Author: jplucas

Susan Riseling ‘s had a busy few months.

The UW-Madison police chief has helped lead the state ‘s response to the Virginia Tech shooting, while managing the university ‘s actions in high-profile security incidents this fall.

The handsome and stately home of the University of Iowa is not one of those college towns where kids get all liquored up and provoke the cops into big ugly confrontations.

But it is a campus whose students are fond of drinking — many would say too fond — and that has sparked a town-gown quarrel over so-called binge drinking, downing five or more drinks in a single sitting.

MADISON, Wis. — Madison police said on Wednesday that they have garnered some new leads after they released a new sketch of the assailant who sexually assaulted a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate student on an East Side bike path two years ago.

Detectives released the new sketch last week as they reopened the investigation, using the new image to hopefully restart the cold case, WISC-TV reported.

They can’t be faulted for not trying. Marquette University and the Milwaukee and Madison campuses of the University of Wisconsin did step up their efforts to attract more freshmen of color. In fact, success seemed at hand. Applications and then admissions rose among non-whites. Yet enrollment dropped. More admitted students of color chose to go elsewhere.

A thousand high school students from northern Illinois were courted by college recruiters at a Hispanic College Fair Wednesday morning.

The job for the recruiters involved more than information about admission requirements, said Carlos Reyes of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, one of 60 schools at the event.

â??Sometimes we tend to limit ourselves,â? said Reyes. â??This is a chance to talk one-on-one and say, â??I came from the same situation as you guys. Weâ??ve come a long way and you need to go a long way.â??â?

UW-Madison officials warned a segment of campus to be on the look-out for a man who has been banned from the law school. But that man told 27 News, the warning is unnecessary, and his free speech rights are being trampled.

The e-mail warned law school students about Richard Rathmann, 60, of Madison. “They sent us a picture, a poster of a guy that I guess has been causing problems at the law school,” student Chris Behrens said.

At the immaculate home of UW-Madison students Dan Bereiter and Shaun Aukland, stainless-steel appliances gleam in the kitchen. A slate-paneled fireplace adorns the great room. The porch offers a view of Lake Mendota.

And a word of warning before stepping on the pale, birch floors â?? they “scratch easily.”

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s visit to Madison on Monday highlighted how the Democratic presidential hopeful is mobilizing students in hopes of winning the party’s contest in Iowa.

Obama rallied about 4,000 mostly young people at Monona Terrace, calling on them to “e-mail everybody you know,” volunteer and recruit others to join the campaign.

High schools are rushing to test students for alcohol at extracurricular events like dances and football games.

“It’s increased dramatically,” says Bill Judge, an Illinois attorney who advises high schools on testing. He says thousands are doing it.

Last month, the University of Wisconsin-Madison began a “show and blow” policy at football games. Any student ejected from a previous game for drinking must take a test to attend. “We’re trying to change the culture,” says Ervin Cox, assistant dean of students.

Obama spoke at a Madison ballroom in front of a crowd dominated by young people.

One organizer says more than 4,000 people attended the event and over half of them were University of Wisconsin-Madison students.

Students paid $15 for tickets to the low-dollar fundraiser while adults paid $30.