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Thursday, October 1, 2020

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Health, social isolation during COVID-19

By Morgan Lock FEATURES NEWS EDITOR

“People are climbing the walls, pulling their hair out because of how isolated they feel — how isolated they actually are,” said Clinical Psychologist Dr. Michael Mazius.

The University of WisconsinMadison rolled out their SmartRestart plan in early August, ensuring students it was safe for a full return to campus this fall. However, many students feel the University neglected to institute reliable mental health treatment plans for their students during these uncertain times.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, over 40 percent of adults are struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues, a significant increase from the past years, according to a study done by the Center for Disease Control. Of that number, over 30 percent of adults are currently showing symptoms of anxiety.

Dr. Mazius named anxiety as the silent symptom of COVID-19, as many institutions, specifically universities, have not prioritized mental health when rolling out return to campus plans for their students.

“Anxiety is one of the natural outcomes of something like coronavirus, ” Dr. Mazius said.

“It comes from too much social isolation. I believe that virtual communication does not replace physical interactions.

The virus has forced people to adjust to a new normal remarkably quickly.”

People are struggling with sleep, mood issues, anxiety and depression; and in general people are thinking more negatively, according to Dr. Mazius.

Student View An anonymous sophomore described the University’s plan to bring students back to campus as “flawed” in many ways, but most notably in their lack of willingness to address the mental health crisis it will cause.

“Just school being online in general had a big impact [on my mental health],” the anonymous student said. “Especially with the most recent updates when we were in that two week span where everything shifted online, I would say that took a toll.”

The university has always offered a number of services for mental health to their students. The Associated Students of Madison (ASM) have made a push in the last few years to bring mental health to the forefront of the administration’s attention.

“There’s a large student concern about long-term structural student engagement on mental health, and a lot of people shared the same sentiment,” said former ASM chair Jordan Pasbrig in a previous interview. “We don’t

know exactly what this should look like, but we do think there should be something [with] more consistent communication and engagement with students.”

In the wake of COVID-19, Mental Health Services have GRAPHIC BY LYRA EVANS

been pushed to the back-burner, even though the majority of mental health professionals believe that mental health is at an alltime low in young adults.

Chancellor Rebecca Blank said that all faculty members were sent multiple emails with guidance on how to address mental health this semester. However, there was no enforcement or incentive for employees to actually read the emails.

“Of course, our residence hall advisors all had that information.

They’re trained in that. We try to get that information out to faculty. I think we’ve sent it around two or three times already this semester,” Blank said. But she questioned, “now, does every faculty member every time read through that and do it?”

Accessing Services Access Appointments are the first step to seeking services at University Health Services, but it takes time for them to become available. The typical timeframe for that initial appointment is a two week wait for a meeting with an “Access Specialist.

The university continues to employ a mere 13 mental health professionals for over 40,000 students.

During the Access Appointment, students talk with an Access Specialist who will listen to concerns, ask questions about a student’s symptoms, experiences and resources, and connect them with the services they need — either on or off-campus. During these meetings, students can request mental health providers with specific identities, background or training.

The process has not been altered to react to the increase in need during the pandemic. University Health Services recommends students set up

appointments online instead of calling, and schedule appointments for over the phone instead of in-person.

“We recognize this is a tough time for many, to hold the anxieties and stressors associated with this pandemic, while also balancing roles of students, employees, and family members. MHS will continue to support you virtually.

All services are remote at this time,” Mental Health Services website states.

The Administrative Role A multitude of students have expressed frustrations with the lack of communication between administration and the student body, leading to unnecessary anxieties that could easily be avoided.

“My professors seem ready to communicate with students, but in the overall sense of the university communication, I feel like they could be doing a lot more,” the anonymous student said. “The two weeks of quarantine that just happened I felt was really late notice, especially for students living in Sellery and Witte; they basically had a few hours-notices that they were going to be locked in their dorms for a few weeks.”

When Chancellor Rebecca Blank was asked on Tuesday about the administration’s role in

Mental Health page 2

FoodShare participants rise as food pantries prepare for winter

By Emma Grenzebach STAFF WRITER

The Wisconsin Policy Forum released a report Sept. 24 detailing the effects of the pandemic on FoodShare recipients. The data comes as food pantries face issues distributing food among populations vulnerable to the economic impacts of COVID-19.

The report detailed a 21% rise in FoodShare recipients since 2019. FoodShare, also known as SNAP and commonly referred to as food stamps, is the largest food program for low-income families across the state.

According to the report, these increases “reverse a trend of declining FoodShare recipients going back to 2013.” FoodShare added 83,600 recipients between March and April, the largest month-over-month increase since at least 2012.

While these numbers show that food insecurity during the pandemic has worsened, they do not show the entire impact.

In order to qualify for FoodShare in Wisconsin, a recipient must be living at or below the poverty level, which equates to an income of $26,200 a year for a family of four. While more people are living under these conditions than in recent years, there are still many food insecure people who do not meet the FoodShare requirements.

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), funded through the USDA, requires an individual to be at or below 300 percent of the poverty level. This requirement was loosened from 185% of the poverty level in response to the pandemic.

“We plan to adjust it back down when the volume of food begins to diminish and the demand diminishes,” explained Kitty Kocol, Wisconsin’s TEFAP Grant Administrator.

“But right now we’re opening this as wide as we can to move this food as quickly as we can to

families and households.”

In February and April, TEFAP saw increases in both operating and food budgets, allowing the income requirement to be relaxed. The amount of food available for distribution grew to 36 million pounds.

Beyond these increases, the USDA has also begun distribution of “Coronavirus Pandemic Assistance Program” farm-tofamily food boxes.

Still, this food allowance does not completely mitigate food insecurity issues.

“A lot of the food pantries that distribute TEFAP, many of them are also getting these boxes. So there’s a tremendous amount of food out there right now, but it’s very, very, very, very challenging to distribute it,” said Kocol.

During the pandemic, many food pantries have moved outside, begun curbside pick-ups or implemented other changes in operations to continue food distribution.

The River Food Pantry, the largest food pantry in Dane County, expanded their mobile-lunch program for children to run Monday through Saturday during the pandemic.

The program previously was available on Saturdays and non-school days.

“Especially in the spring and over the summer, when there wasn’t always food available through the school district, we wanted to make sure that kids still had lunches,” said Helen Osborn-Senatus, Program Manager at The River Food Pantry. “Now, MMSD is providing breakfast and lunches for pick up once a week at many locations around town which is really helpful, but we wanted to keep lunch running as often as it is just to ensure that people can always count on that meal every day.

Programs are considering the populations they serve as they deal with public health

challenges. According to Kocol, the food insecure population is disproportionately affected by chronic, underlying health conditions and disabilities, and has a high proportion of seniors. All of these population characteristics are risk factors of COVID-19.

Many food pantry volunteers are also seniors.

“We have a fragile population being served by an at-risk population, because all these populations are more at risk for COVID illness and, frankly, mortality,” said Kocol.

As winter approaches, pantries are preparing to make more changes.

“We did not contemplate back in March that we would still be in this position,” said Kocol. “So right now we’re in the process of surveying our pantries to find out who can do what in terms of continuing to stay outdoors.”

Pantries also struggled to put together plans as the pandemic

FoodShare page 3

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

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Thursday, October 1, 2020

UW chancellor open communication conference

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

By Will Cioci EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Volume 130, Issue 6

University of WisconsinMadison Chancellor Rebecca Blank met with the school’s two student newspapers Tuesday afternoon to answer questions and share her views on the current semester.

“We’re in the midst of three crises,” the Chancellor told the reporters from the Daily Cardinal and Badger Herald, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, the university’s financial woes and the “social revolution” brought on by the killing of George Floyd and enduring cycles of racial injustice.

Throughout the interview, Blank defended her administration’s decision-making in reopening campus amid the pandemic and called for more enforcement of public health

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down, saying the university bases its choices on a number of factors, including case counts, positive test rates and signs of spread throughout the community.

“If we think that we couldn’t enforce the health protocols to safely have students here on campus, we would act,” Blank said.

The Chancellor also stressed that the decision to re-open campus was not a financial one, despite widespread criticism that the decision was motivated by tuition and housing revenue.

Blank acknowledged the university would have lost money from housing contracts in a virtual semester, but she said the choice to re-open was ultimately a costly one, citing preparations that included investments in labor, personal protective

dents have called a symbol of white supremacy based on his stances during the Lincoln-Douglas debates and ordering a mass execution of Native Americans.

“Abraham Lincoln is probably one of our most honored presidents, and did a number of things that really affected this country, not just the Emancipation Proclamation,” Blank said. “Like all people of his time, he did some things that people consider a little less honorable 150 years later.”

Blank was also concerned by criticisms of the University of Wisconsin Police Department. The Associated Students of Madison, UW’s student governance body, held a vote of no confidence in UWPD Tuesday night, after the Chancellor spoke with reporters. The vote passed.

“I’m disappointed at the vote of

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Chancellor Blank held a press conference with two student newspaper to promote communication.

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guidelines from local authorities in Madison and Dane County.

The Chancellor also expressed her willingness to listen to and work with students of color to improve the experiences of marginalized groups on campus, but she pushed back against demands posed to the university by student activists, calling some of their asks “nonstarters.”

A Smart Re-Restart?

Just a week into instruction, the university’s plan to re-open and hold face-to-face classes fell apart, as UW reported nearly 1,500 positive tests among students and staff and county officials pleaded with the Chancellor to send students home.

Instead, campus underwent a twoweek pause, where all classes went remote and two residence halls were locked down.

“The first week ended up in a bad place,” Blank admitted, but said that in response, the university “took all of these health protocols even more seriously, and it worked.”

As of Monday, with reported cases declining, that pause is over.

Blank said that the university is more prepared now to handle the virus’ spread than it had been at the start of the semester. With UW’s own Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory now able to process tests, the Chancellor said that testing capacity is up and wait times are down. Those living and working in dorm buildings, where attempts are being made to “dedensify,” will now be tested on a weekly basis—twice as often as originally planned.

Blank declined to give specific criteria for another campus shut-

equipment and cleaning supplies.

“We would honestly be saving more money if students were not on campus,” Blank said.

Removing Lincoln, defunding UWPD are “nonstarters” Chancellor Blank acknowledged the frustration and anger that many students of color feel in the current moment.

Sparked by the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers in late May, protests and calls for change shook Madison throughout the summer. As campus reopened, those calls to end injustice—and for answers from the systems that allow it—have descended on the university as well.

“It’s clear that students of color are frustrated and angry. They’ve had a difficult summer,” Blank said.

“They are also looking in here at the university and want to say, what are you doing differently? In what ways are you showing institutional racism and implicit bias and white privilege? That’s a fair question, that all of us on campus need to be asking.”

Campus organizations like the newly-formed BIPOC student coalition have made demands of the university, including the removal of the Lincoln statue on Bascom Hill, increased funding for Black and minority student organizations, defunding of the UWPD and revisiting the demands of the 1969 UW Black student strike.

“There are a number of those that we’re working on,” Blank said. “There’s some of them that are nonstarters.”

Among those nonstarters is the Lincoln statue, which some stu-

no confidence, in part because it is pretty early in the semester,” Blank said, saying that such a vote should only occur after “a series of conversations” between the department and student leaders.

That vote was proposed in response to students’ concerns about UWPD officers assisting Madison police during protests where tear gas and other crowd controls measures were deployed this summer, in addition to UWPD’s alleged resistance to proposed reforms. ASM members met with representatives of the UWPD before proposing the vote, but say they were unsatisfied with the response.

Disputes With Local Officials as Football Season Looms In order to ensure that students are responsible for their off-campus behavior, Blank called for local officials, including the Madison Police Department, to exercise their authority to break up social gather-

+mental health

ensuring the mental safety of her students, she directed students to use applications in lieu of psychotherapy.

“There are certain types of calming apps that we asked [students] to use and to see if, ‘my levels of anxiety went down’, that’s sometimes quite helpful,” Blank said.

Telehealth is an adequate alternative to receiving psychological treatment in person, according to Dr. Mazius.

Chancellor Blank also expressed her excitement over

ings and enforce limits on bar and restaurant occupancy.

Blank’s call comes as she and Dane County Executive Joe Parisi have exchanged pointed press releases in recent weeks over the lack of cooperation between the university and local officials. Parisi has twice asked for campus to be shuttered and students sent home, and he claims that the university’s reopening ran contrary to the advice of local health experts.

“The county executive is not very happy with us, and I have tried to say let’s sit down and talk together,” Blank said. “I don’t think we generate any help firing messages back and forth with each other. If we aren’t in partnership with each other, we’re not doing our jobs.”

Blank went on to claim that there is no evidence from local officials of COVID-19 outbreaks on campus spreading to affect the greater Madison community. While this is true, Public Health Madison and Dane County has also written that, due to the difficulty of proving how virus spread takes place, “you will probably not ever hear us say there is clear-cut evidence of spillover.” Total cases in Dane County have soared since campus opened, driven by outbreaks among UW students.

The Chancellor also said she thought the criteria set by local officials as to when local schools would shut down again were “very low,” saying they should have anticipated a rise in cases when on-campus testing ramped up.

One particular area of concern with off-campus spread is the return of the Badger football games and the tailgating events that will inevitably come with.

“While we all love our football Saturdays, the festivities that come with them are going to serve as new spreading events within our community,” Parisi wrote in a statement after the Big Ten announced that its football season would resume in late October.

On Tuesday, Blank defended the choice to hold a season, which she and the other heads of Big Ten schools agreed upon unanimously.

The decision was made, she said, after all conference schools agreed to implement recommendations from a Big Ten Medical Advisory Group.

The Chancellor also said that there would be no fans in attendance at Badger football games.

Blank ended the call by emphasizing the agency of students in behaving responsibly and limiting the spread of the virus.

“People have said to me, well, what did you expect? They are students,” Blank said. “My reaction to all of that is, I do expect our students to be adults.” the fact that more students will be able to receive help in the new era of telehealth.

However, wait times to see a mental health professional have not decreased since telehealth appointments were introduced by the university. The typical wait time for an access appointment remains approximately two weeks, leading to the question if more individuals have been helped at all.

“We have done everything we can to support the students who are in isolation and who are ill,” Blank said.

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Thursday, October 1, 2020

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Transgender guidance protocols face temporary injunction

By Benjamin Farrell STAFF WRITER

As Madisonians prepare to cast their ballots in this year’s presidential election, residents must also decide whether or not they support the Madison Metropolitan School District’s Future Ready Referenda.

Since 2016, MMSD has been working on a $340 million overhaul, which will improve the school district’s

chance to lift Madison up as a thriving, equitable and inclusive community for generations to come is more important than ever,” Madison School Board President Gloria Reyes said in a promotional video.

The most recent referendum of a similar nature, organized by MMSD in 2016, passed by a wide margin.

The referenda budget splits into two categories, represented as sepa-

CAMERON LANE-FLEHINGER/THE DAILY CARDINAL

The MMSD referendum will be up to vote on the upcoming Nov. 3 ballot. decades-old facilities and strengthen its in-school and after-school programs. If passed, the referenda would result in a property tax increase of $77 for every $100,000 in home value for Madison residents.

“Your continued engagement is vital as we approach Nov. 3. I hope that you share our vision as we begin to recover together as a city. The

rate questions on the ballot: operations and facilities. The operations budget proposes $33 million in spending spread out over four years. An additional $317 million will be invested into the district’s “most pressing building projects.”

School board member Savion Castro described a feeling among MMSD educators that the budgetary

increase would help ensure the school district continues its momentum toward achieving equitable education in the areas it serves.

“What we’re really trying to do is to create learning environments that reflect our commitment to students, and [ensure that] our county is conducive to learning in the 21st century,” Castro said.

The target-areas of the operations budget cover a variety of needs.

Flagship issues include the newly proposed Early College STEM Academy partnership with Madison College.

The district hopes to provide a stepping stone for students of color, firstgeneration college students and lowincome students into fields that might be otherwise inaccessible to them.

Another key program within MMSD’s budget referenda entails strengthening the Behavioral Health in Schools program, which hopes to address mental health treatment by bringing full-time mental health professionals into three more of MMSD’s 48 schools.

Finally, MMSD hopes to bring full-day schooling to four-year-old students, an area of education they say will most benefit Madison’s most vulnerable and underserved student populations. MMSD holds one of the highest achievement gaps in the nation between students of color and white students, according to a 2013 Race to Equity report.

Castro pointed out the stark inequities and expressed his confidence in the future possibilities for the school district if the referendum passes.

“All of the program investments we view as equity projects. When you look at the research, those things make the most difference in terms of improving academic outcomes and social-emotional outcomes for Black students,” Castro said.

Outside of major renovation projects to MMSD’s high school campuses, the key issues on the facilities part of the referenda include the opening of the new Rimrock Elementary School on Madison’s South Side and relocation of its Capital High program.

The Rimrock Elementary School will serve a neighborhood that primarily consists of students of color who must also take the longest bus rides in the district for elementary school children, according to Castro.

“Right now, that neighborhood is majority black and brown students and POC students. They either hop on a 40-minute bus ride to Frank Aliss [Elementary School] on the East side, or they hop on a similarly long bus ride to Nuestro Mundo (an EnglishSpanish dual-language MMSD school),” Castro said. “We really view that as an equity strategy.”

Castro also emphasized that while this new school would benefit its students the most, it will also open up opportunities to expand Pre-K and kindergarten at Frank Allis Elementary school, where Rimrock’s new students would have previously enrolled.

“We’ll be able to move Nuestro Mundo to the Frank Aliss building to allow that school to expand their program as well by having more space to expand to 4k,” Castro said.

Another goal of the facilities portion of the budget will give the Capital High program its own building. Currently, students enrolled in the program meet at two campuses: one in a strip mall in Madison’s far west side and another on the third floor of Madison’s 4K-2 Lapham elementary school located on Madison’s East side.

The Capital High program specializes in assisting MMSD students who struggle with traditional forms of learning. It also serves as an alter-

native educational path for program participants by offering smaller class sizes and more intimate teaching settings. Despite lacking the proper facilities, the program’s graduation rate has remained exemplary, according to Castro.

Castro also expressed the importance of this particular project and how it emulates the overarching goal of the referenda in providing educational equity to students of all racial and financial backgrounds in the school district.

The new location for Capital High will be at the Hoyt Building, which now houses the Madison School and Community Recreation offices.

MMSD plans to renovate this building to create a state of the art, 21st-century learning space. The building will also house a program for pregnant MMSD students, to assist with their extra schooling needs and prenatal care.

These projects also accompany major renovations to all of MMSD’s high schools. The renovations, which will assume the lion’s share of the facilities budget, range from updating classrooms, to adding entire new floors onto school grounds. Madison Memorial High School, for instance, will see its first renovation since 1970.

Ultimately, the proposed changes aspire to improve the experiences of students at every socioeconomic level across the city and set the stage for educational growth across Madison.

“This is a decade-long project that we’re really excited about, and if it passes, we think this could reshape the way education looks in Madison for every MMSD student,” Castro said. “We saw community support for these issues, so we’re optimistic about the referenda getting through.”

The MMSD referendum questions one and two will be up for a vote on the Nov. 3 ballot.

ASM voices displeasure of UWPD through a no confidence vote

By Jackson Mozena STAFF WRITER

Tuesday night, the Associated Students of Madison (ASM) passed a vote of no confidence in the University of Wisconsin Police Department in a 9-5 vote.

The vote, which is largely symbolic, comes in the wake of an ASM meeting last week when members criticized the UWPD’s presence at protests this summer, in addition to the department’s failure to fully adopt a list of reforms--including those outlined by #8cantwaitstandards.

In response, Grant Allocation Chair Samuel Jorudd and several other members of ASM-including Chairman Mathew Mitnick--organized a vote of noconfidence to communicate the organization’s disapproval of the UWPD’s policy decisions.

Following the meeting, Chairmen Mitnick congratulated his fellow council members for their decision to publicly voice their distrust of the UWPD. “I am so proud to see my colleagues on the student council stand up for justice with the outcome of this vote,” Mitnick said in a press release. “No longer will student voices be silenced.”

Prior to the vote, several dozen members of the public voiced their opinion on the vote of no confidence, with a majority, including City Council Alderman Max Prestigacomo, speaking in favor of the action.

“I think it’s shameful that I hear

privileged people here tonight defending an institution they are the least affected by,” Prestigacomo said.” I’d ask those [who oppose the vote] to ask themselves if they have ever been impacted by police. A no confidence vote tonight is neither disrespectful nor radical, what’s radical is for police departments like the UWPD to continue to ignore the demands of black and brown community members.”

Tarah Stangler, a member of the UW’s Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) coalition, who have previously organized several student protests, also spoke in favor of the vote of no confidence.

“This is not the first time community members have talked with the UWPD about adopting reforms.

A vote of no confidence is the only viable way we as students can force the department to make change. We cannot wait for someone to get killed by the UWPD before we see change,” Stangler said.

UWPD Police Chief Kristen Roman was barred from participating in debate with members during the meeting, despite having met with ASM previously and committing to continued cooperation with the organization in a September 22nd blog post.

Roman stated her disapproval with the organization’s decision to prevent her from speaking with members during the meeting.

“I am disappointed. Not in the questions themselves, or the specific

requests for change, but for not being given the opportunity to engage in a full process prior to this vote. A process in which we work together in constructive and meaningful ways. A vote that cuts to the chase and bypasses any opportunity to engage – to share information – to listen, to learn, to clarify, to contextualize – undermines trust-building. I believe my demonstrated willingness to engage openly and honestly and UWPD’s overall service record has, at a minimum, earned us that opportunity,” Roman said in a statement after the vote.

This sentiment was echoed earlier in the night by former chairperson Laura Downer who similarly voiced her displeasure with the exclusion of Roman from debate “I think this is a rash decision to take this vote tonight,” Downer said.

“If we want more communication with UWPD, why would we not let them speak? I’m dismayed by how this has happened so far.”

Members also voiced concerns that a vote of No Confidence would erode the relationship the council presently has with the UWPD and counterintuitively hinder future attempts to implement change within the department.

“We will go so many steps backwards with our relationship with the UWPD should this council make a vote of no confidence” said former ASM member Amol Goyal. “This vote of no confidence paints a false image of the UWPD as a whole. You as ASM leaders have numerous opportunities

to work with UWPD and I think you would value those changes brought about by continued cooperation.”

Prior to the meeting, Chancellor Rebecca Blank spoke in defense of the UWPD’s attention to recent concerns about policing.

“Our community has a wide range of public safety needs that

need to be and are met by UWPD,” she said in a statement. “I recognize and support community efforts to protest long-standing injustices within law enforcement and the legal system, especially as it relates to the Black community. But I believe UWPD has been responsive to this moment.”

GRAPHIC BY ZOE BENDOFF

+FoodShare

developed, which caused some of the TEFAP food pantries to close. The River Food Pantry was able to continue distributing food without a change in schedule.

“Community members and agencies have also just stepped up,” said Osborn-Senatus.

“We’ve had meals donated from several different restaurants to include in our mobile lunch program. So luckily a lot of community consciousness, which is just a great partnership for us to be a part of because then it helps us support our community in

more ways.”

Because the Wisconsin Policy Forum report predicts even higher numbers of FoodShare recipients in the future, this community support may become even more important.

Kocol urged people struggling with food insecurity to try to access the benefits they are entitled to.

“We really encourage people if they have a need to set [reluctance] aside. So many folks are in need right now, many people are in the same boat,” said Kocol.

sports Five-star freshman Jack Nelson joins stable of talented offensive linemen

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Thursday, October 1, 2020

By Simon Farber SPORTS EDITOR

Paul Chryst has certainly applied his calm, almost-emotionless demeanor to Wisconsin Football’s personnel decisions over his five full seasons as head coach thus far. Known for being patient with young talent, Chryst and his staff most recently redshirted five-star offensive lineman Logan Brown and the school’s highest-rated quarterback in history, Graham Mertz, last fall.

But there’s one true freshman on this year’s team that might just force Chryst’s hand in playing time during the newly-reinstated Big Ten season: offensive tackle Jack Nelson.

Nelson, a six-foot-seven behemoth on the field, is the centerpiece of a 2020 Wisconsin recruiting class that finished 26th in the nation according to 247Sports, the highest mark for UW reaching back to 2000.

Nelson’s recruitment came down to Michigan and Wisconsin, but the Stoughton, Wisconsin native didn’t see it as much of a competition.

“When Michigan offered me, I didn’t really consider it,” Nelson told the Daily Cardinal earlier this summer. “They just don’t have

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the culture that Wisconsin does at O-line. Wisconsin is the dream school to be offered as a lineman.”

When it comes to putting lineman into the pros, Nelson felt that the coaching staff at Wisconsin had proved to be among the very best in the country. The Badgers currently have seven active offensive lineman in the NFL as of week three this past Sunday.

As a newly-minted Wisconsin commit, Nelson impressed scouts at the AllAmerican bowl in early January.

It was a particularly big test for Nelson; his biggest critique as a prospect was the lack of high-end talent he’d competed against in WIAA Division 2.

“It was a fun week, but a little stressful from the jump in competition,” Nelson said. “Overall it was faster gameplay, stronger players, faster players. I thought I handled the competition pretty well.”

Another important Badger recruit was in San Antonio for that showcase — four-star running back Jalen Berger. Berger, the latest back in the New Jerseyto-Madison pipeline, is considered the successor to Jonathan Taylor — even if Chryst hasn’t committed to giving him carries this fall.

GREY SATTERFIELD /THE DAILY CARDINAL

Wisconsin is a haven for offensive linemen like Nelson; Travis Frederick (above) played seven years in the NFL. When asked about the relationship between lineman and running back, Nelson was adamant that the two units must work together to succeed.

“That relationship is a special relationship on the football team,” Nelson said. I got to meet Jalen at the All-American game. I’m really excited to get back to work and get

to know him better.”

At the risk of looking too far into the future, Nelson, Brown, Mertz, and Berger are all being penciled in as important pieces for 2021 and beyond. With the recent commitment of 2021 five-star Nolan Rucci, the offense is as talented — at least on paper--as it has ever been

in Madison.

The heightened expectations aren’t weighing negatively on the team, Nelson insists.

“I wouldn’t say we have a ton of pressure,” Nelson said. “The program is in a great direction, and our class definitely wants to add to that. We want to leave our mark.”

World Cup hero and former Badger Rose Lavelle to give Winter Commencement speech to graduates

By Cole Wozniak STAFF WRITER

service on the US National team, Lavelle was named to the 2019 FIFA FIFPro World XI even though she only played in six total games for the Spirit.

Lavelle signed with the Manchester City Women’s Football Club ahead of the 2020-21 Football Association Women’s Super League, which is the highest level of women’s soccer played in England.

Addressing the disappointment of the commencement ceremony only being available virtually, Bukowiec said “While we cannot come together in one physical space, we will still cheer for the achievements of our graduates as one class. I am confident Badgers know how to celebrate each other wherever we are, no matter the circumstance.”

Bukowiec says the Senior Class Office will be working closely with University leadership to ensure a quality virtual commencement for all winter graduates. “We are thrilled Rose Lavelle will be speaking to graduates this winter. Rose is an extraordinary University of Wisconsin alum who is not only a world champion player on the field but a champion off the field as an advocate for gender equality and equal pay in professional sports,” says Bukowiec. “I am excited to hear about Rose’s incredible success and how her time at the University of Wisconsin helped her reach her goals.”

UW has announced 2017 graduate and international soccer star Rose Lavelle as the featured speaker for the 2020 Winter Commencement on December 13th. Lavelle joins fellow Badger athletes JJ Watt, Russell Wilson and Pat Richter as the only athletes ever to give commencement speeches for the University of Wisconsin, and is the first female athlete to ever receive this honor.

Lavelle, a 2017 graduate who majored in sociology and a four-year starter for the Badgers Women’s Soccer team, was a 2015 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy semifinalist, two-time Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, Big Ten Freshman of the Year as well as a First-Team All-American.

The university also announced that they will later “find an opportunity,” for future in-person celebration events, as the over 2,000 degrees will be bestowed virtually due to the ongoing coronavirus epidemic.

“I’m excited to speak with the graduates at UW, all of whom are working to achieve some important goals.” said Lavelle. “ Madison has always been a second home for me. The opportunity to give back to the school that gave so much to me is just a tremendous honor.”

Lavelle started her soccer career at Mount Notre Dame High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she was named Cincinnati’s Athlete of the Year as well as Ohio Sports Woman of the Year.

The Cincinnati native gained prominence after scoring the winning goal for the United States in the 2019 World Cup Finals in France. Lavelle was granted the tournament’s Bronze Ball to honor her performance as the third best player in the World Cup. In the National Women’s Soccer League 2017 collegiate draft, the former Badger star was chosen first overall by the Boston Breakers. She started her professional career scoring two goals in her first eight games as a Breaker, and earned Player of the Month honors for April.

Lavelle was again a first overall pick in a 2018 disCOURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON persal draft by the Washington Spirit. Even though Lavelle spent 4 years with the Badger women's soccer team, where she totaled 68 points and started all but one game. her second year was marred by injury as well as her

arts ‘I May Destroy You’ is a must-watch dailycardinal.com

By Sophia Vento STAFF WRITER

A cluttered bedroom, slips of paper and notes pasted hastily on a wall — it looks like a television drama where detectives work diligently to find a serial killer on the loose — but, in this case, it’s the bedroom of the young, British writer, Arabella Essideu.

Just the first frame of BBC One and HBO’s “I May Destroy You” leaves the viewer with a mountain of questions.

Written and created by Michaela Coel, whose most notable works include “Chewing Gum,” “I May Destroy You” is the television show of the summer.

With flawless direction, writing and acting, it touches on the humanness of us all in the cultural context and stratosphere of the #MeToo movement; it is what good television is and should be in today’s cultural landscape.

Coel — a London-based actress, screenwriter, singer, director and producer — wrote, produced, directed and starred in this 12-part comedy-drama series. Drawing off her own experience of sexual assault, Coel weaves Arabella’s trauamatic, gut-wrencing story together while maintaing topnotch humor, though often rooted in the tension and darkness of the situation at hand.

The tension, flowing freely through all of the dialogue, keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat. The dialogue, infused with English and London slang, is fast; the intimacy

Thursday, October 1, 2020

between Arabella and her friends is obvious through every word, every ting, every innit.

This Black Britishness, an integral component of the story and the characters, as described by Bolu Babalola, at Vulture, “is not notable, and to understand that it is not notable, you must first recognise that it is present and important. You must recognise that it matters. Black Britishness need not be removed to relate to the show.

‘I May Destroy You’ as a piece of art, is not in the business of servicing those who ignore the needful. It is an intellectually and emotionally vigorous show that gloriously presents its world without explanation.

It is a show that states that when one says rah, you don’t need to understand to understand.”

Contemporary television, so often confined and constrained to Whiteness and Americanness, deserves more put forth by creatives like Coel, who draw on their background and their distinct personal experiences, yet connect the story to the humanness of us all.

Coel was offered $1 million to develop the show with Netflix. But after learning she would not receive rights or any percentage of the copyright of her experience, her idea, her show — she turned down the offer.

In a stunning profile, at Vulture, E. Alex Jung describes the brilliance of Coel and her show. “There is no writers’ room; she is her own fuel and engine. As she imagines her onscreen character, Arabella, she considers her own life and the lives of others.”

It’s Coel’s story, but a masterful fictionalization, bursting with complex storylines and characters experiencing everything that makes humans human. It’s practically impossible to describe what the show is actually about without doing a disservice the brilliance of Coel and her writing.

We see the protagonist Arabella and her best friends Terry (Weruche Opia), an aspiring actress, and Kwame (Paapa Esssideu), a fitness instructor, deal with topics ranging from consent to relationships to sexuality to ambition and success.

Themes, like that of consent, for instance, are often turned on their head, and observed through a kaleidoscope; the viewer is left to interpret all perspectives, all experiences and all emotions. The show is messy; messy in the sense that the viewer faces a moral dilemma, requiring serious introspection.

Arabella isn’t perfect; she reads situations wrong, she is a bad friend at times, she causes the viewer to shake their head and want to scream at your screen.

This is the genius of Coel: as a writer, a director and an actress. The audience is left rooting for Arabella, hoping that she finds happiness and closure after a horrific, traumatic assault; but there are moments where you don’t like the character.

This is the complexity of humans and the human experience, presented beautifully through the life and decisions of Arabella.

Dancing around the intricate dialogue and the phenomenal writing

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BBC/VAL PRODUCTIONS/NATALIE SEERY

Micaela Coel explores topics of sexual assault in a fast-paced society. and acting, is the music.

Without a set soundtrack, music used throughout the series ranges from British hip-hop to Gospel to Garage to EDM to Indie Pop. Every song, carefully selected to reflect the conversations, the moments of silence, the inner-thoughts of characters, is powerful in its words, its sounds and meanings.

Arabella dancing, Arabella stumbling, Arabella reaching for the door to leave Ego Death Bar — Reverend Milton Brunson & The Thompson Community Singers’ “It’s Gonna Rain (Come On in the House)” plays.

“Can’t you see the clouds gathering?/Don’t let it be, said too late/ There’s a brand new feeling in the air/Better run, in the ark, before the rain starts.”

What happened? Is Arabella okay, what’s going on ?

The music stops abruptly. Arabella typing vigorously, showering, using the restroom, brushing her teeth — a sensory overload; it’s hard to listen.

Arabella walking the streets of London, disoriented, the buses, the cars, ringing — blood dripping from her forehead.

What happened? Is Arabella okay, what’s going on?

Now in the comfort of her flat, she grabs the door knob to enter her bedroom; a violent image blankets her mind.

What happened? Is Arabella okay, what’s going on?

“I May Destroy You” aired this summer and is available to watch on HBO.

Marc Rebillet, also known as LoopDaddy, is an internet sensation that you will definitely want to know and stream

By Seamus Rohrer STAFF WRITER

It’s Monday, the seventh of September. While the rest of the United States relishes in the lazy morning slumber of Labor Day, Marc Rebillet starts a YouTube livestream recording a bongo loop in nothing but boxer briefs. Rebillet — pronounced RubE-A — has amassed a cult following thanks in part to these marathons of quirky, completely improvised songs. Also known by his self-dubbed alias Loopdaddy, Rebillet is far from a one-trick pony. His YouTube catalogue of songs seemingly conjured out of thin air is extensive, and he has multiple full length albums on streaming services. Musically, Rebillet draws from funk, neosoul and hip-hop, creating a tapestry of sound as skillful as it is goofy. Rebillet’s minimalistic sound and setup represent today’s myriad of musical niches, and encourages his audience to find their own.

Rebillet’s home setup isn’t exactly robust. Essentially, he uses a keyboard, a looper and a microphone, along with the occasional shaker egg or hand drum or whatever else he’s feeling on that par-

MARC REBILLET/YOUTUBE

Marc Rebillet has gathered a following through his Youtube.

ticular day. During his live streams, he’ll often have listeners call in and request a song topic, which is the only perceivable form of structure during the multiple hours he’s live online. For his shorter videos, he’ll jam freely or build a semi-structured song in the moment. The first couple times you listen, Rebillet’s sound takes you by surprise. He builds songs from the ground up, starting with a few sound effects or some recorded clapping. He continues to layer, all filmed on the spot, until he’s serenading his viewers over a deeply textured, catchy soundscape. Rebillet draws in his avid viewers with the sheer intimacy one feels with a song after watching him construct it live, track by track. Whether he’s wailing over a soulful organ melody or spitting game over a seductive funk baseline, Rebillet connects with his audience in a unique way few contemporary musicians can lay claim to.

Rebillet exhibits a seemingly endless catalogue of musical inspiration, and his expansive taste is evident in his own music.

It’s not easy to find an adequate comparison, as in many ways Loopdaddy is the first of his kind. One act that readily comes to mind is Ween, the delirious 90s alternative rock duo out of New Hope, Pa. While Marc Rebillet and Ween come from completely different eras of music and are technologically different in their execution, there is much common ground between the two. Both utilize elements from all across the musical spectrum. Both seem like a novelty at first glance but actually possess prodigious talent upon further review. And both are completely free-spirited, never batting an eye to what people think about them. Listening to Marc Rebillet or Ween, you can hear the sheer ardor for music they both display so gleefully. It’s these kinds of artists, the ones not motivated by a record label check but by a fervent desire to create, that keeps passion alive in music.

Despite garnering just over 200,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and about the same number of views per video on YouTube, Rebillet is well respected among his musical peers.

Loopdaddy appears on other YouTube music shows such as hip-hop producer Kenny Beats’ “The Cave” and on music critic Anthony Fantano’s popular channel. Rebillet’s willingness to collaborate, not just with other respected figures in the music world but with his fans and viewers, demonstrates his unconditional love for music. For an artist with such a distinctive skill set and style, his ability to adapt and mesh with every kind of musician and personality is making him an increasingly sought after commodity in the internet era of music.

Rebillet’s music is randomness and improvisation at it’s finest.

Just when you think you’ve got him figured out, he’ll come up with something wildly unpredictable. This element of serendipity keeps viewers coming back, which is an important component of being an internet sensation. Rebillet and artists like him need tactics to simultaneously attract and retain the interest of fans. He is successful in that he constantly keeps his content fresh, but also stays true to his identity and underlying ideology. Across his wide array of performances, livestreams and song videos, Rebillet’s minimalist tendencies are what define his musical personality.

From his clothes and decor to his equipment and production, Rebillet oozes unadorned swagger. He’ll record in a bare room wearing nothing but a robe, and yet his style and charisma couldn’t be more pronounced. He’ll use just a laptop, a keyboard and a looper, and yet he’ll achieve a skillfully professional sound. These stylistic choices serve not only as key ingredients of Rebillet’s persona, but as a way to get a larger message across. Rebillet’s minimalist style is a way of spreading his musical passion, emphasizing how little one needs to do what they love.

In this highly volatile digital era of music, it’s impossible to know who will last and who will fade away into internet purgatory. Thus, we cannot predict how Loopdaddy will be remembered amongst a deep class of internet music stars. Despite how he is remembered, Rebillet’s impact on music will be felt for decades to come. His giddy style of genre blending brings together fans from all realms of music. With a solid catalog of music on streaming services supplementing a vast YouTube library, Rebillet’s mastery of multiple media platforms is a blueprint for aspiring internet musicians. Loopdaddy isn’t just an online presence, however. When the coronavirus pandemic struck the nation and other artists hunkered down, Rebillet geared up to go on tour — a drive-in tour, that is. This innovative solution to live performances in compliance with social distancing guidelines further cemented Rebillet’s status as a premier avant-garde musician. At one of the aforementioned drive-in shows in Ft. Worth, Texas, Erykah Badu surprised Rebillet and the audience with an impromptu appearance.

Rebillet has clearly garnered a sizable amount of respect in the musical world. Will Loopdaddy be taught in a future music history class? Well, that remains to be seen, but the current music history curriculum trajectory suggests not. But despite a lack of national recognition, Marc Rebillet’s dynamic music and personality deserve a great deal of respect from listeners and artists of every variety.

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UWPD arrests all members of ASM to show how well they can do job following ‘No Confidence’ vote

By Jordan Simon

PHOTO BY BETSY OSTERBERGER

UWPD officers arrested all members of ASM Wednesday morning to show how well they can do their job following the campus organization’s vote of No Confidence in UWPD on Tuesday night.

“The No Confidence vote serves to undermine student support in the job we’re doing, and, frankly, it’s a sentiment

Debate Drinking Game: Almanac Edition

By Gillian Rawling Nov. 3 is approaching faster than anyone could have hoped for. If you’re anything like me, this primary and general election cycle has cut down your will to live more than when Corn Pop, a bad dude by the way, tried to cut candidate Vice President Joe Biden in 1962. Despite our impending doom regardless of the decided candidate, we can still make the best out of a bad situation. I introduce to you: The Biden-Trump presidential debate drinking game. Grab a drink — virgin if you must —, a bottle of your favorite liquor and a group of your friends or roommates; there’s no excuse — it’s not like any of you have classes to get up and walk to anyway.

The rules of the game are sim-

ple. Drink whenever: 1. Joe Biden (inevitably) says something incoherent 2. Amy Coney Barrett is mentioned 3. Either of the candidates mention rioting or looting 4. Trump Brings up ANTIFA 5. Joe Biden mentions Obama 6. Trump says “fake news” and or ‘Chyina’ 7. Trump says he handled COVID well 8. Either of them starts a sentence and you can’t really figure out where it’s going 9. Trump calls Biden a socialist 10. Biden mentions Trump’s tax returns And if you want to go really crazy, take a shot whenever: 1. Something racist is said 2. They talk about each other’s

mental health 3. The moderator has to pull Biden off Trump — because we all know who would win in a fight 4. A question about the evergrowing wealth gap in America is mentioned or they are asked about wealth tax — this has about a chance of one in a million on corporate news By the end of this drinking game you’ll either be sober and pleased with the level of diplomacy and eloquence between the two candidates — although I think we all know this will not be the case — or you’ll just be too drunk to care. Hey, the northwest is on fire, worldwide coronavirus cases are reaching the 1 million mark and Breonna Taylor’s killers are still free, but at least we have alcohol.

that is just inaccurate,” said UW Police Chief Kristen Roman.

“We felt that the best way to restore the faith of ASM and other students in our organization was to show them our process and the work that we do, so we’ve arrested them and held them all for questioning.”

ASM Chair Matthew Mitnick commented from within his cell after officers removed the duct tape from his mouth, stating

that, “our No Confidence vote was held precisely because of our distrust in UWPD’s judgement in using force. I don’t think they got the memo.”

“I really do think this plan will work,” Roman continued. “Of course, if ASM is still not convinced that we can do a great job, our next plan of action is to let them play with all of the tear gas we didn’t buy this summer.”

Lincoln: “Nobody asked me if I wanted to be removed – because I definitely do”

PHOTO BY JAKE SKUBISH

By Jordan Simon

PHOTO COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS/BLINKOFANAYE

Trump SCOTUS Justice, Brett Kavanaugh, joining in on the drinking game fun because he still likes beer.

In an interview with campus newspapers on Tuesday, Chancellor Rebecca Blank stated that the removal of a historic statue of Abraham Lincoln on Bascom Hill was a “nonstarter,” shutting down demands made by various BIPOC organizations and individuals on campus who have claimed the statue serves to reinforce white supremacy.

“Nobody asked me if I wanted to be removed from campus, though. Because for the record, I do,” the statue of Lincoln told reporters. “I could not be more in the middle of the campus COVID-19 hotspot, each new protest threatens to topple me over like my friends

and colleagues and, also, what the shit is up with all the foot rubbing? You know I can’t buy new shoes right!”

Lincoln has overlooked campus from atop Bascom Hill for over 100 years, enduring the Great Depression, World War II and the campus protests during the Vietnam War, but it seems as if 2020 has finally gotten to the statue. Lincoln wants out.

“I tried reaching out to UHS for mental health support, but they told me I had to wait three months like all the other students. I think it may just be time to go,” Lincoln explained.

“Besides, I can’t have people thinking I’m a beacon of white supremacy. Do you know how many Tik Tok followers that will cost me?”

Man wants to jump off bridge after Presidential Debate but doesn’t trust structural integrity of America’s bridges

By Jordan Simon It wasn’t a debate. It was an infomercial for anger management. It was what happens when Tom Hanks and John Goodman haven’t eaten their Snickers.

It’s what it’s like to watch Step Brothers with drunk goggles for your ears. It was nails on a chalkboard if you had cheated on the chalk board with the nails. It’s what you can expect if Walmart

started selling ‘Divorced Parents in a Can.’ It was a punch in the stomach for America. And it drove area man Lloyd Bedfordsmanberg to the edge.

“I think I speak for the whole country when I say that ‘I. Literally. Can’t. Anymore.’”

Bedfordsmanberg tweeted Tuesday night after the debate.

Bedfordsmanberg continued, also writing “I just want to jump off a bridge. Of course, there hasn’t

been comprehensive infrastructure investment since the presidential candidates were born. It might collapse before I get to do it.

You can’t even jump off a bridge safely in this country!”

The other people who plan to be on the bridge at the same time as Bedfordsmanberg don’t seem to be concerned, however, noting that if they perished in a bridge collapse they’d finally be safe from COVID.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FLICKR/CIR ONLINE

opinion It’s time for billionaires to pay up dailycardinal.com

By Riley Sumner OPINION DESK EDITOR

A New York Times report found that President Trump paid $750 in income taxes in 2016 and 2017.

For 10 of the previous 15 years, the report also finds he paid no income taxes at all. America works only for the billionaire class and the system needs to be scrapped in order to adequately support all Americans, not just the one percent.

Trump is not the only billionaire who evades taxes. In 2018, Amazon paid $0 in federal income tax. In addition to Amazon, nearly 100 Fortune 500 companies reported paying no federal income taxes in 2018. Netflix, Delta Air Lines and General Motors are notable companies in that list.

Personal tax returns are not public information, which makes it difficult to obtain those records; however former mayor and presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg was also under scrutiny for not releasing his tax returns.

Bloomberg’s estimated net worth is over $50 billion.

California signed a law requiring presidential candidates to release their tax returns in order to appear on a primary election ballot, in an attempt to increase accountability for presidential hopefuls.

Tax evasion is just part of the problem created by the billionaire class. Wealth inequality is so much deeper than the ultra-wealthy people’s inability to fairly contribute to society.

It is past time for the billionaire class to start paying their fair share.

This starts with overturning the Citizens United v. FEC decision.

Before Citizens United, Buckley v. Valeo was an early case on campaign finance violations that led to the beginning of so-called “dark money” in politics. The court found that there could be limits on individual contributions to campaigns, however a candidate could contribute unlimited money to their own campaign. This idea paved the way towards Citizens United.

After the Buckley decision, there was another important case ruled on by the court: Austin v.

Michigan Chamber of Commerce.

This case ruled in favor of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act, which barred corporations from using money towards candidates for political office.

Years later, Sens. John McCain and Russel Feingold passed the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), which would ban donations directly to a candidate or party by corporations or wealthy individuals.

In McConnell v. FEC, the court confirmed that the BCRA would impose a “minimal” restriction on free speech and therefore it was deemed constitutional in regulating money spent by corporations and wealthy individuals.

Despite earlier precedents, Citizens United overturned the Austin and McConnell rulings, arguing that “corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited.”

This creates a loophole where a corporation is able to spend money influencing elections so long as it is not paid directly to a candidate.

A political nonprofit, like a 501(c) (4) organization, does not have to

Thursday, October 1, 2020

disclose donors. This “Super PAC” draws in large amounts of money and creates political content aimed at influencing an election.

Such a series of decisions has created a climate where instead of promoting free speech for all, the courts have made it so free speech from the wealthy is more valuable than that of most Americans.

Wealthy people are able to secretly create political content or selffund campaigns, whereas other Americans are limited by the individual contribution limit, since they don’t have access to unlimited political funds.

So what? Why does this matter?

In effect, politicians need donations to run campaigns. If billionaires are able to donate significantly more money, politicians cater to earn billionaire’s donations. It is much harder to raise money collectively from hardworking, middle class Americans, rather than a one-time hefty donation from a billionaire.

Politicians cater to billionaires because it is easier to earn money that way through policies that help the top one percent.

What issues would most affect billionaires? Tax rates. Politicians, following wealthy individuals Super PAC donations, make tax policies with loopholes that billionaires are able to exploit in order to pay no income taxes — and in some cases even get tax refunds.

Billionaires donate money to politicians, who in turn enact favorable policies to those donors.

In 2016, more than $700 million was spent just from outside money towards the presidential race. Of that, over $350 went towards pro-Republican or antiDemocratic causes.

Trump represents the billionaire class and gained support from these dark money groups. He also has his own vested interest in lowering taxes on the wealthy, with an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion.

In 2017, Republicans passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) which, among other things, cut the corporate tax rate from 35% down to just 21%.

Everything since the Buckley decision has culminated to create a “hyper-capitalist” economic system which puts extreme weight on benefiting the wealthy.

Understanding basic economics, in a capitalist economy, the market creates products where demand is generated by consumers.

Supply and demand set the value of that good or service and that’s the primary means of exchange.

Competition between companies makes the products not only the best, but also the cheapest.

The person who owns the product, the capitalist, hires laborers to produce more of said product at a fair wage based on the market’s valuation of the product. In short, if a product has high demand, the capitalist will hire more workers in order to produce enough products to satisfy the demand.

In its purest form, capitalism would require no government intervention. Anti-intervention in America however, proved to be unsustainable, as seen through Rockefeller’s aggressive price manipulation, which created an oil monopoly. The government found that allowing an unregulated free market to operate would hurt peo-

ple, since a monopoly would lead to price gouging.

In 1890, the government passed the Sherman Antitrust Act, in an effort to break up monopolies like that of Rockefeller’s Standard Oil. This idea created a precedent: the market should be allowed to oper-

taxes than everybody else?

There is historical precedent to political revolution because of inequality. During the late 18th century, the third estate of France overthrew the French monarchy due to unfair economic policies.

The French Revolution was trig-

7

inequality here? Sen. Elizabeth Warren proposed a plan that would impose a marginal 2% wealth tax on fortunes over $50 million and a slight increase for fortunes over $1 billion. This means that instead of taxing yearly income of individuals, the tax would be imposed on

COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS

Bezos' net worth is $186 billion, while 38.1 million people live below the poverty line in America as of 2018 ate freely unless it operates unfairly, in which case it will be remedied by new regulations.

Today however, instead of the government being relatively uninvolved in the free market, the market has infiltrated the government in order to pass laws that instead of limiting abuse of the free market — encourage it.

Besides the TCJA, the GrammLeach-Bliley Act (GLBA) of 1999 is another example of this. This act repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, which was created to prevent another disaster like the Great Depression occurring, by separating banking activities. The GLBA essentially did the opposite and expanded services that banks can offer, such as investments and insurance.

This created a conflict of interest which had been originally blocked by Glass-Steagall. By separating banking and investing, banks were focused on protecting people’s investments rather than making aggressive investments of their own. The GLBA undid this.

This culmination of policies advances to create the problem we have today: a rampant wealth inequality gap that continues to grow.

In 1968, the top 20% of earners accounted for 43% of the nation’s income. In 2018 that number rose to 52%. Black household income remains around 60% of white household income. Since 1989, the wealth gap between the richest and poorest families has more than doubled.

Not only are the top earners making progressively more money, but they are having to pay less in taxes. In 2018, the richest 400 households paid an overall income tax of 23%, compared to 70% in 1950. This number was lower than any other income group.

How is it that the wealthiest Americans are able to pay less in

gered in large part because of mass poverty, heavy taxation and rampant wealth inequality between the third estate and members of the first and second estate.

The Gini Coefficient is a measure of the wealth inequality of a country on a scale of zero to one, one being extremely unequal. It is estimated that at the time of the French Revolution, the Gini Coefficient of France would have been between 0.55 and 0.66.

For comparison, the Gini Coefficient in the United States has been on the rise, and currently sits at around 0.48, threatening to reach numbers seen during the French Revolution.

So what makes wealth inequality so pervasive in America? For decades, the policy of “trickledown economics” argued that tax breaks for the wealthy would in turn “trickle down” to the middle and lower class. Instead of the government holding money from the wealthy, billionaires would keep their money and reinvest it into the economy in the form of jobs and philanthropy.

Instead of reinvesting that money however, the wealth gets stored in offshore bank accounts to evade taxes and earn interest.

As of 2007 — the last year reliable data is available due to an influx of shell corporations that manipulated more recent data — it is estimated that $5.6 trillion of wealthy individuals’ money is stored in offshore bank accounts.

Instead of going to actual working class Americans, it sits in foreign banks and earns interest for only the richest Americans. A strong economy is based on the middle and lower class being able to spend money at local businesses — not let trillions of dollars sit in foreign bank accounts.

So what can we do to fix wealth

total wealth after $50 million.

Sen. Warren’s estimates indicate that the tax would raise $3.75 trillion over a 10 year period and be able to fund things like universal pre-school, college debt cancellation and other economic justice causes.

Which begs the question: if a tax of only 2% is able to generate $3.75 trillion, just how much money do the richest Americans earn?

Jeff Bezos’ net worth is $186.2 billion. For perspective, let’s look at what it would take to make that much money. Let’s say you were alive at the start of the Indus River Valley civilization in 2500 BCE. If you started saving $1,000 a day for the more than 4,500 years since then, you still would not have as much money as Jeff Bezos. At $1,000 a day, for an 8 hour work day you would be earning $125 an hour, which is nearly five times that of the average American worker.

To earn $1 billion in your lifetime, you would need to earn around $35,000 every day of your life for 80 years — or essentially the base price of a new Tesla Model 3. Jeff Bezos has done this 186 times. Bill Gates has done this 115 times.

It is unfathomable just how much money the wealthiest Americans have. Only 400 Americans will ever see anything close to this amount of money. It’s time for equitable distribution of wealth.

So yeah, Eat the Rich.

Riley is a junior studying Computer Science and Journalism.

Do you think that wealth inequality is a major issue in the US today? Do you think the richest must be held more accountable? Send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com

Life & Style New music released during quarantine

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Thursday, October 1, 2020

By Danielle Farina STAFF WRITER

We’re all well aware of the dramatic changes the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about since its initial breakout this March. At this point, “unprecedented times” has become a staple phrase in colloquial language, comparable to the ranks of basic greetings. Frankly, all of this change is exhausting.

Despite these unwarranted changes, one thing that thankfully has remained a sturdy constant is the release of new music.

Our favorite artists have fought their way through the chaos to provide us with their latest tracks and somewhat put our minds at ease.

Here is the ultimate quarantine playlist: composed of the top three albums to arise from the “challenging new normal.”

Suga by Megan Thee Stallion: Released March 6, 2020, Megan’s second studio album delivered arguably the most defining tracks of early quarantine, including “Savage” and

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“Captain Hook”. Employing clever rhymes and hard-hitting beats, Megan asserts her dominance in the rap game while finding power in her femininity. The cadence and swag running through the album is infectious; it’s no wonder why so many of us spent hours perfecting the “Savage” dance.

After Hours by The Weeknd: Shortly following the release of Suga, The Weeknd dropped his fourth studio album on March 20, 2020 that would become a global success.

Maintaining his usual themes of love, sex and drugs, The Weeknd takes us on a journey through his own self-discovery.

He experiments with all kinds of sounds, some reminiscent of synthetic 80s pop - as seen in “In Your Eyes” — and some utilizing the slow and sensual sounds of R&B. This album reassures The Weeknd as a versatile artist whose songs may differ in sound, but remain consistent in quality.

Folklore by Taylor Swift: Written

and produced entirely throughout quarantine, Taylor Swift graced our ears July 24, 2020 with her surprise eighth studio album. Ditching her usual upbeat, pop-radio sound, Taylor turns to folk music — a clever title is always appreciated — to share stories about growth through love and heartbreak.

Woven within the album is a three part trilogy that Taylor refers to as “The Teenage Love Triangle”.

It is composed of the songs “Cardigan”, “August” and “Betty” and navigates the difficulty of adolescent love. This miniseries is just another example of Taylor’s storytelling abilities that Folklore brings to life with her descriptive lyricism and whimsical melodies.

While these albums are some of the brightest shining moments of quarantine, surely they are not the only ones. The future ahead is unknown and can sometimes look bleak, but music will always remind us that even in the worst of times, we can find something worth valuing.

JESSIE LEVY /THE DAILY CARDINAL

Put on some headphones and get into the zone with these albums!

Structuring online school

By Samantha Benish STAFF WRITER

KAM ABBOTT/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Fall is beautiful in Madison, so get out an explore everything that the city has to offer!

Off-Campus fall activities to try

By Emily Rohloff STAFF WRITER

We are officially in the season of fall. A time of enjoying the colorful leaves, sipping on pumpkin spice lattes and bringing out your favorite cozy sweaters.

Fall in Madison may look a little different than it normally does, as we are missing the earthquakeinducing Wisconsin Badger football games as well as the beloved Dane County Farmers Market.

However, there is still plenty to do around the area from beautiful hiking spots to pumpkin picking and tasty sweets — Madison has it all.

If you’re looking for an outdoor adventure, try visiting the classic Devil’s Lake State Park (www. d e v i l s l a ke w i s c o n s i n ) .

This beautiful state park, located in Baraboo, Wis., has several great hiking trails that lead you up into the Wisconsin bluffs.

Once you make it to the top, take a minute to catch your breath as you

look out over the lake and see an array of red, orange and yellow tree tops that go on for miles.

The views are simply unmatched and will leave you breathless.

Another staple of fall is, of course, pumpkin picking, and Madison has no shortage of places to do it.

Try Eplegaarden Farm (www.eplegaarden.com), only a 20 minute drive, for this is a great place to pumpkin and apple pick, enjoy fresh apple cider and donuts as well as visit the animals who live on the farm.

They require no reservations, so it is the perfect place for a planned trip or spontaneous adventure.

Next, for a combination of fall activities, try Schuster’s Farm (schustersfarm.com) located in Deerfield, Wis. They provide an all around fall experience by having an eight acre corn maze, hayrides around the farm, pumpkin picking, farm animals and a

haunted forest for you to get lost in.

They promise the __ minute drive will be worth your visit!

Lastly, Madison has great places to get your favorite fall sweets. Try K i lw i n s (w w w. k i lw i n s . com/shop/perfect-caramel-apple), a local shop right on State Street next to The Icon that sells all your favorite treats.

They are known for their delicious original caramel apple recipe and have nothing but great reviews! With seven different kinds to choose from, this tasty fall date will no doubt leave you craving more.

While some traditions may be cancelled, that doesn’t have to stop new ones from being made.

Go out and explore the city of Madison, and its surrounding areas, while taking advantage of all things fall.

Everyone may be able to agree that this year isn’t normal, easy, something one could have prepared for — the list goes on. This year has been, and perhaps will finish out as, a rollercoaster, and academics is no exception. UW-Madison is in week four of the fall semester and it’s already proved complicated after closing down in person classes one week in and reopening two weeks later. There’s more questions than answers, and no way to tell how it’s going to continue to go.

With that being said, there are steps in hopes to soften the blow of any future confusion. The 202021 school year is different in more ways than online instruction: there’s how to combat asynchronous courses and schedules with no structure at all; it can feel like a five day weekend when only two days have designated class meeting times.

There’s also learning how to hold oneself more accountable in a semester where different things are being expected and the professor may not even be secure in what’s going on.

For asynchronous courses, where are the assignments kept? On the announcements page?

Syllabus only? Emails?

Home Page? Or perhaps the Discussion Page? Does it feel like there’s more deadlines than if in person to anyone else? To try and reel these problems in, try to figure out the professor’s pattern for each class and mark in an agenda, a piece of paper, or the notes on your phone where they tend to give the information one needs. It’ll help to have it all in one place — like how a class schedule

would’ve been. The professor may even have a pattern for when — what day of the week and time of day — they upload lectures, discussion threads, etc. Learn to read the professor. Where they put their information may change from week-to-week or day-to-day —unfortunately they’re having to learn all of this alongside the students too, so be prepared for that. If that seems to happen, check all outlets for the class every morning or when sitting down to work for the first time. Every class is different so don’t fall victim to the assumptions that what most professors tend to do, others will too; some professors find other methods better for their style or content.

Now, take this information and run with it.

The fun part is having the control to make a schedule that works for yourself. You have control over your own life. It’s helpful to implement a set schedule, though. Make set times for yourself in the day to focus on one class or an assignment. The schedule will be curated for you by you and will be stable and secure.

Make structure in a semester that is highly lacking it.

On the other side of staying organized, something that has helped me has been to have tangible notebooks — going old school, here. I have a specific notebook for each class and color-coded because I needed some spice in my life. You can do this electronically, too, as I know it is easier to look through your notes that way and with various other helpful technological uses. Personally, having a physical notebook gets me out of my head by differentiating where I’m studying from, with everything in class being done

online now.

Finally, one of the most important aspects of trying to take on this whirlwind of an academic semester would be the mindset. This year is a rather unnerving time in more ways than one, and school may be one of the last things on your mind. A lot of emotions are at play in everyone’s lives right now and concentration and motivation may be hard to come by. This is all valid. You are justified and are not failing.

You are not failing, being unproductive or doing anything wrong.

A mindset for some includes reassurance in school being a constant in their life right now. They can count on there being assignments to do weekly, and expectations that they know they can meet if they go for it. This is not true for everyone, though, as sometimes having to do school is that much more overwhelming.

This is why one’s mindset is the most important aspect but also the hardest to master. This is a step that will be different for everyone as this year is unforgiving and affecting everyone differently. You know yourself better than anyone and can discover how best to mentally tackle the school year.

Remember, you are more than your GPA and class grades. Develop a motivator and mindset for yourself that makes you feel strong and capable, because you truly are. When one feels secure and stable in themselves, it can translate into their dayto-day. You are strong and capable, and your school assignments will get done.

Trying your best is all anyone can ask for, and it is ok if your best is different this year. Be easy on yourself.

science Nutrition in college: Eat like you mean it dailycardinal.com

Thursday, October 1, 2020

Image: Students browse food options at Gordon Avenue Market

By Forrest Ziebell STAFF WRITER

Nutrition is a strange topic.

While focus on what we put on our plates has never been greater, widespread misinformation makes dietary decisions for the conscious consumer quite difficult. Carbs are the cause of obesity. Well, maybe. Definitely avoid fats, but not those ones. It may seem that nutrition is more about opinion than science.

In the age of the internet, you can find studies backing just about any food or beverage as the next great thing for your health. Sadly, the nature of nutrition makes it hard to isolate what exactly causes the response of our bodies.

Maybe dark chocolate is good for you, but we do not know if a special chemical causes the benefits, or the chocolate as a whole.

Science can’t definitively answer questions like this now, but there are some things we do know that can help you fuel your day and keep you in shape.

The best way to start a long day of studies is with carbohydrates. Though they often get a bad rap, carbs are essential for daily function. According to the American Dietetic Association (ADA), they are the primary source of energy for our body and brain, making them vital for college students. Carbs should be eaten before working out, studying or doing anything, really.

The problems we have with carbs stem from snack foods, usually made with sugar and white flour. Snack foods, sugary bars and

drinks are full of them, and can quickly cause you to crash after (or during) prolonged activity, mental or physical. This is because these products are heavy in sweeteners and white flour, generally considered the worst carbs.

Dr. Beth Olson, Associate Professor of Nutrition at UW, warns against sugary drinks. She notes that the added sugar in soft drinks, coffee, and other sweetened beverages is responsible for about half of all added sugars in our diet, which add calories fast.

Katherine Marengo, a registered dietitian, says to avoid the dreaded energy crash, eat carb-rich whole foods that give long-lasting energy as a result of fiber, which causes slower digestion. Foods rich in good carbs include most fruits, vegetables, and whole grain products.

When you run out of carbs to burn, your body turns to energy stores of fat. Contrary to popular belief, fats are not (always) the bad guy. In fact, you need them for storing energy, low intensity activities, and absorbing certain vitamins and minerals, the ADA says.

The fats you should try to avoid are the ones commonly associated with packaged foods.

Limiting fried foods is also something students should be wary of.

These foods are often high in fats and sugars, calories that provide very little nutrition.

Good sources of fat that students should eat include avocados, nuts, lean meats and vegetable oils. These fats are healthy in moderation and are the best forms of energy storage for the long term without the heavy feeling associated with fatty foods.

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BETSY OSTERBERGER /THE DAILY CARDINAL

The last main nutrient is the most glamorous of the three. Protein is touted for its importance in active individuals, though it’s effects are often exaggerated. Active individuals should consume 0.5 - 0.8g protein/lb body weight according to the ADA. This means a 150lb student should have between 75g and 120g protein in a day, when exercising regularly. Most students do not need to worry about protein, however, and consuming the standard 2000 calories daily usually gets protein needs satisfied.

Protein supplementation is also something active Badgers should be cautious of. The Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics says “protein or amino acid supplementation has not been shown to positively influence athletic performance.”

Protein is a vital part of muscle repair and growth, but stick to natural protein sources consumed shortly after a workout for the best effects.

Generally speaking, the best advice for nutrition is to eat things with few ingredients, or at least ingredients you can tell are in the product. This means a diet full of natural foods that are easily recognizable as foods.

Packaged products that don’t resemble any of their actual ingredients should be a cause for concern. They are often made with cheap ingredients and are designed to optimize flavor at the expense of all nutrition.

Dr. Olson also notes that while we must eat healthy foods, we should eat specific food groups, not

specific foods. Variety is an important part of any diet for keeping food interesting and ensuring you cover all your nutritional needs.

Learning to eat healthy is difficult, and requires mental strength and focus. Don’t be set on avoiding all treats, however. Be sure to indulge moder-

Image: "Healthy food harvest"

ately to reward yourself.

When you crave something, do not deny the urge, but be wary of your consumption.

Moderation of bad foods, good foods, and all other products you consume is the best way to change your eating habits for the better.

JEFF MILLER /THE DAILY CARDINAL

UW researches more effective and inclusive flu vaccine

By Simar Garcha STAFF WRITER

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine has conducted research that provided new insights into creating an alternative and more widely inclusive seasonal influenza vaccine.

Under Marulasiddappa Suresh, a professor of Immunology in the School of Veterinary Medicine, a team was able to find a method of vaccination that would be able to fight multiple strains of influenza. This vaccination would not have to be administered every year, as the current vaccination is.

This new type of vaccine would utilize T-cells, white blood cells that are essential to the immune system, to protect against influenza. Suresh’s team found a way to create T-cell immunity

for multiple strains of influenza.

Flu viruses mutate frequently and change between geographic regions; This research is on the verge of developing a “universal flu vaccine,” Suresh said. This new, adaptable, vaccine will be able to fight many different strains of influenza by attacking a specific protein in the virus, one that is present across different strains.

This vaccination strategy is also being tested against tuberculosis, human respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19.

Vaccination with the T-cells, instead of with a live virus, makes receiving the vaccine much more widely accessible. Live virus vaccinations can be harmful to those who are pregnant and immunocompromised, but having a T-cell based vaccina-

tion would remedy this issue.

People who are pregnant or immunocompromised were not given the live virus vaccine due to risk of getting the virus. These demographics would now be able to receive a vaccination without this risk of further compromising their immune systems.

While this research is being conducted, UHS is administering flu vaccinations to students and employees on campus at Nielsen Tennis Stadium and the Nicholas Recreation Center. This vaccination is “inactivated” -- meaning there is no live virus in the vaccine -- and needs to be taken annually.

Flu shots given by UHS are “meant to protect you and those around you,” the university says appointments can be made online through UHS.