University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Wednesday, November 19, 2014
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City Council disagrees on higher wages, budget issues By Dana Kampa THE DAILY CARDINAL
Mayor Paul Soglin said in a City Council meeting Tuesday that Madison is facing serious budgetary issues. “When I made the decision that I wanted to be mayor of this city, I was deeply concerned about the trends [of solvency, poverty and equity],” Soglin said. “When I got here, I found out the situation was far worse than I thought or understood.” City officials considered amending the operating budget to include higher city
worker wage increases. Soglin sponsored adjusting the pay increase for employees from 1.5 percent to 2 percent to move toward pay equity. General municipal employees, including Jeff Barrett, a city of Madison fleet services employee for 32 years, said they see inequity in city worker raises. “I feel my job has as much value as any other city employee, and I would like to see that value recognized,” Barrett said.
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UW alumnus Jason Cohen speaks to “Facing Fear” screening attendees at UW Hillel Tuesday.
Documentary director, subjects explore forgiveness through film By Bri Maas THE DAILY CARDINAL
Matthew Boger and Tim Zaal worked together for eight months before realizing they had drastically changed each other’s lives 26 years earlier. Boger and Zaal, subjects of the Academy Award-nominated documentary “Facing Fear,” visited campus Tuesday alongside UW-Madison alumnus and director Jason Cohen to screen and discuss the film’s themes of hatred and forgiveness with students and community members. As detailed by the documentary, Boger’s mother kicked him out of his home for being gay at age 13, forcing him to live on the streets of Hollywood. There, Zaal and a group of neo-Nazis attacked Boger, beating him nearly to death. Zaal’s boot, with razor blades glued to the toe, delivered the kick to Boger’s head that knocked him unconscious and made the
group believe he was dead. However, “Facing Fear” is not a film about violence. Zaal and Boger said they trusted Cohen to tell their story because he, unlike some other journalists, did not want to sensationalize the attack, instead focusing on their unlikely companionship. “The point of the film was to show the process of forgiveness,” Cohen said. Zaal explained Tuesday that, at the time, he used violence like a drug, needing to commit more aggressive hate crimes to experience a high. Eventually, the effects wore off and Zaal, realizing the horror of his crimes, decided to leave the white supremacist movement. Serendipitously, victim and offender met again decades later when both worked at the Museum of Tolerance. Before the duo could collaborate, however, they needed forgiveness. “I don’t know if I could forgive
someone the way he has been able to,” Zaal said. For Boger, the process of reconciliation helped him face judgment without letting it affect him. “I used to live my life worrying about what others thought of me, mainly my sexuality,” Boger said. “I was limiting my life by other people’s thoughts.” Boger said after letting go of that fear, he found a new “driving force” in volunteering at the museum and spreading messages about tolerance and forgiveness. The trio is working to bring the film to middle and high schools, where they hope it can teach students about conflict resolution and change behavioral education. “People who have lived through something have the unique opportunity, ability and responsibility to share that with others, especially if it helps create change,” Boger said.
State Street store robbed at gunpoint Tuesday Police are searching for the suspect behind an armed robbery of the Life is good store Tuesday night, according to a Madison Police Department incident report. The incident took place at 7:28 p.m., when the male suspect entered the store carrying a
DEJOPE RESIDENCE HALL
Columbus era comedy
UW-Madison Native November featured a scetch comedy group called the 1491s who brought their share of cynicism and satire. + Photo by Ben Golden
handgun and ordered the female clerk to the ground, according to the report. The victim was not injured during the incident. After taking an undisclosed amount of money, the suspect fled the scene in an unknown direction and still remains at large, Lt. Amy Schwartz wrote in
the report. The store clerk described the suspect as black with a chubby build, approximately 5 feet 7 inches and in his thirties. At the time of the incident, the suspect wore a dark coat, dark jeans and dark shoes, with a scarf covering his face.
Gov. Scott Walker says timeliness of Wisconsin’s budget passing will affect presidential run Gov. Scott Walker is considering a 2016 presidential run, according to the Associated Press. “My personal process is I have to feel like it’s a calling,” Walker said in an interview
with AP. “It’s not something you should yearn for.” Walker was recently reelected to a second term as governor, but he said it was “pretty obvious” he should con-
Watsky at Barrymore Pale kid continues to rap fast
template running for president if “the state’s performing at the best possible level.” “I spend a lot of time not just talking with people but praying about, thinking about with
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my family as well whether or not eventually that might be a call to run for the presidency,” Walker said. Right now, Walker said he is focused on implementing
Lucy’s journey
his second-term agenda and passing a new two-year state budget. Walker said the time needed to pass the budget will affect when he makes his decision.
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“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”