THEUWMPOST est. 1956
the student-run independent newspaper
April 02, 2012
SA Debate page 12
Issue 24, Volume 56
The Hunger Games page 9
‘Cold’ Blooded Warriors page 12
Neighborhood residents and city officials debate law and order at MPD town hall Volunteer officers added, Chapter 17 discussed at neighborhood meeting
SA candidates spar in debate Three set of candidates for president and vice president debated campus issues before elections
By John Parnon Assistant News Editor news@uwmpost.com
“It’s a revolution with two big broad stages; one being the first wave in which
Five candidates for the Student Association’s office of president and vice president exchanged accusations and promises at Friday’s debate hosted by the UWM Post and UWM Broadcast club. Senator Hugo Nguyen, who has been reprimanded several times during his short time involved with SA, drew gasps and exasperated sighs from the crowd when responding to the moderator’s laundry list of Hugo’s mistakes and gaffes. Pictures of Nguyen dressed in Nazi attire appeared on Facebook recently, and when asked about them he responded, “I talked to the Jewish people, the Hillel, they seemed to like me, they invite me to all their events, so we made up. If you’re Jewish, I will buy you a dinner so come and ask me, we can make it a date too if you’re a girl.” Nguyen said he is a serious candidate and not in the running just to make a spectacle. The five candidates represented the three parties currently in the running: Senator Hugo Nguyen and Jory DeLoach II for ICONIC, Speaker of the Senate Rick Banks and Special Assistant to the President Eric Grow for United Panthers, and Senator Dan Laughland and Deputy Speaker Tereza Pelicaric for Allied Student Voice. DeLoach could not attend the debate because of prior obligations. Throughout the debate all candidates agreed on how to address the majority of issues, while a few topics such as the parking situation and party voting records invoked personal attacks and more divisive answers. Pelicaric said that Grow’s senate bill last semester to help fund the athletic department and pay off their debt was irresponsible spending of students’ money, to which Grow responded, “Pelicaric voted with my athletics plan… people criticize these plans but she voted for it and it was kind of a good idea.” Pelicaric also talked about the option of coordinating with aldermen to get more parking spaces around campus, to which Grow said, “It’s misleading to talk about common council or aldermen. We can sit down with [Alderman Nik Kovac], but any real things have to go through a common council vote. We won’t promise [anything we can’t do].” Nguyen said on the matter that every student who commutes should get free parking, and “enjoy the things on campus.” When asked about low turnout and SA’s generally poor reputation, Banks said, “[United Panthers] have a higher moral standing than some of these candidates.” Nguyen said that he and DeLoach are new faces to the SA and they won’t be afraid to fire someone. Laughland brought up his voting record, saying that Allied Student Voice reformed the ethics and outreach of SA and ended cronyism.
See GLORIA page 5
See DEBATE page 3
Post photo by Sierra Riesberg By Zach Brooke Assistant News Editor news@uwmpost.com Four members of UW- Milwaukeearea neighborhood associations were sworn in as auxiliary police officers Tuesday night at the Milwaukee Police Department District 1 East Side Neighborhood Town Hall Meeting after a long discussion about law en-
forcement and alcohol in campus neighborhoods. “The message is we’re just looking for acceptable levels of behavior,” first district Captain Steven Basting said, noting the steady stream of missing yard signs and overturned construction barrels, as well as loud groups of revelers walking home in early mornings after bar close. “All those little things now become
a big thing to the neighborhood,” Basting said. While the new volunteer officers won’t have the ability the make arrests or issue citations, Basting said, they can be involved in “transferring information,” which can mean they can fill out a citation and give it to a regular officer to sign off on, though Basting also stressed, “I don’t need them patrolling the neighborhoods and calling
in houses and that sort of thing. I’ve got enough of that.” Unlike the relatively small monthly neighborhood associations’ meetings held in places like the Urban Ecology Center, Tuesday night’s meeting was held in the auditorium of Riverside University High School and included Alderman Nik Kovac,
See LAW AND ORDER page 4
G-L-O-R-I-A at U-W-M Legendary activist Steinem headlines Women Leaders Conference
By Zack Garhart Staff Writer news@uwmpost.com
The Pfister Hotel welcomed influential women from all over as participants of the third annual Women Leaders Conference (WLC) gathered together in downtown on March 30. Since its inception in 2010, the WLC has grown tremendously and this year extended invitations to 500 women whose backgrounds varied both professionally and scholarly. “[WLC] is a celebration of leadership,” Dean of UW-Milwaukee’s School of Continuing Education (SCE) Patricia Arredondo said in an opening speech. “We’re sharing and exchanging knowledge and being part of making history.” UW-Milwaukee’s SCE hosted the sold out conference as it showcased 29 speakers, which included recognizable figures such as the founder and chairman
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emeritus of The Pampered Chef (Doris Christopher), the president of Purdue University (Dr. France A. Córdova), an editor emeritus from the largest women’s feminist blog in the world (Courtney Martin), in addition to the conferences headliner, longtime feminist activist Gloria Steinem. Having established herself as a paramount figure in history during the last 40 years, Steinem was the keynote speaker of the event and the first one that the WLC has featured with such significance. In her life span, Steinem has worked as a writer (co-founder of Ms. magazine), lecturer, film maker and is arguably most recognizable as an feminist activist on behalf of women’s equality. Her opening speech at the WLC entailed objectives that each woman in attendance was to leave with some new feeling of support, piece of information or organizing tactic, though she even added jokingly about coming up with a new way
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Post photo by Sierra Riesberg to make trouble. Steinem’s speech primarily focused on “the longest revolution,” a battle which she said is still being fought by women today.
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COMICS PUZZLES
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April 02, 2012
THEUWMPOST Editor in Chief Zach Erdmann
Production Editor Caitlin Loepfe
Managing Editor Mike La Count
Chief Copy Editor Brad Poling
News Editor Steve Garrison
Copy Editor Kara Petersen
Assistant News Editors John Parnon Zach Brooke
Distribution Mgr. Lucas Hubanks
Features Aaron Knapp Fringe Editor Steve Franz Assistant Fringe Editors Kevin Kaber Graham Marlowe Sports Editor Jeremy Lubus Assistant Sports Editor Tony Atkins Editorial Editor William Bornhoft Photo Editor Sierra Riesberg
Off-Campus Distribution Alek Shumaker Business Mgr. Tyler Rembert Advertising Mgr. Stephanie Fisher Ad Designer Cathylynne Ahlgren Account Executive Zhanet Buchokova Ashley Haut Brody Hess Sr. Online Editor Kody Schafer Board of Directors Zach Erdmann Stephanie Fisher Mike La Count Tyler Rembert Kody Schafer
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Students vote overwhelmingly in favor of new union “They made the right choice,” Union advocacy chair says By Stephanie Schmidt Staff Writer news@uwmpost.com UW-Milwaukee students voted via email in overwhelming favor, 72 percent to 28 percent, of building a new student union last week. Students were sent a link to vote online around midnight the morning of March 28 and could cast their vote until the end of the day on March 29. “I couldn’t be more excited for the students, they made the right choice,” Chairperson for the Union Advocacy Super Committee Eric Grow said after the results were announced. Just over 4,000 students voted in the referendum, making the turnout close to 15 percent, a huge increase from the 2,600 students who participated in a student interest survey in 2010. Grow and Special Assistant to the Vice Chancellor
of Student Affairs Scott Gore said they were pleased with the large turnout. “The students have spoken, loudly, that this is important,” Gore said. Gore has been working in the Union since he was a student employee in 1972 and retired as Union director this past year. Despite his retirement, Gore was brought back to help with the referendum. “I had dreams as a student employee to change how the building functioned and affected student life,” Gore said, mentioning how he was happy to see the students so eager to participate. If all goes well in the next few months, Chancellor Lovell should be able to present the referendum to the Board of Regents by June of this year. Turning the current concept drawings into a real building will be a long process with construction hopefully starting in 2015. According to the information pro-
vided to student voters, the additional segregated fees required to fund the replacement will start at $70, increasing until it reaches $282 in 2018 where it will remain until it is paid off in 2034. These rates are capped and could be lowered along with an extended payment plan through 2044. Gore stressed that the Union will be built within the approved budget. Gore said that the Union will function as a new gateway to the university and spoke of how important it is to design a building for “who we are as a campus.” When the current Union was built, they never imagined that there would be 30,000 students accessing it, and no idea that UWM would become a choice university, according to Gore. “I’m speechless,” Gore said when asked how he felt about the results. “We got students to believe in the future.”
Bribery joke costs ICONIC 50 demerits Nguyen jokingly offers IEC Head $10,000 for election win
By Steve Garrison News Editor news@uwmpost.com The ICONIC party, headed by presidential candidate Hugo Nguyen, was penalized 50 demerit points by the Independent Election Commission last week. On March 5, Nguyen joking offered Chief Justice Anthony DeWees, currently serving as acting independent election commissioner in absentia, $10,000 to “ensure he wins” in the upcoming elections. Although DeWees said none of the candidates called for penalization and the points are minor – a presidential or vice presidential candidate must accrue 250 points to be removed from the ballot – he wanted to make it clear those kind of jokes were not appropriate. “The common theme with Hugo
has been he likes to make everything look outrageous or like a joke, and I was uncomfortable with that,” DeWees said. “He just continues to do outrageous things and make everything look illegitimate.” Nguyen said that the bribery was clearly made in jest and believed DeWees was making an issue out of nothing “I think he took it out of context,” Nguyen said. “If you look at it in context, it was nothing serious. I was doing it in front of other candidates, other presidential candidates … and they all either laughed or smiled.” Nguyen said he did not believe the incident would affect his candidacy for president and assured students that, if he were elected president, he would take the responsibility seriously. “The students elected me and we are dealing with a lot of money here,” he said. According to the IEC bylaws, de-
merit points are awarded for an array of irresponsible or immoral actions, ranging from the lowest – 50 points for placing campaign material in improper places – to the highest – 500 points (an automatic removal from the ballot) for verbally or physically harassing another candidate. DeWees said he stands in stark contrast to independent election commissioners in the past, who would often penalize candidates harshly for any infringement. “My goal is not to kick anybody off the ballot,” he said. “I am going to use points to warn people, like, ‘Don’t do this again.’ If they keep doing stupid things then obviously the points are going to accumulate, but my goal is to warn them often when they are doing things they shouldn’t be doing.” Both DeWees and Nguyen were in general agreement with what took place. On March 5, candidate signature sheets were due to the dean of student’s office at 5 p.m. DeWees said he was there to ensure that signature sheets were received before the deadline, and was in the company of several candidates, including Tereza Pelicaric, Dan Laughland and Rick Banks. Nguyen said that he decided to join the discussion of the other candidates after turning in his sheets. “I sat down and we started talking, having fun, telling jokes with each other and stuff like that,” he said. Then, as a joke he said, “DeWees, can you throw the election? I will pay you $10,000,” which everybody laughed off, including the election commissioner. Nguyen said Dewees responded in kind to his remarks, “Well, that is a little extreme, Hugo. You should be careful what you say.” Nguyen said he did not think it was a big deal. DeWees said that after some consideration he decided to bring the joke to the attention of the independent election commission, which met on March 14. The commission decided, by a vote of 2-0, to penalize Nguyen 50 points for the remark. DeWees said the decision was not a “be all, end all thing,” but simply a reminder to Nguyen that his behavior was unacceptable. “He is a character,” DeWees said. “He has a right to do those things, but I don’t want him taking those things and trying to make the whole election look like it is a joke. That is not OK.”
NEWS BRIEFS UWM student dies on spring break trip Twenty-one year old Jacob Winkler, a UW-Milwaukee student on vacation in Panama City Beach, Fla., tragically died over spring break after falling from a hotel balcony. Police and firefighters said Winkler was pronounced dead at the scene and foul play is not suspected. A vigil was held for the Menomonee Falls native at Pius XI High School on March 26.
Barrett to run for Governor Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett announced he will run for governor in the upcoming June recall election of Gov. Scott Walker. The campaign is Barrett’s third try for the state’s highest office, after having previously attempted to win the governor’s mansion in 2002 and 2010. Before he can take on Walker though, Barrett must first win the Democratic nomination on May 5, where he’ll face off against State Senator Kathleen Vinehout, Secretary of State Doug La Follete and former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk in the Democratic primary.
Thompson has stranglehold on GOP primary Gun-advocate and conservative rock musician Ted Nugent threw his support behind former Governor Tommy Thompson for Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate race. Nugent called Thompson a “true patriot” and said the senator shared his views on second amendment rights. Thompson verbally fistbumped the former rock star, saying, “Ted Nugent is a leading advocate for our Second Amendment rights and conservation causes around the country. As a hunter and outdoorsman, he values our liberties and works to preserve them for future generations.”
Canadians soon to be penniless Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced his country will discontinue its penny this fall due to austerity measures. Flaherty said it currently costs 1.5 cents to produce the one cent coin. Canada will join New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland and Sweden as countries that have ditched their most inconsequential coinage.
UW-Eau Claire loses chancellor UW-Eau Claire Chancellor Brian Levin-Stankevich is leaving UWEC. Levin-Stankevich has been chancellor at UWEC since 2006, and is moving to Salt Lake City to become the 17th president of Westminster College. LevinStankevich was chosen out of 60 applicants as a result of a seven month search and screen. The UW System president as well as the board of regents will soon be naming an interim chancellor, while the search for a permanent chancellor won’t begin until spring at the earliest.
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April 02, 2012
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UWM men’s soccer coach fired Nursing professor, after university investigation dismissed after allegations of University Committee Whalley misconduct; racist remarks member dies at 62 By Callie Koller Staff writer news@uwmpost.com
UWM community says farewell to contagious laughter and passionate research
By Olivia Shaw Special to the Post news@uwmpost.com
On Friday March 16, Dr. Mary Pat Kunert, 62, an associate professor in the College of Nursing, died unexpectedly after suffering a heart attack at UW-Milwaukee. Kunert had short, light-gray hair that framed her rosy cheeks and a warm, infectious smile– something dear friend and longtime colleague Dr. Christine Kovach saw on a daily basis. It is never easy to say goodbye to a loved one, but on Saturday, March 24, friends and family witnessed a memorial service for Kunert at Feerick Funeral Home. “I will miss Mary Pat’s intelligence, her irreverent sense of humor and her big heart,” Kovach said. “I will miss her basic fundamental goodness that was foundational to her as a person.”
A devoted faculty member with the UWM College of Nursing, Kunert sat on the University Committee, the executive body of UWM’s faculty senate. She was passionate towards both her research and students, frequently attended campus wide activities and contributed new findings on cardiovascular diseases, according to the UWM website. Outside of her studies, Kunert enjoyed gardening at her Shorewood home, socializing, and she loved animals. “[Mary] had a wonderful laugh that was contagious,” recalled the Dean of the College of Nursing, Dr. Sally Lundeen. “She never took herself too seriously.” Kunert was family-oriented and inspired one of her nieces to pursue a nursing degree. But Kunert’s encouragement went beyond family. Interested in the advancement of low income and underrepresented students, Kunert became the force behind the Nursing Endeavor
Program alongside Dr. Carrie Von Bohlen. “Dr. Kunert has always been one of the most kind and student centered faculty,” Von Bohlen said. “She was an incredible advocate for all undergraduates.” “[Mary] received immediate and excellent emergency services from students and faculty in Cunningham Hall prior to the arrival of the first responders,” Kovach said, who was present at the time of Kunert’s collapse and death. Kunert is survived by a loving partner Nancy Snow, five siblings, several nieces and nephews, and many loved ones from both Marquette University and UWM where she taught respectively. “Mary Pat was that special someone who took really important issues very seriously, and was willing to fight the good fight when needed,” Lundeen added. “She will be greatly missed by so, so many.”
Christopher Whalley was dismissed from his position as UW-Milwaukee men’s head soccer coach after a three-week internal investigation by the university into allegations of misconduct and player mistreatment. The decision was announced by the university via email on March 23. The campus-wide email included a statement from Chancellor Michael Lovell reassuring both players and fans that men’s soccer will continue to be a premier sport that the community can be proud of. “We have a tremendous responsibility to ensure that our student athletes are treated with dignity and respect at all times,” Lovell said via email. “Our coaches must be held to the highest standards, because they are role models for our students and they represent the university both on and off the playing field. Going forward, we will take steps to ensure that members of our men’s soccer team train and compete in a positive environment that promotes good sportsmanship and scholastic excellence.” Whalley was put on administrative leave March 1, along with assistant coach Benjamin Shepherd, who will remain as UWM’s assistant soccer coach. Vice Chancellor for University Relations Tom Luljak would not comment on the details of the review, but the investigations followed shortly after former player and current assistant volunteer for the team Martin Castro sent an email to alumni accusing Whalley of inappropriate behavior and encouraging them to voice those concerns to Chancellor Lovell. In the email, sent out on Feb. 23, Castro detailed claims made by players that the coach was verbally abusive and made racially insensitive remarks about players both on the team and on opposing teams. “I never want to bring up a hard issue, but at times hard issues have to be brought up,” Castro said. “When it first came to my attention that things needed to be addressed, they needed to be addressed. It’s not an issue between myself and the administration, it’s not an issue between myself and the university.” Castro said there have been player concerns regarding Whalley since he first became head coach in 2010, but because the transition
DEBATE
Continued from page 1 Grow responded by saying, “There is a clear distinction between inside and outside the box, [ASV] did pass extensive bureaucratic reform, but we’ve been advocating for new parking spaces. I advocated for a new union, which passed in a landslide.” All three presidential candidates introduced their party’s platform to begin the debate, outlining what they stood for and what they would focus on if elected. Banks said that his party, United Panthers, had a platform centered around three parts: having a globally competitive campus life, protecting student interests such as parking and tuition, and rebuilding SA to make it more accountable and transparent. Nguyen said that he and his party ICONIC centered around fiscal responsibility, saying that SA would get things done and increase student involvement without wasting money on programs that are not necessary. Later in the debate Nguyen said he would forfeit his entire $12,000 salary if elected president. Laughland said that “the core of ASV’s platform is putting students first in everything that we do.” Laughland also talked about concerns over rising tuition as well as “more creative solutions” for the parking problem on campus. The debate was moderated by UWM Post Assistant News Editor Zach Brooke and lasted about an hour. Candidates were asked 11 questions prepared by the Post’s editorial board, covering
to a new coach often takes a period of adjustment for any team, he was given the benefit of the doubt. “There were issues from the beginning about his coaching style,” Castro said, “but obviously everyone is optimistic and hoping for the best.” However concerns over Whalley’s behavior remained, and in November 2011, players completed a survey regarding their thoughts and feelings as a member of the team. Unfavorable responses moved administration to approach Whalley to address these concerns, but took no further action and led to Castro’s decision to notify alumni. “When you take the role of a coach, you are a role model on all aspects,” Castro said. “It’s your responsibility, it’s your duty, and it’s your job. Anything you say or do will affect your players, you constantly need to be held to a very high standard. What the university decided to do with dismissing him speaks for itself.” Shepherd was reinstated after the investigations and is currently in charge of the program until a new coach is found. Despite the controversy, Shepherd said he plans to maintain his position as part of the team. Shepherd said via email, “I am happy here at UWM and committed to the continued improvement of the men’s soccer program, and I look forward to supporting the new coach once hired.” Luljak said that the investigations regarding the men’s soccer program are over and the situation has been resolved. The responsibility of hiring a new head coach now lies on the shoulders of Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Michael Laliberte and Athletic Director Richard Costello who are leading the nationwide search. How long that search will take, however, is any one’s guess. “At this point we do not have a time table for hiring a new coach,” Luljak said. “We believe that it will be a very attractive position and are very optimistic that we will end up with a terrific coach who will be a role model and leader for our student athletes.” Castro said that the dismissal of Whalley has had a positive effect on the team. “I spoke to some of [the players] and they’re just relieved it’s over and that they can move forward as a team and find out what’s in store for them next.” topics such as how responsible should SA be for subsidizing student parking, whether candidates supported the proposed on-campus arena, and candidates positions on the recent pay raises for all SA executive positions. Audience member Jared Brill said, “I really liked Banks and Grow, they made the most impact. [Nguyen] seemed really… amusing.” At the end of the debate, each party was asked a targeted question about their own problems in the past. The very last question was directed at Nguyen, and asked if he was a serious candidate after he had said he would not run in the election, then making comments about crashing motorcycles, stealing candy from dead babies, wearing Nazi attire and bribery, among other things. As the credits began to roll at the end of the debate, Nguyen looked down and said, “That’s a long list.” Banks was asked how he would get students involved in the Student Association if he couldn’t even fill all of the senate seats during his time as Speaker of the Senate. Banks said that students needed to trust and believe in SA before seats could begin to be filled. Laughland was asked why the SA’s website had reached such a point of disrepair when his main job last semester was only to maintain the SA website. Laughland said that a bigger communication tool than the website was SA’s Twitter and Facebook accounts, which he said were updated regularly and received lots of feedback. Elections will take place April 10 through April 12, and ballots will be sent out via email.
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LAW AND ORDER Continued from page 1
State Representative Jon Richards, officials from UWM, the Department of Neighborhood Services and the Milwaukee Police Department, as well as representatives from the offices of the mayor, the district attorney and state Senator Chris Larson, in addition to around 100 neighborhood residents. “We want there to be an increased emphasis on student discipline,” Alderman Kovac said, referring to Chapter 17 of the University of Wisconsin System disciplinary code, which allows schools to discipline students for off-campus behavior. Kovac noted Tuesday night that about 40 percent of UWM-area neighborhoods are made-up of permanent residents. “It’s not like we’re looking for it to be indiscriminately applied. But
given how bad it is on some blocks, and given how bad some of the behavior is, we want people who exhibit that extremely bad behavior to be punished by the university,” Kovac said. That sentiment was somewhat countered by Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Michael Laliberte, who also attended the meeting Tuesday night, where he announced a student had been suspended on charges related to Chapter 17, said that the university was restricted in their ability to prosecute off-campus conduct. “There are two specific issues with [Chapter] 17. You have to show a pattern of behavior and/or a danger to self or others. We’re fairly limited,” he said. Laliberte stated that since its inception there have been around 10 expulsions for Chapter 17 related violations, which he said are “typically for fairly self-injurious or injury to others types of behavior,” but that there were
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a higher number of Chapter 17 cases that led to less severe punishments like formal reprimand, academic probation and community service. Yet given the language restrictions, Laliberte said, “If you had a party off campus, we’re probably not going to do anything other than have a conversation with you.” Basting too, expressed a willingness to talk to students, saying, “What we’re looking for is voluntary compliance. That when we go up to houses, we get ‘Hey sure, we’ll take it in the house. Sorry.” But he also stressed MPD’s readiness to take more drastic measures to keep peace in the neighborhood should talking prove ineffective. “It comes to a point when all the talking in the world just isn’t working. At some point I got to bring out what I call the hammer of justice.”
PUZZLE SOLUTIONS Try your hand at this week’s puzzles, turn to page 15 E R I E
AM WE A L Y B R O O K S
G O S H
E R O D E
D I J O N
L O A D S
I S N L N R I E M T L E OA S E Y S R R I R I D I P E N A S B E L S E
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I B I S
U S E R
C O V E
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B A E S R S G E S S B O E R N E P L A Y E R
I R A N N I L E S C OT U K E S A R I M E L L S P A I L OK R A C L E A T A L I A B L E R E E R OC E A N U R N S P S S T
This week’s Anagram Crackers Solutions
“MUSHROOM” GHOST PLUMP MURDER HOLLOW
euro neon neuron none note noun outer rent rote rout route rune runt tenor tern tone toner tore tour true tune tuner turn unto
This week’s Sudoku solution
This week’s crossword solution P E N N
This week’s In-Word Solution
Bitch co-founder comes to UWM
Fans gather to hear author speak on feminism in modern era By Clair Sprenger Staff Writer news@uwmpost.com
Co-founder of Bitch magazine Andi Zeisler spoke on cultural, media-based challenges facing modern feminism and signed books in the UW-Milwaukee Union last Wednesday night. Zeisler emphasized the importance of media literacy when combatting these challenges or just consuming media. Popular culture and media are inescapable, Zeisler argues, as the focus of these categories has widened to include politics and other powerful forces. How pop culture, and the media that reflect and define it, portray gender and the feminist identity is the strongest influence shaping peoples’ attitudes and understandings of these groups. Yet that same diverse flood of media make measuring how much progress feminists make in eliminating these stereotypes difficult. The Women’s Resource Center and Union invited Zeisler as part of the Heroines and Hellions series, which tries to expose people “to the diversity of identities present in and outside of the Milwaukee area” through events and workshops, as stated in Katharine Perella’s introduction of Zeisler. As editorial and creative director, Zeisler’s job also involves speaking at universities often. She describes this part of her work as gratifying, because it helps her stay in touch with the world and peoples’ concerns, while raising money for Bitch, which, unlike traditional magazines, is not primarily ad-driven or funded and is a nonprofit. Zeisler distinguished today’s feminist movement from the first two movements by how technology and the economy have changed how activists can and do protest. Career activism is not an option for most people and the internet has become the most convenient, even effective way, of protesting. False Feminist Death Syndrome, a term coined by fellow feminist writer Jennifer Pozner and summed up by a friend of Zeisler’s as “zombie feminism,” describes how media simultaneously portray feminism as harmful, yet dead. As an “avid reader” since she was young, Zeisler remembers reading about girls in books she saw “chafing against societal expectations.” She related to these girls, having endured the same predicament. Zeisler recalled how her mom would have Zeisler mend her brother’s clothes, even when he took a home education class. As a women’s studies graduate student working at the Women’s Resource Center, Perella enjoyed researching Zeisler and getting to introduce and listen to her. Perella wasn’t expecting a history of the magazine, but “really appreciated the industry perspective.” Perella found Bitch’s path to success without succumbing to industry expectations “inspirational.” Having expected more images,
Perella found significance in Zeisler’s choice to “[focus] on consciousness… instead of perpetuating visual consumerism and marketing.” UWM media studies professor Elana Levine, who attended the lecture, reads and is a fan of Bitch. “[Bitch magazine] offers very insightful analyses of contemporary media and popular cultural phenomena,” Levine said. “I really appreciate the magazine’s willingness to look at questions of gender, sexuality and other aspects of identity in and around media,” Levine added. “It is rare to see this kind of thing in a more popular, rather than academic, context, and yet the magazine’s perspective fits very nicely with the scholarship of feminist media studies.” The magazine’s title attempts to reclaim the B-word, with its motto: “Bitch. It’s a noun. It’s a verb. It’s a magazine. It’s a feminist media organization.” Bitch’s reason for reclaiming the word for cultural activism forces people to question what they mean when using the word bitch. Are they calling a woman that when she gets angry or speaks out? Would they react this way if a man did the same? The magazine does not try to “embody” its title, which Zeisler says can be confusing. “The process for reclaiming ‘bitch’ has been pretty fraught,” Zeisler said. Zeisler and her co-leaders at Bitch sometimes discuss whether reclaiming the word is even possible, especially when media hype controversies involving well-known people using the word offensively and the press calls them up for their perspective on these cases. A talkative crowd of fans of the magazine and Zeisler attended the lecture. They were mostly female, but several men came and vocalized their interest during the Q&A session. Bitch reader and UWM junior Bayleigh Ackman responded “Why not?” when asked why she reads the magazine. “I like its viewpoints,” Ackman said. “I most liked the way it seemed like a pitch for being a media studies major” Levine said. “Much of what [Zeisler] had to say is right in line with the principles of media studies as we teach them in the Department of Journalism, Advertising and Media Studies.” Consumers must demand better representations, according to Zeisler. “We [consumers] have power, if everything is driven by capitalism.” Zeisler advises women, “Don’t be afraid to embrace the identity of feminist,” adding that men can also help by talking to other men about feminist issues. “Feminists aren’t out to get [men],” Zeisler said. “Feminists are for everybody.”
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UW-Milwaukee houses student plagiarists
The UWM academic misconduct policy is strenuous, causing professors to handle plagiarism cases their own way By Chelsey Dequaine Special to the Post news@uwmpost.com According to the UW-Milwaukee academic misconduct regulations, “Academic misconduct is an act in which a student seeks to claim credit for the work or efforts of another without authorization or citation, uses unauthorized materials or fabricated data in any academic exercise, forges or falsifies academic documents or records, intentionally impedes or damages the academic work of others, engages in conduct aimed at making false representation of a student’s academic performance, or assists other students in any of these acts.” In other words, learn how to properly cite and write original work. Simple, right? Although no actual numbers could be provided, Associate Vice Chancellor Jim Hill said national numbers will be available after a new student survey concerning plagiarism is released in early April. “There has been a rise, but it has been a national rise, not just at UWM,” Hill said. The survey will be sent to 5,000 random students nationwide, with results expected by mid-April. Hill seems eager to learn how students actually feel about plagiarism. “Maybe it could decide the differences between schools with honor codes and without honor codes,” he said. UWM has discussed having an honor code, Hill said, but hasn’t gotten to that point yet. “If everybody comes into the institution recognizing [the honor code], then maybe they won’t look the other way when they see someone cheating.” The student affairs office sees the most cases of academic misconduct at the end of the semester, Hill said. When the pressure is on, students can get desperate. However, students may not always know why this “cardinal sin” of academic work is wrong. An educational opportunity that has been discussed is an introductory class, like a 100-level course. This would inform students more heavily on misconduct issues like plagiarism, as well as allow students to become aware of the resources that may prevent these issues. “Especially in our freshman and sophomores, we see ignorance to what plagiarism is,” Hill said. “Many students out of high school, their research is finding something on the internet and handing it in. Here we need documentation of where the student got that information.” The war against plagiarism is more often than not being fought by professors and graduate assistants. Journalism professor David Pritchard has experienced many cases of academic misconduct. “The process of getting a formal
finding by the university is a cumbersome process,” Pritchard said. “In my experience, typically students don’t contest it. I have to call them in, say ‘here is the evidence against you.’ They acknowledge it.” Pritchard recalled a case where a student was in his office for plagiarism on an extra credit assignment for his media law class. The student began the paper in a normal undergraduate tone and then the writing changed to legalese, a red flag for instructors. “Choices have consequences. I am sorry about that,” Pritchard said. “Almost everybody on this faculty would say okay I’ll just give you an F on this assignment, which is like no penalty – like the student didn’t even do it.” Pritchard described the process for filing academic misconduct as a hassle. The only downside to not filing the case is that no record is kept. He suspects that every time he catches a plagiarist, it’s not the first time, but because of student privacy laws, the university won’t tell professors who has committed plagiarism in the past. “So, here is my basic ‘screw them.’ I will deal with the students I am responsible for,” Pritchard said. “I like students, I like to teach, I try to do a good job. Students have to hold up their end of the bargain.” Assistant journalism professor Michael Newman can relate. He says the process of filing for academic misconduct is frustrating and time consuming, and if the process respected his role and time more, he would be happy to comply with university policies. “The system that instructors have to comply with to formally report a student for misconduct is so much of a hassle for us, and is so annoying, and some ways insulting to us because it presumes that we don’t know they have committed it,” Newman said. “I think a lot of us just give the student an F and don’t go through the procedure, which is too bad because if we comply with the procedure at least the university would know how many cases of plagiarism there are.” Newman uses Google as his plagiarism tool, typing in key phrases or sentences to find a match. There is software professors can purchase that will check for papers that are passed around between students. “When I was being instructed and had to be a TA a long time ago, there was this mythical fraternity house file drawer where the fraternity was saving examples of every paper given for every class, so the software can help find that stuff,” Newman said. Newman’s final thought on plagiarism is simple: “All of our ideas come from somewhere, but you have to put them together in such a way that expresses them your way and gives credit to the individuals who are sources of those ideas.”
GLORIA
Continued from page 1 the suffragists and abolitionist movements gained for women of all races and black men, a legal identity as human beings (gaining the right to vote),” Steinem said. “Now in this second and current wave, we are striving for a legal and social identity.” She also said that the waves of the revolution are not yet over with and that the ultimate objective is for each person to be accepted as a unique individual who is not labeled. “Labeling is the enemy of connection,” Steinem said. “We are not ranked, we are linked.” With a parallel mindset and common objective, the WLC emphasized finding unity among the diversity of attendees in order to create one large community by
April 02, 2012 ways of sharing stories and offering advice that saw no barriers between generational and race differences. “The most important part of a revolution is to come together in a group and speak a reality that you may think is only yours, but six or twelve or one hundred of us can say, ‘that happened to me too,’” Steinem said. The roughly 480 attendees embraced this challenge by engaging in discussion groups, networking opportunities, listening to influential keynote speakers and participating in educational seminars throughout the day. While a significant portion of the attendees were professionals in their respective industry, there was a strong representation of youthful women both within UWM and other schools in the area. Jan Allen, the director of business & management programs at the SCE, said that roughly 70 individuals from UWM
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were in attendance and that the university’s Wisconsin Women in Higher Education Leadership group on campus sponsored fifteen of the attendees. “We’re very pleased with the turnout,” Allen said. “We try to bring new thinking and provide a learning experience each year.” Chancellor Michael Lovell was also in attendance and he shared his appreciation and admiration for a conference with such standards and outreach to the community. “This is defining our leadership in the city and the region in terms of ways we promote women’s leadership, which is something that is becoming very important right now,” Lovell said. Event organizers suggested that anyone interested in upcoming events in Milwaukee that are similar to the WLC should consult UWM’s Women’s Resource Center or log on to their webpage at wrc.uwm.edu/events.
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April 02, 2012
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April 02, 2012
SPORTS
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Doffek leads a group of ‘cold’ blooded warriors Spotlight: Kaleb Engelke
Mental toughness something Panthers are getting used to
With the return of Engelke in the bullpen, the Panthers look to solid pitching as the season goes By Tony Atkins Assistant Sports Editor sports@uwmpost.com
Sophomore Derek Peake takes a ferocious cut Saturday afternoon. The Panthers took the series 2-1. Post Photo by Sierra Riesberg. By Jeremy Lubus Sports Editor sports@uwmpost.com Baseball is a sport where mental toughness trumps many physical attributes. The UW-Milwaukee baseball team quickly learns how to deal with adversity on a yearly basis the second their season starts. There is no denying the Panthers have some of the worst facilities in the Horizon League, if not the worst. A field that is not even owned by the school, and is more known for housing the homeless than the home of the state’s only Division I program. Add on practically an eight-month long winter and limited indoor space, the Panther’s baseball team quickly adjusts to constantly fighting adversity. When the season starts, adversity hits
the Panthers in the face like a sledgehammer. Under the direction of coach Scott Doffek, the team travels to warm weather states for roughly a 20-game span. The competition is fierce and prepares UWM for a tough Horizon League schedule. This year, the Panthers traveled to East Carolina, a team ranked in the Top 25 by USA Today. The team lost 4-0 and 6-3 in the first and third game of the series. They traveled to play a strong Big Ten Minnesota team, who plays indoors, splitting the four game series. Not bad for a team that has outfield practice on the soccer fields. “If you want to be successful at this school, your mental toughness is going to be more important than your physical ability,” Doffek said. “You are going to be tested in our conference and with some of these long road trips.”
Redshirt freshman Michael Porcaro added, “Time management is so critical. If you don’t have it, it’s going to be tough. I try and get all my work done before road trips.” This season has been a rarity for the Panthers, with temperatures soaring into the 60’s for the first time in March in seemingly a decade, it finally seemed like the transition from California games to Wisconsin games would not be so bad. Baseball does not work like that. When the Panthers had their home opener this past Saturday, the first pitch temperature was a cozy 42 degrees. Just like that, the Panthers were getting another tough lesson in mental toughness. “These kids have grown up here,” Doffek said. “They are used to playing in the cold.”
Like many baseball teams around this time of year, the UW-Milwaukee Panthers are taking back to the diamond this spring looking to improve as individual players and as a team. Currently, the Panthers sit below .500 with an overall record of 8-16 (4-5 HL) but look to improve in the approached Horizon League matchups. A big part of success in any baseball program is solid pitching, and the Panthers have a 4.27 ERA currently. Last year’s saves leader Kaleb Engelke sat down with the post and gave us some insight on him and the pulse of the team after Saturday’s win over the UIC Flames. Tony Atkins: How long have you been playing baseball and did you play any other sports? Kaleb Engelke: I have been playing baseball since I was about five years old. I used to play a little basketball as well. TA: How did you wind up here at UWM, coming from Mineral Point (Wis.)? KE: They kind of recruited me a little bit when I went to a baseball camp. They came out to see me and watched me pitch a little bit, and everything took shape from there. TA: Last year, you finished leading the Panthers in saves and ended up second in that category in the entire Horizon League. All of this while getting injured at the end of the season, what happened?
KE: Last year, I got injured with two weeks left in the season. I kind of blew out. TA: As you guys come over from some warmer areas in the country, you return to a significantly cooler Wisconsin, how is it making that transition? KE: This year, we were lucky we were outside a little more than we usually are in the spring because it’s been nice out. Then we have our first home series and it is like thirtyfive [degrees] out. It kind of sucks because this whole past week it’s been like 70 but it’s nice to be home in Milwaukee. TA: Kind of missed the great weather here in Milwaukee, wrong week perhaps? KE: (Laughs) Yeah. TA: Today [March 31] you guys really got the bats going and got a lot of runs across the plate. How does that feel for a relief pitcher when placed in those situations? KE: It feels really good. You just have that much more confidence on the mound knowing that you don’t have to throw zeros every single inning. TA: How are you feeling about this year’s team, and what are you all expecting? KE: We’re expecting to win a championship and we have the guys to do that. We just have to put it all together this season. Kaleb Engelke and the Panthers have a bit of work to do as they delve deeper into their Horizon League schedule. Hopefully they can get it right as they begin to play within the conference. This team has a lot of potential and warm up right along with the weather as spring goes on.
Baseball takes home opening series
Milwaukee won the final two games of a three-game series with UIC By Nick Bornheimer Staff Writer sports@uwmpost.com
The Panthers scored seven runs on 13 hits Sunday to help Milwaukee to a 7-3 victory and two out of three games over conference foe UIC. This was the second consecutive game the squad scored seven runs after getting blanked in the first game of the series. After a 21 game road trip, the Panthers (8-16, 4-5 Horizon) are beginning to settle into a regular schedule in conference. “It’s nice to get to bat last,” Panthers coach Scott Doffek said regarding finally playing at home. “It’s a different feeling in the dugout when your backs aren’t against the wall in the ninth inning.” The first of Saturday’s doubleheader was dominated by pitching. Junior Eric Semmelhack had one of the strongest outings all season, tying a school record with 13 strikeouts and allowing only one run and two hits through eight innings. UIC’s Joey Begel pitched a complete game shutout. Milwaukee had six hits, but was unable to plate a single run. The second game was a different story for the Milwaukee bats. Junior Cale Tassi pitched eight innings with only one earned run, but this time the Panthers’ offense caught fire. Junior catcher Will Fadness didn’t waste any time getting things started in the second game, blasting a two-run homer in the first inning. The Flames (11-14, 5-4 Horizon) got a run back in the third inning on an RBI single by Cody Dykema, but the Panthers came right back in the fourth plating a run on after a double from senior Phil Striggow.
Milwaukee put two runs on the board in the sixth, and added another two in the eight to give the squad a six run lead. “The pitching was rock-solid on Saturday,” Doffek said. “Semmelhack and Tassi were both phenomenal. The offense gained momentum in the second game.” That momentum carried over into Sunday. The Panthers would not be able to rely on a starter going eight innings in the series finale. Sophomore starter Mike Schneider was yanked after giving up two runs in just three and one-third innings. Doffek and the Panthers used five different relievers over the final five and two-thirds, but the bullpen was sound allowing only one run. “We pitched ourselves into some jams today with some walks, and if you look, all of the runs scored today were directly related to a walk or a hit by pitch. [Greg] Blohowiak did a great job in the middle of the game trying to settle things back down. And then we bring in [Alex] Erdmann first and second, nobody out in a one run game in the eighth inning and he wiggles off the hook.” The teams traded runs for a while early on, and it wasn’t until an eighth inning two RBI double by junior Jonathan Capasso that the Panthers opened it up. “We did a great job with our offense to get the momentum and put some runs together. We played really clean defensively in the series,” Doffek said. “But it was just a good team win today.” The Panthers will keep it home for the next few games, taking on Cardinal Stritch Wednesday before a three-game series with Butler that starts Thursday. All four games will be played at Henry Aaron Field.
SPORTS
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Cale Tassi: what’s under the cap? Junior Pitcher Cale Tassi talks about the key to a great year By Mitch Pratt Staff Writer sports@uwmpost.com The UW-Milwaukee baseball team has seen its share of good moments and has also endured some tough times thus far in 2012, but for junior pitcher Cale Tassi, it’s all gone his way so far. Tassi has enjoyed a start to his 2012 campaign in which he’s gone 1-2 with an ERA sitting at 2.22 overall. That’s one of the best in the Horizon League. He also won Horizon League Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 20. Despite a slumping offense for the Panthers, Tassi’s been nothing short of dominant to open the year. According to Tassi, the key has been just knowing what to expect day in and day out and having a routine. “I pitch every Saturday. I have the same routine Monday through Saturday. I’ve always liked being a starter because
you just get into a groove. It’s a lot easier.” Last year, Tassi was kind of a do-itall pitcher for the Panthers. He closed a game, he short-relieved, he long-relieved and even started a few games in 2011 on the way to a 4.62 ERA. While he did his best to adjust to all the different roles, he has always been more comfortable being a starting pitcher and knowing what to expect. “[With starting] you can be calm and collected but also hype yourself up. When relieving you had to just be ready to go in there when called upon.” The fact that there aren’t any surprises for him this year allows Tassi to have a strong mentality and a lot of confidence when he toes the slab. While most of the changes for Tassi were mental, there were some physical adjustments that he made heading into this year. He adjusted his arm slot a bit from a “three-quarters” delivery to a “high three-quarters” delivery. It hasn’t
necessarily given him more velocity on his pitches but he says it doesn’t matter if he can throw all his pitches for strikes. “I’ve taken what my pitching coaches have offered the past two years and taken it to heart. I’ve really worked on it and it’s all become something good now.” After graduating from Lakeland Union High School in Minocqua, Wis., Tassi bounced around a bit in his earlier years. He started his college career in a place closer to home at UW-Superior, but he always knew he wanted to play baseball at the Division 1 level. UWM was the best destination for that being that it has the only Division 1 baseball program in the state. “I was recruited [to UWM] as a junior in high school but ended up going to Superior and I didn’t really like it. I ended up deciding to go to UWM because I knew they wanted me and I wanted to have a chance to do something in the future.”
Milwaukee Panthers Baseball Home Schedule 04/01/12 04/04/12 04/05/12 04/06/12 04/07/12 04/11/12 04/20/12 04/21/12 04/22/12 04/27/12 04/28/12 04/29/12 05/09/12 05/15/12 05/17/12 05/18/12 05/19/12
vs. UIC* Henry Aaron Field 12:00 p.m. vs. Cardinal Stritch Henry Aaron Field 3:00 p.m. vs. Butler Henry Aaron Field 3:00 p.m. vs. Butler Henry Aaron Field 3:00 p.m. vs. Butler Henry Aaron Field 1:00 p.m. vs. Wisconsin Lutheran Henry Aaron Field 3:00 p.m. vs. Youngstown State Henry Aaron Field 3:00 p.m. CT vs. Youngstown State Henry Aaron Field 1:00 p.m. CT vs. Youngstown State Henry Aaron Field 12:00 p.m. CT vs. Valparaiso Henry Aaron Field 3:00 p.m. CT vs. Valparaiso Henry Aaron Field 1:00 p.m. CT vs. Valparaiso Henry Aaron Field 12:00 p.m. CT vs. Northwestern Miller Park TBA vs. Northern Illinois Henry Aaron Field 4:00 p.m. CT vs. Wright State Henry Aaron Field 4:00 p.m. CT vs. Wright State Henry Aaron Field 2:00 pv.m. CT vs. Wright State Henry Aaron Field 12:00 p.m. CT
Henry Aaron Field is located at 4200 Green Bay Avenue, Milwaukee WI
April 02, 2012
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Stacking up the Horizon League
Panthers have plenty of competition from Wright State and others
By Nolan Murphy Staff Writer sports@uwmpost.com As winter has come and gone, the sound of batting cages and wind sprints are heard throughout the Midwest and in the Horizon League. All six of the Horizon League baseball teams are now in the swing of things, completing their third weekend of league series. Wright State is the king of the Horizon League as reigning champs, but teams such as UIC, Milwaukee and Valparaiso all want a shot at the title. For the Raiders, it was their third title in six seasons. Each team over the course of the next month and half will aim to be playing their best baseball when they reach the league tournament May 23-26 at Les Miller Field in Chicago. Wright State: Returning 19 letter winners from last year’s league championship team, the Raiders will be lead by Michael Schum, the reigning Horizon League Relief Pitcher of the Year. Catcher Corey Davis, coming off a year in which he was Horizon League Newcomer of the Year, looks to anchor the middle of the lineup and improve on his eight homeruns from 2011. Wright State is the most well rounded team in the league and looks to use their .323 team batting average, which was second in the nation last year, to out hit teams. UIC: The Flames, who were predicted
in the preseason poll to finish second, will be chasing the king of the hill in Wright State all season and look to win the season series versus league rival UWM. Led by starting pitcher Matt Salemi, who posted a 3.00 earned run average in 72 innings pitched in 2011, UIC will look to use its home field advantage in late May during the league tournament. Valparaiso: The Crusaders have been getting some early season production out of junior Tanner Vavra, a Menominee, Wis. native who picked up Batter of the Week honors in February by batting an alarming .583 against then fourth-ranked Arkansas. Look for sophomore speedster Chris Manning to pick up where he left off on the base path, with his 21 steals in 2011. Youngstown State: The Penguins field a roster with 17 newcomers for the 2012 Horizon League campaign. However, the veteran leadership of senior first baseman Jeremy Banks, who batted .300 in 2011, will be key to their success. Patrick O’Brien, a transfer from Bowling Green, will anchor the top of the their pitching rotation. Butler: Predicted to be the bottom dweller of the league this year, the Bulldogs will be using the underdog card all season long trying to build momentum. Butler will be led by senior right-handed pitcher Mike Hernandez, who looks to return to his 2010 Pitcher of the Year form.
Not all transfer quarterbacks transition the same Why new Badger QB Danny O’Brien will not be as good as Wilson
By Zack Garhart Staff Writer sports@uwmpost.com As another highly regarded quarterback selects Madison as his destination for transfer, the natural instinct is to celebrate. At least that was the case when Wisconsinites found out that Danny O’Brien selected Wisconsin over other quarterback-deprived programs such as Penn State, Vanderbilt and Mississippi. Immediately, a buzz circled with the assumption that this fall will be much like last season in that a quarterback resembling the No. 16 Russell Wilson will lead Wisconsin to another Big Ten title. Not so fast. O’Brien brings experience to the program, which the Badgers’ current lineup lacks, but that’s about as far as his contributions reach. Yes, many are marveling over his size (listed at 6-3 and 215 pounds) and comparing it to Wilson’s size (5-11, 202 pounds). However, there will still be a height separation between him and the mammoth linemen at Wisconsin. His lack of mobility (compared to Wilson’s) will ultimately make a difference when teams stack the box to play against the Badgers ‘ground and pound’ game plan. Not only that, but O’Brien’s arm strength and accuracy are not nearly as impressive as Wilson’s. In his two seasons as a starter for the Maryland Terrapins, O’Brien compiled 29 touchdowns compared to 18 interceptions. Twenty-two of those touchdowns came in his freshman season, earning him 2010 ACC Rookie of the Year, while the remaining seven came in his second season before being benched. Also, O’Brien never reached above a 57 percent completion percentage. Despite dealing with a new head coach in his second season at Maryland, O’Brien’s play took a turn for the worse.
The departure of Torrey Smith, a 2011 second round draft choice by the Baltimore Ravens, played a significant role in his declining performance. Smith served as his ‘go-toguy’ by providing the big play threat at any point on the field, and he also hauled in 12 of those 22 touchdowns thrown by O’Brien in 2010. This made the subpar arm strength of O’Brien’s less of a factor in that he could stretch the field with his receivers rather than with his own arm. As for his short campaign in 2011, only two of O’Brien’s receivers at Maryland grabbed more than one touchdown in the entire season. Aside from support from Wisconsin’s former walk-on Jared Abbrederis, who burst into the national spotlight in 2011, the new Badger quarterback will be dealing with an arsenal of young and inexperienced wide receivers on his new roster. Additionally, he will have to work with a monstrous, yet talented, offensive line. This is a line that has lost Peter Konz and Josh Oglesby to the NFL draft, in rebuilding stages under a new offensive line coach. He will also need to accomplish learning a new system under a brand new offensive coordinator, Matt Canada, with a fresh core of young talent. Needless to say, O’Brien will not be playing in the same offense as he did in the 2010 season as a Terrapin when he had such success as a starter. Nor will Wisconsin fans have the luxury of witnessing their transfer quarterback dominate competition (or pile up a 72.8 percent completion percentage) as Wilson did in 2011. However, there is one upside and another major difference between the transfer quarterback of 2012 and the one from 2011. O’Brien has two years of eligibility as a Badger and not just one.
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fringe
April 02, 2012
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The Turin Horse
The heaviness of human existence By Steven Franz Fringe Editor fringe@uwmpost.com I have seen Bela Tarr’s The Turin Horse. More than once. I have admired it; it has shaken me. Its bleakness, full of characters both rotten and sympathetic all at once, will linger with me forever. I have not, I admit, seen The Turin Horse in a 35mm print, projected on a dominant screen, in the company of other open-mouthed admirers, which is the opportunity afforded UW-Milwaukee students this weekend at the Union Theatre. I have not seen its singularly incredible opening shot, a beautiful and long observation of a man driving his horse through the howling gust of 1909 Turin, Italy, as a larger-than-life image, with fantastic grain and texture. I have not become literally dizzy with the huge rapture of Tarr’s balletic camera movements. The roaring gale that surrounds the protagonists of the film has not surrounded me as well; it has been inside me, to be sure, but never all around me, battering my senses the way it flings their garments around them, like Renaissance sculptures. Midway through the film, when a gigantically fat, bald man intrudes on what has to that point been a meditation in silence and routine, casting the whole affair of the film, the man and his horse and his daughter, into disarray, his threatening hugeness and the piercing nature of this “Nietzschean shadow” (as Tarr refers to him) have never dwarfed me, made me physically small. His words, the lesson that life
is empty and good and evil do not exist and therefore we do not exist have never boomed around me in completeness; when he leans in on one elbow to brace himself from the shock of his own monologue, he has never leaned in and stared down over me. He is a so-called shadow because of the film’s opening monologue, spoken over a black screen that could very well be considered one of the 146-minute film’s mere 30 individual shots, which dictates coldly and with little feeling the apocryphal story of Friederich Nietzsche, who once saw a horse being so brutally beaten by a cab driver that he flung himself bodily around the horse’s neck to protect it from the beating. As the story goes, Nietzsche never spoke another word for the next 11 years, save the brief, pained phrase, “Mother, I’ve been dumb.” Nietzsche’s plight practically wills this specter into existence. The film itself, difficult to tell at first glance, is about that very cab driver and about that very horse; rather, it is the fictional speculation as to the fates of two possibly fictional characters involved in the story of a great philosopher’s mental breakdown. It picks up immediately after the incident, as the cabby drives his horse (in one long, breathtaking shot) through a storm as cruelly bitter as the man’s actions in themselves. Like many Tarr films, animals become empathetic proxies, characters onto which we can project the sympathy we cannot afford the humans around them; in 2000’s Werckmeister Harmonies, a mysterious and mystical dead whale fills the same role. Here, as with that poor whale, the
horse is given no quarter, no shelter from the brutality and rough repetitiveness of human existence. As the film continues, so do the hardships: the horrid, bitter weather, the horse’s refusal to work, the man (who has no name, which was determined in the film’s first monologue to be unimportant) and his incessant abuse of both daughter and horse, the incredible poverty of the family, and ultimately the death of the horse itself. Tarr molds these moments of destitution into contained treatises – five minute, uncut, beautiful manifestos – on human existence, suffering, want, privation and ultimately the resolute determination to survive. Bela Tarr’s first film, 1977’s Family Nest, was made at the age of 22. His greatest film, 1994’s seven hour magnum opus Sátántangó, which shares many characteristics with The Turin Horse, was made when he was in his 30s, despite feeling like the wizened, world-weary efforts of a man twice that age. A master filmmaker, he is now 57, purportedly retiring from filmmaking, which would make The Turin Horse his last film, not his greatest if one must measure such things, but surely greater than most other films in recent memory, if not ever. It is a brilliant thing, beautiful in its horror and ironically hopeful in the perseverance of its characters through the brutalism of the world around them and their own wretched behavior. The Turin Horse will be screened three times this weekend, April 6 and 7 at 7 p.m. and April 8 at 5 p.m. at the UWM Union Theatre.
Quite the imagination
UWM’s Mr. Marmalade is filled with laughs and sorrow By Kevin Kaber Assistant Fringe Editor fringe@uwmpost.com It’s safe to say that any toddler has a vivid imagination. Asking a child how the world works will elicit a most imaginative answer (just think about Kids Say the Darndest Things). But what happens when a four-year-old imagines a depressing world that mimics reality? Like so many other little girls of modernity, Lucy is a member of a broken family. Her single mother hardly has time for Lucy between work and sleeping around with men from “work.” Left with her own devices, Lucy comes up with her own reality – one in which the games house and doctor are played completely different from what any other normal preschooler would have it. Bubbling with innocence, Lucy (played spot on by Liz Faraglia) shuffles from one end of her house to the other without lifting a foot while picking up a new toy at every spot. However, her interest level in material toys is slim, even if her toy box is seemingly bottomless, so the young Lucy creates Mr. Marmalade, a yuppie-type businessman whose schedule is packed, leaving hardly any time for his girlfriend, the homemaker Lucy. Mr. Marmalade (as portrayed by Willy Jonas) stashes porn in his suitcase, sleeps around with other women and does a fair amount of cocaine in between Lucy’s tea parties. Moderating the couple and sending their messages to and fro is Mr. Marmalade’s assistant Bradley (Roc Bauman). Bradley’s flamboyant demeanor lives to serve Mr. Marmalade, no matter how many times the latter physically abuses the former. Luckily, Lucy is introduced to a playmate in the form of Lucy’s babysitter’s boyfriend’s
five-year-old step-brother, Larry (Nolen Borne). Like Lucy, Larry is an overtly depressed toddler. Even more extreme, Larry has recently attempted suicide by slitting his wrists. While Lucy and Larry’s relationship blooms, the signs of depression and loneliness wear off for the toddlers; but in due time, Mr. Marmalade finds out of Lucy’s affair and gets in a scrap with Larry. Ultimately, Mr. Marmalade is scared off, but soon comes back to but Lucy off. Like with so many melodramatic relationships, he loses his job and she becomes pregnant, ensuing yet another depressing chapter in the imaginative life of Lucy. But wait, this is a four-year-old we’re talking about, which makes the play so much better than if it were just about adults. Writer Noah Haidle’s script is hard-hitting but light, a feat not accomplished in many stories featuring young children. Technically, producer/director Angela Fingard’s production is tight. The minimalist set leaves the audience to imagine Lucy’s living room while she’s doing the same. Surprisingly, a mechanical cue-card and projector introduced every scene – each of which cunningly titled to motivate the dark humor to follow. The story takes place in one night, or years in Lucy’s imagination, and moves fluidly despite frequent outbursts and comedic tragedies. Fingard’s production is solid and void of any hiccups. One thing comes to mind though; Lucy’s (and Larry’s) imaginations are scary. One wouldn’t think or even hope that the members of the Rugrats would think to such extremes. Maybe it’s our generation’s fading innocence now pinpointed on children. Regardless, Mr. Marmalade will make you think the next time a child asks you to play house.
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A failed thriller Apart did not do its homework Apart seemingly has no grip on what it means to be thrilling. By Kevin Kaber Assistant Fringe Editor fringe@uwmpost.com Induced delusional disorder or folie à deux is a complex psychological disorder that occurs when two people share the delusions. It is a very rare ailment, yet some cases end up in tragedy. The new independent film Apart explores the effects of the disorder in a rather tragic light. According to a disclaimer posted before the start of the film, Apart is based on an undisclosed case study of induced delusional disorder. Of course, the possibility of many watchers of the film having knowledge of the disorder is slim to none, and will be confused and baffled when the story proceeds. It goes like this: Noah (Josh Danziger) wakes up from a coma and suffers from a bout of amnesia. He’s injured and in rehabilitation, relearning how to walk and speak. Meeting with a psychiatrist for analysis, Noah’s health improves and he’s able to get a job and move on with his mysterious life. Through a series of flashbacks and stories, we learn that Noah’s injuries had been incurred from a house fire
that killed his father. Even more important, we learn that Noah’s recurring flashbacks all feature Emily (Olesya Rulin), a young woman with whom Noah has romantic ties. After Noah gets back on his feet, some people around his town question him about the accident; however, along with other events in Noah’s life, this memory is suppressed through the coaching of his psychiatrist and not to be let out, as it’s possible that Noah could be in danger if unleashed. Regardless of any warnings from his brother or psychiatrist, Noah sets out to find Emily in search of answers. As it turns out, Noah and Emily have been separated because of their shared delusions, which (for some reason never made clear in the film) cause the two to become injured and those around them to die. Growing up, the two love birds had been associated with motor accidents and suicides (again, for no discernible reason) that they had together envisioned. With such a rare and complicated disorder, the ways in which a story could be told about induced delusional disorder is monumental and paves the way for some seriously gripping and thrilling tales. Apart,
on the other hand, fails to achieve any sense of a thrill – it’s boring and even worse, it’s laughable. Writer/Director Aaron Rottinghaus’ film is an obvious ode to the thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat until a big reveal leaves you speechless. The works of Christopher Nolan come to mind when watching this wannabe film. Momento’s gripping amnesic storyline is something that Rottinghaus clearly desired but drops almost immediately and perhaps accidentally. Apart’s curious plot could be so much better had it realized its faults, among them, an unnecessary amount of moody effects (think depressed Instagram) and confusing chapters with really no mention of motivation. Sure, telling the story of a practically unknown disorder grants some leeway for the writing, but it ultimately comes out to be an extended, crappy bit of a PSA or infomercial you might see late at night. Apart is grim and useless. The only thing it has got going for it is the viewer’s ability to have fun pointing out the numerous “that guy” actors and recite his or her filmography.
April 02, 2012
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What should have been
Idiocy and fan service derail The Hunger Games By Steven Franz Fringe Editor fringe@uwmpost.com Okay, a few things. A) The Hunger Games is one of the ugliest movies I’ve ever seen. I mean, seriously ugly. Take the production designer out back. Or better yet, have a Hunger Games with the design team for The Hunger Games: all of you in an arena, knives and swords, one person leaves and never gets to work in Hollywood again. This looks like Tim Burton threw up on Easter. It’s worse than that Sci Fi channel Dune miniseries from 2000 in which House Harkonnen and House Atreides wore the most dynamically ridiculous outfits they possibly could; Stanley Tucci, who is admittedly very good as an egomaniacal talk show host, is literally dressed in a bright blue suit and an amazingly silly bright blue wig. Elizabeth Banks, who is not good at all, is generally wearing bright white face paint and bright pink lipstick and has some sort of parasol and a ludicrous electric green dress. And if the point of the book, as has been pointed out to me, is that the upperclass inhabitants of The Hunger Games’ postapocalyptic Panem wear outlandish outfits, then fine, point taken, but there’s a difference between adhering strictly to a book and recognizing what parts of said book are wholly stupid and untranslatable to the screen. The costumes in The Hunger Games were apparently secretly designed by John Waters in an attempt to undermine the whole movie. B) When characters get injured out in the wilderness while being hunted by other contestants, why don’t they actually try to dress the wound? This happened like three times. The first time, Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss (what a stupid name that is) gets burned by a forest fire engineered for the sake of drama by the games’ producer (who has a silly beard that looks like a flame decal, no really), all she does is look at her blistering skin and touch it gingerly. It’s already been established that you’re a survivalist, so why aren’t you actually doing something about the burn? Later, when Rue (which just sounded to me like Roo, the baby kangaroo from Winnie the Pooh), a character Katniss is supposed to love dearly, gets stabbed in the stomach, instead of putting pressure on the wound and attempting to stop the bleeding in an effort to, you know, save her life, Katniss just holds her in her lap and waits for her to die. And then, later on, when her supposed love interest Peeta (wow, maybe the stupidest name of them all) gets a deep gash on his leg, she just sort of leaves him in a cave to pursue medicine for him. You know, humans haven’t always had futuristic miracle creams, at one point they did things like make tourniquets, wrap cuts to prevent them from getting infected and make splints. Why am I supposed to believe Katniss is some world-class survivalist who triumphs over nature and her adversaries when she’s too dumb to dress a wound? C) Enough with the shaking cameras. And I say this as an admitted fan of Chaos Cinema, the manic directing style of auteurs like Paul Greengrass and the Neveldine/ Taylor team. There’s a time and a place for wild, caffeine-fueled cinematography that disorients viewers in time and space – car chases, well-choreographed action scenes, giant battles – but when two characters are
just sort of rolling around on the grass grappling with one another, shaking the camera so amazingly violently that you can’t see anything at all just defeats the whole purpose of cinema, which is to see things happen. I’m well aware that those two are just sort of rolling around on the grass grappling with one another; you don’t have to shake the camera like there’s some giant space battle happening. D) The Hunger Games could have been a very good film. I know this because many of the films The Hunger Games borrows from – Gladiator, Battle Royale, The Running Man, Death Race 2000, Lord of the Flies – are themselves very good, dealing with many of the same themes. It’s like Gladiator without the self-awareness of itself as entertainment, it’s like Battle Royale without the striking brutality, it’s like The Running Man without the wit, it’s like Death Race 2000 without the kitsch. There are many themes here – the nature of celebrity, human lust for violence as spectacle, class warfare, fascism, war – that are well worth plumbing, and the book’s writer, Suzanne Collins, deserves at least some credit for approaching them. But because it’s targeted at young teenagers – the book was practically written for this film to exist – it cannot ever regard its motifs with a bare iota of intelligence, lest it alienate the kids who only seek it out as thoughtless entertainment the likes of Twilight. There’s a point in the film – spoilers for a book franchise that’s been out for three years! – where a black character (Rue), representing one of the poorest “districts” in Panem, gets killed by a character from one of the richest districts in Panem, who is white. Katniss’ compassion toward the young Rue incites a riot in the district, a scene that lasts for about 20 seconds. And then, like magic, the film never brings it up again. A golden opportunity to address a very real theme – class and race and violent divisions along those lines – is squandered because the story needs to be told and the audience needs to be satisfied by their own knowledge of what should or shouldn’t happen. The film lingers longer on whether or not its male and female leads will kiss – of course they will – than the race riot that threatens to tear Panem limb from limb. Because of its audience. The film understands that there are important themes here, and that its duty as a cyberpunk science fiction film, which it is, is to critique American culture. But The Hunger Games neuters itself, stopping well short of saying anything of significance because it would rather appeal to its fans. Despite its length (well over two hours), it moves incredibly briskly, jumping from scene to scene with neither meditation nor justification, a classic symptom of a novel adaptation that feels the need to cram everything it can into the film version to pay lip service to the wallets of the kids it knows just have to see it, and who it’s afraid to disappoint. It’s a multimedia empire (the soundtrack, which features songs that never appear in the motion picture itself, debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts, something else it shares in common with Twilight) that exists more than anything else because its fans demand it. And that more than anything else means it never had an opportunity to be anything other than ordinary. And given its built-in fan base, I guess it never really needed to be. It just really, really should have been.
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fringe
April 02, 2012
the uwm post
Wolves Vol. 2
Odd Future does it again By Kevin Kaber Assistant Fringe Editor fringe@uwmpost.com
A dark escape In Darkness’ underground setting parallels the happenings of WWII In Darkness follows the true story of Leopold Socha, a Polish sewage worker secretly aiding groups of on-the-lamb Jews during WWII.
By Samantha Radle Staff Writer fringe@uwmpost.com World War II is a goldmine for cinema. There are infinite heroes to glorify, infinite villains to defeat, and – maybe most importantly – infinite victims to mourn and avenge. The horror of Polish director Agnieszka Holland’s In Darkness, however, manages to be distant and unconventional. Based on a true story, it takes for granted the cruelty of Nazis in Polish ghettos, and confronts a villain much more terrifying and elusive: the imperfection of humanity in general, the gray area of an era that’s all too often depicted in black and white. We’re introduced to our eventual hero Leopold Socha, a cynical, beady-eyed sewage worker, as an unlikeable man who menaces his neighbors and apparently thinks only of money. When he and his sidekick Szczepek happen upon a group of Jewish inmates who managed to burrow into the sewage tunnels beneath the ghetto, the glint in his eyes reflects bad news for the escapees. With the steep penalty for those discovered aiding inmates and the decent rewards offered for their individual capture, it doesn’t seem like Socha has much of a decision to make. But his desperation for money, a result of the bleak situation faced by Poles living in the shambles of 1943 Lvov, eventually motivates him to help the group of strangers navigate the dangerous, claustrophobic tunnels towards freedom. Holland manages to coax true terror from a minimal soundtrack, in which delicate string arrangements
don’t ever hint at anything besides gloom and danger. Despite taking place mostly underground, the film also manages to be visually stunning: its stark, ugly backdrop is occasionally relieved by things like a blue silk robe rippling against crumbling bricks, the crimson bow in a little girl’s hair, bright red rain boots among sewage. These flawless details make In Darkness that much more powerful - they seem to work in concert with the hopeless and unpredictable reality of the situation. Socha’s true character begins to show through as he becomes more enmeshed in the Jewish families’ lives; despite his hardened demeanor, he’s their generous and brave protector, even after the money runs out. The weight of human life slowly dawns on him as he faces threats to his own family and witnesses the brutality of not only war, but existence in general. Real dread sinks in when Nazi lackey Bortnik – the film’s closest thing to a typical villain – suspects Socha’s secret, as well as when Socha and Szczepek face the horrific consequences of bludgeoning an officer to death in the abandoned ghetto. Ultimately, the surviving refugees spend an unimaginable 14 months underground before reaching freedom. The darkness in this movie is relentless and all-encompassing, and it doesn’t let up. It’s an exhausting movie to sit through both because of its length and the difficult conclusions it hints at. In the end, as the fractured group emerges into the harsh daylight, Holland’s poignant and equally harsh message appears on the screen: “As if we need God to punish each other.”
Face it. Our current generation is littered with explicit representations of sex, gender roles and violence. Of course, some artists are better than others. Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, the rising alternative hip hop group from the Los Angeles area, has a growing fan base of misfits throughout the States’ suburbia – more specifically, the ever-evolving breed of angst-ridden skateboard-toting punks in the cul-de-sac nearest you. The same can be said of the dozen-or-so members of Odd Future, whose personas parallel the most dubious of rebels. Sexually perverted and (supposedly) suicidal, the Wolf Gang is led by the infamous Tyler, the Creator. Tyler’s flagship album, Goblin, filled 2011’s summer with horrific rants of depression, blow jobs and murder, among other things. Goblin can easily be summarized with the chorus of “Radicals:” “Kill people / burn shit / fuck school.” Tyler’s cleverly angry lyricism mixed with a somewhat simple, yet graduated alternative hip hop style not only launched him and his crew to the national spotlight, but garnered an MTV Music Video Award and even an Adult Swim show, Loiter Squad (think in-
ner-city Jackass meets the inner-city versions of Tim and Eric). Enter The OF Tape Vol. 2; in full, Odd Future’s second album is loaded with the ill-permissiveness of their former and individual efforts. Right off the bat, L-Boy introduces each member of Odd Future present on the album, each of whom receive the worst frat boy-esque individualized comedic rant, which, regardless of how many f-bombs present, is made effective due to the fact that this is Odd Future we’re talking about. Each track following the opening “Hi.” is unique in that they each feature a different member with his own style. With Goblin, it takes endurance to get through tracks that satirically celebrate womanizing and female abuse and acts like a most depressing suicide note; what with tracks like “Yonkers” and “Bitch Suck Dick” throughout, we’re left with Tyler’s amazing abilities as a producer and clever rhymes to guide us gracefully through the album. OF Tape’s greatest strength is its diversity. Of course you’re going to hear quite a bit about throwing caution to the wind and clits, but with the most perfect combination. While some tracks parallel the group’s past songs, others go for a more educated and ambitious feel. Members Domo Genesis and Hodgy Beat’s “Bitches” has an electronic feel accompanying the track’s anthem of “Where
my bitches at?” thanks to producer of about half of the album Left Brain. The other half of said album is produced by the 21-yearold Tyler, whose presence otherwise on the album is salt and peppered throughout the album in an ode to his infamy without giving him too much credence, making way for Odd Future’s diverse repertoire. “I need a real bitch that can make French toast and suck dick / she’s five-six with firm tits / went to UCLA until she met my dick / You wanted to be a doctor? I bet you did,” says OF member Taco in “Real Bitch,” a seminal track that combines a hip hop sentiment with an almost R&B feel. The idealization of women doesn’t even stop there though – other tracks include “Bitches” and “We Got Bitches.” Among the obvious, great Odd Future-y songs lies “White,” a track that separates the album in two. There’s a clear divide in the album that marks where Left Brain largely leaves off for Tyler to finish producing the album. “White” is as about as John Legend as they come and will catch any listener offhand. Odd Future is without a doubt an evolving group. Between citing suicidal thoughts within their music and acting a damn fool in their Adult Swim series, Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All will be tormenting fans (and the public) for years to come.
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April 02, 2012
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the uwm post
April 02, 2012
EDITORIAL The following piece represents the views of the Editorial Board of THE UWM POST. The editorial board is not affiliated with the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and these views do not represent the views of the university.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
All of us at THE UWM POST want to hear what you think and welcome your letters to the Editor. Feel free to comment about articles, opinions or anything you find in our weekly issues. Send your letters in an email to letters@uwmpost.com. In your submission indicate whether or not you wish to remain anonymous.
United Panthers narrowly edges out ASV in debate
False claims
This past Friday, three SA presidential tickets faced off in a debate discussing the most pressing issues facing UW-Milwaukee. The most substantive ideas and arguments came from parties United Panthers (Rick Banks, Eric Grow) and Allied Student Voice (Dan Laughland, Tereza Pelicaric). Hugo Nguyen, who represented the ICONIC ticket without his VP running mate at the debate, failed to articulate his vision for the SA any more specifically than “reform” and “fiscal responsibility.” There was a surprising amount of agreement among the candidates on a number of issues. In addition to the belief that the SA must become more open and accessible to students, all three of the presidential candidates admitted that their high school academic record was less than impressive, and agreed that UWM should remain an access university that gives students a second chance to succeed. They also agreed that more communication between students and permanent residents of Murray Hill would improve university neighborhood relations. Rick Banks and Eric Grow together made the strongest team and slightly edged out ASV, who also gave an impressive debate performance. First, Banks gave an impressive and refreshing response when asked how he would increase student in-
An editorial was published criticizing Students for Justice in Palestine for participating in Israeli Apartheid Week, boldly claiming that there is indeed no such thing as Israeli apartheid. This is, quite simply, a false statement. Anna Baltzer spoke last spring in the Fireside Lounge about the practice of apartheid in Israel. Two easy examples include the presence of checkpoints and the coloration of license plates. On the first count, checkpoints and walls separate most Palestinian villages from one another, and most have a cap restricting the amount of people who pass through. For most Palestinians, this is simply a major inconvenience. For some, however, it can be deadly. Take for example the story of a man whose infant son had an asthma attack late one night, and who traveled to the checkpoint (there was no hospital in his village) to seek treatment and was told by the Israeli soldiers there that the checkpoint had “reached its limit.” There are countless such stories. Or, for example, the coloration of license plates. One color means you have Israeli citizenship; one designates you as a resident of Palestine. One color allows you access to all roads, the other localizes you to small dirt roads, often unmaintained, and all for being a Palestinian Arab. I believe that fits under the UN definition of apartheid, which states that any law which favors one race over another deserves the term. Of course, this ignores the article’s uglier claim: that standing up for Palestine puts in the same category as Nazi sympathizers and Holocaust deniers. Who in last week’s actions denied the Holocaust or called for the death of all or any Jewish people? None. The problem is we’ve created a system where anyone who criticizes Israel is suddenly an anti-Semite. Let’s be clear about one thing: Jews have every right to live in Palestine as they have for many thousands of years. Let’s get another straight: they do not have the right to have the land all to themselves. The country now known as Israel has never, ever in its history been a country where only Jews resided, and no one has sought to make it so until 1948, when Zionist paramilitary organizations sought to create the world’s first Jewish state. The ancient Israelites shared the land with Philistines, Ishmaelites, Canaanites and others. In Jesus’ time, Judea was home to Jews, as well as Syrians, Greeks, Egyptians, Nabateans and some Romans. The modern state of Israel has pursued a pure Jewish state, deporting Indian and Asian immigrants, creating barriers and harsh laws for African migrants, and simply bombing Arabs. There can be hope for peace, but it will require a serious contribution from Israel and a genuine willingness to work towards justice. It also means criticism of Israel, reasonable, well-thought-out criticism, must be allowed. If it is not there can be no hope for peace. Israel must accept the sins of its past and work to correct them while it still can, and that means recognition that it is an Apartheid state. I think it is vital that people look into the situation for themselves and make an honest and sober judgment, and not simply be swayed by promises that it is the region’s only democracy and that not supporting Israel makes you a Holocaust denier. Hopefully, the truth can withstand such empty claims.
Banks and Grow gave the best, most honest answers in SA debate In response to: BDS disguises anti-Semitic attacks volvement in the SA. Banks said that if the SA achieves better results and makes a positive impact on campus, more students would be willing to get involved. We couldn’t agree more. At this point, any marketing campaign to raise awareness of SA and its vacant senate seats will have barely if any impact. The only time that students actually pay any attention to the SA is after a scandal, and handing out flyers or having more open committee meetings won’t change that. The student body currently views the SA as an incompetent, corrupt institution that is largely a waste of time and resources. While that may be harsh, one cannot fault UWM students for having that perception considering its past record. The SA must first prove that it’s an institution worthy of student’s time and resources. The second reason why we gave the United Panthers ticket a slight edge was VP candidate Eric Grow’s honesty on the off-campus parking discussion. He noted how, while he will do all he can on the issue, there was a limit to what he could promise because most of the power to change parking restrictions is in the hands of the Milwaukee common council. This kind of honesty is something that students should look for in this year’s candidates to ensure something similar to last semester’s scandal is not repeated in the next
administration. Finally, while Dan Laughland of ASV gave many good answers and points during the course of the debate, his final one was disappointing and left us with a bad taste. When asked specifically why he, as director of communications, allowed the Student Association website to remain so poorly maintained and updated over the past year, Mr. Laughland said that he has taken on additional responsibilities this year and as a result the website was neglected. The presidential candidate largely dodged the question, neither admitting it was his fault, nor saying that it was someone else’s responsibility. We believe that it is unacceptable that the former SA President Alex Kostal, who resigned in disgrace last semester, is still featured on SA’s main website. We believe that this was a chance for Mr. Laughland to impress us with refreshing honesty, but the opportunity was missed. Overall, United Panthers and ASV both gave good debate performances, and the students who watched the debate should be encouraged and hopeful about SA being run under either ticket. While the debate is only one aspect of the campaign, the United Panthers appeared to be the most prepared and gave the most honest answers out of the three tickets in the debate.
By Michael Austin Gold
For full video coverage of the debate, visit uwmpost.com/debate-2012
SA Debate
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OP-ED
Department of architecture and the little blue ball I’ve come to know many UWM students through the sport of handball By Professor Mark Keane Guest Lecturer editorial@uwmpost.com I teach design and drawing at UWMilwaukee in the only department of architecture in the state of Wisconsin. In recent years, we’ve adapted my foundation level courses to allow online sections in hope of providing ease of access to students. Consequently, we’ve had students from all over the state, the Midwest, the nation and even international students joining us through the Web. I am also
a partner in an architectural firm with my wife Linda, who teaches architecture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Now that I’ve bored you, here’s something you wouldn’t know by going to the School of Architecture and Urban Planning (SARUP) website. After over my 20 years of teaching here at UWM, I’ve come to know a lot of UWM students and staff across campus. Outside of class and meetings, I have met many students and staff at the Klotsche Center initially playing basket-
ball. As I got older and all I could do was foul and box out, I shifted to handball. Eventually I began to teach handball in the sports and recreation department with Toby Deutsch from the School of Information Sciences and two staff members from the community – Rob Sorrin and John Collopy. We currently teach our largest class of 23 students since we took over instruction five years ago. It’s a very simple game in a very simple room with one little blue ball, but each game is extraordinarily different. Some say “it’s like racquetball without the racquet,” but we
like to think of racquetball as “handball with a racquet.” Here’s my favorite comic. Come join us some day. Comic: https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&i k=5f2bbdf86e&view=att&th=1360cfe 7c6c34524&attid=0.2&disp=inline&s afe=1&zw& saduie=AG9B_P9HPEA xL91phzkCWLNoTdpE& sadet=1333 057443006& sads=QmocjcC-GEpat_ ZLhnmu9ohRIvo&sadssc=1
The Conservative gag reel continues to roll Right wing realities equate reflections in funhouse mirror By Brian Holmes Staff Writer editorial@uwmpost.com It is not enough for some people to worship in the privacy of their homes and churches. Some people feel it is their duty or perhaps “God given right” to enforce religious legislation and theologically terrorize Americans they view as outside their scope of influence. Case in point – Senate Bill 507 introduced by Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) reads as follows: Section 1. 48.982 (2) (g) 2. of the statutes is amended to read: 48.982 (2) (g) 2. Promote statewide educational and public awareness campaigns and materials for the purpose of developing public awareness of the problems of child abuse and neglect. In promoting those campaigns and materials, the board shall emphasize nonmarital parenthood as a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect. Section 2. 48.982 (2) (g) 4. of the statutes is amended to read: 48.982 (2)
(g) 4. Disseminate information about the problems of and methods of preventing child abuse and neglect to the public and to organizations concerned with those problems. In disseminating that information, the board shall emphasize nonmarital parenthood as a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect. If this bill passed (it was voted down on March 23, thankfully), it would be a dark day for Wisconsinites and Americans alike. What is chilling about this proposal is that Grothman isn’t some Rush Limbaugh knockoff spewing outlandish rhetoric; he is the assistant to the majority leader of Wisconsin. This high-powered Scott Walker crony wants to promote official propaganda that nonmarital parenthood contributes to “child abuse and neglect.” People are single parents for many unique reasons. Children are abused within all types of families: two parent, single parent, straight or gay. It is not fair to single out one group of people; many single parents I know work their butts off to raise their children and do not need a
self- righteous zealot like Grothman condemning them. There are many diverse reasons one may be put in the position of being a single parent. A spouse may have died; the father or mother may have run off. Anyone with even the most rudimentary understanding of humanity should oppose this bigoted and condescending bill. Conservative extremists don’t want abortions but they do not want single parents to raise their children either. It sounds like a Limbaughesque bizarro-world out there. Many media outlets have spoken and written about this bill’s impact on single parents, which is awful enough, but the bill bluntly states “…nonmarital parenthood” as a contributing factor to child abuse. One can see organized religion emitting its ugly head once again in American politics. Nonmarital could refer to a heterosexual couple living together but not married, a homosexual couple that cannot get married or even a live-in family member helping with parental du-
ties. These individuals don’t have it hard enough, let’s portray them all as potential child abusers. One could comfortably cruise an ocean liner through the specious logic of Grothman and friends. Many conservatives abhor government intrusion regarding laws limiting abuses by corporations (destroying the environment, hiring of undocumented workers, tax loopholes, etc.). However, they view it as ok for this same government to classify people in a theological moral hierarchy. This bill is fallacious and unethical in a modern day Democracy. As to not sound as if oversimplifying measures, most Republican citizens do not seem to be in favor of this bill. However, the politicians that have taken over their party have gotten far out of whack and moderation seems to be a dirty word on Capitol Hill. That lawmakers are wasting taxpayer time and money arguing about such absurdity should be vexing. Readers are encouraged to call their representatives to make sure bills like this never become a reality.
Booty calls are such a hang up
Why I think booty calls are downright nasty, and some advice for those who disagree. By Angela Schmitt Staff Writer editorial@uwmpost.com
Thanks to technology, the dating patterns of our generation are unlike any before. Online dating and social networking have helped and hindered the dating scene by giving us infinite options but also by allowing our interactions to become stagnated and impersonal. This style of dating has paved the way for the most impersonal interaction of all, which unfortunately has become something of a social norm. I’m talking about the booty call. Say it out loud. “Booty call.” It just sounds stupid. What does that even mean? No doubt many people find booty calling to be convenient, or not a big deal, and to each their own, but I personally think it’s nasty. So just in case I’m missing something, I did a little bit of research. First, I found some charming booty call online services where you can “Meet someone tonight! No strings attached!” Then I stumbled upon a dating blog called
SoSuave written by a classy lothario named “Pimpologist.” Pimpologist was kind enough to make the following list of tips for booty callers: -Most of the calls should be at night, but if you’re calling her for the first time, the call should definitely be at night. -She might ask why you want to come over, in this case say something along the lines of, “I just want to see you for a little while.” If she’s more of the flirty type, you can say, “Why do you think?” -Make sure you sleep over the first time you two have sex, whether it was a booty call or not, and then apply the two to one sleepover rule when developing a booty call relationship. You should average one sleepover for every two times you don’t sleepover. Unfortunately, my feelings about booty calling did not just come out of nowhere. Recently, late one night, just as I was drifting off to sleep, I was jolted awake by my phone beeping loudly in my ear. Yup, lucky me got a booty call. Granted the entire thing annoyed me, but a few
things about this booty call really set me off, so if you do booty call, here’s some advice of what not to do: Don’t make conversation. I opened the text and it just said “Hey.” So I said hi back. He replied “What’s up?” and I said “not much” and this small talk went on for a bit. If it’s late at night, and you’re texting someone out of the blue, they know what you want, so just get to the point. If you feel you need to beat around the bush with someone, that’s probably a sign that they aren’t the right person for you to be texting in this situation. Don’t say things like “You know I don’t see you like that.” After the small talk, he says “Come meet me out and say hi ;-)” (yes, with the telltale wink face) at which point I said “Ok, the gig is up. Besides, you know I’m not that kind of girl.” He responded “I know, I don’t think you are.” Did I miss something? You don’t think I’m “like that” but you’re texting me at 1 a.m. to hook up? Don’t add insult to injury by pretending to have respect for the girl when you
actually don’t.
Don’t get mad when you fail. After I shut this guy down, he sent me a snappy “Fine, whatever. Bye.” When someone turns you down, you have no right to be mad about it. You’re the one who is being insulting and disrespectful, if anyone is going to be mad, it’s the person you just called for some casual, meaningless sex. Sorry if that person has some self respect. So if you still think booty calling is cool, I will leave you with one more thought to consider. Now I know I’m not a doctor or anything, but you do know that having casual sex increases your chances of getting STD’s significantly, and the “D” in “STD” stands for disease. So, if you find Pimplologist’s advice to be useful, and you don’t think a booty call is gross, just do me a favor, and look up chlamydia on WebMD.
April 02, 2012
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“Obamacare” hits the docket The nearly 3000 page document under fire again By Miranda Rosenkranz Staff Writer editorial@uwmpost.com
Nearly two years ago, the Democratic majority of the House and Senate acted fast to push through the Health Care Bill. “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it,” famously remarked then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly dubbed ‘Obamacare,’ is under fire yet again. This time, the Supreme Court is deciphering some provisions and taking a stab at the heart of the bill, the individual mandate. After three days of one to two hour long oral arguments, question grilling and controversial debate, the Court has gone to chambers to deliberate. Although the Supreme Court analyzers try to predict how the nine justices will rule, the outcome of the bill is not expected to be decided until June. This case is the most political since Bush v. Gore and could greatly affect the presidential outcome at the polls this November. The National Federation of Independent Business and 26 states are questioning the constitutionality of the act in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services v. Florida. Several provisions are under fire but the most controversial is the individual mandate. To summarize, the individual mandate makes Americans purchase health care or face a penalty. The defendants argue the individual mandate is constitutional because the Interstate Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution allows Congress to make laws regulating things that affect interstate commerce. People who are not insured still have emergencies and have to go to the hospital. Because these people are uninsured, and often times cannot pay their bills, the premiums for people with insurance go up (in order to cover the costs). Defendants argue this cause-and-effect relationship affects interstate commerce. However, the Supreme Court has asked the defendants, represented by Deputy Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler, if Congress can make Americans purchase health insurance, what else can Americans be forced to buy? The Supreme Court used the example of burial insurance. Everyone dies, should Congress make them buy burial insurance to cover these unavoidable expenses? If the Supreme Court upholds this portion of the Health Care Bill, it will set a dangerous precedent. For example, from the time of the New Deal up until the Rehnquist Court from 1986-2005, Congress passed a load of laws justifying their constitutionality was legitimate according to the Interstate Commerce Clause. However, in 1995, the Supreme Court struck down the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 because Congress overstepped its bounds. This monumental decision sent Congress a message that if they plan on passing a law, they best do their homework and seriously contemplate if the act defies the constitution or not. If the Health Care Bill is upheld, what else can the federal government force citizens to purchase? If the Court upholds this law, expect the floodgates to open and a wave of legislation to come out of Congress. During oral arguments, Chief Justice John Roberts said, “Once we accept the principle, I don’t see why Congress’ power is limited.” Although the Supreme Court has not decided yet, the individual mandate should be struck down.
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14 April 02, 2012
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1 Sandwich shop 5 _____ diving 10 Asian country 14 Flatten 15 Doesn’t win 16 Egyptian river 17 Former TV Guide channel host (2 wds.) 19 Glaswegian 20 Not even 21 Surface 22 Hawaiian instruments 23 Candy bar brand 25 Asian dress 27 Desert pond 30 Scents 33 Like quail, maybe 36 Music type 38 Be sick 39 Is in debt 40 Mr. Phoenix 41 Gumbo ingredient 42 1942 flick My Gal ___ 43 Gotten up 44 Sports shoe accessory 45 Fuel-efficient model 47 India neighbor 49 Ready to eat 50 Responsible 54 Low-status laborer 56 Look 60 Bard’s ever 61 Greek god of love 62 “Caribbean Queen” singer (2 wds.) 64 Shoe brand 65 Rent 66 Vessels 67 Loch __ monster 68 Organic compound 69 “Hey you!” DOWN 1 Mustard variety 2 Eat away
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INSTRUCTIONS: Fill in the squares so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9 exactly once.
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3 Tons 4 Lodge 5 You Can’t Do That on Television props 6 Mountain recess 7 Junkie 8 Ice mass 9 Tax setter 10 Take a policy out on 11 Hairspray star (2 wds.) 12 Healing plant 13 NJ team 18 Race type 24 Low digits? 26 Rock band need 28 Wading bird 29 ____ Deadly Sins 31 Italian currency, once 32 Thin strip 33 Golly! 34 Not in 35 Spaceballs director 37 Nota ____
40 Like a trained camel, maybe 41 ____ podrida 43 Tear 44 Egyptian capital 46 Follows shampoo directions 48 Golfer Gary 51 Pub potations 52 Rests (on) 53 German painter Max 54 Teller’s partner in comedy 55 A Great Lake 57 Bakery confections 58 Small piece of land 59 Otherwise 63 Goblet
solution found on page 4
ANAGRAM CRACKERS INSTRUCTIONS: Unscramble the letters below to spell out everyday English words. When you’re finished, unscramble the circled letters to find the missing word from the quip!
STHOG
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–––––– solution found on page 4
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LOLWOH
–––––– Q: What kind of room has no walls? A: “A
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .” solution found on page 4
IN-WORD Find as many words as possible using only the letters from this week’s IN-WORD. Words must be four or more letters long. Slang words, proper nouns, and contractions are not permitted. Only one form of a verb is permitted. Words that become four or more letters by the addition of “s” are not permitted.
NEUTRON
Can you find 24 or more words in “NEUTRON?” Our list can be found on page 4.
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