The Daily Cardinal

University of Wisconsin-Madison Complete campus coverage since 1892 dailycardinal.com Tuesday, October 2, 2012l

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

Ward: UW must adapt to less state supportBy Cheyenne LangkampThe Daily CarDinal

University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor David Ward told the Faculty Senate Monday the university must prepare to take action and develop a new vision to adapt to the current cli-mate of higher education.

In his State of the University speech, Ward said the university is in a “fundamentally different” social compact now compared to the past due to decreased state support for higher education through last year’s budget lapse.

To offset diminishing state support, Ward said the university

TyLer gaLaszeWski/The Daily CarDinal

University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor David Ward delivers his State of the University speech to the Faculty Senate Monday, saying the university should seek more flexibilities.

Obama’s campus stop could galvanize voters

President Barack Obama’s visit to campus Thursday will bring the president off the tele-vision screen and onto Bascom Hill, where he will attempt to lock in support from the liberal capital of a swing state.

The gates to Obama’s Bascom Mall stage open at noon.

Gillian Morris, the press sec-retary for the Obama campaign in Wisconsin, said in a release that Obama will encourage voter registration and early voting dur-ing his speech.

In particular, assistant pro-fessor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Michael Wagner said Obama’s visit to a liberal area can “ignite his stron-gest base of supporters” and lock in votes by reminding constitu-ents their vote is needed for him to win the election.

Obama’s visit comes the day after the first presidential debate

against Republican candidate Mitt Romney, which leads to major television coverage for the president the next day according to Wagner.

“For President Obama, a col-lege campus like ours … guaran-tees a throng of excited support-ers to be in the background of the video,” he said.

However, the outcome of the Wisconsin vote as a whole is uncertain. Wagner said the state has been trending in Obama’s favor, but the race will likely become closer as Nov. 6 approaches.

Wagner added reinforcing “strong support in states that he can’t yet put in the win column” is a top priority for Obama and his campaign.

“They want to win Wisconsin, and they don’t have all that long left,” he said.

—Meghan Chua

Student labor action Coalition members hope to draw attention to the ongoing dispute between Palermo’s Pizza and its workers.

aBigaiL WaLdO/The Daily CarDinal

student group denounces alleged Palermo’s violationsMembers of the Student

Labor Action Coalition deliv-ered a letter and a pizza spell-ing “No Justice, No Pizza!” to Chancellor David Ward Monday to protest alleged poor working conditions at Palermo’s Pizza factories.

According to SLAC mem-ber Rachel Gerry, the work-ers’ struggle should concern University of Wisconsin-Madison students because Palermo’s pizza is sold at sport-ing events and in Madison grocery stores including Fresh Madison Market.

Workers for Palermo’s have

been on strike for four months, protesting unsafe working conditions. Employees from the Milwaukee area factory were also allegedly fired after attempting to unionize to improve their job environment.

SLAC members used the protest to inform Ward of the issue and encourage him to take action against the pizza compa-ny, according to Gerry.

“[The protest] was pretty much just to get [Ward’s] atten-tion in the hopes that he will be willing to talk to us, so we can go further with this issue to cut ties with Palermo’s until

the workers’ demands are met,” Gerry said.

Additionally, Palermo’s pizza sold at Fresh Madison Market is packaged with a Bucky Badger logo on the wrapper, which represents the university negatively, accord-ing to SLAC member Emily Baer.

“Roundy’s, which produc-es Palermo’s, has the licens-ing permission to put Bucky Badger on their things and we want that to end if they don’t make fair labor practices,” Baer said.

—Sam Cusick

SSFC denies student lobby group funding eligibility

Student Services Finance Committee denied Wisconsin Student Lobby funding eligibility in a meeting Monday, saying the group had showed a lack of fiscal responsibility in recent years.

An organization must undergo eligibility hearings every two years and if the group received funding through SSFC in previous years, it must also demonstrate a history of fiscal responsibility.

In the past two years, WSL, a student organization focused on advocating for student issues and resources, returned more than half of the funding SSFC granted them.

The returned funds go directly into Associated

Students of Madison reserve funds and cannot be reused by another student organization.

SSFC Vice Chair Joseph Vanden Avond, who voted against granting the group eli-gibility, said the group’s repeat-ed request for too much money showed fiscal irresponsibility.

“They had a chance to adjust this and they still asked for twice as much as they need-ed,” Vanden Avond said. “That money was meant for us to have in a particular cycle and now it is gone forever.”

SSFC members in favor of approving WSL cited the educa-

ward page 3ssfc page 3

The Human resources rede-sign team presented a condensed version of the new personnel plan to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Faculty Senate Monday.

Senate members were most concerned with the plan’s pro-posal to pay faculty and staff based on performance.

University Committee Chair Mark Cook said in working out the details for the compensation plan it is important for the uni-versity to ensure the new form of compensation is equitable.

According to Director of Human Resources and redesign

project leader Bob Lavigna, a study evaluating job title and compensation at the university will be conducted this summer.

Following the study, faculty, staff and students will decide through shared governance the criteria that would count toward a change in an employee’s com-pensation based on his or her performance.

Cook said despite feelings of apprehension over changes to compensation benefits, he belie-ves the senate will approve the plan in its Nov. 5 meeting.

CHeyenne LangkaMP

Faculty address HR redesign

Voter ids and manatees+OPiniOn, page 6

A return to classic offense

+SPORTS, page 8

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page two2 Tuesday, October 2, 2012 dailycardinal.com

TODAy:sunnyhi 72º / lo 42º

WEDNESDAy:sunnyhi 75º / lo 52º

Apparently my last column may have perhaps contained “too many” references to “old” tele-vision shows (i.e. “Roseanne,” “The Golden Girls”) and it may have made some of you question whether or not I was actually a student here or even born in your decade or something. Well, it may upset you to know that yes, I am a 20 going on 21-year-old woman AND I know the whole plot line of “Cheers” and “Frasier” AND I know that one is a spin-off of the other. Scared yet?

This stems from a recent late night roommate laughing/shouting match over what TV shows were appropriate for me to be watching in my pre-adult years. My roommate laughed out loud, making a rather ludicrous claim that, “‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ is for old people.” This conversation led to her pub-lication of a list entitled “Old Ass Shows That Jackie Watches,” which includes: “The Golden Girls,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Cheers,” “Frasier,” “The Facts of Life,” “Happy Days,” “Threes Company,” “Roseanne” and “The Wonder Years.” Make no mistake, I could proudly quadruple this list.

I decided that I would reach out to Daily Cardinal readers everywhere who might face this ridicule simply for having an intuitive sense for good televi-sion, even if it does involve the woes of an adult man forever trying to get on the Opera Board in Seattle or three old women who gather around cheesecake to decide whether or not they’re OK with in vitro fertilization. These, ladies and gentlemen, are the characters of my youth, and maybe yours too.

Ok, don’t get your undies in a bundle: I also wanted to

be Miranda from “The Lizzie McGuire Show,” knew that Clarissa really does Explain It All, and knew what a hydro-dynamic spatula with port and starboard attachments and a tur-bo-drive was. I just had a more dynamic, well-rounded television experience than my peers I sup-pose. (And apparently I’m just a snot, which I’m sure helped my social life.) Anyway, I’m in no way writing to prove that I’m like total-ly down with the kids and their tweeny shows (‘cause I totally am), but I’m here to defend and expose the fantastic creation that is pre-“HIMYM” television. And you know what, I gotta say it: I hate that show. It’s like “Friends” only dumb. BURN. Sorry I’m not sorry.

Here’s the thing. When you’re a chubby chipmunk-toothed, pizza-faced pubescent child, you’re not too keen on hitting

up middle school socials (a.k.a. bumping a volleyball in a circle full of Aéropostale-clad girls and hoping you’ll end the night without having cried in the bath-room once). No, I much rather would have desired to get lost in the roommate woes of Jack, Janet and Chrissy, or feel anx-ious about whether or not Mrs. Garrett would catch Jo sneaking out of the dorm again. Whatever, I mean I suppose I could have been learning how to French kiss or frying my hormonally-induced frizztastic hair, but instead I was gaining a repertoire of 1970s sit-com jokes that my future peers would reply to with simple blank stares. Of course I feel proud of my generation for a lot of reasons: we’re changing the world, we’re politically involved and we’re making thought-provoking art that prompts new ways of think-

ing. But sometimes I just can’t lift my head in a lecture hall, look out upon the companions of my youth and forgive them for not being able to do a proper Fonzie impression.

So I challenge you: Try it out, get yourself some Cap’n Crunch Berries and turn on TV Land (no, this is not a cute name for the land of good TV, but an actu-al television channel) and maybe someday we’ll all be able to pair up, hook arm and arm and begin to sing, “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Sclemeel, schlemazel, Hasenfeffer Incorporated…” Singing off, shaking my head, God I hope I got through to someone…

Were you always curious to know what shenanigans Blanche was going to get in to next? Or did you actually just hate Raymond? Tell Jacklin at [email protected].

‘Cheers’ to the ‘Happy Days’ of TVJaCklin BolDuana bold move

Liking sports is an anomaly. Why do we care so much about people that don’t know who we are and get paid millions of dol-lars to play a game? Why do we have these irrational notions that all people from Boston are pompous assholes and all New Yorkers cheat just because of the Red Sox and Yankees? How can someone care more about how an oblong-shaped ball bounces after a kickoff then the upcoming election? But the seri-ous question here is how could someone ask such stupid ques-tions when the obvious answer is because sports are awesome, and I can prove it.

First, my qualifications to give this advice to all non-sports fans: During last week’s Monday Night Football game in which the Packers were robbed (also known as “Fail Mary,” howev-er I also enjoy “GoldenGate,” “TateGate,” and “Oh My God, Are You Kidding Me. How

Incompetent Do You Have to be to Make That Call… what was I saying again?), I actually teared up a little bit thinking about how something I’ve loved for so long (the NFL) could do such an injustice. I spent the rest of the night consistently checking Twitter, watching Sportscenter on repeat and wallowing in my own sadness. That sounds insane to someone that doesn’t care about sports, but the entire Packer fan base are nodding their heads in agreement.

So why did I spend hours hating on Roger Goodell and the NFL when I should’ve done homework instead? Because I’m a fan, plain and simple.

So what makes a fan? Geography, History, Anger and Family (or GHAF… that sounds weird).

Geography: There’s a certain elitism every city feels, and there’s a certain sadness that some cities (*cough*Cleveland*cough*) feel, and all of this is compounded by the sports in the city. Sports can play a huge role in shaping a city’s identity, whether it be the economy (see: Cleveland before

and after Lebron James) or how much people know about it (you think anyone would know where Green Bay is without four Super Bowls?). If you grow up in a sports area, you’ve got to cheer for the team, or else you’re an outcast.

History: There’s a certain aura about the Green Bay Packers. They’ve won 13 NFL champi-onships, they have legends like Nitschke, Lombardi and Starr, and they keep breaking my heart. But that history means something. The 20 years you have been a fan you have really been a fan. There’s a certain nos-talgia of your first game, the first apparel you bought and the first time you yelled a racial epithet at the other team’s point guard. If you grow up with the game you will appreciate it so much more as you grow older.

Anger: Sports is a way to release anger. There’s nothing better (worse) than when there’s a bad call made against your team and all you do is scream for three minutes straight. All that pent up frustration from the week’s classes, your parents not sending you money and NBC

semi-cancelling “Community” all combine into one terror scream. And it’s totally legit for that one second, it’s like you’re commenting on YouTube com-ments in real life.

Family: Those who have grown up in a sports-loving family have two choices: They either appreciate it just as much or they decide to be little pricks and don’t like sports or pick a different team. Growing up I thought it would be funny to pick every team but the Packers; I was a Rams, Giants and Vikings fan until I real-ized that my dad had it right all along. You might not get sports if no one else in your family did, and if you didn’t have a father, then I’m sorry.

So non-sports fans, here’s the thing. Sports are awesome, sports give us a sense of com-munity, sports give us a reason to be irrationally ignorant, and if you can’t accept that then I’m sorry. We’re here, we’re drink-ing beer and get used to it.

Do you think sports are super pointless? Are you from Cleveland? Tell Michael how you feel at [email protected].

Dear non-sports fans, give sports a chanceMiCHael VolosHinvoloshin’s commotion

PHoTo CourTesy of TouCHsTone TeleVision

newsdailycardinal.com Tuesday,October2,20123l

has had to increase tuition, which has left the public concerned.

“There is resentment among the public that we are mysteri-ously increasing tuition for our own greedy needs, rather than the idea that tuition is substitut-ing for the loss of tax revenue from the state,” Ward said.

Ward proposed focusing on ways to increase the university’s flexibilities in the future, both internally and externally, to help combat dwindling state support.

Ward said the university can become more flexible internally through educational innovation and administrative improvements such as the Human Resources redesign, while more flex-

ibility can be obtained external-ly through increased autonomy from the UW System and state.

Ward said he hopes the next chancellor, who will be selected this year and officially take over next summer, will be ready to start a new dialogue regarding these ideas.

Associated Students of Madison Shared Governance Chair Sam Seering said he thought the chancellor portrayed a very realistic view of the current state of affairs in the university.

“[Ward recognized] that state support is going down and it will be a very long uphill battle to reverse that trend,” Seering said. “Because of that, the university has started to lean on students more than they had in the past, which he recognized was not necessarily a good thing.”

wardfrompage1

Students look to alter state policy on drinking citations

The Associated Students of Madison Legislative Affairs Committee discussed a plan Monday to grant students under the influence of alcohol protection from being issued citations if seeking medical assistance from authorities.

The committee’s Responsible Action campaign aims to lobby for state legislation which would protect students under the age of 21 from receiving citations under certain circumstances.

The circumstances include students who witness a violent crime, call for help in an emer-gency or call in need of their own medical assistance when under the influence of alcohol.

According to Legislative Affairs Vice Chair Morgan Rae, nine other states currently have a similar policy.

“Wisconsin does have a much bigger drinking culture than some other states do,” Rae said. “So if

they’re concerned about it, I think [Wisconsin should] be as well.”

Additionally, the committee will lobby the state for increased student involvement in appoint-ing UW System Board of Regents student representatives in a second campaign.

Legislative Affairs Chair Dan Statter said while under current law the governor is given sole authority in appointing student regent representatives, the com-mittee hopes to reach a com-promise in which student gov-ernments throughout the UW System would make recommen-dations to the governor for stu-dent regent appointments.

“We feel like this is a time when students are ready to have this con-versation, they’re ready to under-stand it and get involved, and now it’s our responsibility to make sure it happens,” Statter said.

—Cheyenne Langkamp

abigail waldo/Thedailycardinal

ald.Marsharummel,district6,andothermembersofthePlanningcommissionvotedunanimouslytoapprovethecity’szoningcode,onwhichcommoncouncilwillvoteOct.16.

Planning officials approve new zoning codeAfter five years of planning,

a city committee unanimously approved new zoning codes and maps Monday, which could affect downtown areas currently occupied by students.

Madison Plan Commission Chair Nancy Fey said the city’s zoning code has not changed since 1960 and city officials have been revising it for the past five years.

While they are two separate documents, the city’s proposed zoning code sets a guideline for the recently approved Downtown Plan, which is a comprehensive planning and development guide for the city, according to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4.

Verveer said the Downtown Plan looks at every property in the city’s downtown area and recom-mends whether the land should be used for residential, commercial, office, institutional or retail use.

The Downtown Plan also includes recommendations, which are now incorporated in the new proposed zoning code, for buildings in the Mifflin neigh-borhood to become more multi-purposeful rather than solely residential, according to Verveer.

“The action of the Plan Commission tonight absolute-ly encourages and anticipates increased density of the Mifflin neighborhood,” Verveer said.

But before a developer proposes redevelopment of the Mifflin area, the plan requires an additional city committee to create design guide-lines for the neighborhood.

Plan Commission member Anna Andrzejewski said despite some minor imperfections, the zoning plan is a significant coop-erative achievement.

“I just think it represents an extraordinary collaboration between staff, the commission, alders, as well as members of the public,” Andrzejewski said.

Madison’s city council will vote on the zoning code Oct. 16.

— Sam Garigliano and Abby Becker

Police arrest man for burglarizing State Street business Police arrested a man for

burglarizing a candy store on State Street and stealing an employee’s possessions Monday.

Nick Pastermack, owner of Kilwins at 208 State St., admitted to leaving a back office door unlocked around 10:30 a.m., according to Madison Police Department Spokesperson Joel DeSpain.

DeSpain said 51-year-old

Berry Banks allegedly snuck in the back door and stole a 19-year-old female employee’s iPhone, iPod and cash.

The victim’s boyfriend used phone tracking software to locate Banks in James Madison Park. He confronted Banks, who handed over the electronic devices but no money, according to a police statement.

Police said the boyfriend saw Banks’ ID and reported his name to the police, who found other stolen phones and bicycle lights in Banks’ possession.

Police arrested Banks for burglary, according to DeSpain.

“If you’re entering a business … without permission, that’s burglary whether or not there’s forced entry,” DeSpain said.

Johnson Street proposal geared toward professionalsStudents could see a multi-pur-

pose building on the 300 block of West Johnson Street in the future, which developers say could change the street’s atmosphere from a campus and student-driven area to a more urban neighborhood.

At a Mifflin Neighborhood meeting Monday, Hovde Properties representatives said their proposal for a seven to 14-story building would include residential, retail and office spaces, as well as additional administrative offices for the

Madison Fire Department.Hovde Associate Victor

Villacrez said the new proposal would not be geared toward students.

“We really are looking for this to be for workers,” Villacrez said.

Members of the Mifflin Neighborhood Steering Committee said in a statement the complex would satisfy the need for “work-force and alternative housing for professionals and retirees.”

The proposed building site would require the demolition

of Madison Fire Department administrative offices currently located on West Johnson Street.

The new complex would include condominium space that would replace the old MFD offices.

Despite logistical issues, including uncertainty over where the MFD offices will be located during construction, Assistant Fire Chief Michael Popovich said the new building will be a posi-tive addition for the city.

The city’s Plan Commission will review the proposal Oct. 15.

County introduces proposed $522 million 2013 budgetDane County Executive Joe

Parisi announced Monday his $522 million budget for 2013 will focus on funding programs that support health and human services.

Nearly half of Parisi’s $493 million operating budget will be used to expand Child Protective Services and expe-dite court proceedings concern-ing neglected children.

The budget also dedicates

$25,000, which will support Domestic Abuse Intervention Services, an organization that provides housing for those flee-ing domestic abuse.

On Sept. 19, the county announced a proposal to open a homeless shelter on Wright Street, but Mayor Paul Soglin said in a letter to Parisi he has “grave concerns” with the proposed site.

Parisi included funding

in his proposed 2013 bud-get for the homeless shelter. The county is also looking into multiple building sites, according to Parisi.

“It’s a problem we can’t ignore...,” Parisi said. “The city has done nothing to move forward to address this critical need.”

The Dane County Board will review Parisi’s proposed budget before voting in mid-November.

tional aspect of the process, say-ing WSL had tried, and would try in the future, to alter its budget to make it more realistic.

SSFC Chair Ellie Bruecker said she would work closely with WSL to explore alternative fund-ing options.

Also in the meeting, the com-mittee approved funding eligibil-ity for a new student organiza-tion, Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics, saying the group met the necessary criteria with its faith advising and support groups serving as unique direct services to the student body.

—Sam Morgen

ssfcfrompage1

abigail waldo/Thedailycardinal

TheStudentServicesFinancecommitteediscusseswhetherornottograntstudentgroupsfundingeligibilityMonday.

artsl4 Tuesday, October 2, 2012 dailycardinal.com

A rough ‘Push and Shove’ back to skaBy Johann PoschungThe Daily CarDinal

For a number of years now I have considered myself a fan of ska music. While some would consider the genre to be a few years past its prime, there’s just something about the fast drum beats, syn-copated guitar riffs and blasting horn section that can’t help but get my musical senses fired up. As you can imagine, upon learn-ing No Doubt was back together and working on a new album, I couldn’t help but get excited.

Yes, after years of singing about bananas, the Hollaback Girl has rejoined her former band members and returned to her

ska-punk roots, or so it would seem.

While many of us, having grown up during the 2000s era of pop music, are familiar with Gwen Stefani’s solo work, No Doubt might be less familiar, hav-ing gone more than a decade with-out releasing a new album. During their 11-year hiatus Gwen Stefani released two solo albums, catapult-ing herself to the forefront of pop music by adopting a fresh, new, teen-pop friendly persona. Indeed, Stefani’s new image surprised more than a few of her fans, (and notably, Reel Big Fish front man Aaron Barrett). But in light of this, what’s even more surprising is that she chose to go back.

I was, as I’m sure many other old-school No Doubt fans out there were as well, hoping this new album, Push and Shove, would be a refreshing return to their previous style, as opposed to a continuation of the trends in Stefani’s solo career. This idea had at least some hope upon the release of “Settle Down,” the first single released earlier this

year from the album. The reg-gae motifs present in the melody, coupled with the light-hearted lyrics created a “hella positive” set up to an album that could, at best, breathe new life into what remains of the ska scene.

After pleasantly listening through this familiar first track on the album upon Push and Shove’s release last Tuesday, Sept. 25, I can’t pretend I wasn’t dis-appointed once I heard the sec-ond song of the album, “Looking Hot.” The heavily synthesized riff at the beginning of the song immediately put me off, and the obviously shallow subject pres-ent in the lyrics did little to help the situation, although I will

admit to bobbing my head dur-ing the undeniably catchy break-down around 2:20.

“One More Summer” hardly improved things as the melan-choly tone of the lyrics seemed to clash with the faster drum beat in what could only be described as a miserably failed attempt at an uplifting song.

At this point, I was ready to give up on the album, and was therefore thoroughly surprised when I finally heard the album’s namesake, “Push and Shove.” This song clearly took a step above the rest of the album I had heard up to this point.

Initially noteworthy are the fast lyrics, which create a natu-ral-sounding groove—a welcome throwback to the band’s original style. However, where this song really shines is during the refrain, in which the band successfully makes use of modern music pro-duction techniques while at the same time retaining a laid-back, constant feel supplemented by Stefani’s unwavering vocals.

Furthermore, the juxtapo-

sition of horns at all the right places and perfect variations of the solidly pounding bass line make this track truly worthy of praise. If any song on this album deserves to be a hit, it’s this one.

Unfortunately, the rest of the album sounded unexciting, though it made a noble effort in “Sparkle.” This slower tune successfully man-ages to convey a longing in its lyr-ics, with a trombone solo cement-ing the song in its deeper sound.

As a whole, I found the album to be touch-and-go. There are a few good songs on Push and Shove, and that might very well make the album worth check-ing out. However, the ostensibly cohesive piece really failed to come together, and certainly fell short of what I, as a No Doubt fan, was really looking for.

For those of you still looking to give this album a shot, I would recommend the deluxe version. “Settle Down” translates very well into an acoustic song, and this bonus version also contains a gem for those music fans keen on remixes.

Push and ShoveNo Doubt

ALBUM REVIEW

Guide To Getting Yourself Together In A Literate SenseBy Sean ReichardThe Daily CarDinal

The first month of classes has swept away September; whether you felt it as a lofty breeze or tumul-tuous gyre, I’m sure you’ve got a vague idea of what school will be like for the rest of the semester.

You’ve (hopefully) got an idea of how to balance your school-work with whatever else you do with your spare time. But, of course, school can take a toll on your days, whittling away the increasingly sparse hours you spent napping, video gam-ing, commiserating lustily to the memory of John Barleycorn, etc.

Maybe you spent your spare

time reading. Maybe you’ve looked around this past month and real-ized, “Aw shucks, I done gone and gotten behind in my pleasure read-ing! This is a legitimate grievance!” Anyway, the facts are apparent: You have to do school stuff, but you also want to do things you like, such as reading.

Luckily for you and the many other book-minded sufferers on campus, there is a solution. What follows is the patented Reichard Guide To Getting Yourself Together In A Literate Sense:

1.) The Library is Your FriendI’m sure you’ve already got a

bone to pick with the University

Bookstore for taking all your money and giving you textbooks in exchange. The thought of buy-ing more books probably leaves you shivering with Welsh rats. Rather than do that, use the library system on campus. We’ve got so many: Memorial, College, Steenbock, Wendt, um… 36 oth-ers! The UW library system is pretty up to date and expansive, so you’re bound to find something. Also, they deliver to other librar-ies for very convenient pickup.

2.) Buy UsedIf the prospect of sifting

through library stacks or waiting for a reserved book leaves you

cold, but $15 feels like too much for a new reading book, bum around State Street and check out the used bookstores. Just there, we’ve got Paul’s, Browzer’s and the remnants of Avol’s in the brand new A Room Of One’s Own. You can’t go wrong with around 10,000 $2 paperbacks.

3.) A Book Is A Book Is A BookIf you’re gonna read in your

spare time, go for a book you want to read, not out of some insecure notion that reading is all about being heady or intel-lectual, or, worse, in an attempt to seem cultivated. Read what you want. It’s not like you’ll get

booed out of a kegger because you haven’t read Proust (though I imagine that would be one hell of a kegger).

4.) Take Your TimeAs you’ve learned, or will

learn in time, Madison is going to school you in more ways than one. Even the most diffident, seasoned senior has an inkling of UW’s rampant factoring into their schedule. If you want to keep up with pleasure reading, take your damn time. If it takes two months of “Anna Karenina” sitting by your bed side, taunting you endlessly with its girth, then let it.

After years of singing about bananas, the Hollaback Girl has...returned to her ska-

punk roots.

“Who gives a f**k about an Oxford comma?”

Please send inquiries to [email protected]

Vampire Weekend doesn’t and neither do we! If you like AP Style and indie bands too, then come write for The Daily Cardinal Arts page!

artsldailycardinal.com Tuesday,October2,20125

Paul Anderson: ‘The Master’ of 65mmBy Ethan SafranTheDailyCarDinal

Five years removed from his 2007 masterpiece, “There Will Be Blood,” director-writer Paul Thomas Anderson returns with “The Master,” a haunting and dreamy film containing a pair of superb performances and perplex-ing ideas.

“The Master” is a startling com-mentary on a post-war America populated with lost souls eager to believe in something, however ridiculous that something might be.

The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as Freddie Quell, an idling, aggres-sive, delusional and alcoholic World War II veteran. After a series of unsuccessful stabs at employment, Freddie stumbles upon a yacht housing the founder of The Cause (i.e. the Master, or Lancaster Dodd), played by an always-excellent Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Freddie makes a powerful “potion” of a drink that nearly poisons a man early in the film, and that falls into the hands of the Master. Dodd quickly becomes fas-cinated with Freddie, as Freddie soon becomes assimilated with Dodd and the rest of his family and devoted members of The Cause.

All of the actors give excellent performances, yet the work by Phoenix and Hoffman is particu-larly spectacular. Both give incred-ibly physical performances, with Phoenix especially using every pos-

sible nuance he can generate. A scene in which Hoffman’s

character “processes” or repeatedly questions Freddie exemplifies what will most likely be the finest acting in any film all year.

Hoffman’s Master character often says cultish things such as “Man is not an animal” and other philosophical musings (though he also calls Freddie a “silly animal” and his “guinea pig”). Later, Dodd and his faithfuls attempt to help Freddie through a series of exer-cises designed to “improve his con-centration” in an effort to induce some kind of miraculous awaken-ing within Freddie.

Perhaps the most powerful scene involves the two characters side by side in separate jail cells, one nothing more than a caged, crazed animal and the other a supposedly rational being.

By the film’s end, the two char-acters seem gravitationally bound to one another—each of them being in need of the other.

Dodd’s wife, played expertly by Amy Adams, is another excellent component to Anderson’s tale, for she both acts as Dodd’s own mas-ter and confidant and illuminates a sinister undertone to her seemingly warm composure.

While the film becomes a bit long by its end, it never loses focus, or lack of thereof, thanks to the story’s cryptic nature and Freddie’s ultimately aimless wonderings.

An advocate for filmmaking and not digital filmmaking, Anderson makes use of 65 mm film rather than traditional 35 mm film, a fasci-nating choice considering such epic, landscape-filled films as “Lawrence of Arabia” and Kenneth Branagh’s “Hamlet” typically make use of the medium, whereas most scenes of Anderson’s film take place in hous-es and do not include sweeping ter-rains and battle scenes.

In fact, according to cinema-tographer Mihai Malaimare Jr., Anderson shot nearly 85 percent of the film with a 65 mm. He gave multiple impromptu screenings of “The Master” in 70 mm in vari-ous cities throughout the country weeks before the film’s release, and while I did not get a chance to see it in this format, the large image size suggests an image rich in vibrant colors and expansive in scope.

Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood offers up another eclectic mix of sounds for “The Master” that, akin to his work on “There Will Be Blood,” are simultaneously eerie and confounding, adding subtleties to an already hypnotic film.

While I’m not sure if Anderson has quite matched “The Master” with his last outing, he has certainly left his audience with a lot more to ponder after leaving the theater. It is an engaging story about author-ity, aimlessness and friendship in an America not too far removed from the one we now inhabit.

opinion6 Tuesday, October 2, 2012 dailycardinal.coml

Voter ID laws objectively negative in U.S.

O ne Person One Vote is a critical tenet of democracy, and one we didn’t really

get around to until about fifty years ago. There are two important fac-tors in ensuring this ideal is upheld. The first is making sure that voting is available to as many people as possible, so the vote actually repre-sents the maximum amount of the population. The second is prevent-ing voter fraud, so every person only gets one vote. Mostly within the past year, 33 states—includ-ing Wisconsin—have passed laws that aim to reduce voter fraud by requiring photo IDs at voting loca-tions on election day. So, no more voter fraud. Democracy is saved. Moving on.

Except this is America and noth-

ing’s that simple. There is a natural conflict between freedom and secu-rity that is present in many issues nationwide. For security reasons, I do not have the freedom to own a bazooka. Also for security reasons, I do not have the freedom to found a student organization devoted to conducting frequent maritime pirate raids on the Memorial Union Terrace. Often, laws intended to pre-vent crime can infringe on the rights of law-abiding citizens. Such is the case, opponents argue, with voter ID laws, as those without the neces-sary photo ID will be unable to vote in November’s presidential election.

Two Dane County judges have ruled Wisconsin’s new voter ID law unconstitutional for exactly that reason. Thursday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court announced it will not rule on this decision until after the election. This means the law is on hold, and come November, we will probably not need a photo ID to vote. So, good thing or bad

thing?It appears that without these

stricter ID requirements, more peo-ple can vote but more voter fraud occurs. With the alternative, less voter fraud occurs but less people can vote. This is a matter of simple math. A single case of voter fraud impacts an election comparably to a single voter being barred from cast-ing a ballot; each alters the result by one vote. The solution lies in which policy will skew results the least.

Voter fraud exists. Thousands of reported cases have occurred since the year 2000. The problem, how-ever, is the new photo ID laws can only prevent cases of voter imper-sonation. Of these thousands of cases of voter fraud in the last 12 years, there are 10 confirmed cases of voter impersonation nationwide. Allow me to provide some per-spective. Since the year 2000, more people have died from manatee attacks than have tried to imper-sonate another voter in a U.S. elec-

tion. Some proponents of the laws claim voter impersonation occurs often undetected, and the rarity of reported cases is evidence that it is a large problem. This argument reveals a disturbing possibility regarding manatees. Think about it. Why are there so few reported cases of people being killed by manatees? Because they’re professionals. They don’t leave evidence. So when we’re done with voter impersonation, we should take steps to protect our-selves from genetically engineered manatee assassins. Fun fact: Genetically engineering manatee assassins is another thing I’m not allowed to do for security reasons.

Well then how many people are prevented from voting by these laws? The short answer: more than 10. The long answer is it is impos-sible to tell exactly, but definitely more than 10. In Pennsylvania, state officials report almost 100,000 registered voters lack government-issued photo identification. In the

2008 presidential election, over 1,000 ballots were thrown out due to lack of eligible ID in the states of Georgia and Indiana, which had such laws in place at that time. This number does not include voters that didn’t even go to the polls because they lacked ID.

Now, I can see some readers rolling their eyes, and I under-stand. Numbers and statistics can be manipulated to the whims of those collecting them. Proponents of photo ID laws reference dif-ferent figures than those above. However, even in reports from proponents, numbers of voter impersonation cases never exceed a couple hundred, while the num-bers of voters without required ID remain in the thousands.

For this reason, I am against Wisconsin’s new voter ID law and am happy to see it will not affect November’s election.

Please send all feedback to [email protected].

Chinese economic liberalization has not gone far enough

S ince the economic liberaliza-tion policies of Paramount Leader Deng Xiaoping

beginning in 1978, China has expe-rienced a tenfold increase in its economic output. In 2010, amid a global recession, China experi-enced a real growth rate of 10 per-cent and became the world’s largest exporter. What’s more, investment accounts for 45 percent of China’s Gross Domestic Product—roughly four times America’s investment as a percentage of GDP.

As Henry Kissinger extolled in his book, “On China,” “China produced a greater share of total world GDP than any Western society in 18 of the last 20 cen-turies.” With China experiencing rapid economic growth in recent years, Americans increasingly see Chinese gains as zero-sum—that is, at America’s peril. Polls indi-cate most Americans view China’s economic expansion as bad for

America. Leaders in Washington have taken note.

Despite fears of Chinese pre-eminence, China’s irreverence to free trade policies and allegiance to draconian social policies may sig-nificantly inhibit further Chinese economic expansion. Without greater economic and political lib-eralization China will have a hard time sustaining economic growth. Next week Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping will be promoted to president. I believe this offers the chance to realign with the values of political and economic liberal-ization, which have brought broad prosperity to Western countries.

Last year, Vice President Joe Biden penned an Op-Ed in which he debunked common misconcep-tions about Sino-American rela-tions, such as the belief that China holds the majority of America’s outstanding debt. In reality, China holds just eight percent while Americans hold 70 percent.

After decades of economic liber-alization, China was granted entry into the World Trade Organization

(WTO) in 2001 with the contingency that it would eliminate thousands of tariffs, quotas and subsidies.

Since China’s readmission to the WTO a decade ago, China has become the focus of a myriad of WTO disputes. Many Chinese cor-porations have little or no respect for international intellectual prop-erty rights. Furthermore, China has implemented policies to deval-ue its currency, the Renminbi, making Chinese goods and ser-vices more attractive in foreign markets. Despite economic liber-alization, roughly half of China’s economic output still comes from state-owned enterprises, which comprise 80 percent of China’s stock market. Many Chinese poli-cies violate WTO rules and ignore the free market doctrine that has brought unrivaled prosperity to Western economies.

State control has stifled China’s political culture, too. Since the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, the Communist Party has maintained autocratic rule. The Chinese government

has derived its legitimacy solely from the nation’s ever-increasing prosperity. Historically, however, a nation’s rise to middle-income level—which the Chinese people are quickly approaching—brings increased demands for liberty, political participation and opposi-tion to autocratic rule.

China is no exception. In 2010, disillusioned Chinese citizens mounted on average nearly 500 protests, demonstrations and riots per day in opposition to countless policies. In response, the Chinese government has suppressed oppo-sition. Last year, Ai Weiwei—a prominent artist, political activ-ist and critic of the communist regime—was arrested following his call for a democratic revolution similar to those that took place in North Africa and the Mideast.

Similarly, China has utilized Internet censorship to quell protests and uprisings. The Chinese govern-ment has specifically targeted social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, which played an integral role in disseminating information

for pro-democracy demonstrations throughout the Arab Spring.

It has been 34 years since Deng Xiaoping implemented economic liberalization policies that led to China’s rapid economic expansion. Since then, Chinese leadership has eschewed broadened economic lib-eralization and failed to legitimize its leadership through political liberalization. On Nov. 8 current Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping will be promoted to president. Mr. Jinping, who experienced democ-racy and capitalism while studying agriculture in Iowa, is likely to be more supportive of economic and political liberalization. A multitude of research conducted by political scientists and economists reveals that countries that suppress eco-nomic and political freedoms can-not sustain economic growth. The Chinese people stand to ben-efit greatly from freermarkets and a freer political culture. Hopefully Mr. Jinping can deliver.

Michael is a freshman majoring in political science. Send all feedback to [email protected].

MIchael BroStopinioncolumnist

Mitch tayloropinion columnist

Obama’s concrete economic plan better than Mitt Romney’s vague one

T he bomb that hit the econ-omy in 2008 left everyone with lighter pockets. The

government took action and it appeared as though the worst of it was over; the situation soon took a turn for the worst.

Now with the 2012 election right around the corner, President Barack Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney square off to see who the country will pick to face the bleak economic outlook. With Europeans searching through trash bins for their next meal, the government trillions of dollars in debt and a frozen economic recov-ery, this election will be pivotal in the effort of evading a second economic disaster.

The country needs a MacGyver to help us diffuse the ticking time bomb that is our economy. Sure, Mitt Romney may have the looks,

but we need a man than can do his own stunts; that man being Obama.

Obama has shown his abilities as president through the recovery efforts at the beginning of his term in office. Many that antagonize his presidency only focus on the fact that the economy is stagnant at this moment. I’m not sure what people think a president can do but I can say for sure that he can’t force com-panies to create jobs, nor can he magically cut taxes while keeping benefits like Medicare, welfare, and most important to us, finan-cial aid for education. The man has done a lot to keep the coun-try afloat and is met by a torrent of disapproval from the masses saying that he isn’t doing enough. Obama’s economic plan for 2012 is to focus on increasing consumer confidence. In other words, the hope is to increase demand for goods rather than increasing sup-ply. His plan is to keep taxes the same for those making less than $250,000 a year and increase them

for those who make more. He also hopes to implement a motivational compensation for companies that hire more workers. His plan is well composed and specific in detail and direction, which is what the country needs.

The same cannot be said for Romney. Romney hopes to use an economic strategy similar to that of Ronald Reagan. “Reaganomics,” as it is humorously referred to nowadays, entails policies that favor supply-side economic stim-ulation. This means tax-cuts for large businesses, repealing of for-eign trade tariffs and other strate-gies that would theoretically lure companies to invest in the United States, therefore creating more jobs. From the surface, Romney appears to have a solid economic strategy; the situation becomes foggy under closer inspection. Romney’s plan is very vague on paper. He promises to cut taxes across the board and to cap fed-eral spending but fails to provide

specifics on how he plans to do such things. His focus on supply-side economics is regressive in theory as well; large companies do not need more money, it’s already spouting out of their ears. What businesses need is demand for their goods, which means tax cuts for the consumers. He also prom-ised his tax cuts would not add to the national debt. However, he would need to reduce tax deduc-tions in order to keep the tax cuts from adding to the deficit, which if

you bother to think about it, ren-ders the tax cuts useless.

The stage is set and it is our responsibility to pick the right person, the MacGyver, to diffuse the economic situation with only an economic plan as his duct tape and a room full of congressman as his army knife. Will it be the blue wire, or the red? Before you vote, make sure you know what you’re voting for.

Please send all feedback to [email protected].

Max cisnerosopinion columnist

comics

Eatin’ Cake ByDylanMoriartywww.EatinCake.com

[email protected]

NEWANDEM-PROVED

ACROSS1 Punch tools5 Automobile-

eschewing sect10 Cause for a child’s

punishment, perhaps

14 Property encumbrance

15 Often-numbered print

16 Clarinet cousin17 On the Baltic, say18 Dole out19 Dryer fluff20 What kitty makes on

January 1st?23 Japanese industrial

center24 Palindromic king25 Likable prez?28 Epitome of

messiness29 The others33 Cummerbund

accompanier35 Oft-able one37 Faith of country

music38 Yankee closer

Mariano Rivera in non-save games?

43 Good opponent?44 Bank employee45 Small prayer?

48 Fat, as a chance49 Sphere in a scepter52 Like overused jokes53 Stretch the truth or

stretch out55 More colorless57 Longest reptile in

the longest river?62 Emulated Simon?64 Fielder’s aid65 Iris’s location66 Competent67 Gave relief to68 Chain piece69 Splashy party70 Cubic firewood

measure71 Makes lace

DOWN1 Los ___, New Mexico2 Least foolish3 Elbowroom4 Hunted Carroll

critter5 “Bummer!”6 “Venus de ___”7 “___ turn up”8 Attempt to be heard9 Spa soaker10 Dixieland jazz

feature11 From the beginning12 George W., to George

H.W.13 Put hair in rollers21 Put down the hatch22 O.J. trial judge

26 Potter’s furnace27 Wet zappers30 ___ it good (is well-

off)31 Throw out32 Chess defeats34 Blender sound35 Mississippi mud36 Without value38 Office transmittal39 Not quite a circle40 Clean energy source41 Lord of the ring,

once42 Metronome measure46 Bad way to be

prepared?47 Military blockades49 John’s “Grease”

co-star50 Yield51 Pool openings54 Splash and dash56 Grown up58 Big or bright thing59 Romantic bloom60 Like failed

relationships61 Give up, as rights62 Succumb to gravity63 Attys.’ group

Answerkeyavailableatwww.dailycardinal.com

Today’sCrosswordPuzzle

lassic

Whataretheodds!A 62-year-old man with impaired vision and hearing got struck by lightning. When he woke up the next day, he could hear and see!

Caved In [email protected]

EvilBird [email protected]

dailycardinal.com Tuesday, October 2, 2012 • 7

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First in Twenty Classic [email protected]

Drawing something© Puzzles by Pappocom

Solution, tips and computer program available at www.sudoku.com.

Fillinthegridsothateveryrow,everycolumnandevery3x3boxcontainsthedigits1through9.

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Sports DailyCarDinal.ComtueSDay oCtober 2, 2012

Football

grey SatterFielD/the daily cardinal

Wisconsin’s second-half meltdown at nebraska overshadowed its strong offensive performance in the first half, during which senior running back Montee ball scored two of his three tds.

by ryan Hillthe daily cardinal

LINCOLN, Neb.—Wisconsin (0-1 Big Ten, 3-2 overall) let an ugly offensive line and run game per-formance taint what was perhaps the best half of football the Badgers have played all season.

The offense was clicking on all cylinders in the first half. A healthy dose of run plays and play-action passes was the main reason the Badgers pulled ahead 14-3 after just one quarter of play.

But the Badgers couldn’t put together that nearly perfect offen-sive balance for a full 60 minutes yet again, as Nebraska overcame a 17-point deficit and won 30-27 at Memorial Stadium Saturday night.

“[The] offensive line was doing a great job, wide receivers were catching the ball, us running backs were making some great reads and running the football hard,” senior running back Montee Ball said of the first half. “So we’re gonna make sure we take what we did in the first half and build it into a four-quarter game.”

Ball finished with 90 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries. Redshirt freshman running back Melvin Gordon had five yards on a pair of carries, while junior running back James White lost five yards on his only carry.

The Badgers certainly wouldn’t have found themselves in a situation like the fourth-and-one from mid-field with 1:44 remaining—which ended up being a botched play—if not for the virtually non-existent run game in the second half.

Obviously, a missed extra point and 41-yard field goal (with 29 sec-onds left in the first half) by true freshman kicker Jack Russell didn’t help Wisconsin’s cause, either.

Wisconsin usually keeps its prob-lems far away from an identity cri-sis on offense, but those issues crept in and were felt just as much as the kicking problems Saturday night.

For that reason alone, redshirt junior center Travis Frederick wasn’t hesitant to blame the offen-sive line for the second-half issues.

“We might as well take [the blame],” Frederick said. “We make up half the offense, so if we don’t play well the whole team doesn’t play well.

“It comes down to us playing well, and obviously that didn’t hap-pen in the second half.”

Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema was obviously pleased with the first-half play, but his team came out an entirely different squad after the intermission. Bielema thought the Memorial Stadium atmosphere got into the players’ head.

“It was a tale of two halves,” Bielema said. “You could feel that momentum change in the second half, something our guys could never really get a grasp of.”

Wisconsin led or was tied for most of the second half, but the atmosphere suggested otherwise.

The balanced play calling that was so prevalent in the first half was nowhere to be found in the second, and Frederick thought the offense was as close as it has been to classic Wisconsin football when things got rolling in the first half.

“The way that we were running the ball, we were starting to get to the point where we were being efficient on our plays,” Frederick said. “It forced [Nebraska] to bring a couple guys down in there, and that’s when you saw a couple of the big play-action plays.”

But when a team like Wisconsin rushes for a dismal 12 yards in the

second half, essentially nothing works out as planned, including the play-action plays.

“I think there were a couple times where they were bring-ing an extra guy into the box,” Frederick said. “It makes it really hard for us to do our job, but we obviously weren’t getting the push that we needed.”

“[Nebraska] got a big push,” Bielema said. “But also they were pretty heavy inside, I think they were playing a heavy technique with their defensive tackles and ends, which was making it pretty congested in there.”

Whatever the exact reasons for the ineffective rush attack—and there seemed to be many—the Badgers proved yet again Saturday that in order for them to win games this year, establishing the run game should be at the forefront of their approach.

Bielema once again said that a lot was learned from the nail-biter in Lincoln, despite the outcome.

“I’m not mad or upset at their effort or their intensity or preparation,” Bielema said. “Nothing is coming easy for us this year. We are a team that has gotten better every week, and I think we got better today.”

Wisconsin’s first half offen-sive outburst also instilled plenty of confidence in the team moving forward—especially for redshirt freshman quarterback Joel Stave—and reminded the team what it is capable of.

“It builds a lot of confidence when you’re moving the ball like [we did in the first half ],” Stave said. “It did show that we can be good, we just have to keep working toward that [first half performance].”

Defensive presence waning in modern college football

D efense wins champion-ships. This antiquated cliché and go-to slogan

for mediocre sports commenta-tors is believed to still be rele-vant in today’s NCAA, but if you watched any college football last weekend, you saw that offense has taken over.

The headliner for the recent offensive explosion was without doubt the West Virginia-Baylor track meet Saturday. The two teams combined for over 1,500 total yards, 13 passing touch-downs, two different 300-yard receivers and (a partridge in a pear tree) 133 total points.

The No. 9 Mountaineers and No. 25 Bears made headlines around the country, but their game was not the only case of dominant offenses manhandling under-equipped defenses.

No. 12 Texas and Oklahoma State combined for over 1,000 yards and 77 points. Miami quar-terback Stephen Morris threw for a team- and ACC-record 566 yards against N.C. State. No. 5 Georgia and Tennessee put up 95 total points (fifth-most in SEC history) and 1,038 total yards.

Yes, even the SEC, a con-ference defined by dominant defenses and 10-7 final scores, joined the wave of offense.

Don’t just look at this past weekend, either. Let’s turn the page back to 2011 and look at the offensive records that were set.

Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson and Heisman-winning Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III finished with the two highest quarterback ratings in NCAA history. Badger running back Montee Ball tied Barry Sanders’ all-time record for touchdowns in a sin-gle season with 39.

Q u a r t e r b a c k Case Keenum closed out his prolific career in Houston, passing for 19,217 yards—over 2,000 more than anyone else has ever thrown. Boise State’s Kellen Moore also finished fifth on that same list after 2011.

This season, West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith has already passed for 1,728 yards and 20 touchdowns (with no interceptions) in just four games.

With those numbers he is on pace to not only shatter Wilson’s quarterback rating record, but also throw for over 5,600 yards

and 60 touchdowns.The obvious retort that could

be made against my argument is that Alabama—the team with arguably the best defense in col-lege football—has won two of the last three national champi-onships. So defense must not be dead, right?

As ESPN’s Lee Corso might say: Not so fast, my friend.

Yes, the 2009 and 2011 ver-sions of the Crimson Tide fea-tured defenses that were littered with future first-round draft picks and NFL stars, but they also had powerful offenses that helped carry Alabama to the Promised Land.

The Crimson Tide had three 2011 NFL first-rounders from their 2009 championship team: Heisman-winning running back Mark Ingram, wide receiver Julio Jones and offensive line-man James Carpenter. Trent Richardson, Ingram’s replace-ment, was the third overall pick in the 2012 draft.

Alabama has had plenty of help on the offensive side of the ball. A more appropriate example of a team that relies solely on its defense to win games would be the LSU Tigers.

Last season, LSU’s leading passer had just 1,306 yards, and its top runner gained a scant 756 yards. The Tigers relied on one of the most suffocating defenses in the country to abuse oppos-ing offenses and waited for their offense to make one or two scor-ing strikes to seal up a victory.

Of course LSU ended up meet-ing Alabama in the title game last year, and its anemic offense failed miserably. The Tigers accounted for just 92 yards and zero points, while Alabama put up 384 yards en route to a 21-0 win.

In the current AP poll, each of the top-five teams is in the top 25 for points scored. Three

of the top-five teams (Oregon, Florida State and Georgia) are in the top 10 in this category. Those same three teams are also in the top 10 for total yards gained.

The football world has changed, so you had better get used to video game-like stats and watching Bucky and the Oregon Duck do pushups until

their arms fall off.Defense wins champion-

ships? Hardly.Which side of the ball do you

think is more important in today’s game? Are the recent offensive trends here to stay? Email Matt at [email protected].

matt maSterSonmaster’s degree

offense shows promiseFirst half play a reminder of classic Wisconsin football

Bielema moves past Nebraska, focuses on bright spots from lossby Peter geppertthe daily cardinal

As a sports fan, it’s much easier to look at things from a glass-half-full perspective when discerning the prospects of the ongoing season. Fans of this year’s Wisconsin football team (0-1 Big Ten, 3-2 overall) can take a lesson in optimism from head coach Bret Bielema.

“The only thing that you can deal with is the situation you’re in,” Bielema said. “You can’t let Nebraska beat you twice.”

The Badgers’ offense started fast—showing improvement from a lackluster non-conference slump—in racing out to a 20-3 lead in the the first half. The explosive play that most fans expected to see all season was finally on display

under the lights in Lincoln, Neb.“Our guys came ready to

play,” Bielema said. “It was a hostile environment, but I thought our kids really thrived off it in the first half and for parts of the second half.”

With a young Badger team showing signs of brilliance on the road, especially on offense, there is no reason to

believe this team can’t still con-tend for a trip to the Big Ten Championship in Indianapolis.

“It’s all in front us, we con-trol our own destiny, and that’s a great thing to be able to say.” Bielema said.

Defensively the Badgers received good news this week when redshirt senior safety and captain Shelton Johnson was able

to practice after previously being diagnosed with a broken arm. The injury was supposed to keep him out at least two more weeks. Getting Johnson back could bode well for a unit that has been a bright spot all season.

“If [ Johnson] clears his X-ray today then we’ll have him back on Saturday, which would be a nice boost.”

208.4West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith’s QB rating through four games

191.8Wisconsin quarter-back russell Wilson’s 2011 season QB rating, which set ncaa record