The Final Tally on the Diversity Throwdown

Opinion Page Editor Sean Kittridge (more people need to talk about how stellar the titles he comes up with for the Herald’s pieces are) announced the end of the Diversity Throwdown yesterday. So, I thought a tally on how many pieces were published for, against, and just relating to affirmative action on campus would be interesting.

A couple of things to note first. I focused my search mostly on the Herald, I only included Cardinal columns that came off the top of my head. Second, categorizing each piece is unfair and a vast oversimplification…but it makes for a good time.

The results:

Against: 6 (3 letters to the editor, 3 by columnists, none I could find after the declaration of Diversity War)

For: 10 (7 letters to the editor, 3 by columnists)

Calling for a re-framing of the debate: 7 ( 2 letters to editor, 5 by columnists, including 2 from Smathers)

In between: 3 (columns like Smathers asking people to write in etc.)

Again, this is by no means scientific. But, it should be a relatively accurate count.

Brenda Konkel vs. Mayor Dave

From Brenda Konkel’s Facebook:

Just decided the Mayor is nuts. If he wants the Landmarks Comm. to be advisory, does that mean CC approves all Cert. of Appropriateness?

This is the same debate that defined the bus fare increase last Spring. Mayor Dave wanted to raise the fare by 50 cents to fund Madison Metro deficit, but the Transit and Parking Commission only approved a 25 cent increase. He then got approval from the City Attorney to ask the Council to overturn the Transit Commission.

SNOWBALL

YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS.

GIANT SNOWBALL ON UNIVERSITY AVE LAST NIGHT.

Views of the Blizzard

CLASSES CANCELED TOMORROW

I can’t get on the UW website right now to confirm, but a combination of my roommates drinking and the Badger Herald reporting it make me pretty confident it is for real.

An announcement of canceled class by 8p.m.? This must all be a result of a big lobbying effort by Marsh Shapiro. I can guarantee he will get a lot more business tonight than a typical Tuesday now.

True Community

All images are property of Jaimie Chapman and the Sconz.

Happy to share. Just ask first please. : )

Before the Snow: Lakeshore

All images are property of Jaimie Chapman and the Sconz.

Happy to share. Just ask first please. : )

I’ll Skip the Frap

Starbucks. One on State. One on the square. And all I can think about is the excess of more suitable options between them. Starbucks is awful and it’s not just the loud music or the sky high prices. I’m no rebel. I conform- just not when it comes to my coffee.

1.)

The caramel macchiato is nothing more than a vanilla latté with a little caramel drizzled over the top. In reality, a macchiato is a shot of espresso with a small amount of milk foam. Their fancy wording is nothing more than a gimmick. Trust me on this one.

2.)

You know what I mean when I say large. I want the biggest one. I don’t care that you call it a Venti. You can call it spaghetti for all I care, but don’t correct me when I say large.

3.)

I’ve never heard the sound of espresso or coffee beans being ground in a Starbucks. I’m sure they grind in house, but a few hours beforehand indicate to me that my drink is going to be stale. No thank you.

4.)

All Starbucks wants to do is expand. They buy out small businesses and if they can’t do that, they open one on every corner until the small business can no longer profit from the area.

5.)

They rob the rest of the world blind. I don’t care if they did finally come to an agreement with Ethiopia. It happened.

6.)

Then, they ruin it. Nothing at Starbucks ever tastes fresh. It’s burnt and stale. There’s a big difference between burnt and strong. Unfortunately, too many people can’t tell that difference because they’ve never tried going anywhere else.

7.)

They continue to be a major player in the cultural homogenization. If you carry a Starbucks cup in your hand, you’re cool. (In fact, you are just another person who bought into their image of what cool must be.) So cookie cutter. Talk about a lack of diversity.

8.)

Do their employees even know what barista means?

9.)

Espresso Royale. Coffee Bytes. Fair Trade Coffee. Mother Fool’s. Electric Earth. Ancora. Barrique’s. Michelangelo’s. Café Soleil. Need I continue?

In a rush..

Folks. Due to a miscalculation of homework load, I cannot publish Brunch Links today. Umm..nothing is happening in Madison. Read post below.

1000 comments

Kudos to Jason Smathers for making the 1000th Sconz comment. This is a milestone in the history of the blog. With your help, we can get to 10,000 before graduation.