Fall 2012 Farewell - Monday, December 9, 2012 - The Daily Cardinal

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Complete campus coverage since 1892

l

dailycardinal.com

Fall Farewell Issue 2012

Graphic by Angel Lee

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

news

2 Fall Farewell Issue 2012

dailycardinal.com

l

Regents approve HR Redesign

By Taylor Harvey and Cheyenne Langkamp The Daily Cardinal

The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents approved Dec. 7 the Human Resources Redesign that has garnered both support and criticism from various stakeholders over the semester after a year of debate among the campus community regarding the plan’s details about university employee compensation and benefits.

The plan aims to improve university employee recruitment and retainment and to maintain University of Wisconsin-Madison’s reputation as a “world-class” institution in the face of declining state financial support by making

Graphic by Dylan Moriarty

Fiscal cliff could impact UW-Madison

By Cheyenne Langkamp The Daily Cardinal

The University of WisconsinMadison could receive over $55 million in cuts to research funding and student aid resources if Congress fails to reach a consensus on the fiscal cliff, according to a letter sent to Sen. Herb Kohl by UW System President Kevin Reilly and UW System chancellors.

Congress is currently trying to reach a compromise to address the country’s growing debt crisis. The “fiscal cliff” refers to the automatic increase in taxes Jan. 1 as a result of the expiration of Bush era tax cuts that will occur if Congress fails to reach an agreement on policy to raise government revenue. The cliff also includes across-the-board cuts to domestic discretionary spending.

In the letter, Reilly said Wisconsin’s universities could lose approximately $67 million over the next fiscal year if Congress is unable to reach a deal.

UW-Madison would take a majority of the hit with a proposed $55,228,075 in cuts to federal grants and contracts that fund research projects throughout campus.

According to Dan Uhlrich, Graduate School associate dean for research policy, UW-Madison’s research enterprise has a budget of approximately $1 billion dollars, with approximately $600 million of it coming from federal funds.

Uhlrich said UW-Madison always ranks within the top five research institutions for federal funding, so the fiscal cliff would likely affect the research funding if a compromise is not reached.

“We’re hoping that as things get closer and closer to the Jan. 1 deadline the picture will become clearer and clearer what may happen and hopefully we’ll start to get some

idea from funding agencies how they will handle things,” Uhlrich said. “We’re still a little ways out from that.”

As stated in Reilly’s letter, two programs that could experience cuts are the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, both of which provide research funding to UW System institutions.

Uhlrich said it is difficult to know how UW-Madison will be affected because there are multiple scenarios that could play out. Additionally every federal agency will deal with the cuts differently, so it is hard to make any exact predictions.

According to political science professor David Canon, both Republicans and Democrats have “dug in firmly” with their positions. President Barack Obama and Democrats want to raise revenues by increasing taxes on the wealthiest 2 percent of the population, while Republicans are proposing to close tax loopholes and limit tax deductions.

Canon said he believes the Republican proposed elimination of tax deductions for charitable contributions could have an even bigger impact on the university’s funding than reduced sources of research and aid funding. As state support for Wisconsin’s universities continues to decline, the university is becoming increasingly dependent on donations as a source of major funding.

According to the 2011-’12 Data Digest, 19 percent of the university’s funding in 2011-’12 came from charitable contributions.

“If that were to happen I think that would significantly affect contributions to UW and to other big public universities that rely on those contributions because it just wouldn’t be as

fiscal cliff page 4

changes to employee benefits, compensation and diversity efforts.

Officials began reconstructing the current HR plan after state government officials passed Act 32, which gave the UW System and UW-Madison the ability to establish their own HR systems separate from government influence.

The new plan defines academic staff as salaried positions unique to specialized higher education positions, such as lecturers. Conversely, classified staff, which are personnel the university has in common with other state agencies, would be renamed “university staff” and include all positions paid an hourly wage.

Classified staff would see the

largest changes with the implementation of the plan, including the addition of governance rights which will allow the group to formally express their concerns to administration.

Regent Gerald Whitburn, chair of the Business, Finance and Audit Committee that passed a resolution in support of the plan at a Regents committee meeting Dec. 6, said the new system acknowledges the important role played by classified staff.

“The over 1,200 men and women in this new workforce category make it possible for the smooth, safe and efficient operation of this facility and other facil-

hr redesign page 4

Alvarez talks Rose Bowl, Big Ten growth

By Cheyenne Langkamp The Daily Cardinal

University of WisconsinMadison Athletic Director Barry Alvarez spoke at Friday’s Athletic Board meeting, discussing the upcoming Rose Bowl and the future of the Big Ten. “I’m excited,” Alvarez said.

“There’s no experience like experiencing the Rose Bowl.”

Alvarez, recently announced as the Badger’s head coach in the 2013 Rose Bowl following the sudden departure of Bret

Bielema, said he is looking forward to the opportunity to coach at the famous bowl game once again.

“I was surprised when the captains called and asked if I would take the team,” Alvarez said. “I was honored and quite frankly thrilled.”

Board member Jack Edl thanked Alvarez for accepting the opportunity to coach the team.

“You’re giving us a gift we never thought we would have and that’s seeing you back on

the sidelines,” Edl said. “You’re taking people back to Pasadena that weren’t planning on going.”

Alvarez added he is looking forward to playing a physical game against Stanford, which he considers an “excellent opponent.”

“For us to be a part of it for a third consecutive year is truly special and I’m happy for our student athletes,” Alvarez said.

Alvarez recounted a story about a friend whose father

alvarez page 4

Former athletic director to speak at winter graduation Athletic director emeritus and former University of Wisconsin-Madison athlete Pat Richter will join Chancellor David Ward as the keynote speaker at the winter commencement ceremony Dec. 16.

Richter revived the athletic department as athletic director beginning in 1989, in part by bringing the Badger football and basketball programs into the national spotlight, according to

a university press release. He football team. He is a member was responsible for hirof the College Football ing noted coaches Barry Hall of Fame and the Alvarez, Dick Bennett Wisconsin Athletics and Bo Ryan to work Hall of Fame, as well with Wisconsin athletics. as others.

Richter played footRichter also played ball, basketball and for the Washington baseball during his Redskins as a tight time at UW-Madison end and punter from RICHTER and went to the 1963 1963-’70.

Rose Bowl against Winter commencethe University of Southern ment will take place Dec. 16 at 10 California as a member of the a.m. in the Kohl Center.

on campus

One (magical) night only Students channeled their inner magician at the Harry Potter-inspired Yule Ball Friday at the Memorial Union. The charity ball, now in its third year, featured performances by Pitches and Notes and the Badger Ballroom Dance Team. + Photo by Shoaib Altaf

Monday: snowy

Tuesday: partly cloudy

hi 32º / lo 19º

hi 33º / lo 24º

dailycardinal.com Fall Farewell Issue 2012

l

3

An independent student newspaper, serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison community since 1892 Volume 122, Issue 69

These outgoing editors have changed quite a bit since their diaper days.

1

2

2142 Vilas Communication Hall 821 University Avenue Madison, Wis., 53706-1497 (608) 262-8000 • fax (608) 262-8100

3

News and Editorial edit@dailycardinal.com Editor in Chief Managing Editor Alex DiTullio Scott Girard

News Team News Manager Taylor Harvey Campus Editor Sam Cusick College Editor Cheyenne Langkamp City Editor Abby Becker State Editor Tyler Nickerson Enterprise Editor Samy Moskol Associate News Editor Meghan Chua Features Editor Ben Siegel

Can you match the editors to their baby photos?

a

c

b

d

k

e

f g h

j

i

Business and Advertising

Grey Satterfield/the daily cardinal

From left to right: Jaime Brackeen, Mara Jezior, Maggie DeGroot, Jenna Bushnell, Riley Beggin (back row). Nick Fritz, Tyler Nickerson, Haley Henschel, Abby Becker, Duwayne Sparks, Shoaib Altaf (front row).

5

6

8

7

business@dailycardinal.com Business Manager Emily Rosenbaum Advertising Manager Nick Bruno Senior Account Executives Philip Aciman • Jade Likely Account Executives Erin Aubrey • Hannah Klein Jordan Laeyendecker Dennis Lee • Daniel Shanahan Joy Shin Web Director Eric Harris Public Relations Manager Alexis Vargas Marketing Manager Caitlin Furin Events Manager Andrew Straus Creative Director Claire Silverstein Copywriters Dustin Bui • Bob Sixsmith The Daily Cardinal is a nonprofit organization run by its staff members and elected editors. It receives no funds from the university. Operating revenue is generated from advertising and subscription sales.

The Daily Cardinal is published weekdays and distributed at the University of WisconsinMadison and its surrounding community with a circulation of 10,000.

Capital Newspapers, Inc. is the Cardinal’s printer. The Daily Cardinal is printed on recycled paper. The Cardinal is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.

All copy, photographs and graphics appearing in The Daily Cardinal are the sole property of the Cardinal and may not be reproduced without written permission of the editor in chief.

The Daily Cardinal accepts advertising representing a wide range of views. This acceptance does not imply agreement with the views expressed. The Cardinal reserves the right to reject advertisements judged offensive based on imagery, wording or both.

Complaints: News and editorial complaints should be presented to the editor in chief.

Business and advertising complaints should be presented to the business manager.

Letters Policy: Letters must be word processed and must include contact information. No anonymous letters will be printed. All letters to the editor will be printed at the discretion of The Daily Cardinal. Letters may be sent to opinion@ dailycardinal.com.

9

l

Editorial Board Matt Beaty • Riley Beggin • Alex DiTullio Anna Duffin • Nick Fritz • Scott Girard David Ruiz

Board of Directors

10

Jenny Sereno, President Scott Girard • Alex DiTullio Emily Rosenbaum • John Surdyk Melissa Anderson • Nick Bruno Don Miner • Chris Drosner Jason Stein • Nancy Sandy Tina Zavoral

11

© 2012, The Daily Cardinal Media Corporation

For the record

Missing the Dirty Bird?

Check out this week’s column online at dailycardinal.com

Baby photo answers: a-11, b-5, c-2, d-4, e-7, f-3, g-10, h-8, i-1, j-6, k-9.

4

Opinion Editors Nick Fritz • David Ruiz Editorial Board Chair Matt Beaty Arts Editors Jaime Brackeen • Marina Oliver Sports Editors Vince Huth • Matt Masterson Page Two Editors Riley Beggin • Jenna Bushnell Life & Style Editor Maggie DeGroot Photo Editors Shoaib Altaf • Grey Satterfield Abigail Waldo Graphics Editors Angel Lee • Dylan Moriarty Multimedia Editors Eddy Cevilla • Dani Golub Science Editor Matthew Kleist Diversity Editor Aarushi Agni Copy Chiefs Molly Hayman • Haley Henschel Mara Jezior • Dan Sparks Copy Editors John Hannasch • Ciera Sugden Mitch Taylor

Corrections or clarifications?

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

4

l

news

Fall Farewell Issue 2012

dailycardinal.com

New state legislature to tackle controversial issues

By Jack Casey Daily Cardinal

With the new state legislative session set to begin in January, state legislators have already started looking ahead to issues they hope to tackle once the session starts.

The following are overviews of four central issues legislators will debate next session.

Mining Democratic and Republican legislators have begun discussions to improve last year’s failed mining bill meant to streamline the mine permitting process in the state. But Republicans, who currently hold majorities in both houses of the state legislature, have the power to pass a bill without Democratic support.

The failed bill was proposed to clearly define timelines and the amount of information necessary for companies to get approval from the state to receive a permit.

Last year’s debate centered on the amount of jobs a mine would bring to an economically poor Northern Wisconsin and how a mine could impact the environment.

The bill ultimately failed when state Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, sided with Democrats against the bill, saying it did not contain enough environmental protections to be approved.

Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Mining and State Sen. Tim Cullen, D-Janesville, held the discussions to develop agreements on new environmental protections absent from the last bill that Democrats hope to include in the new bill.

Democrats’ environmental plans for the bill will likely make mining a contentious issue, according to Political Science professor emeritus Dennis Dresang.

But Dresang said moderate senate Republicans may agree to include Democrats’ proposals.

However, University of Wisconsin-Madison College Republicans Chair Jeff Snow disagreed, saying the mine “is going to happen” and that “it’s a question of when, not if” at this point.

“There may be a few changes [to the bill], but the big parts [from last year] will probably be the same,” Snow said.

Ban on same-day voter registration State Rep. Joel Kleefisch, R-Oconomowoc, and state Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, began seeking cosponsors in early December to a bill that would ban same-day voter registration statewide, inciting an issue that will likely play out in the upcoming legislative session and could affect various populations, particularly students.

Snow said the legislators proposed the ban to prevent problematic voter fraud around the state.

“Same-day registration does not have 100 percent integrity and effectiveness to ensure that the person registering is a real registered voter and hasn’t already voted before,” Snow said.

However, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi cautioned against the ban, saying it would negatively impact students.

“If [same-day registration] was taken away … [it] would be a major impediment for students being able to exercise their right to vote,” Parisi said.

Snow disagreed, saying the potential ban would require students to be better informed without infringing on their right to vote.

“You see all those people out

ben pierson/cardinal file photo

Demonstrators gathered in the Capitol to protest the controversial Act 10 legislation in the spring of 2011, which limited state workers’ rights to collective bargaining. The legislation is currently being challenged in court. on campus for early registration,” Snow said. “There is no reason why people should absolutely need to same-day register.”

Collective bargaining cases Four cases challenging Act 10, the controversial legislation limiting state workers’ collective bargaining rights, are currently pending in state and federal courts with progress expected to be made in each at some point in the second half of the year.

The cases have progressed slowly, with the biggest news coming in early September when Dane County Circuit Court Judge Juan Colas ruled on one case brought by Madison Teachers Inc. In his ruling, Colas said por-

fiscal cliff from page 2 affordable for wealthy people to make those contributions anymore,” Canon said.

Canon said given Congress’ current partisan divide, a “grand bargain” before Jan. 1 seems unlikely. He said it’s more likely that a temporary compromise will be reached where tax cuts will be extended for the majority of Americans.

According to Reilly’s letter, Wisconsin’s flagship university could also see a $428,626 reduction in student financial aid sup-

hr redesign from page 2 brandon laufenberg/cardinal file photo

Athletic Director Barry Alvarez, who will coach the 2013 Rose Bowl team, said he is excited and honored to lead the team.

alvarez from page 2 decided the family would “wait for next year” to go to the Rose Bowl and bought a color TV that year instead. The next time the family made it to a Badger Rose Bowl was 31 years later.

“Never take this game for granted,” Alvarez said.

Alvarez also spoke briefly about Bielema’s departure. He said he’s “not in a huge hurry” to find a replacement, but has already contacted some possible candidates.

“The important thing is to get the right person in here,” Alvarez added.

The board also briefly discussed the recent addition of Rutgers and Maryland to the Big Ten. Alvarez said the additions were made with the future of the conference in mind. He said the Big Ten must continue to grow as the Midwest region decreases in population, adding that the Northeast, where both Rutgers and Maryland are located, is expanding in population.

Board members also said the Badgers will benefit from the additional attention its athletics will receive as Big Ten network coverage also expands into the Northeast region.

ities and properties, offices and programs we have throughout the UW system,” Whitburn said.

“Needless to say these positions and the people in them are all critical to the university operations.”

But Regent John Drew spoke in dissent, stating it is unfair for policy regarding classified staff, which used to have the right to collectively bargain, to now be solely under the Board of Regent’s control.

“There was an effort to engage people,” Drew said. “But surveys, websites and work teams are, in my opinion, an inadequate substitute for collective bargaining when workers and management sit down as equals and negotiate.”

Following the plan’s release, the project team engaged in campus discussions with various

tions of Act 10, including its prohibition of collective bargaining, were unconstitutional because the legislation violated municipal workers’ rights to free speech, association and equal protection.

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, who defends the state in lawsuits, appealed Colas’ ruling to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in October.

In a statement released at the time, Van Hollen said he and the Department of Justice “believe Act 10 is constitutional, and that [they]’ll ultimately prevail.”

Government Accountability Board changes Incoming Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald,

R-Juneau, proposed changing the Government Accountability Board Dec. 3, because he said the Board has too often favored Democrats, specifically during the state senatorial and gubernatorial recall elections last spring.

Fitzgerald proposed replacing the six retired nonpartisan judges currently on the board with political appointees as a way to balance out the GAB. Snow agreed with Fitzgerald, saying Republicans should start looking to reform the GAB, but noted any progress would likely come after this year.

“Any changes to the GAB will probably be happening in Governor Walker’s second term; if Walker is elected,” Snow said.

port, mostly from work study programs and grants.

Michelle Curtis, associate director of Financial Aid, said the cuts to UW-Madison student aid wouldn’t be “catastrophic,” but still a “step backward.”

According to Curtis, an analysis done by the Financial Aid office shows that a little over 300 students would be affected by the cuts to student aid, with approximately $212,000 in cuts to the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant and $185,000 in cuts to Work Study.

“It’s not huge but every

dollar that we can put into a financially needy student’s hands is important to us,” Curtis said.

However, Uhlrich said he remains optimistic for UW-Madison researchers, who have a strong history of obtaining research funds.

“The competition is going to get a little tougher but our faculty and other scientists have had a very good track record of securing this funding in competitive times,” Uhlrich said. “There’s a good chance many of them will continue to do OK.”

stakeholders, including shared governance groups such as Faculty Senate, Academic Staff Assembly and the Associated Students of Madison.

ASM stated upon passing a resolution in support of the HR redesign it would like to see a plan involving student hourly positions on campus in the future, because students holding these positions are not currently addressed in the redesign, according to ASM Shared Governance Chair Sam Seering.

But United Council Vice President Beth Huang said she thinks student hourly workers were left out of the redesign because there were no perceived problems with the structure of these positions. Rather, the plan aims to address the perceived divide between academic and classified staffs, which proved contro-

versial under the current plan.

Although the undergraduate student body and student hourly workers are not directly affected by the redesign, ASM Shared Governance Chair Sam Seering said teaching assistants and graduate students working in labs who are considered academic or classified staff could be directly affected by changes to employee compensation and benefits.

According to Huang, the plan remains important to students because they interact daily with faculty and staff, whose changing work conditions would impact students’ experiences in classrooms and offices.

“It changes how people view themselves in the workplace,” Huang said. “It affects campus climate in a variety of ways, and impacts students, as many of us live on campus.”

Don’t forget to visit our website during winter break!

Check us out at dailycardinal.com for breaking news, Badger sports coverage and more!

opinion 6

l

Fall Farewell Issue 2012

dailycardinal.com

Stories that went under the radar The Daily Cardinal Editorial Board covers a lot of stories in its infinite wisdom.

These are the stories that didn’t make the cut, but are still important.

F

Occupy Madison refocuses purpose

lying under the radar this year has been the Occupy Madison movement.

It has been over a year since the Occupy movement began.

When thousands of anti-Wall Street protesters poured into New York City’s Zuccotti Park, it captured the attention of everyone. It inspired those who wanted to fight against injustice, but it also angered those who saw the movement

as a socialistic waste of time.

Nevertheless, the movement spread everywhere, including our humble city.

The Occupy movement has noble goals of ending wealth inequality, fighting corruption and, at least in their view, making America a better place. But it is hard to get behind a movement that seems so aimless.

Fortunately for Occupy Madison, those things cannot

now be said about the group.

Mired in awkward controversy last year, the group has had a resurgence. Like a student who finally picks up his or her grades, focus seems to be the factor that brought Occupy Madison to the status of a legitimate group.

Instead of focusing on abstract concepts, the group is highly focused on homelessness.

It is an issue that is hard to tackle. It involves societal failures

as well as personal issues like drug abuse and mental illness.

Instead of just picketing and chanting, Occupy Madison has lobbied city Council and worked with authorities. It seems if Council, Occupy Madison and other homeless activists keep the good work up, Madison may be able to make positive strides in this issue.

The city needs to continue addressing issues that are at the

root of homelessness, and mediating structures like Occupy Madison are in a good place to help by providing temporary housing, positive influence in government and surprisingly good publicity.

For many, Occupy has been good fodder for jokes (watch sitcoms and you’ll see) but Occupy Madison is anything but a joke.

It is helping the city, but more importantly it is helping those who need it the most.

Crime culture grows

A

graphic by dylan moriarty

Walker’s health care decision petty

O

ver the summer, the Supreme Court upheld the majority of the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act. Emotions were high, as should be expected, since it was one of the biggest decisions of the year. But the court decision was just the beginning. Now work needs to be done.

Part of the law requires socalled health care exchanges to be implemented in every state. These are a set of health insurance plans the federal government approves of and may subsidize. Gov. Scott Walker decided not to implement the exchange; he instead will allow (or force) the federal government to do it for his own state.

This board disapproves of that decision.

In an age where people are obsessed with the partisanship that permeates through the State Capitol and Washington, D.C., refusing to work with the federal government shows a new level of pettiness. The exchange needs to be set up; it is the law. Instead of doing the work for his own citizens, Walker is passing the buck to the feds. He even had the option to work with the federal government, but did not take that opportunity.

Beyond being bad politics, passing up the opportunity is not the best policy. Wisconsin has a history of improving health

care access in the state, and the state knows best what its citizens need. If Walker would have worked to set up viable exchanges, it would give Wisconsin citizens visibility to health care plans they need, and the state would be less subordinate to the federal government than it will be now.

Walker’s decision to pass the buck on the health care exchange is another example of the partisanship in government today. We understand that Walker is against the Affordable Care Act, but his disapproval is not an excuse to work in bad faith.

SSFC right to give funding to AHA

O

f all of the decisions the Student Services Finance Committee has made throughout its existence, the committee’s ruling this year to fund the student group Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics has elicited some of the most national attention the committee has ever received.

AHA is set to receive funds through student segregated fees totaling almost $70,000, the highest any non-theistic student organization has ever received nationally.

Perhaps it is the high amount of funding the group is receiving that led reputable news sources such as The

Washington Post to report on the committee’s decision, but in our minds SSFC ruled properly in granting the group eligibility for funding.

No matter how controversial a group’s stances on issues may be, SSFC is prohibited from considering the viewpoints of organizations applying for funding when determining if they are eligible or not. The committee held to their vow to remain neutral in making funding decisions when ruling in favor of AHA. While the decision seemed to be controversial on a national level, funding AHA through segregated fees is no different in principle than

funding groups such as Badger Catholic, which historically has had a hefty budget on the UW-Madison campus.

In maintaining viewpoint neutrality, SSFC does not fund Catholicism or Atheism when allocating student fees to these organizations, but rather the services that the groups provide to the student body, such as counseling.

In our minds, SSFC had no option but to fund AHA. The group met all requirements for funding eligibility, leaving little room for debate about whether the committee made the correct decision.

lthough there was a significant amount of coverage about various crimes happening throughout Madison this semester, the sheer rate of increasing crime—and the severity of what that means for our community—seems to have gone under the radar.

According to our interview with Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, the majority of threats to student security on campus come from the gentrification of student areas into nearby neighborhoods, a general increase in gun culture, and the continued threat of sexual assault that is present on most college campuses. Recognizing the threat to safety, there have been several city initiatives this year which attempt to increase lighting in poorly lit areas, as well as push for better building design in new developments to prevent break-ins.

However, it is clear that what the city has been able to provide is not enough to ensure safety on our campus. Stories of robberies at gunpoint, sexual assaults and breakins are increasingly frequent, staring back at students from the front pages of the city’s newspapers and magazines. Fear is becoming more and more prevalent in the campus

atmosphere, and it needs to change.

Not only do we need better lockchange policies and regulations on new buildings being built, it is imperative that landlords agree to change locks on old buildings much more frequently as well. We need more police on the streets later at night, maintaining high visibility and patrolling campus areas past bar time—when many students are at their most vulnerable.

Of course, we do not hope to push the crime that is occurring in the campus and downtown area to other areas of Madison— with well-thought-out preventative measures, it is possible to decrease the rate of crime throughout the city. Guardian Angels, a volunteer-based organization that works to keep the city safe by providing selfdefense and safety seminars as well as organize street patrols, is an excellent example of how citizens and the city government can reclaim the community and make it safer. Putting more money, time and effort into preventative measures will hopefully quell the rising tide of crime in the city, and make it a welcoming place for students and community members alike.

Student group tests SSFC funding rules

N

early every year, an occasion arises that calls into question the legitimacy of the means through which student groups receive funding through segregated fees. This year, many individuals across campus are criticizing the leaders of the newly formed Medieval Warriorcraft League for allegedly manipulating the funding streams to highlight the flaws in the system.

While group leaders say they are seeking funding because the group provides legitimate services to students, such as warrior trainings, individuals involved in creating the group, like former Student Services Finance Committee Chair Matt Manes, are knowledgeable in GSSF funding and have expressed concern over the current system in recent years.

Some students across campus

argue that group leaders are trying to demonstrate that any student group can manipulate its funding eligibility information in its favor to receive segregated fee funding, while groups that provide genuine services to students, such as the Multicultural Student Coalition, are denied simply because of subpar eligibility presentations.

While we believe the point allegedly being made is a valid one, it is being done at the expense of students. The group is slated to receive over $95,000 in funding through student fees. Around half of this money will go towards purchasing medieval weaponry and safety equipment.

We believe that however valid the argument is, every cent of a student’s tuition is valuable and should not be spent on purchasing expensive equipment for the sake of making a point.

opinion

dailycardinal.com

Fall Farewell Issue 2012

A just end to annoying stories

l

7

Assuming the Mayans are right and the world is ending, The Daily Cardinal Editorial Board is glad we no longer have to worry about these issues because of the whole being dead thing.

E

Mifflin is here to stay, get used to it

veryone who has been to the Mifflin Street Block Party—at least in recent years—knows Mifflin to be a celebration of collegiate drinking.

It is not surprising then that the city of Madison finds the party to be a bit embarrassing. Even though the 2012 Mifflin saw a massive decline in attendance and a huge jump in citations, the party isn't going anywhere.

The city of Madison needs to stop trying to change Mifflin from what it really is, because the party is here to stay. Mifflin might not have been as meaningful or as well attended in past years, but the party isn't on the verge of withering and dying out in 2013. Last year, the city flooded Mifflin with a large amount of police officers.

They succeeded in keeping a

lot of students from drinking at Mifflin, but all these students probably still went out on other parts of campus. Basically, the student body is going to let off some highly-pressurized steam before spring finals whether anyone condones it or not.

The city needs to accept how boozy and delirious Mifflin is, and deal with it in a manner that matches up Mifflin's anarchic

organization and importance to the student body. Having gangs of officers on the street is expensive and not the right answer.

The city and university should find ways to limit the amount of out-of-towners who have no attachment to the weekend but a desire to get hammered.

Companies should be strongly discouraged from advertising or promoting the event outside

the city. The event is a unique problem, but trying to shut it down is time that could be spent tamping down Mifflin's costs and keeping it safe.

The attendance of Mifflin has always fluctuated. The expectation that the student body would just abandon Mifflin was overhyped in 2012. But, Mifflin and the city need to find a more permanent relationship soon.

Real estate developers, tear down your walls

T

he city of Madison has a unique culture and feeling to it. The run-down houses and beer can littered lawns give this town character.

However, in recent months that character has come under attack.

Real estate developers have submitted a multitude of proposals to tear down iconic buildings such as Stadium Bar and several houses in the southeast neighborhood and replace them with apartment complexes. This board believes that while student housing is always an important issue, the destruction of Madison history to build complexes—most of which are not even intended for student use—is unacceptable.

There are more than enough housing options for students, including existing apartment complexes, houses on the outskirts of town and even dorms.

In fact, the construction on Dejope Hall has recently been completed and a new dorm called New 32 Hall is planned to open in August 2013.

The simple fact of the matter is that real estate developers do not care about students.

They come into town, build their complexes and charge way more than they are worth because as long as they are somewhat close to campus, they know they will get filled.

They may claim they are giving more options to students, but in reality they are merely replacing one for another.

Madison is a city of rich and vibrant culture. The history of this city is what makes Madison, Madison. It’s nice to know that as we all meet our inevitable doom, these real estate developers won’t see their destructive work come to life.

Seating policy ruins game day experience Watchdog groups, mostly annoying

Graphic by Dylan Moriarty

A

n abrupt enforcement this football season of a previously unenforced official seating policy threatened students’ enjoyment of Badger game days and caught the attention of this editorial board.

Throughout the season, we heard several complaints from students saying they were ejected from Badger football games for sitting in the wrong seat, even if they were sitting in the correct section. These ejections were not based on behavioral or drinking violations, but solely due to students sitting in the incorrect seat.

We believe enforcing a policy where students must sit in their assigned seat is unrealistic and unfair to students.

While the seating policy is

official, students were not given any notice prior to the football season alerting them that police were going to begin enforcing the policy. Police should have ensured students were given ample warning that this policy was going into affect. How could they expect students to abide by a policy that most students did not know existed?

Additionally, we feel first-come first-serve seating within sections is a good, fair policy. Requiring students to only sit in the correct section reduces overcrowding while not unnecessarily ejecting students for a useless rule.

We were disappointed with UWPD’s utter lack of communication with students and expect it to take the correct steps in the future to inform students of policy changes.

Go to The Daily Cardinal spring semester recruitment meeting! But until then, have a happy holiday Badgers!!

O

ne positive about the end of humanity would be the end of overzealous organizations that make serious accusations, only to have them found to be baseless.

Over the last semester, the University of WisconsinMadison has been involved in a few of these accusations. The university has been asked to cut ties with Palermo’s Pizza for alleged workers’ rights violations and was accused of animal rights violations in a 2008 study.

In the first case, the Teaching Assistants Association, the Labor Licensing Policy Committee and the Student Labor Action Coalition all asked Chancellor David Ward to cut ties with the pizza company. All three jumped to the conclusion that Palermo’s was guilty on all counts.

However, in November, the National Labor Relations Board produced a mixed result. The board ruled Palermo’s had terminated 75 of the workers legally, and nine illegaly. While this shows some wrongdoing, it

doesn’t measure up to the overreaction by the three committees.

On top of that, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals accused the university of animal rights violations in a 2008 study, specifically focusing on a cat named “Double Trouble.” Less than a month after the accusations, the United States Department of Agriculture cleared UW of any wrongdoing.

While the National Institutes for Health reopened its investigation, these groups showed an affinity to overreaction that this board is tired of.

Recent poll shows polls are overrated

I

f the 2012 president is the last one humanity sees, this board will not miss the overcoverage of polls. This year there was quite a bit of election coverage surrounding polls. While polls can give an interesting look into what the electorate is thinking, they are never perfectly accurate and often distract from coverage of the actual issues.

It seemed that after the election results were reported the night of Nov. 6, most of the coverage was about how amazing Nate Silver is. Sure, he’s cool, but we reelected the first African American president in our country’s history.

That’s a little more important and should have taken quite a bit more precedence in the days following the election.

While almost anyone follow-

ing the election knew what the previous day’s polls showed, both nationally and in the swing states, it was tough at times to completely understand what either President Barack Obama or challenger Mitt Romney were actually planning to do if they were to win.

So if the world ends, at least the media’s over and usually inaccurate coverage of polls can end along with it.

arts Arts desk picks: best albums of 2012 8

l

Fall Farewell Issue 2012

dailycardinal.com

We’ve been here before, Frank Ocean and I. It wasn’t the top of this list—last year’s ranking placed his celebrated Nostalgia, Ultra tape at No. 7 —but the placement came with the qualification, more of a warning, that it was “just the introduction to music according to Frank Ocean.”

I mislead you, Reader. I should have warned you instead about life according to Frank Ocean’s music.

I should have warned, when reviewing Channel Orange in July, against taking Ocean’s coming out too seriously. Five months later, it’s a footnote (like his executive producing credit to his dog on the album’s liner notes), the ambiguity of pronoun usage on “Bad Religion” immaterial. Embrace it, then, on “Forest Gump,” when he proclaims, “you run my mind, boy,” and forget yourself in the summer haze of the beat, and the arms of your girlfriend (or boyfriend) when you listen. Especially if you’re lucky enough to hear it live.

Channel Orange is equally exceptional to the live show, if not more so, because you can revisit it over and over again. In July, my favorite song was the jazzy “Lost.” Now, it’s the cavernous “Pink Matter;” next week, who knows?

One year later, Frank Ocean is unequivocally on top, and, with a last apology to the other artists nominated for the Album of the Year at the upcoming Grammys, it —Ben Siegel doesn’t look like he’s finished yet.

Listeners will not find another song quite as undeniably infectious as “Two Weeks” on Grizzly Bear’s fourth album, Shields, but for those mesmerized by their harmonious vocals and tangy guitars, the album serves as a momentous continuation of their atmospheric sound that begs to be unraveled.

The band began recording Shields after a six-month hiatus following the release of their third album, Veckatimest. They rented a house in Texas in June of 2011 and recorded what they thought was going to be their next album. Instead, they ended up discarding most of the tracks, leaving only “Yet Again” and “Sleeping Ute,” the album’s two leading singles.

What resulted from their second round of recordings can only be described as awakening, as the band creates a sound that unceasingly shifts from airy to potent. This is especially evident on “A Simple Answer,” which is a build-up of vocals and instrumentation with every verse, culminating in vocalists Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen fiercely proclaiming, “No wrong or right/Just do whatever you like,” over a buzzing guitar.

Other notable tracks on the album include “gun-shy,” “Speak in Rounds” and “Sleeping Ute,” which continue to crash and clang, or hum, depending on the listener’s style of perception.

—Mara Jezior

Kendrick Lamar reintroduces himself in his latest release, good kid, m.A.A.d city, and demonstrates why he is currently one of hip-hop’s finest. Throughout the course of the album, we hear a story-telling Lamar rhyming in smooth tracks such as “The Art of Peer Pressure” and “Poetic Justice,”which features Drake. Yet with a mix of heavy bangers thrown in the collection—such as “Backseat Freestyle”—we also witness a grittier side of the lyricist. This is most evident in how the tracks can turn into solidly kick-ass contributions to party playlists and can easily be made into solid drinking games (think“Swimming Pools”).

Kendrick’s flow is also a definite break from what the rest of the hip-hop scene is delivering and matches his creative personality in tracks such as “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst.” By perfectly crafting and weaving his lyrics around his flow in this album, it’s not hard to see why this album makes our top-ten list. With this, it’s clear Kendrick has ushered in a game changer.

The album is artistically in-your-face in that it is as melodic as a harp, yet razor sharp like an electric guitar. ­—Jorge Estrada

Though Love This Giant was recorded by two already established musical geniuses, David Byrne and St. Vincent’s first album together manages to sound like nothing that either of them, or anyone else, has done before.

Byrne and Annie Clarke (also known as St. Vincent) alternately take the lead throughout the album, as Clarke’s sultry, smooth and utterly arresting vocals contrast with Byrne’s iconic, powerfully off-beat manner of delivery. However, the true brilliance of Love This Giant becomes evident when the pair weaves their gorgeous, unorthodox harmonies over a blaringly soulful horn section, jangling acoustic guitars and a throbbing rhythm section.

From the bizarre, bouncing grooves of “Who” and “Lazarus,” to the meshing of the synthetic and natural feels on “The Forest Awakes,” the album refuses to even let the listener consider being bored. David Byrne somehow managed to become even more innovative than he was with Talking Heads without losing an ounce of feeling, proving that he remains one of the greatest minds in music, and you can almost hear Annie Clarke’s smile as she sings “the bombs burst in air/but my hair is alright,” radiating the same strange sense of soul, confidence and creativity that permeates all of Love This Giant, making it by far one of the most interesting albums of 2012.

–Austin Wellens

In Tame Impala’s sophomore effort, Lonerism, psychedelic rock soundscapes are painted across a lush palate of keyboard washes and strong bass lines. This five-piece band from Australia, led by Kevin Parker, sounds like a throwback to an era where FM radios across the country would be blasting bands homogenous to Tame Impala regularly. That is not to say that Tame Impala is stuck in the past; despite their late-’60s sound, Parker and the rest of the band push forward the sonic boundaries, incorporating a full range of electronics while keeping their roots firm in classic rock.

The album picks up considerable steam with “Music to Walk Home By” and by the time the album gets to “Elephant,” the listener has gone on enough twists and turns that they are fully sucked into the band’s world.

“Sun’s Coming Up” is a fitting closer to the album, as out of context, one might ask if they were listening to The Beatles. Parker, without imitating, sounds like John Lennon. The first half of the song is just a voice and a piano before the final moments of the album, a wash of instrumentals make the listener feel as if they are coming out of a 50-minute dream after it is over. Listen with headphones for the full aural experience, as this is a complete album that necessitates listening from cover to cover. ­ —Brian Weidy

How many of you forgot this Cloud Nothings album came out in 2012? Call this blurb an assault on your recollections then. Because, man oh man, how could you forget Attack on Memory?

Art thou jaundiced? More young’uns with guitars, yeah yeah. Angry vocalist, hoo-rah. What’s that, they got Steve “Bad Penny” Albini to engineer it? Why bother?

Well for one, it rocks. It’s visceral and punkish and pissed. And it’s all delightfully razor thin. Those guitars are stretched tungsten filaments and baby, somebody flipped the switch. And Dylan Baldi? He’s an aural linchpin.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is a glass fusillade, acerbic discharge in 33 high-strung minutes.

Sure, look closely and you’ll see some febrile angst when the existential rigor wanes a bit. “Cut You?” Yeah, a bit cringe-worthy, and not in a mature, seasoned, artistic way. The writing’s on the wall—some shortcomings are apparent.

But how can you trump “Wasted Days’” rallying cry and its final harangue—a statement callow and prescient, relevant to disgruntled youth and elder alike, birth and death, a Janus-like cry which reverberates through past, present, and future: “I thought!/I would!/Be more!/Than this!”

—Sean Reichard

1

4

2

5

3

6

arts

dailycardinal.com

alt-J’s debut album, An Awesome Wave, is a sexy, muddled take on rock in a time when true originality seems more elusive by the day. Their raunchy, barely discernable lyrics leave listeners’ ears straining for more even after 51 minutes of artsy, British resonance.

First off, their harmonies are as smooth as going down a waterslide, replete with the familiar, pleasant flip of anticipation in your stomach when it drops. alt-J masterfully build up each of their tracks, making use of silence and near a cappella moments to jar listeners back into reality at the entrance of snare, synth and various other percussive elements. At times their haunting tracks make it sound like someone playing a keyboard alone in an empty, echoing tunnel.

“Fitzpleasure” is easily the standout track of the album.

The song invokes images of a hazy horizon and Navajo patterns as twangy, Southwestern guitars pound out a melody.

Pair this with the sounds of grinding bass and the intense, clear vocals of singer/guitarist Joe Newman and you’ve got a vintage Clint Eastwood film on acid—and in song format.

An Awesome Wave sounds like a playlist you would take on a road trip or adventure where you hope to discover something new about yourself. Immerse yourself in An Awesome Wave and you’ll emerge from the experience a little unsettled, and ready to hit “repeat.”

—Jaime Brackeen

7

Honorable Mentions:

Fall Farewell Issue 2012 9

l

The album cover displays a stark black-and-white line drawing of a veiled masochist with “Death Grips” incised into her chest while a sadist wields a leash tied around her neck. Surprisingly, this isn’t the most shocking aspect of Death Grips’ first major label LP, The Money Store. It contains over 40 minutes of drummer Zach Hill’s heartthumping, eardrum-shattering beats layered under lead vocalist MC Ride shrieking out themes, portraying a character prone to horrific displays of violence, incurable paranoia and excessive drug use.

The lyrics, such as “ankles tied to cinder blocks,” “Burmese babies under each arm,” “teachin’ bitches how to swim” and “bloodstained knuckle brass,” create Death Grips’ gruesome and gang-infused nightmare of a world. It beats you across the face and drags you through the dirt, but you come back for more. Amidst harsh drones and eerie vocal samples lays one of 2012’s most influential records. Combining industrial drum patterns and expertly produced electronics and rap elements, The Money Store isn’t just another album produced for shock value. Instead, it’s a forward-thinking experimental piece of music accomplishing all of its intentions. If you can’t recognize this record’s brilliance, well, in the words of MC Ride, “you must be smokin’ rock.”

—Mike Schuerman

8

If you’re unfamiliar with Philadelphia-based trio Hop Along, you no longer have an excuse.

Lead singer and guitarist Frances Quinlan recorded her first album Freshman Year at the ripe age of 19 and 2012 release Get Disowned takes the creative ideas she laid down in 2005 to a whole new level.

The album has a distinct sense of emotional sincerity and angst riveling that of The Antlers’ 2009 masterpiece Hospice. But even the incredibly talented Peter Silberman can’t unload lyrics quite like Quinlan. Her songwriting is not only poetic, it’s chillingly beautiful. It’s humbling.

While Quinlan is certainly the focus of the band, brother Mark Quinlan on drums and Tyler Long on bass compliment her style in just the right way. The first track “Some Grace” makes one think the album will be slow and relaxing.

Then indie-anthem “Tibetan Pop Stars” comes screaming through the speakers and completely changes everything.

From start to finish, this is without a doubt one of the best albums of 2012. Nobody else is making music like this. Let’s hope Hop Along bounces their way to Madison soon.

—Andy Holsteen

9

• Flying Lotus, Until The Quiet • The Mountain Goats, Comes Transcendental Youth

• Converge, All We Love We • • Johnny Foreigner, Johnny Leave Behind Foreigner vs Everything • • Japandroids, Celebration • Michael Kiwanuka, Home Rock Again

TNGHT, TNGHT EP Justin Townes Earle, Nothing’s Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now pleasant plinks—all blending together in a perfect continuum of uninterrupted song. The music pulses out an onslaught of emotion, the wordless soul mate of Danny Seim and Justin Harris’ raw and revealing lyrics. Play or read one element by itself and you would still feel the angst, the longing and the loss, but keep them together as intended and there’s little room left for questioning the epic magnitude of Moms.

It deals with some dark thoughts. Missing a dead mother, relationships loved and lost and perhaps even some harbored resentment for their fathers in songs like “Giftshoppe” (“I contributed to this/ giftshoppe fodder/ … /I’ll forget but not forgive”).

You almost don’t notice the buildup throughout the entire 43-odd minutes of musical journaling until the final release in the final track “One Horse.”

Seim and Harris rekindle hope that real musicianship is far from on its way out. ­ —Jaime Brackeen

10

We could have justified putting Menomena’s latest album, Moms, on this list for the lyrical content alone. Every line is laced with metaphor. Imagery drips with Technicolor clarity. And from the first time the band flashes the span of their musical wings in opening track “Plumage,” listeners know they’re in for a ride.

If you don’t spend some time listening to this album closely, it’s easy to miss some of its finer elements—wind chimes, galloping floor toms, symbol crashes, horns, guitar, what at times sounds like a jazz flute and ivory chords oscillating between pounding and

TOP 10 NEWS 8 5

{of fall 2012}

Palermo’s labor violations spark protests

Disgruntled workers from a Milwaukee Palermo’s Pizza factory walked off the job in June, causing activist groups from the University of Wisconsin-Madison to rally around the workers and urge the university to cut ties with the pizza company.

The workers’ strike came in response to allegations of labor practice violations, including firing workers for attempts to unionize to improve their working conditions.

Members of the Student Labor Action Coalition and the Teaching Assistants

Association joined to urge the university to end its contracts with Palermo’s, which includes the use of the Bucky Badger logo on pizzas sold in the Madison area.

Additionally, two striking workers visited campus Oct. 24 to raise awareness about their struggles and drum up support for the strike.

The Milwaukee regional office of the National Labor Relations Board acknowledged the violations by Palermo’s and is currently working toward a settlement with the pizza company.

Chancellor David Ward said in a statement Nov. 14 that UW-Madison will continue to monitor the situation and look into its contracts with Palermo’s.

City, county relocate Occupy Madison encampment twice The group known as Occupy Madison returned to Madison Oct. 27, moving from East Washington Avenue to two different county parks, prompting complaints from neighbors.

The local grassroots division of the national Occupy protest, which highlights the economic gap between the top 1 percent of income earners compared to the other 99 percent, has evolved in Madison into a community for the city’s homeless.

City officials issued an eviction notice Nov. 7 for the East Washington Avenue site, causing Occupy members to

relocate to Lake View Hill County Park.

But Ald. Anita Weier, District 18, said Nov. 14 it was “illegal” for people to camp in the park without a permit, causing Occupiers to move once again.

Members of the group then moved to Token Creek Park, another northside county park, and plan to remain there until a 90-day permit expires in February.

County officials also approved a temporary warming day shelter at 827 E. Washington Ave. Nov. 15, to provide homeless a different and more formal place to stay.

10 7 9 6 Campus to collaborate on new Diversity Plan

Various university and student government officials began working on a new diversity plan this year to be released at the end of the spring semester.

Currently, Chief Diversity Officer Damon Williams, the Campus Diversity and Climate Committee, and the Associated Students of Madison Diversity Committee are working to form an ad hoc committe— with equal representation of students, faculty and staff—to formulate the new plan.

At the ASM Shared

Governance Week event focusing on diversity and campus climate, Williams said he would grade the UW System’s curricular work surrounding campus climate in the “D-range.”

To improve this, Williams suggested the plan might make the ethnic studies requirement more expansive by requiring two courses rather than one, or by including global affairs in the curriculum.

Williams also said at the meeting the campus needs to hire more minorities to higherup positions in UW faculty and administration, and increase the presence of women faculty and students in science, technology, engineering and math positions.

Photos 10. Mark Kauzlarich 8. Grey Satterfield 6. Abigail Waldo

5. Taylor Galaszewski 2. Grey Satterfield 1. Abigail Waldo

Student section seating policy enforced

In response to complaints from students, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Athletic Department more strictly enforced a longstanding assigned seating police at Badger football games this year.

Traditionally, UW-Madison students who are season-ticket holders exchange vouchers for an actual ticket before filling in the student section on a first-come-first-serve basis.

But this past football season, UW-Madison

Police Department security officials made sure students sat in the section, row and seat printed on their tickets.

Assistant Athletics Department Director Justin Doherty said Oct. 18 the Athletics Department placed greater emphasis on enforcing the seating policy because of complaints from students who were unable to sit in their designated seats.

UWPD Sgt. Aaron Chapin said officers checked areas within the student section that appeared overcrowded.

“If you’re not in that seat, you have the potential to be kicked out,” Chapin said Oct. 18.

PETA accuses UW of animal mistreatment

Following People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ allegations of animal cruelty in a 2008 research study at the University of WisconsinMadison in September, the animal rights group protested on campus.

PETA alleged that UW-Madison mistreated cats during a cochlear implant research study by inserting electrodes into their heads and intentionally deafening the cats, focusing on one cat in particular named Double Trouble.

After filing complaints with U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health, the activist group visited campus Sept. 18 to protest the university’s research programs. PETA representatives and community members gathered on Library Mall to raise students’ awareness of the issue.

Chancellor David Ward responded the allegations, calling them “unsubstantiated” and a “gross misrepresentation of the research.”

After a formal investigation, the USDA cleared UW-Madison of all animal cruelty allegations. However, after a former veterinarian in the research lab came forward and substantiated PETA’ claims, the NIH re-opened its investigation. The investigation is ongoing.

Search for next UW-Madison chancellor officially begins

The search for the University of WisconsinMadison’s next chancellor officially began in October, when a committee charged with finding the best candidate for the university’s highest position began its work.

The Chancellor Search and Screen committee has focused on gathering input from the campus community and area businesses that will deal with the selected candidate. The committee held a series of open forums in the fall to gauge what qualities the campus community wants in the next chancellor, but turnout was lower than committee members anticipated.

However, input from those who did attend resonated in the official position description for the chancellor, which includes a commitment to shared gov-

4 3

ernance and the ability to create and support diversity in the campus climate.

The Board of Regents will vote on an applicant in April 2013, and the selected candidate will replace Chancellor David Ward in June.

Regents vote to increase tuition above $10,000

The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents approved System President Kevin Reilly’s recommended 5.5 percent system-wide tuition increase for the 2012-’13 school year in a meeting June 7.

The tuition increase, plus additional student segregated fee increases, placed in-state undergraduate tuition and fees at UW-Madison above $10,000 for the first time in the school’s history.

UW System spokesperson David Giroux told The Daily Cardinal in an interview

June 4 the increase is a direct result of the long-term trend in decreasing state support for Wisconsin’s universities.

“If you adjust for inflation, the university is actually getting less money from the state than it did 20 to 30 years ago,” Giroux said.

According to Giroux, the tuition increases will help cover about one-third of last year’s $300 million decrease in state funding to the UW System.

Regent John Drew was the sole board member to vote against the increase, citing an increasing discrepancy between increases in tuition and increases in financial aid.

Human Resources Redesign sparks campus conversation

Following a requirement in the last state budget, the University of WisconsinM a d i s o n released a plan in September for a comprehensive overhaul of its personnel system to assist the university in remaining competitive in the recruitment and retainment of its employees.

The Human Resources Redesign aims to maintain the university’s reputation as a world-class institution by improving employee benefits, such as performance-based pay, in order to attract talented

faculty and staff.

The plan sparked conversation throughout campus among faculty, staff and students at multiple engagement forums and shared governance meetings.

Many expressed concerns over issues of diversity, seniority and job security as the plan moved forward for approval.

After receiving the support of the Faculty Senate, Academic Staff Assembly, and Associated Students of Madison, the plan was approved by the UW System Board of Regents in December. The state Legislature will also need to approve the plan before its implementation begins July 1, 2013.

2

Obama visits Madison twice in lead-up to election

Madison hosted President Barack Obama on two separate occasions in the months before the Nov. 6 presidential election, once near the Capitol and once, controversially, on campus.

Obama first visited Madison Oct. 4, a day after his first debate, and spoke to 30,000 supporters packing Bascom Hill, where he discussed his strategies to deal with issues facing the country, specifically his goal to improve education by giving students “the knowledge they need to compete in this 21st-century economy.”

Ken Mayer, a UW-Madison political science professor, criticized the choice of Bascom Hill for the event in an email to university officials sent before the event. He said the speech disrupted classes and school events scheduled for the day and tied the university too closely to Obama’s political campaign.

In his second visit Nov. 5, a day before the election, Obama, joined by rock legend Bruce Springsteen, moved off campus to Martin Luther King Boulevard between the Capitol and Monona Terrace. The president discussed his focus on helping the middle class, specifically plans for Pell Grants, and spoke about his stances on healthcare and foreign affairs.

Wisconsin voters elect Obama, Baldwin, Pocan The 2012 elections made headlines this semester in Wisconsin after the polarized state swung blue this past November, when Wisconsinites re-elected the nation’s first black president as well as the first openly gay U.S. Senator.

President Barack Obama won re-election in the 2012 presidential race, defeating Republican Mitt Romney after one of the most heated campaigns in recent history. “[W]hile our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back,” Obama said in his victory speech. “We know in our hearts that for the United States of America, the best is yet to come.”

Obama’s win confirmed the future of U.S. health care will include the Affordable Care Act, as well as secured four more years for the president to address the economy and unemployment.

President Obama made three stops in Wisconsin while Mitt Romney visited once in the last three

months of the election, due to the state’s battleground status. Both vice presidential candidates also made several stops throughout Wisconsin.

Wisconsin voters chose U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin to take the U.S. Senate seat, making her the first Wisconsin woman and the first openly gay politician elected to the U.S. Senate.

The Senate race also made headlines as one of the most negative campaigns in the country.

Baldwin battled Republican Tommy Thompson, former governor of Wisconsin, for the Senate seat occupied by Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., since 1989.

Wisconsin state Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, won the U.S. House race, defeating Republican challenger Chad Lee by a large margin.

Pocan will take Tammy Baldwin’s seat representing Wisconsin’s 2nd congressional district, and he will also make history as the second openly gay member of Congress.

1

life&style l

12

Fall Farewell Issue 2012

dailycardinal.com

SEE Eyewear brings quality, style to State Street

By Maggie DeGroot the daily cardinal

SEE Eyewear, a luxury eyewear company, brings their concept of giving customers both trendy and affordable eyewear options to Madison.

SEE founder Richard Golden launched the eyewear store in 1998 wanting to combine high fashion eyewear with sensible prices.

SEE stresses quality and design equally, according to Vice President of Marketing Susan Berryman.

“SEE truly has the most innovative product,” Berryman said.

The glasses are exclusively made for SEE from the best designers and brand houses in the world, according to Berryman.

SEE’s pricing allows for college students to get a few pairs of glasses for different occasions.

“Young people see glasses as an accessory,” Berryman said.

SEE is also unique in that it includes lenses in its prices without any hidden fees.

According to Berryman, Madison was the best fit when it came to bringing SEE to

Wisconsin. The vibe and location of State Street, being so close to campus, makes it the perfect fit for SEE, Berryman said.

One huge element of the SEE experience is the store itself. SEE’s atmosphere is fun with colored frames displayed throughout and a welcoming feel, unlike any other eyewear store.

Berryman said one of the goals was to create an environment different from other eyewear stores from the way the glasses were displayed to the store’s interior design.

The store creates an atmosphere perfect for customers to explore the hundreds of options with all eyewear being displayed so customers are able to access every option.

SEE employees are incredibly helpful and give great advice on what frames work. Picking out glasses can be a daunting task, but they can truly help.

They have you try on frames you might not think would work, but end up being the ones you pick.

For example, I’ve always stuck to square frames, but ended up leaving set on a pair of cat-eyes!

grey satterfield/the daily cardinal

SEE Eyewear provides eyecare services whether you need glasses, contacts or even an eye exam.

Seriously—cat-eye glasses.

In addition to carrying a huge selection of glasses, SEE has an optometrist on site to provide comprehensive eye exams. For college

students especially, SEE is a onestop shop for eyecare needs.

SEE has been voted “best eyewear” in readers’ polls in major publications such as the Detroit

Free Press and the San Francisco Baylist. SEE glasses have been featured in magazines from Vogue to O, the Oprah Magazine, and countless others.

Comfort food at its finest: Classic chicken noodle soup

By Rebecca Alt The daily cardinal

Whenever I think of comfort food, I think of one of two dishes: soup or potatoes.

On a particularly troublesome day, in which the garbage bag broke, spilling the remnants of long-forgotten Chinese all over your freshly swept kitchen floor, how do you rectify the remainder of your day? How do you reasonably appraise the meaning of your life when your favorite jumbo wine glass falls from the top shelf (It could hold an entire bottle!)? Comfort food, of course. You work through your sorrows one bite at a time, and what could be more soothing than a warm bowl of soup or a pile of buttery mashed potatoes?

At the risk of beating a dead horse with yet another potato recipe, I have chosen to bestow upon my fellow peers my family’s award-winning chicken noodle soup recipe.

By award-winning I mean the recipe has attained the stamp of approval from my father’s picky palate. Seriously, the man has three food groups: meat, potatoes and chocolate.

While each rejection of my butternut squash pasta or my apricot and almond quinoa chips away at my fragile, food-loving

heart, I can always slake his appetite with this soup. His mother passed the recipe onto my mother, who in turn handed down the one-pot perfection to us kiddies. Alas, mama knows best.

Homemade soup can at times seem daunting. Cracking open a can of Campbell’s tomato soup and giving it a little zap in the microwave is tantalizingly convenient. Why slave over a hot stove and a cutting board chopping an obscene amount of vegetables, just for a simple bowl of soup, especially when Chunky’s Fully Loaded Beef Stew sits atop your shelf, taunting you with its pop top?

Besides the ridiculous amount of sodium added (unnecessarily) to canned soup and the indisputable fact that mom’s homemade soup is always superior to Campbell’s condensed chicken noodle (even the kind with the star shapes), this particular soup recipe is surprisingly simple.

No toiling for hours chopping onions to the point of tears and breaking out into a cold sweat with this dish.

The maximal effort required is about 15 minutes of active work, with the rest of the time spent allowing the flavors to develop.

The one caveat for this reci-

pe, as with most soups, is that lunch will pack a tastier punch food? Send any recipe requests and the longer the soup sits, the than the last. recommendations to Rebecca Alt at better it tastes. The ingredients Still in need of more comfort alt2@wisc.edu. require time to allow their flavors to merry, so I recommend starting the process in the morning. But hey, after a taxing day you Ingredients Directions can rest assure you’ll 1 16-ounce bag of baby carrots 1) Cut celery and onions into come home to a deli6 stalks of celery, chopped in 4large chunks. Place carrots, onion, cious dinner that inch sections celery, tomatoes, chicken breasts and will wipe away your 2 large yellow onion, sliced in water into a large pot over the stove. worries and satisfy large chunks Season with salt and pepper (you can your soul.

32-ounce can of whole, peeled add more before serving, so don’t go Of course, it would tomatoes too crazy). not be wise to leave 3 to 4 quarts of water (96 to 128 the stove on while ounces) 2) Simmer on the stove for at least you’re at work or class 6 chicken breasts three hours (preferably 6). all day with no one to Salt and pepper, to taste tend to the unlikely 16-ounce package of egg noodles 3) Extract the chicken breasts and event that your stove set aside. blows up or the soup Note: After looking at the recipe, boils over. you may have noticed that the 4) CAREFULLY pour soup through Save this project chicken and vegetables do not, a strainer into a large bowl. Pour the for a Saturday when in fact, end up in the final probroth back into the large pot. you’re trapped inside duct. However, you can cut up the your apartment, nurschicken and pour the pieces into 5) Using a spoon or tongs, pluck ing a hefty hangover your soup or fry them in olive oil. the carrots from the bowl of vegor hunched over the I promise a quick sauté is all this etables and drop carrots back into readings you’ve been chicken needs—after all, the bird the broth. procrastinating. Rest has spent hours soaking up the assured the end result soup’s flavor. As far as the vegeta6) Add egg noodles. You can add is worth the wait— bles, I like to snack on them myself, the entire bag or less depending on this recipe makes but use your imagination. Perhaps your preference. Bring the soup to a enough to have your they’d pair nicely in a stew or chili, boil, until noodles are tender. lunch and/or dinner or served on top of a bed of grains? set for at least a week.

7) Season with salt and pepper.

Since time enhances the soup’s flavor, each

Chicken Noodle Soup

Student does the digging so you can wear affordable vintage pieces

By Maggie DeGroot the daily cardinal

It’s easy to find style inspiration to put together the trendy vintage look. You search for outfit inspiration on Pinterest, browse online in class, but when it comes to actually purchasing quality, affordable pieces it can be a challenging task.

That’s where University of Wisconsin-Madison textile and apparel design junior Lucy Angel comes in to help.

Chicago native Angel recently launched Shop Vintage Roots, www.shopvintageroots.com, an e-commerce website that features great thrift store finds at prices perfect for college students.

After beginning on the design track, Angel realized she wanted to move to the business end of the fashion industry.

Angel interned for Alexander Wang in the e-commerce department this past summer.

The website previously

served as a blog for about two years where Angel wrote fashion pieces and featured photos for style inspiration. After getting questions about the pieces featured, Angel decided to transform the blog.

“People would always ask me ‘Where did you buy that?’ or ‘Can I buy that from you?,” Angel said. “So it just sort of seemed like an organic way to start like a business online.”

Angel said she was first

inspired to start the website by her own love of thrifting.

Sometimes, however, the finds were not always the perfect fit.

“I would go into these thrift stores and find good pieces that either didn’t fit me or I could totally see this person wearing it and me not wanting to leave it behind,” Angel said, “so I would buy it and then I ended up with this surplus of clothes in my closet.”

The majority of the pieces,

including clothing and jewelry, are one-of-a-kind vintage finds from Chicago thrift stores.

Angel launched an exclusive holiday collection featuring 10 different pieces perfect for holiday parties, family gatherings, New Year’s Eve and more.

Angel said she has already made some sales since her recent launch and hopes her business will continue to grow.

“I’m really excited to see where it goes,” Angel said.

science Starfish: the terror of the Great Barrier Reef 14

l

Fall Farewell Issue 2012

Crown-of-thorns have made one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World their next victim

Ask Mr. Scientist: Matches and making gold Dear Mr. Scientist, How do strike-anywhere matches work? With regular matches you have to use the special strip to light them, but strike-anywhere ones you can (obviously) strike anywhere.

—Mile D. In order to understand how matches work, you first need to know something about phosphorus. Just as pure carbon exists in many different forms, such as graphite or diamonds, phosphorus exists in different forms. In one form it is known as white phosphorus and it has a special property—it ignites when it comes into contact with oxygen.

Both types of matches make use of this fact to create fire.

The matches also contain a mixture of sulfur, phosphate and something that will cause friction (usually glass powder). Here’s where the phosphorus comes in: In matches, the stable red phosphorus form is used and is contained in either the match head (if it’s a strike anywhere match) or the strike strip. When a match is struck, the glass powder creates a lot of friction and generates heat. This heat is able to convert a small amount of the red phosphorus into white phosphorus, which ignites when exposed to the oxygen in the air. This ignites the other ingredients in the match and you get fire.

By Nia Sathiamoorthi the daily cardinal

It is hard to picture starfish as the thugs of the marine world.

But ravenous, thorny starfish have been terrorizing and destroying Australia’s Great Barrier Reef for almost three decades.

A study released in October by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the University of Wollongong reveals that the reef has lost 50 percent of its coral cover in the last 27 years. The report, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, lists three factors that have led to the reef’s rapid degradation: tropical cyclones, predation by parasitic crown-of-thorns starfish and coral bleaching.

“This is an important study because it uses the best time series of data on corals, collected in a very important coral region, to quantify the rates of change of corals attributable to different factors in nature.

That is a difficult task, so the authors have accomplished something very impressive,” said Peter McIntyre, assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Limnology.

Coral reefs support one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world by providing irreplaceable sources of food and shelter for all kinds of marine life. Shore communities and commercial fisheries around the world depend on coral reefs to draw in the fish populations they thrive on. Many economies also profit greatly from the coastal tourism that the reefs attract.

A popular tourist spot off the coast off Australia, the Great Barrier Reef has long been proclaimed as a natural wonder of the world, covering 345,000 square kilometers of the Coral Sea. Despite its recognized cultural and economic value, human activities still pose a significant threat to the habitat’s survival. Scientists have recently found that pollution and climate change, the usual culprits of coral degradation, have also been spurring much larger and more dramatic decline of the reef.

Rising ocean temperatures brought about by climate change have hastened the increased death rate of sensitive coral organisms.

The coral dies leaving behind a white zombie structure of bleached coral. The study finds that only 10 percent of loss can be attributed to the phenomenon of coral bleaching.

The leading offender, causing 48 percent of the damage, was found to be an increased amount of tropical storms, thought to be another symptom of global climate change.

“We can’t stop the storms, and ocean warming is one of the critical impacts of the global climate change,” says AIMS CEO John Gunn in a press release. “However, we can act to reduce the impact of

dailycardinal.com

Dear Mr. Scientist, What exactly were alchemists thinking? How did they come by the idea that they could turn lead into gold?

—Isaac J.

graphic by haley henschel

crown-of-thorns [a native parasitic species of starfish].”

Researchers have linked the population explosions of the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) to an increased level of nutrients in the agricultural and urban runoff that drains into the ocean. The starfish feed on plankton, which thrive in these highnutrient conditions. Lowering the amount of chemical runoff and improving water quality could lead to a decrease in COTS populations.

Another option would be killing COTS populations individually.

The report shows that reducing the amount of cyclones, bleaching and starfish could lead to a maximum coral cover growth of 2.85 percent a year, signaling a slow but possible recovery. But halting manmade global climate change will

require worldwide participation and years of action. Scientists warn that if current conditions continue, the Great Barrier Reef will lose half of its current coral cover in five to ten years. They have proven that in the absence of just COTS, coral cover could increase by 0.89 percent each year. Reducing the starfish population could be the much-needed solution to our urgent problem.

“There is a considerable likelihood that when the next generation of Americans reaches adulthood, there will be no corals at all, or only some remnant reefs, left in the world,” said McIntyre.

“Given the inherent beauty and unrivaled marine biodiversity of these ecosystems, this is shameful because most causes of coral declines are direct or indirect consequences of human activities.”

graphic by haley henschel

While the idea of turning less valuable metals into more valuable metals sounds impossible (and it is, sort of), the alchemists of the 13th through 18th centuries had a reason to believe such a thing was possible. In nature, most metals don’t occur in their pure, lustrous form, but rather as an ore where it is bound to other elements.

Lead was often used during this time and a common ore that it comes from is called galena. In addition to lead, galena also contains a fair amount of silver which can be extracted from the lead. In the eyes of the alchemists, this seemed like magic: they start off with a rock, use it to get lead, then use that lead to get silver. Making the jump to gold isn’t that much of a stretch, but unfortunately for them, they weren’t aware of what was actually going on so they spent centuries chasing after an impossible dream.

Ask Mr. Scientist is written by Michael Leitch.

If you have a burning science question you want him to answer, tweet @DC_Science or email it to science@dailycardinal.com.

comics

dailycardinal.com

Numbers in boxes

Today’s Sudoku

Good luck with finals! Apparently in order to make a horse seem lively and carry his tail well, people would feague the horse, or rather, insert an eel up its bottom.

Fall Farewell Issue 2012 • 15

Evil Bird

By Caitlin Kirihara kirihara@wisc.edu

© Puzzles by Pappocom

Eatin’ Cake

By Dylan Moriarty www.EatinCake.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.

Caved In

By Nick Kryshak nkryshak@wisc.edu

Today’s Crossword Puzzle

By Melanie Shibley shibley@wisc.edu

Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com

GOOD LUCK ACROSS 1 A smelly smell 6 Old person calculator.

Really old 11 Reputation 14 Oohed and ___ 15 Defender of Grayskull 16 “Colorful” Vietnam seaport (a pun!)

17 They say it’s an island.

They lie 19 Best bring this 20 They let you get things 21 A derogatory word for “prostitute” 22 A pokey thing!

23 I breathe “__” which makes me “___” Like the Fonz 27 They think I can’t be “pretty” because I have boy parts 29 What you make bread with, spelt wrong 30 Goat-Deer-Thingy. In Europe 32 The best prelude to “_lition” 33 Consumed 34 Most of the girls I ___ regret it 36 Its gonna find your submarine!

39 Shot by these would be a good way to go.

Gangster-wise 41 “Nobur” backward 43 Character in the fat guy from “Whose Line”’s show 44 Perfume compound 46 Mexican money.

Meximoney?

48 ___line

9 Beer 4 51 A penny!

52 Double-bonded carbon compound 53 To have displayed good natured friendliness 56 Don’t run with it!

58 Big mouse 59 Audio Design Associates 60 A letter. In the alphabet 61 Not none 62 Imitation diamonds 68 “Formerly” in a French name 69 28-Down’s book 70 Singing. With Viking helmets 71 Obsolete form of “ear” 72 Put in a pig’s house 73 A central pole DOWN 1 Association of American Railroads 2 Say it twice and it’s a Saskatchewan band 3 “Ohio” spelt by a blind man 4 They fix broken people 5 Nasopharyngeal Tonsil 6 Not “Oohs” 7 Fresh Prince of “___Air” 8 India nursemaid 9 Dude named Louis did this across the west 10 Provides reference 11 To express oneself in an immoderately enthusiastic manner 12 The tax people do this

13 Like a peasant, but dumber 18 Line connecting points of equal pressure 23 Murphy’s Law, Peter’s Principle, etc.

24 Very tiny part 25 “Gone With the Wind” person 26 Slow down, weatherwise 28 Islamic leader 31 Mediterranean trading ship 35 How much you’re “supposed” to take 37 Kinda important kind of acid. For, you know, life and stuffs 38 Better fruit 40 Appear 42 Numbers or bit strings used only once 45 Comments 47 To the scarily tall clown, “Get your ___” 50 By pyro stands, not very hot 53 Lifts things. To build buildings and such 54 Continental hero of Connecticut, but more Nathan-y 55 Cows. Minus beef 57 I prefer the “bunny” version 63 No. Or not 64 Finale 65 Because it would be weird to celebrate “Old-Years” 66 Poetic way to say “before” 67 Makes the best Italian pizza, from fresh ingredients

.

Martha Washington and the Beer

By Jaime Brackeen graphics@dailycardinal.com

16

l

sports

Fall Farewell Issue 2012

dailycardinal.com

Five ideas for successful Rose Bowl trip ing within walking distance from parade seating.

By Cardinal Sports Staff the daily cardinal

The 99th Rose Bowl game kicks off at 2 p.m. (pst), but there’s much more to be had in the Pasadena, Los Angeles and Santa Monica areas than the 60 minutes of football Jan. 1. While none of these gigs will likely top the main event, we’d like to suggest a few things to do for those trekking west to watch the Badgers face Stanford.

Rose Bowl Tailgate

In-N-Out Regardless of whether this is your first trip to the Golden State or you have been there before, a must is a stop at an In-N-Out Burger.

Sure, we from the Midwest have the luxury to frequent a Culver’s as much as we want.

But sinking your teeth into an In-N-Out Burger DoubleDouble is a whole new experience. And if the 100 percent pure, always-fresh hamburger doesn’t get you, the inexpensive price will have you hooked.

Add in a side of fries and you have one of the best fastfood meals ever assembled.

Trust me, your life will never be the same after experiencing an In-N-Out burger.

Party at the Pier Although the majority of Rose Bowl goings-on will take place in Pasadena, the Party at the Pier pep rally in Santa Monica has been a favorite for Badger fans the past two years— upwards of 15,000 have shown up each of the last two years for the beachside gathering.

The specifics for the event

Mark kauzlarich/cardinal file photo

While Badger fans descend on Rose Bowl Stadium for the third-straight year for the Jan. 1 game, there are plenty of other experiences you shouldn’t miss on your trip to Pasadena. haven’t yet been announced, but keep tabs with UWBadgers. com in the coming weeks for those details.

If this year’s show is anything like the last two, you can expect a slew of Fifth Quarter favorites from the UW marching band, with interspersed appearances from former Badger greats and the football team.

Barney’s Beanery If you make the voyage to Santa Monica, set aside a little time and a lot of appetite to visit Barney’s Beanery.

Located no more than a 10-minute walk from the pier on 3rd Street Promenade, this sports bar has phenome-

nal food (especially the chili) and a great beer selection.

It may not have the following of In-N-Out, but the atmosphere at Barney’s is tough to beat.

Rose Bowl Parade

ing band, attendees will be treated to a slew of extravagant floats and high school marching bands from across the nation.

We recommend setting up some sort of public transportation to the parade, as you’ll be hard-pressed to find park-

No Badger gameday is complete without some pregame festivities.

While the atmosphere in Pasadena won’t be as pro-Wisconsin as the parties before a game at Camp Randall, it’s a must-have experience for any Badger going to the Rose Bowl.

Interim head coach and athletic director Barry Alvarez asserted “there’s no venue prettier in all of sports than the Rose Bowl.”

If you’re looking for a more exclusive event, the Badger Blast/Huddle at the Rose Bowl tailgate will run from 10:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. (pst) Jan. 1.

The official Wisconsin pregame party will take place at Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena and will feature appearances from the UW marching band, Bucky Badger and the spirit squad.

Tickets can be purchased through the “Fan Events” page at UWBadgers.com.

It might be difficult to partake in both New Years celebrations and the Tournament of Roses parade, as the latter begins at 8 a.m. (pst) Jan. 1.

However, those who commit to an early start to 2013 will experience an event with a longer tradition than the Rose Bowl game itself—the football came 25 years after the parade.

Beyond the UW march-

The Daily Cardinal’s Sports Top Five Tweets of the Fall Semester We spend an inordinate amount of time on Twitter, so we’ve decided to justify that wasted time by compiling the semester’s top tweets. They might be funny, they might be motivational and they might be none of the above, but as long as the tweets come from a past or current Badger player or coach, they pass the only prerequisite to make our list.

mark kauzlarich/cardinal file photo

Badger fans have made tailgating a gameday tradition in Madison, a custom that is continued before the Rose Bowl game.

Follow our new Twitter account, @DC_Sports_LIVE, for updates from the Rose Bowl.

What do you think of this semester’s top tweets? Is there another 140-character dispatch of goodness that should replace one of the tweets on this list? Tweet at us @Cardinal_Sports with your favorite tweets!

For previews, analyses and everything else Rose Bowl, visit dailycardinal.com.

sports

dailycardinal.com

Fall Farewell Issue 2012

l

17

top five moments continued from page 20

Wisconsin cruises back to Rose Bowl with 70-31 blowout of Nebraska in Big Ten Title Game

By Parker Gabriel The daily cardinal

The accusations started early and weren’t going to stop on their own. When Wisconsin beat Indiana Nov. 10 to ensure itself a spot as the Leaders Division representative in the Big Ten Football Championship Game, still three weeks and two tough opponents away at the time, the idea that the Badgers were going to “back in” to the game had already started brewing. Two overtime losses later, it was a full-throated chorus from some in the conference

and many across college football.

The company line in Madison was that UW couldn’t control the rules, just play by them. One thing the Badgers could control, as it turned out, was the Nebraska defense.

Wisconsin scored on its fourth play of the game. Then it scored on Nebraska’s first play of the game.

Given free reign of the field’s perimeters and an invitation to ignore Blackshirt tacklers, the offense scored again and again and again and again. That was just the first

half. By the end, 70-31 almost didn’t do the one-sidedness justice.

Senior running back Montee Ball (202 yards, 3 TDs) looked like the Heisman finalist he was in his junior year. Junior running back James White scored as a running back and a quarterback, a weapon of the present, the “Barge” formation.

Redshirt freshman running back Melvin Gordon announced his arrival and also gave a glimpse into the future with 216 yards on just nine carries.

A defense that has done yeoman’s work all year was finally rewarded with an offensive performance to match. The win redeemed a Sept. 29 loss to the Cornhuskers blamed largely on offensive stagnation. More importantly for the Badgers, it reaffirmed their status as the champions of the league.

The questions will continue.

It’s already been said that Stanford deserves better than a five-loss team. It’s been said UW is the worst Rose Bowl team in the 99 years

Grey satterfield/cardinal file photo

of the event. It is a fact they’ll be the first with five losses on their resume. Wisconsin didn’t have five losses in 1994, but it was called the worst team in the game’s history.

As Barry Alvarez, now the interim head coach, said Thursday, “there was at least one worse,” after that team beat UCLA 38-31.

Some will say this third trip in as many years carries an asterisk. If that’s what the Badgers get for laying a beat down on Nebraska, I’m guessing they’ll gladly deal with it.

Abigail Waldo/cardinal file photo

Lessons learned through football and journalism Parker Gabriel parks and rec

T

he last week has provided more than enough material for sports writers around here. With Bret Bielema deciding to leave the head coaching job at UW for the same position at the University of Arkansas, think about all of the potential angles to the story.

Why did he leave? Who might replace him? Didn’t Wisconsin’s director of athletics, Barry Alvarez, say Bielema was like a son to him? College football is evil, and money and power is all that matters.

Will this have a major effect for the Badgers for the next year? Two years? Five years?

What does it say about the status of being the football coach in Madison? Does it mean anything, or might Bielema’s decision be more personal than

indicative of the power structure between the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference?

Might the Badgers have a legend on the sideline for the Rose Bowl?

We’ve got a definitive answer for the last one, at least.

Each of the other questions, along with a whole host of others, could be articles or series of articles in their own right.

There will be straight news stories, there will be breaking news and anonymous sources and probably a good dose of speculation in column form on the state of the program and the future of western civilization.

Hopefully, between now and Jan. 1, I’ll be writing about a few of them. Perhaps the Badgers will even have a new coach by then, even if an old one will be prowling the sidelines, shades and scowl no doubt permanently affixed.

Yet most of the argumentative stuff—the “what does it all mean”—won’t come from me.

Not in this Parks and Rec space,

at least. This is the last hard copy of the paper this semester, and this is the last semester of my extended undergraduate stay on this campus.

I have the good fortune of providing coverage for the Cardinal up through the Badgers’ trip to Pasadena, Calif., but this is it in terms of ink on paper.

“Eventually, you’ll look back and maybe realize you did some pretty cool things in four or four-and-a-half years. It’ll go fast though.”

So I wondered what to write about. I could write about football and not acknowledge the end at all. I could try to explain the unexplainable and wear out my adjective bank trying to convey what makes the Cardinal or UW-Madison or

the people associated with both so special and so central to my time in college.

Neither seemed like a particularly satisfying exercise.

Then, as I thought through all the different angles and what could actually be intelligently said about them, I realized that I love covering football. I have loved the game for a long time. I was one of those kids who provided the play-by-play as I was running around the back yard.

I broke my foot in sixth grade, but made my mom sign me up for seventh grade ball before we went to the hospital.

But there’s a difference between enjoying the game and enjoying covering it, just like there’s a difference between liking politics and covering City Council or Joint Finance Committee meetings.

It’s the kind of thing you don’t realize when you’re driving through I-don’t-knowwhere-we-are-because-there’sno-cell-service, Indiana in the middle of the night or standing

outside Camp Randall in the freezing cold waiting for players to come out and tell you that no, they don’t have a comment on their head coach leaving.

Sure enough, though, it’s there.

I think this is part of the reason that sometimes there is chafing between the School of Journalism and the two independent papers on campus. With a few exceptions—The Badger Report and Curb Magazine among them—Jschool classes generally are limited to teaching students about journalism. They do not give you a chance to fall in love with it. Meeting two or three times per week for 15 weeks does not lend itself well to immersion, and immersion is when the news bug is most contagious.

I used to think the Cardinal would teach me, ostensibly, what I needed to know to get started in the field. There was even a point where I wished I had picked up a history major to go with political science instead of applying to the J-school. Turns out, I’m not right all the time.

The papers and the university have a symbiotic relationship.

Each provide challenges for the other at times, but in the end, they obviously have both helped mold a lot of really talented people into good journalists.

I’ve had a professor or two tell me I prioritize the paper too much. I’ve had an editor or two wish I was at a press conference instead of in class. My only request is that neither side discourage the other. Instead, ask more from journalism students here. Ask us to do it all.

Ask yourself to do it all.

Eventually, you’ll look back and maybe realize you did some pretty cool things in four or four-and-a-half years. It’ll go fast, though.

This is Parker’s final column for The Daily Cardinal. Care to share any parting words? Send him an email at sports@dailycardinal.com.

Gorge yourself with great content!

Visit The Daily Cardinal website at host.madison.com/daily-cardinal/

Sports Top five fall semester sports moments fall farewell issue 2012 DailyCardinal.com

Wisconsin women’s hockey team makes debut at LaBahn Arena against Bemidji State

By Rex Sheild the daily cardinal

In the spectacle of college athletics, the opportunity rarely presents itself for a program to unravel a brand-new, state-of-theart arena, as most simply add on to an already established venue.

However, this scenario held true for the University of Wisconsin women’s hockey team this year, as it made the move from the Kohl Center to LaBahn Arena.

As Brian Fantana said on Anchorman, the mood was tense Oct.19 for opening night at LaBahn. It was hard not to get chills down your spine during the pre-game festivities, as the program’s four national championships from 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2011 were presented on the ice with captains and assistant captains of the respective championship-winning teams receiving a standing ovation from the soldout crowd.

Also, it could not have been more fitting, Wisconsin played its

Shoaib Altaf/cardinal file photo

500th career game in the opening of LaBahn. While there were cheers and roars for the various pre-game festivities, the game presented little of those, as the high-octane Wisconsin offense was completely shut down by the stingy Bemidji State defense, resulting in a devastating 1-0 loss.

Was there was too much hype

surrounding the opening, causing the Wisconsin skaters to feel a wrath of pressure to perform for the Wisconsin faithful?

After the Beavers claimed a 1-0 lead after the first period in the series finale Sunday afternoon, the crowd and members of the media, including myself, began to grow restless, as the Badgers were

held in check once again.

However, the mood would change for the better. Late in the second period—the 13:56 mark, to be exact—2012 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner and senior forward Brianna Decker corralled the puck along the boards and swiftly deked past defenders en route to a back-

handed goal for the first-ever goal in the LaBahn Arena. As the horn sounded and the crowd celebrated like the ball dropped in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, Decker was fist pumping and was swarmed by her teammates in the process.

As the floodgates opened for Wisconsin, it would be negated by a late surge from Bemidji State with under a minute left in regulation to force overtime.

After neither team could generate any offense in the overtime period, the game would be decided in a shootout. Talk about a roller coaster of emotions. However, Wisconsin would not be denied, winning the shootout, 2-0, and claimed an extra point in the conference standings.

As I left the arena after postgame interviews, I paused and realized I had witnessed a piece of Wisconsin athletics history, which is why this spectacle was one of the top—five moments of the semester.

Badgers set team record for rushing yards vs. Indiana

By Ryan Hill the daily cardinal

The Badgers regained faith in their run game about as quick as possible by rushing for a schoolrecord 564 yards against Indiana just one game after gaining only 19 net yards on the ground in a 16-13 overtime loss to Michigan State at Camp Randall.

The rushing explosion— which also marked the most rushing yards by a Big Ten team since 1975—came at an opportune time for redshirt senior quarterback Curt Phillips, who was seeing his first live action since the 2009 season.

He attempted only seven passes and completed four of them for 41 yards and a touchdown in the 62-14 massacre.

“When you’ve got guys running like that, it doesn’t really matter who’s playing quarterback,” Phillips said after the game.

The win also clinched a spot in the Big Ten Championship game.

“I rattled off a bunch of BCS teams that are in the thick of it that are 6-3 or less than us, and I wanted to remind them that teams either quit, or they battle forward,” former Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema said in his postgame press conference. “Obviously they answered the bell today.”

Senior running back Montee Ball rushed for 198 yards and three touchdowns on only 27 carries, moving him into 2nd place on the all-time FBS touchdown record. His 49-yard scamper midway through the third gave the Badgers a 38-7 lead.

Right behind him were running backs James White and Melvin Gordon. White, a junior, needed only 14 carries for his 161yard performance, which included two rushing scores of over 50 yards. Gordon ran for 96 yards

and a touchdown on eight carries.

The ridiculous rushing total could be partially attributed to the offensive line’s ambitious goal of rushing for 400 yards. But Ball was in on the secret.

“I went in their room and watched film in their room because ours was locked,” Ball said following the game. “I saw their goals on a piece of paper. I’m glad we hit that mark.”

The three-touchdown performance also set up a chance for Ball to break the FBS record in front of his home crowd the following week against Ohio State.

Although Ball only ended up tying the record in the overtime loss, the performance against Indiana marked a performance unlike most others.

“We were laughing, joking around on the sideline,” Ball said of when he heard they broke the school record. “It felt great.”

Ball sets all-time touchdown record against Penn State the record-breaker following the game. “We really wanted to see it Senior running back and Doak happen last week at home, but for Walker Award winner Montee him to break that record is a speBall wasted no time in breaking cial moment for him and a special the all-time FBS touchdown record moment for all of us.” at Penn State just a week “They made it extremely after coming oh-so-close easy for me,” Ball said of the in front of Camp Randall’s offensive line after the game. student section against “It would have been sad if I Ohio State. wouldn’t have scored.”

Ball scored from 17 The frustration stemming yards out just over eight from the third overtime loss minutes into the game on in the team’s previous four a pitch play to his right games and Ball’s effort in BALL and tiptoed his final five breaking the record a week yards in for the score. before against the Buckeyes While the record was somewhat was especially evident when hidden by the eventual overtime addressing the media following the loss and the fact that it wasn’t bro- game, and understandably so. ken a week earlier at home against “He knew what went into that Ohio State, the team unquestion- touchdown today when he got ably recognized the achievement. it,” former Wisconsin head coach “It was a really good feeling,” Bret Bielema said. “It is a tremenredshirt junior center Travis dous accomplishment by him and Frederick said of seeing Ball score everyone around him, but it is

By Ryan Hill

the daily cardinal

obviously not as fulfilling as a win would be today.”

Ball admitted during the season that the record was on his mind.

“I think about it maybe twice a day,” Ball said jokingly after practice leading up to the Indiana game on Nov. 10. “It’s in my head, let me say that.”

Although the extent of the pressure relieved from Ball’s shoulders after breaking the record will never be fully understood, it’s safe to say we got a pretty good idea when judging on his performance in Indianapolis, Ind. After averaging only 2.8 yards per rush on the ground in Lincoln, Neb., on Sept. 29, Ball erupted for 202 yards and three touchdowns in the Big Ten Championship Game.

“We kind of set our minds before the game that this is our game,” Ball said after winning the Big Ten. “The running backs were going to set the tempo.”

grey satterfield/cardinal file photo

Men’s cross country places second at NCAA championships

By Matt Masterson the daily cardinal

On Nov. 17, the Wisconsin men’s cross country team trekked down to Louisville, Ky., looking to defend last year’s national title. While the Badgers ultimately came up short in that goal, they did make a return to the podium, earning an impressive second-place finish.

In finishing second, the Badgers strengthened their NCAA record by finishing in the top-three of the competition for the 22nd time. Under head coach Mick Byrne, Wisconsin has never finished lower than seventh at the championships and has earned three straight top-three finishes.

Senior Mohammed Ahmed, a participant is this summer’s London Olympics for Canada, finished up his storied Wisconsin career with an eighth-place finish, posting a time of 29:23.9, the fastest time of any Badger at the competition.

Ahmed also earned AllAmerican honors for the fourth-straight time, the seventh Wisconsin runner to complete the feat. Ahmed was joined on the All-American team by fellow seniors Maverick Darling and Reed Connor, who both ran careerbest times en route to 11th- and 12th-place finishes, respectively. Connor and Darling were also the top American-born finishers at the race.

In addition to its secondplace finish, Wisconsin also won the Big Ten Championship and the Greta Lakes Regional to cap off a very successful season.

five moments page 17