Category: Campus life

When John F. Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country,” the message caught fire almost as soon as he uttered it. Nearly 50 years later, Barack Obamaâ??s “call to service” has also spread far and wide, with a modern, high-tech twist. Itâ??s all over the Internet â?? at www.serve.gov, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Time to catch up on a couple higher education-related items.

** Itâ??s been a month since UW-Madison cut ties with athletic apparel giant Nike due to alleged labor rights abuses at two factories in Honduras. Nike paid UW-Madison nearly $50,000 for the right to use the universityâ??s name or marks — such as Bucky Badger or the “motion W” — on apparel it made during the current academic year.

Anti-sweatshop activists were hopeful other universities would follow UW-Madisonâ??s lead and force Nike to reevaluate how it does business. However, a quick news search shows no one else has followed Buckyâ??s actions on this one — making Nike the clear winner. At least for now.

A few days back, small groups of college students at Northwestern, Illinois and Wisconsin – angry that Comedy Central had been intimidated into censoring a South Park episode depicting the Prophet Muhammad – chalked their quads with stick figures and labeled these drawings â??Prophet Muhammadâ??.

About 30 University of Wisconsin-Madison students held a rally Friday to protest Arizonaâ??s new immigration law. The students gathered at the bottom of Bascom Hill and held a rally in the rain.

The USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships are be held in Madison this weekend for the first time since 2004. Nearly 500 athletes from about 100 colleges and universities are competing in 18 events beginning Friday. The events are hosted by the University of Wisconsin.

Thereâ??s been a lot of talk in the media recently about South Parkâ??s second attempt to broadcast an image of the Muslim prophet Muhammad. Comedy Central apparently received death threats from a fringe Islamic group and refused to show the image, which the network did in another instance.

Dozens of students at the UW protested on Bascom Hill Friday against Arizonaâ??s new immigration law. The state amended the law to prohibit racial profiling, but UW students say that is not enough.

College life is all fun and games, right, particularly at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, regularly voted as one of the top â??party schoolsâ? in America? Donâ??t believe it, particularly during finals week.

UW-Madison is establishing The Neha Suri Scholarship Fund in memory of Neha Suri, a 22-year-old journalism and political science major who died in February from bacterial meningitis.

Steve Horn admits he was drawn to bringing in a Palestinian speaker to a campus-based celebration of Israel in part because he “didnâ??t want to be part of propaganda.”

Downtown Madison businesses have to cope with economic consequences when UW-Madison students leave during the summer months, but city events and tourism may help account for losses.

Members of the University of Wisconsin Department of Political Science expressed unanimous concern Wednesday about not receiving funding in the second round of Madison Initiative for Undergraduates fund allocations.

Walking a fine line between student privacy laws and campus safety is a perpetual balancing act for members of the University of Wisconsin Threat Assessment and Response Team.

Police released a UW-La Crosse student Tuesday who had been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman during the Mifflin Street Block Party Saturday, according to a police report.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison wants stressed-out students to drop the books and pet some pooches. University Health Services will offer its annual pet therapy session to help students cope with the pressure of final exams. Counselors will bring in their dogs for students to pet and play with to alleviate stress. Counselors also will be available to listen to studentsâ?? problems.

A UW-La Crosse student who was held for four days in the Dane County jail on an alleged felony sexual assault was released Tuesday, after the Dane County district attorney declined to prosecute the case.

Before certain Jewish religious services may take place, at least 10 men or a total of 10 men and women must be present, depending on oneâ??s observance.

“No one should have to hate themselves.” Thatâ??s what Nicole Zauner, a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, wrote on her sign as she and fellow Badger-state student Sam Eifert, who recently came out with his homosexuality, took part in Mondayâ??s â??End Hateâ? photo shoot at the University of Northern Colorado.

Authorities said a UW-La Crosse student remains jailed and accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the basement of a home during Saturdayâ??s Mifflin Street block party.

Despite an increase in the number of arrests at last weekendâ??s Mifflin Street block party over last year, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said event security management is improving, and realizing revenues from the event is possible in the future.

A 20-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault during this weekendâ??s Mifflin Street block party.

On Thursday, the University Licensing Oversight Committee will meet to decide whether or not Cornell should continue its current relationship with Nike, given the companyâ??s mistreatment of their workers in Honduras.

Would you accept a job offer if you knew you werenâ??t going to get paid?

For a good number of college students hoping to get their foot in the door, the answer is â??absolutely.â?

â??For me, itâ??s better to have an unpaid internship than no internship at all,â? says Max Appelbaum, a UW-Madison junior who will be spending a second straight summer in New York working as an unpaid public relations intern.

If youâ??re planning to attend the Mifflin Street Block Party Saturday, expect a beer garden, food carts, two music stages, portable toilets, and a mass of humanity. The party started in 1969 as a peace festival but has largely transformed into an end-of-the-year celebration for UW-Madison students.

Tomorrow is Mifflin. It will be my third time going. The first was impressive. After doing some shots in Chadbourne, I packed a backpack full of Keystone Light and wandered around a series of backyards with my friends, desperately looking for a place to urinate that would escape the view of one of the many lurking Sheriff deputies.

Thousands of college students gathered downtown Saturday for the annual Mifflin Street block party, one of the nationâ??s most enduring and controversial college beer bashes.

 If youâ??re not in the mood to party, you probably want to avoid the downtown campus area on Saturday. Thatâ??s because the 42nd annual Mifflin Street Block Party will take place all day Saturday.

Saturday marked the 42nd annual Mifflin Street Block party in downtown Madison. The 42nd annual event drew thousands on Saturday. Madison police say the party started early, mainly because of nice weather, leaving revelers heavily intoxicated throughout the day, filling detox centers. Police say arrests actually went up from last year. As of 8 PM there were more than 200. That compares to 164 in 2009, and 440 in 2008.

UW-Madison students called for an end to sexual assault Thursday during a march on Library Mall and a march to the Capitol.

Calls of â??Sexist, racist, anti-gay, donâ??t you take our night awayâ? and â??Two-four-six-eight, no more date rapeâ? rang throughout State Street and the Capitol as approximately 150 people marched in the Take Back the Night rally Thursday.

Whether University of Wisconsin students have papers due in the final week of class, presentations to hastily assemble or professors to attempt to appease in the waning hours of the academic year, the Mifflin Street Block Party approaches and their presence is expected.

When partying on Mifflin Street on Saturday, donâ??t use a front porch sofa as an ashtray. It could kill you.

Thatâ??s the message from the Madison Fire Department, after several recent couch-on-porch fires damaged buildings and even caused the death of a student in Michigan. Officers briefed neighborhood residents this week to remind them of the dangers of smoking on couches and to take special precautions to guard against any fire danger.

Downtown residents who would rather clean than party are invited to East Mifflin Street on Saturday afternoon, to pick up trash in the James Madison Park neighborhood.

Second District Alder Bridget Maniaci is hosting the cleanup as a “positive community alternative” to the annual Mifflin Street block party, which takes place on Saturday on West Mifflin Street from Broom Street to west of Bedford Street.

Each year on the first Saturday in May, overworked students put down their books and grab a beer at the Mifflin Street Block Party. The annual celebration is one of Madisonâ??s most anticipated events, but few students know the full, politically charged history of the event.

City and campus officials discussed their visions for reducing alcohol consumption among students at a panel about the UW-Madison drinking culture Wednesday.