Intercollegiate Athletic Conference meet last Friday and Saturday.
UW-P took first in four events and second in three events according to Pioneer Coach Jim Nickasch. Two UW-P outdoor track records were broken at the meet.

According to the UW-P Sports Information Web site, Senior Alison Glendenning broke her own school record in the 400-meter hurdles and finished in first place with a time of 1:03.42. This also qualified Glendenning for a NCAA Division III provisional mark.

Photograph by Anthony Bauer
The UW-Platteville team gets another shot at Nationals with the Last Chance meet May 7-9 at Naperville, Ill. Junior Mike Schmidt works on the high jump in practice.

Senior Andy Melby earned a provisional mark in the 400-meter men’s hurdle trials with a time of 54.10. In the finals, senior Mitch Spees won with a time of 54.96 and Melby came in second with 55.02.

In the 800-meter run, senior Jessica Scott won with a time of 2:12 and she took second in the 1,500 meter. Freshman Ann Tank took second in the 800 meter run and third in the 1,500 meter.
Scott and Tank joined juniors Kristy Curry and Sara Weisman on the women’s 4×800 relay and took second with a time of 9:33.73 according to the UW-P Sports Information Web site.

Senior Alex Switzky, senior Mitch Spees, junior Matt Bishoff, and freshman Lynn Oyawiri finished second in the men’s 4×100 relay and broke the UW-P record with a time of 41.82. This time also earned them a provisional mark.

Coach Nickasch said, the team members with first place finishes are First Team All Conference and those who earned second places are Second Team All Conference.” Ten of our athletes achieved all conference status.

Senior Corey Digman earned a provisional mark in the men’s hammer throw.

“We select athletes we think could improve or qualify for provisional marks to go to the Last Chance meets,” Nickasch said.

Athletes have to work around finals week and graduation to select which meets they will be able to compete at. Last Chance meets are being held May 7-9 at Naperville, Ill., May 9 in Madison, May 14-15 in Naperville, Ill., and May 15 in Rock Island, Ill.

Photograph by Anthony Bauer
The outdoor track team spends the week preparing for the WIAC Championship meet. Sophomore April Kalepp hurdles at the outdoor track during afternoon practice.

The women’s 4×400 relay finished first with a time of 3:54.31 and broke the UW-P outdoor record set in 2006. That time allowed them to reach NCAA Division III provisional marks.

This relay team consisted of senior Alison Glendenning, junior Liz Baker, freshman Ann Tank and senior Jessica Scott. This is Scott’s third event that has the UW-P outdoor track record.

The 4×400 team earned WIAC track athletes of the week for their performance in the Loras Open.

According to the UW-P Sports Information Web site, two pole vaulters also reached NCAA D-III provisional marks. Senior Scott Howard, a 2008 NCAA D-III outdoor All-American, and junior Jon Balciar tied for second place at the meet with a jump of 15 feet 5 inches in the pole vault.

Photograph by Anthony Bauer
Sophomore Taylor Fry hurdles at the outdoor track during afternoon practice.

When asked how the team is training for the WIAC Championship and Nationals, Coach Jim Nickasch said, “Training isn’t just about our practice schedule (which is Mon.-Fri. from 3-5 p.m.), it’s also the athletes eating right, sleeping enough, limiting social activities and even down to wearing the right shoes during the day.”

“In order to go to the WIAC Championships, you have to be on their honor roll. The honor roll consists of top athletes with the best times or distances and only the kids on that honor roll will get to compete in Oshkosh,” Nickasch said.

NCAA D-III National Championships will be held May 20-23 in Marietta, Ohio. Athletes that have automatic marks guaranteeing them a spot at nationals are Scott in the 800-meter and senior Corey Digman in the discuss.

After automatic marks are given their spots, the remainder of spots available are given to athletes with provisional marks. Those students who currently have provisional marks are the women’s 4×400-meter relay team consisting of Baker, Glendenning, Tank and  Scott;  Pole vaulters Howard, Balciar and senior Tony Fontanini; freshman Andrew Melby in the 110-0meter hurdles; sophomore Jason Garvens in the 10,000- meter and Scott in the 1,500-meter.

Other top finishes at Loras, according to the UW-P Sports Information Web site, were freshman Lynn Oyawiri who took first in the men’s 100-meter dash with a time of 11.08, Glendenning who finished second in the women’s 100-meters with at 13.12 and sophomore teammate, Cassie Schneider finished third at 13.17.

Schneider also finished third in the long jump at 16.25 feet. Senior Mitch Spees finished second in the 200-meter with a time of 22.66.

The Pioneers participate in the WIAC championship meet at UW-Oshkosh May 1 and May 2. The Last Chance meets in Naperville, Ill. and Madison on May 7-9 and May 14-16.

Since Barack Obama was elected president, hate group Web sites have received a phenomenal increase, Mitchell said. Only 5 to 15 percent of hate crimes are committed by hate groups, with the highest percentage of hate crimes being committed by groups of teenage boys. This demographic has a large base on college and high school campuses, so the Stop the Hate campaign is focusing their efforts there.

According to Wisconsin Statutes, “if a person commits a crime and intentionally selects a person, in whole or in part, because of the actors belief or perception regarding the race, religion, color, disability, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, the penalties for the underlying crime are enhanced,” making it a hate crime.

Mroch said there have been several incidents on campus but most have been classified as vandalism.

Mitchell said that hate crimes are generally more violent than other crimes and 60 percent of hate crime-homicides are classified as overkill. Overkill is more than four stab wounds and multiple gunshot wounds; basically the crime is still carried out even after the victim is deceased, he said.

Deirdre Dalsing, counselor at the UW-Platteville Counseling Center, attended the program and plans to use the information for “Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual and Transgender Safe Zone” as training. This training is done once a semester for faculty, staff and students. Dalsing said that the session was an excellent and highly informational program.

The founding sponsor of this national Stop the Hate campaign is the Southern Poverty Law Center. Anyone wanting more information can visit their Web site at splcenter.org, where they can register for weekly e-mails with current issues and weekly intelligence reports on hate crimes.

Stop the Hate programs usually run twice a semester as three-hour training sessions. This is the first year for specialized training in one-hour sessions.

Classes, clubs or a group of friends can request a Stop the Hate program by contacting Val Wetzel in the Pioneer Involvement Center or Anna Mroch at mrocha@uwplatt.edu. The trainers can then tailor sessions to fit the groups’ needs.

On Feb. 24, Teja Arboleda spoke to students on the topic of freedom of speech in his presentation called Crossing the Line. Arboleda’s spin on the issue was not what can or cannot be said under the First Amendment of the Constitution, but rather, the responsibility we have for what we say.

Photograph by Anthony Bauer
Teja Arboleda spoke to audience members about slang terms, their meanings and how they effect freedom of speech.

Arboleda is of African American, Native American, Filipino-Chinese and German- Danish decent. He lived in Germany and Japan as a child and came to America when he was 19 years old. He believes the first step in being accountable for your actions is to know your own heritage and be proud of who you are. On forms and applications we are narrowed to white, black, Hispanic and etc.

The census bureau keeps changing the language for minorities, especially African Americans. It has ranged from Negro to Afro-American to Black. Arboleda campaigned across the United States and in front of Congress to add a multi-racial category, but the cause was defeated.

“As Americans, we are taught to think shallow,” Arboleda said. “We are taught that we are just one thing.”

Arboleda spoke of the president and how he is multi-racial. He commented on the press focusing on what his black experiences were. He finds it interesting that no one asks about Obama’s “white experiences.”

Throughout his speech, Arboleda’s stance was not to limit freedom of speech, but rather to be respectful and to be responsible enough to use language that would not offend or insult any culture, nationality or gender.

“The first amendment allows us to say anything about anyone we want and it is okay…or is it? This is where responsibility comes in,” Arboleda said.

One issue he addresses is the use of the words “nigger” and “ho” by rappers and comedians such as Chris Rock, Snoop Dog and Richard Pryor.

Tamaeka Bryant, criminal justice major, said no one, including rappers and comedians, should use the N-word in any context.

“Ho is not derogatory toward a people so it is okay, but the N-word is derogatory towards blacks. Blacks are enslaved by the N-word,” Bryant said.

Some other female members of the audience argued that “ho” was derogatory towards women as a person and that, yes, they did feel enslaved by that term.
This lecture asked where the line is, but more importantly, who is allowed to cross it?

Arboleda said by saying, “no one should cross it, but especially those in the public eye should know it is their responsibility to facilitate proper language.”

Quincy Bufkin, general engineer and theater major, said it was a great program and the lecture really made him question the term freedom of speech and, ethically, the words that should not be used towards certain groups.

Arboleda is an author, a professor at the New England Institute of Art, an Emmy-award winner and performance-lecturer. He has a masters degree in education and has produced films such as In the Shadow of Race and Crossing the Line.
The lecture at UW-P was based on Arboleda’s film, Crossing the Line, which is a documentary airing on PBS.

Diana Trendt, Interim Director of the Career Center, said IBM will be represented by the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation at the UW-Platteville Career Fair on Feb. 10-11. The GDDC has been working closely with IBM to ensure a successful opening in the Dubuque building in downtown Dubuque.

On Wednesday, Feb. 18, Trendt is planning an event where IBM representatives will be on campus to focus on recruitment, and will answer questions of students, alumni and community members. This event is tentatively scheduled in Ullsvik at the Nohr Gallery from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.. Registration is required and can be done through the Pioneer Career Network on the Career Center Web site, or by registering at selected courses in departments of interest. Trendt said majors of interest would include computer science with an emphasis in computer technology and software engineering and business administration with an emphasis in computer science. Further information can be obtained by contacting the Career Center.

An e-mail from IBM said, “The technical service delivery center will primarily support U.S. strategic outsourcing clients, providing server systems operations, security services and end user services, including maintenance and monitoring of computer hardware and software systems. IBM will be recruiting both entry level and experienced technical service professions with education or experience in the following areas: Intel, Unix, Database, Mainframe, Storage, Performance and Capacity Planning, Commercial Middleware, e-mail and SAP.”

Mike Rowe, professor of the software engineering and computer science, has been teaching an IBM software suite for more than seven years.

“IBM coming to this area is potentially a tremendous opportunity for this campus,” Rowe said. “Graduating students have more career opportunities and our campus can offer IBM employees continuing education.”

Barb Daus, special assistant to the chancellor, said Mike Daniels, senior vice president for IBM’s global technology services, expressed a need for being involved with colleges in the area. Daniels said it is important to establish relationships with the institutions for higher learning not only for recruitment purposes for IBM, but also to help benefit the universities.

“IBM is very interested in being participants in external advisory councils,” Daus said. These councils share advances in emerging technology as well as helping to ensure our students are learning the skills necessary to compete for top careers.
All career opportunities are listed on the IBM Web site. Applications will only be accepted online and exclusively at www.03.ibm.com/employment/us/iowajobs/. It is recommended that applicants attend one of the above events prior to applying online.