The first month of UW-Madison’s semester last fall saw nearly 1,900 on-campus student COVID-19 cases, two dorm quarantines, at least one hospitalization and a public rebuke by Dane County’s top leader.
February 22, 2021
Top Stories
Research
Scientists Just Changed the Rules of What You Can Do While You Sleep
Quoted: Benjamin Baird, a sleep researcher at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who wasn’t involved in this study, told Scientific American the findings “challenge our ideas about what sleep is.” SciAm has more: Sleep has classically been defined as unresponsiveness to external environmental stimuli—and that feature is still typically part of the definition today, Baird explains. “This work pushes us to think carefully—rethink, maybe—about some of those fundamental definitions about the nature of sleep itself, and what’s possible in sleep.”
Higher Education/System
Branch campuses need time to work — Mary Hoeft
Letter to the editor: University of Wisconsin System President Tommy Thompson has an idea for Wisconsin’s outstanding two-year universities. He’s wondering if they should be combined with the state’s technical school system. As a professor at one of UW System’s two-year campus for 49 years, I would like to answer President Thompson’s question with a resounding “no.”
Tech colleges may help UW campuses — John Poole
Letter to the editor: The campuses have been severely underutilized for the past several years, ever since the concept of regionalization was implemented. Many thought returning to our roots (Richland started as a branch of Platteville) would be the saving grace for the campus, but that hasn’t proven to be the case.
3 big ideas must stay in Wisconsin’s budget
But three of the governor’s major spending priorities deserve broad bipartisan support:
- Investing in our universities, especially UW-Madison.
- Encouraging more private investment in promising technology startups across the state.
- Expanding access to high-speed internet in rural areas.
Campus life
Boy Scouts celebrate the first group of female Eagle Scouts
Noted: The daughter, 18-year-old Rebecca Wright, is among the new Eagle Scouts, having earned 102 merit badges. She now attends the University of Wisconsin-Madison and wants to be a genetics researcher.
UW-Madison, student government at odds over how to help students struggling during COVID-19 pandemic
UW-Madison administrators and the university’s student council are clashing over how to help students struggling because of the pandemic, with the council looking to put more money toward student rent payments using a strategy UW-Madison said is illegal, and the university taking an approach student government calls the bare minimum.
College students and mental health counselors in Madison adapt to pandemic needs
When the University of Wisconsin-Madison first switched to virtual learning in March, the Counseling Psychology Training Clinic had no experience offering telehealth services. Its staff quickly scrambled to find ways to continue care, acquire the proper technology and maintain patient privacy through video counseling.
Know Your Madisonian: UW-Madison professor is teacher, actress, director, model, author
Sandra Adell is a professor in the university’s Afro-American Studies department, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this school year. She talked about her childhood in Detroit, the unusual selling point that drew her to UW-Madison and how last year’s racial justice protests have changed the classroom dynamic.
‘I wasn’t surprised’: UW-Madison student fights COVID-19 as cases spike at university
Sophomore Madison Tessler is one of those students.”I think I’ve been pretty careful, and I still ended up getting it,” she said.
UW-Madison issues warning amid spike in COVID-19 cases
Jake Baggott, the head of University Health Services, warned of a “significant increase” in COVID-19 cases among students on and off campus. He says there were 112 confirmed cases reported Wednesday and 99 more on Thursday.
With COVID-19 cases on the rise, UHS Director calls for students to adhere to health guidelines
According to the university COVID-19 dashboard, 67 cases were confirmed among students on Friday, Feb. 19. The seven-day positivity rate for students is 1 percent. In the email, Baggot noted that 112 positive student cases were reported on Wednesday, with an additional 99 positive student cases reported on Thursday.
Crime and safety
Outside officers who work Badgers football games to face extra checks, UW police say
UWPD Chief Kristen Roman said Friday that officers from other agencies will need to prove their performance histories don’t include complaints on excessive use of force or violations of civil rights before they can join the local force at and around Camp Randall Stadium.
UWPD to bolster vetting process for outside officers working football games
The UW-Madison Police Department is implementing additional measures to vet outside police officers that will work the 2021-22 Wisconsin football games, according to UWPD Chief Kristen Roman.
Community
Student tenants inhabit unsafe conditions while property managers profit
Steve Brown Apartments never assigned spots or painted lines in their parking lot. When UW-Madison senior Gretchen Gerlach came home from work late at night, she would often find that there was no room in the lot that she had paid to park in.
Students volunteer at once-monthly food pantry for Madison homeless
Students volunteered at a monthly food pantry Saturday to serve Madison individuals facing homelessness. The pantry at First United Methodist Church provides students an opportunity to give back to their community.
Health
“Covid Long-haulers”: Some Wisconsin patients battle symptoms one year later
Dr. Aurora Pop-Vicas is working to crack the case. She explained she’s seen similar outcomes with other respiratory viruses, but Covid presents unique challenges.“We are increasingly aware of how common this is because covid-19 is on the forefront of our efforts,” Pop-Vicas, UW-Madison school of medicine and public health infectious disease assistant professor said.
Athletics
After fall sports delay, UW implements testing, safety regimen for 22 sports this spring
As the University of Wisconsin-Madison transitions from fielding just one varsity sport in the fall to 22 this spring, it is applying and adapting lessons learned from the pandemic football season .
Obituaries
Plane crash victim remembered for involvement in Madison-area aviation groups
Staff Sgt. Remington K. Viney, 26, was a Madison native. According to her obituary, she graduated with honors from Sun Prairie High School in 2012 and received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from UW-Madison in 2017. She also served as the captain of the Wisconsin Flying Team during her time at UW-Madison.
UW-Madison Related
The story of Charles E. Anderson and the Tuskegee Airmen
Noted: Anderson eventually came to work with Vern Suomi at the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1966. Suomi was known for his growing research in satellite meteorology.
Oak Creek mom of teen with lung disease who questioned Joe Biden at town hall gets a call from the White House
Noted: Engebrecht has been urging officials to prioritize people with significant health problems, or at least create wait lists so they could be contacted when extra doses are available. The family also has been taking precautions while awaiting doses of vaccine, to protect Nate, who recently moved back home from the University of Wisconsin-Madison because of the risk of COVID-19 on and around campus.
Boy Scouts celebrate the first group of female Eagle Scouts
18-year-old Rebecca Wright is among the new Eagle Scouts, having earned 102 merit badges. She now attends the University of Wisconsin-Madison and wants to be a genetics researcher.