Thursday, April 8, 2010 - The Daily Cardinal

Columnist Jamie Stark criticizes practicality of ASM slates OPINION

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Charter Street Heating Plant plan initially approved

By Taylor Curley The Daily Cardinal

The Urban Design Committee granted initial approval of the Charter Street Heating Plant upgrades on Wednesday. The project includes demolishing the current coal-burning Charter Street Heating Plant and replacing it with an environmentally friendly biomass plant.

The initial proposal passed unanimously by the committee members and the site is set to undergo construction this summer, if approved

The Daily Cardinal

The Madison Housing Committee discussed a proposal to push back lease renewal signing for rental properties at its meeting Wednesday night.

The ordinance currently states that the landlord may not enter into a new lease for the property until Nov. 15, after one fourth of the lease period has passed. The proposal presented at the meeting would push that deadline back to Feb. 15.

The proposal presented at the meeting was previously approved by the Housing Subcommittee.

Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, sponsored the ordinance and said

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dailycardinal.com

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Bound to be a good deal

by the city council.

“This project will stimulate not only a biomass industry in Madison, but will also transfer it throughout the state,” UW-Madison Associate Vice Chancellor of Facilities Planning and Management Alan Fish said.

“Transparency is a large part of our design,” Robert Mangas, an agent of the proposal and representative for Potter-Lawson Architects, said.

“We are trying a new concept of charter page 3

City committee reviews ordinance on lease dates

By Maggie DeGroot

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the changes will “create a much more stable rental base.” Maniaci said education about housing still needs to be improved.

“The goal was to find a date where the renters have good time to understand and objectively evaluate the unit and whether they’d like to rent,” Maniaci said.

Sam Polstein, representing the Associated Students of Madison, said the ordinance amendment would give students valuable time needed to make an informed housing search.

Alexandra Perraud, a freshman at UW-Madison, spoke about her probhousing page 3

Ben Pierson/the daily cardinal

Memorial Library hosted Wisconsin’s largest book sale in Room 116 Wednesday. The sale continues through Saturday with items ranging from history to science books, videos, CDs, DVDs and more.

Commerce Secretary resigns, possibly running for GOP U.S. Senate nomination

By Alison Dirr The Daily Cardinal

Wisconsin Department of Commerce Secretary Dick Leinenkugel will leave his post Friday to pursue another course.

“I am privileged to have led Wisconsin’s Department of Commerce over the past 18 months,” Leinenkugel said in a statement. “I want to thank Governor Doyle for this opportunity.”

Although he declined to elaborate further, some believe he is pursuing the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate race this fall. Leinenkugel said he would reveal his plans in the next two to three weeks.

“I don’t think there’s anything magic about any timing,” he said. “[I left at this point because] I wanted to

make sure there was proper turnover prior to me moving on to what I’m going to be doing next.”

Graeme Zielinski, Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson, said Leinenkugel worked closely with Gov. Jim Doyle on the budget during his time in office.

“Secretary Leinenkugel worked very hard to see stimulus and recovery act money spent here in Wisconsin to help preserve and save jobs,” Zielinski said. “He was a very close partner and good friend of Gov. Doyle in this effort.”

If he entered the Senate race, Leinenkugel may compete for the nomination against former Wisconsin governor and national health secretary Tommy Thompson, who is debating whether to run.

Developer Terrence Wall and busi-

nessman David Westlake have already announced their candidacies.

Trevor Miller, Senate Committee spokesperson for Russ Feingold, D-Wisc., said in an e-mail that the Republican Party will engage in an “intramural” fight in the coming months that is likely to produce deep divisions within the party.

“In the meantime the Feingold campaign will continue to build a strong grassroots campaign in every Wisconsin community with unified support from Democrats and strong appeal to independents and conservatives,” Miller said.

Kristin Ruesch, spokesperson for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said all potential GOP nominees bring a different point of view that will lead to “vibrant discussion” throughout the party.

Doyle creates Office of Health Care Reform after fed bill

By Ariel Shapiro The Daily Cardinal

Nelson Cho/the daily cardinal

UW-Madison freshman Alexandra Perraud argued for the changing of the rental ordinance in favor of lengthening the lease period.

Gov. Jim Doyle announced the creation of a Wisconsin Office of Health Care Reform at Meriter Hospital Wednesday, which he said will help facilitate the statewide implementation of the recent national healthcare bill.

“I am directing the office to develop a plan that uses national reform to build our successes, and ensure that Wisconsin residents and businesses realize the benefits that this reform makes possible,” Doyle said.

Doyle detailed the reforms that will take place this year, including prohibiting insurers from denying coverage to

children with pre-existing conditions, dropping someoneafter having gotten sick, and providing tax credits to small businesses to help provide health care for their employees.

“The tax credit, which is effective immediately, could cover up to 35 percent of the premiums that a small business pays to its workers,” Doyle said.

Although Doyle said he is optimistic about these reforms, Republican Party of Wisconsin Communications Director Kristin Ruesch said that “what we’re seeing here is more bureaucracy from Gov. Doyle on a bill that is questionably constitutional.”

Ruesch said Wisconsin has some of the highest-quality

health care in the country, but that Wisconsin would bear the financial burden for other states with greater health care troubles.

“What is in it for Wisconsin?”

Ruesch said of the national health-care bill. “Higher premiums and higher taxes.”

However, Doyle said Wisconsin’s superior health care is an advantage.

“Many states do face a lot of challenges. They do not have a BadgerCare program that covers the levels of people that we do,” he said. “We are ideally situated to continue to be a leader in the country.”

Doyle also said one of the doyle page 3

“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”

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An independent student newspaper, serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison community since 1892

TODAY: snowy hi 48º / lo 28º

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Jon wants asterisk-free trial from companies

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© 2010, The Daily Cardinal Media Corporation ISSN 0011-5398

JON SPIKE academic misjonduct

I

f there’s one thing I can’t stand in this world, it’s the completely misleading “deals” and “Savings!” from all sorts of companies and organizations hoping to dupe us all into literally buying into their scams. It seems like every amazing offer these days has some sort of catch, twist or horrific money-ejaculating pitfall attached that sours the deal in the end. Luckily, my hilarious, prize-winning column* this week will not disappoint. I’m bound and determined to point out all the tips and tricks to help college students catch when companies aren’t being completely honest and up front with you.** The biggest key is to contact the company and get the real scoop from an actual person. If you start a deal by throwing out your credit card information, handing money to a strange bearded man in a kiosk or mailing samples of your hair to an address in New Delhi, you have probably made a mistake. Call or e-mail the company to make sure you know what the costs will be. For instance, I recently used the “Chat with a service rep!” feature from a local cable company who I will allow to remain nameless.*** I found the Internet and cable package I desired from said company (which cost around $50), and proceeded to chat with their sales rep online. Here’s an approximate re-creation**** of our online chatlog: Me: Hi. I was wondering what the

If you long for the soda fountain, jukebox and drive-in theater, chances are one of the things you don’t miss is the beer that accompanies those “Happy Days” memories of the 1950s. That’s for good reason, too, as back then people were drinking limp-wristed swill to accompany their diner corn dogs and fries. But with their “Supper Club Lager,” Capital Brewery has joined the trend, and its results are not promising.

Supper Club’s bottle makes it look attractive, if a little hokey. Oldschool drug store lettering adds to the image of a classic car with typically large 1950s fins to tell you this beer is all about nostalgia.

Perhaps Capital Brewery is trying to downplay expectations with its label, which gives the beer such high praise as calling it “not bad.” Slow down, guys. Let’s not get carried away with the exaggerations!

Pour the beer and you can see why it inspired such a tame slogan.

The beer is crystal clear and golden, hardly a sign of great flavor and with little to separate it from macrobrews like Bud and Miller. Take a smell and, again, it’s unimpressive—sure, there are some sweet notes to appreciate in there, but other than that the beer is a whole lot of nothing.

The first sip does little to suppress those concerns. This beer is almost

A mi manera

not only lied to me about their prices, but also showed how aggressive they are in their sales approach. Not even the wives of company employees get deals!****** Another pitfall you must avoid like the plague are fine print or asterisks******* that companies love to use to hide the facts of certain “specials” or “promotions” they sport. Have you ever seen an ad such as this: GET YOUR FREE******** CAR INSIDE!!!! You look into the hole in the bathroom stall only to find that instead of a car, there’s a grizzled transient waiting to eat the soft parts of your face. However, if you had just read the details of the asterisk after the word “FREE,” you would’ve realized that “FREE” actually meant “cannibalistic transient.”

The same principles apply to small print. I once joined a cult that promised to give us immortality if we provided enough human sacrifices. However, I was disappointed to find out that the offer did not apply to those living in the lower 48 states. Of course, this was after I had conducted 15 human sacrifices, but that’s not important to this column.********* The best advice I can give you is to simply avoid anything that isn’t approved by me first.*********** You can’t really trust any company to be honest with you anymore because so many people fall into their traps every day. If possible, avoid all service-based expenses and fashion anything you need to survive out of your own bodily fluids and strands of your hair. It’s worked for me thus far.*********** *Column may not be hilarious or prize-winning. **Jon likely has no useful infor-

mation on any of these categories.

He also may not even have a high school diploma. ***This nameless company may have a name, and that name may likely be Charter. Also, if you are Charter and you are reading this, then this column is purely in jest and Jon is pleased with your customer service. Also, this is clearly someone using the pen name Jon Spike, and this is not actually the Jon Spike who signed up for your service. Good day. ****I wish I could say I made this part of the chat up. This happened.***** *****May not have happened. ******Wives of company employees may or may not get deals. Also, Jon may have imagined this online chat in a very vivid dream the other night. *******Just ignore the fact that Jon has used these same asterisks in his article. His are mainly for informational purposes. ********These asterisks are a placeholder for my above example. The car is not real. *********This is important. Jon has killed more than once. Am I the only one concerned about this?********** **********Just ignore this last comment. ***********Not actually a wise financial strategy. ************Jon fashioned this article out of a combination of his dandruff and braids of hair from various areas of his body.************* *************We won’t divulge which areas of his body. Sorry, ladies.

Think Jon could’ve included more asterisks in this column? Let him know at spike@wisc.edu.

entirely lacking in flavor. Maybe it is “not bad” in that you won’t cringe and put it down after trying it, but it’s certainly not good, as you would be hard-pressed to find anything resembling flavor in this brew.

Perhaps this is why Cap Brewery referenced the ’50s so much on the label: Anyone longing for the bland, flavorless beer of yesteryear is bound to love this lager.

To see just how bland Supper Club is, the Beer Board put it to the test in a blind taste test with Pabst Blue Ribbon. After pouring the beers into indistinguishable cups, the results were disappointing. The brews looked almost identical, and

it was the Pabst that seemed to have more flavor going on than the much more expensive microbrew.

We derive no satisfaction from poking fun at Capital Brewery, which is one of Wisconsin’s best beer makers. But when they bottle something with all the flavor of a macrobrew but the price tag of a micro, there’s something terribly wrong.

Best served: Ice cold, from a soda fountain Best enjoyed: fending off your mother’s advances in the back of a Delorean.

PECADOS QUE CUESTAN CAROS

U Corrections or clarifications?

Call The Daily Cardinal office at 608-262-8000 or send an e-mail to edit@dailycardinal.com.

total cost of your 16 mbps Internet and basic cable would be?

Sales Rep: I can get you that for the price of $59.99. Would you like me to place your order?

Me: Whoa, you’re moving a bit fast for me. Are you sure it’s $60? (At this point I’m literally looking at a page that shows this service for $49.99 on their site).

Sales Rep: That would be the price of our 5 mbps service and basic cable, sir.

Me: Oh, how silly of me.

Sales Rep: So should I set you up with the 16 mbps Internet and cable then?

Me: I should probably run this by my roommates. But I think you and I really bonded today.

Sales Rep: I agree! Are there any other questions I can help you with today?

Me: Is there a Mrs. Sales Rep In your life?

Sales Rep: Yes, but she is not available to chat.

Me: Well played, Mr. Sales Rep. I bet SHE doesn’t have to pay $60 for cable, am I right?

Sales Rep: No, she has to pay more...

Me: Whoa, trouble in paradise!

Why won’t Mr. Sales Rep give her the package for free, if you catch my innuendo there?

Sales Rep: It’s tough love in the Sales Rep household. Nothing in life is free.**** Me: You are a wise chatter, Mr. Sales Rep. I have learned much.

Sales Rep: So can I get you signed up for that package then?

Jon has left the chat .

As you may notice, the company

New Beer Thursday: Capital Brewery Supper Club Lager

CAITLIN GATH lady gagath

For the record

FRIDAY: sunny hi 59º / lo 39º

na persona puede aprender mucho cuando llega a una ciudad nueva. Este fue el caso para mí cuando llegué a la ciudad de Las Vegas, en Nevada, la semana pasada durante la vacaciones de primavera. Déjame decirte que esta ciudad puede ser un lugar intimidante.

El momento que yo di el primer paso para bajarme del avión, el aeropuerto ya olía a actitud tipo, “¡Si no está listo para cualquier cosa, probablemente vuelva a casa!” En realidad, esta actitud es parcialmente la verdad.

Sin City, aka Las Vegas, es una ciudad

muy intimidante. Pero en mi opinión, el nombre, Sin City, no es la mejor descripción. Es mejor decir que esta es la ciudad dónde te sale más caro el beber y comer y salir, y todavía mas si estás en un hotel de lujo.

El primer día que yo estuve en Las Vegas, fui a la piscina de mi hotel, el MGM Grand. La zona de la piscina tenía tres o cuatro piscinas y palmeras en todas partes. El cielo era de un color brillante de azul y no había una nube en ningún sitio. Todas las partes diferentes para describir un día perfecto, te las encuentras allá.

Pero, ¡espera! Recuerda que nada es perfecto. Cuando fui al bar para pedir una margarita de fresas, suponía que la bebida costaría no más que siete dólares, pero en la realidad, fue once dólares, ¡y la bebida no era ni grande!

Sí, el sabor fue lo mejor en una mar-

garita que yo he experimentado, ¡pero no por este precio!

Ahora, para todos en la audiencia, si ustedes piensan que este hecho y precio no es sorprendente, está bien, pero para mí, una estudiante de la universidad con sólo un trabajo de a media jornada, necesito que mis actividades divertidas, especialmente las de las vacaciones de primavera, sean relativamente económicas. Y esta infracción pequeña fue sólo el principio. Fue como si este viaje fuese una advertencia para el mundo real (que es muy próximo en el futuro) y que en diciembre cuando me gradúe, vaya a ser muy pobre.

Para el resto de mi viaje, fue una lucha decidiendo donde comer, beber y a veces, el que hacer. Es verdad que mis padres fueron muy simpáticos y me ofrecieron dinero para este viaje,

pero yo decidí que necesitaba pagar la excursión con sólo mi dinero. Y es que ese es mi problema—tenía que ser testaruda y pagar por todo, pero ¿por qué? Yo comí en Subway y Wendy’s cuando estuve en Las Vegas, y no en los restaurantes con nombres como “Trattoria Fiami” y “Pearl” porque el coste de vivir en Las Vegas y yo no nos ponemos de acuerdo.

Esta queja no es porque no tuviese ninguna diversión en Las Vegas— completamente lo contrario. Pero, escuchen todos: cuando sientan la necesidad de salir y viajar a la tierra de los pecados, ¡traigan bastante dinero! ¿Crees que ir a Las Vegas y comer en Wendy’s no está tan mal? ¿Te jugarías todo al Blackjack con tal de beber margaritas todo el día? Díselo a Caitlin enviándole un e-mail a gath@wisc.edu.

dailycardinal.com/news

Martin fosters connections, increases visibility in China

By Kelsey Gunderson The Daily Cardinal

Chancellor Biddy Martin returned to Madison last week after visiting China with hopes of increasing UW-Madison’s visibility with several Chinese universities.

Martin visited with officials at universities in four different Chinese cities and with several families of UW-Madison students and alumni.

According to Martin, the visit will allow for a more open exchange and partnerships between the two countries.

She said the Chinese people were friendly and helpful and she was able to form many key relationships with Chinese officials as well as UW-Madison alumni and students.

“The trip was moving because of the striking friendliness and help-

charter from page 1 showing as much equipment as possible; pedestrians will be able to see part of the conveyor inside the plant,” said Mangas.

Mangas detailed plans of implementing lights in the plant during nightfall. An iridescent lighting design is set to illuminate objects in the plant. Softly illuminated objects will glow throughout the plant and will be observable to traffic.

“This is different than anything we have ever done before,” said Fish.

fulness of the Chinese people with whom we interacted,” she said in a transcript of an interview. “It was an important trip because of what we learned, but also because of the contacts we made and the relationships we built or strengthened.”

Martin said UW-Madison already has a strong reputation in China, and said she believes it is important to build on this reputation.

“The future of U.S.-China relations depends on the relationships that young people build with one another and the quality of their collaborative efforts to solve the genuinely daunting problems of economic and environmental sustainability and peace,” she said.

Martin announced during her trip that several Chinese student-athletes

will live and study in Madison for six months as a part of a new partnership with Beijing University of Sport, according to press release.

The students are athletes in a variety of sports, including track, swimming, skiing and gymnastics.

Several of the athletes competed in and earned medals at the 2008 summer Olympics and 2010 winter Olympics.

The athletes are expected to arrive in Madison in June and will be enrolled in a program consisting of seminars focusing on English as a second language, physical education and Western history.

The program, the Wisconsin Institute for Global Leadership, was formed by UW-Madison Kinesiology Professor Li Li Ji in 2008.

“We want to celebrate the fact that this is a transitional building in the center of campus.”

Since it is a transitional process and the old building will be demolished, Fish said the builders will work in stages.

“We can’t just turn off the plant (and the University) while constructing the new one,” Fish said.

Mangas and Fish are currently working with prospective contractors about the issue while also trying to obtain permits from the Office of the Commissioner of Railroads and

Department of Transportation.

Committee member Jay Ferm suggested implementing an informational tour that would show the crops that actually go into the heating plant itself.

Committee member Mark Smith also recommended transforming the wall lining the bike path into an armature for all the art students on campus.

“Adding art on campus, while incorporating it into the new plant would be a great way to have synergy with the students,” Smith said.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

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St. Paul’s University Catholic Center proposes renovation St. Paul’s University Catholic Center is proposing a new 14story high building that would include a new chapel, student center and residency.

The current building would be demolished and the new building, which was originally proposed in 2007, would be constructed in its place.

According to Ald. Bryon Eagon, District 8, the plans are still in their initial stage and church officials have not yet submitted an official plan to any city committees.

doyle from page 1 long-term benefits for Wisconsin will be the creation of a healthinsurance exchange. He said the exchange would take the form of a “consumer friendly website” with

housing from page 1 lems finding housing at the meeting. “I was pressured by my peers that there would be very little good apartments still available for second semester.”

Perraud said she received multiple e-mails from property managers around Madison that pressured her to find housing before it was unavailable.

She said the pressure of rushing to figure out housing details was extremely

Eagon said the proposed building’s height would be a concern for city officials.

“With the character of the immediate surrounding buildings, their first draft images seem a bit out of context,” he said.

Eagon said, however, that he thinks the proposal is interesting and would like to see more development in the area.

“I think it’s an encouraging development, and hopefully some of the issues and concerns can be worked out so the redevelopment of that site can happen,” he said. “true apples to apples comparisons” of available insurance offers.

“The health care reform is real.

Millions of Americans and millions of Wisconsinites are immediately positively affected by this,” Zielinski said. stressful.

Jim Stopple, Madison Property Management owner, said he was concerned the committee’s solution would worsen the perceived problem.

Stopple said the lack of education about the rental process causes the problems, not the property managers.

“We have a monetary responsibility to our owners to do our best to regulate their property,” Stopple said.

The ordinance change was referred to a different meeting.

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dailycardinal.com/opinion

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Nat renovation not ideal, still necessary for campus progress

By Samantha Witthuhn THE DAILY CARDINAL

ALYSSA GEORGE/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO

Members of the MPOWER slate gather on Bascom Hill for a rally to kick off their campaigns for ASM. The slate encompasses 23 candidates for Student Council.

ASM slates detrimental to student gov’t process JAMIE STARK opinion columnist

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he Associated Students of Madison, UW’s student government, has its elections online next week, April 1214. On the ballot: most Student Council seats; spots on the Student Services Finance Committee, which allocates over $38 million in student segregated fees annually; and four referendum measures, including a plan to renovate the decrepit Natatorium.

Although it may not be obvious on the ballot, one monster is rearing its ugly head yet again this ASM election cycle—slates. Slates are ASM’s version of political parties, but they often last a year at most. FACES, a slate that fared well in Student Council elections last year, has all but imploded and been wiped from the campus consciousness. Some years, ASM goes without any slates.

Students represent students without the filter of politicized alliances.

Slates are legal in ASM, but wholly unnecessary. ASM is not Congress.

More influential governmental bodies are strictly non-partisan, including Madison Common Council and the Dane County Board.

This year, the only slate, MPOWER, has 23 students running for ASM leadership.

Overlooking the comical acronym, their broad platform is more than agreeable. According to the MPOWER website, “ASM should have inclusive representation, actively organize students on issues that affect them, and spend student fees on student services.” Good luck finding a Student Council candidate who will pub-

licly disagree with that phraseology. The gamut of ASM candidates shouldn’t forget that they agree more than they disagree.

Student Council is a time-devouring, frazzling experience for the average student as is. Representatives should spend time debating how to achieve the worthy goals of MPOWER, not dividing ASM into ultra-liberals and faux-libertarians before the next session begins. The problem does not lie with MPOWER in particular, but slates on principle.

Slates are ostentatious in a student government setting.

The introduction of one slate instantly splinters an organization that should be an amiable group of cooperating students.

Every year, ASMers walk a fine line between playing politics and exercising responsible student governance. Politically speaking, slates are a good idea. Slate announcements get front-page coverage and upwards of five comments in Madison’s bloated blogosphere. Slate leaders can use the bloc as a recruiting tool to nab candidates for every open seat. But when it comes to decisions made post-election, the important work of ASM, slates are detrimental.

The idea of grouping likeminded candidates together under an efficient banner makes sense, in theory. In practice, the basic functions of student government are bogged down by the political fires a slate introduces. Student government is local enough and important enough that students should be and can focus primarily on cooperation. We get enough

partisan politics at the state and national levels of government.

Student Council candidate Adam Johnson has used his position as the current Legislative Affairs committee chair to lobby for student issues on the city, state, even national levels.

He built up the Legislative Affairs committee from the shambles it was in when he took over, and maintains open communication through office hours and blogging—all without any association to a slate.

But by being outside of one slate, Johnson, and others, are often grouped into one faction—the “non-slate.” As was the case last year, the “non-slate” easily aligns with the incumbents, resulting in an awkward Old Guard vs. New Kids On The Block dichotomy.

Realistically, the organization shouldn’t draw much distinction between the two. Student Council representatives are constitutionally limited to two terms, and students have a high turnover rate by definition. The introduction of one slate instantly splinters an organization that should be an amiable group of cooperating students. It creates an expectation for predictable, partyline voting. That kind of politicization is pointless, particularly in a body that should be non-partisan.

But candidates are far more complex than the slate they join.

Freshman candidate Beth Huang, a liberal campus activist, has shown strong leadership qualities and a dedication to reasoned debate. She is proudly running with MPOWER, but her commitment to reason suggests she would vote her mind, not her slate’s, if elected.

ASM elections may not be as sexy as Barack Obama and Sarah Palin, but we have an obligation to take part in the organization that allocates our student segregated fees and deals with administration. UW is a community populated by students with our own representative government. Next Monday through Wednesday, vote online at www.asm.wisc.edu. Slate or no slate, remember these ASM hopefuls will be in charge of your student government. And your $38 million.

Jamie Stark is a sophomore majoring in journalism and political science. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

A constant countdown clock ticks away the time separating UWMadison students from Election Day on the NatUP 2010 website. Within a week the decision to give birth to a new and fresh member of the University of Wisconsin family of buildings rests in the hands of those attending it. Will you vote in favor of the NatUP proposal, or will you suck the life out of the futuristic drawings designed to give voters a sneak peek into the potential athletic facility to come? The decision depends on a few important factors; the most significant being the simple, campus-wide notion that an online referendum is taking place April 12 through the 14 regarding renovations to the Natatorium (the gym on that other end of campus used by those residing in Lakesnore).

I believe I speak for all University of Wisconsin-Madison students when I say that the Nat is no facility to be proud of. The equipment is old and the space is limited. While many may argue that Lakeshore students get enough work-out time traveling from dorm to class, the gymnasium still fails to provide spacious recreational, fitness and multiuse rooms desired by a large portion of students. There is no denying that a new facility would be an additional perk on campus, but do the costs exceed the benefits for those voting on its creation?

Unfortunately, this may be our only option for a much needed refurbished facility.

Through the past few weeks there has been much hype over what is to be expected from the Nat’s improvements. From indoor turf fields to spacious exercise rooms to areas designed for versatile use, the prospective Nat unarguably has a fresh style with a variety of amenities to offer students seeking fitness. The gym that is currently an afterthought to most students would soon gain more appreciation than the SERF if refurbished, yet this new haven for the healthy comes to a bit of an unfortunate halt when it comes to who is paying the bill.

While many students justifiably scoff at the additional $54.19 in seg fees per semester, those facing the

brunt of mounting tuition costs are this year’s freshmen. The fee does not go into effect until the fall of 2013, meaning the majority of students reading this article will pay virtually nothing toward the renovations.

Along with this is the fact that by the time the newly designed Nat opens its gates, most of us will have expired Wiscards leading to rejections as cold-hearted as the iron fists at Brothers.

Because the creation of an improved Nat has generally no effect on the majority of current UW-Madison students, we have an opportunity to look at its renovations objectively and critically. Before taking your vote to the polls, consider how the benefits and burdens of this new facility will affect Badgers to come. It is important to remember that the outcome of the poll will likely have no impact on those voting, so maintaining an objective mindset is vital.

Being one of the many students who aim to find time to work out, I believe an expansion of some sort is needed. There is no greater disappointment than finding the endurance to sweat through a workout, only to discover every machine taken.

Filling out that little clipboard is always a moment engulfed in distress.

Yet the renovations to the existing Nat may not seem worth the increasing tuition for students to come.

While the location of this new facility does not appear ideal for such a grandiose and expensive building, there are no other spaces available for this large of a project. If we are going to charge students for a new gymnasium, it should be in a location that suits the bulk of Badgers rather than in an area where individuals have to huff and puff to get to. This economic climate allows for financially friendly renovations, but it also makes paying continually raising tuition more strenuous for struggling students. After contributing to new buildings on campus left and right, we can all agree that it is time students get a break. Unfortunately, this may be our only option for a much-needed refurbished facility.

The new Natatorium might be a new facility for campus to be proud of, but is it really worth it? April 12 through the 14, students are given the chance to voice their opinion and will hopefully do so bearing in mind that the renovated Nat will most likely have no effect on them personally.

Samantha Witthuhn is a sophomore majoring in political science. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

Today in The Soapbox, The Daily Cardinal’s opinion blog, check out some reactions from the opinion team to the results of Tuesday’s County Board election.

Find this and other political commentary at www.dailycardinal.com and click on “The Soapbox”

arts ‘Star Wars’ comedy ideas ‘Strike Back’ dailycardinal.com/arts

MARK RIECHERS jumping the mark

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onday marked the announcement of yet another Star Wars TV series, which was met with much groaning from the world of entertainment journalism. I think that’s a shame, because it seems like many of them had sharpened their barbed headlines before really reading the good news in between the lines of the announcement.

The series is slated to be an animated comedy set in the Star Wars universe under the creative guidance of executive producers Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, creators of “Robot Chicken.” With these guys on board, this project has stellar nerd cred dripping all over it. We could potentially be looking at a weekly half-hour “Robot Chicken Star Wars Special” here, people!

Get excited!

That being said, it is possible that even the minds that brought us Admiral Ackbar Cereal could run dry on ideas of Star Wars parodies from time to time. In the spirit of goodwill toward the project, I humbly submit some suggestions for sitcom premises in the Star Wars universe that they can rip off in lieu of any better ideas:

Thursday, April 8, 2010

“How I Made the Deal to Get You Cloned” This series follows Jango Fett and his bounty hunter buddies in the days before Jango settled down to raise his future badass son, Boba Fett. The whole series is an elaborate explanation to young Boba of how he came to be conceived in a test tube, told in twenty minute vignettes in which Jango and his horny robot pal IG-88 go to Cloud City bars and try to score with alien women using outrageous schemes and bamboozles. Jason Segel stars as a Wookie.

string theory research that leads him to the Cloner home world, where his endless annoying inquisition of the facility results in him being dissected by the aliens for genetic material. They accidentally include his DNA in the latest batch of Clone soldiers shipped out to the frontlines of the Clone Wars, leading to an entire platoon of Sheldon Coopers being sent to the frontlines to annoy Jedis and droid

soldiers alike.

“Accidentally In the Belly of a Sarlacc” Jenna Elfman and the rest of the cast from CBS’s dreadful “Accidentally on Purpose” are digested slowly and painfully over the course of thousands of years in the belly of Jabba the Hutt’s prized beast/bounty hunter disposal unit. It would be a hell of a lot funnier than whatever

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the show is about now—Jenna Elfman can even still be pregnant for some reason. As long as she’s being digested, it’s golden.

Mark has officially expended his Star Wars nerd capital—all he’s got left is shouting “It’s a trap!” at people as they walk past his house at night, which doesn’t seem to go over well with passing squad cars. E-mail your much more clever Star Wars sitcom ideas to mriechers@wisc.edu.

“Forced Labor” A human teenager knocks up his Twi’lek girlfriend, and the pair fears that her Jedi father will swiftly slice the two of them into cauterized pieces with his light saber should he find out. Instead, the teens convince her dad that the child was conceived on midichlorians alone, leaving the two guiltless. This means they have to cook up all sorts of ways to make the new baby seem like the chosen savior of the Jedi, including faking force-choke on small animals, making things float with wires and claiming he built lame robots so he could have a friend.

“The Sheldon Company” Sheldon Cooper, from “The Big Bang Theory,” accidentally opens a wormhole during his

PHOTO COURTESY TBS

‘Robot Chicken’ may have been successfully hilarious in its one-episode spoof of the ‘Star Wars’ movies, but a whole series by the creators of the stop-animation hit ‘Chicken’ has potential to get stale.

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Awoooooooo!!! Say it ain’t so! Jack London’s “Call of the Wild” reportedly earned the author a single, flat-rate payment of only $2,000. dailycardinal.com/comics

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Gonna Make It Rain

Today’s Sudoku

Evil Bird

By Caitlin Kirihara kirihara@wisc.edu

© Puzzles by Pappocom

Ludicrous Linguistics

By Celia Donnelly donnelly.celia@gmail.com

Solution, tips and computer program available at www.sudoku.com.

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.

The Graph Giraffe Classic

By Yosef Lerner comics@dailycardinal.com

Today’s Crossword Puzzle

Crustaches

Charlie and Boomer

By Patrick Remington premington@dailycardinal.com

By Natasha Soglin soglin@wisc.edu

Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com BEST OF BREED

1 6 9 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 23 24 25 28 29 30 32 34 35 41 42 43 47 48 51

ACROSS Coconut oil source Fall back Cass Elliot was one of them Flu variety Longtime MGM icon Hemp plant Potpourri quality Society princess Drawn (in) Jalopy Some pintfuls Bearlike “Surfin’ ___” (Beach Boys hit) Possessed Org. that helps students Reporter’s book Material for Elvis’ blue shoes “Billion” suffix 1940 aerial war Fiend Far East weight units James who wrote “Rule, Britannia” P, to Plato A question of identity ___ and Swiss on rye

52 Nervous system disorder 54 Source of pressure 55 1978 Rolling Stones hit 58 Eniwetok is one 60 Answer to the pastor 61 Walk like a crab 62 Beauty parlor service 63 Modernist’s prefix 64 Title in Turkey (Var.) 65 Assaulted, in a way 66 Acquired 67 McDowall of “Planet of the Apes” 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

DOWN The Clash rocked it Apertures in a sponge Put (together), as a jigsaw Colonel, corporal, etc.

Pot grower?

Conquistador’s dream Complaints, in slang Reel for thread Rubber hammer Be up against?

Kangaroo pouches Card that’s taken

13 21 22 26 27 29 31 32 33 35 36 37 38 39 40 44 45 46 48 49 50 53 54 56 57 58 59

only by a trump Melancholy Private pupil Lennon’s wife Indian clothing wrap Yemeni city Afghan coin Has a repast Main part of a word Juvenile newt Neither’s opposite Turkish general (Var.) Slide instrument Sans shoes and socks What an injured player goes through Agency of the U.N. Climbed, as a mountain Open-mouthed exclamations Jotting down Hitched Was an obedient dog, in a way Having a mean streak Bronc-busting show Top-notch “If all ___ fails ...”

Software purchaser Noah’s craft Type of foil

Washington and the Bear

By Derek Sandberg kalarooka@gmail.com

sports

dailycardinal.com/sports

hockey from page 8 displayed by the football and basketball teams on campus.

It would take a good deal of work to get Jason Bohannon to even name the team Wisconsin would face two games down the road. They won’t talk about potential tournament seeding or even reference their chances at a Big Ten title before New Year’s (and usually after that as well).

The football team operates in a similar manner, playing down a squad’s potential and keeping perspective aimed almost solely on what’s just in front of them.

There is something almost bunkered-down about the approach. Both teams keep the profile low, don’t push up hype and seem to put themselves in a position to surprise more often than to disappoint.

History may be a factor in this as both were not traditionally strong and rose to their current place in the sports world on the strength of deliberate systems with little flash.

Indeed Badger sports are often

identified with slow, fundamental styles of play.

But then there’s that hockey team.

They boast the top talent and they gun for titles. The Badger men’s hockey team has six of them already and are just two games from a seventh.

Not to say the other teams don’t, but they won’t announce it.

They won’t declare that this squad or that squad has an unbelievably high ceiling.

[The football and basketball teams] shy away from the high expectations while the hockey program embraces them.

Bo Ryan and Bret Bielema will hold back when talking to the media, coyly hinting at their perspective team’s long-term outlooks and goals.

They shy away from the high expectations while the hockey program embraces them.

And there’s something refreshing in that.

Mike Eaves has been fielding championship questions since November, and he doesn’t seem to get irritated by it (Ryan and Bielema most likely would). His team knows how good it is and usually how good it should be.

After the victory over St. Cloud that sent Wisconsin to college hockey’s final four last weekend and Thursday’s matchup with the Rochester Institute of Technology, there was little surprise or amazement at having gotten there.

Instead there was a sense that they should be there, and should go further. They see winning the national title as the job, the goal and the logical conclusion to the season.

It’s an attitude that must be commended for standing out.

Now only two games separate the Badgers from finishing the job.

Time to get to work.

What do you think of the hockey team’s mentality? Do you think the players are too cocky or are they rightfully confident? Let Ben hear about it at breiner@wisc.edu.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

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dailycardinal.com/sports

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Men’s Hockey

Cinderella RIT aims to knock off Badgers

By Ben Breiner THE DAILY CARDINAL

It is a match up that simply begs for every clichéd underdog reference in the book.

A squad with little history in the sport, from a small tech school that cannot even offer academic scholarships faces off against a perennial superpower that routinely brings in the strongest recruits. RIT plays the little guy, Wisconsin plays goliath.

This is the setup as the Badgers start their Frozen Four run Thursday against the Tigers from Rochester. Wisconsin sits just two wins away from its seventh national title, and RIT is in the midst of a miracle run in their first postseason trip.

Even UW head coach Mike Eaves sees a bit of this big favorite vs. longshot angle in play.

“On their website, the first thing you read is the quote from ‘Hoosiers,’ ‘Lets win this one for all the little schools out here [that] never had a chance to get there,’” Eaves said. “So I mean, absolutely you’re going to play that card...

And on the inside you’re saying, ‘We’re going to fight like dogs.’”

That fight will start on the defensive end, where a Badger

attack, deep with scoring options and ranking near the top of the country statistically, will duel with one of the better defenses they have faced this season.

Senior goaltender Jared DeMichiel anchors the Tigers in their own zone, but the players in front of him execute their schemes well, allowing just over 26 shots per game. The end result: 2.03 goals allowed per game, second in the nation.

“They’re a very systematic team and they play really well,” junior defenseman Brendan Smith said.

“They’re really good in the defensive zone, and coaches and a lot of us have seen clips of them. They’re probably the best defensive team that we will see.”

The game will be played on a rink placed atop the turf of Detroit’s Ford Field, an experience somewhat akin to the game Wisconsin played in Camp Randall earlier this year.

With the big setting and importance of the moment, some of the Badgers have admitted they could be feeling some nerves early in the game.

“You’re gonna be nervous, that’s going to be normal though,” fresh-

man forward Craig Smith said.

“We’re playing on a pretty big stage, but you know it’s going to be exciting. I think that after you get the first shift out of the way and get everything going the game will take over.”

Nerves may have played a role in the Badgers’ slow start against Vermont in the tournament opener, but RIT will be put in a different spot, trying to retain momentum from wins that came two weeks ago.

They have already fought this far, beginning the tournament as the No. 15 team in a 16-team field and knocking off well-regarded Denver and New Hampshire teams.

Five years ago the Tigers were making their Division-I debut.

But the Badgers will not take RIT lightly.

“This team is a good team.

They’re an older team, they have a lot of Canadians and I know a lot of them and they’re great players,” Smith said. “I don’t think anybody on the team wants to look at them like that, and I don’t think we do. The biggest thing is we’re just going to not look past them and play them just like any other team.”

Badger hockey program sets bar high BEN BREINER boom goes the breinamite

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ess than an hour after the Badgers’ last game, senior forward Blake Geoffrion said something that set his team apart.

It was just a throw-in sentence, one that transitioned from looking back at the last game to looking forward, and made a pretty nice final sentence for more than a few stories. But just those five little words said so much more.

Geoffrion was asked what it

meant to get to the Frozen Four, and he answered with the usual points (incredible, referencing those who came before, four seasons of hard work). Just when he seemed done, he threw it in. “Job’s not done yet, though.”

The hockey team has said for most of the year that the national title is its top goal, flat-out. No qualifications, little doubt, no nothing.

And in Wisconsin sports that’s

an outlier.

The hockey team has said for most of the year that the national title is its top goal, flat-out. No qualifications, little doubt, no nothing. The coaches and players even went as far as describing the WCHA tournament title and regular season championship as “intermediate” goals.

Some would see it as insulting and pompous to call titles in arguably the best college hockey conference simply “intermediate.”

But that’s the way it works for these Badgers.

Compare that to the attitude hockey page 7

DANNY MARCHEWKA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Junior defenseman Brendan Smith and the Badgers are two wins away from their first national title since 2006.