More than 100 international students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and their family members are learning about agriculture firsthand Sunday.
International students spend day on farm
NBC-15
Category: Campus life
International Students Visit Cottage Grove Farm
WISC-TV 3
COTTAGE GROVE, Wis. — More than 100 international students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and their family members are learning about agriculture firsthand Sunday.
Atrehyeu Lalor and Cecilia Leon: Official response to Langdon Street mock ?lynching? utterly inadequate
Capital Times
Dear Editor: On the night of Wednesday, June 8, something sickening happened in our neighborhood ? something we cannot get out of our minds, no matter what we do. Students living in the Badger House on Langdon Street, near where we live, made the poor decision of hanging a black nylon dummy from a noose, attaching it to their balcony.
Women, queer folks and people of color oftentimes do not feel safe walking down Langdon Street the way it is. To know that there was what is tantamount to a mock lynching (regardless of the intent) more than bothers those minorities living in the neighborhood. It is both terrifying and infuriating. The response from the UW has been minimal at best.
G.I. Bill Cuts: Veterans Enrolled In College Face Uncertain Futures
Huffington Post
Nearly two years ago, Stephen Lee uprooted his wife and two children from their home in Clarksville, Tenn., to study political science here at the University of Wisconsin.
As a 31-year-old Army veteran, Lee took advantage of one of the most successful tuition assistance programs in the nation?s history — the G.I. Bill. In exchange for his nine years of military service, the federal government agreed to pay for Lee?s college education.
But on a brittle February night, the rules suddenly changed. At a Vets for Vets meeting on campus, Lee listened in disbelief as a university official told his classmates that the government had reneged on its original promise. In December, Congress voted to cut their G.I. Bill benefits.
UW hockey: Badgers trio on radar of NHL clubs this weekend
Madison.com
With assistance from his curious mother, Michael Mersch has scanned his share of scouting evaluations that assess his strengths and weaknesses heading into the NHL Entry Draft that begins Friday.
Long-lasting heart-shaped balloon in Capitol is ‘symbol of our fight’ for protest movement
Wisconsin State Journal
The tens of thousands of protesters have left. The metal detectors are gone. But a small reminder of the massive demonstrations that rocked the state Capitol for weeks on end remains. A mysterious heart-shaped red balloon still floats inside the Capitol dome, where it has hovered high over the rotunda since mid-February. Some say it has been hovering atop the dome since Feb. 14, the day hundreds of protesting UW-Madison students and teaching assistants held a Valentine?s Day march along State Street before flooding the Capitol with “valentines” for the governor and signs reading, “Please don?t break our hearts.”
Marquette revises sex assault policies (JSOnline)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Marquette University officials acknowledged Wednesday that the university made mistakes in how it handled student reports of sexual assaults and said they?ve worked out a way to improve how they report sexual assaults to city police. Previously, officials with Marquette?s public safety department left it up to the student who reported a sexual assault whether to report that assault to the Milwaukee Police Department. But that was against Wisconsin law, which mandates that a private security firm that believes a crime has been committed has to promptly notify police. Now students will be told the incident will be reported, but they have a choice of whether to talk to police.
Assembly Passes Concealed Carry Bill
WISC-TV 3
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin state Assembly passed a bill Tuesday with bipartisan support to legalize the carrying of concealed weapons, a change Republican Gov. Scott Walker supports and was expected to quickly sign into law.
Assembly passes concealed carry bill
Wisconsin Radio Network
Legislation legalizing concealed carry in Wisconsin is on its way to the Governor?s desk, following a bi-partisan vote in the Assembly Tuesday night. The legislation includes permit and training requirements, which supporters say will help to ensure the public is protected.
About 100 illegal immigrants paid in-state tuition in 2010-11
Wisconsin State Journal
About 100 illegal immigrants took advantage of a law allowing them to pay in-state tuition at University of Wisconsin System schools in the 2010-11 academic year, according to a State Journal analysis, under a short-lived program that will likely expire July 1. Republican Gov. Scott Walker is expected to sign a two-year budget that will ban resident tuition for illegal immigrants, ending a program that former Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, signed into law just two years ago. The State Journal obtained data from the 13 four-year campuses in the UW System and found that about 70 illegal immigrants filed paperwork for resident tuition in 2009-10, while about 100 did so in 2010-2011.
St. Francis apartment plan hits snag
Wisconsin State Journal
A proposal by the Episcopal student center at UW-Madison to add a 12-story student apartment building to its site has met major pushback from a neighboring church, forcing a delay. The Madison Plan Commission voted Monday to send the proposal by St. Francis House Episcopal Student Center back to architects for adjustments.
Assembly to vote on concealed carry
Wisconsin Radio Network
The state Assembly is expected to vote today on legislation legalizing the concealed carry of weapons in Wisconsin. The bill passed in the state Senate earlier this month creates a permit system and requires training to carry concealed guns and other weapons.
National Concrete Canoe Championship Claimed by California Polytechnic State University – PR Newswire – sacbee.com
UW-Madison placed second in the American Society of Civil Engineers? 24th annual National Concrete Canoe Competition, losing to California Polytechnic State University.
Side dishes: UW-Madison team wins food product contest
Wisconsin State Journal
Pixie Dust was magic for a team of UW-Madison food science graduate students in New Orleans last weekend. That?s the name of the drink mix that earned them first place in a Disney-sponsored food product development contest at the Institute of Food Technologists annual meeting. The contest called for Disney-themed entries of products healthy for kids. Pixie Dust is made from freeze-dried fruit and can be mixed with either milk or water. It supplies the equivalent of a full serving of fruit.
Big Ten awards show set for Monday night
Madison.com
The best of Big Ten Conference from 2010-11 will be front and center Monday night when the Big Ten Network airs its fourth annual awards show at 7:30. As a team or individually, the University of Wisconsin is nominated in seven of the nine categories.
Colin Goddard and Patrick Korellis: Concealed carry no answer to campus violence like we experienced
Capital Times
We are two extremely lucky people. We lived through the horrific experience of being the targets of a pair of students who, in separate crimes, carried guns into college classrooms at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, and at Northern Illinois University on Feb, 14, 2008. All around us, the lives of our classmates were senselessly ended. It was the most intense, stressful and frightening experience of our lives.
Wisconsin state politicians believe the way to deal with such campus violence is to allow college students to bring loaded, hidden guns onto campuses. This provision is part of the concealed carry legislation that passed the Wisconsin Senate and is set for a vote in the state Assembly on Tuesday.
College architects meet to tour UW-Madison
Wisconsin State Journal
Starting Sunday and ending Friday, some 200 university architects from the United States and Canada will make UW-Madison their latest case study. They will explore the interplay between its buildings, communities and natural settings, organizers said, as they share ideas to build better connections on their own campuses. ?Ultimately, what we all do as campus architects is build the stage for all of the activities that take place on a campus,? said Daniel Okoli, university architect at UW-Madison for the past six years.
Jena McGregor: For the Class of 2011, a lesson on earning
Capital Times
It?s commencement time and, for newly minted grads facing a long and potentially futile job search this summer, there?s at least one bit of good news. According to its recent Spring Salary survey, the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that starting salaries are up 5.9 percent for 2011 college grads.
The news is not so good, however, for young women starting new jobs. In a separate study, the same organization found that the average Class of 2010 female with a new bachelor?s degree received a $36,451 starting salary ? 17 percent less than the $44,159 her average male peer received.
(This column appeared first in the Washington Post)
UW swimming: Wanland, Lester to compete in World University Games
Madison.com
Two UW swimmers will compete in the World University Games in Shenzhen, China. Ashley Wanland will swim for the United States, while Daniel Lester will compete for his native Australia.
Four endeavors are worthy of four-star ratings
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
First, hats off to three – yes, three – teams of food science students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison who competed as finalists last weekend at the Institute of Food Technologists annual meeting in New Orleans. One team, creators of a product called Pixie Dust, took home the grand prize in a competition sponsored by Disney.
UW Officials Respond To Spider-Man Doll Hanging By Its Neck
WISC-TV 3
The sight of a life-sized Spider-Man doll being hanged by its neck from a balcony of a Langdon Street home near the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus is prompting a stern response from school officials. Students who live on Langdon Street said the doll that some believe represented a black man hung for two or three days last week before it was taken down. But many said it never should have been put there at all.
UW Officials Respond To Spider-Man Doll Hanging By Its Neck
WISC-TV 3
The sight of a life-sized Spider-Man doll being hanged by its neck from a balcony of a Langdon Street home near the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus is prompting a stern response from school officials.
UW may still give illegal immigrants lower tuition
Wisconsin State Journal
There are ways for universities to reduce tuition for illegal immigrants, even if state lawmakers vote to stop offering them in-state tuition, according to a lawyer for the University of Wisconsin System. Chancellors have wide discretion in offering students lower tuition rates, UW System General Counsel Tomas Stafford said Thursday. For example, schools have access to a pool of institutional aid that could be used to reduce tuition for illegal immigrants. But Kevin Reilly, president of the UW System, told the Regents Friday that ?it is our intent to comply fully with the letter and the spirit of this law, if it is passed.?
Drinking an issue in Ind. student’s disappearance
Madison.com
Lauren Spierer, a bubbly 20-year-old from Greenburgh, N.Y., with a flair for fashion who friends say was drawn to Indiana University because she liked the school spirit and big campus. Spierer went missing last week after drinking with friends at one of the town?s most popular bars. She was last seen walking home alone. Her disappearance highlights the danger drinking can present in college towns and calls to mind similar cases from elsewhere. Wisconsin police have never made an arrest in the 2007 slaying of 22-year-old Kelly Nolan, who disappeared after a night of bar-hopping near the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her body was found weeks later in a ditch south of the city.
Assessing the impact of Walkerville
Wisconsin State Journal
On a grassy hill spilling from the state Capitol down toward Carroll Street, two dozen protesters ? a mother and her eighth-grade daughter among them ? sat around a lantern for a nightly “town council” meeting led by a large, bearded man in a “Vets for Peace” T-shirt. A younger man with a spiked mohawk walked by on the sidewalk holding a “Free Solidarity Hugs” sign. Across the street, a UW-Madison graduate student sat beside a four-person tent brushing his teeth while reading Hunter S. Thompson by headlamp. Welcome to bedtime in Walkerville.
UW may still give illegal immigrants lower tuition (AP)
There are ways for universities to reduce tuition for illegal immigrants, even if state lawmakers vote to stop offering them in-state tuition, according to a lawyer for the University of Wisconsin System.
Walker’s budget ends in-state tuition for Illegal immigrants
WKOW-TV 27
lawyer for the University of Wisconsin System says there are ways for its colleges to offer tuition breaks to illegal immigrants even if state lawmakers approve a provision to end the practice.
UW may still give illegal immigrants lower tuition
Madison.com
There are ways for universities to reduce tuition for illegal immigrants, even if state lawmakers vote to stop offering them in-state tuition, according to a lawyer for the University of Wisconsin System. Chancellors have wide discretion in offering students lower tuition rates, UW System General Counsel Tomas Stafford said Thursday. For example, schools have access to a pool of institutional aid that could be used to reduce tuition for illegal immigrants.
Lawyer: In-State Tuition Possible For Illegal Immigrants
WISC-TV 3
A lawyer for the University of Wisconsin System said there are ways for its colleges to offer tuition breaks to illegal immigrants even if state lawmakers approve a provision to end the practice.
Chancellors can lower illegal immigrant tuition, Regents told – JSOnline
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
University of Wisconsin System officials said Thursday they can offer significant tuition breaks to illegal immigrants even if lawmakers approve provisions in the state budget designed to curtail that practice.
Telecom measure could cost UW
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The University of Wisconsin would have to return nearly $40 million in federal funds – money intended to pay for community networks and improve broadband service for public entities – if a state budget provision aimed at protecting rural telecommunications providers becomes law. UW officials say the proposal also would prevent research universities in the state from participating in a high-speed system that connects them with research universities nationwide. “The consequences would be catastrophic,” said Paul DeLuca, provost at UW-Madison.
Limited Space Available for UW-Farm Short Course Program
Wisconsin Ag Connection
Fewer than 20 spots are still available for the 2011-2012 Farm and Industry Short Course at the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
Rhonda Puntney: Crippling WiscNet would hurt libraries and schools
Capital Times
On June 3, the state Legislature?s Joint Committee on Finance slipped several policy items into the state biennial budget that would change the way the Internet service provider WiscNet operates and require the University of Wisconsin to return more than $32 million in federal grant money awarded in August 2010 for a broadband expansion project.
The proposed changes to WiscNet could result in schools, libraries and institutions of higher education paying two to three times more for Internet access from for-profit providers. Actually, it?s more accurate to say that taxpayers would foot the increased bill, or library patrons and students would no longer have the access they need and want. The policy changes would also disrupt the ability of the UW to pursue its research and education mission.
Spider-Man doll hanging from balcony disturbs UW officials
Capital Times
Spider-Man was seen hanging around Langdon Street on Thursday, but not in a good way. UW-Madison officials were disturbed by reports they received of a life-size Spider-Man doll hanging from a balcony at an apartment building on Langdon Street on Thursday.
Silent ?zombie? protesters arrested at Capitol
Wisconsin State Journal
A dozen silent demonstrators wearing zombie makeup and protest T-shirts were arrested early Wednesday afternoon after lying down on the floor of a legislator?s Capitol offices and refusing to leave.
NCAA women’s track and field: UW?s Akinniyi, Flax a multi-threat
Madison.com
Assumptions are unwise, especially in the case of Dorcas Akinniyi and Jessica Flax. Both are members of the University of Wisconsin women?s track and field team who qualified for the heptathlon in the NCAA outdoor championships that run through Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa.
Jessica Valenti: SlutWalks and the future of feminism
Capital Times
….When I speak on college campuses, students will often say they don?t believe that a woman?s attire makes it justifiable for someone to rape her, but ? and there almost always is a ?but? ? shouldn?t women know better than to dress in a suggestive way? What I try to explain to those students is part of what the SlutWalk protests are aiming to relay on a grander scale. That yes, some women dress in short, tight, ?suggestive? clothing ? maybe because it?s hot outside, maybe because it?s the style du jour or maybe just because they think they look sexy. And there?s nothing wrong with that. Women deserve to be safe from violent assault, no matter what they wear. And the sad fact is, a miniskirt is no more likely to provoke a rapist than a potato sack is to deter one.
As one Toronto SlutWalk sign put it: ?Don?t tell us how to dress. Tell men not to rape.? It?s this ? the proactive, fed-upness of SlutWalks ? that makes me so hopeful for the future.
(This column appeared first in The Washington Post.)
On Campus: ‘Enrique’s Journey’ chosen for UW-Madison’s common book read
Wisconsin State Journal
Much of the UW-Madison campus will be reading “Enrique?s Journey” next fall. The book, by Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Sonia Nazario, is Chancellor Biddy Martin?s selection for the third annual common book read program, Go Big Read.
UW men’s hockey: Mersch lauded in final Red Line rankings
Madison.com
Red Line Report, an independent international scouting service, came out with its final prospect rankings for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft this week. Left winger Michael Mersch, a 19-year-old sophomore-to-be with the University of Wisconsin men?s hockey team, is 50th, which projects to him being chosen in the second round when the draft is held June 24 and 25 in Minneapolis, Minn.
Renter protections would be ‘wiped out’ by fast-tracked Republican measure, advocates warn
Capital Times
Madison city officials and housing advocates are reeling from a one-two punch delivered by new GOP legislation that threatens to erase several decades worth of renter protections enacted here and Mayor Paul Soglin has come out swinging in response.
Students to stage die-in, zombie march at Capitol
Capital Times
The term “you?re killing me” will take on a whole new life in Madison on Wednesday, as college students from across Wisconsin protest what they call anti-student legislation. The students will be “dying” and then dragging their returned-to-life zombie bodies around Capitol Square at noon Wednesday in a protest planned by the United Council of University of Wisconsin Students.
President Obama and DNC Mobilize 2012 Campaign Volunteer Army
ABCNEWS.com
Quoted: Sam Polstein, 20, a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Paying college athletes fits modern reality
Racine Journal Times
Apparently the calendars in the NCAA offices are permanently stuck on the 1950s. By refusing to allow college athletes to be paid, NCAA officials would like us to think they?re preserving some idyllic moment in history when the “student” role dominated a student-athlete?s focus. All the collegiate athletics-ruling organization preserves with that stance is its own hypocrisy.
After a scandal at Ohio State University brought down highly touted football coach Jim Tressel and scarred another legendary program, NCAA leaders should finally acknowledge what the rest of the world knows: They?re taking advantage of the athletes.
Tom Still column: More students taking the start-up path (Sheboygan Press)
Noted: At the UW-Madison alone, more than 1,300 students were involved in entrepreneurship courses across the 42,000-student campus during the 2009-2010 academic year, according to a report to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. About 1,000 students took part in entrepreneurship events, such as the “100-Hour Challenge” and business plan competitions. One such competition is the G. Steven Burrill contest, which attracted 22 teams and 45 students in 2011 alone.
Campus Connection: Democratic, Republican profs grade in different ways
Capital Times
It makes sense that professors with contrasting political ideologies might approach their lives in different ways. But whether a professor leans left or right, or votes Democrat or Republican, shouldn?t affect a student?s grade in Chemistry 101 or an upper-level philosophy course. Right? That?s not the case according to a recent study by two economists titled “Partisan Grading.” The paper indicates that, yes, Democratic and Republican professors do appear to grade in different ways.
Beer at Camp Randall: Nope
Isthmus
It ain?t gonna happen. Much to the chagrin of The Sconz circa 2009, UW students will never be able to drink at Badgers games. The idea of selling beer at Camp Randall popped onto the radar screen recently when West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck proposed such a plan for Mountaineers football games. In addition to tapping into a lucrative revenue stream, Luck told his Board of Governors that allowing and controlling beer sales would help cut down on the problem of fan intoxication.
It is ironic that West Virginia, which surveys show has one of the lowest rates of alcohol consumption in the country, is considering a more liberal drinking policy than Wisconsin, the heaviest drinking state in the country, and home to Memorial Union, perhaps the proudest university-sponsored drinking venue in American history.
Marathon-inspired challenges get kids on path to healthy lives
Wisconsin State Journal
Thirty local kids completed a youth marathon Sunday, some at the finish line of the Madison Marathon. Cumulatively, in the last four to 10 months, they completed 26 miles of running, read 26 books and did 26 random acts of kindness. The idea was the brainchild of UW-Madison medical school student Katelin Krystowiak. She started the ?Ready, Set, Go! Youth Marathon? this year, modeled after a similar program in St. Louis. Kids from kindergarten through eighth grade were invited to take part.
UW student helps bring first vegan food festival to Madison (Examiner.com)
Inspired by vegetarian and vegan festivals such as Chicago?s Veggie Fest and Portland VegFest, University of Wisconsin-Madison music-education student Hannah West decided, ?Madison should totally have one of these.?
Block party honors memory of UW student (WTMJ-TV, Milwaukee)
MILWAUKEE – Friends and family of a University of Wisconsin-Madison student killed as she was struck by a vehicle fleeing police, gathered Saturday to honor her memory, and to call for people to take a stand against police pursuits.
Editorial: An opportunity to lead civil debate (The Oshkosh Northwestern)
A large-scale workshop this summer examining the boundaries of academic freedom can take a long stride toward enhancing understanding and restoring credibility between the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and the public.
Memorial Union
A photo of people enjoying the summer-like weather at the Memorial Union Terrace on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
Campus Connection: Republicans Phasing Out Wisconsin Covenant
Capital Times
The Legislature?s budget-writing committee on Tuesday signed off on a proposal by Gov. Scott Walker to phase out a program designed to help students — especially those from low-income families — find a path to a college degree. Democrats on the Joint Finance Committee attempted to delete a provision in the governor?s budget which will sunset the Wisconsin Covenant program. But that motion was shot down 12-4 along party lines.
“I don?t know why we continue to say we can?t afford education,” Rep. Tamara Grigsby, D, Milwaukee, told her joint finance colleagues.
Evjue Foundation gives $1.1 million in Madison area
Capital Times
Gifts and grants totalling $1,110,270 to area educational, cultural and civic organizations for 2011 have been announced by John H. ?Jack? Lussier, president of The Evjue Foundation, the charitable arm of The Capital Times.
Included in the grants is $351,000 to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, $200,000 of which is the fourth installment of a $1 million, five-year pledge for a William T. Evjue professorship in the School of Journalism, plus $151,000 to support 20 other programs for students and faculty at the university.
Gov. Scott Walker signs photo ID requirement into law (AP)
MADISON, Wis. (AP) ? Gov. Scott Walker signed into law Wednesday a requirement that voters in Wisconsin show photo identification at the polls, marking the end of a nearly decade-long push by Republicans to enact it.
Jauch Calls Reciprocity Agreement A ‘Fair Compromise’ (Ashland Current)
A change to Gov. Scott Walker?s Minnesota-Wisconsin reciprocity agreement is being called a “reasonable and fair compromise” by State Sen. Bob Jauch (D-Poplar).
Walker signs Voter ID bill into law
WKOW-TV 27
The controversial voter ID bill is now law.
Committee votes to end tuition reciprocity
Wisconsin Radio Network
Funding for a tuition reciprocity agreement between Wisconsin and Minnesota will be phased out, under a plan approved Tuesday by the Legislature?s Joint Finance Committee.
Wis. lawmakers agree to change Minn. tuition deal
Madison.com
Wisconsin college students will soon have to pay more to attend the University of Minnesota under a change to the popular tuition reciprocity agreement approved Tuesday by the Wisconsin Legislature?s budget committee. The 43-year-old reciprocity program allows Wisconsin and Minnesota college-bound students to pay instate tuition even if they attend public universities in the other state. Currently, Wisconsin makes up the difference between the resident tuition rate for a Wisconsin student to attend a comparable institution in Minnesota. Under the change approved unanimously Tuesday by the Legislature?s Joint Finance Committee, that difference would have to be paid by the student.
Our view: Walker signing law we don?t need (LaCrosse Tribune)
With the stroke of a pen today, Gov. Scott Walker will officially solve a problem that we don?t have. If you listen to Walker and some fellow governors, they?re protecting the integrity of elections and preventing voter fraud.
….Tens of thousands of students in the University of Wisconsin System won?t be able to use their student IDs because they don?t meet the new state voter requirement. Do you think that?s a coincidence?
Here?s the message it sends: We want young people to take part in democracy. We want them to stay in Wisconsin and work after graduation. But we don?t really want them to vote while they?re a student.
On Campus: Changes to tuition reciprocity program would be phased in
Wisconsin State Journal
Wisconsin students would be required to pay more to attend Minnesota?s public universities, under a plan unanimously adopted by the budget committee. Changes to the tuition reciprocity program would be phased in, starting with the freshman class in the fall of 2012 — a compromise to protect current students from a sudden tuition increase.