Category: Campus life

Dear Editor: What is more important: $400 a month to a multi-billion-dollar company, or our nation educating its best and brightest? A pound of flesh, or increasing diversity in academia?

I now face this choice: abandon my field of study to meet obligations to a student loan company, or ruin my financial future.

My graduate program in Latin American history at UW-Madison is arguably the nationâ??s best, and I have excelled in it, receiving numerous awards and fellowships while maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA. I have a record of service locally and internationally. Were it not for my loan burden, I would be well positioned to become one of the nationâ??s few Latino Ph.D.s (1,157 according to the 2000 census).

The owner of a popular campus-area bar was removed from a powerful city committee by the Madison-Dane County Tavern League for health reasons, its president said Thursday. Barb Mercer, the league’s president for over 13 years, said she would temporarily take over as the nonvoting member position on the Alcohol License Review Committee from Marsh Shapiro, owner of the Nitty Gritty, which has locations near campus at 223 N. Frances St. and in Middleton. Shapiro, 71, who was on the ALRC for more than six years, was removed “because of the stress and his well-being and his business being scrutinized as our representative,” Mercer said. At an Oct. 21 ALRC meeting, Shapiro said he opposed putting a student on the committee, which prompted UW-Madison’s student newspapers to run editorials two days later calling for a boycott of the Nitty Gritty.

According to Greek mythology, and aided by the legend of the Battle of Marathon, the word â??nikeâ? is meant to symbolize victory or success. Yet according to a group of currently unemployed Hondurans, the definition is closer to â??corporation that owes us $2.1 million.â? Obviously, somethingâ??s been lost in translation, and it looks a lot like itâ??s Nikeâ??s commitment to fair business practices.

The Associated Students of Madisonâ??s Academic Affairs Committee Chair Jonah Zinn says heâ??s hoping the groupâ??s staunch focus on improving textbook accessibility and affordability this semester will yield solid results.

The anti-sweatshop movement at dozens of American universities, from Georgetown to U.C.L.A., has had plenty of idealism and energy, but not many victories.Enlarge This Image Isaac Steiner/United Students Against SweatshopsIn August, members of United Students Against Sweatshops picketed a Target store in Washington, to pressure the retailer to stop selling products made by Russell Athletic. Until now.

Those students who delayed graduation because of a tough job market might want to wait it out a bit longer.

University of Wisconsin students are going international, according to a study released Monday ranking UW students among the top in the nation for their participation in study abroad programs.

Flu cases on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus dropped by two-thirds last week, prompting a student health official to wonder if the worst of the flu epidemic is over.

University Health Services (UHS) reported only 46 students were evaluated with influenza-like illness Nov. 8-14, the eleventh week of the fall semester. Thatâ??s down from 115 cases in week 10, and is the second-lowest number of flu cases seen at the clinic in one week since classes began Sept. 2.

UHS epidemiologist Craig Roberts said itâ??s hard to read what the drop in numbers mean.

A new report says the University of Wisconsin-Madison ranks among the top ten schools for student participation in international study programs.

Faculty from departments across campus gathered Tuesday for an open discussion regarding the decision-making process for the use of Madison Initiative for Undergraduates funding.

The Associated Students of Madisonâ??s Affordable Textbook Campaign presented a resolution addressing campus textbook policies to the Faculty Senateâ??s University Committee Monday.

College students who live in coed dorms are 2.5 more times more likely to binge drink than students in single-sex housing, according to a new study. The results were based on surveys of more than 500 students from five college campuses.

A news release on the study from Brigham Young University said that 42 percent of students in coed housing binge drink weekly. Eighteen percent of students in all-male or all-female situations binge weekly.

The Associated Students of Madison Academic Affairs Committee presented its Affordable Textbook Campaign to the University Committee Monday in hopes of gaining its endorsement before the campaignâ??s appearance before the Faculty Senate.

The University of Wisconsinâ??s Madison Initiative Oversight Board hosted an open forum Monday evening to hear the second round of proposals to be potentially funded by the money gained from tuition increases and private donors.

The University of Wisconsinâ??s Madison Initiative Oversight Board hosted an open forum Monday evening to hear the second round of proposals to be potentially funded by the money gained from tuition increases and private donors. This forum heard presentations from members of several departments ranging from the School of Business to the Division of University Housing.

The family of a slain UW student is seeking the publicâ??s help. Brittany Zimmermanâ??s family hopes someone will come forward with information about her murder. Theyâ??ve placed ads on a Madison billboard and inside Madison Metro busses.

Peer reviewers of the University of Wisconsin Transportation Services department expressed concern Friday about aggressive bikers and moped drivers, along with the relationship between pedestrians and car drivers.

Police say a 20-year-old University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point student fell about 35 feet from the roof of downtown building while attending a party at an apartment. Sgt. Greg Bean said alcohol was involved and the circumstances leading up to the fall about 1 a.m. Friday were unclear.

The family of a Madison college student who was killed last year isnâ??t giving up its efforts to find her killer.Relatives of Brittany Zimmermann have placed ads on a Madison billboard and inside Metro Transit buses. Theyâ??re hoping the ads will encourage anyone with information on her 2008 death to come forward.

Members of the University of Wisconsin Labor Licensing Policy Committee voted Friday to recommend Chancellor Biddy Martin immediately notify UW apparel manufacturer Nike it violated the universityâ??s labor code of conduct by neglecting to pay severances to workers in Honduras.

The UW Labor Licensing Policy Committee voted Friday to issue Nike, Inc. an ultimatum — clean up your act, or weâ??ll take away your license to do business with the university.It wasnâ??t a unanimous decision (7-2), but enough people said Nike wasnâ??t treating workers fairly, and therefore, violated the university code of conduct.

UW-Milwaukee police have stepped up off-campus patrolling in a response to a recent string of nearby robberies and assaults.  The partnership between the cityâ??s police force and campus police has been augmented with UWM squad cars seen alongside MPD vehicles in surrounding neighborhoods.

After experimenting with Amazonâ??s electronic reading device â?? the Kindle DX â?? in the classroom, the University of Wisconsin has decided it will not adopt the current version of the device for general use due to its inaccessibility to the blind.

Members of the campus community, including several campus officials, are speaking out against recent incidents of graffiti in the residence halls, including a third incident that occurred last weekend in Melcher Hall, again using the n-word.

Director of Housing, Rhonda Viney, said that the people who committed these acts were cowardly and hid their actions in anonymity. Viney also encourages students to stand up against intolerance by posing the question, â??Is this acceptable to you, and if not, what are you going to do about it?â?

A smart and disciplined UW-Madison team has advanced for the ninth straight year to its top tournament. And it’s not the football or basketball squad. It’s the university’s three-member computer programming team, which learned this week it’s heading to China in February for the IBM-sponsored world finals. The team’s consistent success is great publicity for UW-Madison and its high-tech prowess. It also helps further Wisconsin’s reputation as a strong source of knowledge and new-economy workers.

The faculty adviser to College Republicans at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point says a recent event there did not violate a political fundraising ban. Professor Justin Rueb said the group did not solicit or collect any money for Republican Scott Walkerâ??s gubernatorial campaign.