Mixed Signals
Republican lawmakers need to decide what message they are trying to promote and stick with it +OPINION, page 5
University of Wisconsin-Madison
The Daily Cardinal
Gov. Scott Walker announced Monday he will not challenge any of the more than 1 million recall signatures filed against him, leaving it up to election officials to verify the signatures. The Walker campaign had days to review and challenge signatures, after gaining 20 additional days from a Dane County judge. The same judge recently denied a request for an additional two-week extension. State officials now have until March 19 to verify 540,200 of the signatures and officially sanction an election. Walker campaign communications director Ciara Matthews said despite the help of more than 20,000 people to inspect the petitions, “the time to challenge hundreds of thousands of sig-
natures was simply unavailable.” While the conservative group Verify the Recall has also been analyzing the petitions, the Government Accountability Board, which is overseeing the recall effort, said it would not take into consideration any third party analysis of the petitions. All of the petitions filed against Walker, as well as those filed against the lieutenant governor and the four state senators targeted, are public record and can be found on the GAB website. Matthews said the Walker campaign still expects the GAB to address problems with fake names or addresses on the petitions. GAB spokesperson Reid Magney said election officials
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Student Org Spotlight
Student group raises $12,000 for child soldier prevention By Erin Luhmann The Daily Cardinal
Children living in the Congo sleep with one eye open in fear of machete-clad rebel soldiers rushing into their homes and kidnapping them to serve as child soldiers. Living in terror of a real life Boogieman, the youth have been coined “night commuters” as they flee to the city where they find safety in numbers. There they find peace, if only for one night. Across the Pacific Ocean, a new UW-Madison student group is working to protect these children. Afforded the stability of campus life, these students lead fundraising efforts to combat rebel armies that violently induct child soldiers in Central Africa. While only 31 students currently belong to the university’s Invisible Children chapter, members raised over $12,000 in their first semester this fall. The group’s parent organization, Invisible Children, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to end the use of child soldiers in Central Africa. Its projects focus
After hitting a game-winning three over Ohio State, Jared Berggren and the Badgers head home to face rival Minnesota +SPORTS, page 8
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Walker will not challenge more signatures By Paloma Trygar
Who’s next?
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Democratic Party of Wisconsin broadcasts first recall advertisement By Tyler Nickerson The Daily Cardinal
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin released the first of what will likely be a barrage of recallthemed advertisements Monday, as the anticipated recall elections of Gov. Scott Walker and five Republican politicians loom ahead. The advertisement, titled “Walkergate,” draws a parallel between the ongoing John Doe scandal involving six of Walker’s former aides and President Richard Nixon’s infamous “Watergate” scandal. Over the past few months, six former aides to then-Milwaukee County Executive Walker have been charged with crimes including theft of $60,000 intended for the families of soldiers killed in action, child sex crimes, illegal campaign contributions and an illegal email network. One former aide has been convicted and two have pleaded guilty in the ongoing scandal that Walker has continually denied having any knowledge of which Walker denies knowledge. Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Graeme Zielinski said while most Wisconsinites know about Walker’s “disastrous cuts to education, attack on work-
UW-Madison Professor James L. Baughman agrees the comparison is a stretch. “With Watergate, Nixon’s undoing was knowing more than he let on in the cover up,” Baughman said. “I don’t think they have that on Walker. I’m troubled by the idea of the analogy.” Zielinski defended the advertisement, saying there is plenty of evidence Walker has been hiding criminal activity and his denials are not believable. Despite his reservations, Baughman admitted, “It’s a clever ad. Maybe it’ll work.”
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Caitlin Bergstrom Invisible Children UW Chapter
ers, and failure on jobs,” many are unaware of Walker’s role in the scandal. According to Press Secretary for the Walker campaign Tom Evenson, Walker immediately addressed any issues of misconduct when brought to his attention and maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings. Evenson said in an email Monday that by comparing the John Doe case to Watergate, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s “character assassination” of Walker is “grasping at straws.”
By Abby Becker
up 19th out of the 2,580 fundraising teams. In recognition of their success, Marrisa Mora, the UW junior who is leading the initiative, will travel to Uganda this spring to witness the impact of the group’s fundraising efforts. All proceeds earned by the UW team directly finance Invisible Children’s Protection Plan. This
“It’s kids that are fighting, kids that are being abducted and kids that are being ignored.”
Photo courtesy of the democratic party of wisconsin
The advertisement, pictured above, implies a similarity between Gov. Scott Walker’s “John Doe” scandal and Watergate.
Amid demolition dispute, city delays State Street proposal The city delayed a State Street reconstruction propsoal after a decision from the Landmarks Commission Monday included the potential demolition of two Mifflin Street buildings. Block 100 Foundation’s controversial proposal to reconstruct State Street includes the potential demolition of two historic landmark buildings. The proposal includes plans to create a private outdoor garden and a modern building at the corner of Mifflin and Fairchild Street. Commission members delayed decision on demolition of the Schubert Building, 120 W. Mifflin St., because of historic preservation concerns. Although Landmarks Commission Chair Stuart Levitan said the Schubert Building is designated as a landmark, Block 100 Foundation said there are other buildings of the same style in the area. The commission did not decide on the fate of the Stark
on rebuilding communities that the rebel leader Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have terrorized since 1987. When the nation-wide fall fundraising campaign ended Dec. 14, the UW-Madison team stacked
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Kyriaki Chatzikyriakidou/Cardinal file photo
The Landmarks Commission postponed a decision on the potential demolition of two landmark buildings on Mifflin Street, delaying a redevelopment proposal for State Street.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”