the spectator, volume 90, issue 17

12
THE SPECTATOR Thursday, February 9, 2012 www.spectatornews.com Advertising Office : (715) 836-4366 [email protected] Editorial Office : (715) 836-4416 [email protected] The official student newspaper of the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire since 1923 Vol. 90 No. 17 Local service provides campus, community members with free help with their taxes. A visit to the taxman 4A NEWS Indian winter Twelve UW-Eau Claire students travel to China and India over winterim to study at a top-ranked business school. Online @ www.spectatornews.com : 4B OPINION Columnist argues that hating or boycotting Valentine’s Day is a waste of everyone’s effort. Love, not hate ONLINE POLL Should Wisconsin be more aggressive in checking recall signatures? Pulling strings >> CURRENTS, 5A >> STUDENT LIFE, 6B 1st of 14 MEN’S TRACK SNAGS FIRST AT POINTER INVITE EDITORIAL Staff writer Tyler Hart explains why he finds beauty in mistakes The usefulness of error Contact: SCAN HERE AND VOTE @ WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SPECTATORNEWS MULTIMEDIA Audio Q&A with women’s basketball coach Tonja Englund Semester’s first Artist Series presents Cashore Marionettes CAROLYN TIRY/The Spectator Former Negro Baseball League player Dennis “Bose” Biddle displays a replica Kansas City Monarchs jersey. Biddle spoke in Davies Theatre on Wednesday. He talked about the history of the league and the legacies it left to the game of baseball. A league of their own The UW-Eau Claire graduate school program is undergoing some tweaks with eight new courses being proposed, 28 courses being revised and eight courses being deleted. While many of the revisions are changes in course description or title, these changes are neces- sary, said Margaret Cassidy, asso- ciate dean of Arts and Sciences. The courses that graduate stu- dents take have to adapt to devel- opments within the field as well as the different ways the course is taught. “The changes are part of our regular process that we fol- low when a course either ex- clusively or partly are basically brought through for change or revision,” Cassidy said. “Basically, it’s just a matter of departments and programs reviewing their curriculum.” Cassidy explained how this could affect undergraduate stu- dents also, as many classes taught at the 500 and 600 levels are the same courses that are taught at 300 and 400 levels. For example, in the course catalogue, a particu- lar class can be read as 300/500, so it can be taken by undergradu- ate and graduate students alike and is considered the same class. However, 700 level courses are for graduate students only, and though the majority of the changed courses are 500 and 600 levels, there are 10 courses in the 700 level being revised and two being deleted. All of those are in the psychology department. Mary Beth Tusing, an assis- tant professor in the psychology department’s graduate program, said her department’s changes are mostly positive and necessary for the program to be more effective. The way the department does practicum work will be changed to allow more school-based prac- tica a year earlier, which allows for more opportunities for more in depth training experiences, Tus- ing said. In years past, the graduate stu- dents’ practicum would be in their second year of training, but with the new course revisions, they will be able to do practical work in the second semester of their first year. “That allows (the graduate students) to have the opportunity to be out working in the schools practicing some of the skills that they’ve been learning about for the last semester and a half under the supervision of a practicing school psychologist,” Tusing said. For other departments, the process starts with the depart- ment itself. The instructors and faculty will look over their courses and decide which courses need revision based on a number of things. Cassidy said courses change according to instructors’ teach- ing style, course content and even evolutions in the field, but it’s not like the change came from out of nowhere. Course descriptions change and course titles change often to better reflect the way the course is taught and the content is present- ed. It’s trimming the branches, so to speak. “Curriculum is dynamic,” Cas- sidy said. “(The changes are) basi- cally a regular curricular process.” Grad program curricula undergo changes, cuts Existing courses in several departments revised, new ones added; new focus on in-depth training By Eric Christenson OP/ED EDITOR Chancellors Hall is set to become much more environmentally friendly and sustainable in the near future. A composting project is scheduled to start early next week in Chancellors Hall. The residence hall was chosen for the project because of its kitchens and the number of residents without meal plans, which leads to more garbage in the hall than in other dormitories. The pilot program calls for one floor of Chan- cellors to participate this semester, most likely the second floor, with other floors potentially being added in later semesters. Funds for the program will come out of the Student Office of Sustain- ability budget, with no extra cost to residents. SOS Director Brittany Whited says imple- menting composting on campus will benefit the environment tremendously. “It’s the wave of the future, sustainability,” Whited said. “We should be all about it, and we’re working towards that with this program.” Composting begins with dirt and worms in a container. Certain food scraps are then added to the pile and broken down by the worms. Once the scraps are digested, compost is created in the form of worm castings. Worm tea, the runoff from the worms’ by-products, is also created and can be used to fertilize plants. Whited said she began laying out the project during the fall se- mester with then-SOS Director Ben Ponkratz and advisor Kate Hartsell. Once the ideas were formed and the pilot program was finalized, much of the work was passed on to freshman Bai- ley Kramer. Kramer will oversee the project as well as install the compost herself. Surveys were sent out to Chancellors Hall residents and while most of the feedback was positive, some respondents pro- fessed concern about potential sanitary problems. Whited says the stigma that can surround com- posting is completely false. Chancellors gets composting By Chris Reinoos COPY EDITOR Hall chosen because of lack of students with meal plans Student voter IDs now available University-supplied IDs cost $2 each By Tyler Hart STAFF WRITER SUBMITTED PHOTO The university-issued voter IDs will look like current Blugold cards with a few exceptions: a red “voter ID” tag, and issue and expiration date and a signature on the back. Because of a new law, the process for registering to vote has changed in Wisconsin. UW-Eau Claire is now offering a simpler and easier way for students to register to vote. Student voter IDs are now avail- able to Eau Claire students for $2 in the Blugold Card Office, located in Davies Center 156. The IDs comply with the voter ID law that came into effect on Jan. 1. The law requires Wisconsin vot- ers to show a valid photo ID in order to receive a bal- lot to vote. This ID may be in the form of a Wiscon- sin driver’s license, a U.S. passport, a military ID, etc. According to the Government Ac- countability Board website for the state of Wisconsin, Eau Claire’s current stu- dent IDs may not be used to register to vote because they lack a signature, the date the card was issued and the expiration date of the card. The new student voter IDs will comply with all of these necessary requirements. Teresa O’Halloran, special assis- tant to the chancellor for affirmative action, was involved with creating the new IDs and the voter verifica- tion document, which is used for verifying residency. “I got involved in making sure that we understood exactly what complied and worked with the staff and centers that run the Blu- gold office, to develop a separate voter ID that would comply with the voter ID law,” O’Halloran said. “We also worked with the Regis- trar’s office and others to get the voter verification document on MyBlugold CampS.” In addition to a photo ID, proof of residency is necessary in order to register to vote. Students living on campus do not need to worry about this because they are listed as resi- dents of Eau Claire and need only a photo ID to vote. Students living off campus, how- ever, must print off the voter verifi- cation document. This document is available on MyBlugold CampS and serves as proof of residence for stu- dents living off campus who want to register to vote. Whited See COMPOST, page 2A O’Halloran See VOTER IDS, page 2A

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THE SPECTATORThursday, February 9, 2012 www.spectatornews.com

Advertising Office : (715) 836-4366

[email protected]

Office : (715) [email protected]

The official student newspaper of the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire since 1923

Vol. 90 No. 17

Local service provides campus, community members with free

help with their taxes.

A visit to the taxman4ANEWS

Indian winterTwelve UW-Eau Claire

students travel to China and India over winterim to

study at a top-ranked business school.

Online @ www.spectatornews.com :

4BOPINION

Columnist argues that hating or boycotting Valentine’s Day is a waste of everyone’s effort.

Love, not hate

ONLINE POLLShould Wisconsin be

more aggressive in checking recall signatures?

Pulling strings>> CURRENTS, 5A

>> STUDENT LIFE, 6B

1st of 14MEN’S TRACK SNAGS FIRST AT POINTER INVITE

EDITORIAL

Staff writer Tyler Hart explains why he finds beauty in mistakes

The usefulness of error

Contact:

SCAN HERE AND VOTE @ WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SPECTATORNEWS

MULTIMEDIA

Audio Q&A with women’s basketball coach Tonja Englund

Semester’s first Artist Series presents Cashore Marionettes

CAROLYN TIRY/The SpectatorFormer Negro Baseball League player Dennis “Bose” Biddle displays a replica Kansas City Monarchs jersey. Biddle spoke in Davies Theatre on Wednesday. He talked about the history of the league and the legacies it left to the game of baseball.

A league of their own

The UW-Eau Claire graduate school program is undergoing some tweaks with eight new courses being proposed, 28 courses being revised and eight courses being deleted.

While many of the revisions are changes in course description or title, these changes are neces-sary, said Margaret Cassidy, asso-ciate dean of Arts and Sciences. The courses that graduate stu-dents take have to adapt to devel-opments within the field as well as the different ways the course is taught.

“ The changes are part of

our regular process that we fol-low when a course either ex-clusively or partly are basically brought through for change or revision,” Cassidy said. “Basically, it’s just a matter of departments and programs reviewing their curriculum.”

Cassidy explained how this could affect undergraduate stu-dents also, as many classes taught at the 500 and 600 levels are the same courses that are taught at 300 and 400 levels. For example, in the course catalogue, a particu-lar class can be read as 300/500, so it can be taken by undergradu-ate and graduate students alike and is considered the same class.

However, 700 level courses are for graduate students only, and though the majority of the changed courses are 500 and 600 levels, there are 10 courses in the 700 level being revised and two being deleted. All of those are in the psychology department.

Mary Beth Tusing, an assis-tant professor in the psychology department’s graduate program, said her department’s changes are mostly positive and necessary for the program to be more effective.

The way the department does practicum work will be changed to allow more school-based prac-tica a year earlier, which allows for more opportunities for more in

depth training experiences, Tus-ing said.

In years past, the graduate stu-dents’ practicum would be in their second year of training, but with the new course revisions, they will be able to do practical work in the second semester of their first year.

“That allows (the graduate students) to have the opportunity to be out working in the schools practicing some of the skills that they’ve been learning about for the last semester and a half under the supervision of a practicing school psychologist,” Tusing said.

For other departments, the process starts with the depart-ment itself. The instructors

and faculty will look over their courses and decide which courses need revision based on a number of things.

Cassidy said courses change according to instructors’ teach-ing style, course content and even evolutions in the field, but it’s not like the change came from out of nowhere.

Course descriptions change and course titles change often to better reflect the way the course is taught and the content is present-ed. It’s trimming the branches, so to speak.

“Curriculum is dynamic,” Cas-sidy said. “(The changes are) basi-cally a regular curricular process.”

Grad program curricula undergo changes, cutsExisting courses in several departments revised, new ones added; new focus on in-depth training

By Eric ChristensonOP/ED EDITOR

Chancellors Hall is set to become much more environmentally friendly and sustainable in the near future.

A composting project is scheduled to start early next week in Chancellors Hall. The residence hall was chosen for the project because of its kitchens and the number of residents without meal plans, which leads to more garbage in the hall than in other dormitories.

The pilot program calls for one floor of Chan-cellors to participate this semester, most likely the second floor, with other floors potentially being added in later semesters. Funds for the program will come out of the Student Office of Sustain-ability budget, with no extra cost to residents.

SOS Director Brittany Whited says imple-menting composting on campus will benefit the environment tremendously.

“It’s the wave of the future, sustainability,” Whited said. “We should be all about it, and we’re working towards that with this program.”

Composting begins with dirt and worms in a

container. Certain food scraps are then added to the pile and broken down by the worms. Once the scraps are digested, compost is created in the form of worm castings. Worm tea, the runoff from the worms’ by-products, is also created and can be used to fertilize plants.

Whited said she began laying out the project during the fall se-mester with then-SOS Director Ben Ponkratz and advisor Kate Hartsell. Once the ideas were formed and the pilot program was finalized, much of the work was passed on to freshman Bai-ley Kramer. Kramer will oversee the project as well as install the compost herself.

Surveys were sent out to Chancellors Hall residents and while most of the feedback was positive, some respondents pro-fessed concern about potential sanitary problems.

Whited says the stigma that can surround com-posting is completely false.

Chancellors gets compostingBy Chris Reinoos

COPY EDITOR

Hall chosen because of lack of students with meal plans

Student voter IDs now available

University-supplied IDs cost $2 eachBy Tyler HartSTAFF WRITER

SUBMITTED PHOTOThe university-issued voter IDs will look like current Blugold cards with a few exceptions: a red “voter ID” tag, and issue and expiration date and a signature on the back.

Because of a new law, the process for registering to vote has changed in Wisconsin. UW-Eau Claire is now offering a simpler and easier way for students to register to vote.

Student voter IDs are now avail-able to Eau Claire students for $2 in the Blugold Card Office, located in Davies Center 156. The IDs comply with the voter ID law that came into effect on Jan. 1.

The law requires Wisconsin vot-ers to show a valid photo ID in order to receive a bal-lot to vote. This ID may be in the form of a Wiscon-sin driver’s license, a U.S. passport, a military ID, etc.

According to the Government Ac-countability Board website for the state

of Wisconsin, Eau Claire’s current stu-dent IDs may not be used to register to vote because they lack a signature, the date the card was issued and the expiration date of the card. The new student voter IDs will comply with all

of these necessary requirements.Teresa O’Halloran, special assis-

tant to the chancellor for affirmative action, was involved with creating the new IDs and the voter verifica-tion document, which is used for verifying residency.

“I got involved in making sure that we understood exactly what complied and worked with the staff and centers that run the Blu-gold office, to develop a separate voter ID that would comply with the voter ID law,” O’Halloran said. “We also worked with the Regis-trar’s office and others to get the voter verification document on MyBlugold CampS.”

In addition to a photo ID, proof of residency is necessary in order to register to vote. Students living on campus do not need to worry about this because they are listed as resi-dents of Eau Claire and need only a photo ID to vote.

Students living off campus, how-ever, must print off the voter verifi-cation document. This document is available on MyBlugold CampS and serves as proof of residence for stu-dents living off campus who want to register to vote.

Whited

See COMPOST, page 2A

O’Halloran

See VOTER IDS, page 2A

Campus News2A •

CONTINUED FROM FRONTThursday, February 9, 2012 News Editors: Emily Gresbrink & Haley Zblewski

SPECTATORThe

www.spectatornews.com

Address: 104 Hibbard Hall, Eau Claire, WI 54701Telephone Number: (715) 836-4416

Fax Number: (715) 836-3829E-mail: [email protected]

The Spectator (UPS 509-820) is published Thursdays during the school year except for vacations and holidays. Distribution on campus is free. Annual subscriptions are mailed for $37. Second-class postage is paid at Eau Claire, WI 54701. The Spectator is a university publication published under the authority granted to the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. Publication costs are paid by the State of Wisconsin under contracts awarded by State Printing Section, State Department of Administration, State of Wisconsin, as provided in the State Printing Operational Bulletin 9-24, September, 1970. The Spectator, vol. 89, is published at Leader Printing, 1960 County TK 00., Chippewa Falls, Wis., 54729. The Spectator is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press and MCT Direct.

News TipsIf you have any news tips call (715) 836-4416 any time or stop by 104 Hibbard Hall.

Advertising and Business StaffAddress: 104 Hibbard Hall, Eau Claire, WI, 54701Editorial Office Phone Number: (715) 836-4416Advertising Office Phone Number: (715) 836-4366Business Office Phone Number: (715) 836-5618Fax Number: (715) 836-3829E-mail: [email protected] Deadlines: The deadline for retail advertising space is Friday at 3 p.m. for a Thursday issue. The deadline for classified advertising is the Tuesday prior to a Thursday issue. Students must pre-pay for their classified ads in The Spectator’s advertising office. Advertising Manager: Chelsea Jacobson Assistant Advertising Manager: Grace Flynn Classifieds Representative: Kirsten Redding Account Representatives: Hannah Lagerman, Ariel Wegner, Mitchell Wenzel Graphic Designer: Meghan Murphy Business Manager: Alex Schultz Assistant Business Manager: Jennifer Homeyer

Always check

spectatornews.comfor more stories and features!

The Spectator strives for accuracy. If you find any mistakes or have any questions, feel free to call (715) 836-4416 or e-mail the newspaper at [email protected].

CORRECTIONS

MIDGETWRESTLING

ATDOUBLE

DAYS!Feb. 16th- 8:30 PM$5 Cover

715.833.22553020 London Road

T H U R S D A Y

FEBRUARY 16SCHOFIELD AUDITORIUM

7:30 pm

TICKETS AT THE SERVICE CENTER AND DOOR

715.836.3727 · 800.949.UWEC

STUDENT TICKETS ARE 1/2 PRICE ($3.50)

UNTIL THE DAY OF THE EVENT

Artists Series « 2011–2012 season | we bring the world to you »

Core EnsembleOf Ebony Embers: Vignettes of the Harlem Renaissance

CLAUDE MCKAY | LANGSTON HUGHES | COUNTEE CULLEN

W W W . U W E C . E D U / A C T I V I T I E S

O’Halloran said the cards are directed toward out-of-state students in Eau Claire.

“Most students from Wisconsin have a driver’s license that complies with all of the necessary require-ments,” she said. “The vot-er IDs are the easiest way for out-of-state students to fulfill the requirements.”

Sophomore and Wis-consin native Eric Knutson said he thought the IDs were more beneficial to Minnesota residents.

“I think it’s more con-venient for people from Minnesota,” he said, “but it doesn’t affect me be-cause I have a Wisconsin driver’s license.”

Junior Corydon Fish is the director of Intergov-ernmental Affairs for Stu-dent Senate and was part of the process to estab-

lish voter ID cards as well as provide information to students.

“(The university) con-tacted me to create the PR campaign to not only help inform students about the voter ID laws but about the IDs themselves and how they can use them,” Fish said.

He also stated that any person who has a Wiscon-sin driver’s license must use it to register, but they don’t necessarily have to use it to vote.

Minnesota native Alex Cole likes that he’ll still have an easy way to be able to vote locally.

“I like the idea,” he said. “It’s good that I can easily vote on local issues that af-fect me while I’m in school because I’m here more than I’m at home.”

VOTER IDS from page 1A

New IDs geared to out-of-state students, valid for two years “The fact is, when you com-

post correctly there isn’t any smell,” Whited said.

Kramer hopes to have the compost installed and functional by Monday or Tuesday next week. She also plans to host a workshop for students who wish to learn how to compost themselves, al-though final details have yet to be sorted out.

Chancellors Hall Director Jer-ron Parker first mentioned the program to his residents late last semester. He was surprised at the number of students who had ex-perience composting in the past.

“I’ve never heard of compost-ing before because I’ve never lived in an area like this before,” Parker said. “But a lot of my residents do it at home or on the farm.”

Kramer said a bin will be pro-vided on the participating floor where residents can place items that can be broken down by the worms. Regular garbage bins will still be in place for things that cannot be used in composting.

Kramer said that expanding the program past Chancellors Hall in the future could prove difficult.

“The only concern is most of the other dorms don’t have

as much (room), so it probably wouldn’t be as big in the other dorms,” Kramer said.

Parker also cited the lack of kitchens in other halls as a reason why the program may struggle outside Chancellors Hall.

Chancellors Hall Council Pres-ident Preston Schmidt lives on the fifth floor and pushed for his floor to be the one chosen for the pilot program. But he plans to support the program and would love to see it succeed.

“Hopefully, it will expand to more floors if it goes well,” he said.

“The fact is, when you compost

correctly, there isn’t any smell.”

BRITTANY WHITED Student Office of Sustainability Director

COMPOST from page 1A

UNIVERSITY BRIEFS

Only second floor will get composting; expansion in hall possible in future

‘Sex Signals’ show to come to Eau Claire“Sex Signals,” a na-

tional show for students that explores the good, the bad and the ugly sides of college dating, will be presented at 4 p.m. on Feb. 15 in Schofield Auditorium.

The show is open and free to all UW-Eau Claire students.

The show incorpo-rates improvisation, hu-mor, education and audi-ence interaction to teach people about issues in dating, sex, consent,

domestic violence and sexual assault.

The show comes from Catharsis Productions, a theater production com-pany that aims to “reduce interpersonal violence by producing artistically innovative and research-supported programming that challenges oppres-sive attitudes, transforms behavior and inspires communities to create a world without violence,” according to the compa-ny’s website.

“Sex Signals” has been one of Catharsis Pro-ductions most popular shows since its inception in 2000.

The show last came to Eau Claire in 2010, when more than 200 stu-dents and community members attended the performance.

The event’s organizers said the audience found that year’s show infor-mative and entertaining, according to a university press release. They hope

for an even bigger turn-out this year.

Sponsors of the Feb. 15 show are the univer-sity’s Center for Alcohol Studies and Education, Center for Awareness of Sexual Assault, Hous-ing and Residence Life, Quick Wins for Leader-ship and the Women’s and LGBTQ Resource Center.

More information about the show can be found at www.catharsis-productions.com.

Sex offender to be released next week

Frederick

The Wisconsin De-partment of Corrections has notified the Univer-sity Police Department that sex offender David S. Frederick, date of birth July 11, 1959, will be re-leased from prison on Feb. 14, 2012.

Frederick was convict-ed of two counts of sec-ond degree sexual assault in Eau Claire County on

March 9, 1987. He will be staying at 107 Ran-dall St. in Eau Claire.

F r e d -erick will be on pa-role until

2025 and is on lifetime GPS

monitoring. His restric-tions include, but are not limited to:

• No alcohol or drug consumption.

• No rule or law vi-olations.

• Abide by geo-graphic restrictions, in-cluding being banned from the UW-Eau Claire campus. Call 9-1-1 if you see this person

on campus.Questions regarding

Frederick’s release should be directed to the Divi-sion of Community Cor-rections supervisor at 715-836-4764. The Uni-versity Police Department would like to remind the public that all sex offend-ers in Wisconsin are listed at http://offender.doc.state.wi.us/public.

spectatornews.comAlways check

News3AThursday, February 9, 2012 •

As a service to the community, The Spectator publishes upcoming events. Events must be submitted to The Spectator office by 5 p.m. Monday for the Thursday issue and will be published as space allows.

Campus CalendarR E C U R R I N G

E V E N T S

Campus Film Series: “A Peck on the Cheek”

Davies Theatre, Davies Center6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Thur. - Sun.

Foster Gallery Exhibit: Risk + Reward

Foster Gallery, Haas Fine Arts Center

10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mon. - Fri.

News Editors: Emily Gresbrink & Haley Zblewski

The Police Blotter is compiled from campus police files. All names have been withheld. Call 9-1-1 to report emergencies. Call the Anonymous Tipster Line at 855-5555 to report suspicious activity that is not in progress.

Thursday

• 3to4p.m.Black His-tory Month | Civil Rights Pilgrimage Promotion.DaviesCenter.

• 6:30to10p.m.NOTA Art Submission Night. Haas301.

Friday

• 8to10p.m. Myles Coyne and LOUP. The Cabin, Davies Center.

Saturday

• 8:30a.m.to1p.m.Civil Service Exams. Chancellor’sOffice.

• 8p.m.Salisbury Streets and Native Slang. TheCabin,DaviesCenter.

Sunday

• 2to3p.m.Guest Artist Recit-al: Kiyoshi Tamagawa. Phil-lipsRecitalHall,HaasFineArts.

Monday

• 5 to 6 p.m. Student Recital: David Behm, bass-trombone. Phillips Recital Hall, Haas FineArts.

Tuesday

• 7:30 p.m. Artists Series: The Core Ensemble, “Of Eb-ony Embers: Vignettes of the Harlem Renaissance.” SchofieldAuditorium.

• 1 to 2 p.m. Black History Month | Interracial Dat-ing Panel. Davies Center.

• 7p.m.Planetarium Show: Con-setellations, Myths and Leg-ends. Planetarium,PhillipsHall.

Wednesday

• 10:15to11:30a.m. Black His-tory Month | African Ameri-can Read-in. McIntyreLibrary.

• 12:10to12:50p.m. Landscape Dynamics of Oak-Savannah in the Lower Chippewa River Valley. OldLibrary1142.

A bitter littererFriday, Feb. 3

At 10:47p.m., an officer parkedonWater Streetnoticed a male subject walking along. The malespit on the ground as he walked past the squadcar and proceeded to throw out his cigarette buttimmediatelyafterwards.Theofficercaughtupwiththemanandtoldhim

thathehadlittered.Themansaiditwasnotabigdealandthatlotsof othersdothesame.Whenthepoliceofficeraskedhimtoproperlydisposeof thecigarettebutt,themansaidit“ain’tgoingtohappen.”The officer proceeded to issue a citation for prohib-

ited dumping to the man, answered his questions andproceededtoclearthescene.

The runawaysSunday, Feb. 5

At9:09p.m.,officersweresenttotheTowersFieldareaafterreceivingreportsof asuspiciousoldermanstumblingbythebushesoutsideof thebuilding.Thecallersreported

himbecauseof concernforhissafety.Officerscheckedtheareaandeventuallyfoundhimby

thelibrary.Themansaidhewasvisitingafriendoncam-pusbutneeded to return to theSojournerHouse for theevening.OneofficernoticedaninjuryabovehiseyeandaSacredHeartmedicalbracelet;themansaidhehadbeenatSacredHeartearlierthatdayandhadn’tremovedit.OfficersgavehimdirectionstotheSojournerHouse,andheleft.Withinthenextfewhours,theEauClairePoliceDepart-

mentreceivedamissingpersonreportfromSacredHeartaboutapatientwithheartproblemswhosteppedoutsidetosmokeandneverreturned.UniversityPolicerespondedandtoldthemaboutthemantheydirectedtotheSojournerHouse;shortlythereafter,thesamemancalled911andwasreturnedtoSacredHeart.

STUDENT SENATE

Senate approves agreement for copyright rules

Student Senatepassed two resolutionsand introduced twobills during its Mondaymeeting.Thefirst of the reso-

lutions on the table wasResolution 55-R-15, insupportof theCopyrightCompliance Agreement,introduced by SenatorBenKrall. Itwas passedwithavoicevote.Theuniversity’sCopy-

right Compliance Agree-ment is drafted each se-mesterbytheInformationTechnologyCommission,of whichKrallisdirector.It serves as a statementof the university’s policyonillegalfilesharingandliststhepunishmentstheuniversitywillissueif thepolicyisviolated.AccesstotheInternet

will be removed for 14days upon first violationand28daysuponsecondviolation.With a third viola-

tion, the computer willbe banned from the In-ternet for the remainderof the semester and thestudent will be requiredto meet with the Deanof Students.Krall said one of the

reasons the agreementshould be supported bySenate this semester isbecause year todate, thenumber of illegal down-loads on campus hasgonedown9percent.The second resolu-

tion passed was Resolu-tion 55-R-16, in supportof Assembly Bill 142.SenatorCorydonFishin-troduced the resolution,which was also passedwithavoicevote.If passed in theState

Senate,theAssemblybillwould allow for more

flexibility in the under-graduate careers of stu-dents who receive talentincentiveprogramgrants.Theamountof thegrantwould remain the same,not toexceed$1,800perstudent during a givenacademicyearandwouldstillbegivento“uniquelyneedystudents.”According to Assem-

blyBill142,thechangeitseeks is to “provide thatrecipients of talent in-centive grants need notmaintain continuous en-rollment in their highereducation institutions.Under thebill, recipientsare eligible to receivethosegrantsforuptotensemesters during a six-yearperiod.”“Recently, the state

legislature has been try-ing to modernize finan-cial aid because it hasn’tbeen touched in abouta decade, for most pro-grams,”Fishsaid.What is outdated

about current legislatureisthatitdoesn’tallowstu-dentstotaketimeoff of school,whichcouldharmstudents when it comestobuildingupworkexpe-rience,Fishsaid.Fish said that some

opponents of the billare worried that becausethismoneyisgiventotheneediestinsocietyif theyareallowedthechoicetoleave school for a year,theymaynotcomeback.Senatealsointroduced

twobills to be discussedat next week’s meeting:Bill 55-B-25, to adoptthe 2012-2013 Orga-nized Activities Budget,and Bill 55-B-26, fora special allocation toUW-EauClaireWomen’sVolleyball Club so theycan attend their nationaltournament.

By Haley ZblewskiNEWS EDITOR

Santorum’s wins shake up 2012 GOP presidential raceNominations remain split, may lead to divided August convention and weakened Republican candi-

By David LightmanMCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS (MCT)

Rick Santorum seized an impor-tant opportunity Tuesday to becomethe chief conservative alternative toMitt Romney, as he won Republicanpresidential contests in Missouri andMinnesota and appearedheaded for astrongshowinginColorado.Romney, a former Massachusetts

governor,was expected to remain thefront-runnerfortheGOPnominationnevertheless, thanks to his huge ad-vantagesincampaigncashandorgani-zationgoing forward, andhis impres-sive earlier wins in New Hampshire,FloridaandNevada.Still, the solid Santorum vote pro-

videdfreshevidencethat“Romney’sisa troubled candidacy,” said LawrenceJacobs, a professor of political sci-ence at the University of Minnesota.“Theoutcomeof the race is far fromcertain.”The strong showing by Santorum

made it clear that Romney isn’t yethis party’s consensus nominee. It sig-naled that theGOPnomination cam-paignmayremainabitterstruggleformonths, possibly leading to a dividedAugust convention and a weakenedcandidate against President BarackObamainthefall.In Minnesota’s caucuses, with 30

percentof precinctsreporting,Santo-rum,aformerU.S.senatorfromPenn-sylvania, had 46 percent. Texas Rep.RonPaulhad26percent,andRomney

trailed with 16 percent. Newt Gin-grich,formerSpeakerof theHouseof Representatives,had11percent.Rom-neywontheMinnesotaGOPcaucusesin2008.In Missouri, a crucial swing state

in theNovember elections, Santorumwas headed for a landslide. With 82percentof precinctsreporting,hehad55 percent to Romney’s 25 percent.Paulhad12percent.Gingrichwasnotontheballot.The Missouri vote was a non-

binding “beauty contest,” since nodelegates were at stake and candi-dates made little effort to campaignthere.ButSantorum’svictorygavehiscampaignrenewedmomentum.Santorum was also running close

to Romney in Colorado’s caucuses inpartial initial returns. A Romney lossinColoradowouldbeamajorstumble.Hewonthe2008caucustherewith60percentof thevote, campaignedhardtherethisweekandhostedanelectionnightrallyinDenver.NodelegateswerechosenTuesday.

Caucuses in Colorado andMinnesotabegan a process that will lead to del-egateselectionthereinAprilandMay.Missouri’s primary is a “beauty con-test”only;its52delegateswillbecho-seninstateandlocalconventionslaterthis spring. Tuesday’s contests wereabout influencing public opinion andbuildingmomentum.Turnoutinthethreestatesappeared

to be low; only about 60,000 votersturnedoutforMinnesota’s2008GOP

caucuses,inastatethatnowhasabout3millionregisteredvoters.Abouthalf the voters in Missouri and Minneso-ta were expected to be RepublicanswhoconsiderthemselvesconservativeChristians.Romney hoped to sustain the mo-

mentum he’d gained with big winsin Florida and Nevada over the pastweek. Butmany conservatives remain

uncomfortable with him. A Pew Re-search Center survey in late Januaryfound that52percentof Republicansrated the GOP presidential candidatefieldfairorpoor.Should conservatives rally around

Santorum—ortakefreshlooksatGin-grichorPaul—nocandidate is likelyto amass the 1,144 delegates neededfortheGOPnominationquickly.

JEFF WHEELER/MCTRepublican presidential candidate Ron Paul, the Texas Congressman, speaks at Maple Grove Junior High School in Maple Grove, Minn., on Tuesday amid Minnesota’s Republican caucuses.

Campus News4A • Thursday, February 9, 2012 News Editors: Emily Gresbrink & Haley Zblewski

Professors receive recognition for ad studiesAnalysis of Super Bowl commercials leads to discoveries on audience preferences about animals, sex

Super Bowl Sunday is not just about football; it’s also a day known for its unique commercials and advertising campaigns.

Rama Yelkur and Chuck Tomkovick, both professors of marketing at UW-Eau Claire who have been studying Super Bowl advertisements together since 1998, made a dis-covery that has recently garnered international attention.

This year, their re-search focused on sex appeal in ads, and the data they collected has shown that provocative ads are less liked among viewers. Those ads that dealt with sex were given low ratings, while commercials that had to do with animals, specifically dogs, and children were rated high.

Yelkur said sex appeal does not nec-

essarily drive ad likeability on its own. It must have other factors, such as humor, to drive them higher in rankings.

“Our theory is that people are watching in a family atmosphere and this is not the time they want to see racy ads,” Yelkur said.

Yelkur and Tomkovick said that not only is the timing off, but sexiness is simply not enough.

“Sex appeal works when you have a cover story,” Tomkovick said. “If you are doing a Victoria’s Secret ad, selling that kind of appeal, that makes sense. But normally you need something in addition to sex appeal.”

According to Tomkovick, well over a thousand ads have been studied by he and Yelkur. The Super Bowl runs an average of 50 ads and they watch each of them about five to 10 times.

“We have studies where we predict what will be likable and people have been following our scripts,” Tomkovick said. “We have been saying animals and celebrities and humor and you know what, the dogs ran away with the show last night.”

The research has also been impor-

tant in other ways. It is not just about predicting and paving the way to future advertising techniques, but it’s also bringing attention to the university.

“Students get published from our university, I love that,” Tomkovick said. “Our university gets its name into the press.”

Tomkovick started off by talking to his marketing students about the Super Bowl advertisements.

“It’s the biggest day in adver-tising, and I teach advertising, and you can’t beat the real thing,” Tomkovick said.

Senior Kristen Mitrenga believes that sex appeal is not always the best tool to use, especially when you are around others besides your friends.

“I watched the Super Bowl with my parents, and I was like, ‘Oh, God,’” she said. “ I didn’t want to explain them to my parents. I thought it was just a little too much. It is supposed to be a family entertainment program and having those provocative ads ruins the experience for some younger viewers.”

Mitrenga said these ads may be effec-tive for some people, but they did not

influence her to buy the products being sold.

However, not ev-eryone feels that the provocative com-mercials should have been given such a low rating. Sopho-more Jesse Martinez thinks that they were efficient.“I thought they

were just fine. I didn’t have any problems with them. They got me to want to buy a Fiat,” said Martinez, in reference to one particular car advertisement.

However, Tomkovick feels that lack of creativity sometimes leads to com-mercials that use sex appeal, he said.

“It’s kind like profanity for a comedian,” he said. “If you are not very funny, then maybe you can swear and people will laugh a little bit with your swear-ing. So if you are not good at advertising, I supposed that you could use over-the-top sex appeal to be noticed, but the key in marketing is not to run a freak show but to have some respect.”

By Emily AlbrentCOPY EDITOR

Tomkovick

Martinez

Foreign language course teaches students of many agesCollege students in class learn how to educate children, gain practical experience in the classroom

This spring, students enrolled in “Teaching Foreign Language Grades 1-8” will get hands-on experience teaching elementary school students a foreign language.

“It’s a wonderful oppor-tunity for our teacher can-didates and for the local children,” said Anne Hlas, an associate professor of Span-ish who is teaching the class this spring.

Hlas says the class is being offered so teaching students can gain practical experience in the classroom and learn valuable skills about educating young people.

The classes will be offered for elementary school students in grades first through fifth and will take place from 4:10 to 4:50 p.m. on Thursdays from March 29 through May 10 in Hibbard Hall.

Due to high demand, some college students enrolled in the course will also travel to area elementary schools to teach during the program, Hlas said. Elementary students can choose between beginning French, beginning German and beginning Spanish.

The project got started about 25 years ago by Roma Hoff, a language professor whose son, Paul Hoff, now teaches language at Eau Claire. The course meets every spring, according to Hlas, who has taught the class four times. She and Hoff alternate years teach-ing the course.

Shanna Kropp, a senior elementary education and Spanish teaching major, partici-pated in a version of the pro-gram last year. Her class, taught by Hoff, divided into pairs and traveled to area elementary schools during the course’s meeting time for about six weeks.

“For me, it was really nice to experience teaching Spanish, because it was the first experi-ence I’ve ever had teaching it,” Kropp said, adding that she and her partner had to build their own lesson plans and come up with

activities to fit in the time frame.Kropp said the stu-

dents picked up the language pretty quickly.

“For our last day, we had a party, and parents came in,” Kropp said. “It was really interesting to hear from them how much the kids would come home and try to teach them what they learned in Spanish.”

When the course wasn’t teaching the elementa-ry students, the college students were learning about language acquisi-tion and how students learn languages, Kropp said.

“This semester we’re really focusing on high-lever-age teaching practices,” Hlas said, citing asking better ques-tions of the students as one example. The course will also help the teacher candidates to provide better student assess-ments and make classes more comprehensible, Hlas said.

“I think that this program is wonderful, not only for the teacher candidates but also for

the local children,” Hlas said. “That’s really what we’re about, trying to promote languages at an early level, to help them appreciate cultures, improve their understanding of their own language, (and have) greater sensitivity to languages.”

Students that learn a foreign language at a young age are also better listeners and have better memory skills, Hlas said.

Enrollment is limited to 15 students per class, with at least 25 already enrolled in the program to date. The course is free, but parents are encouraged to contribute one after-school treat for the students during the program.

“It’s a wonderful

opportunity

for our teacher

candidates and for

the local children.”

ANNE HLAS Associate Professor

of Spanish

By Taylor KuetherCHIEF COPY EDITOR

Free tax program provides services to students, faculty

Completing tax returns can be tricky, confusing or downright terrifying to some.

However, there are oppor-tunities being provided by the UW-Eau Claire Department of Accounting and Finance to help students and staff fill out their returns, including a program offered on campus.

According to senior Britni Stensen, who works at the on-campus site, two different options are available. One of these options is located on campus, where students can show up and do their own taxes with help from accounting students like Stensen if requested.

A Jan. 17 news release from the College of Business stated that a second option is to have a tax preparer complete the tax returns. That service is open Monday through Wednes-day at two different locations: Western Dairyland (Mon-days) and the RCU Shopko South Office (Tuesdays and Wednesdays).

Individuals wishing to use this program need to have an income less than $50,000, according to the news release.

For students who would

benefit more by visiting a place to prepare their taxes at the university, Stensen said the on-campus site is open Monday and Wednesday from 1 to 5 p.m. The site is located in Schneider 322.

Accounting and Finance professor Brenda Thalacker said that students and staff can utilize this service if their income is under $57,000. Both of these services take advantage of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.

According to Thalacker, VITA is a service through the Internal Revenue Service with a goal to grant the ability of low-income individuals or families to file their taxes without worrying about needing to pay a professional.

“It is kind of spendy to pay to have your tax return filed,” Thalacker said, adding that many individuals with low incomes can't always afford to pay someone to prepare their taxes.

Stensen said that students can schedule appointments for the on-campus location, but they can also just walk in and use a computer if one is available.

Freshman Marjorie Carlson said that she lets her dad take care of her tax returns each year, but

she has always been interested to know how to complete them herself. She added that the free tax filing program is a great idea to offer students, especially with the benefit it provides by letting students to do their own returns rather than relying on others.

Thalacker said that using the VITA program on campus has advantages over both paying a professional to file the tax return and allowing students' parents to do the return for them.

The obvious benefit this service has over paying a tax preparer is that the VITA program is free, Thalacker said. She also explained that it is less of a hassle for students to do their taxes here than shipping off all their tax information to their parents.

Individually completing one's own tax return also adds a life skill that Thalacker said everyone will eventually need to learn.

“I would encourage students to take that additional step of independence,” Thalacker said. “After you graduate you would typically want to take care of your own tax returns, whether it is going to someone to prepare it or if you want to do it yourself.”

Campus sites offer guidance; people making less than $50,000 can have taxes done completely by service By Alex ZankCOPY EDITOR

GRAPHIC BY BRIAN MILLER/The Spectator

Those interested can reg-ister online at www.uwec.edu/Flang/news/events

by March 1.

“In fifth grade, we had bags set up so we could give Valentine cards. We went up one by one and had to give each person a card, and I had a crush on one of my friends. I went to put it in her bag first, and then one of my friends yelled, ‘He’s putting it in Lind-sey’s bag because he has a crush on her!’ I just remember my face was so red, and I was so embar-rassed that I ran out of the room.” – Tyler Loomis, freshman

CurrentsThursday, February 9, 2012 • 5Awww.spectatornews.comCurrents Editor: Katie Hoffman

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“The vow”Starring: Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum, Sam NeillPlot: A husband tries to win back his new bride’s heart after she loses her memory in a car accident.Release date: Feb. 10

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“My senior year of high school, I had just been dumped, and my other friends just got boyfriends, so we decided to get together and make t-shirts for Valentine’s Day. So we got black shirts, and I wrote ‘Crappy Valentine’s Day’ with a grenade where my heart’s sup-posed to be. The girls who had boyfriends wrote happy things, but it was just a really fun time and showed that Valentine’s Day can be about friends, not just boyfriends.” – Ivy Kemnetz, sophomore

Pulling on the heartstrings

“My high school did this thing where you could send Valentine cards to other stu-dents. My sophomore year, I just went through a breakup and my friends all got together and sent me a bunch of gifts and candy and put notes in my locker. It made me feel really special when I didn’t think I’d get anything.” – Kaitlyn Van Asten, freshman

“I was in high school, and my boy-friend decided to get me a candy rose, and he somehow got it into my locker. I’m not sure how he got it in there, but I was sharing the locker with a friend at the time, and she thought I put it in there for her, so she ate it. Later in the day, he asked me if I got the chocolate rose, and I said no, and he then acted like he was just joking. I found out after that my friend ate it and felt so awful for my boyfriend.” – Ali Ciatti, junior

“One time when I was actually dating someone, we decided to go out for a nice dinner. It wasn’t su-per fancy, but we got all dressed up. I think we were both so ner-vous about the date that we both ended up just getting a salad be-cause we didn’t want to eat any-thing. It was so embarrassing.” – Sarah Bradford, junior

By Emily GresbrinkNEWS EDITOR

The lights rise on a platform in front of a black curtain. There is a collective gasp as 42 strings and two hands walk an elephant onstage, where he lifts his trunk and eats an apple.

The Cashore Mari-onettes performed their vignettes of “Life in Mo-tion” Tuesday night in Schofield Auditorium as part of the Artists Series.

More than 10 stringed puppets, operated by Jo-seph Cashore, created vari-ous scenes of life set to classic music — whether

it was a young boy flying a kite on a blustery day or a horse running through a pasture.

Sophomore Em-ily Hawk said a professor recommended she attend the performance — and it ended up being something she didn’t expect.

“It was insane how much emotion came out of it without words and just music and movement,” she said. “You couldn’t even notice he was behind the puppet. You just saw the puppet itself.”

Nicole Rindone, the arts and events coordina-tor for the Artists Series, said the Cashore Mario-

nettes were brought in be-cause the show is unique.

“We learned about Jo-seph Cashore through a booking and managing service previously used by the university,” she said. “It’s different to have a marionette group here.”

Cashore said the show went well for him.

“It was great, especially if everything is going right, but when something goes wrong it’s flustering and can be tough,” he said.

Despite one minor technical hiccup — a pup-pet “dropped” a flower — Cashore said the Eau Claire audience was great, and they connected with

the performance.“I like the feeling of

communication with the audience, that we’re watch-ing the same thing and that feeling of attention in the room,” Cashore said. “It’s hard to put your finger on it or put it in words.”

The Cashore Mari-onettes have performed internationally since 1990, with 120 to 160 shows an-nually. Each puppet, built from scratch, takes six months or more to make, Cashore said.

“The more complicat-ed and specific the move-ments are, the longer it takes,” he said. “They don’t always work out the first try either.”

During the show, the audience viewed a variety of scenes in the 90-min-ute presentation. All of the puppets were oper-ated by Cashore and the stage was set up with the help of his wife, Wilma Cashore.

Hawk said a favorite moment of hers was a scene where a mother rocked her squirmy baby to sleep to Brahm’s “Lullaby.”

“It brought back mem-ories of when my brother was little,” she said. “It was just the little things that the character did were simi-lar things that my mom used to do.”

The Artists Series showcase a variety of different events with theatre and music. The Cashore Marionettes were theatre and music in one performance.

Rindone said it’s al-

ways tough to know how people will re-act to a show such as this, but this show was an exception.

“I think because it is unique, that’s what draws people in,” she said. “There’s not a lot of marionettes or plac-es to see puppet shows around here.”

Next week, the Artists Series reconvenes with a performance of “Of Ebony Embers: Vignettes of the Harlem Renais-sance.” The performance is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Schofield Auditorium. Tickets are available at the Service Center.

Like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’ll get with love and relationships. This Valentine’s Day, love vicariously through several students’

stories of their best and worst romantic experiences.

SUBMITTED PHOTOS/The SpectatorThe Cashore Marionettes performed “Life in Motion” Tuesday night in Schofield Au-ditorium. Performed by Joseph Cashore, the show featured scenes taken from every-day life and set to classical music.

“It was insane

how much

emotion

came out of

it without

words and

just music and

movement.”

EMILY HAWK Sophomore

Marionette performance features hand-made puppets in one-man show

Learn more about Joseph Cashore and his marionettes

by visiting their website, cashoremarionettes.com

Currentswww.spectatornews.comCurrents Editor: Katie Hoffman Thursday, February 9, 2012 • 6A

It’s goodto look at

different perspective!

�e SpectatorOnline Edition

things in a

www.spectatornews.com

The stores are crowded with pink and red cards, flowers, chocolate, and balloons.

You don’t need to tell me how delicious Dove chocolates are, but wouldn’t you love to give your valentine something more personal? I think a homemade present is always a better way to go.

Since food is the way to a man’s heart, I thought I’d put it to the test by baking up some Nutella heart-shaped cookies. Who doesn’t love Nutella?

I started by beating the butter, Nutella and sugar together in a mixer. Now let me just tell you, I really hate mixers. Every mixer is different, and it takes some time getting used to a new one. My small, hand-

held one mysteriously went missing, so I was forced to use my roommate’s super old mixer. And when I say “super old,” I mean it looks like it’s from the ‘70s — complete with the popular pea-green color.

Once I threw in the dry ingredients, the beaters kept falling out, forcing the mixer to make a scary clunking noise. And the dough was so thick that it got caught, so I had to stop and mix it with my hands a few times.

I’m not sure if the dough got stuck because the mixer was so old or if it was because it was so dense, but the recipe I found online recommended that I add a little cream to thin it out. That helped a lot.

After I cut the cookies out in shape of hearts, I put them on a cookie sheet and baked them for 12 minutes. Like the mixer, though, my oven is an oldie. Some of the cookies came out kind of hard, so I’d recommend baking them for about 10 minutes instead.

Then came the best part about the cookies: decorating them. I added red food coloring to white frosting, and with help from my boyfriend and roommate, my Nutella heart-shaped cookies were looking beautiful and ready to give as Valentine’s Day gifts.

Tuesday Wustrack is a senior English major and staff writer of The Spectator.

I’m back in fifth grade, clad in my blue wind pants and high ponytail tied up with a scrunchie. I’m eating a chocolate dilly bar from Dairy Queen. I’m sitting an inch away from the TV with my sister, soaking in the excessive teenage drama on “Two of a Kind.” Oh, the memories.

Television has evolved over the years, producing shows like “Leave It to Bea-ver” in the 1950s and ‘60s

to “M*A*S*H” in the ‘70s to today’s “Jersey Shore.” But no era supplied better TV shows than the ‘90s.

“Boy Meets World,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “Full House” and “Step by Step” (which, by the way, took place in Wis-consin) embody that sim-pler time. Anyone remem-ber these? I spent countless Friday nights relaxing with my family and friends, laughing and crying right along with the characters as their lives played out for my entertainment.

ABC’s Friday night pro-gramming block TGIF gave families a reason to stay home and enjoy a quiet night of wholesome en-tertainment. A play on its original acronym “Thank God it’s Friday,” TGIF also stood for “Thank Good-ness it’s Funny.” Other feel-good sitcoms included “Family Matters,” “Han-gin’ with Mr. Cooper,” “Perfect Strangers” and “Sister, Sister.”

Feelings of nostalgia prompted ABC writer and producer Jim Janicek to

By Tuesday WustrackSTAFF WRITER

create the program. As a kid, he spent his evenings around the TV bonding with his family and wanted to bring that feeling back for other American families to experience.

I still watch these shows on a regular basis. When I’m feeling stressed, sick or just plain nostalgic, I watch the shows featured on the TGIF lineup. Not only are the laugh track and cheesy life lessons hilarious, but they also make me feel safe in a way. For just those 30 minutes, I’m back in my 10-year-old, worry-free life. I’m at home.

TUESDAY WUSTRACK/The Spectator

Online this week at spectatornews.com

Tweet @SpectatorNews to find out about your favorite

childhood memory!

Scan this QR code to get the recipe that Tuesday used for her Valentine’s Day treat!

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SportSThursday, February 9, 2012 • 1Bwww.spectatornews.comSports Editor: Frank F. Pellegrino

The UW-Eau Claire men’s ten-nis team opened their season with a pair of matches on Saturday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The team lost 3-6 to Coe College (Iowa) in their early match, but they bounced back in their afternoon match with an 8-1 win over Westminster College (Mo.).

Coach Tom Gillman said he was pleased with the way his team was able to perform during such a long day.

“We have a good group, and we definitely took on a challenge day,” Gillman said. “We basically played for eight hours straight, and the guys were up for that, didn’t com-plain and kept trying hard, so it just comes down to us trying to learn and continue to strive to get better.”

Sophomore Ryan Vande Linde competed in No. 2 doubles and No. 3 singles against Coe, winning his singles match 7-5, 7-5.

“I thought we played pretty well,” Vande Linde said. “We kind of expected to beat Coe, but they’re a really good team. They played pretty well (and) we just didn’t execute all the way.”

The team has a relatively young starting lineup with one freshman and two sophomores, including No. 6 singles player sophomore Joe Meier, who beat his Coe opponent 6-2, 6-2.

“We thought we’d have some strength at the top of the line up, but I’m happy to see that it looks like we’ll be a deep team,” Gill-man said. “Some of the young guys showed a lot of potential this week-end, so that bodes very well for the rest of the season.”

Senior Chris Kuna, who plays in the No. 1 spot for both singles and doubles, views the less-experi-enced players as an asset rather than a detriment.

“We have some young guys in our starting lineup, which is good.” Kuna said. “I like the opportunity to lead younger guys.”

Coach Gillman said the team is adjusting to a new doubles roster and working on staying relaxed dur-ing matches.

“I asked the players to com-pete the whole day and give a good effort and hustle and have a good attitude, and I think they did a lot of that,” Gillman said. “I think that’s the number one thing, the major things we’re look-ing for, so I was happy that we start-ed the season with very good effort and guys competing hard.”

Although the team is somewhat inexperienced, Vande Linde said they are confident in their abilities and determined to succeed as the season progresses.

“Our big goal at the end of year is to get into the NCAA tourna-ment, but we’re just going to take it one match at a time,” Vande Linde said. “This is a really good team, so I think we have a lot of potential to go far.”

The Blugolds will next face Car-thage College at 7 p.m. on Friday in Winona, Minn.

Vande Linde

Kuna

Tennis splits pair to open season

Men drop first match 3-6, follow up with decisive 8-1 victory

By Anna SoldnerCOPY EDITOR

Hockey suffers narrow losses Blugolds out-shoot UW-River Falls, UW-Stout, struggle to find back of net

CAMILLE GERSTENHABER/The SpectatorJunior Jordan Singer battles for the puck with UW-Stout’s Garrett Grimstad in Friday night’s 2-0 loss. The Blugolds fell to 11-10-2 overall after the defeat.

The UW-Eau Claire men’s hockey team lost both games last week, the first to UW-River Falls on the road Thursday, the second to UW-Stout in a shutout at home on Friday.

In Thursday’s game the Blugolds fell to River Falls 3-2. River Falls outshot Eau Claire 26-22 over the dura-tion of game, but the Blu-golds had more shots in both the first and second period.

The Blugolds faltered a bit in the third period, some-thing freshman forward Ross Andersen said he’s noticed.

“We’ve been playing de-cent the first two per iods,” Andersen said. “We just kind of have to come to-gether as a team in the third period and finish out games. It seems to be our biggest weakness the last four games.”

Andersen scored both of Eau Claire’s goals on Thurs-day, earning the first goal of the night at 9:41 in the first period. Sophomore defense-

man David Donnellan and senior forward Tyler Ro-masco assisted on the goal. However, less than a minute later, River Falls freshman Steve Zierke was able to tie the game.

In the second period, Andersen scored the sec-ond goal for the Blugolds at 1:56, assisted by Romasco again and junior forward Jordan Singer.

“Our line was just play-ing well together,” Andersen said. “(The goals) were both rebounds. It was just good work by the other guys on my line, and I just happened to be in the right spot.”

The Falcons quickly tied up the game again, scoring at 3:33 in the second and scoring the winning goal at 11:49.

Coach Matt Loen said the team has been playing well, but they’re still having trou-ble getting goals.

“I think we’re a better team than we were last year, but we’re in the same spot as we were last year,” Loen said. “So it’s frustrating.”

Loen said that the other teams have been capitalizing on small mistakes made by the Blugolds, something the team doesn’t do with its op-ponents.

By Haley ZblewskiNEWS EDITOR

See HOCKEY, page 2B

Andersen

The UW-Eau Claire men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams both put together strong performances at last weekend’s Pointer Invite.

The invite, hosted by UW-Stevens Point, featured 14 dif-ferent teams in the men’s com-

petition and 13 teams in the women’s competition.

MenThe men’s team earned a total

of five event victories on their way to a first place finish at the meet. Their 176.5 total points

was well ahead of second-place Stevens Point’s 121.

Eau Claire saw their strongest performance in the 400-meter dash, where they had the top finishers in the event. Fresh-man Cody Prince led the way with his time of 50.00 seconds. Senior Patrick Mackin wasn’t far behind in second with his time of 50.09.

The men again saw strong performances from their throw-ers, who earned four of the top five places in the shot put. Senior Joe Lilek took first overall, while fellow senior Tyler Genovese placed second.

Genovese earned third place in the weight throw with his 18.14-meter toss. Senior Tony Sigrist placed first in the event with a 19.55-meter throw.

WomenThe women’s team also

earned five event victories at the meet. Their 100 points tied them for second place at the meet with Northern Michigan University.

Senior Julia Baranek stood

out for the Blugolds with her first place finish in the high jump. Her attempt of 5-7.75 broke the old school record of 5-7.25, set in 1996.

Other top finishers for Eau Claire were the 4x400-meter re-lay team featuring seniors Jor-danne Greenup and Talisa Em-berts and freshmen Steph Rouse and Brooke Patterson. The four runners put together a time of 4:01.98, more than six seconds faster than any other team.

Freshman Lucy Ramquist was a top finisher for the Blugolds with her 5:14.80 time in the mile run.

The women throwers also had a strong showing for Eau Claire. Senior Brittany Fred-erick took first place in the weight throw with her toss of 16.71-meters, nearly a full meter further than any of her competitors.

Up next for both teams is the Brooks Classic on Saturday at UW-River Falls.

—The Spectator Staff

FRANK F. PELLEGRINO/The SpectatorSenior Tyler Genovese works on the shot put during the team’s practice Wednesday at McPhee Center. Genovese earned second in the shot put at last weekend’s meet while also taking third in the weight throw.

Track and field teams dominate Pointer InviteMen take first overall, earn five event victories in 14-team meet; women also win five, place second overall

Isn’t it weird that there are 10 teams in the Big 12 and 12 teams in the Big Ten? I’ll answer that question if you’re scrambling for an answer.

Yes, it’s very odd.Well the truth is that the Big Ten has been

pretty wishy-washy about their name since the conference’s inception. They just can’t ever seem to get it right.

The original seven members formed the “Western Conference,” which they went by from 1896-1899. What a crappy name, huh?

Since then, they’ve gone back and forth

between referring to themselves as the Big Nine and Big Ten, sticking with the latter since 1950. The funny thing is that they were a seven-school, eight-school, nine-school and 10-school Big Nine. Likewise, they’ve been a nine-school, 10-school, 11-school and now 12-school Big Ten.

Now, as comical as their Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs – Diddy – Swag – P. Diddy – Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs – Puff – Puffy – Puff Dad-dy – like name changes have gone, it shows the conference is willing to evolve as times change, even if means going back on a stance they had already taken.

This point became evident again this week when leaders of the Big Ten met and decided they would support a four-team playoff to decide the national champion, according to a Chicago Tribune report.

All of the Big Ten’s athletic directors are comfortable with the idea, according to the report, and Ohio State’s Gene Smith was quoted as saying, “We need to do something different.”

What the Big 10 is suggesting would be a four-team playoff where the top two seeds would host the semi-final games. After that, the national championship game would then be hosted at a neutral site between the winners.

This, of course, is amusing because the

Southeastern Conference proposed basically the same thing in 2008. The problem was that the Big Ten, Pac-10, Big East and Big 12 all shot it down.

Luckily for college football fans ev-erywhere, the Big Ten conference contin-ued their wishy-washy ways and changed their mind.

The proposal comes on the heels of an all-time boring national championship game between two SEC schools. The game was a rematch of a low-scoring affair from earlier in the year and resulted in the lowest rated BCS title game in their 14-year existence, accord-ing to a USA Today report.

I’m glad the Big Ten figured out what any fan could have told them: fans are bored of the current setup.

It’s not just that we don’t think it’s fair, it’s that we’ve gotten sick of seeing the class of the SEC versus whoever the next best school

is.

By Frank F. PellegrinoSPORTS EDITOR

Big Ten proposal for four team playoff in college football would be ideal for all parties involved

See FRANK, page 2B

Weekly Online ExclusivesTuesdaysMondays

Weekly Major League Baseball

column by Emily Gresbrink

Weekly Fantasy Baseball podcast for beginners and expe-

rienced players alike. Featuring plenty of

nonsense to keep everyone (hopefully) entertained.

Weekly NBA

column by Chris Reinoos

Look for live-tweets from

our reporters at home events!

Follow us at:@SpectatorNews

SportSwww.spectatornews.com Sports Editor: Frank F. Pellegrino2B • Thursday, February 9, 2012

ELIZABETH JACKSON/The SpectatorJunior Nick Bartlett tries to find an open teammate while a UW-River Falls’ Brian Kimble guards him. Bartlett was the leading scorer for Eau Claire with 11 points in the 63-41 loss.

Falcons ground men’s basketballBlugolds struggle to 27.3 percent shooting in loss

The UW-Eau Claire’s men’s basketball team lost 63-41 to the UW-River Falls Fal-cons Saturday night at Zorn Arena.

The Blugolds shot a season-low 27.3 percent from the floor, while posting a sea-son-low point total as the Falcons ran away with the game early. Coach Kyle Green said he thought toughness was a big factor in his team’s play Saturday night.

“It came down to physicality, physi-cal toughness, physical strength,” Green said. “(River Falls is) a strong team; in this league, you need to be able to respond to physical play.”

Eau Claire was unable to keep up with that physical play from the Falcons, as they were outrebounded 42-29 and allowed four Falcon players to score in double figures.

Eau Claire had the lead with just under nine minutes to play in the first half after junior forward Nick Craggs hit a three-pointer to make the score 14-13, but that would be the last lead they would have.

The Falcons closed out the first half with a 15-7 run and that mo-mentum carried over into the second half. Blugolds senior center James Pfitzinger thought those runs were a crucial part in the game.

“We were looking to come out in the second half strong, and they hit some big shots on us, and I think we lost our compo-sure a little bit at that point,” Pfitzinger said. “That really contributed to us not staying focused.”

The Blugolds were held scoreless for 6:28 of game play in the second half, and at one point trailed by as many as 27 points.

Eau Claire’s top scor-er this season, junior Jor-dan Petersen, scored one point on 0-10 shooting from the floor on Satur-day. Including Saturday’s loss, Peterson is averag-ing 14.8 points per game for the season.

Junior guard Nick Bartlett had a team-high 11 points, while Pfitzinger contributed a double-double, recording 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The loss puts the Blugolds at 14-8 on the year, with a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record of 6-7. They are one game behind UW-Superior for a first-round home playoff game with three conference games remaining.

Senior forward Shane Manor led the charge for the Falcons, pouring in 14 points, and senior center Wade Guerin chipped in 12 points and 11 rebounds. The win gives UW-River Falls a record of 16-5 overall with a 10-2 record in the WIAC.

The Blugolds will travel to Menomonie on Feb. 11 to face the UW-Stout Blue Dev-ils. Stout has a record of 6-15 heading into the match-up with the Blugolds

Once again, focus has been a topic of interest for many Blugold players, and ju-nior guard Nick Bartlett was no exception.

“We have to keep working hard through-out the entire week,” Bartlett said. “Staying focused, staying committed and under-standing the principles that we have to play by if we are going to win.”

By David HeilingSTAFF WRITER

Craggs

Petersen

Women’s hoops fall by single point

The UW-Eau Claire women’s bas-ketball team lost a close game on Sat-urday at Zorn Arena, falling to the UW-River Falls Falcons by a score of 60-59.

The Blugolds went ahead by one with just more than 1:30 to play on a jump shot by senior forward Nicole Christianson. However, River Falls responded when senior guard Tiffany Gregorich hit a layup with 15 seconds left to put the Falcons up 60-59 and give them the win.

Coach Tonja Englund said the team’s offense worked well, but they weren’t able to get defensive stops when the game was close.

“The difference is going to be a loose ball, an offensive board, a free throw,” Englund said. “That’s the dif-ference maker.”

Senior forward Callie Halama had a team-high 15 points and said that when the team’s outside shots aren’t falling, they need to focus on the other end of the floor.

“If that’s not going, defensive stops are the key,” Halama said. “As long as we get defensive stops, then we would have been fine.”

Senior point guard Laura Olson had eight points and two steals, and she said the team need-ed defensive stops on key possessions, and just couldn’t get them.

“There was a point in the game that we traded pos-sessions and we couldn’t get a defensive stop,” Olson said. “That’s what I think it came down to.”

Eau Claire had 18 assists on 26 field goals, which Englund attributed to the team’s good ball movement and their ability to make the extra pass. Gre-gorich was the game’s leading scorer with 21 points, and Englund said she thought it came down to River Falls’ go-to guard play and Eau Claire’s go-to post play.

“I think both teams got what they wanted with their strengths,” Englund said. “The difference was we didn’t do a better job stopping their strength.”

Englund said one thing the team needs to work on go-ing into the last part of the year is their possession-to-pos-session play in close games, especially get-ting stops on defense and taking care of the ball on offense.

“It’s good experi-ence, a game like this, because obviously in the postseason this is going to happen,” Englund said.

The loss brings the Blugolds to 17-5 on the year, with a 10-3 record in Wis-consin Intercollegiate Athletic Confer-ence play. After being in first place in the WIAC for most of the year, Eau Claire is now second behind UW-Ste-vens Point. Halama said the team’s fo-cus for their last three games needs to be on their home court advantage, with two of their final three at home.

Olson said having the pressure of first place can be too much, but the team has done well dealing with it dur-ing the year.

“It’s going to be a huge game, and hopefully we can come out on top,” Olson said.

The team’s final regular season game of the year is at home against confer-ence-leading Stevens Point on Feb. 18.

The Blugolds are back in action next week, when they travel to UW-Stout to take on the Blue Devils.

Loss to River Falls drops team to second in WIACBy Spenser BickettCHIEF COPY EDITOR

Olson

Englund

Women’s BasketballWIAC Standings (as of 2/8)

1. UW-Stevens Point 11-2, (19-3)2. UW-Eau Claire 10-3, (17-5)3. UW-River Falls 9-3, (17-4)4. UW-Whitewater 9-4, (17-5)5. UW-La Crosse 8-5, (15-7)6. UW-Superior 4-9, (10-11)7. UW-Platteville 4-10, (8-15)8. UW-Stout 2-11, (6-16)9. UW-Oshkosh 1-11, (7-14)

HOCKEY from page 1B

“(Thursday) they flipped the puck up, our (de-fense) tried to play it and he missed it, and they went in on a breakaway,” he said. “It’s just little things like that where the other teams are scoring goals, and we’re not.”

Friday’s shutout loss against Stout was another tough game for the Blugolds, who out-shot their I-94 rivals in each period. By the time the game was over, Eau Claire had a 49-32 lead in shots but still dropped the game 2-0.

After a scoreless first period, Stout got on the board first at 13:56 in the second period and solidified their win with another goal at 13:06 in the third.

The Blugolds had five straight minutes with a

power play to start the second period, but were un-able to score.

This was due in part to Stout’s junior goalie Tom Lecovich, who saved 21 shots in the second period, something that Romasco said was tough to play against.

“We ran into a hot goalie, for sure,” Romasco said. “Hat’s off to the Stout goaltender. He played a great game. We went to the net hard, but we just couldn’t bang in a rebound.”

In net for the Blugolds was freshman goalie Andrew Martin, who saved a total of 30 shots in the game.

Next weekend will be the last two games of the Blugolds’s regular season.

Freshman goalie has 30 saves

FRANK from page 1BBCS should follow lead from Big Ten, know

when to concede, make changes

The problem is, it’s gotten stale and I think even SEC fans would agree the same sto-ryline every year has become a yawn-a-thon.

It’s unfortunate just how much bowl money has gotten in the way of a playoff. Every-one gets a mega-payday with the current setup. Schools, conferences and the bowls themselves all make hefty sums of cash.

I think the biggest reason, the fear of losing money, is unfortunate because I don’t really understand how it would be true. The top four teams would make the ‘playoffs’ and all of the rest of the teams would still go to bowls.

I actually see the potential for even more TV money with the addition of the two high profile semi-final games.

Several athletic directors seemed worried about the potential for this proposal to

leave bowls that historically have had conference ties — like the Rose Bowl with the Big Ten — falling by the wayside. I don’t really see why this would have to be the case either.

If the semi-finals were held soon after each conference title game, the losers would and should still be eligible for bowls. With more than a month between the end of the season and national champi-onship, I think we have time to squeeze in the semi-finals well ahead of any of the top bowls.

I truly do not see a nega-tive to this proposal. All of the money would still be on the ta-ble, and potentially even more could be with the addition of two more high profile games. Likewise, the historical aspect of certain bowls would still be there.

And, most importantly, it would give the fans what they want. Something that is fresh

and something that is fair.Although fans have been

begging for any form of a playoff for years, this is the first time I’ve thought it would receive legitimate consid-eration. All 11 of the Bowl Championship Series confer-ences have already met to dis-cuss the potential for changes starting in 2014.

This proposal would provide drastic improve-ments while making only minor changes.

I hope the BCS can take a page from the Big Ten’s book and evolve with the times, even if it means going back on a stance they had already tak-en. As the saying goes, better late than never.

Pellegrino is a senior print journalism major and Sports Editor of The Spec-tator. ‘Let me be Frank’ is a weekly column.

CAMILLE GERSTENHABER /The Spectator Sophomore Jared Wil-liams skates up the ice on Friday against UW-Stout senior Bran-den Gay. Although the Blugolds out-shot their opponents 49-32, they ultimately dropped the game 2-0.

OpiniOnThursday, February 9, 2012 • 3BOp/Ed Editor: Eric Christenson

Carolyn Tiry Editor-in-ChiefDebora Biasutti Managing Editor

Eric Christenson Op/Ed EditorEmily Gresbrink News EditorHaley Zblewski News Editor

Taylor Kuether Chief Copy EditorSpenser Bickett Chief Copy Editor

Frank F. Pellegrino Sports EditorKatie Hoffman Currents Editor

Cal McNeil Photo EditorMax Grones Online Editor

Camille Gerstenhaber Multimedia Editor

Brian Miller Graphic DesignerAnna Soldner Copy EditorChris Reinoos Copy EditorEmily Albrent Copy EditorDavid Heiling Staff WriterTyler Hart Staff WriterTuesday Wustrack Staff WriterBrian Roberts Staff WriterAlex Zank Staff WriterElizabeth Jackson Staff Photographer

The Spectator is written and edited by students of UW-Eau Claire and they are solely responsible for its editorial policy and content.

Editorials in The Spectator reflect the majority opinion of the editorial board and are written by the Op/Ed editor. The editorial board is generally comprised of the editor in chief, managing editor, Currents editor, chief copy editors, news editors, sports editors, but may include other members of the editorial staff. Columns, cartoons and letters are the opinion of the author/artist and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board.

Students, faculty and staff members are invited to write letters to the editor to express their views on public issues and other matters of concern or to respond to editorials or other opinions in the newspaper. Letter writers are not allowed to respond to attacks on their letters. Letters should be typed or written legibly and include a name with signature, address and phone number. Students should include their year in school and major. The Spectator reserves the right to edit, shorten or withhold letters. Letters should be 300 words or fewer. Letters will be published in their entirety online. Email letters to [email protected].

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THE SPECTATOR

www.spectatornews.com

By Eric ChristensonOP/ED EDITOR

The Axis of Brilliance is a graphic ranking of everything awful and brilliant this week from here to infinity.And it’s back.

Unless you watched the Super Bowl in Nebraska (I don’t know your life), you missed a horrifically-timed, beautiful Will Ferrell ad for Old Milwaukee because it only aired in Nebraska. Now it can only reside in the corn-soaked memories of our Nebraskan brothers and

sisters. I suppose on YouTube also.

Chuck Norris endorsed Newt Gingrich for President this week. The sad part is that this will probably have an effect on the way someone votes, and that kind of says everything about the American political climate.But remember in 2003 how funny all those Chuck Norris jokes were?

The internet told me there’s this rabbit in Swe-den named Champis that

herds sheep, I guess? Dan-git! I was going to name

my son Champis, and now I can’t.

Not only did our hero Aaron Rodgers win the

NFL Most Valuable Play-er award, but he looked goooooooooood doing it.

He needs to win more things so he can wear

more great suits.

Apparently in preparing for his role in that wolf movie, “The Grey,” Liam Neeson got super method and ate wolf meat stew and PETA’s mad. But PETA’s always mad about something.The real question is: Liam Neeson, WHY ARE YOU SO OLD AND WEIRD?

You guys obviously remember Takero Kobayashi right? He’s moved on from hot dogs to buffalo wings. He just won

this contest in Philadelphia by eating 337 wings in a half hour! Are you serious,

Kobayashi? This is what you choose to do?

AWFULBRILLIANT

I grew up loving the post office.Yes, I know I’m a nerd, and

yes, I know that sounds a little strange. But I have my reasons.

I just love the idea of mail — I like the act of physically writ-ing out a letter, of addressing an envelope and putting it in a mailbox, of receiving it. There’s something about the anticipation of opening an enclosure with un-known contents that captivates me.

Then, of course, the post of-fice in my town of 1,000 people served as a catch-all place for services — notarization, pass-port applications, etc.

And last, my dad is a rural mail carrier and has been for my whole life. I’ve seen first-hand the good a post office can do for a small town and the connections that can be made because of it.

All of which is why I’m so saddened by the current situation in which the United States Postal Service finds itself.

In mid-2011, the story broke that the USPS, due to a num-ber of circumstances, was very close to defaulting on its $9.2 billion deficit and could face the very real possibility of closure this year.

Everyone, including many media outlets, made a very big deal about the Postal Ser-

vice’s shortfall in profits in recent years.

But there isn’t really a cri-sis, per se. It’s a manufac-tured emergency that is a result of an accounting snafu and congressional restrictions.

Yes, the Postal Service does have very real problems that it will need to fix before it can even begin to think about pulling meaningful numbers in profits, but its problems aren’t just the mass moves to email, e-billing and e-shopping.

In 2007, Congress mandated that the Postal Service prefund future retiree health benefits for the next 75 years — something no other government agency or private company has to do — and do that within a decade.

In case you don’t want to do the math, that’s $5.5 bil-lion a year — not an easy sum to come up with, especially for an agency that was already struggling financially.

And the Postal Accountabil-ity and Enhancement Act that Congress passed in 2006 makes it nearly impossible for the USPS to raise their rates to adjust for anything beyond inflation.

Under basic economic princi-ples, that takes away one of two options to cover costs leaving cutting costs.

Because of that, the USPS is

cutting $3 billion from its budget to try to cover that $5.5 billion payment for retiree benefits.

What that means for us is slower delivery times and fewer post offices and processing cen-ters, particularly in the rural areas that depend on them the most.

Basically, Congress and the Postal Regulatory Commission are trying to “save” the USPS by gradually turning in to a service no one would ever want to use.

Congress expects the Postal Service to be run like a busi-ness yet still be fully accountable to them.

As a slow-moving legislative body with more pressing mat-ters to take care of, Congress can’t possibly oversee everything the Postal Service does in the time frame any viable business would need.

If the Postal Service is to function as a business, they

need to be treated as such and given autonomy to make business decisions.

Congress has to pick what they want the Postal Service to be — a government organization or a private business — and they have to do it soon.

They certainly can’t have it both ways.

By CAROLYN TIRY

Not all Post Office’s problems are its ownMail business

ERIC CHRISTENSON/The Spectator

The Eau Claire Post Office (N. Barstow Street)Last year, the U.S. Postal Service almost defaulted on a $9.2 billion deficit and is facing possible closure this year.

Tiry is a senior journalism major and Editor-in-Chief of The Spectator.

Smack dab in the middle of every February falls a day where chocolate is the pre-ferred currency, sappy rom-coms are rendered bearable and for every person who exclaims, “Love is in the air!” there’s another (prob-ably single) person wearing a gas mask.

Ahh, Valentine’s Day: America’s most polarizing holiday.

What should be a benign day of relatively low cultural importance has been elevat-ed to a day when all other subsets in a community fade into oblivion and the masses split into two distinct teams: the legions of lovers who simply can’t get enough of the saccharine traditions, splurging on fancy candlelit dinners and romantic roses for their special sweethearts; and the gang of pragmatists who deem it a commercial-ized, sexist or otherwise nonsensical holiday cre-ated solely to exclude and depress single people and rob everyone else of their well-earned cash.

Kinda silly, right?With Feb. 14 right around

the corner, it’s hard to walk through a convenience store and not be stared down by a pink-ribboned teddy bear, or be barraged by those ob-noxious 1-800-FLOWERS.COM online pop-up ads.

It’s also difficult to ignore the whiny, pathetic com-ments, Facebook updates, tweets and Tumblr posts from those folks who take no shame in informing the world that they’re FOREV-ER ALONE and experienc-ing an even deeper suffering

on this particular day. Then there’s that special

group of anti-consumerist/anti-conformist/anti-Hall-mark/anti-everything peo-ple who claim they would go to extreme lengths to abol-ish the extreme EVIL that is Valentine’s Day.

People just love to hate Valentine’s Day.

Recently, a friend in-troduced me to “Occupy Valentine’s Day,” an ac-tivist blog existing under the tagline “down with couple-talism!”

The site, created by au-thor and Feminsting.com editor Samhita Mukhopad-hyay, consists of photos and written submissions from both single and coupled men and women who are attempting to revolutionize the “culture of romance” by rejecting the mainstream media’s projections of love and fidelity.

While I applaud their ef-forts to fight oppression and heteronormative standards, I fail to see how Valentine’s Day, of all things, is worthy of my anger.

There are much more harmful, unjust days that

need to be protested: Tax Day, every single Monday and the day Kim Kardashi-an was given a television show are a few that spring to mind.

Boycotting a holiday as innocuous as Valentine’s Day requires concerted time, effort and concern — three endeavors I ulti-mately lack when it comes to Hallmark cards and stale candy hearts.

Here’s the thing: When it comes to our dollars, we’re not slaves to the media, to the greeting card industry or even to gourmet choco-late truffles (OK, I take that back — I’m a complete slave to chocolate).

In the end, the only per-son who is pressuring you to buy extravagant gifts or have a significant other is you. And furthermore, by despising Valentine’s Day, you’re acknowledging that it is significant enough to cause you distress. In trying to combat it, you’re still vali-dating its existence.

Personally, I’ve never been one to get caught up in the sentimental hoopla of the holiday; between the

contrived displays of af-fection and a creepy flying man-baby, I’m just not re-ally into it. But that doesn’t mean I will sign an online “End Valentine’s Day” petition (oh yes, it exists — 90 people have already pledged) or condemn others who choose to celebrate it.

After all, feeling resent-ful or intolerant towards a day centered around love, affection and warm fuzzies is both incredibly ironic and counterproductive.

Valentine’s Day is like Justin Bieber: It can be an-noying and corny at times, but it’s also extremely prof-itable, defended by thou-sands of hopeless romantics and — whether you like it or not — probably going to be around for a while.

So get a grip and take a chill pill. If you don’t have a significant other, honor platonic love! Use the en-ergy you’d exert in making a “Valentine’s Day Sucks” poster to make a home-made card for your mother, best friend or the cute little lunch lady who smiles at you everyday.

And if you absolutely cannot bear the thought of celebrating Valentine’s Day in any form, make the truly subversive decision to ignore it altogether — treat this Feb. 14 like any other boring Tuesday.

Valentine’s Day can be stupid. But actively hating it? Even stupider.

A recent article in the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram reported that the Wis-consin Court of Appeals had overturned a judges order for state election officials to be more ag-gressive in the ways they root out fake or false sig-natures on recall petitions for Gov. Scott Walker.

With over one mil-lion signatures — almost double as was needed — Democrats and oth-ers involved with the recall effort were more than successful in get-ting past the petition stage of a recall. Cur-rently, the signatures on petitions are being vet-ted by the Government Accountability Board to rid any fraudulent or duplicate signatures.

Walker’s campaign had sued the GAB in De-cember, accusing them of not being aggressive enough in tossing fraudu-lent signatures.

They wanted the GAB to take more action and be more vigilant in root-ing out the signatures. Judge Mac Davis ruled along with this idea in early January, though he gave few specifics as to how state officials could be more aggressive.

Nevertheless, the Wis-consin Court of Appeals overturned the order and the signatures are currently being looked over with the same vigor as before.

The editorial board found the Republicans ideas to be a bit excessive in trying to delete what would have to be over half of the one million signatures on the peti-tions. It’s just not likely enough that so many sig-natures would be fraudu-lent to use the time and the funds to be so unreal-istically thorough on the vetting process.

It seems that the Re-publicans are just try-ing to be stubborn and difficult, though the edi-torial board found it easy

to understand why the Republicans would want to act this way. After all, a recall isn’t something to lightly brush over. But that doesn’t mean that the rules and regulations that are already in place for the vetting process aren’t sturdy.

It’s important to root out the names that are duplicates and fakes, but at what point does it come down to un-intentionally deleting signatures that are real?

The article used the hypothetical example of a John Smith and a John Smith Jr. who live at the same address. If they both sign their names on separate petitions as “John Smith,” that could lead to legitimate signatures being tossed and that’s not an ideal solution either.

Members of the editorial board found it ironic that the Republi-cans who usually try to save money are pushing for prolonging this pro-cess and thereby spend-ing more money. Why, all of a sudden, would they think the recall process needs revision now, of all times?

This process re-minded some members of the editorial board of the voter ID regula-tion push last year. In that case, Republicans pushed for new regula-tion that would disen-franchise some eligible voters, many in demo-graphics that typically vote Democratic. Some saw it as an under-handed tactic to rein in Republican votes.

The editorial board made sure to mention that both parties are def-initely guilty of trying underhanded techniques to get their way, which the board found very unfortunate in today’s political climate.

This is another dis-appointing extension of that.

Editorial4B • Thursday, February 9, 2012 Op/Ed Editor: Eric Christenson

THE SPECTATOR

PETITION VETTINGShould the GAB be as aggressive as is sug-

gested by Republicans about rooting out fake petition signatures?

Yes: 1No: 7Ab: 0

By VANESSA PERCY

/MCTLinea Sundstrom holds up a sign to recall Gov. Scott

Walker in Milwaukee in early January. The state Gov-ernment Accountability Board is currently processing

petition signatures for fakes and duplicates.

Sometimes we can take simple hu-man capabilities, such as being able to walk long distances, for granted.

Getting around has become some-thing I personally treasure more as I’ve recently found myself to be “disabled” due to a rare underlying illness called Cushing’s syndrome and subsequent surgery.

Aside from the expected post-sur-gery soreness, my condition has caused severe weakness in my muscles, weight gain and general fatigue which has re-duced my mobility. I’ve also developed high blood pressure, and my asthma has gotten worse.

I am writing this because I believe Services for Students with Disabili-ties and the Parking & Transportation department could offer more to its disabled students.

Since I don’t live in the dorms, I don’t qualify for rides to and from my place of residence. Considering my apartment is through University Hous-ing, and not far from campus along Water Street, I find this to be a terrible technicality.

I don’t have any other way to get around besides the bus. If anyone has ever ridden the college route on a busy morning, they know how jam packed those rides can get.

The hardest part is it may not be clear to others that someone like me is struggling. One day I leaned up against

the heater in front for support when there was only standing room left. I wasn’t even near the seated passengers, nor could I get over to them to ask to sit down.

On another day, I decided the floor wasn’t so dirty and sat on the aisle stairs. Sometimes the bus jostles a lot, jostling my sore side and legs. Taking the bus isn’t the end of the world for me, but it’s definitely difficult.

Also, consider the fact that I could probably get a handicap parking permit more easily.

I was asked if I owned a car dur-ing a conversation with Services for Students with Disabilities. I don’t, but even if I did, I’m not supposed to be driving on my medications. I’ve tried to ask friends with vehicles for help, but they have their own schedules to maintain.

I’ve considered taking taxis, too. However, paying for one of those ev-ery day isn’t really in a college student’s budget. Obviously, I can’t earn money with a job right now unless it involves very little movement or strain on the body.

It’s been suggested a few times that maybe I should withdraw from school for the semester. Yet if I lived on cam-pus, I wouldn’t even have this prob-lem, because Parking & Transportation would then provide me with the help I need the most.

I’m mentally and emotionally ca-pable of succeeding in my classes right now.

My doctors said it’s the best way to get better: engaging myself in the things that I care about and exercising my mind. It’s not as sufficiently docu-mented, but my memory and concen-tration have been alternately affected by my illness as well.

It’s disheartening to be told I should just give up and sit around twiddling my fingers. A pang of isolation dually surfaces.

I wonder how many stu-dents who’ve become injured or sick have found themselves in a similar predicament?

I believe the university could be providing more to its off-campus stu-dents. I don’t think someone should have to live in the dorms just to get this type of assistance.

I hope this will at least raise some awareness of services that are lacking at our university.

The potential to help more students who truly need it is there, and I’d like to see future students benefit from those possibilities.

I’ll survive, but other disabled stu-dents who want to stay in college may not find themselves as lucky.

Percy is a senior theater arts major and a free-lancer for The Spectator.

Soldner is a sophomore public rela-tions major and a copy editor of The Spectator.

By ANNA SOLDNER

Disabled students deserve more assistance

Hating on the holiday is futile

Getting to and from campus no walk in the park

In the end, the only person who is pressuring you to buy extravagant gifts or have a significant other is you. And furthermore, by despising Valentine’s

Day, you’re acknowledging that it is sig-nificant enough to cause you distress. In trying to combat it, you’re still vali-

dating its existence.

Don’t be a fool this Valentine’s Day

www.spectatornews.com Thursday, February 9, 2012 • 5B

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www.spectatornews.comStudent Life6B • Thursday, February 9, 2012 Editor: Debora Biasutti

SUBMITTED PHOTOSeniors Joe Freund, Alex Molter and Valentina Rangel — in front of the Taj Mahal — were some of the Eau Claire students who participated in the GLOBE CHINDIA program on winterim.

SUBMITTED PHOTOEau Claire students took classes at Delhi University’s Shri Ram College of Commerce, a major business school in India, and collaborated with Indian students in group projects.

Alex MolterSenior

Information Systems,Business Analysis

THE PROGRAM STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES

PLACES VISITED

Ashley MooreSeniorBusiness Administration, Spanish Business

Dustin MitchellSenior

Accounting

With the partial funding of a grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Business and International Education Program, the UW-Eau Claire College of Business was able to create the GLOBE CHINDIA program — a study abroad opportunity for students to go to China and/or India.

A group of students went for the first time, through this program, to China last winter, and another group to India this past month.

“It is very important, particularly for business students, to have a first-hand experience of being in those countries and learning how to interact and how to do business in those countries,” said Dr. Rama Yelkur, director of Eau Claire’s In-ternational Business Programs. She also went to India with the students.

Twelve students were in India from Jan. 2 to Jan. 17, where they had class-es at Delhi University’s Shri Ram Col-lege of Commerce, a top ranked busi-ness school, and stayed at the Delhi University guest house. Besides stay-ing in Delhi, students went to Jaipur, Agra (the site of the Taj Mahal) and a

Honda factory.Dr. Yelkur said each American stu-

dent was paired with two local Indian students, where they had to collaborate on a group project and give a presenta-tion on the last day of classes.

“It was a good kind of cultural shock because they worked in cross-cultural teams,” she said. “They made friends for life among Indian students.”

Dr. Yelkur said the process of get-ting in contact with Indian universities started in 2009. Prior to the trip, she said students were put in contact with the Indian students through Facebook so they could get to know each other be-fore hand.

Dr. Yelkur also said they will be offer-ing the same program to India next win-ter, and that applications are open to all students through the Center for Interna-tional Education until April 2.

“The whole experience was a great learning opportunity for students,” Dr. Yelkur said. “Nothing was good or bad per se, but it was moving and life chang-ing — these students will never be the same after their visit to India.”

Students went to India during winter break and took classes at one of the country’s top business schools while experiencing the local culture

By Debora BiasuttiMANAGING EDITOR

“The students we were dealing with in India were 19, 20 years old and they were just brainiacs. It was very interesting to be around that creative energy.

The students, during the lectures, really liked to interrupt each other. There wasn’t much of hand-raising, they just talked over each other a lot — many of the American students were taken aback by how in-tense they were. But you definitely have to understand the competitive environ-ment — these are top-notch students in the country, they have to score minimum 97 percent.”

“Delhi is very busy — it was kind of hard to get used to it at first because it’s so noisy — lots of horns honking, lots of cars every-where, people on the streets trying to sell you things. But by the time I left I barely noticed all the noise.

I’ve always heard the saying that in some countries the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and the trip to India defi-nitely showed me that. They don’t have so much of a middle class, so you see a lot of poverty but you also see people doing very well.”

“India is so culturally rich and has a great history and many interesting people. The cultural and historical visits were my favor-ite part of the trip. We visited the Taj Mahal, one of the Wonders of the World, and it was a great experience.

You could tell that Delhi was going through a lot of changes. There’s a subway system that’s only a couple of years old, which is very nice and modern, new high-way projects going on, and that kind of stuff. You could tell things were really in flux.”