This month, roughly 23,000 students across the UW system will receive their diplomas as the graduating class of 2024. Those at River Falls and Stout have already walked across the stage, while the rest will follow in the coming days and weeks.
May 10, 2024
Top Stories
Wisconsin cultures and their folk music get major honor from Library of Congress
“It is the most diverse, equitable, and inclusive folksong field collection ever made for the Library of Congress,” said James P. Leary, professor emeritus of Folklore and Scandinavian Studies at UW-Madison. It reminds “us that we cannot fully grasp the richness of American roots music without recognizing the many peoples, tongues, and sounds that – whether past or present, from mainstream or margins, deservedly acknowledged or unjustly ignored – have always made America great.”
Research
Special silk sheets suppress sound by giving off good vibrations
A paper on the research – which also involved scientists from Case Western University, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and the Rhode Island School of Design – was recently published in the journal Advanced Materials.
Higher Education/System
Diversity, equity and inclusion conference explores issue at a time of polarization
Exploring the current status and the future of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts was the major theme at the annual Toward One Wisconsin conference organized by the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service (WIPPS) — a University of Wisconsin organization that seeks to address local, state and national issues through scholarship, outreach and public service.
Abbie Klein on Gaza protesters negotiating with UW-Madison
UW-Madison graduate student and Students for Justice in Palestine spokesperson Abbie Klein discusses demands campus protesters are making of the university and negotiations with its administration.
Why UW campus protesters’ rallying cry to divest from Israel faces resistance
Pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and UW-Milwaukee have been clear from the beginning: The tents will stay until their demands are met.
Campus life
Pro-Palestine protesters have called for disclosure of UW Foundation assets. Why are these records not public?
WFAA and other public university foundations are set up to ‘intentionally obscure the public’s right of access’ says journalist suing for NIL contract
Encampment demonstration continues as campus commencement celebrations begin
Negotiations set to continue on last day of final exams.
Security measures planned for UW-Madison commencement ceremonies
With recent protests on campus, the University sent out a list of planned security protocols. “These security measures follow typical University of Wisconsin gameday protocols and will be in place for both commencement ceremonies,” said a release from UW-Madison officials.
Crime and safety
UWPD warns consequences of disrupting graduation as encampment continues
UWPD says any disruption of campus events, which includes graduation, is against state law and will not be tolerated. Any students who do will face a suspension and have their degree put on hold.
Man who tried to fight people near Library Mall encampment arrested
Madison police officers arrested a 20-year-old man who they said tried to fight people near the Library Mall encampment Wednesday night.
Extension
Do people still participate in No Mow May?
The UW-Extension office said it depends on the lawn. Lawns that are solely turfgrass will provide few resources for pollinators. But lawns that have low-growing plants like dandelions will provide nectar and pollen.
Health
Madison schools put opioid overdose reversal drug Narcan in AED boxes
“By having this medication immediately available, we can save a life,” Kari Stampfli, the district’s health services coach and lead nurse, said in a statement by UW Health, which is supplying the Narcan through grant funds from Dane County.
Athletics
Polzin: How these Wisconsin runners persevered through tragedy
For Victoria Heiligenthal, Madison Mooney and Alexa Westley — not to mention the teammates who’ve already reached this point and for those teammates whose time with the Badgers isn’t quite done — there’s a bond that can never be broken.
Big pay raise in 2nd season for Wisconsin men’s basketball assistant coach
Kirk Penney is getting a sizeable pay raise for his second season on the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball coaching staff.
Opinion
Letter to the Editor: Dissent from Jewish UW faculty member
The demands of the anti-Israel protests on campus include “cutting all ties with Israeli institutions, including the… Mosse Graduate Exchange Fellowship.” As a member of the Faculty Committee for the George L. Mosse Program in History, which administers the exchange fellowship, I strongly oppose this demand as a threat to academic freedom. The free exchange of ideas, scholars, and students is essential for the advancement of knowledge and the fearless sifting and winnowing long championed by the University of Wisconsin.
UW-Madison needs to stand up to irrational protesters — David Arundel
I have been a passionate supporter of my university, but I am now going to withdraw my support. I cannot support an administration that allows uneducated, ill-informed students to make irrational and illogical demands of said administration. Demanding that UW cut all ties with Israel is beyond antisemitic.
Business/Technology
Debt imprisonment, Sex education in Wisconsin, Comedy and cancel culture
Wisconsinites can be jailed for failing to pay public fines and court debts. We talk with John Gross, a clinical associate professor of law at the University of Wisconsin Law School and director of the Public Defender Project, about how frequently it happens and how it affect the justice system.
UW Experts in the News
Invasive tree-killing beetle likely in every Wisconsin county
Around 50 percent or fewer ash trees have died in northern Wisconsin where infestations are relatively new, according to PJ Liesch, an entomologist with the Division of Extension at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“Unfortunately, we’re still going to be seeing lots of ash trees dying over the years and likely decades to come,” Liesch said.
Student Loan Cancellation Update: New Group Considered for Forgiveness
Dr. Nick Hillman, a professor in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, referenced a 2020 article written by Dr. Denisa Gándara and Dr. Sosanya Jones titled Who Deserves benefits in higher Education? A Policy Discourse Analysis of a Process Surrounding Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, telling Newsweek via email on Thursday that “they have found policymakers favor certain groups over others based on notions of deservingness.
An Epic Battle Over 1 Mile of Land in Wisconsin Is Tearing Environmentalists Apart
The Cardinal-Hickory Creek fight is as much about legal principles as it is about the fate of the mile-wide section of the wildlife refuge the developers want to traverse. The actual environmental impacts of the current deal on the table are arguably not the worst outcome, explains David Drake, a wildlife specialist at the University of Wisconsin. With proper mitigation, he argues, the ecosystem could respond well to the proposed land swap. “After the transmission towers are constructed, there is a minimal impact at that point,” he explains, though he warns that construction would still pose dangers like habitat disturbance and invasive species.
UW-Madison Related
Nearly all Gaza campus protests in the US have been peaceful, study finds
Nearly half of the 3% of campus protests that Acled categorized as violent became so because of demonstrators fighting with the police sent in to clear protest encampments. That included incidents at the University of Texas, Austin, on 24 April; at Emerson College in Boston on 25 April; at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, on 26 April; at Washington University in St Louis on 27 April, when campus officials said that three police officers were injured, including one who had a “severe concussion” and another who broke a finger; and at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, on 1 May, when a state trooper was reportedly injured after being hit on the head with a skateboard.