Using higher education to solve the economic and social problems of the present and future was a highlight of several speeches at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s winter commencement ceremonies Sunday.
Nearly 3,000 students received graduate or undergraduate degrees as part of the winter commencement, although typically only about half attend the two ceremonies.
As hundreds of new University of Wisconsin-Madison graduates filed out of the Kohl Center on Sunday, some huddled close with friends and family, others lingered inside in their caps and gowns, while several trudged into the into the subzero afternoon making new prints in the snow.
On many of the about 1,500 graduating minds was the blistering economic news of recent months and the uncertain prospects of the job market.
MADISON, Wis. — A victim’s advocate said the release of audio of a 911 call from a slain University of Wisconsin-Madison student’s cell phone would traumatize her family.
A new reality series on MTV called “College Life” will document University of Wisconsin-Madison students as they embark on their freshman year.
An admissions officer for the UW-Madison says thereâ??s an unusual trend developing among this yearâ??s applicants which may be tied to the nationâ??s struggling economy.
Tom Reason is the associate director of admissions at the U-W Madison. He says currently, his office has received nearly 18,000 applications from students wrapping up high school. Thatâ??s on par with last yearâ??s rate. However, he says in-state applicant numbers are down significantly while out of state applicant numbers are up significantly.
â??Thatâ??s particularly unusual,â? says Reason.
Reason says the increase in out-of-state applicants is roughly 10-percent, with a nearly identical decrease from Wisconsin applicants. He says other Big 10 Conference schools are reporting the same disparity in their applicant pools. (Second item.)
Daily Variety is reporting that one of cable channel MTV’s new programs will be a reality show from the UW-Madison campus.
“College Life” will feature freshmen chronicling their own life with cameras, and will be a part of the network’s new round of reality shows, several of which focus on higher education.
The dispatcher accused of mishandling a 911 call from a slain college student’s cell phone had sent an e-mail to the 911 Center director suggesting that equipment problems might have been to blame.
Dispatcher Rita Gahagan had said she didn’t know why she didn’t hear a scream on the 911 call from Brittany Zimmermann in April.
“If I heard the initial ‘scream,’ it didn’t register as a scream,” Gahagan said during a personnel interview in April.
A Quiznos submarine sandwich shop in the new food court at University Square will not be able to sell beer after a unanimous vote by the city’s Alcohol License Review Committee Wednesday night.
Susan Crowley, the director of prevention services for UW Health Services — the largest tenant in the student services tower part of the development — spoke against the move. She said the large seating area would make it nearly impossible to control the distribution of alcohol once it was sold by Quiznos.
The Kohl Center will be filled with pomp and ceremony Sunday as about 1,500 UW-Madison students don caps and gowns for the winter commencement.
Political science and public affairs professor Dennis Dresang will deliver the commencement address in ceremonies at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
University of Wisconsin-Madison students celebrated Study Day Monday at Blackhawk Evangelical Free Church in Verona, where the congregation opened its doors and hearts to 1,000-plus students in the midst of final exams. They arrived with books, laptops and appetites for free meals, quiet or group study, tutoring, recreational breaks of ping-pong and basketball, Christmas-themed movies and an optional worship service.
It was a snowball battle royale, a fight of the flurries, a snowy scuffle so scurrilous that UW-Madison police were called to the scene of the crime: the courtyards of Sellery and Ogg halls.
University of Wisconsin-Madison junior Rianna Hardesty learned she won the national “Next Year’s Model” contest as she walked to her Introduction to Buddhism class, providing an unusual clash of information: Earning a much-sought pop-culture prize, then studying a religion developed in the 6th century.
On the brink of a college student’s graduation, everyone â?? Mom, Dad, Great Aunt Sue â?? has one question: What’s next?
Now, UW-Madison is joining the chorus of voices by asking graduating students about their plans in an online survey.
It’s happening all over the UW-Madison campus:
Teams of sharply dressed students are showing up, often bearing PowerPoint presentations, to impress their professors and classmates with plans to save businesses, build potentially patentable devices and more.
These team projects supplement, and sometimes replace, final exams, which begin Sunday at UW-Madison.
Keith Agoada, 22, became interested in the idea of rooftop farming after winning the top prize â?? $10,000 â?? for his Sky Vegetables concept in the University of Wisconsin School of Business 2008 G. Steven Burrill business plan competition. He says that turning a profit is key.
â??We want the farm to have a financial feasibility,â? he said. â??The idea is to minimize the carbon footprint while maximizing the profit. Without economic viability, itâ??s hard to have adaptors.â?
As the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s fall commencement nears, many graduates will be entering an unstable workforce in a slumping economy.
UW School of Business junior Ashley Chalmers, of Reedsburg, is like many students. She’s working hard to graduate, worried about what jobs will be out there for her, WISC-TV reported.
Madison resident Juli Speck was one of just 40 people nationwide to be chosen to take part in the TogetherGreen Conservation Leadership Program, part of a new conservation initiative of the National Audubon Society with support from Toyota.
I’m not the only one who believes the UW student section at the Kohl Center is extremely overrated. Kellis Robinett, a writer from the Idaho State Journal who attended the Badgers’ victory over Idaho State Tuesday night at the Kohl Center, wrote an accurate account about UW fans, and the students in particular, in a recent blog entry.
When University of Central Florida junior Nicole Nissim got stumped in trigonometry, she checked out what was showing on YouTube. Nissim typically scours the video-sharing website for clips of bands and comedy skits. But this time she wasn’t there to procrastinate on her homework. It turned out YouTube was also full of math videos. After watching a couple, the psychology major says, she finally understood trig equations and how to make graphs.
UW-Madison’s two student unions will remain open into the wee hours of the morning starting Sunday night to give students extra study time during finals week.
The operator who mishandled a 911 call from a slain college student’s cell phone said she didn’t know why she didn’t hear a scream or sounds of a struggle, according to records released Thursday.
The dispatcher accused of mishandling a 911 call from a slain college student’s cell phone said she doesn’t know why she didn’t hear a scream on the call.
“If I heard the initial ‘scream,’ it didn’t register as a scream,” dispatcher Rita Gahagan said during a personnel interview in April.
Researchers at UW-Madison are conducting the state’s first, long-term comprehensive study of the effects of need-based financial aid on college studentsâ?? success.
The Wisconsin Scholars Longitudinal Study includes 6,000 Wisconsin residents enrolled at each of Wisconsin’s 42 public colleges. All participants have received a federal Pell grant, which are distributed based on a family’s income. (Seventh item.)
The projected $5.4 billion state budget deficit will likely lead to a tuition increase at UW System schools in the near future, but chances are next semesterâ??s tuition will not be raised.
The University of Wisconsin Offices of Admissions and Visitor and Information Programs will be merging, effective Feb. 1, to enhance the efficiency and quality of customer service UW provides to prospective students.
The University of Wisconsin has filed an official reprimand against a teaching assistant for lewd and sexually suggestive comments he made to a female TA, records obtained Wednesday show.
The family of slain University of Wisconsin student Brittany Zimmermann said Wednesday they oppose the release of the audio from the 911 call made from their daughterâ??s cell phone on the day she was killed.
If you woke up this morning, looked outside and didn’t see your car parked on the street, don’t be alarmed, it probably wasn’t stolen.
It was, however, most likely a block away with a $110 ticket under a wiper blade. The car was likely towed during the night by the city parking enforcers so streets in the snow emergency zone could be plowed.
In order to better serve potential students, the University of Wisconsin-Madison announced it is creating a new “front door” by merging its Visitor and Information Programs with the office of admissions.
The impetus for the merger is to create a smoother experience for students who are applying to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, officials said. The university has gotten record numbers of applicants in recent years.
University of Wisconsin-Madison officials are hoping it becomes a hub for student life. But for now, it is just a nexus for cardboard boxes, dollies, work gloves and shelving units.
The new Student Services Tower on the southeast end of the University Square complex stands poised and ready for business, except for the fact that it is still mostly empty. On Wednesday, the university began the process of moving units into the tower, which will take 117 truckloads and the better part of six weeks to complete.
A judge refused on Wednesday to immediately release a recording of a 911 call from a slain University of Wisconsin-Madison student’s cell phone.
Dane County Circuit Court Judge Richard Niess said it would be irresponsible to make the tape public before he hears arguments from police on how it could hurt their search for whoever killed Brittany Zimmermann, 21, in April.
University of Wisconsin Police responded to calls on two consecutive nights as Madisonâ??s winter wonderland was transformed into a massive snowball fight outside Sellery and Ogg Halls.
Madison (WKOW) — University of Wisconsin-Madison student and former Obama campus organizer Bryon Eagon has announced his candidacy for the Madison City Council in the 8th aldermanic district.
Eagon, a UW junior majoring in Political Science and Communication Arts Rhetoric, has been an active student voice on campus.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — University of Wisconsin-Madison seniors say they are having a tough time finding jobs – and some are considering graduate school to delay entering the work force.
On top of Christmas, snow, a bad economy and flu season, UW-Madison students have one more slightly stressful thing starting Sunday: finals week.
Feeling overwhelmed?
University Health Services (UHS) put together a list of stress-reducing tips, ranging from simple exercises to free counseling sessions to students who need some help, during the final, hectic week of the first semester.
University of Wisconsin-Madison students looking for a job this year dont need a dismal report from the National Bureau of Economic Research to tell them the United States is officially suffering through a recession.
They’re living it.
University of Wisconsin System students earned a record number of degrees in the 2007-08 academic year, according to a report released by the UW System Office of Policy Analysis and Research Monday.
With snow taking Madison by storm today, the University of Wisconsin has declared snow action day.
University of Wisconsin junior Jacob Schmidt told The Badger Herald he will be running for District 8 alder in the upcoming spring election.
A group of UW-Madison students are collaborating in an effort to stop the demolition of Union South, which is set to begin in January 2009.
http://www.dailycardinal.com/article/21645
Seventeen members of the UW-Madison German Club survived a crash on Interstate 90 near Arlington Heights, Ill., in which a car lost control and collided with their school bus Saturday.
A record number of students earned degrees from the University of Wisconsin System during the last school year.
A report released on Monday shows the UW System awarded 32,433 degrees in 2007-2008, up 400 from the previous year and an all-time high. More than 24,000 of them were bachelor’s degrees, which was also a record.
UW System senior vice president Rebecca Martin said that the graduates will provide skilled labor to help Wisconsin businesses succeed
Noted: In 2005, the University of Wisconsin became one of the first of the Big Ten schools to reopen its program. Still other institutions, including the University of Texas at Austin, have taken a middle road. In 2005, U.T. Austin did not reinstate its program, but made it easier for students to study in Israel.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A record number of students earned degrees from the University of Wisconsin System during the last school year.
With Plan 2008 coming to a close, University of Wisconsin officials are looking forward to a new diversity initiative that will streamline the past 30 years of such programs.
How should Dane County tackle alcohol abuse?
County Executive Kathleen Falk wants as much public input as possible this week at three meetings of the new Dane County alcohol coalition.
A 38-year-old Rolling Meadows man died Saturday when the car he was driving on I-90 in Arlington Heights, was involved in a crash with a school bus carrying college students, police said.
An autopsy for Hai Qiu is scheduled for Sunday. Illinois State Police notified his family in Harris County, Texas, Master Sgt. Edward Petrik said. Also notified was Qiu’s employer, for whom he’d been working only a month, he added.
The crash involved a bus carrying 17 German club students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a four-door Honda driven by Qiu, Petrik said.
Chicago media outlets are reporting that a bus carrying students from UW-Madison was involved in a fatal crash Saturday afternoon near the northwest Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the driver of a car that collided with the school bus on U.S. Interstate 90 was pronounced dead at the scene. Seventeen people were on the bus, with only some suffering minor injuries.
A new survey shows a high rate of sexual assault on Wisconsin college campuses, but the real numbers may be greater. Kelly Anderson of Dane County’s Rape Crisis Center says the numbers are probably higher than the voluntary survey of 13,000 UW System students indicates.
The UW System Board of Regents met Thursday at UW-La Crosse to discuss the findings from a recent survey of multiple campuses, which highlighted topics such as sexual assault and racial profiling.
The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents focused on the prevalence of sexual assault on campus, among other issues facing the UW System, during discussions at Thursdayâ??s meeting.
Some University of Wisconsin System regents say theyre frustrated campuses have made little progress toward reducing textbook costs.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Some University of Wisconsin System regents say they’re frustrated campuses have made little progress toward reducing textbook costs.
Regents complained Friday that some campuses have made little or no movement toward adopting book rental programs or other cost-saving strategies.
Hopefully, everyone knows by now that the Wisconsin State Journal endorsed Barack Obama for president.
….But all the hullabaloo over Obama by this city’s morning newspaper pales in comparison to its recent audacious demand that the University of Wisconsin needs to fire its marching band director, Mike Leckrone, the next time any member of the band steps out of line.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A survey of more than 13,000 University of Wisconsin System students and employees found a high rate of sexual assault on and off campuses.
More than 280 people who took the voluntary survey at four universities and 13 two-year colleges reported being sexually assaulted.
As members of the Wisconsin Union finalize design and budget plans for the new Union South project, the full scale of the project is becoming increasingly apparent. While using 40 percent of the universityâ??s overall Master Plan budget, the new Union South design and plan has grandiose features, including a complete renovation of Orchard Street and an area to accommodate a future hypothetical train platform.
Apparently, Plan 2008 â?? the University of Wisconsin Systemâ??s much heralded diversity initiative intended to eradicate educational disparities in the state â?? came up short.
Professors hear excuses for why students missed class every day, from sudden illness to oversleeping to needing to appear for jury duty.
West Doty Street looked pretty much the same Tuesday as it did when University of Wisconsin-Madison student Brittany Zimmermann was stabbed to death last April, but it’s not.
Neighbors remain afraid, especially as news spread of the contents of a mishandled 911 call made from Zimmermann’s cell phone before she was found dead in her first-floor apartment at 517 W. Doty St.
Matt Hill knows the wrath of alternate-side parking. He just doesn’t know its rules.
After collecting three or four citations for violating the much-despised city of Madison ordinance, and after three years with a car on campus, the University of Wisconsin-Madison senior has only a shaky understanding of what the ordinance requires. And he said there’s a lot of other students in the same boat.
