Statistics can tell you a lot, but statistics do not grieve. That was the power of a group of activists who emerged in the early 1980s. They called themselves Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and they described what numbers alone could not.
Halloween in Madison didn’t live up to its sometimes infamous reputation Friday night and early Saturday morning as the holiday remained relatively quiet with authorities reporting a few dozen arrests.
In year’s past, the sight of costumed revelers wandering the city’s downtown sometimes got out of hand and improvised street parties turned into small-scale riots, leading to arrests, property damage and hefty costs for the city and police.
A national personal finance magazine ranked the University of Wisconsin 14th last week in terms of affordability in public universities.
On a mild Saturday night, large crowds in costume flocked to State Street for Freakfest, the city-sanctioned annual Halloween party.
This was the third year that the city of Madison gated off State Street and charged admission to what was previously a spontaneous street event. Rechristened as Freakfest, the event has become more of a downtown happening with live music than the near-riot it was sometimes in the unregulated years.
The Wisconsin Covenant continues to expand. The program has now enrolled 35,000 eighth grade students around Wisconsin, according to Amy Bechtum, Director of the Office of the Wisconsin Covenant.
MADISON (WKOW) — There was litter on Library Mall and beer bottles in nearby bushes, but overall a group of student community service volunteers for the Wisconsin Union Directorate found Freakfest 2008 didn’t leave much of a mark on Madison.
“It’s not too bad surprisingly, but we’re trying to keep it as clean as possible,” said Mike Lasecki, the group’s director, on Sunday morning.
Q. Why do people like to scare themselves by watching horror movies or going on thrill rides?
A. First of all, it’s important to remember that many people don’t enjoy these experiences, said Jack Nitschke, a UW-Madison professor of psychiatry and psychology. But those who do may be seeking thrills provided by the amygdala, a brain region that controls our emotional responses to salient objects and events.
Madison has a great chance to finally and emphatically declare the annual State Street Halloween party a success this weekend.
But that will require another large and cautious police presence.
It will require cooperation from bar and other business owners.
A group of UW students, unhappy with the direction of Freakfest, wanted their own party on Mifflin Street Saturday night.
But after meeting with city officials, they’ve had a change of heart.
Alex Kaufer says he won’t be at Freakfest on State Street this year.
He says, “I don’t think so. I’m gonna do on my word and not go because I don’t agree with how it’s being put on.”
A group of UW students, unhappy with the direction of Freakfest, wanted their own party on Mifflin Street Saturday night.
But after meeting with city officials, they’ve had a change of heart.
Alex Kaufer says he won’t be at Freakfest on State Street this year.
MADISON, Wis. — Organizers who were planning an alternative party to Freakfest, the city-sanctioned Halloween party on State Street, on Thursday pulled the plug on the party.
The purpose of the alternative party on Mifflin Street Saturday had been to protest the admission price and organization of Freakfest, which is set for Saturday.
After an hour long meeting with the mayor, Madison police and city alders, UW student organizers pulled the plug on an alternative Freakfest party planned on Mifflin Street Saturday.
“We’re doing this out of concern to the resident on mifflin street,” says Christian Von Preysing-Berry, one of the event planners.
Promotional fliers were plastered all over campus and the party was getting a lot of attention. Which is one of the main reasons it was canceled.
With Plan 2008 coming to an end, UW-Madison students voiced their opinions and possible solutions to increase the diversity of the campus during a student forum Wednesday.
City officials responded Wednesday to a student movement to combine elements of two of Madisonâ??s biggest partiesâ??Freakfest and the Mifflin Street Block Partyâ??into one celebration for a Halloween block party on Mifflin Street Saturday.
Some University of Wisconsin-Madison students are planning an unsanctioned Halloween block party Saturday night on West Mifflin Street, promoting the gathering as a free alternative to the Freakfest event on State Street.
“We all love the Mifflin Street block party, so we’re just letting people know that we think it would be a great place to hang out and party on Saturday, instead of everyone going to State Street,” said Xiyang Chen, a UW-Madison student who is trying to spread the word about the event. “I’ve been to Freakfest two times, and it’s pretty regulated and very well-organized, and many people find it enjoyable.
“But there are certain things some of us don’t like about Freakfest — mostly the $7 admission fee and the entertainment.”
Negotiations took place Wednesday night between Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, and the student organizers of an unregulated party scheduled for Saturday night on Mifflin Street.
A former Madison man who dealt hundreds of pounds of marijuana and who authorities believe has information about the unsolved Amos Mortier murder was sentenced Wednesday in federal court to two years and three months in prison and four years probation and fined $3,000.
Brian Hutchinson, 34, now of Fontana, Wis., was a University of Wisconsin student in August 2000 when he shared a house on Wingra Avenue with Reed Rogala, a man heavily involved in marijuana trafficking, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Graber.
The house served as transfer point for the 100-pound shipments of marijuana that regularly arrived from suppliers in New York.
Donna Freitag, a former UW-Madison women’s basketball assistant, has been hired by the UW-Madison Dean of Students Office to help promote a positive culture change in the UW Marching Band.
MADISON, Wis. — As the city of Madison makes final preparations for Freakfest, news that students might congregate on Mifflin Street for an alternative Halloween party Saturday is posing a big unknown for the city.
Downtown city Alder Mike Verveer said he will meet with the student organizers Wednesday night and ask them to pull the plug on the party. Organizers don’t have a permit for the alternative party, and city leaders said they are concerned that problems will arise.
The Daily Cardinal reported Wednesday that UW-Madison students Alex Kaufer and Xiyang Chen feel students need an alternative to the official city-sponsored Freakfest, which features large music stages with bands like O.A.R. and is sponsored by Mountain Dew. Freakfest turns State Street into a fenced-off party on Saturday, Nov. 1, and charges attendees $7 admission.
“Are we watching the Mifflin thing?” said Madison Police Capt. Mary Schauf, addressing reporters on State Street at a Wednesday Freakfest press conference. “Oh yes, we are.”
About 400 law enforcement officers and other staff will blanket the downtown area for Madison’s annual Halloween party on Saturday.
Only about 2,000 tickets to Freakfest have been sold so far, but city officials said most sales happen Friday and the day of the event. Tickets cost $7 and $10 the day of Freakfest. Organizers said 50,000 tickets are available.
A group of UW-Madison students are organizing a Mifflin Street block party for Halloween this Saturday in an effort to provide an alternative to the Freakfest festivities on State Street and revive old traditions.
With the buzz around Freakfest 2008 sweeping through the University of Wisconsin campus, UW Housing, private residence halls and apartment managers will continue to enforce limited guest policies this weekend.
University of Wisconsin senior Nicholas Bartholomew expected to be a student at Swedenâ??s UmeaÃ¥ University this semester. Instead, he became a teacher there.
At just the time when students and their families might need some relief from rising college costs — they’re not getting it.
According to new figures out today, those costs jumped 6.4% this fall.
For the current academic year, the average list price of tuition and fees at 4-year public universities rose by nearly $400 to just under $6,600. At private colleges prices rose 5.9%, to more than $25,000.
WHITEWATER, Wis. (AP) — A 22-year-old student at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is being treated for a probable case of the pneumonia-like Legionnaire’s disease.
….Walworth County health officer Pat Grove said the campus was alerted to watch out for possible cases of the disease, which can range from mild to fatal. Grove said the student’s case has not been confirmed by additional testing.
As the Nov. 6 opening of “The Greeks” at Madison Repertory Theatre quickly approaches, all of the third-year Masters of Fine Arts acting students at UW-Madison are polishing lines and working on stage blocking.
All, that is, except for Katheryn Bilbo. Last year, Bilbo accepted a role at the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre in “Rabbit Hole,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by David Lindsay-Abaire.
Barack Obama retains a solid lead in Wisconsin, but it is less overwhelming than a week ago. A new Strategic Vision poll of 800 Wisconsin voters has the Democrat at 50 percent and Republican John McCain at 41 percent.
….Members of the rock band WILCO are not coming to the UW-Madison campus this weekend for fun. Nationally, the Obama campaign is concerned that young voters are not rushing to the polls in the numbers they had expected. There are concerns that this could lead to exceptionally long lines at polling places on Tuesday.
So the campaign is making a major push to get students to vote early.
The last time Halloween fell on a Friday was in 2003, and by the time that weekend was over, thousands of late-night revelers had turned State Street into a mob scene, downtown business windows were smashed, and police broke out pepper spray to tame the drunken, costumed crowd.
The good news for Madison this year: This isn’t Halloween anymore. This is Freakfest.
Many college students don’t gain the dreaded freshman 15 their first year away from home, but they do pack on 6 to 9 pounds, two studies show. Why? Key reasons include dramatic increases in beer drinking and significant decreases in physical activity
MADISON, Wis. — The Chicago alternative-rock group Wilco will perform a surprise show at the Wisconsin Union Theater on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus on Saturday afternoon to rally support for Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama.
The show, dubbed a “Concert for Change,” will be held at noon on Saturday, according to officials in the Union Theater box office.
Quoted: â??When I walk down the street carrying my campaign materials, people yell at me,â? said Katie Nix, 22, the statewide co-chairwoman of Students for McCain who is a senior majoring in molecular biology and French at the University of Wisconsin. â??I just keep hearing, â??Obama! Obama!â?? â?
Dean of Students Lori Berquam is reminding students to look out for their personal safety during Halloween and Saturdayâ??s Freakfest in the wake of recent downtown crimes.
Wilco will be performing this Saturday, Nov. 1, at the Wisconsin Union Theater on the UW-Madison campus as part of a “Campaign for Change” event geared to get voters to the polls early.
Senator Russ Feingold and congresswoman Tammy Baldwin will speak at the event — scheduled to start at noon — before a performance from the stripped-down version of the Chicago alt-country band (Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt and Pat Sansone).
After the concert, Baldwin will lead the audience in a march to the City County Building so that voters can cast early votes before the polls close at 3:00 p.m.
While students at most colleges and universities in Wisconsin will have to find time between classes to cast ballots Nov. 4, those at the 2,700-student Alverno College in Milwaukee get the day off to vote and get involved in the political process.
It’s a first for the women’s college, which appears to be the only college in Wisconsin, and one of few in the nation, to make election day a holiday.
More students took the Graduate Record Examinations in September than in any month in the last eight years, Educational Testing Service spokesman Mark McNutt said.
The increase in grad school interest comes as students are finding it harder to pay their high debt burdens.
http://wistechnology.com/articles/5167/
Madison, Wis. – Seven prominent Wisconsin companies have listings already posted for 80 available internships across the state as part of a new online career and job “matching” service.
The service, provided in partnership with Wisconsin Careers (WISCareers) officially was launched today by Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton and the Bill Mortimore, acting president and chairman of the board of the Information Technology Association of Wisconsin (ITAWi).
Wisconsin Careers, part of the Center on Education and Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will provide technical assistance and communicate the program to students throughout the University of Wisconsin system and at the state’s technical colleges.
MADISON, Wis. — A herd of University of Wisconsin Law School grads took over Camp Randall Stadium right before Saturday’s homecoming game against Illinois.
The homecoming tradition calls for all law school graduates to run across the field, toss a cane over the north goalposts and catch it. Legend has it that law students who catch their cane will win their first case, WISC-TV reported.
Among Saturday’s cane throwers was Johnny Walsh, who conquered many obstacles, not the least of which is being legally blind, to get to the big day.
Trick-or-treating with the Greeks doesn’t mean a toga party. But if kids wear the traditional party-going garb to the sorority and fraternity houses opening their doors for after-school program kids on Wednesday, they’ll probably get extra candy in their pumpkins.
The annual Halloween event Trick or Treat with the Greeks will bring about 300 kids on campus from 2 to 6 p.m., with the kids decorating cookies, painting pumpkins and touring haunted houses in the row of frat and sorority houses on Langdon Street.
In preparation for the Badgersâ?? football game against Illinois, the 2008 UW Homecoming parade lifted student spirits Friday with a performance from the band and fireworks at the Memorial Union Terrace.
For most college students, paying back student loans after graduation has become an expected part of the college experience.
Several health-related factors have a significant effect on studentsâ?? overall academic performance, according to a study conducted by the University of Minnesota.
MADISON, Wis. — A herd of UW law school grads took over Camp Randall right before Saturday’s Homecoming game against Illinois.
The Homecoming tradition calls for all law school graduates to run across the field, toss a cane over the north goalposts, and catch it. Legend has it that law students who catch their cane will win their first case.
Among Saturday’s cane throwers was Johnny Walsh, who conquered many obstacles, not the least of which is being legally blind, to get to the big day.
CONWAY, Ark. (AP) — Police officers patrolled the University of Central Arkansas campus Monday and classes were canceled after a shooting in an alleyway left two students dead and a third person wounded.
Shots were fired in the heart of the campus Sunday night near a male dormitory and behind the campus police station. No arrests had been made by 7 a.m. Monday.
“This is just an awful tragedy. It’s the worst thing that can happen on a college campus,” interim university president Tom Courtway said. “We have start looking at everything.”
Although polls are showing Barack Obama with a double-digit lead in Wisconsin over John McCain, state Democrats are taking nothing for granted.
Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin, is launching a two-day, eight-college tour Monday to urge students to vote early and get involved in the final days of the campaign.
After a spike in arrests at two night games, University of Wisconsin-Madison arrested 14 people, 10 of them students, at Camp Randall on Saturday during the Badgers’ 27-17 victory over Illinois at UW’s homecoming day game.
Forty-three people were ejected from the stadium, 20 of them students, University Police reported.
Alcohol use was involved in 38 of the ejections, including 12 instances in which a citation was issued for underage use of alcohol. Two other citations were issued: one each for possession of marijuana and trespassing.
Sexually-transmitted infections are on the rise for teenagers and young adults in Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Department of Family Services said.
Department officials said in 1996, 6,000 people were diagnosed with an STI, compared to 10,000 in 2000.
With this in mind, a new Web site aims to enable people who have received an STI to tell those with whom they have been sexually active about the illness with an electronic card. The project began in Brown County.
It’s a hard conversation to have but, inspot.org is reaching out to those dreading the talk.
Sex Out Loud, a new University of Wisconsin-Madison campus group, said it supports the site as they promote sexual education and protection to help students avoid STIs and prevent them in the future.
Saturday’s 27-17 Badger football victory over Illinois â?? the Badgers first Big Ten victory of the season â?? wrapped up a week of homecoming activities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Alumni were seen everywhere on Saturday having a great time, made even better by the Badgers’ sorely-needed victory.
Many told WISC-TV that the annual Homecoming game is the one home game that draws them back to Madison.
Madison and Freakfest — it’s an infamous relationship — and one that some people are trying to break up.
Members of a UW student group have come up with a sober alternative. They’re calling it Shriek Week. It’s a celebration with all the spooky trappings of Halloween, but without the booze.
“There really is something for everybody and an opportunity to create whatever you want to see on campus, besides drinking and dangerous activities,” said Shira Weiner, of the Wisconsin Union Directorate.
(MADISON) The non-profit College Board says nationally, tuition at public four-year colleges has almost doubled over the last 20 years. Yesterday students at UW-Madison joined a country-wide effort asking Congress to make college more affordable.
Volunteers with the Student Wisconsin Education Association petitioned for Congress to provide more funding for Pell Grants, which give need-based aid to low-income students, and for affordable student loans. Co-president Heather Feltz says her group is made up of future teachers, whose salaries are often not enough to pay back thousands of dollars in college loans.
â??Iâ??ve got a roommate and she gets loans every year and she’s going to be $40,000 in debt the day that she graduates,â? says Feltz. â??And if you don’t have a job that pays a lot then you struggle.” (Third item.)
Tickets for this year’s Freakfest are selling at a faster rate compared to last year, according to Madison Police Lt. Joe Balles. Balles is in charge of planning the police presence for the weekend.
Freakfest is Saturday on State Street. Fifty-thousand tickets have been authorized for this year’s event. Last year, 35,000 people attended. Tickets are $7 in advance and $10 the day of the event, which features four stages of entertainment. O.A.R. is the headlining musicial act.
Chancellor Carolyn â??Biddyâ? Martin will address the university at the Kohl Center today, as a matter of formally introducing herself to the campus and outlining her plans for UW-Madisonâ??s future.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has at least a 10-point lead in all Big Ten states, including the battleground state of Indiana, according to a poll released Thursday.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Carolyn “Biddy” Martin outlined some goals and priorities she believes are important to the future success and health of the university during a 45-minute speech Thursday night at the Kohl Center.
Martin, who replaced John Wiley as chancellor on Sept. 1, spoke to a crowd of about 2,000 during an event titled “On, Wisconsin! A Great University and its Friends Welcome Chancellor Martin.”
First, Martin said it’s vitally important to make UW-Madison affordable for students of all economic backgrounds. That, however, does not mean she plans to slash tuition — or even keep the price of attending the UW flat.
MADISON, Wis. — A long and sometimes infamous tradition in Madison, the annual Halloween celebrations along State Street date back to the 1970s.
In the last few years, the city of Madison has transformed the large outdoor party that has sometimes been marred by violence and property damage into “Freakfest,” a city-sanctioned event that requires admission and features live music.
The city’s involvement with the annual Halloween celebration was prompted by riots on State Street in 2002, 2003, 2004 and the use of pepper spray to disperse of unruly crowds in 2005.
The U-W Marching Band has made some changes in its travel arrangements, intended to cut down on inappropriate behavior that lead to its suspension a few weeks ago.
Band director Mike Leckrone says members are moving on after the week-long suspension, and had a great experience playing during Sundayâ??s Packers game. He says everyoneâ??s working to prevent further suspensions by minding how they behave on the road. (8th item.)
Zou Zou Robidoux loves classical music and is not ashamed to talk about it.
“I’m a geek about it,” said the 16-year-old Robidoux, who began playing in fourth grade. “It’s 90 percent of the music I listen to.”
Quoted: School of Music admissions coordinator Bonnie Abrams and graduate student Morgann Davis
Your 18-year-old is finally out of the house, attending college.
And this is a critical time for you to be talking to him or her about drinking.
The first six to eight weeks of a college studentâ??s freshman year are perhaps the most dangerous when it comes to excessive drinking, according to Susan Crowley, University of Wisconsin-Madison director of prevention services. Students are on their own for the first time in their young lives, and they often donâ??t have friends or family members to keep their behavior in line.
MADISON, Wis. — For the first time, there will no University of Wisconsin-Madison fraternity parties the night of Freakfest, Madison’s city-sanctioned Halloween celebration.
UW-Madison said that none of the campus’ 24 fraternities applied for a social event contract for Nov. 1.
As part of an agreement with the university and police, fraternities have to apply by Oct. 15 and take a Halloween risk training course with Madison police.
The University of Wisconsin marching band played at Lambeau Field for the half time show Oct. 19, anxious to improve their reputation after hazing allegations led to their suspension two weeks ago.
