Opinion - The Daily Cardinal

OPINION

Judicial elections obstruct neutrality

By Max Lenz | Feb. 10, 2015

On April 7th of this year, the state of Wisconsin will have a general election to select candidates for a host of different offices at the state and local levels. These elections, given the time they occur, are often forgotten, but feature offices that should not be (i.e. mayor of the city of Madison). One of those offices is that of justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In this specific election, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley (incumbent) is running against James P. Daley, a Rock County Circuit Court judge. Normally, I would malign at the fact that this was yet another election that no one was paying attention to, but this is different. If only for the fact that judicial elections are inherently idiotic.

OPINION

The Internet is what we make of it

By Jacinta Tian | Feb. 9, 2015

What a fabulous way to begin the month of February with the 2015 Super Bowl. Whether you were shouting for the Seahawks or the Patriots, you probably all noticed the huge advertising campaign that has been a tradition to the game for the past few decades. This year the ads were especially popular, and the commercial slots were sold out two months before the game even began. With a $4 million price tag for 30 seconds of air time but only catching a glimpse of a company’s product, we might ask: Is it worthwhile? Or is it even beneficial for the public? Or simply entertaining?

CAMPUS NEWS

Rep. Taylor details dangers of Walker’s budget

By Chris Taylor | Feb. 9, 2015

Can you imagine UW-Madison after it has been decimated by Governor Walker’s budget cuts?

OPINION

Teenage pregnancy disadvantages the disadvantaged

By Hae Rin Lee | Feb. 8, 2015

I have always had high hopes of becoming a mother someday, and I still cling on to that desire. However, I do not believe women should be married or bear children at an early age. Mothers need to be both emotionally and physically ready for those experiences. The issue of child brides and mothers is damaging to not only women themselves but also to poverty on a national scale. There are many severe cases of young mothers around the globe, but one of them specifically is in Guatemala, a developing nation in Latin America.

OPINION

Katy Perry roars for self-empowerment

By Marisa Bernstein | Feb. 8, 2015

Every year, the members of this great nation gather on futons and La-Z-Boys from sea to shining sea in celebration of one event: the Super Bowl. Personally, I observed the holiday by eating beautifully seasoned tortilla chips and talking about how the Seahawks should win because “Macklemore is from Seattle.”

OPINION

Not my Wisconsin Idea, governor

By Cullen Voss | Feb. 5, 2015

Dear Gov. Walker,

OPINION

Note taking should be brought into the 21st Century

By Molly Reppen and Maddie Murphy | Feb. 5, 2015

Is it really second semester already? Even with a couple weeks under our belts, I’m not alone in still having a slight winter break fever. The start of classes came quickly, however I’ll admit, it was exciting to get back in the swing of things. With that said, I arrived to my first lecture a few minutes early in order to find a decent seat, scan the room for familiar faces and get all note-taking materials situated. To my surprise, minutes after I pulled out my laptop and opened a new notepad template, the professor announced, “There will not be screens allowed in my class.” Confused and embarrassed, I closed my computer and shoved it back in my backpack. Had I missed something? Never before had I been disallowed from taking notes on my computer, and I immediately questioned why.

OPINION

Survival of mainstream media depends on diversification

By Bri Mass and Yukako Hirakawa | Feb. 4, 2015

When did we start giving up on traditional news media? Is it because of the rise of social media? I have been spending a lot of time trying to answer these two questions since they were asked in a journalism class a few years ago. Whatever the answer, a suggestion I would make is traditional media should provide more diverse aspects for readers if they want to survive in the future.

CAMPUS NEWS

Letter to the Editor: UW professor supports privatization

By Peter Lipton | Feb. 3, 2015

Just a phrase on my history- a long-time professor of Neuroscience, and an ardent opponent of all things Tea Party and long time proponent of liberal and left of liberal points of views and sometimes activist. I was on the University Committee, which heads the Faculty Senate, during the crash of Chancellor Biddy Martin against the rocks of the Public Authority proposal- a proposal that Scott Walker surprisingly initiated about 4-5 years ago. The proposal was heartily squelched, as was Biddy Martin’s Chancellorship!

OPINION

Free speech threatened worldwide

By Elijah Gray | Feb. 2, 2015

The recent attack of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo at the hands of religious fanatics has sent many into a frenzy extolling the merits of a free press. That so many of us regard the right to an open press as a fundamental tenet of society has been laid bare in our incredulity at those who would extinguish the torch of free expression and dictate the parameters of permissible thought. In their march through Paris in the wake of the attack, a myriad of the world’s leaders affirmed that those who value liberty over tyranny would not submit to the demands of terrorists.

OPINION

Super Bowl ads stray from the norm, tackle social issues

By Lilly Hanson | Feb. 2, 2015

Has anyone used JUBLIA toe fungus remover? If you watched Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday night, you might have seen the corny cartoon commercial for the JUBLIA toe fungus remover among other commercials. Along with half the population of the world, I watch the Super Bowl purely for the commercials. I love the ones that make me laugh and I love the ones that make me cry.

OPINION

ISIS's number one export: fear

By Hae Rin Lee | Feb. 2, 2015

Transnational terrorism has haunted us for many years, yet the current crisis with ISIS is quickly becoming one of the most unique cases we have witnessed so far. ISIS is one of the most dangerous and powerful terrorist groups in the globe, but how does it continue to exist and to trap us in fear? The political theorist Hannah Arendt once said, “Fear is an emotion indispensable for survival.” We should be able to use fear for the purpose of survival. In order to do so, we need to dig deeper.

OPINION

Letter to the Editor: Walker falls short on teacher training

By Lara Sokolowski | Feb. 1, 2015

Dear Governor Walker,

OPINION

Take a break from winter break and think about school

By Marisa Bernstein | Jan. 28, 2015

The transition from a relaxing winter break back into the seemingly indefinite schedule of constant work and exhaustion is never a simple task. As I am a naïve freshman this year, I originally predicted the four weeks spanning from Christmas through mid-January to be far too short of a break. After all, I had been in college for an entire semester, dragging myself out of bed to my 9:55 a.m. classes, always worried if my schedule would overlap with that of the custodians who cleaned my bathroom for me every day in my residence hall, having to pick out what vegetables would go in my omelet at Gordon’s, so on and so on. In my mind, one month would simply not be enough time to recover from all of these stressful freshmen woes.

CAMPUS NEWS

Stay warm with human connection

By Yukako Hirakawa | Jan. 28, 2015

People living in Wisconsin get used to the chilly weather, but we still feel cold no matter how many times we experience harsh winters. According to a 2008 report, “Cold and Lonely” by Chen-Bo Zhong and Geoffrey J. Leonardelli from the University of Toronto, It might be true, though, that feeling cold is enhanced by social exclusion, not the winter chill itself. The report mainly focuses on two experiments; one is about social exclusion makeing people feel colder than they really are. Participants who felt socially excluded gave lower estimates of the room temperature by a median of 2.58 points.

OPINION

College is difficult, chorus of complaints unneccesary

By Owen Desai | Jan. 28, 2015

In middle school and high school, the state and your parents forced you to attend school and do your homework. Completing the basic 12 years of schooling has become a norm and whether you liked it or not, you were expected to maintain fairly good grades and graduate with a high school diploma. Along with taking classes, you were a part of many extracurricular activities and had to deal with countless instances of petty drama. So, it’s safe to say that this was an extremely stressful time and there were enough things to complain about. I think it was justifiable to complain that you had a lab report, three papers and a research report all due Monday, as well as not having first hour open like you really wanted. You were trying to deal with your situation and venting was, and is, an appropriate way to deal with this.

OPINION

Walker's higher office hope has grounds

By Michelle Turner and Max Lenz | Jan. 28, 2015

Well, it’s official. I mean, maybe it’s kind of official. Scott Walker is running for President. This should come as a surprise to no one who has been paying attention to the Governor over the past few months, whose rhetoric and travel schedule has been littered with higher office hopes. Today’s news begs a question, though: can he do it? Does he have the political power to become the Republican nominee? Short answer: absolutely he does.

OPINION

Liberals: Go back to the drawing boards

By Tony Castagnoli | Jan. 26, 2015

The recent murders of satirists in France have awakened the world to how seriously religious extremism threatens the principle of free speech. Now, liberals need to capitalize on this awakening with messages that reflect the critical need to preserve this basic human right in pressing times. Sure, the word “capitalize” may initially come across as hypocritical, particularly when many liberals favor a system of socialism (for legitimate reasons, in my opinion), but these ideologies are not motivated by any profit, nor any prophet. Don’t get me wrong—my heart bleeds as much as Jane Fonda’s circa 1972, however, I have come to terms that as liberals, we often find ourselves in a community with too many soapboxes and not enough…soap consumers? (I would say “too many Chiefs and not enough Indians,” but I wouldn’t want to be on the same level as the Washington Redskins).

OPINION

Dump the second semester slump

By Lilly Hanson | Jan. 26, 2015

There is no set definition to describe the difference between first semester and second semester. When trying to craft my own definition I searched the very trustworthy site of Urban Dictionary only to find this definition: “Pertaining to the students in their second semester of the school year, it is the act of doing poorly on one’s assignment, paper and or tests. This does not just go for schoolwork, can be done in all facets of life also.”

OPINION