THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1969
www.badgerherald.com Monday, April 22, 2013 Volume XLIV, Issue 110
Defense takes the cake in Spring GameBadger squad rests up top players as lieutenant linebacker is revealed in annual intramural game open to fans SPORTS | 8
Republicans call for tuition freeze
After University of Wisconsin officials announced plans for spending part of a $648 million surplus on Friday, the governor and state Republicans fired back by instead calling for a tuition freeze for students and
condemning the system’s “incompetence.”
Of the $648 million balance, $414 million comes from tuition revenues, a number that has grown from the $212.8 million tuition balance of June 2009, according to the memo. The surplus increased despite the UW System facing about $300 million in funding cuts in the state budget over the past two years.
Republicans said they were “outraged” to learn about the balance, which was laid out in a Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo that stemmed from
its investigation of about $34 million in UW System benefits overpayments last year. The UW System had planned $441 million in spending from the $648 million balance, according to the memo.
Of the $414 million tuition balance, the UW System has already laid out $332 million it plans on spending, part of it in initiatives, UW System President Kevin Reilly announced shortly before the memo’s release Friday. Those initiatives included eliminating a financial aid waiting list, increasing work study, economic
development grants and increasing spending on the new fl exible option degree.
Republican legislative leaders released a statement criticizing the “pattern of incompetence” at the UW System. In a statement, Gov. Scott Walker joined in the criticisms and ensured a tuition freeze in the budget.
“It is very concerning to learn the UW System has been running a surplus balance of this size, especially at a time when students, families and lawmakers have continually heard from the UW System about the need for more
money to offset ‘devastating cuts,’” Walker said. “At a minimum, on behalf of students and their families, I am asking legislative leaders to freeze tuition increases for two years.”
The actual balance at the UW System is more than $1 billion, although that includes federal aid, gifts, grants and contracts that cannot be spent elsewhere, so the LFB narrowed down the balance to $648 million. With those sources included, the UW System’s total budget is $5.6 billion, and without, its budget is $2.5 billion.
A UW System statement
released after the balance was made public said the system has “only about $207 million” in uncommitted cash balances, $82 million of which comes from tuition.
“We welcome a conversation about the appropriate levels of fund balances, how those funds should be used to benefit students and the state and what level of unrestricted reserves should be maintained as we manage a complex higher education enterprise in uncertain times,” Reilly said in the
$648 million surplus found in UW System budget, more than half already allottedPolo RochaSenior Legislative Editor
Jen Small The Badger Herald
Minneapolis-based musician Dessa took the stage at The Sett in Union South Friday evening alongside female First Wave students.
Midwest Queen
Campus zombie game criticized UWPD fi elds reports of assault weapons on campus after group uses toy guns in event
The University of Wisconsin’s student-run Humans vs. Zombies organization drew criticism from several students this past week, as they mistook Nerf guns for assault rifles and filed gun complaints with the UW Police Department.
The Humans vs. Zombies event began four years ago and occurs twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring. It originated at Goucher College in Baltimore, Md. but two students started a chapter in Madison, Alex Turek, a UW student who organizes the event, said.
Turek said the event serves as a week-long “stress reliever” from the pressures
of college, an environment where UW students can be active and social. He said it is also a team-building event, and this year drew 230 participants.
UW Police Department spokesperson Marc Lovicott said the department received a call Wednesday from a passer-by who claimed they saw a bright orange gun. On Thursday, UWPD was notified of a person carrying an assault rifle on the street. UWPD responded immediately and appropriately, but Lovicott said the event is in no way violent.
“It’s a peaceful event, a fun game and we can appreciate that,” Lovicott said. “But we also have to take in mind that this is a
Annual Suicide Prevention Walk draws record crowd
College students are the least likely to seek help for mental health issues, but Dean Lori Berquam said she wants students to know the value of their lives at the event.Claire Larkins The Badger Herald
The student organization ASK.LISTEN.SAVE held its third annual Suicide Prevention Walk Sunday, seeing its most successful turnout in the event’s history.
The walk is a fundraiser for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, an organization funding research, education and treatment programs for suicide prevention, ASK.LISTEN.SAVE Co-President Chelsey Evensen said. This organization specifically gears its research toward mental health in college-aged students, Evensen said.
The event also helps raise awareness about mental health issues and works to break the stigmas
surrounding the topic. “The main goal is to come
together and honor those who we have lost to suicide and other mental health issues,” Evenson said. “It’s also a therapeutic event for a lot of people to walk in their honor or as a survivor of their own mental health struggle.”
The event began at 11 a.m. outside of Sellery Hall, where attendees heard from speakers as well as a spoken word performance from a
In response to looming legislation in the state Assembly to restrict the Milwaukee County Board’s budget and influence, the board released a less extreme overhaul alternative late last week.
The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors announced its proposal Thursday night before an “Our Milwaukee County” listening session. The restructuring will cut the board’s budget and employment in half, while also reducing the annual pay for each supervisor by 20 percent.
Rep. Joe Sanfelippo, R–West Allis, authored the original bill to remove two-thirds of the board’s budget, cut salaries of supervisors in half and divert much of the board’s power to the county executive — including management of county departments or communication, negotiation and
contracting with county employees.
The alternative to the bill would allow the Milwaukee County Board to retain some of its restricted power by ensuring the board remains the policy-making body for Milwaukee, while Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele runs day-to-day operations.
Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic said her overhaul proposal to the bill is based on local input from the people of Milwaukee, state lawmakers and local offi cials, rather than state-imposed obligation.
“It’s been said that we would never reform ourselves, that we would never cut our own salaries, and that we would never cut our budget,” Marina Dimitrijevic said, calling it one of the board’s most dramatic overhauls ever. “But this package demonstrates clearly that not only have we listened, we’ve acted with a commitment to true, realistic, locally-generated reform.”
The Assembly will have its final hearing on Sanfelippo’s bill to
restructure the board next month and a Senate committee will review the measure Wednesday.
Rep. Christine Sinicki, D–Milwaukee, called the board’s overhaul a “very reasonable proposal,” but said she believes it will not sway Republican representatives and she expects the legislation to pass along party lines.
“The Greater Milwaukee Committee, which Chris Abele was a board member of before he became Milwaukee County Exec., has been trying to take over the Milwaukee County Board for at least 20 years, and now they have the votes to do it,” Sinicki said, adding Republicans also tried to gain control of the Milwaukee County School Board. “It’s a bad precedent to set.”
If the Milwaukee County Board is reformed and limited based on the bill’s stipulations, Sinicki said she is concerned similar measures could pass in other counties and cause county executives statewide to replace the power of county boards.
Sinicki said there are only two ways to keep the state’s proposed
New overhaul will reduce supervisor salary 20 percent, cut employment Noah Goetzel State Politics Editor
Kayla RathjenHerald Contributor
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serious issue concerning what has gone on across the country on other college campuses.”
Turek said fear and worry are natural reactions in light of recent violent incidents across the country. However, the point of the game was never about violence, but instead the adrenaline of running around and having fun, he said.
In the past, UWPD has met and communicated with the student event organizers. The organizers are very proactive about letting UWPD know when the event is happening and what to expect, Lovicott said.
Lovicott said UWPD
is planning to work with the organizers to discuss if there are changes that could be made for next year in terms of perception. The Dean of Students Office and UWPD are debating whether they should only allow students to play with socks, as opposed to Nerf guns, in the future.
Turek said he was disappointed by this proposal, saying Nerf guns do not cause any real harm but rather allow participants to fi re more rounds at the end of the game.
“It is understandable to fear, but at the same time, it is sad and disappointing,” Turek said. “Stopping the use of Nerf guns takes away the spirit of the game. We never had any
intention of violence. We’re just having fun.”
On Friday night, the participants in the event were only allowed to play with socks and there was a UWPD officer on site to ensure there were no further calls of disturbance, Turek said.
Turek said the organization will be figuring out what the game’s future will look like in the upcoming weeks.
“We would love to continue to promote teamwork, friendship and communication through our games,” Turek said. “We hope that people give us a fair chance in the upcoming weeks and months, as we have a lot of great things to bring to this campus.”
Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said he became interested in helping the environment from his hometown’s water pollution in New Jersey.Jen Small The Badger Herald
Sierra Club leader calls for grassroots activism
Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune highlighted the impact of grassroots activism for solving environmental problems as the keynote speaker for this year’s Isthmus Green Day event.
Brune emphasized the importance of everyday citizens working together to address the issues in their local community. He explained grassroots activism has already worked to help decrease pollution and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The most important message Brune shared with the audience was when people come together, they can help to save the environment.
“This is a reason for smart activists and engaged citizens who are worried about the future of our planet to have hope,” Brune said.
Brune shared several examples of everyday citizens taking on an
activist role to address an environmental issue in their community, including those he had witnessed firsthand. He said he wanted to demonstrate to the audience that grassroots organizing and activism can really make a difference.
Brune said he got his start in environmental activism as a teenager in Chadwick, N.J., his hometown. He said in the 1980s, New Jersey faced a significant water pollution problem. In Chadwick, the local chemical plant was allowed to dump raw chemicals and untreated sewage into the ocean, he said.
Citizens in Chadwick decided to take action after the pollution began to affect the health and economic growth of the community, Brune said. Local families who had never been activists began to go door-to-door and hold hearings at city hall to help raise awareness of this problem, he said. After several years, the efforts were met with success when businesses, hospitals and chemical plants throughout New Jersey were banned from dumping their waste into the ocean.
Brune also highlighted another campaign started
by local citizens 10 years ago to prevent the proposed coal plants in Illinois and Wisconsin from being built. He said local activists, who had never organized against a coal plant, decided they needed to do something.
Unlike large organizations, the community groups did not have much money, but they had a lot of integrity and succeeded in defeating 25 coal plant proposals, Brune said.
“Everyday folks built a big enough coalition and they won,” Brune said.
Shahla Werner, the director of the Wisconsin Chapter of the Sierra Club, said she agreed with Brune about the importance of citizen involvement.
Werner said in Wisconsin, citizens need to come together to think about what they can do to address their problems without passing new laws.
“The only way we can defeat opponents that are better funded is to get more voters active in what is going on,” Werner said.
Brune added it is important for people to not only fight against projects that would hurt the environment, but also to advocate for solutions to environmental problems.
Speaker at green event says citizens can organize to shape communitiesAllie JohnsonCity Life Editor
Judge to weigh bargaining suit
A Dane County judge denied a request by state attorneys Friday to temporary delay a police union’s lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a law curbing collective bargaining rights for some public employee unions.
The Wisconsin Law Enforcement Association filed a lawsuit against the law in November, alleging provisions violated the state constitution’s equal protection clause. However, a different Dane County judge in a case brought by Madison Teachers Inc. issued an injunction on parts of the law, which the state is currently challenging in an appeals court.
The Department of Justice asked Dane County Judge John Markson for a stay in the WLEA’s case until the appeals court reaches its decision, claiming the decision could have an impact on the case and the state could save resources by waiting, according to Markson.
Markson, however, issued an oral ruling Friday that the public has an interest in having the case decided as quickly as possible.
“The case needs to be decided,” Markson said. “And in my view, there is no need for us to wait until the court of appeals decides a different case about a different group of affected employees under a different part of the law, however similar they may be.”
Steven Kilpatrick, assistant attorney general, said the parties involved in the appeals court case received notification March 19 the court had received the case is considering and ruling on the matter.
The appeals court could issue a decision at any
time, which Kilpatrick said he would support a stay in the case.
“The court of appeals is considering the merits of that case as we speak,” Kilpatrick said.
However, Markson said no one knows when the court will issue its decision. He said this was insuffi cient reason for him to issue a stay.
While he respected the state’s arguments concerning the cost of resources and time, Markson said the state has already received multiple challenges against the law, reaching a decision as quickly as possible.
“If constitutional rights are being violated, by all means that must be addressed as quickly and reasonably as possible,” Markson said. “If that turns out to not to be the case, nevertheless, it’s in the public interest to have the matter move toward a settlement or resolution of that issue.”
WLEA alleged the law violated parts of the equal protection clause in the state’s constitution because it created a distinction between general employees and public safety employees, Markson said.
Markson said WLEA claimed the law prevented them from representing its employees fairly. For instance, public safety employees could collectively bargain through the union, while general employees could not.
Markson also said he decided against issuing a stay because of its current schedule. He said WLEA has 60 days from April 19 to fi le a brief in support of its position, and the state has 60 days to respond. WLEA also has a 30-day period to respond to the state’s brief.
A WLEA spokesperson did not return requests for comment.
Sean KirkbySenior reporter
Dane County judge says police union case needs to be decided on quickly
student in First Wave.Dean of Students
Lori Berquam voiced her support for those struggling with mental health issues, urging students to reach out to one another and reminding attendees the college-aged population is the least likely group of people to seek out support.
“Everybody’s life is worth living,” Berquam said. “I want you to remember those who aren’t here and more importantly reach out to those who are and connect with them, for it’s through those connections that we continue to breathe life into who we are.”
ASK.LISTEN.SAVE walk coordinator Leah Shapiro spoke about her
personal experiences with depression and bipolar disorder.
Shapiro credited her strong support system for helping her get through these tough times, along with therapy and medications.
“I have learned that instead of sucking it up and dealing with it, you should suck it up and ask for help,” Shapiro said. “Life can be hard, but it can also be truly wonderful, and I’m glad I stuck around to experience it.”
UW women’s a cappella group Tangled Up in Blue performed before participants kicked off the 3.8-mile walk along the Lakeshore Path.
Shapiro said this event has won No. 1 Fundraising Walk in the Nation out of all
participating campus suicide prevention walks the past two years. This year, the organization saw 375 pre-registered individuals and 35 teams, she said in an email to The Badger Herald.
“One of our biggest goals for the walk is to raise campus-wide awareness about mental illness and suicide,” Shapiro said. “We want to let people know that they are not alone in these struggles, that there is hope and to introduce them to resources on campus and in the Madison community.”
ASK.LISTEN.SAVE works year-round with other groups on campus to raise awareness about mental health, co-hosting events with organizations such as YES+, To Write Love On Her Arms and Psychology Club.
Record Store Day promotes local music in Madison area
Vinyl enthusiasts from across Madison flocked to independent record stores Saturday to celebrate its sixth national Record Store Day with special releases and in-store live performances.
Record Store Day is a promotional event designed to spread awareness about local record stores and their culture, according to Dave Zero, owner of Mad City Music Exchange, one of the stores that participated in the event. Small businesses across the United States see a record number of sales and visitors on this day each year, he said.
“Record Store Day is important because it is hands down the biggest sale day of the year,” Zero said. “It brings in both regulars and new people.”
Gary Feest, owner and manager of Sugar Shack Records, a store on the east side, said Record Store Day reminds people that record stores still exist.
Feest said he moved his store from the downtown area to the east side because there was not a lot of business for him anymore when young people started buying most of their music online. Record Store Day attracts a good number of young customers to the store and gets them interested in buying records again, he said.
Record Store Day promotes small businesses because it brings new people back to the store throughout the year and reminds people in the Madison area to shop in their neighborhood record stores, Zero said. The business the event brings is great for the community because all the money stays in the community,
Allie JohnsonCity Life Editor
he added.Zero said the restaurant
next door to Mad City Music Exchange benefited from the event by hosting bands and getting additional business from the infl ux of people in the area.
“Our big day turned into a big day for them as well,” Zero said. “Anything that drives commerce into local stores is a benefi t for the community.”
Stores nationwide sell limited edition records on Record Store Day, which is one of the main draws for customers, Zero said. However, many stores also host their own events to attract people to their stores.
In addition to selling limited edition releases, Zero said local bands and artists played at his store throughout the day and there was live music outside for customers to enjoy.
“We tried to make it feel like a party,” he said.
Feest added a local radio station hosted artists in Sugar Shack Records and promoted the event live on the radio throughout the day.
Zero said Record Store Day, started in 2007, gets better every year. This year, sales for Mad City Music Exchanges were even greater than in previous years, he said.
Overall, Feest said there is a renewed interest in purchasing records. While CD sales have decreased, over the last four or five years, record sales have been increasing, he said.
Record Store Day draws attention to the actual art form of the record and the importance of small businesses, Zero said. It reminds people that downloaded music is nothing more than an “impersonation” of what a record actually sounds like and records are the best way to listen to music, he added.
Gary Feest, owner and manager of Sugar Shack Records, says people have regained interest in records, as record sales have gone up in the last four or fi ve years and CD sales decreased.
Claire Larkins The Badger Herald
WALK, from 1
ZOMBIE, from 1
The Badger Herald | News | Monday, April 22, 2013 3
statement.UW System
spokesperson David Giroux said the system has always run on a balance, and it increased because of higher enrollment and state cuts to the system. As the state gives less funding to the system, he said, the system has to rely more on program revenue sources like tuition.
As those revenue sources can change often, the balance ensures programs can be paid for if revenue decreases, Giroux said.
“As we become more dependent upon these somewhat volatile program revenue streams, we need to make sure that we are hedging against that volatility to some degree,” Giroux said. “The more program revenue you bring in, the more dependent you become [on that source], the more you need to set aside some kind of safety net.”
For the past six years, UW System students have seen 5.5 percent tuition increases, which Reilly said would substantially decrease if Walker’s budget proposals go untouched. Before the memo’s release, Reilly proposed a 2 percent tuition increase, which would be the lowest tuition increase since 1974.
Republicans had capped tuition increases at 5.5 percent in the last biennial budget, in which they cut $250 million from the UW System and later cut an additional $66 million in a budget lapse.
Walker removed that cap in the budget he proposed earlier this year, which
included a $181 million investment in the UW System. A large part of that comes from splitting the UW System payroll from the state budget to the system’s budget, although Walker’s budget would also invest in new programs.
United Council of UW Students has been pushing legislators to include a tuition cap of 3 or 4 percent. Dylan Jambrek, the group’s government relations director, said he was pleased students can now “have the comfort of a tuition freeze” but expressed concerns over the memo’s fi ndings.
“Whatever the money was going towards, it’s concerning that they were raising tuition to stick it in the bank account,” Jambrek said.
Jambrek said he does not want legislators to overreact and do something that ends up harming students, such as cutting Walker’s proposed investments.
Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine, the ranking Democrat on the Legislature’s budget committee, called for a potential tuition reduction because he said UW System students are already graduating with $27,000 in student debt on average.
“Not only should we be freezing tuition given the news of the UW’s surplus, but the state budget deliberations should include a serious conversation about reducing student debt by lowering the cost of tuition, increasing student financial aid or both,” Mason said in a statement.
UW employee death still under investigation
Although the University of Wisconsin Police Department closed the investigation into the death of a UW employee last week, officials are still investigating the cause of the accident.
Kenneth Newman, 63, of Prairie du Sac, was an
instrument maker for UW Physical Plant Machine Shop, who was working on repairs on a unit at the Art Lofts at 111 N. Francis St., when a loading dock fell on him, UW Physical Plant Associate Director Faramarz Vakili said.
He was working under the lift when it collapsed and came down on top of him, Valiki said, but was unable to provide further details.
Newman was transported to UW Hospital after the incident occured, but died shortly after from injuries sustained by the accident, UW Police Department
spokesperson Mark Lovicott said.
Lovicott said UWPD has closed its investigation of the accident, leaving it in the hands of UW Safety and Facilities and Occupational Safety and Health Administration, who will be conducting their own investigations.
UW Safety and OSHA will be investigating whether or not safety protocols were followed and the causes for the equipment’s malfunction.
“Our main job was to find out whether anything criminal happened at the scene,” Lovicott said. “This
was not the case here.”As part of the plant,
Newman was responsible for repairing equipment and making parts.
He was deeply faithful to the department, joining the university in 1989 and remaining a UW employee for 24 years, Vakili said.
“He was a very hardworking and smart employee,” Vakili said. “No matter how difficult or complex the conditions were, he gave [every job] his best.”
Newman was a well-known and well-liked member of a staff of 900 employees working to
keep university operations running smoothly, Vakili said.
Vakili said the staff has extensive training, and the department has extensive safety measures in place already, but emphasized the department will be carefully reviewing all of its procedures. Although the plant has very experienced employees, Vakili said Tuesday’s tragedy shows “accidents can happen anywhere.”
“Be careful and never take anything, especially safety, for granted,” Vakili said.
He added he and his
coworkers have learned from such accidents.
The UW Safety and Facilities Department declined to comment on the investigation, as it is still underway.
A memorial service will be held on Monday in Sauk City to remember a hardworking member of the Physical Plant’s “tight-knit community,” Vakili said.
A Physical Plant electrician also died in an accident on campus in July 2011. Brad Krause, 40, was electrocuted while working in the Humanities Building.
Kenneth Newman, 63, died Tuesday after loading dock fell on him at workAlice CoyneHigher Education Editor
reforms to the Milwaukee County Board from going into effect. Either Sanfelippo would have to withdraw the bill or the Assembly would need to begin drafting the board’s reform initiatives into a state law this week that
could potentially replace the current bill.
Abele said in a statement he is “glad” the board is finally open to making the structural reforms 84 percent of voters requested in a referendum last year, but said he still prefers Sanfelippo’s reforms.
MPD clarifies Mifflin stance: safety remains top priority
Madison Police Department officials clarified their stance on the Mifflin Street Block Party in a meeting hosted Friday, saying although the department’s goals of ensuring safety have not changed, this year officers will not issue warnings to students.
Safety concerns were the primary motive behind MPD’s approach to this year’s Mifflin Street Block Party, according to MPD officer Grant Humerickhouse. Safety is, and always has been, the first priority of the department, he said. There will be no exception to the weekend of May 4, he said.
“The philosophy hasn’t changed with that,” Humerickhouse said. “The only thing that has changed is the idea that there are no warnings.”
The policies set in place are standards expected by
students and citizens on a daily basis, according to Humerickhouse. The standards are to be safe, respect the neighborhoods in Madison, communicate and be on common ground with the offi cers, he said.
The policies that are in place for that weekend are going to have the same outcome as any other day of the year, Humerickhouse said.
To reduce the block party atmosphere, Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said MPD will continue their practice of keeping the street open to traffic. He added this is part of the MPD plan to promote the idea that May 4 will be like every other weekend in Madison, and the police department will respond accordingly.
Humerickhouse added this change in approach is not a reaction to last year’s Mifflin event, but what has happened at Mifflin over the course of many years. When alcohol is present, the risk of stabbings, batteries and sexual assaults happening increases, he said.
“The city is responding to the historical perspective, not just last year, because the policies
have not changed from last year, they’re still the same,” Humerickhouse said. “It’s the city responding to the historic change over time, that this has become an alcohol-centered event. We need to ensure that there is safety.”
Safety is going to be enforced not only on Mifflin Street, but in surrounding neighborhoods where the block party could spread,
according to Resnick.During Mifflin weekend
last year, increased police presence on Mifflin Street caused parties to spring up in other neighborhoods in the campus area, Humerickhouse said. MPD received calls from concerned residents of the Spring Street, Langdon and Breese Terrace neighborhoods, he said. MPD will be covering assigned
neighborhoods Mifflin weekend based on concerns from citizens in surrounding communities.
“We heard those concerns and we are reacting to them because [they are] valid concerns,” Humerickhouse said.
Humerickhouse also said if those areas are not a safety concern, officers can move to where response is needed.
At first, students were upset over the letter released by MPD, which called for an end to Mifflin, Resnick said. However, students are still free to make their own decisions about what to do over the weekend of May 4 and MPD only wants to make the weekend safer, he said.
“I do think some of the outrage [from students] is a bit misguided,” Resnick said.
In effort to correct rumors, offi cers say safety is main goal of block party rulesElaine MenigoHerald Contributor
MILWAUKEE, from 1
TUITION, from 1
OpinionOpinion
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The Badger Herald | Opinion | Monday, April 22, 20134
Too soon to bid adieu to French
When at a fi nancial impasse, one is often forced to make tough decisions and, in the process, reaffi rm or reallocate one’s values.
The Cap Times recently reported that when faced with budget cuts, Sherman Middle School decided the best path is one sans French 1, concluding that it is relatively too blasé to keep around. The principal explained that a renewed emphasis on curriculum basics necessitated phasing out French in favor of other de rigueur courses like math. Déjà vu — I think I’ve heard this argument before.
It’s easy to scapegoat languages when tightening fi nancial belts. I mean, if it’s not Mandarin or Spanish, a language must just be a chic hobby and have no utility, right? Au contraire. Sherman Middle School has committed a faux pas that will only inhibit student minds.
For starters, how many of you actually learned English grammar in school? Personally, everything I know about correctly using my native tongue I learned from studying foreign languages (OK, except conjunctions, I learned those from Conjunction Junction). Learning how to use a semi-colon may cause you ennui, but using one wrongly on a cover letter just might prevent you from getting an interview.
“But students can still study languages like French in high school and college,” you might retort. True, but language study should start young. As we all know, foreign languages become harder to learn as we get older, so the earlier one starts, the better.
“But French no longer has a raison d’être in schools. It’s not as common or useful anymore,” you might further object. A language’s status should have no bearing on a student’s access to it. For example, why the hell should anyone ever want to study a globally minor language like Chechen? It’s not like Chechen translators might come in handy in the case of a bombing or anything. The need for a nation to be able to translate an uncommon language can arise when
you least expect it, but when you most need it.
Sure, students ought to be good at math, but not to the exclusion of bilingualism. Aren’t we a “diverse” country formed from a “melting pot?” When it comes to languages, we statistically lag behind this self-asserted “diversity.” Seventeen percent of citizens are considered bilingual here in the U.S., while 56 percent are in Europe and 38 percent are in Britain, according to François Grosjean, the author of Bilingual: Life and Reality.
And, of course, there’s the fact that speaking a foreign language can enrich one’s life in invaluable ways. If I hadn’t studied Norwegian, I likely wouldn’t have been able to stand on the land my ancestors emigrated from this past summer. That’s worth a hell of a lot more to me than speaking a language solely because it’s useful in a corporate setting. You shouldn’t not study Spanish because it’s common, but you also shouldn’t study it for the sole reason that it’s a common language.
Á propos, languages are a lot more than just grammar. They don’t just communicate words, but ideas, culture and a bon vivant lifestyle. You can’t judge a language by its usefulness in commerce, because there are so many benefi ts that can’t be described in any language.
We live in a global world. We can hop online and interact with redditors in France in an instant. We can Facebook with friends in Germany in less time than it takes to load Google Translate. Our opportunities to cultivate a foreign language are exponentially growing, yet, for some reason, we are continually losing sight of the value of an institutionalized diversity of languages.
So next time you’re out for haute cuisine to celebrate Mardi Gras after enjoying fi lm noir and the garcon comes by and suggests his favorite hors d’oeuvre, followed by the soup du jour and dessert á la mode, realize your day might not have been the same if it wasn’t for French. It’s time we reconsider how we value languages; it’s time for an appreciation renaissance for all tongues, regardless of their status.
Reginald Young ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in legal studies and Scandinavian studies.
Reginald YoungColumnist
Comm A asymmetries raise questionsLETTER TO THE EDITOR
Entering freshmen students are likely to appreciate any advice they can get about how to raise their fi rst-year GPA. The key is knowing whether, where and when they should enroll in their required general education composition course, Comm A.
The tips offered here are based on course grade distribution data available on the Registrar’s website. Attention is focused on the two largest Comm A courses, English 100 and Communication Arts 100.
Tip #1. Enroll in Comm A even if you are not required to do so (many freshmen test out of the Comm A requirement). Why? Because the average fall semester grade in Comm A courses from 2009-10 through 2011-12 was 3.48, as compared to the 3.11 average for all freshmen enrolled in Letters and Science courses.
Tip #2. Enroll in English 100 rather than Communication Arts 100. Why? Because for these same three years, the average Comm A grade of 3.65 in the English Department’s course exceeded the average Comm A grade of 3.30 in the Communication Arts Department’s course.
Tip #3. Delay enrolling in Comm A until the spring semester when the average GPA is higher than in the fi rst semester. This is true for English 100 (3.71 versus 3.65) and by a smaller margin for Comm Arts 100 (3.32 versus
3.30).Tip #4. Delay enrolling in
Comm A as long as possible to take advantage of the steady grade infl ation. The average GPA in English 100 rose from 3.59 in Fall 2009-10 to 3.77 in Fall 2012; for Comm Arts 100, the average rose from 3.23 to 3.48.
These results raise two questions. First, what explains the different grading patterns in these two Comm A courses? Second, how effective are these courses in improving the ability of students to write effective prose in their subsequent courses?
In response to the fi rst question, all one can do is speculate. It seems quite plausible that graduate student TAs in these courses are applying the same grading standard to freshman enrolled in Comm A courses as the faculty in the English and Communication Arts departments apply to them as graduate students; most of their grades are As with occasional ABs.
It also appears that these two departments apply different grading standards, unless there is independent evidence that English 100 students perform at a higher level than Comm Arts 100 students, or that English Department TAs are more effective instructors than Communication Arts Department TAs. Regrettably, no attempt seems to have been made by the two departments to develop a
common grading standard for these two required courses.
What accounts for grade infl ation in these courses is puzzling. From Fall 1996, when the Comm A courses were instituted, to Fall 2012, the average GPA rose from 3.20 to 3.77 in English 100 and from 3.21 to 3.48 in Communication Arts. Meanwhile, the average fall semester GPA for freshman taking Letters and Sciences courses rose from 2.93 to 3.16.
While the GPA increases are almost identical for Communications Arts 100 and Letters and Science freshmen, the increase for English 100 is twice as large. Has the English Department developed some new pedagogical approach that accounts for this widening gap between average grades in its English 100 course and in Letters and Science courses taken by freshmen?
The other question concerns the effectiveness of these two Comm A courses in improving the ability of students to write effectively in faculty-taught courses. The College of Letters and Science, which is responsible for the Comm A course, has conducted two evaluation studies of the course. The fi rst, in 2007, appeared to be rigorous enough, but rather than assessing how well students could write, the study focused on whether students thought they had been taught the content of the syllabi for these courses. It appeared
that is what they had been taught. But, this said nothing about their demonstrated ability to write.
A second study in 2012 showed that students could write somewhat better after completing the Comm A course, but the study was limited in scope. Although the student writing samples were read by carefully trained graduate student evaluators, the writing samples were not the kind that most teaching faculty would assign.
What we don’t know is how faculty members view the quality and effectiveness of undergraduate students’ ability to write in their other courses. This information could easily be obtained by surveying faculty members teaching undergraduate courses, as was done by the Committee on Undergraduate Education in 1993. The survey results led to a new two-semester composition requirement that became Comm A and Comm B.
Oh, yes, there is one more tip that concerns dollars.
Tip #5. Students operating on tight budgets might want to enroll in the course with the lowest textbook costs. The shrink-wrapped packet of materials for Comm Arts 100 is priced at $172.50 new and $132.50 used. The single book required for English 100 is priced at $32.50 new and $22.50 used.
W. Lee Hansen is a Professor Emeritus of Economics at UW.
Judge schools on quality, not pay
‘Free market fundamentalists’ wrong on minimum wage
The Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education is fi nalizing revisions to its charter school policy, which would end district sponsorship of noninstrumentality charter schools. This is a bad policy for students in Madison, particularly in light of the proposal in the governor’s budget, which allows local nonprofi ts to authorize charter schools without approval of the district. If both of these provisions pass, it will prevent noninstrumentality charter schools from being operated by the Madison school district.
When one thinks of charter schools in Madison, one of the fi rst things that comes to mind is the recent proposal by the Urban League of Greater Madison to create an independent charter school, Madison Prep. If it had not been rejected, Madison Prep would have been the fi rst noninstrumentality charter school in Madison. It would
have been different from the existing instrumentality charter schools (Wright Middle School, Badger Rock Middle School and Nuestro Mundo) because it would have hired its staff and teachers independent of the district.
The freedom to hire teachers independent of the district has both negative and positive effects. One of the obvious negatives is that these teachers would likely be treated as at-will employees. This means that administrators would be able to fi re them for almost any reason. Everyone can agree the additional job protection beyond state employment laws for teachers in the current district contract, when used to prevent good teachers from being fi red, is good for our schools. However, additional job protection makes it more diffi cult to remove teachers who are not performing well in the classroom. This is not a major problem in Madison, but is a disadvantage of the current district contract.
An advantage of noninstrumentality charter schools is the ability to
rework the way that they pay their teachers. This means that rather than having salaries determined primarily by education level and years teaching, schools could pay teachers in a more fl exible fashion. In all likelihood, this would mean paying more experienced teachers more, but this freedom could allow them to attract more qualifi ed or diversifi ed teachers. For example: there is a shortage of minority teachers in Madison — a problem that many U.S. school districts face. Because noninstrumentality charter schools can pay teachers outside of the strict formula used in the district contract, they may be able to recruit more minority teachers.
Another reality for Madison is that only a little more than 50 percent of African-American males graduate from high school. As a community, we are failing these students. The question is how can we right this failure? Preventing new, innovative schools from opening based on how they hire and fi re their teachers is not a likely solution —
particularly in the context of Wisconsin’s budget. If the provision remains in the current budget (as seems likely) schools like Madison Prep will no longer need to be approved by school boards, instead by local nonprofi ts, which in turn get approved at the state level. It would further the divide between charter schools and school districts. This does not help students.
The MMSD Board of Education should accept that we, as a community, are failing a large portion of our students and should welcome options that might help our children. Ending the possibility of opening noninstrumentality charter schools is bad for students. New charter schools should be judged by whether or not they will foster student learning and make students of all ages, races and classes excited to go to school every day, not by the way that they handle teacher employment.
James Mashal ( [email protected]) is a junior majoring in economics. He is also a board member of Students for Education Reform.
James MashalGuest Columnist
Some debates are perpetual in nature. The never-ending debate about whether or not the minimum wage is good economic policy is one of them. Regardless, it is a debate I fi nd intriguing and one I feel obligated to enter. Contrary to the assertions of free market economists, writers and pundits, the minimum wage helps American employees, consumers and the overall economy. As such, it is time for Congress to raise the federal minimum wage.
In 2011, according to a report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 3.8 million American employees were paid hourly wages at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. In contrast, according to a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed by consumer advocate Ralph Nader, the CEO of McKesson Corp., John Hammergren, makes approximately $63,000
per hour. Fortune 500 Company
CEOs are doing extremely well, but the corporate entities they work for are doing even better. For example, a study by the Government Accountability Offi ce demonstrated that two-thirds of American corporations paid no federal income tax between 1998 and 2005. Furthermore, a study by Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy showed that 30 Fortune 500 corporations paid a negative income tax rate between 2008 and 2010.
What do these facts tell us? In the words of a 2005 Citigroup memo, the United States is a plutonomy. According to Investopedia, a plutonomy is defi ned as a society where “economic growth … is powered and consumed by the wealthiest upper class of society.” The assertion from free market economists, writers and pundits that the minimum
wage harms job creation and the overall economy is not based in the facts of reality.
Free market economists argue that the minimum wage is destructive because of their fundamental misunderstanding of neoclassical economic models. In a fi rst year college economics course, the professor will draw a basic supply and demand curve for labor, showing the market wage for labor. Next, the professor will draw a wage fl oor (government-mandated minimum wage) that results in a higher wage, but subsequently results in unemployment (excess labor supply). This economic model is erroneous.
First, this model — like most economic models — is based on the assumption of perfect competition. But any serious economics professor has to admit that perfect competition does not exist in the real world. Instead, the real world is dominated by
oligopolies and oligopsonies — market structures subdued by a few sellers or buyers of a certain good. Second, this model is based on the assumption of perfect information, where all fi rms and employees “have equal and transparent knowledge of the relevant factors.” But the notion of perfect information has been disproved by Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz. Instead, as Stiglitz has demonstrated, information asymmetries pervade in nearly all markets. Thus, this basic economic model doesn’t accurately describe the effects of a minimum wage.
In a column for TheStreet.com, Robert Weinstein wrote “the reality of a minimum wage is zero benefi t for those earning it, and a negative benefi t for everyone else.” This simply isn’t true. Consumer spending constitutes approximately 70 percent of the American economy. Without adequate consumer spending, an economy can’t
function properly. This is the basic foundation of Keynesian economics — spending drives economic growth, not tax cuts for job creators. Thus, if we want the U.S. economy to expand, we must raise the minimum wage.
An increase in employee wages increases consumer spending and, as a result, increases economic growth. As Nader noted in his Wall Street Journal op-ed, “a [2011] Chicago Federal Reserve study showed that for every dollar increase in the hourly pay of a minimum-wage worker, the result was $2,800 in new consumer spending from that worker’s household over the year.” In addition, a report by the Economic Policy Institute said, “Increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10 by July 1, 2015, would raise the wages of about 30 million workers, who would receive over $51 billion in additional wages over the phase-in period [from 2013 to 2016].” Furthermore, in the same
report, the EPI said that an increased federal minimum wage “would increase [GDP] by roughly $32.6 billion, resulting in the creation of approximately 140,000 net new jobs (and 284,000 job years).”
Free market fundamentalists, including economists and pundits, are wrong in their assertion that the minimum wage is detrimental to job growth and the overall economy. This assertion is based on a fl awed economic model and does not coincide with the empirical facts. Instead, it demonstrates a view best summed up by stand-up comedian George Carlin: “Conservatives say if you don’t give the rich more money, they will lose their incentive to invest. As for the poor, they tell us they’ve lost all incentive because we’ve given them too much money.”
Aaron Loudenslager ([email protected]) is a fi rst year law student.
NONSENSE?Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains 1, 2,
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.What? You still don’t get it? Come, on, re-ally? It’s not calculus or anything. Honest-ly, if you don’t know how to do a sudoku by now, you’ve prob-ably got more issues than this newspaper.
HOW DO IKAKURO?
I know, I know. Kakuro. Looks crazy, right? This ain’t no time to panic, friend, so keep it cool and I’ll walk you through. Here’s the low down: each clue tells you what the sum of the numbers to the right or down must add up to. Repeating numbers? Not in this part of town. And that’s that, slick.
ArtsEtc.ArtsEtc.ArtsEtc. EditorsTim Hadick & Colin [email protected]@BH_Arts
The Badger Herald | Arts | Monday, April 22, 20136
Work it for work: dress for success at business ARTSETC. PRESENTS TIMELESSLY TRENDY
As graduation creeps closer for all of us seniors and summer internships and résumé workshops loom on the horizon for Badgers of all ages, the thought of joining the workforce — and dressing accordingly — is a bit intimidating. Considering that I’ve spent a good portion of my college career writing fashion columns that advocate for cut-off shorts, combat boots and quirky hairdos, I’m in no rush to throw on an ill-fitting suit and wipe away any semblance of individuality. If a trip to the career fair, where kids who usually dress in one-
of-a-kind ensembles drown themselves in sexless black suits, is any indication of our future, I will not let any of you leave college without a lesson on dressing for the workforce.
Of course, your outfits will depend on your job. An internship at a corporate law office will call for a very different getup than one in the creative department of an advertising agency or in a biology research lab. Take a peek at professionals in your field to gather the “guidelines” on how to dress. Are jeans OK, or is it a suit and tie sort of environment? Once you gauge the balance between casual and professional and you secure your idea of what is appropriate for a given situation, it is time to infuse just the right amount of fun into your outfi ts.
Get started by looking at the basic pieces that make up any professional outfi t:
the blazer, the buttoned dress shirt and the trouser. Regardless of your gender, field and personal style, these pieces are necessities for every college graduate. However, stylish details, fits and patterns can take these essentials from forgettable to fabulous. And with the hoards of twenty-somethings flooding the market, you want to be remembered for all the right reasons.
There is nothing more depressing than an ill-fitting trouser. Too tight, flared numbers and baggy, wrinkly khakis tell employers, “I can’t wait for five o’clock so I throw on my real pants.” Instead, take a cue from timeless ladies like the Hepburns — both Audrey and Katharine — who made boys pants look perfectly their own. Audrey, in tight fitting, mid-waist black pants that hit just at the ankle, provides a look that is both playful and polished.
And Katharine, wearing high-waisted, looser-fi tting pants, shows us how to take a conservative look and make it sexy. The most on-trend look combines both pants for a loose, high-waisted trouser that tapers at the ankles for an undeniably cool charm.
Moving on to shirts, I think it should be cemented in all of your minds that not all dress shirts are created equal. First of all, resist the urge to call them all “button-ups,” as “button-downs” are a distinct style defined by the buttons that hold down the collar. Conventionally, button downs are seen as more conservative and professional, while button-ups can be incorporated into more casual outfits. Next comes the question of fi t and tailoring. And the answer: a little tailoring goes a long way. While some tailoring can assist you in finding a shirt that fits and flatters your body
type, an overly tailored shirt with blatantly feminine details loses the androgynous appeal that makes button-ups/downs so trendy in the fi rst place. Another important thing to keep in mind when trying on dress shirts: Don’t buy them too small! Shoulder seams should hit right below the slope of your shoulders, and it is absolutely integral that the buttons do not gap. As far as materials go, stiff and starchy cottons should be replaced with softer fabrics, whether they be cotton, chambray or even a funky fl annel.
There is no denying that a good blazer is hard to find. Something about a blazer from the conventional two-piece suit is so cold and professional that it eliminates any possibility of being stylish. Instead, trade in your starched, padded and tailored blazer for one with an easier fit
and a more casual style. J. Crew’s schoolboy blazer is an example of the perfect blazer: perfectly proportioned for women and bedecked with cool details like brass buttons and easy-to-roll-up sleeves. Layered over everything from easy button-ups to T-shirts and sweatshirts, this versatile piece can be dressed up or dressed down.
Let’s end with everyone’s favorite: shoes. This is the best place to play with femininity and masculinity. Menswear provides the perfect casual shoe with oxfords and loafers, though polished details keep it professional. Or, go lady-like with sophisticated ankle strap fl ats or delicate kitten heels that provide the perfect counterpart for a stylishly, androgynous outfi t.
No matter what you do, make sure to put your own personal twist on it!
Maggie SchaferTimelessly Trendy Columnist
Characters carry crafty “Cloud 9”
“Cloud 9” surprised the audience at a Thursday night pre-showing at the Mitchell Theatre with plot twists and engaging acting in a story about individuality and identity.
The seats were filled with more mature viewers, as the play is not aimed toward children. A majority, if not all, of scenes in the play included sexual actions or references, appropriate for adults, but something parents may not want their children to be seeing. However, the play did a wonderful job of adding much-needed comic relief on serious issues, like gender and sexuality.
A complex story about sex, relationships and identity, “Cloud 9” is fi rst based in Victorian Africa and then fast-forwards 25 years to a slightly more modern Britain. The play explores the growing familiarity of homosexual expression and the establishment of feminism throughout the decade-and-a-half time period. What was most enjoyable about “Cloud 9” is the way comedy is intertwined with serious commentary, yet the comedic aspect does not take away from the important, overarching topics the play tackles.
The characters stand out as the most entertaining parts of the play; “Cloud 9” has a small cast that leaves a big impression. There are only nine cast members in all, many of whom play two tremendously unique roles. In Act I, two characters take on roles of their opposite genders, and in Act II there are even more gender-bending surprises. Although every cast member did a wonderful job of engaging the audience and bringing forth the personality of their characters, Eva Nimmer, who played the characters of Edward in Act I and Betty in Act II, did a spectacular job. Right as the play begins, Nimmer strikes out. Her
voice, in the sudden musical numbers in the first act, is incredible and her acting even better. She has a cheerful personality that captures the attention of the audience and is able to truly bring across the sometimes confusing identity questions a young person faces during adolescence.
Even though the characters are fantastic, not as much can be said for the set designs. The sheer curtains hanging from the ceiling seemed rather out of place, yet add a nice touch of elegance. Also, unfortunately, it is often difficult to tell where the acts were taking place, Africa or Britain, as there is not much difference in scenery between the two acts. If the characters were not dressed accordingly, it would be difficult to notice the switch in locations from Act I to Act II.
“Cloud 9” encourages audiences to express their individuality and live life to the fullest. The smiles could not be wiped off the crowd’s faces for the duration of the show. The set designs could be brought up a level and the singing seems out of place, but the message and comedic elements more than make up for these slight mishaps. The actors are extraordinary and perform a magnificent job of switching between distinct characters.
A suggestion to audiences: read the Dramaturg’s Note, located in the program. It may help with understanding the full backstory of the play and clear up any confusion. It also provides a perfect overview of what to expect when the curtain rises.
Overall, “Cloud 9” is an excellent and inspiring play about finding yourself and being the person you want to be, despite what others might say.
“Cloud 9” runs through May 4. Tickets are available for $22 through UT Box Offi ce.
The spring season for paid cable kicks off with two shows returning just in time for the pre-finals lull. The humor-ridden, stressful lives of two of TV’s busiest ladies serve students as reminders that life only gets harder, never easier.
“Nurse Jackie”First at 8 p.m. Sundays is
“Nurse Jackie” on Showtime. Staring “The Sopranos” star Edie Falco as Jackie Peyton, the show follows a drug-addicted NYC trauma nurse. After several seasons of popping pills, Jackie must refocus her priorities on her family life. When Jackie admitted to sleeping with the hospital pharmacist for pills toward the beginning of the show, her husband cut every tie with her he could and is still fighting to gain custody of their children, who are not faring well with the split.
Kicking off Season Five, Jackie has been clean for nearly 10 months since her experience in rehab in Season Four. By-the-book, corporate Dr. Michael Cruz (Bobby Cannavale, “Movie 43”) departs after the death of his son, Jackie’s rehab buddy. The entire E.R. nursing staff is glad to see him leave, but Jackie learns of another departure from the staff that threatens her sobriety.
Meanwhile, pharmacist
Eddie is trying to rekindle what he thinks existed between Jackie and him while she was using him for drugs, but he seems to be stuck in the friend zone. Still, Jackie may be finding unexpected love in the most unlikely of places.
“Nurse Jackie” consistently dances on the thin line between becoming too boring with Jackie assaulted by opportunities to relapse and keeping viewers interested in her addiction. It’s sometimes hard to watch her go through instance after instance of literally being handed pills only to see her throw them away or choose alternative paths to relief. While the show may be sticking to Jackie’s newly-turned leaf, it’s getting old.
Still, the show’s edgy, dark humor continues at a suitable level, and this season is looking to jump-start “Nurse Jackie” from a substantial lack of action on Jackie’s end. Competing with “Game of Thrones” in the same timeslot doesn’t help “Nurse Jackie’s” odds for ratings, but it’s very much worth watching.
“Veep”Speaking of “Game of
Thrones,” stick around on HBO Sunday evenings after the gritty fantasy for “Veep” at 9 p.m. For those who can’t stand the serious nature of “The West Wing,” or any political drama on TV for that matter, the hectic life of Vice President Selina Meyer
(Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Seinfeld”) portrayed in “Veep” offers a hilarious new take on life in Washington, D.C. for all audiences. Following the antics of Vice President Meyer is like seeing everything come crashing down around Michael in “Arrested Development”: once hope boils up from the depths of Washington’s politics, something always comes around to bash it away. Speaking of “Arrested Development,” Tony Hale serves as Meyer’s personal assistant and adds just a dash of Buster’s crazy personality to “Veep.”
In “Veep,” the vice presidency is the most passive-aggressive power position in Washington. While VP Meyer may be able to take over the nation if the president dies, she can’t seem to push through any legislation, work with any congressmen or get her staff issues sorted out in a fashionable manner. Yet she’s worked to the bone and can barely stay awake when the Senate is in session. All the while Meyer sacrifices her romantic interests, as well as her relationship with her daughter, for her job. “Veep” paints a dark, dismal portrait of American politics being hyper-competitive to the
point of insanity. Louis-Dreyfus looks run into the ground after each episode and is often left a frustrated mess at her desk while more business awaits her character off-screen.
This season opens with the midterm elections destroying Meyer’s party. Meyer is trying to assert herself with the president after being trampled on last season time and again. Meyer riles up crowd on the campaign for her party and the president for the midterms, but, despite being well-received, she’s still seen as the useless veep. Seasoned TV veteran Gary Cole (“The Good Wife”) joins the show as a presidential number cruncher and one of Meyer’s least favorite people. Having helped win the president his election by positioning Meyer with her blatantly cheating then-husband, Meyer sees Cole’s character as an obstacle piled onto her already very full plate.
“Veep” is crass, full of one-liners and often more offensive than anything on Adult Swim. Steeped with character chemistry and packed into half an hour, “Veep” will keep your sides thoroughly sore before the start of another tedious week.
“Veep,” “Jackie” creep out for fi nalsPaid cable networks continue new spring lineups with return of TV’s busiest ladies
Tim HadickArtsEtc. Co-Editor
Jackie will undoubtably struggle to keep seeing her kids given her insane work schedule and begrudged ex-husband. Here’s hoping she can at least stay off the pills.
The vice presidency has never looked so horribly stressful. Without much more than her title, “Veep” Meyer must keep Washington, D.C., from devolving into a state of anarchy.
Courtesy of Showtime NetworksCourtesy of Home Box Offi ce
Sports
out at me and he did again today,” Andersen said. “He made a couple big plays, came around the edge and he looks like he’s playing with more confidence and he’s kind of letting it rip a little bit.”
Biegel, who was forced to take medical redshirt last fall after aggravating a broken left foot he sustained in the spring of 2012, looked as good as originally advertised Saturday, showing perhaps the best combination of speed and strength of any player on the field during the scrimmage.
Standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing in at 230 pounds, he’s an exciting prospect for a Wisconsin defense that has lacked a consistent sack threat the past two seasons. The Badgers haven’t produced a player with double-digit sacks since O’Brien Schofield (12) did
it in 2009. And they still haven’t had a consistent playmaker on the edge since J.J. Watt in 2010 (21 TFLs).
“Vince had a good day, he can really rush the passer and that’s going to be big for us to have depth at the outside linebacker spot and I think he’ll be able to provide that,” Borland said.
Biegel wasn’t the only linebacker to benefit from the extra reps. Recently moved from defensive back to linebacker, sophomore Joe Schobert also made a handful of solid plays, co-leading the Cardinal team with seven tackles along with redshirt junior inside linebacker Marcus Trotter.
Both made several nice plays, including a screen-read by Trotter where the linebacker read the offensive line’s release, located running back Melvin Gordon and drilled the redshirt sophomore behind the line of scrimmage to break up
the catch.Other linebackers like
redshirt senior Connor O’Neil, senior Nick Hill, redshirt junior Sherard Cadogan (a former fullback), sophomore Jesse Hayes and redshirt freshman Jake Rademacher all received a considerable workload for the Badgers during the game.
Although the starters at linebacker will in all likelihood look radically different than the product showcased during Saturday’s scrimmage, there’s no doubt that when fully healthy, Wisconsin has considerable depth at the position across the board.
“That whole group of young linebackers has had so many reps. You cannot put a price tag on repetitions in spring and we’ve kept the other guys healthy,” Andersen said. “It’s going to be a good group of inside and outside linebackers.”
DEFENSE, from 8
the young running back accumulated 159 yards and one touchdown on 30 carries.
“The tweak of the ankle through spring slowed him down, but it didn’t slow him down mentally,” Andersen said. “It really was impressive to me because the day he came back, he was in the offense, he knew the offense … which is a credit to him.”
Doe catches attention at wide receiver
In the absence of star wide receiver Abbrederis, the Wisconsin quarterbacks had to search for a new go-to option in the passing game Saturday. Junior wide receiver Kenzel Doe quickly stepped up to the task — something his teammates say they have
witnessed all spring.“He was very
impressive today,” Phillips said. “He is one guy that I think we have seen throughout the spring make strides.
“I think having the confidence now that he has been out there and [making] some plays will allow him the opportunity to improve himself.”
Doe made play after play for the offense — catching seven fi rst-down passes in four quarters — on his way to eight catches for 93 yards on the day.
Entering the game, the quest for a No. 2 wide receiver was one of the big question marks for Wisconsin, but after the spring game Andersen admitted the wide receiver question may now have solved itself.
“Kenzel’s want-to
is very impressive,” Anderson said. “He is crafty and … has really showed solid hands throughout practice. Whether it’s route versus error, or a competitive situation, he’s done a very nice job.”
Although Doe was electric catching the short passes and even running an end-around that featured some shifty moves, the Badgers sorely lacked any deep-ball potency in their passing game. Without Abbrederis’ presence on the field, the Badgers didn’t take many shots down the fi eld.
Stave was the only quarterback to heave up the long ball out of all five players Saturday, overthrowing one attempt and leading his receiver a bit too far to the middle of the fi eld on the other.
Senior catcher Whitney Massey caught three strong pitching performances throughout the weekend but also did some damage at the plate, providing the difference on Sunday with her 3-run home run.
Kelsey Fenton The Badger Herald
pitched seven innings Saturday, but after seeing how effective McIntosh was, Healy had no choice but to leave her in.
“We gave Meghan the nod, thought maybe [McIntosh and Cassandra Darrah] could split it that way, and she just went the distance,” Healy said. “We were happy for her.”
Wisconsin’s junior ace Darrah took the mound for the Badgers in the early game Saturday and was caught in a barn-burner as the Buckeyes showed why they have the fourth-best offense in the Big Ten putting up six on the right-hander.
Darrah was cruising with the 3-0 lead until the top of the fourth when the Buckeye batters jumped all over the pitcher, putting up fi ve runs and taking the 5-3 lead.
After Ohio State took one more run from Darrah in the top of the seventh, it took some late-game heroics from Wisconsin, who proved to be up the challenge scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh, topped off with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly from Michelle Mueller to tie the game at six.
It wasn’t until the bottom of the 10th when the Badgers finally broke the stalemate on a walk-off home run by Massei to give Wisconsin the 7-6 victory in extras.
Massei ended her three-game series against the Buckeyes 6-10 from the plate, two home runs and three RBIs.
“Incredible,” Healy said of Massei’s play over the weekend. “She was seeing the ball well. It helps when she and Whitney [Massey] are putting the ball over the fence, that’s fun. So, we’re really proud of her and she helped us a lot.”
OFFENSE, from 8
Wisconsin earns definitive 6-1 win over Nebraska
Wisconsin wrapped up its regular season with a 6-1 victory over No. 62 Nebraska Sunday afternoon at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium on Senior Day.
“It was a special day for the seniors,” head coach Greg Van Emburgh said after the match. “They really embraced the moment in their last home match here at Nielsen Tennis Stadium and played great tennis. I think they were really excited to play today.”
The Badgers (13-11, 4-7 Big Ten) claimed the doubles point with a 2-0 victory over
the Cornhuskers (10-14, 2-9 Big Ten).
First to finish was UW’s No. 1 pairing of seniors Billy Bertha and Alexander Kostanov, ranked No. 88 in the country, who defeated Dusty Boyer and Marc Herrmann, 8-6.
At court two, Alexander Kokorev and Oskar Wikberg, playing together for just the second time all season, fought through a tough match against Brandon Videtich and Bradford Zitsch to pull out an 8-6 victory. With the doubles point already clinched, Jakhongir Jalalov and Petr Satral had their match against Tom Blackwell and Sebastian Florczyk called at 7-4.
“[Coach told us] to keep the intensity up, to keep executing, and to keep being loud and vocal while finishing the big points,”
freshman Jakhongir Jalalov said. “[Winning the doubles point] gives us confidence before starting singles play because we are up 1-0, so it relieves stress from our shoulders.”
The Badgers came out of the gate firing in singles play by taking fi ve of the six opening sets. Satral was the first to finish his match after defeating Andre Stenger, 6-3, 6-4, in what was his first career win at the No. 1 court.
“The one thing we really harped on was getting good starts in singles,” Van Emburgh said. “It felt like we were really able to do that and it was great to see the guys step up today and
play some great singles.”After Bertha dropped
his final match at Nielsen Tennis Stadium on the No. 3 court, 6-3, 6-4, to Herrmann, the Badgers countered with a 6-3, 6-3 victory on court No. 5 as Jalalov defeated Andrew Dzulynsky.
The eventual victory was clinched on court
No. 6 where Kokorev
handled Cornhusker Scott Elsass with relative ease en route to a 6-3, 6-4 win.
Kostanov found himself in the midst
of a tough second-set battle as he trailed 5-3 to Boyer after winning the first set 6-1. The senior was able to fi ght through, however, and come
back to win the second set in the tiebreak, 7-6 (7-5).
Court No. 4 was where the Badgers claimed their sixth point of the day as Blackwell of Nebraska was forced to retire due to an ankle injury, giving Wikberg the 6-0, 5-7, 3-2 victory.
The Badgers will now turn their focus to Ohio as they enter the Big Ten Tournament, which begins Thursday. Their first round matchup against Purdue will decide which team earns the right to take on top-seeded Ohio State, who is coming off of its eighth consecutive Big Ten regular season conference title.
No matter their opponent, this Badger squad believes it can play with the best of them.
“Coach keeps telling us that once the match gets close, we need to step up and take the big matches,”
Jalalov said. “We feel like we can play with everyone who we’ve played so far and that’s a great feeling.”
Van Emburgh echoed Jalalov’s sentiments, saying, “I’ve been telling [the team] that we need to be confi dent and have a lot of belief. When you’re playing three or four freshman, they don’t quite get it until they’re in the battle. Right now, the only team in our conference who stands above the others is Ohio State but I feel like on any given day, we can play even with any team.”
As for the tournament, their preparation is a segmented process.
“We want to try and have a good practice Tuesday before we leave on Wednesday,” Van Emburgh said. “Get ready for Thursday’s first round match and, from there, take it one match at a time.”
Senior Day ends well for Bertha, Kostanov as UW owns doubles play en route to winZack MillerMen’s Tennis Writer
SWEEP,from 8
“[Coach told us] to keep the intensity up ... and to keep being loud and vocal.”
Jakhongir JalalovFreshman
“I don’t think it’s just my pitching, we had a lot of good defensive plays out there.”
Meghan McIntoshSenior Pitcher
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The Badger Herald | Classifieds | Monday, April 22, 20137
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RECAP, PAGE 7
The men’s tennis team dominated the doubles slate Sunday afternoon at Nielsen Tennis Stadium, topping Nebraska 6-1.
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Redshirt freshman linebacker Vince Biegel excelled during Saturday’s Spring Game after being forced to the sideline with an injury in 2012. With multiple linebackers out, Biegel made life diffi cult for the offense with four tackles on the day, two of them coming for a loss.
Kelsey Fenton The Badger Herald
Defense triumphs in Spring Game
With 12,050 fans on hand to witness the annual Wisconsin football spring game, it was the Badgers’ defense that stole the show Saturday afternoon at Camp Randall.
At least, what was left of it.
“We’re basically missing six starters on the defensive side that didn’t play a snap today,” head coach Gary Andersen said. “It was a tremendous day for those young kids to get in and compete at a high level.”
With defensive play calling in a 61-47 win for the Cardinal (defense) over the White (offense) that Andersen called “very vanilla” — Andersen didn’t want to show anything schematically advanced because the scrimmage was televised on the Big Ten Network — the new 3-4 base defensive structure looked strong despite having thin ranks on the
active roster.Of those starters
missing, not a single linebacker predicted to start at the beginning of spring played Saturday. One outside linebacker has gone the way of the dodo — as ongoing foot injuries have forced redshirt senior David Gilbert to forgo his senior season with the Badgers.
Two others, last year’s starting outside linebacker Ethan Armstrong and defensive end turned outside linebacker Brendan Kelly, are sitting out the spring, recovering from offseason surgeries. Another former defensive end-turned-linebacker, redshirt senior Tyler Dippel, has also been absent this spring with a shoulder injury.
And Chris Borland, well, when you’re a 2012 All-Big Ten selection and three-year starter, there’s little left to prove, as Andersen held the inside linebacker out of the scrimmage as a precaution.
Playing the role of spectator Saturday, Borland was impressed with what he saw from his thinned-out positional group.
“I thought they played well,” Borland said of his fellow linebackers. “We
were a little short-handed in the middle. We just had three guys for a group of four spots. Coach was being smart resting guys, but we should have many more come fall.”
Redshirt senior safety and 2012 All-Big Ten Honorable Mention Dezmen Southward, who, like Borland, sat out the scrimmage as a precaution, was also impressed with the linebackers’ performance.
“We hope to have [every player] back at 100 percent,” Southward said. “But if we don’t, one thing we learned [from the scrimmage] is we have guys who can step up and can play the game at a high level.”
One of the young players who made his mark in the absence of Borland and others was redshirt freshman linebacker Vince Biegel. The once highly touted prep recruit out of Wisconsin Rapids recorded four tackles and two sacks while terrorizing off the edge consistently on the pass rush.
“Vince, really the last two practices, I sat down and evaluated Wednesday’s practice and he jumped
Depleted linebacker squad brings home victory for Cardinal in scrimmage, 61-47Nick KorgerSports Editor
DEFENSE, page 7
Junior wide receiver Kenzel Doe helped his own cause in the wide receiver competition during the Spring Game with eight catches for a team-high 93 yards Saturday.
Jen Small The Badger Herald
Stave, Doe stand out on offense
On a rare sunny day this April, the Wisconsin football team capped off its spring season with its annual Spring Game at Camp Randall Saturday.
Following a different format than in years past, the offense, team “White,” lost to the defense, team “Cardinal,” 61-47 after a second-half collapse saw the offense score just five points in the final 20 minutes.
With many of the key players sitting out for the offense — including seniors James White, Jared Abbrederis and Ryan Groy — in order to prevent injury, the attention turned to the one position that had all five of its candidates participating: quarterback.
Starting for the offense on the first drive, sixth-year senior Curt Phillips led the team on a 10-play, 50-yard drive that resulted in a Kyle French fi eld goal.
However, redshirt sophomore Joel Stave quickly stole the show when he took over at quarterback on the offense’s third drive.
Trailing the defense 12-7, Stave orchestrated a 71-yard drive, throwing for four fi rst downs along the way before sophomore running back Melvin Gordon finished the drive off with an 11-yard touchdown run.
For Stave, a strong final practice seemed the perfect way to end his first spring season under new head coach Gary Andersen.
“I think I’ve made a pretty good impression,”
Stave said. “Just trying to compete and trying to make sure I’m learning everything that they are giving me because they threw a lot of stuff at us this week offensively.”
By the end the game, Stave had accumulated 161 passing yards on 15-of-20 passing and had the offense’s only throwing score of the game.
While Andersen was reluctant to say that Stave had taken the lead in the quarterback contest, he did say that the young signal caller had his best practice of the spring Saturday.
“Joel was poised today,” Andersen said. “I thought he wasn’t perfect, but he doesn’t have to be perfect. … We did throw the ball and catch the ball better than we have all spring and that was very encouraging.”
None of the other quarterbacks received much of a shot at the job Saturday, with just a combined nine passing attempts between Danny O’Brien, Bart Houston and Chase Knox. Just two of those passes were completed for a grand total of seven yards.
Lessening the burden on Wisconsin’s passing game, Gordon took 17 carries and averaged 4.4 yards per attempt but also provided a reliable receiving option, catching four passes for 39 yards.
Despite suffering from ankle problems throughout the early part of the spring season, Gordon would manage to rush for 74 yards and a touchdown — a far cry from his first spring game last year where
Redshirt sophomore quarterback impresses as wideout makes case for No. 2 position
Nick DanielsSports Content Editor
OFFENSE, page 7
UW takes series sweep over OSUExtra innings comeback win highlights Wisconsin’s 3-game weekend of victories
For the first time in 2013, the Wisconsin softball team welcomed a Big Ten team to Goodman Diamond and didn’t disappoint the home crowd, coming away with three conference victories.
Wisconsin (33-9, 10-5 Big Ten) began their series against Ohio State (27-17, 6-9) with a pair of wins Saturday, including a 7-6 victory in the first game that went to extra innings and finished with a walk-off home run in the 10th inning by junior outfielder Mary Massei.
Massei and the Badgers capped off their sweep of the Buckeyes Sunday with a 4-2 win, giving the Badgers four straight conference victories.
Senior pitcher Meghan McIntosh got the nod Sunday after pitching a gem in the second game of the doubleheader Saturday 3-1, where Ohio State’s only run came unearned.
McIntosh picked up right where she left off Sunday, keeping the Buckeyes scoreless until the sixth inning when Ohio State’s Cammi Prantl came up with a double that brought around Taylor Watkins from second, tying the game at one.
OSU sophomore pitcher Alex DiDomenico went toe-to-toe with McIntosh on the mound, keeping Wisconsin’s hitters to just one run until the bottom of the sixth inning when the Badgers’ bats came to life.
Until the sixth inning, Wisconsin’s only hit came from the bat of Massei, who gave the Badgers the early lead with a home run to deep center. Massei ended her day 2-2 from the plate with two runs and an RBI.
“I’m just taking hacks at good pitches,” Massei said. “I just opened up my stance a little bit. That fi rst at-bat I got a lot of inside pitches, so I just wanted to make sure I could get my bat through it
and take a hack.”Massei kickstarted the
offense again in the bottom of the sixth with a one-out single. Kendall Grimm moved Massei into scoring position with a walk and then it was catcher Whitney Massey who hit a bomb off DiDomenico into deep left field to give Wisconsin the 4-1 lead.
As McIntosh came out in the seventh, she was looking to earn her 10th complete game of the season.
Ohio State jumped on McIntosh with a lead-off double from Melissa Rennie. Rennie then came around to score on an error by Wisconsin first baseman Shannel Blackshear who let the ball get past her on a throw from shortstop Kendall Grimm.
McIntosh was able to close the door on the Ohio State comeback, holding the Buckeyes to just the lone unearned run in the top of the seventh, giving the left-handed hurler her 10th win on the season with a 4-2 victory Sunday.
“I was just hitting locations and getting them to put the ball in play, keeping the ball in the park and letting the defense work,” McIntosh said.
McIntosh ended Sunday’s game with six strikeouts and only one earned run just a day after picking up a victory in the second game of Wisconsin’s twin bill, where she was even more effective, giving up zero earned runs in a 3-1 win over Ohio State.
“I don’t think it’s just my pitching, we had a lot of good defensive plays out there all three games this series,” McIntosh said. “I was just keeping them off balance and just keep getting them out.”
Healy entered Sunday’s game intending to keep McIntosh on the mound for only about half the game as a precaution to not overwork the lefty’s arm after she
