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Category: Campus life

Lawmakers debate measure requiring state employees to return to in-office working

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Last year, an analysis released by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau found most state agencies and University of Wisconsin institutions allowed employees to work from home up to five days a week and one-third or less of workstations in state offices were being used during auditors’ visits.

Based on six visits to 15 agencies and University of Wisconsin System offices between July and August 2023, the highest percentage of workstations being used was 34.5% at the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. The audit was released in December 2023.

Donzaleigh Abernathy headlines 2025 MLK Symposium

Badger Herald

Given her proximity, Abernathy’s speech gave personal insight into King’s impact on her life. “He [King] had like a light bulb on inside of him, and when he walked into the room, everyone turned because you noticed him,” Abernathy said. “He was special. I don’t know any other way to tell you … and as a kid, I loved him.”

Milwaukee immigration advocates stress need to know rights as first Trump orders roll out

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Meanwhile, about five to 10 University of Wisconsin law students are preparing for a visit to the Dodge County Detention Facility, where people facing deportation are detained. Erin Barbato, director of the UW Immigrant Justice Clinic, said the goal is to be thoughtful in the information they share with clients about the Trump orders.

Here’s how the Madison area will be celebrating Martin Luther King Day

Wisconsin State Journal

Martin Luther King Jr. Community Dinner: The MLK Jr. Coalition hosts this annual event and buffet dinner, 4:30 to 7 p.m. Friday at UW Gordon Dining and Event Center, 770 W. Dayton St. Meet neighbors, share in the spirit of Dr. King and hear music from WYSO Music Makers at 6:15 p.m.

MLK Symposium 2025: Donzaleigh Abernathy, the youngest daughter of Civil Rights Movement co-founder Rev. Dr. Ralph Abernathy and goddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr., is the featured speaker in this special event honoring King’s legacy, 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, in Shannon Hall, Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St. Hosted by the UW-Madison Student Affairs and the Division of Diversity, Equity and Educational Achievement.

UW Foundation responds to pro-Palestinian protesters’ calls to divest

Capital Times

Mike Knetter, now the former CEO of the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association, said in an interview with the Cap Times that he and Paul Shain, the WFAA’s board chair, met with representatives from Students for Justice in Palestine about their concerns after the encampment came down. “We do think about these issues, of course,” Knetter said. “But … we’re not going to let third parties dictate to us what we can or can’t do with donor money. … We don’t think that’s the right way to treat our donors.”

He dropped out of UW in 1999. A new program covering college costs for Native students brought him back

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Schuyler, who is an enrolled Oneida Nation citizen, earned a scholarship to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the 1990s. He dropped out when he was 21 credits short of earning his bachelor’s degree.

The radio broadcast described a new UW-Madison program launching in fall 2024.It would cover not only tuition but room and board, books and other expenses, to enrolled members of Wisconsin Native American tribes.

 “That was my sign,” Schuyler said.

Madison changed in 2024, with new leaders, BRT and a shocking tragedy

The Capital Times

UW-Madison started offering six weeks of paid time off to eligible employees in July, after the birth or adoption of a child. Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin celebrated the move. “The truth is that this isn’t going to be terribly expensive to implement,” Mnookin said in April, when the policy was announced.

The university community said farewell to a long-standing fixture on campus when “the Shell” was torn down this fall. UW-Madison’s athletics department plans to build a new indoor football practice facility next to Camp Randall stadium. The $285 million project is needed to remain competitive with peer institutions, especially at a top-tier football program in a northern climate, athletics department officials said.

Republicans stall UW-Madison engineering building again, citing transparency concerns

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The new University of Wisconsin-Madison engineering building is again in peril.

Republican lawmakers rejected the UW System’s request to increase the project’s $347 million budget by $73 million during a State Building Commission meeting Wednesday. The ask to bump up the budget was based on increased costs and design changes, including an additional floor for business partnership opportunities.

Anti-slavery movement charts its path forward

Politico

For his part, after helping to pass Colorado’s Amendment A, Allen decided to enroll in law school. He’s now in his final year at the University of Wisconsin Madison.

“Part of my reason for coming here was to answer some of the legal questions we had about our campaign,” he said. “In hindsight, I see how misinformed people are … One of the things we made very clear in the 2018 campaign is that our biggest opposition is a lack of clarity.”