8
University of Wisconsin-Madison Complete campus coverage since 1892 dailycardinal.com Wednesday, September 26, 2012 l “…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.” UW-Madison discourages holiday exams COURTESY OF TWITTER Gov. Scott Walker and state Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, tweeted Tuesday after the Green Bay Packers lost a heartbreaking and controversial game to the Seattle Seahawks Monday. Packers game gets political with tweets from Walker, Erpenbach By Tyler Nickerson THE DAILY CARDINAL The reaction to the Green Bay Packers’ Monday night loss seems proof that for Wisconsinites, green and gold still supercedes blue or red. On the last play of the game, the Packers lost to the Seattle Seahawks after officials ulti- mately ruled a Hail Mary pass from ex-Wisconsin Badger quarterback Russell Wilson a touchdown. However, upon review it appears there was a penalty on the Seahawks receiver before the ball was caught and Packers corner- back M.D. Jennings may have actually intercepted the pass. Adding to the drama, the offi- cials who made the controver- sial call aren’t normal National Football League referees. The NFL is in an ongoing labor dispute with the regular referees, who are bar- gaining for a higher salary, and “replacement” refs have taken over the week-to-week officiating. Through the first part of the season, the replacement refs have been routinely criticized for botched calls and embarrass- ing mistakes, but Monday night’s debacle may be the icing on the cake. NFL analysts have decried the outcome a “disgrace” and out- raged fans across the nation call- ing for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to end the dispute. But in Wisconsin, the Packer controversy comes with a political twist. Gov. Scott Walker, who became one of the most recog- nizable governors in the country after he eliminated most collec- tive bargaining rights for public employees, appeared to take a pro-referee union stance follow- ing the game, calling for an end to the dispute in favor of the referees’ union in a tweet. “After catching a few hours of sleep, the #Packers game is still just as painful. #Returntherealrefs,” Walker tweeted early Tuesday morning. After his tweet received con- siderable media attention, Walker cleared up his stance on unions and the difference between public and private sector collective bar- gaining, tweeting Tuesday after- noon, “Being pro-taxpayer doesn’t make me anti-union.” Also getting in on the act was state Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton. Like Walker, Erpenbach’s stance on unions is well known, but for the exact opposite reason. He was one of fourteen state senators who fled the state in protest after Walker proposed his public sector union busting legislation. Erpenbach also took the side of the embattled referees’ union, encouraging disgruntled fans to call Goodell’s office phone number in a tweet. By Sam Cusick THE DAILY CARDINAL University of Wisconsin- Madison students who celebrate Christmas and Easter never have to worry about taking an exam while observing their holidays. But for students who observe holidays such as Yom Kippur, this is not the case. Yom Kippur is a Jewish high holiday in which those observing fast and pray to atone and repent, this year from sundown Tuesday to sundown Wednesday. Although UW-Madison “strongly discourages” professors from having mandatory tests on religious holidays recognized by the university, the policy states the final decision on all exams is left to the discretion of the individual profes- sors, as long as they provide an alternative solution. Secretary of the Faculty David Musolf said having a policy that is “flexible and asks people to be creative” is better than a pol- icy strictly prohibiting exams, which sometimes leads people to become defensive. Musolf said the university’s cur- rent policy is a “good policy and is working well.” UW-Madison sophomore Stella Mayerhoff, who is Jewish, said Student government leaders revisit discussion of proposed constitution By Cheyenne Langkamp THE DAILY CARDINAL Student leaders met Tuesday to revisit the Associated Students of Madison constitution proposal, which was voted down by ASM student council earlier this fall. The constitution would have established four different branch- es of ASM: the executive, legisla- tive, judicial and appropriations branches. These would have replaced the institution’s three current branches: the Student Council, the Student Services Finance Committee and the Student Judiciary. Coordinating Council mem- bers, leaders from the three branches of ASM and its grass- roots committees, discussed at Tuesday’s meeting how to improve the presentation of the constitu- tion in the future. ASM Chair Andrew Bulovsky said he felt the group came up with a variety of possible improve- ments for future attempts to pur- sue the legislation. Bulovsky cited town halls and information sessions, as well as making sure student council members “feel ownership over the idea,” as options the group will continue to consider. The group plans to give the issue further attention at its next meeting. Council also had a conversa- tion with Dean of Students Lori Berquam and Associate Dean of Students Kevin Helmkamp regard- ing pay increases to a number of Division of Student Life staff mem- bers, which include ASM staff. The increases were allowed by the Critical Compensation Fund, which was created to address the increasing gap between fac- ulty and staff at the University of Madison-Wisconsin and their peers at institutions of similar stature, in addition to initiatives within the division itself. Bulovsky said he was happy to hear the university is working hard to stay competitive. “We’re a superior institution, we deserve superior staff and we’re rewarded in kind,” Bulovsky said. Overture Center Foundation Board emphasizes relationship with city By Abby Becker THE DAILY CARDINAL While many thought the final curtain was closing on the Overture Center in 2011 due to financial struggles, Madison’s community arts center has taken center stage once more. At the first annual Overture Center Foundation board meet- ing Tuesday, members recounted the past four volatile years of the Overture and stressed the impor- tance of the center’s relationship with the city. OCF President Ted DeDee said last weekend marked the opening performances of Overture’s resi- dent organizations, which include the Madison Symphony Orchestra Table talk ON CAMPUS Members of the public met at Union South Tuesday to discuss recent events in Libya. WUD Global Connections and WUD Society and Politics sponsored the event. + Photo by Shilpa Kalluru yom kippur page 3 overture page 3 Find alternative food sources to keep that weight off Ball’s back +PAGE TWO Senior running back Montee Ball says he will play Saturday against Nebraska +SPORTS, page 8

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University of Wisconsin-Madison Complete campus coverage since 1892 dailycardinal.com Wednesday, September 26, 2012l

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

UW-Madison discourages holiday exams

CoUrteSy of tWitter

Gov. Scott Walker and state Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, tweeted Tuesday after the Green Bay Packers lost a heartbreaking and controversial game to the Seattle Seahawks Monday.

Packers game gets political with tweets from Walker, ErpenbachBy tyler NickersonThE Daily CarDinal

The reaction to the Green Bay Packers’ Monday night loss seems proof that for Wisconsinites, green and gold still supercedes blue or red.

On the last play of the game, the Packers lost to the Seattle Seahawks after officials ulti-mately ruled a Hail Mary pass from ex-Wisconsin Badger quarterback Russell Wilson a touchdown. However, upon review it appears there was a penalty on the Seahawks receiver before the ball was caught and Packers corner-back M.D. Jennings may have actually intercepted the pass.

Adding to the drama, the offi-cials who made the controver-sial call aren’t normal National Football League referees. The NFL is in an ongoing labor dispute with the regular referees, who are bar-gaining for a higher salary, and

“replacement” refs have taken over the week-to-week officiating.

Through the first part of the season, the replacement refs have been routinely criticized for botched calls and embarrass-ing mistakes, but Monday night’s debacle may be the icing on the cake. NFL analysts have decried the outcome a “disgrace” and out-raged fans across the nation call-ing for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to end the dispute.

But in Wisconsin, the Packer controversy comes with a political twist.

Gov. Scott Walker, who became one of the most recog-nizable governors in the country after he eliminated most collec-tive bargaining rights for public employees, appeared to take a pro-referee union stance follow-ing the game, calling for an end to the dispute in favor of the referees’ union in a tweet.

“After catching a few

hours of sleep, the #Packers game is still just as painful. #Returntherealrefs,” Walker tweeted early Tuesday morning.

After his tweet received con-siderable media attention, Walker cleared up his stance on unions and the difference between public and private sector collective bar-gaining, tweeting Tuesday after-noon, “Being pro-taxpayer doesn’t make me anti-union.”

Also getting in on the act was state Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton. Like Walker, Erpenbach’s stance on unions is well known, but for the exact opposite reason. He was one of fourteen state senators who fled the state in protest after Walker proposed his public sector union busting legislation.

Erpenbach also took the side of the embattled referees’ union, encouraging disgruntled fans to call Goodell’s office phone number in a tweet.

By Sam CusickThE Daily CarDinal

University of Wisconsin-Madison students who celebrate Christmas and Easter never have to worry about taking an exam while observing their holidays.

But for students who observe holidays such as Yom Kippur, this is not the case.

Yom Kippur is a Jewish high holiday in which those observing fast and pray to atone and repent, this year from sundown Tuesday to sundown Wednesday.

Although UW-Madison “strongly discourages” professors from having mandatory tests on religious holidays recognized by the

university, the policy states the final decision on all exams is left to the discretion of the individual profes-sors, as long as they provide an alternative solution.

Secretary of the Faculty David Musolf said having a policy that is “flexible and asks people to be creative” is better than a pol-icy strictly prohibiting exams, which sometimes leads people to become defensive.

Musolf said the university’s cur-rent policy is a “good policy and is working well.”

UW-Madison sophomore Stella Mayerhoff, who is Jewish, said

Student government leaders revisit discussion of proposed constitutionBy Cheyenne LangkampThE Daily CarDinal

Student leaders met Tuesday to revisit the Associated Students of Madison constitution proposal, which was voted down by ASM student council earlier this fall.

The constitution would have established four different branch-es of ASM: the executive, legisla-tive, judicial and appropriations branches. These would have replaced the institution’s three current branches: the Student Council, the Student Services Finance Committee and the Student Judiciary.

Coordinating Council mem-bers, leaders from the three branches of ASM and its grass-

roots committees, discussed at Tuesday’s meeting how to improve the presentation of the constitu-tion in the future.

ASM Chair Andrew Bulovsky said he felt the group came up with a variety of possible improve-ments for future attempts to pur-sue the legislation.

Bulovsky cited town halls and information sessions, as well as making sure student council members “feel ownership over the idea,” as options the group will continue to consider.

The group plans to give the issue further attention at its next meeting.

Council also had a conversa-tion with Dean of Students Lori

Berquam and Associate Dean of Students Kevin Helmkamp regard-ing pay increases to a number of Division of Student Life staff mem-bers, which include ASM staff.

The increases were allowed by the Critical Compensation Fund, which was created to address the increasing gap between fac-ulty and staff at the University of Madison-Wisconsin and their peers at institutions of similar stature, in addition to initiatives within the division itself.

Bulovsky said he was happy to hear the university is working hard to stay competitive.

“We’re a superior institution, we deserve superior staff and we’re rewarded in kind,” Bulovsky said.

overture Center foundation Board emphasizes relationship with cityBy Abby BeckerThE Daily CarDinal

While many thought the final curtain was closing on the Overture Center in 2011 due to financial struggles, Madison’s community arts center has taken center stage once more.

At the first annual Overture Center Foundation board meet-ing Tuesday, members recounted

the past four volatile years of the Overture and stressed the impor-tance of the center’s relationship with the city.

OCF President Ted DeDee said last weekend marked the opening performances of Overture’s resi-dent organizations, which include the Madison Symphony Orchestra

Table talkoN CAMPUS

Members of the public met at Union South tuesday to discuss recent events in Libya. WUD Global Connections and WUD Society and Politics sponsored the event. + Photo by Shilpa Kalluru

yom kippur page 3

overture page 3

find alternative food sources to keep that weight off

Ball’s back

+PAGE TWO

Senior running back Montee Ball says he will play Saturday against Nebraska +SPortS, page 8

Page 2: The Daily Cardinal - September 26th, 2012

An independent student newspaper, serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison

community since 1892

Volume 122, Issue 192142 Vilas Communication Hall

821 University AvenueMadison, Wis., 53706-1497

(608) 262-8000 • fax (608) 262-8100

News and [email protected]

News Team

News Manager Taylor HarveyCampus Editor Sam Cusick

College Editor Cheyenne LangkampCity Editor Abby Becker

State Editor Tyler NickersonEnterprise Editor Samy Moskol

Associate News Editor Meghan ChuaFeatures Editor Ben Siegel

Opinion EditorsNick Fritz • David RuizEditorial Board Chair

Matt BeatyArts Editors

Jaime Brackeen • Marina OliverSports Editors

Vince Huth • Matt MastersonPage Two Editors

Riley Beggin • Jenna BushnellLife & Style EditorMaggie DeGroot

Photo EditorsStephanie Daher • Grey Satterfield

Graphics Editors Dylan Moriarty • Angel Lee

Multimedia EditorsEddy CevillaScience Editor

Matthew KleistDiversity Editor Aarushi Agni Copy Chiefs

Molly Hayman • Haley HenschelMara Jezior • Dan Sparks

Copy EditorsMeghan Jacobson • Ali Bartoli

Rachel Wanat

Business and [email protected]

Business Manager Emily RosenbaumAdvertising Manager Nick Bruno

Senior Account Executives Jade Likely • Philip Aciman

Account Executives Dennis Lee • Chelsea Chrouser

Emily Coleman • Joy ShinErin Aubrey • Zach KellyWeb Director Eric Harris

Public Relations Manager Alexis VargasMarketing Manager Becky TucciEvents Manager Andrew Straus

Creative DirectorClaire Silverstein

Copywriters Dustin Bui • Bob Sixsmith

The Daily Cardinal is a nonprofit organization run by its staff members and elected editors. It receives no funds from the university. Operating revenue is generated from advertising and subscription sales.

The Daily Cardinal is published weekdays and distributed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and its surrounding community with a circulation of 10,000.

Capital Newspapers, Inc. is the Cardinal’s printer. The Daily Cardinal is printed on recy-cled paper. The Cardinal is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.

All copy, photographs and graphics appear-ing in The Daily Cardinal are the sole property of the Cardinal and may not be reproduced without written permission of the editor in chief.

The Daily Cardinal accepts advertising rep-resenting a wide range of views. This accep-tance does not imply agreement with the views expressed. The Cardinal reserves the right to reject advertisements judged offensive based on imagery, wording or both.

Complaints: News and editorial complaints should be presented to the editor in chief. Business and advertising complaints should be presented to the business manager.

Letters Policy: Letters must be word pro-cessed and must include contact information. No anonymous letters will be printed. All letters to the editor will be printed at the discretion of The Daily Cardinal. Letters may be sent to [email protected].

© 2012, The Daily Cardinal Media Corporation

ISSN 0011-5398

Corrections or clarifications? Call The Daily Cardinal office at 608-262-8000 or send an e-mail to [email protected].

For the record

Editorial BoardMatt Beaty • Riley Beggin • Alex DiTullio Anna Duffin • Nick Fritz • Scott Girard

David Ruiz

Board of DirectorsJenny Sereno, President

Scott Girard • Alex DiTullio Emily Rosenbaum • John Surdyk

Melissa Anderson • Nick Bruno Don Miner • Chris DrosnerJason Stein • Nancy Sandy

Tina Zavoral

Editor in ChiefScott Girard

Managing EditorAlex DiTullio

l

page two2 Wednesday, September 26, 2012 dailycardinal.com

TODAy:Sunnyhi 64º / lo 41º

ThuRSDAy:Sunnyhi 64º / lo 39º

Only enroll in classes in Bascom Hall, Social Sciences

and the Natatorium.

Try out some casual sports that both excercise your

brain and stimulate your mind.

Gordon Commons can be tempting. Try hunting and

gathering.

Alcohol is heavy in calories. Instead, take part in madison’s

other favorite pasttime

avoid the freshman 15Being away from mommy for

the first time means you can be as lazy and gross as you wish. But here’s how

not to be.

By Samy Moskol

Page 3: The Daily Cardinal - September 26th, 2012

and Madison Contemporary Vision Dance.

“I’m looking at it as completing the first major chapter of the book of Overture,” DeDee said. “Now all of us, with the begin-ning of the new fiscal year, are beginning a new chapter of the Overture story.”

The Overture began oper-ating Jan. 1 as a private, non-profit group instead of a city-owned and operated organiza-tion as it previously had. The committee fundraised $2.4 million during its transition year, according to DeDee.

While the arts center raised over $2 million, DeDee said city suport is vital for the Overture.

Mayor Paul Soglin granted the Overture $1.85 million in the 2012 operating budget. The OCF is requesting $2 million for 2013, according to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4.

DeDee said without the requested funds, the build-ing’s maintenance might fall to the wayside and the free and reduced cost Overture programs could be impacted.

“A huge void would occur if the Overture couldn’t live up to its operating performance,” Verveer said.

Soglin will introduce the city’s 2013 operating budget on Oct. 2.

newsdailycardinal.com Wednesday,September26,20123l

Sing us a songon campus

students, strumming on guitars, participate in open mic night at Der Rathskeller in memorial union Tuesday night. The event was open to the public and sponsored by WuD music. + Photo by Jessica Chatham

Local union ratifies contract proposal

Madison’s largest employee union approved a new contract Tuesday that could reduce wages and benefits but would avoid fur-ther cuts.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 60, a union consisting of Dane County and City of Madison employees, ratified a new contract with 73 percent of the votes in favor, according to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4.

Mayor Paul Soglin said at a city financial meeting Monday the contract would cut city and county employee wages by 3 percent, saving the city

approximately $900,000.Combined with other union

negotiations, the city could save up to $2.5 million, accord-ing to Verveer.

The contract, running from March 2014 to March 2015, pro-tects employees from further wage cuts, according to Verveer.

Verveer said Madison’s city council will vote on the contract Thursday and is expected to grant unanimous approval.

“I think most every mem-ber of the city council recog-nizes and values collective bar-gaining and the importance of workers’ voices in the work-place,” Verveer said.

Gunman robs East Gilman Street residentMadison police said a gun-

man entered an East Gilman Street apartment and robbed the tenant on Tuesday around noon.

The suspect, who police say is an African American man in his thirties, walked into an apartment on the 100 block of East Gilman Street through an unlocked door, according to Madison Police Department

spokesman Joel DeSpain.The intruder said to the vic-

tim, “Give me what you got,” according to DeSpain.

Police said the gunman appeared to want cash but left with the victim’s laptop in a white, 1990s work van.

Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said the proximity of this crime to campus is a cause for reflec-

tion on city safety policies.“[The robbery] is a call to

double down and continue some of the efforts to continue increas-ing safety,” Resnick said.

Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said armed home invasions are seldom random acts of violence, although he said he did not know if this robbery was random.

Election officials launch new websiteThe Government Accountability

Board launched a new web-site Tuesday designed to help Wisconsin voters more easily pre-pare for Election Day.

The website, myvote.wi.gov, provides information to Wisconsinites on how to register to vote, apply for absentee bal-lots and find their polling places ahead of the Nov. 6 election.

The GAB hopes the initiative will allow more of the state’s vot-ers, especially those who are liv-ing overseas or members of the military, to submit their ballots

and streamline the election pro-cess for local clerks.

“Wisconsin’s new voter infor-mation portal will empower vot-ers, reduce the workload on local election officials and help ensure fair and transparent elections,” GAB Director Kevin Kennedy said in a statement.

The fall elections mark the first time the state’s newly-drawn districts will be in effect. Voters can cast their ballots in person as early as Oct. 22 in Wisconsin. Absentee voting by mail began last Thursday.

passerby finds dead body near zooA pedestrian discovered

a dead body near the west entrance of Henry Vilas Zoo around noon Tuesday.

Police are currently investigat-ing the 42-year-old man’s death, according to Madison Police Department Sgt. Bernie Gonzalez.

The passerby found the deceased man in a wooded area

off of a bike path at 318 Edgewood Dr. near Henry Vilas Zoo, accord-ing to Gonzalez.

Gonzalez said in a statement the investigation does not indi-cate foul play at this time.

The victim may have been sit-ting alone on a bench near the area earlier on Tuesday, accord-ing to Gonzalez.

while the policy “is not the worst thing in the world,” she would appreciate if the university banned all tests on holidays.

“I think that anytime you have to change around your schedule for a religious holiday it gets kind of messy,” Mayerhoff said. “It puts you in a position that’s different than everyone else.”

However, junior Adam Meyer, also Jewish, said if the university prohibits exams on Jewish holi-days, they would have to look into banning tests on holidays for all religions and it would be virtually impossible to please everyone.

“There are more than just Jews and Christians on campus,” Meyer said. “If you try to make everybody happy by banning all quizzes and exams on all holy days, I feel like

that would be incredibly difficult to accommodate everybody.”

Musolf said students should be able to participate in man-datory academic events, and should not have to choose aca-demics over religion.

“We want full participation of students in their academic pur-suits,” Musolf said. “We should avail all of the mandatory academ-ic requirements to all students and not have them feel conflicted.”

Overall, students such as Mayeroff said they feel the policy is working for the most part, with only minor issues that are usually easily resolved.

“I think that if there is even an issue it’s from some sort of mis-understanding about the religious holiday itself,” Mayerhoff said. “It’s little things like that and usu-ally once you kind of explain those

things to avoid misunderstand-ings, things work out fine.”

John Hawks, a professor of anthropology, schedules man-datory quizzes every week that students are not allowed to make up. However, in respect to Yom Kippur on Wednesday, Hawks is allowing his students a rare oppor-tunity to make up his quiz.

“You don’t want to draw lines in your class between students with different backgrounds, especially with respect to religious back-grounds or ethnic backgrounds,” Hawks said. “It’s a basic thing that you want to maximize every stu-dent’s learning.”

Other universities in the Big Ten, such as Michigan State and Minnesota, also strongly discour-age mandatory exams on holi-days through policies similar to UW-Madison’s.

sTEphaniE DahER/thedailycardinal

OverturecenterFoundationPresidentteddedeesayscitysupportoftheOverturecenterisavitalpartofitssuccess.

overturefrompage1

yom kippur frompage1

Page 4: The Daily Cardinal - September 26th, 2012

l4 Wednesday, September 26, 2012 dailycardinal.com

science

‘Floppiness’ helps explain marginationBy Jennifer Laaserthe daily cardinal

Red blood cells are much flop-pier than their white counterparts.

This might seem like little more than an interesting bit of trivia, but it has an important role in your body. According to research published this month by University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Michael Graham and postdoctoral researcher Amit Kumar, the floppiness of red blood cells helps push white blood cells and platelets toward blood vessel walls while red cells stream along in the center.

This process, called margin-ation, is critical because white blood cells and platelets need to be able to quickly leave the blood-stream to respond to injuries and fight infections.

“If the white blood cells flow close to the vessel walls, they will find it much easier to get out,” Kumar said.

Scientists have known for decades that red and white cells segregate as they flow through

blood vessels, but until recently had little understanding of why this margination occurs.

Graham and Kumar turned to computer simulations to explore the mechanism of this process. Kumar created virtual sets of squishy and stiff particles and tracked their movements as they collided and bounced off of each other.

In essence, this simulation is just a more complicated version of the distance-velocity-acceleration problems that are a staple of fresh-man physics courses everywhere.

“We’re solving F=ma,” Graham said. “That’s what it comes down to.”

When Graham and Kumar looked at the results of these sim-ulations, they noticed something interesting: collisions between different types of particles had distinctly different results.

“If we have two floppy par-ticles colliding, they don’t actu-ally end up displacing each other very much. They kind of slide around each other,” Graham said.

“But if we have a floppy particle colliding with a stiff particle then the floppy particle won’t displace very much and the stiff particle will displace a lot.”

This observation provided a key insight into why white and red blood cells separate. Red blood cells concentrate in the center of blood vessels, because squishy, deformable particles tend to move away from vessel walls.

But because stiffer white blood cells are jostled out of the

way when they collide with red cells, white blood cells and plate-lets get pushed toward the mar-gins while red cells stream along in the center undisturbed.

Understanding these different types of collisions helped Kumar develop a second, simpler model, in which he could look at pairs of only two particles at a time. This new model made it easy for Kumar to turn different types of collisions on and off and show that the collisions between stiff

particles and floppy particles are key to the margination process.

Graham and Kumar hope that other scientists will be able to use this information to design new medical treatments or understand how margination plays a role in diseases which stiffen red blood cells, such as malaria and sickle cell disease.

In designing nanoparticles to deliver drugs to certain parts of the body, for example, it might be useful to control where the par-ticles live in the bloodstream.

To deliver a drug to coronary arteries, it might be useful to design a stiffer particle that hugs the blood vessel walls; to have a drug persist in the body for a long time it might instead be useful to design a flop-pier particle that flows unimpeded in the vessel centers.

“There’s a lot that’s not known about what drug particles do once they’re in your bloodstream,” Graham said. “So hopefully, by just shedding some light on mar-gination, we can help guide design of the particles.”

Mercury: why ‘mad hatters’ were so madBy Kristen Andersenthe daily cardinal

In a stuffy milliner’s workshop in Danbury, Conn., a hat maker brushed a solution of mercury nitrate over a set of rabbit furs. This was the first step of several that the hatmaker would perform to transform the furs into the stiff felt hats in fashion in the late 18th century. As he worked, the mil-liner breathed in vapors from the muggy air.

Over time, this milliner and others in his profession began to develop a frightening set of symp-toms. First, uncontrollable muscu-lar tremors and twitching wracked their bodies. Their vision began to distort, their speech and thought became confused. Some even advanced to hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms.

The onset of such dramatic symptoms in hatmakers eventu-ally coined the term “mad hatters.” These milliners were being poi-soned by the mercury that their trade called for. Eventually, after a study of mercury toxicity con-firmed it as the cause, mercury was banned in the United States in hat making in 1941.

Mercury inhibits the actions of selenium-dependent enzymes in the body, causing the myriad of symptoms displayed by the “mad hatters.” One of these enzymes nor-mally breaks down adrenaline. As a result, those suffering from mercu-ry poisoning often have symptoms of sweating, a fast heartbeat and high blood pressure.

Seated next to gold on the periodic table, mercury is unique among metals in that it is a liquid at room temperature. Its silvery appearance and abil-ity to flow like water earned it the nickname quicksilver.

The accumulation of mercury in the environment poses a major concern today. Mercury is depos-

ited into the environment by the improper disposal of mercury-con-taining items, coal plant emissions and volcanoes. Plants and animals accumulate low levels of mercury from contaminated soil, water and atmosphere. Predators then acquire large amounts of mercury by con-suming these contaminated prey. This process, called biomagnifica-tion, results in significant concen-trations of mercury at the levels of higher animals in the food chain, including humans.

Long before its toxicity was understood, mercury was valued in many cultures. In Islamic Spain, mercury was used to fill decorative pools, and may have even been used as divination mirrors in bowls dur-ing the classic period of Mayan civi-lization. Ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians also used mercury in cosmetics, which sometimes resulted in deformed faces.

Although once used for many things in modern society, including mascara, thermometers and elec-tronics, its use is being phased out in many applications due to this accu-mulation and toxicity. However, the use of mercury in fluorescent light bulbs is still increasing.

Institute on Aging expands MIDUS research to MilwaukeeBy Sam Gariglianothe daily cardinal

The University of Wisconsin Madison’s Institute on Aging is set to broaden its research on Midlife in the United States (MIDUS), a nationwide study that investigates the varying degrees adult health and aging is impacted by societal, cognitive and behavioral factors.

MIDUS involves a large amount of population-level surveying, along with research efforts from a diverse group of disciplines, including psychol-ogy, demography and medi-cine, according to their website. Numerous research institutes around the country take part in MIDUS, providing the study with an expansive amount of data.

In a recent press release, Institute on Aging Director Carol Ryff highlighted the importance of MIDUS, noting its uncommon attention to perseverance of indi-viduals under certain stresses.

“Our study went after the positive side as well as the nega-tive,” Ryff said. Many scientists are now working with our data because we have the tools to show that some people are resilient.”

Despite prior studies show-ing aging and socioeconomic difficulties as health risks, MIDUS has exemplified that many individuals are resilient and exhibit strong mental and physical health despite their cir-cumstances, explained Ryff. The data collected from MIDUS is also generally used as a tool to

understand and apply the fac-tors found to promote and nur-ture resilience.

For the expansion of the study, researchers are staying consistent in their fieldwork methodology, as well as their source of data. Much of the research and surveying carried out by UW-Madison’s MIDUS branch will concentrate on Milwaukee’s African-American population. Previous MIDUS research selected Milwaukee as a focal point because of its notorious racial segregation and its notably high unemployment and infant mortality rates. The traits of Milwaukee’s African-American population provide a striking comparison of health between races.

In an email interview, UW-Madison MIDUS researcher Dr. Barry Radler, whose role in the project includes supervis-ing the surveys and raw data, described the expectations for the study’s expanded effort.

Researchers will examine their prediction that the country’s economic slide will be damaging in particular to subjects who have exhibited a “pre-existing vul-nerability.” Another prediction MIDUS will expect is a presence of resilience in those who have a wealth of “psychosocial resourc-es,” which might include positive social reinforcement or an opti-mistic perspective in life, despite their economic misfortunes.

Dr. Radler also noted the purpose of the survey’s expan-

sion goes beyond analyzing the effect of the recent economic downturn, saying that the MIDUS study has a number of other pointed questions. These questions include how “psy-chological and social factors influence biological processes,” Radler said, including increased risk of cardiovascular problems. Radler further explained the psychological aspects that may impact physical health include a wide range of factors, like work and family relationships, per-sonality traits and awareness of discriminatory problems.

Researchers are expected to finish fielding surveys locally and nationally at year’s end pending a funding extension, which would push the study into next year.

Ask Mr. Scientist is written by Michael Leitch. If you have a burning science question you want him to answer, tweet it

@DC_Science or email it to [email protected].

Ask Mr. Scientist: Atomic clocks

In a way, an atomic clock is like a normal clock with a pacemaker. At the heart of the clock is still a vibrat-ing piece of quartz, but this vibrating quartz very grad-ually slows down. After a couple thousand years the clock may be off by as much as a second. This is not an issue in everyday life, but researchers often need accu-racy to multiple decimal places, so this slowing down is unacceptable.

To keep the quartz vibrat-ing at a constant rate, an atomic clock uses cesium atoms in a somewhat compli-cated process. In their natu-ral state, cesium atoms exist in either a high energy state

or a low one. A stream of atoms is passed through a magnet to get rid of any high energy atoms. The remain-ing atoms are bombarded by microwaves to convert them into high energy atoms which then f low into a detec-tor. This detector then gener-ates a current when hit by the high energy atoms.

If the vibrations of the quartz begin to slow down, high energy atoms stop being produced, so no more atoms hit the detector, which now no longer generates a cur-rent. This lack of a current alerts another part of the clock to zap the quartz to speed it up again, and time keeps on ticking.

Dear Mr. Scientist,Alright, I know how regular clocks work now, but how

does an atomic clock work?—Doug F.

GrAphic By dyLAn MoriArty

GrAphic By MeLAnie ShiBLey

Page 5: The Daily Cardinal - September 26th, 2012

A merican politics seems to have undergone a sort of implosion in

recent years. No, I’m not refer-ring to the increased partisan-ship and extremism that has dominated the news for the past

few election cycles. What I’m worried about is a reduction in the scope of our concerns.

First let me say that I don’t mean to demean the concerns of those who are worried about who pays more in taxes or which party is more obsessed with pander-ing to lobbyists. These are defi-nitely vital concerns which will impact the future of our country

for many years to come and mak-ing the right decision requires a lot of knowledge about what exactly each candidate plans to do. However, there are bits and pieces that I feel are being largely ignored and placed by the way-side that should get some time of their own over the usual political redundancies. President Barack Obama and former Gov. Mitt

Romney aren’t exactly under pressure from the media or the voter base to reveal their strat-egies for these concerns. The trouble comes when it’s revealed these bits and pieces can be more accurately compared to “big issues” and “massive chunks”

Being “tough” on foreign competitors is—again—appar-ently the latest campaign fad.

China certainly leads as the most-maligned of them all, beginning another round of “hate” in our love-hate rela-tionship with our second big-gest trading partner. But all the focus is apparently being placed on the impact that China has on American jobs. There is very little light shed on what each candidate would do to stand up to China on the subject of diplomatic rela-tions. Case in point: their oppo-sition to external involvement in Syria. China and Russia are leading an effort to quash for-eign peacekeeping efforts in the region on the basis of not want-ing the west to meddle in their affairs. So what does America do? Ignore it, I suppose.

This is a conflict largely pass-ing unnoticed by the American public at the very least, a great part of it because the candidates are unwilling to bring it up on the campaign trail. I give props to Obama for bringing the issue up indirectly in his address to the UN, but he should know that if he wants to look like he’s willing to stand up to China outside of the realm of econom-ic sanctions and tariffs, he’ll have to figure out how to more heavily implicate them in the travesty that has resulted in thousands of slaughtered civil-ians in Syria.

Speaking of the Middle East and its ever-increasing woes, neither Obama nor Romney has come out with a detailed plan on how they want to man-age the conflict between Israel and Iran. Yes, there’s quite a bit of the standard rhetoric about who doesn’t want Iran to obtain nuclear weapons more. I must have missed the part about how allowing massive bombs to come into the possession of a dictatorial theocracy would be a bad thing the first few hun-dred times it was reported. It’s style over substance once more, only this time that emphasis on style could have actual conse-quences. Obama says that he wouldn’t go to war if Israel did. Romney says he would. Perfect. Now can we figure out how we would go about not having a war in the first place? Once again, we come to the impasse of either insulting our biggest ally in the Middle East by urging them to back off, or letting a large-scale conflict develop in one of the most hotly contested and unstable regions in the world. Neither candidate seems to want to commit to either course of action. And they’re not really even pressed to take one.

Do you agree with Evan that domestic policy has overshadowed foreign policy? Please send any feedback to the opinion desk at [email protected].

opiniondailycardinal.com Wednesday, September 26, 2012 5 l

PoliticslosingsightonforeignpolicyEVANFAVILLopinioncolumnist

It’sstyleoversubstanceoncemore,onlythis

timethatemphasisonstylecouldhaveactual

consequences.

Page 6: The Daily Cardinal - September 26th, 2012

artsl6 Wednesday, September 26, 2012 dailycardinal.com

Moombahton movin’ with Dillon FrancisBy Jorge EstradaThe Daily CarDinal

Dillon Francis is a DJ/producer from Los Angeles. Currently on tour with Flosstradamus, Francis has previously worked with artists such as Diplo, Calvin Harris and A-trak, works in the moombahton and trap genres and has remixed acts from Steve Aoki to Chris Brown. With support from mul-tiple record labels like Fool’s Gold, Dim Mak and Mad Decent, Dillon Francis has become a sensation in the electronic music scene.

DC: I’m going to start by com-plimenting you on your hair. I’m a huge fan. I mean, what do you use in that?DF: Thank you, man. I use this hair gel called Suavecito. The thing that’s really good about it is it like holds really harsh, but it washes out like its shampoo in your hair. If water touches it, it’ll just like disappear.

DC: So everyone knows you as a moombahton producer but you’ve also kind of branched out into other genres. What are your views on the whole trap movement?DF: Yeah, I mean I love it. I think the reason why it took so well, is because it’s a breath of fresh air from everything that sounds very

“Skrillex-y” and its very, you know, it just has a lot of screaming stuff in it. This is a nice break for everyone to just make 808 type of music. And it’s funny because it’s pretty much like old dubstep so I love it, and I’m going to keep making more of it.

DC: You released a video for “Masta Blasta (REBIRTH)” recently, mind sharing how that one came about?DF: Well, I made the song and I sent it to my manager and he was like “Whoa, this is the ... coolest thing you’ve ever done.” He was like, “This is amazing we should do a video for it and just give it away for free, and make it a song for the fans.” And that’s pretty much what it was. We wanted to try to make it like kind of Blink-182/Eminem style of music video.

DC: I thought the whole “Tiesto” written on the girl’s cleavage was clever. I mean even your troll on that newspaper…DF: Oh my god! Yeah! Some news-paper posted a picture of me but it was not me, it was Tiesto and they thought it was me. I feel like I really won that day when I found out about that.

DC: Well going back to the whole trap movement, do you

think we’ll ever see any collab-orations with any trap heavy rappers? Some 2 Chainz, Waka, Gucci?DF: I’d want to do something with Waka, for sure. That would be amazing.

DC: What do you think about people calling trap the new dubstep?DF: I don’t mind. People can call it whatever they want as long as they enjoy the music and not get mad about it. I see a lot of people get-ting really mad that the whole trap movement got really big and like a lot of people are like “Oh, there are so many bandwagoners.” It’s not really bandwagoning, it’s just that’s what’s big right now. It’s just trying to stifle the movement of music and what’s popular and what’s not.

DC: So you have this huge sense of humor, or at least I’d like to think so, and your tweets are hilarious but I mean you DJ-ed in the past with your pants down. Can we expect to see any-thing like that in Madison?DC: Maybe, I hope so. I hope I think of something to do but it’s funny how that came around just because when I was in Sweden with my manager and I was about to play a show where there wasn’t a huge

amount of people. He was like “yo, you should pull down your pants in the middle of the set and I’ll film it for you.” I was hesitant there but then when I was in the gorge by myself and I saw how many people were there and how high up I was, I asked this photographer, I was like “Yo, you need to take a picture of me with my pants down with my hands in the air.” It totally just made a joke of people not knowing what I’m doing behind the DJ booth.

DC: It’s not only fun to watch you on stage, but it’s also fun to watch you online. You released a recent viral video spreading the cheer of Doritos tacos and DJ awareness. Do you mind shar-ing what DJ awareness is?DF: It’s just making people aware of DJs and their touring and… Avicii… and Afrojack. Making everyone aware of us through tacos. They got to know, man!

DC: You also made another viral video, or I should say “A-trak” made a viral video where he promoted one of your singles that you worked on together. How was it working with A-trak on “Money Makin’”?DF: It was just all through social media. On Twitter we said we should work on a track and then my

manager set it up, and we worked on it in New York. We finished it in like a couple of weeks and then just put it out. It was really easy and fun. We both have the same sense of humor so we made the track really fast and then we were like “We’re gonna do a music video for it.”

DC: So pretty generic question but where do you want to be in the future?DF: I kind of want to be at the same level as Calvin Harris. I’ve been a huge fan of him for a very long time. I want to make an album that’s like Calvin Harris style, but infused with the style of my music.

DC: Are you afraid if you hit the top 40 that you’ll lose fans?DF: Yeah, I know I’m going to have to be careful about it. I think that I have to be careful with who I work with to not tarnish my name, but I think people will enjoy it. I have already been working with some vocalists right now that I think are perfect for my style. I think it’s going to be really good and a good transition as well.

Dillon Francis will be playing live at the Majestic Theatre on Thursday with Flosstradamus as an opener. Doors open at 8 p.m., show starts at 9 p.m.

Wading precariously through the stream (of consciousness)

I n memoriam twixt the huxtable on all our allegorical allaying of the spiritual woes hmm i’d

fancy a dish of kippers oh where does the time go wrote edgar allan poe should I use that for the column no no into the trash bin that one would’ve should’ve used the word parsimonious parsnips are a root vegetable synonymous to the condi-tion of a deacon lain up with heads

in his belfry all wobbly and fluoride assayers tweaking into the dark and stormy night yabba dubai doo…

Lost? Confused? Angry? Then you’re in luck: that was the point. And before you ask, this wasn’t an exercise to vent the pressures of being an English major, but to show what would happen if you ever waded into a stream of conscious-ness book.

Well not exactly, but close. I was going off the last chapter of “Ulysses” by James Joyce, which is an interior monologue completely devoid of punctuation save for two measly periods awash in a sea of green-gray ranting and rambling.

This, in part, is what separates stream of consciousness from more traditional modes of writing.

Documenting a character’s thoughts is nothing new to litera-ture. The interior monologue is old hack, so what makes stream of consciousness so special? Besides the general evisceration of syn-tax, stream of consciousness is supposed to delve into a charac-ter’s given thought processes and impressions, rather than report on them from afar.

The term “stream of conscious-ness” is generally accredited to William James, psychologist and philosopher. The idea was simple: Thought couldn’t reasonably be segmented into something as order-ly or coherent as a chain or a train. Those were generalizations and abstractions not fit for the surging school of psychology.

There was an aspect of conve-nience to the emergence, articu-lation and adoption of stream of consciousness thinking. Modernist literature was stretching its limbs at the turn of the century. The Great War loomed, fantastic specter it was, but those budding authors were still looking for ways to break away from 19th century realist lit-erature. They found more fertile ground in the fulcrum and dregs of hell; they effloresced.

Stream of consciousness, as a technique, had been around before-hand (Proust being the most obvi-ous example), but it really crystal-lized in the postwar period. There was “Ulysses.” There was “Mrs. Dalloway.” Over in the United States there was “The Sound and the Fury.” And so on and so forth, extending towards time immemorial.

It’s unlikely authors will ever lose their fascination with this style of writing. The mode is too enticing, since it’s supposed to cut through

the inflexibility of realism.There was no loss of cutting psy-

chological insight in 19th century literature—Henry James comes to mind, though he really straddles two centuries; straddling seemed to be his modus operandi—but it was of a more traditional sort. The word we’re looking for is objectivity.

The mind has always been a hub of literature. How can it not be? Literature as a whole is fas-cinated with personality types: the aberrants of Gogol’s Ukraine/St. Petersburg, the righteous and obsessive mindedness of Javert, the plaintive suffering of Dickensian orphans and roustabouts, the focus and diligence of Odysseus.

There will always be some kind of veil to this method, however.: the wall of objectivity. This is an appeal to solipsism, a terrible but neces-sary thing, since our own minds are supposed to be the one thing we can ever fully, truly understand.

This is where the levee breaks. Stream of consciousness is meant to

wash away these things, or to deal such pneumatic pressure as to bore into the mind of a character and ride out whatever rises up in its wake. When we get into how damnably myriad and disparate our stream of thoughts really is—the accumula-tion of eons of development—we’d be apt to follow Heraclitus in his teeth gnashing.

I believe there is great merit to the form. But it is a very interior form of writing, quite different from the largely exterior driven writing of the past—appearance, actions, caste and other contingencies, divorced from personal insight and the intimacies of thought—and it can lead to pre-tentious, frankly silly examples like the first paragraph of this piece.

That’s when a stream of con-sciousness is wending bereft of any recognized input. A stream is noth-ing without a source, or scenery to color it: Interior meshed with exte-rior, reciprocating into the night.

sean email beard should in life [email protected].

SEan REichaRDyour raison d’être

gRaphic By Dylan MoRiaRty

Page 7: The Daily Cardinal - September 26th, 2012

comicsHearing Jazz at the Grocery

© Puzzles by Pappocom

Eatin’ Cake ByDylanMoriartywww.EatinCake.com

[email protected]

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

Fillinthegridsothateveryrow,everycolumnandevery3x3boxcontainsthedigits1through9.

Today’sSudoku

MoreCrosswordsaboutBuildings

andFood

ACROSS1 In ___ (harmonious)5 Accumulate, as a

fortune10 “... for children of all

___!”14 “In ___ of flowers”15 Count of jazz16 Tug-of-war item17 Milky gem18 Tatum or Shaquille19 Golf tournament20 Infielder’s warm-up

exercise22 Backyard structure23 Give two thumbs up24 Canadian Indian26 Customary ways29 Aleutian island31 St. roads, often34 Borders on35 Eco-friendly36 Bikini top37 Backtalk38 Safe’s partner39 Plane section40 The highest degree41 Jennifer of

“Flashdance”42 United rival43 ___ Aviv44 Vex45 Like Twinkies46 Work hard for

48 Woodsy aerosol scent49 Way around London51 Homer57 Mickey’s teammate58 “File not found,” e.g.59 White, brown or

basmati60 Entre ___61 Alternative to

purchase62 Shakespeare’s river63 Makes do ( with

“out”)64 Bob and Elizabeth65 Return to health

DOWN1 Supper for swine2 “Oh, my goodness!”3 Twice-monthly tide4 Guilty ones5 Stops prematurely, as

a rocket launch6 Mutt’s malady7 Participating in the

America’s Cup8 Thailand, once9 Picked10 Prepared to hear

“The Star-Spangled Banner”

11 It’s hit out of the park

12 Fencer’s weapon13 “You ___ Me” (Sam

Cooke)21 Digs in25 “Walk, don’t ___!”

26 “He ___ got a chance”27 Ease off28 Baseball minors29 As ___ (generally)30 Billfold fillers32 Hackneyed33 Waldorf or Caesar35 World Cup cry38 Sitcom about Jerry,

George, Elaine and Kramer

39 Electronic message of old

41 Shivery sound42 Merrill of

“BUtterfield 8”45 Threads, to a Brit47 Out of order48 Ordinary writing49 Actress Daly50 Corner piece in chess52 Cookie favorite53 Russian river or

mountains54 Collapse under

pressure55 Supply and demand

subj.56 Rip apart

Answerkeyavailableatwww.dailycardinal.com

Today’sCrosswordPuzzle

lassic

Notsodifferentafterall...Wild boars can be repelled by playing Britney Spears’ song “Oops!... I did it again” at them.

Caved In [email protected]

EvilBird [email protected]

dailycardinal.com Wednesday, September 26, 2012•7

[email protected]

Graph Giraffe Classic,2009 [email protected]

FirstinTwenty

Page 8: The Daily Cardinal - September 26th, 2012

Sports DailyCarDinal.ComweDneSDay September 26, 2012

Football

ball insists he will play at nebraskaby parker Gabrielthe daily cardinal

The questions about availability and running order have made their way through the Badgers’ offensive position groups this season.

A competition at right guard between redshirt junior Zac Matthias and redshirt sopho-more Kyle Costigan ran through camp and the first three weeks. The wide receivers lost redshirt junior Jared Abbrederis for a game and half due to a con-cussion suffered Sept. 8 against Oregon State. Redshirt junior transfer quarterback Danny O’Brien was benched at halftime of the same game in favor of red-shirt freshman Joel Stave because of ball—security issues.

All of those positions seemed to settle in Saturday’s 37-26 win over Texas El-Paso. Costigan turned in a solid performance at guard, Abbrederis finished with a career-high 147 receiving yards and Stave played well in his first start.

This week, the running backs get to answer all the questions.

After senior All-American Montee Ball exited Saturday’s game after taking a hard hit on a second-quarter touchdown run, he participated only in conditioning drills Tuesday. He said he passed cognitive tests Sunday morning

but did not know what it would take for him to be cleared for action when the Badgers (3-1 overall) open conference play on the road against Nebraska (3-1) Saturday night.

Even if he has not been cleared, Ball made clear he thinks he’ll be ready.

“Do I think I’m playing?” he said when asked by a reporter Tuesday. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m going to play. No doubt.”

Ball said training staff wanted to see how he reacted to the condition-ing drills and insisted he felt fine.

“Today we took it slow,

tomorrow I’ll probably get a green (no-contact) jersey for the rest of the week, and we’ll see from there,” said Ball.

Ball suffered a concussion against Michigan State last sea-son and another this summer, when he was attacked by five males late at night on University Avenue. He said Saturday’s symptoms were far less severe than this summer and he did not have any reservations about play-ing despite a growing history.

“Hopefully it doesn’t become a problem or an issue,” Ball said.

“What the doctor said is it doesn’t really matter how long you wait if you pass all the exams. Having two concussions, you’re always prone, or possibly prone to having anoth-er one. I just have to make sure I stay on top of the symptoms and tell the truth.”

In the event that Ball does not play, the running back position is in capable hands. Junior James White, a former Big Ten freshman of the year, impressed head coach Bret Bielema with his ability to run between the tackles Saturday in an increased role.

“It’s just been a while since we’ve seen him in that role, but I thought he was exceptional,” Bielema said.

White finished with 65 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.

In his first significant play-ing time of the season, redshirt freshman Melvin Gordon racked up 112 yards on eight carries. He added a touchdown late in the fourth quarter on a 26-yard burst around the left end and has been used primarily coming in motion from a slot receiver position. The Kenosha, Wis., native also saw snaps from the tailback position and said it was helpful to be able to study himself, instead of the other running backs, this week on film.

“You’re used to watching Montee and learning from his mis-takes and learning from what James and Montee are doing,” Gordon said. “When you’re actually out there yourself, you can actually study yourself and get better and craft yourself.”

Success aside, Gordon said he would expect the full complement of ball carriers to be available in Lincoln, Neb.

“Knowing Montee, he’s a fight-er and his senior year and he’s a leader on this team, he’s going to do whatever to get back,” Gordon said. “There’s no doubt in my mind he’s going to be playing Saturday.”

wil Gibb/the daily cardinal

Senior running back Montee Ball has yet to be cleared for the Big ten opener this Saturday.

NFL loses credibility, but replay officials make right call

I f you haven’t stopped reading already, thanks!

I sat down to write my column about the replacement refs costing the Packers a potential play-off-berth-deciding game. And then my editor in chief made a strong argument against that stance.

“A player only needs one hand on the ball to have possession,” he

said. “Football players make one-handed catches sometimes.”

The NFL rulebook says if two opponents simultaneously catch the ball and retain possession throughout the catch, the ball goes to the offensive player. However, if Player A first gains control and Player B gains joint control after-ward, the ball goes to Player A.

I had to watch Monday night’s final play on repeat until I was cer-tain Golden Tate didn’t have simul-taneous possession of the ball (if I wanted to make that argument). The image many will point to as

the defining “How can you say Tate has possession?” shot is when M.D. Jennings winds up in Tate’s lap, the ball pinned to the safety’s chest.

The play’s ruling, however, rests on the moment when the ball first hits Jennings and (maybe) Tate’s hands. After two hours of watch-ing that play, I still couldn’t find a frame that showed Tate’s left hand off the ball as Jennings gained pos-session. The replay refs had to make a call in a matter of minutes, and I frankly can’t fault them for con-cluding Tate’s hand never discon-nected from the ball.

That play was going to stand as called on the field, regardless of the initial ruling.

Ultimately, the replacement refs ruled the play a touchdown, and the NFL lost its credibility. Even if the refs had huddled up, discussed the play—what the regular refs would’ve done—and ruled touch-down, the league still would’ve lost its credibility.

Throughout the first three weeks, Roger Goodell and the NFL have insisted the replacement ref-erees are capable of officiating this league. Roger that, Cornelius Fudge.

Continue to tell us the Ministry of Magic hasn’t been infiltrated.

The players, coaches and fans were simply too fed up with the replacement refs; it didn’t matter if they followed the correct procedure on that final play. They awarded Seattle the game-winning touch-down, the replay officials couldn’t find conclusive evidence to over-turn the call, and the most popular professional sports league can’t be taken seriously anymore.

This is a massively cut-down ver-sion of Vince’s column. Visit dailycar-dinal.com to read it in its entirety.

vinCe huthhuth the truth