U. of Wisconsin alters photo to by Matthew McGuire TMS Campus September 21, 2(10(1 In an effort to recruit minority stu dents, the University of Wisconsin at Madison doctored a photograph in recruiting materials to include a black student in a sea of white faces. The photo is on the cover of the 2001-02 undergraduate application and shows a group of white students cheering at a 1993 football game. The photo of Diallo Shabazz, a black stu dent, was placed in the lower left side of the photo. The university's undergraduate ad missions director, Rob Seltzer, could not find a picture that showed the school's diversity and eventually de cided to add the 1994 image of Shabazz. University publications di rector Al Friedman's office then al tered the crowd photo to insert Shabazz's head in to the picture, said director of university communica tions Patrick Strickler. Meet Tazz: the WWF's own Don Rickles, by Billy O'Keefe MIS Campus September 24, 2000 Few bosses would allow one of their employees to shatter a car win dow with a lead pipe while they sit inside catching glass with their eyes. Then again, WWF commentator Jim Ross isn't like most bosses, and Pete Senerchia, famously known in the World Wrestling Federation as - razz, is really a nine-to-five kinda guy. Out of character, Senerchia, despite his powerful frame and unmistakable strut, isn't extremely imposing. lie says "please - and "thank you, - and even gave this reporter a lighthearted lecture on how I might like that tat too on MN' shoulder now, " hut in 11l WWF Superstar Tazz talks to reporter Billy O'Keefe prior to a recent taping of "Raw is War." Nonetheless, the man has a job to do. And on Aug. 24, during a taping :of " WWF Smackdown!," that joh in volved kidnapping Ross, tossing him into fellow commentator Jerry "the King" Lawler's rental car, and smash- Mg in the car's front window while a 'helpless Lawler watched from his seat. Since the incident, in which Ross suffered a real but mild injury, Taiz's status as the WWF's baddest outsider has slowly cemented, culminating in a nasty brawl with the crowd-pleas ing Lawler at "Unforgiven," the WWF's September pay-per-view. Of course, it's only fiction. In real ity, Ross, who performs double duty in the front office as well as the booth, could very well be signing Senerchia's checks. And as one of the WWF's rising stars, Senerchia is happy to be on hoard, a far cry from the outsider his pharacter portrays in the ring. To hear dim say it, his best days are still ahead "It wasn't done to deceive pi ()spec live students hut rather to more ac curately portray the student hod;," Strickler said. The school's minority enrollment is 9.5 percent, with about 2.2 percent of all students identify ing themselves as black. The university won't discipline those involved because they admit ted their mistake and apologi/cd to Shaba/J. Strickler said. The university sent out about 60,000 admissions applications with the altered photo, and has decided to reprint the entire run of 110,000 ap plications. High schools and prospec tive students that received the appli cation with the doctored photo will he sent new applications and a letter explaining the "error in judgment," Strickler said. The public university will use pri vate funds to reprint the applications at a cost of about $64,000. Officials at the school admitted to the altering when Anna Gould, a re porter at The Daily Cardinal, one of 01 him " It seems like, for a lot of people. my time in the spotlight hasn't yet come. - he says. " But I think it's be cause a lot of people are used to me in ECW, where I was the guy. The " But when I first started there, I wasn't the man, - he notes. "There were tour-and-a-half years that went by where 1 huilt myself up. And when you come from being a top guy in smaller company into a HUGE com pany, you just end up being one of the fish in the pond until you make your mark. 1 knew that, from the day I signed a contract here. And I'm cool with that, because I'm having tun. - During his stint with Extreme Championship Wrestling, Tai. built a gradual legacy as one of the company's most inhuman thugs, a no nonsense machine amidst a one-ring circus. After years of breaking through the ranks, the "Human Suplex Machine" rewarded his ef forts in January 1999 with an eight month reign as ECW World Cham pion. A year later Senerchia resurfaced in the WWF as Tazz, one z stronger but otherwise the same animal. After months of rumors, predictions—and, eventually, hype—the bomb finally dropped in New York City at the Royal Rumble, one of the federation's most anticipated annual events. "Debuting in Madison Square Gar den, and defeating the 11996 Olym pia gold medalist Kurt Angle, who was undefeated at the time... That was a big, big moment." A run for the hardcore champion ship followed, with Tazz capturing the belt three times for a total of no longer than three minutes, with two of those reigns coming during a messy 14-man battle royal at NATIONAL -CAMPUS NEWS the school's student newspapers, no- ticed a glare on Shabazz's head that did not reflect off any other student. "One of the faces stood out to her, and as she looked a little more, the face had a glare on it different than the rest of the photo, - said the newspaper's editor in chief Andrew Wallmeyer. "We then checked the university's news and public affairs web site and found the original, un touched photos." Shabazz, a senior at the university who has never attended a football game, declined comment to TMS- Campus, but told the Associated Press that he hopes the incident will open discussion between students of color and the university on how to recruit minority applicants. "Diversity on this campus is really not being dealt with." he told AP. "People really don't care about the photo itself. People care about hay ing more students of color on cam pus." Wrestlemania 2000. Another brush with WWF gold, in the form of a title match with then-heavyweight cham pion Triple H. elevated Tart to con tender status. His signature t-shirt, a bright orange number not at all in line with the usual black and gray, became the company's top seller. Then a torn hicep in May put him on the shelf. Barely three months af ter his explosive debut, Tazz was out of sight, out of mind. 13att timing'? As "Stone Cold - Steve Austin might sav, oh, hell yeah. But one man's misfortune is an other man's revelation, and when Tazt's career re-ignited in July, Senerchia's priorities had changed. The belts, once a top priority, could now wait. When I I irk,t got here one of my goals was to eventually, hopefully come close to winning the WWF title," says Senerchia. "But now I don't think about that. Now, I just try and get on TV as much as I can, and when I'm out there doing my segment, entertain the people. Have fun doing it. Entertain my boss, which is impor tant, and let him see that I have enough to bring to the table to keep me on `Smackdown!,' keep me on 'Raw,' keep my on pay-per-views." Sounds simple enough. But this isn't "Friends," and being part of the cast doesn't guarantee that you'll be on the show. By acquiring the likes of Chris Benoit, Lita, Kurt Angle, Eddy Guererro, Perry Saturn, Dean Maelenko and Rikishi in the past year alone, and by losing none of their top workers in the process, the WWF has put together what is arguably the most talented locker room in the history of sports entertainment. That's nothing but good news for fans, but it forces new faces to raise the bar that much higher in order to make their mark and highlight diversity on campus A look at the U. of Wisconsin photo mix-up only deadlier leave it. In these days of vignettes and outlandish storylines, pure athletic ability is no longer enough. That in mind, the self-described "one-man crime spree" is now guilty of yet another offense: comedy—at Lawler's expense, of course. Rather than choke the King out with his trademark Tazzmission—a modified version of the sleeper hold—Tazz has instead resorted to pelting Lawler with popcorn, babbling nonsense in his ear, and staring at him with a stu pid grin, a la Gilligan to Lawler's Skipper, until he cracks. Three weeks into the experiment, audiences are eating it up, and Senechera couldn't he happier. "The Taz of ECW is completely different than this Tazz," he says. "The Taz in ECW was one-dimen sional, someone who would just come to the ring and tear your head off, and that was it. Get on the mic, curse a lot, be pissed at the world, and people loved it. "This is a different Tazz, which I like better," he continues, his voice pure East Cost but not at all reminis cent of the devilish nutjoh he por trays on TV. "There are so many dif ferent facets I can show of my abil ity as a performer. I can be the had ass. People know I'm tough. People know that I'm legit. But now people are seeing something else, which l've always wanted to do. In ECW, Paul [Heyman, ECW's owner] didn't want that out of me, which was cool. Now, though, I'm playing in front of mil lions, and there's TONS of competi tion in that locker room. You better do something to open up some eyes, or else you'll just get lost in the shuffle." With the talent explosion in the WWF, the road to reaching main event status is more brutal than ever, and the rock-solid popularity of such mainstays as Austin, the Rock and Triple H isn't making things any easier. After clawing his way to the top of the totem pole in the notori ously violent ECW, Tazz must prove himself all over again, this time on a much different—and much larger— stage. It's all part of the business—and part of the challenge, he says. "I believe that if you try to sprint be fore you can crawl, you can't do it. You gotta crawl, then walk slow, jog, run, and sprint. So I'm far from win ning a world title, a world heavy weight title." "A lot of guys would say, 'l'd love to be the world champion here, — he concludes. "Right now, I wouldn't want to be. I'm not established enough. I have to establish Tazz." Get Registered!!! Your Vote Counts!! TMS CAMPUS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BILLY O'KEEFE Bono urges lawmakers to orgive third world debt by Caryn Rousseau TMS Campus Washington Correspondent September 21, 2000 WASHINGTON Rep. John Kasich, R-Ohio helped U2's Bono find what he was looking for on Capitol Hill this week. Bono was touring Washington seeking an audience to plead for the United States government to for give debt owed by third world countries. Before holding a press conference in front of the House on Thursday, Kasich spent two days taking Bono to meetings with House and Senate members to gain support for debt relief. The singer and international humanitarian has traveled around the world promot ing the cause. Kasich serves as chairman of the House Budget Committee, which influences the amount of money the United States allots for differ ent programs. Kasich praised Bono for his con tinued work on the debt relief is "Bono represents the best of the FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2000 entertainment industry," Kasich said. "He understands what it means to give something back." Kasich is a longtime supporter of debt relief and said forgiving debt is a way the United States can share its bounty. "We're a superpower," Kasich said. "But that means we need to help the powerless, the people around the world who live in pov- erty or are victims of famine." This isn't Bono's first visit to Capitol Hill. Last November he met with congressmen in support of the House's Debt Relief for Poverty Reduction Act. The legislation, also known as the Jubilee 2000 bill, would allow forgiveness on debts that have very little chance of be ing paid off. In return, benefiting countries could concentrate more of their own money toward poverty reduction. Bono's presence on the Hill has made an impact on the White House. President Clinton's eco nomic policy assistant announced that Clinton will host a forum on debt relief early next month.
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