they put more and more pressure on us.”

Coach Wudi said her team had the mentality they could coast for the win after the second set and learned the hard way that being up 2-0 is not enough.

Pioneering a hopeful upset Football looks to slow down Platteville’s offense coming off a bye week Nick Erickson EDITOR IN CHIEF

Homecoming is always filled with a lot of energy and entertainment.

Expect nothing less Saturday at Carson Park as the high-flying offense from UW-Platteville comes to town to take on the Blugold football team.

For those who enjoy spending Saturdays sitting on the couch and watching college games on television from 11 a.m. to midnight, the Pioneers are Division III’s version of the Oregon Ducks.

In 2013, No. 13 Platteville was third in the country in terms of passing offense at 348.8 yards per game.

They also don’t huddle in order to run as many plays as possible.

A year ago, the Pioneers scored a 49-27 win against Eau Claire behind 442 yards through the air and seven passing touchdowns.

Even though he was second string a season ago, Platteville’s current starting quarterback Bryce Corrigan led the Pioneers to an 8-2 record in 2012.

Glaser knows he has his hands full with the potent offense.

“They’re going to spread you out, and try and get their athletes into space,” Glaser said. “They don’t really have a kink in their armor, so to say.”

But North Central (Ill.), which eliminated the Pioneers in the sec-

ond round of the NCAA tournament in 2013, found some kinks by holding them to just seven points on Sept. 20.

By watching the film, Glaser said North Central’s secondary ran a lot of different coverages to frustrate their passing game. But ultimately, he said it’s going to come down to fundamentals to keep Platteville’s down-field attack at bay.

“It’s going to come down to us doing a great job of tackling, and we’ve put a lot of emphasis on that this week,” he said.

The Eau Claire defense is coming off a rock-solid performance against Wheaton (Ill.) two weeks ago when it held the No. 19 Thunder to just 17 points.

The match came down to a tiebreaker set, only needing 15 points to take home the win. Eau Claire fought back and being down 14-9, came back to score four in a row before losing 15-13.

“La Crosse had nothing to lose,” Wudi said. “They outhustled and outworked us for three sets, and we couldn’t finish.”

Smits said they weren’t scoring as many points when they had the serve and had difficulty stopping the Eagle’s runs.

“La Crosse earned that win,” Wudi said.” “If we get in that situation again in a future match we must respond differently.”

The La Crosse match was not the first of the weekend, as the Blugolds opened conference play at UW- Superior the night before. Eau Claire gymnasium with its first conference win of the season going 3-0.

While the box score read much closer, the Blugolds hit effectively against the Yellowjackets and pressured them into hitting percentages of .000, .022 and .024.

Smits said Friday’s match wasn’t their best, but they were able to adjust to the opposing offense and made plays on their side of the net.

And coming off a bye week, the injury-ridden Bugold offense looks to gain some key components back and rebound after being shutout by Wheaton.

Junior wide receiver Chris Cummings said the offense will stick to the same approach it always does. which is all about grinding the opponent.

“We go out and get what the defense gives up,” Cummings said.

The Pioneers’ athleticism doesn’t end on the offensive side of the football as their defense makes its plays by flying around the field and creating turnovers.

Cummings said the Blugolds are prepared for what is sure to be an exhausting contest because of the practice structure they have.

Eau Claire practices in the mornings from 5:55 a.m. to 7:15 a.m., so the short time they have on the field is much more intense than it would be with a longer practice.

“We try to go every practice at

“We missed quite a bit of serves giving them free points, so we had to work even harder to earn those points back,” Smits said. “We did a great job of stay composed and fighting for each point to win.”

Despite the loss to La Crosse, senior Alexis Wong played at a high level over the weekend. She led the team with a total of 27 kills, including a career-high 16 kills against the Eagles.

Wudi said she has been impressed with Wong’s play and her additional time in both the gym and in practice.

“She struggled at the beginning of the season,” Wudi said. “She worked really hard to make adjustments ,and you’re seeing the results now.”

Wudi said the team expected strong play from Wong this season, and it’s rewarding to not only her but the team to see Wong reach the goals she had set for herself.

To read more about last nights volleyball game go to spectatornews.com

game speed, it’s really high-energy,” Cummings said.

“The most important thing we have been working on is conditioning and pursuit drills.”

The Blugolds will need every bit of that energy to keep pace with CUMMINGS Platteville. But after spurts of sticking with three other nationally ranked teams in the non-conference slate, Glaser expects his team to give a full-game effort for Homecoming Saturday.

“It’s important we come out and play our type of football for four quarters,” he said.

Kick off is set for 2:30 p.m at Carson Park

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

SPORTS EDITOR: Ellis Williams

Thursday, Oct. 2

SPORTS 9

Finding new life in the fall Blugold men’s golf team’s third-place finish has them filled with confidence as they prepare to wrap its fall season with a trip to Florida in two weeks Ellis Williams SPORTS EDITOR

A few times a year, a team comes to a critical junction in its season where they either grow as a unit or take a step back. The UW-Eau Claire men’s golf team arrived at their crossroads this past weekend.

Head coach Mike Greer said initially it looked as if the Blugolds mediocre play was set to continue.

After their first day at the Gustavus Adolphus College Twin Cities Classic, Eau Claire was in 11th place, middle of the pack and still unsure of how to turn their game around.

In hopes of salvaging what was

still a long weekend ahead, Greer gathered his golfers for a word.

“We had a really good team meeting the evening before the second round, and we readjusted our mindsets and focused on being patient,” Greer said.

After two weeks of what Greer called “disappointing golf” the Blugolds captured their opportunity to flip their season around by finishing in third place out of 19 teams.

Eau Claire moved up two positions to ninth after day two and then catapulted up the ranks in day three.

The six-spot jump was the Blugolds largest one-day improvement of the year.

It would have been easy for any team to throw in the towel with the way the season has gone, but Greer said he was excited and proud of the demeanor they showed the final two days.

“This is a real resilient group,” Greer said. “I think they took to heart what we talked about going into the second and third rounds.”

Some things do not need to be said in order to be felt, and Greer said he sensed the importance of this past weekend, and he could tell his golfers did as well.

Sophomore Brady Hanson, who shot a 226, which tied him for 21st, said he and his teammates realized

SUBMITTED

CALM, COOL AND COLLECTED: Sophomore Brady Hanson and the men’s golf team found their stroke this weekend. After two weeks of struggling, the Blugolds are in position to show the nation why they deserve a national tournament bid this spring.

they needed to start having fun playing golf again, and if they did that, the scores would take care of themselves.

A recipe for some fun proved to

be exactly what the Blugolds needed, and newcomer Patrick Conroy led the way.

He finished with a 223, tying him for eighth. Despite being new to the collegiate golf scene, the young golfer has made an immediate impact.

“Patrick is a grinder,” Greer said.

“Regardless of what type of day he is having, he is going to battle until the last hole, and he has a spectacular short game.”

No coach expects their players to be perfect every rep, and Greer said at the end of the day, Conroy put together a solid score, and all he asks is that they stay mentally tough even when they are not playing to the best of their abilities.

Eau Claire has this week off, but teams with national championship aspirations don’t rest long. Greer said the team will be working tirelessly toward its final fall tournament at the Golfweek Invitational in Sandestin, Fla. The confidence gained from the past weekend will help immensely heading into what Greer called a “top 20” tournament.

The field consists of the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) and Illinois Wesleyan. A top finish at a nationally recognized tournament like Golfweek will put the Blugolds in position to capture a NCAA tournament bid in the spring.

“We have some momentum coming off last weekend, and hopefully we can use that going into Florida,” Hanson said. “If we can play well there I can only imagine how much momentum we’ll have going into the spring.”

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

CURRENTS CURRENTS EDITOR: Katy Macek

Thursday, Oct. 2

Fact or fiction: You decide

10

Hollars’s reading gives plenty of room for audience participation

KRISTINA BORNHOLTZ / The Spectator

CHOOSE WISELY: Audience participants at B.J. Hollars’s reading of his new book were able to choose whether they believed his story was completely true or fiction.

Kristina Bornholtz NEWS EDITOR

For most book readings at McIntyre Library, Outreach Coordinator and Instruction Librarian Eric Jennings said he is happy with a turnout of 10 to 15 people. But for assistant professor of English B.J. Hollars’s readings, he expects to easily double that.

Wednesday night, 39 people came to McIntyre Library’s second floor to listen to Hollars read from his new book, “Dispatches from the Drownings: Reporting the Fiction of Nonfiction.” Though the weather outside was gloomy, the room buzzed with the excitement of Hollars’s friends and fans anticipating his arrival.

“I was thrilled with the turnout,” Hollars said. “There’s nothing better than the chance to share work with old friends while making new friends, too.”

This reading, however, was not like most readings. Hollars’s book features 75 factual accounts of drowning alongside 25 fictional accounts, never identifying in the text which are true or made up.

Jennings said Greg Kocken, head of special collections, university archives and records management, pitched an idea to allow the attendees to vote on whether they think the story is true or false by holding up paddles.

“I think the interactivity is going to be the coolest part about this event,” Jennings said. “I think for an author to get a really good reaction from a crowd is going to be really special for him, too.”

Hollars recounted the selection of dispatches one by one, paired with photographs by Charles Van Schaick. The accounts included a variety of characters – or real people – from disgruntled spouses to children at play. Hollars didn’t reveal if the reading was true or not. After each, the audience raised their paddles, casting their vote either way.

Hollars said he was excited about how the paddles connected the audience to the reading.

“I think the paddles were a hit,” he said. “The audience was quite diligent about their choices, and it helped reaffirm one of the book’s major points: that we always need to question the truth.”

Rob Reid, senior education studies lecturer, said he was intrigued at the concept of voting fact or fiction in front of the author himself.

“I’m into audience participation,” Reid said. “But I’d be here even if he droned on for two hours. I just think we’re lucky to have an author of his caliber associated with our campus.”

Several of Hollars’s students showed up to support their professor. Michael Vaughan, a student in one of Hollars’s writing workshops, said he also thinks Hollars is an asset to campus.

“He’s a great, great creative writing professor. He’s really good at getting everyone involved,” Vaughan said. “He’s the perfect workshop professor, I’d say.”

To open the reading, Hollars told the audience about a time he contributed to the falsification of a drowning.

“ I think the paddles were a hit ...

It helped reaffirm one of the book’s major points: that we always need to question the truth.”

B.J. HOLLARS

Assistant professor of English

In April 2013, a kayaker reported to the police that two canoeists were missing on the Chippewa River, according to WSAU. Hollars, who was researching this book at the time, thought he recalled seeing an empty red canoe on the Chippewa River around the time of the disappearance. He reported it to the police.

Days later, it came out that the disappearance of the canoeists was a hoax, and that the kayaker had made the situation up.

Hollars cited this as a perfect example of how sometimes hearing a story can make a person fabricate facts to go along with it, just as he did with the fabricated dispatches in his book.

Jennings said he believes this event was beneficial for the audience not only for the opportunity to enjoy the arts, but to learn from Hollars about how to make public speaking fun.

“If anyone wants to get a better understanding of public speaking, B.J. – having been to a couple of his events already – he’s great,” Jennings said. “It would give you an appreciation of what you can do. It doesn’t have to be a dry lecture. You can do things that make it interactive, make it interesting, make it fun for the audience.”

Bornholtz can be reached at bornhoke@uwec.edu or @kebornholtz.

From summer camp to the big stage The boys of the Coulee region play at The Cabin, album to drop later this month Meghan Hosely COPY EDITOR

With every strum, every head bob and every foot stomp, the energy coming from each instrument ricocheted to the back of The Cabin and all the way to the loft. For some people, it seemed impossible not to bob their heads, shake their legs or even strum their fingers along with the beat of the music.

Them Coulee Boys, a band comprised of four men, performed at The Cabin in Davies Center Saturday night.

Beau Janke, Jens Staff and Soren Staff formed the band about two years ago. The fourth member, Michael Aschbacher, joined in February, completing the staff.

Originally, Soren Staff and Janke found each other at a summer camp the summer after their freshman year of college, and the remaining two members came to work the next summer.

“That summer, we all kind of just jammed,” Soren Staff said. “We kind of formed out of jamming after all the kids left camp on a Friday. We were exhausted, but we’d just sit there and play.”

The band is named after the Coulee Region, which is where the band formed. Currently, the band has a seven-song EP titled Them Coulee Boys out.

Later this month, the band plans to release its first full-length album. The album, which is still unnamed, is set to have fourteen songs on it. Altogether,

the band took two weeks to record the album – one during spring break and one week this summer.

Although the genre of the band is bluegrass, many of the members came from different backgrounds of music. Some have classic rock backgrounds, and Soren Staff was a part of a punk rock band in high school. Soren Staff said there wasn’t a real reason why the band became a bluegrass one.

“I don’t think there was ever a decision,” he said.

“I mean it’s kind of like, here’s the song that came out of the instruments we play.”

Everyone agreed they’re an emotional bunch, but Janke noted emotions don’t run high as the men step on the stage to perform.

“When we play live, there are no problems whatsoever,” he said.

Them Coulee Boys are no strangers to the stage as they’ve performed in Milwaukee, Madison, Viroqua and around the Eau Claire area. The band likes to go out and have fun on stage, and appreciate every moment of it.

“We’re super appreciative of everyone who comes to these gigs,” Jens Staff said.

Their full-length album is set to release on Oct. 31. To find out more information about the band, find their Facebook page by searching Them Coulee Boys.

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

MEGHAN HOSELY / The Spectator

A MANDOLIN, BANJO, GUITAR AND BASS: Them Coulee Boys, made up of members Beau Janke, Jens Staff, Michael Aschbacher and Soren Staff performed original songs and cover songs Saturday night at The Cabin.

CURRENTS EDITOR: Katy Macek

ITSONUS.ORG

New campaign endorsed by the White House encourages safe campuses, UW-Eau Claire on board Courtney Roszak STAFF WRITER

From 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. to 105 Garfield Ave., our nation’s president started a discussion to end sexual assault at universities nationwide, including here on Wisconsin’s Most Beautiful Campus.

Two weeks ago, President Barack Obama has launched his “It’s On Us” movement, a campaign that encourages college campuses to combat against sexual assault.

The main focus of the movement is remembering this solution begins and ends with the entire university community.

UW-Eau Claire Dean of Students Joseph Abhold developed “You Matter” at UW-Oshkosh, where he previously worked.

The “You Matter” campaign was a bystander intervention program, ABHOLD which aimed to inform students that what they do matters and can make a difference. Abhold said he now hopes to put forth a similar plan into action at Eau Claire and is glad to see the White House pushing campus safety with the “It’s on Us” movement.

“The White House’s attention to sexual assault is something I really welcome.,” Abhold said. “I’m deeply concerned about sexual assault on college campuses, and its an epidemic to me that is completely unacceptable. I’m glad the White House is bringing this kind of attention to the matter and bringing resources to campuses.”

University Police Chief David Sprick said while the university

Thursday, Oct. 2 police force currently does not have plans to change the campus safety protocol because of the “It’s on Us” movement, it plans to continue to keep the university and students safe.

Sprick said — For more he keeps his team on fully briefed on bystander any potential asintervention see page 15. sault on campus on a weekly basis, while also getting updates from the Eau Claire community.

“I think there is a lot of effort the university community has been putting forth for sexual assaults and how to respond to sexual assault,” Sprick said.

From July 1, 2008, to June 31, 2013, there have been zero reported 1st degree or 3rd degree sexual assault cases, according to the campus crime statistics from the University Police Department.

From 2008 to 2013 there were a total of eight 4th degree cases reported. Fourteen cases were reported, but after investigation it was de-

“I think there is a lot of effort the university community has been putting forth for sexual assaults and how to respond to sexual assault.”

DAVID SPRICK

University Police Chief

termined there was not a sufficient amount of evidence, according to those same statistics.

“Sexual assault is an unreported crime,” Sprick said. “We don’t want to blame victims of sexual assault by saying, ‘oh you shouldn’t have worn that’ or ‘you shouldn’t have drank that much.’”

There have not been any cases of sexual assault reported to the University Police Department yet during this school year, Sprick said.

“It’s on Us” is a bystander intervention program focused on sexual assault, but Abhold said he hopes to use it in many situations.

This week Abhold has a meeting to start developing a plan for the university involving the bystander effect in all fields.

Associate Student Service Coordinator Chris Jorgenson made a bystander intervention plan for sexual assault, Abhold said. While the plan is still in the works, the committee

is prepared to look at Jorgenson’s bystander branding, and create a cohesive plan.

“The bystander intervention program is a really flexible tool that can be used in different situations,” Abhold said. “The White House is talking about it with sexual assault, but you can also use it for alcohol.”

The main focus with reporting

CURRENTS sexual assault is not blaming the victim, but helping the victim in any way possible, Sprick said.

Even though no cases of sexual assault have been reported this school year, and there are low numbers of reported cases in past years, Sprick said the University Police and dean of students office know it is still, occurring on campus.

11

“Sexual assault is a crime committed by opportunistic rapists, criminals,” Abhold said. “If someone is a victim of sexual assault I want them to know there are tons of resources on campus.”

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

CURRENTS CURRENTS EDITOR: Katy Macek

12

Thursday, Oct. 2

Student Shout Outs

Boys chase girls chase Bon Iver?

What is your favorite social media platform?

Twitter Courtney Lewis Freshman Biology

Singer/songwriter Ingrid Michaelson to perform in Zorn Arena this November Anna Mateffy PHOTO EDITOR

It isn’t often a Top 40 artist calls the University Activities Commission and requests to play a concert, but it’s just what Ingrid Michaelson did in the middle of August.

A month later, people lined up before sunrise to buy tickets for her Nov. 17 show at UW-Eau Claire.

Alyssa Sass, a senior chemistry major, is a dedicated fan of Michaelson’s indie-pop music.

She waited outside the ticket window at 5:45 a.m. to secure herself a seat.

“It was so worth it,” Sass said.

The UAC concert committee is excited about having a big name like Michaelson in Zorn Arena, the committee’s co-chair Carrie Biesinger said.

“We were actually contacted through Ingrid Michaelson,” Biesinger said. “She’s apparently a really big fan of Bon Iver and wants to play at Eau Claire.”

Michaelson got her start when she recorded her second ANDERSON

ANNA MATEFFY / The Spectator

LIGHTS OUT: Alyssa Sass, a senior and fan of Ingrid Michaelson, poses with the concert ticket she waited outside of Zorn Arena at 6 a.m. for.

album, Girls and Boys, and streamed it on Myspace in 2006. A “Grey’s Anatomy” music producer found her music, and soon the song “The Way I Am” hit 37 on the Billboard Hot 100. Since then, Michaelson has released four more albums under her Cabin 24 Records label.

She is known for her up-beat hits “Be OK,” “The Way I Am” and “You and I.” Sophomore Rebekah Anderson, an art education major, and a big fan of Michaelson’s engaging music.

“She really has her own sound.” Anderson said. “Her songs are fun and whimsical.”

The Staten Island singer/songwriter released her latest album, Lights Out, in April.

Facebook Sheikh Jammeh Junior Environmental science

Her last two albums come with slightly darker tones than her earlier, brighter works. The hit “Girls Chase Boys” sat at number 26 on Ryan Seacrest’s Top 40 on Monday, just under Coldplay’s “A Sky Full of Stars.”

According to the UAC website, the concert will be a “stripped down” version of the album.

Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. show on Nov. 17 are still on sale at the service desk for $15 for students and $25 for the general public.

Mateffy can be reached at mateffaf@uwec.edu or @AceMateffy.

Stepping into freedom’s footprints

Yik Yak Nick Strycharske Freshman Engineering Facebook Sara Starck Junior Health care administration

Students and staff prepare for Civil Rights Pilgrimage this winter and spring Meghan Hosely COPY EDITOR

What resident assistants started in Putnam Hall has grown to be a seemingly popular way for UW-Eau Claire students to spend winterim or spring break.

When the Civil Rights Pilgrimage started in 2008, 42 people went on one bus. Four of the nights were spent on the bus, one night in a resident hall and the rest in hotels. The trip cost $200 and was only offered as an alternative spring break.

Now, the Civil Rights Pilgrimage is offered for 10 days during winterim and nine days during spring break. The dates in winterim 2015 are Jan. 9-19, and the spring break trip is March 20-29, and each have nine stops on the trip.

Associate Dean of Students Jodi Thesing-Ritter said planning for the trips starts well before the academic school year starts. In fact, planning usually begins in May or April — only a month or two after the spring break trip.

“I have a team of eight coordinators who help plan every element of the trip,” Thesing-Ritter said. “And then I have a team of seven student researchers who will do faculty-student collaborative research on the learning that happens on the trip.”

Since the start of the school year, there have been weekly meetings between the coordinators and Thesing-Ritter. Among the eight coordinators, Karen Dominguez and Jack Junker help plan what students will do during the ten days.

“Each coordinator takes a leg of the trip,” Dominguez said. “So usually it’s two cities. I book … the things we go to, like museums. We call people, too.”

Junker and Dominguez are working together to plan JUNKER the portion of the

trip when students arrive in Selma, Ala., Gulfport, Miss., and New Orleans. Both students have been on the trip multiple times.

Junker said he likes planning because he likes watch- DOMINGUEZ ing people’s lives change.

“It’s definitely a lot of hard work,” Junker said. “But at the same time, very rewarding to think that college students … can help change people’s lives for the better, and open their eyes as well.”

Dominguez said she likes meeting new people and watching them feel the ‘aha’ moment.

“It’s amazing to realize and see that nothing’s really changed,” she said.

“There’s so much change that needs to happen … socially. Some people think that racism doesn’t exist, but it still does.”

In addition to the trip, students could opt to enroll in WMNS 222: Women and the Civil Rights Movement. The course is offered during winterim before and after the trip, and throughout second semester. In addition to earning three credits in the GE III category, students have an opportunity to gain 15 service learning hours with the course.

Dominguez said if anyone is on the fence about going, it’s best just to go and experience the trip.

“It’s super fun,” she said. “It’s worth the money, and you get to do so many things within the week’s time. You’ll meet so many people with the same interests as you. You’ll never regret it.”

Registration for the Civil Rights Pilgrimage starts this Monday. In order to secure a spot on either of the busses, a $75 deposit is required. Students can go to the Office of Multicultural Affairs in Centennial Hall 1106 to register.

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

Twitter Blake Nikolai Sophomore Kinesiology

Instagram Libby Onsrud Junior Kinesiology

OPINION / EDITORIAL

OP/ED EDITOR: Jessie Tremmel

Getting a green thumb

Discouraging the Vote STAFF WRITER

In early November of 2010, I remember a nervous, 18-year-old version of me reluctantly dragging myself down to the polls to exercise my right to vote for the very first time. Other than voting for prom court, I had never participated in organized democracy before, so I was anxious when I stepped into Davies Center to cast my ballot. I did end up voting that day, but looking back I can’t help but wonder what would have happened had I been set back because of my ID card.

Although it may seem a little pathetic, I believe that for a first time voter, going through the whole process of registering to vote can be irritating and confusing. Now, in this November 2014 election, the new voter ID law provides another hoop for many student voters to jump through. A hoop that may very well be the nail in the coffin for the voting ambitions of many UW-Eau Claire students.

Under new Wisconsin law, residents need a suitable Wisconsin ID to register to vote. Roughly a quarter of the Eau Claire student body is from Minnesota and does not carry Wisconsin driver’s licenses, according to the university Factbook. Minnesota driver’s licenses and standard Blugold cards are not acceptable forms of identification to vote in this election. However, Eau Claire students can receive free voter ID cards on the first floor of Davies Center.

Although I applaud the university for providing this service, I can’t help but speculate this service going underutilized.

The problem I have with the new voter ID law isn’t that it makes voting too difficult, because I don’t believe it does. I see the voter ID law as just another step that will dissuade reluctant voters from registering to vote.

I believe voting and not voting become habits. Eau Claire has plenty of students who will be eligible to vote for their first time this fall. The photo ID law could be just enough of a reason to keep them voting now, and maybe even in future elections.

There are students at Eau Claire who will be excited to vote and will not let this law be a bother at all, and there are students who will not be affected by

this law because they had no voting ambitions in the first place. But the students who will be affected are the ones who are hesitant to vote because they are nervous, uncertain or do not think their vote matters that much anyway.

This new legislation could be all the discouragement they need to become non-participants every November.

Since that fall four years ago, I have participated in every election cycle. I now consider myself to be an active member in American democracy. Although I hate to say it, if some silly law had deterred me from registering to vote back then, I may have gotten in the habit of neglecting my civic duty.

“This new legislation could be all the discouragement they need to become non-participants every November.”

Martinez is a senior journalism major and a staff writer at The Spectator. He can be reached at martinsp@uwec.edu or @smartinez201.

Kristina Bornholtz NEWS EDITOR

I come from a long line of farmers. My grandparents, their parents before them and their parents before them all lived and worked on farms. So, naturally, I should be born to grow plants – everything from a little basil plant in my kitchen to the flowerbeds in my backyard, right? Wrong.

I have never, not once in my entire life, been able to successfully keep a plant alive. I killed the bean plant required for my second grade science project before it even started to sprout. Those girls who can make bouquets of flowers last for weeks on end? I am not among them. My good intention is there, but I just don’t know what I’m doing.

I bought a cactus from Ikea last winter in a last ditch effort of keeping my agricultural roots alive. I named him Gerry and together, we flourished. I watered him every couple of weeks – or, in honesty, when I remembered to – and he added a pop of much needed greenery to my bedroom. He even survived the summer when I forgot to assign him a caretaker when I went to New York. It wasn’t until I burned a candle next to him that he wilted, shriveling up

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for a garden is a good start. Putting

Investing in a garden may be a much-needed responsibility

Voter ID law will deter student voting

Sam Martinez

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Thursday, Oct. 2

into a pathetic grey heap.

And so, in Gerry’s honor, I have resolved to develop a green thumb.

It sounds crazy at first, but I know I must have it in me. Farming used to be the foundation of not only my family, but society in general.

Maybe I don’t want to drop my journalism major in turn of agriculture, but I genuinely do want to learn how to be a successful gardener. I really think I, and maybe college students in general, can benefit from having their own garden.

I often hear my friends complaining about the price of produce, especially organic produce. A bunch of basil costs upwards of $2, whereas you can buy a pack of organic seeds for 99 cents online. For 99 cents and a little time spent reading about basil and its needs as a living organism, I can have fresh basil.

The same goes for fresh flowers come spring. If I do the research on how to plant bulbs and seeds before the frost, my back garden can be full of blooms by May. The only thing holding me back from that is myself.

I think growing a garden is a healthy investment in responsibility for a college student. Personally, I know I’m not ready yet to be responsible for another life in the form of a dog or a cat, but I think caring

your heart into growing something and reaping the rewards in the form of flowers and food is definitely good enough for me.

It may take a little extra time and effort, but I think learning how to grow a garden will be good for me.

I’ve already bookmarked several sites to get started on and made a list of the seeds I’m interested in ordering to start my garden. I’m hoping that come graduation I will have a flourishing garden to be proud of. And hopefully, Gerry the cactus would be proud.

Bornholtz is a senior journalism major and the news editor at The Spectator.

She can be reached at bornhoke@uwec. edu or @kebornholtz.

Fall/Winter Recreation Positions The City of Eau Claire Parks and Recreation Department is now hiring for the following part-time recreation positions (hours, pay rate and duties vary with position): Management Positions: Concession Director, Specialized Recreation Program Director, Aquatic Director.

General Positions: Head Swim Instructor, Lifeguard, Swim Instructor, Water Aerobics Instructor, Hoop Dreams Coordinator, Building Supervisor (Hobbs Ice Center), Ice Center Attendant (Hobbs Ice Center), Pickleball & Volleyball Gym Supervisor, Concession Worker (Hobbs Ice Center/Carson Park), Outdoor Skating Rink Coordinator, Outdoor Skating Rink Supervisor, Flag Football Coach/Leader, Gymnastics & Tumbling Coordinator, Gymnastics & Tumbling Instructor, Specialized Recreation Program Leader, Youth Tennis Coordinator, Youth Tennis Instructor, Parent’s Night Out Coordinator.

Volunteer Services Opportunities: Youth Hockey Coach, Specialized Recreation Activity Assistant.

Contractual Services Opportunities: Volleyball Referee (Women's and Co-ed Leagues), Volleyball Head Referee, Hockey Referee, Hockey Referee-in-Chief.

To Apply: For complete information regarding above positions, please visit our website at www.eauclairewi.gov/jobs.

Accepting online applications only.

Application Deadline: Applications will be accepted until positions are filled. Please apply early.

An Equal Opportunity Employer

OPINION / EDITORIAL OP/ED EDITOR: Jessie Tremmel

Thursday, Oct. 2

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OP/ED EDITOR: Jessie Tremmel

OPINION / EDITORIAL

What Would You Do? Obama launches Bystander Effect Movements Courtney Roszak STAFF WRITER

I sat in the living room of my family’s ranch-style house petting my dog while watching television with my parents. It was a normal Friday night and we decided to watch a new show on ABC called “What Would You Do?” I watched as a man, who was an actor, pretended to put a drug in a young woman’s drink, who was an actress. As I watched this show I saw numerous people see what was happening and just walk away. Every so ROSZAK often someone would come up to the couple and intervene. As I watched shocked, I asked myself, if I was a bystander in a situation like that, what would I do?

President Barack Obama recently launched two campaigns against sexual assault on college campuses. The “Not Alone” campaign is aimed at how to prevent sexual assault and respond

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Thursday, Oct. 2

to it at universities.

— For more The “It’s on Us” camon paign is aimed at enbystander couraging bystandintervention ers to take a stand. see page 11.

The overall goal of both movements is to keep college campuses safe from sexual assault.

There is a long list of topics we don’t like to discuss, whether it is sexual assault, drug use or alcohol poisoning.

Chances are we all will see something along these lines in our four years of college, something that isn’t right. But here’s the real question: will you stand out and confront the person by saying, “Stop, don’t do this,” or will you watch in silence thinking to yourself, “it does not affect me”?

Maybe in the exact moment it does not affect you, but think about if you were the one in his or her shoes; if you were a victim. Would you want someone to stand up for you? If it was your best friend, would you stand up for them?

Nobody wants to be that guy or girl who is the center of attention for stopping something. It can be very uncomfortable. However, nobody wants to be the one being drugged, or waking up in

the hospital from alcohol abuse or a victim of sexual assault.

It’s time we as students stand up for the rights and safety of others and ourselves on campus. To have each other’s backs, no matter the relationship we have together. While it starts with just one, it will take the entire campus community to get the message loud and clear: We will not stand for people taking advantage of others for their personal benefits. We will stand together and keep our community safe and our voices loud.

The truth is at first thought, watching an uncomfortable scene play out may not affect us, but in reality it does. The bystander effect calls on you to stand up for everyone, everywhere, no matter the benefit. It calls on you to be brave and for one minute not worry what others think. If you can stop one sexual assault by speaking out, think of the life you may save.

So next time you see something that may not seem right, stop and ask yourself, what am I going to do about this and what could happen if I don’t do anything and walk away? It’s on us, and if we’re in this together, we’re not alone.

Roszak is a sophomore journalism major and a staff writer at The Spectator.

She can be reached at RoszakCM@

Several groups, including Raise Wisconsin and Wisconsin Jobs Now, have banded together to file a complaint that calls on Gov. Scott Walker’s administration to raise the state’s minimum wage to a “living wage.” The groups are taking advantage of Chapter 104 of the state statutes, which are about the minimum wage law, and hoping to force Walker’s signature.

Peter Rickman, campaign manager for Raise Wisconsin, said, according to WQOW, “After filing this complaint today, he has 20 days to take appropriate action and to raise Wisconsin’s minimum wage to a living wage.”

Members of The Spectator Editorial Board agree that the current minimum wage is not enough to support a person that is working full-time.

One member said there is no correlation between the economy and the minimum wage.

Another member said the current minimum wage is proven to not be enough and the difference amplifies the separation between the rich and the poor.

“We need to not let this gap get any

bigger,” they said.

One member said a recent study found it costs $250,000 to raise a child.

“If you are working 40 hours a week you should be able to support a family,” they said. “That’s on the government.”

Multiple members said minimum wage is forcing parents to work multiple jobs, leaving children home alone to be raised by someone else.

“We are going to have a whole generation of kids who raised without parents around,” one member said.

“It’s a vicious cycle,” another member said. “The cost of living is going to go up but the economy needs to catch up.”

One member said the low minimum wage negatively affects college students. A student may be working several jobs to try to cover rent, tuition and food bills, and may fall behind in coursework.

The staff editorial reflects the majority opinion of the Editorial Board and is written by the Op/Ed Editor.

Columns, cartoons and letters are the opinion of the author/artist and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Spectator as a whole.

To read more about our minimum wage debate go to spectatornews.com

STUDENT LIFE

STUDENT LIFE EDITOR: Katy Macek

Thursday, Oct. 2

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Bringing the darkness to light Film festival addresses issues in the LGBTQ community, draws record crowd Katy Macek

CURRENTS EDITOR The 205 seats in the Davies Center Woodland Theater were filled, and 50 more people found seating on the floor and stairs Sept. 24 at the opening of the Eau Queer Film Festival, co-executive director Pam Forman said. It was just under the limit of having to turn people away because of a fire hazard.

Students were there to see “Out in the Night,” a documentary by visiting filmmaker blair dorosh-walther that follows the New Jersey Four, a group of black females who served time for defending their sexual orientation against a male assailant.

The story follows Renata Hill, who was also in attendance, and three others as well as their families as they struggle through the sentencing and serving prison time.

“It’s a beautiful thing to see so many people sitting on the floor,” dorosh-walther said to the crowd Wednesday. “I’m sorry for you, but thank you.”

Both dorosh-walther and Hill stayed after the screening to answer questions regarding the making of the film and the outcome of the NJ4.

Jerrika Christianson, a senior and this year’s EQFF director, said she was able to sit

KATY MACEK/ The Spectator

SETTLING IN: Students had to find seating on the floor of the Woodland Theater at the opening night of the Eau Queer Film Festival Wednesday after all the seats quickly filled up.

down next to Hill for dinner one evening and felt overwhelmed with her presence.

“It’s really sad and a hard life and it made me check my own privilege,” Christianson said. “It was a very great experience for me, I needed that, and hopefully the students got the same thing out of it.”

Bringing both a filmmaker and guest star to the opening was something they hadn’t planned and had to find additional funding for, Christianson said, but it was worthwhile.

Forman, co-founder of the festival and an associate professor of sociology, said opening night was an amazing experience for themselves and the audience.

The film festival ran Sept. 24-28 at the Woodland Theater, screening a total of 14 films, one more than the previous year.

Though expectations were high, the film festival staffers were pleased at the turnout for the screening of 14 films in five days and hope to overcome challenges to continue the festival in the future.

Ellen Mahaffy, co-executive director, co-founder of the festival and an associate professor in the department of communications and journalism, said she was happy with the numbers even though her heart had been set on more.

“I basically wanted to sell out every performance at 2,600,” Mahaffy said. “In reality, we actually did better than we have in the previous four years with attendance of 1,100 and 14 screenings.”

They hope to get many students and community members to attend the event, to get them thinking about ideas they might not encounter in everyday life, she said.

“Our expectations are to get numbers and expose as many people we can to LGBTQ films … but also to be a space in which we can educate and share that we are like everybody else,” she said. “We have the same trials and tribulations, so in a way this was a way to open some people’s minds about who LGBTQ people are.”

Rose Mish, a senior who attended the festival in previous years, decided to get more involved this year by applying for a position on staff.

As traffic director, Mish said her responsibilities included anything from managing incoming films for the festival and checking disks to helping out with public relations and advertising.

“Our goals were definitely to have a higher attendance than last year’s and to reach out to a larger group of people,” she said. “We’ve always been trying to include more community members, get more community members to come.”

KATY MACEK / The Spectator

A ROUND OF APPLAUSE: Co-executive directors Ellen Mahaffy and Pam Forman introduce filmmaker blair dorosh-walther and guest star Renata Hill before the screening of dorosh-walther’s documentary “Out in the Night.”

When choosing films, Mish said it’s important that they show a variety of stories from a variety of angles to give the audience a more complete understanding of the LGBTQ community.

“One might be a coming-out story, one might be a story about loss,” she said. “There’s all sorts of different types of stories we want to tell just to break the stereotype of what it means to be one kind of person.”

While she enjoyed working on staff this year, she said her favorite part still involved watching the films.

“That’s always the best FORMAN part, in my opinion, of the actual festival is sitting in and hearing the audience’s reactions to the films,” she said.

Christianson, who was traffic director for the festival last year, also said the audience was very receptive to the films.

Audience members were happy to be there, but became emotional along with the films that were screening, Christianson said, noting that she saw several crying or becoming angry after certain films.

“It opens something up inside of you, this festival does,” she said. “Maybe it’s not just Eau Queer, but I think LGBTQ festivals do this for people, it opens something inside of them that’s really good, something that they

need to be faced with and explore.”

Forman said she hopes they will be able to continue bringing special guests to the festival, but right now they don’t even know if they will have funding to bring the film festival back next year.

The festival had been funded by the Blugold Commitment, Forman said, but the last two years have been just barely covered by a Blugold Continuation Grant they’ll have to reapply for.

And because they aren’t an official student organization, she said finding times and places to meet is really difficult because they don’t have a space of their own.

“It’s all up in the air. We figure it out from day to day,” she said. “That’s not the best scenario to keep an organization going.”

They also have to wait until they find out if they’ll have funding, which they didn’t know until April this year, to start the planning process. This means they spend about six months waiting around.

Christianson, who will be graduating in December, said she hopes they are able to find funding so the festival can continue to educate students and community members for years to come.

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