Category: Campus life

It ‘s not the news that prospective freshmen want to hear, but getting into UW-Madison this fall will be tougher than ever.

UW-Madison has received a record number of applications for next fall ‘s freshman class. To date, the admissions office has received 24,747 applications — up about 500 from this time last year.

UW-Madison student Becca Dobrez, 19, of Chicago was one of the first-time voters who picked Obama. “What gets me is the way he motivates and inspires people in a way they haven’t been inspired for a long time,” Dobrez said.

Welcome news: New Era Cap Co. has ended a curious and volatile period of contract negotiations with a settlement that puts the Buffalo-based company, the Teamsters union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on the same page.

Bud Selig, commissioner of Major League Baseball and a UW-Madison alumnus, told students Monday his history degree helped him achieve success in sports management.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., asked more than 3,000 people Monday at Monona Terrace to think about who they would hire to run their country.

Sgt. Tony Fiore not only does the Madison Police Department proud, he makes the entire city of Madison proud.

As described by reporter Anita Weier in Monday’s Capital Times, students at UW-Madison are honoring Fiore with a reception Wednesday for his past two years of working to better the conditions on Langdon Street.

Fiore’s tenure in the campus area is an example of what modern policing can do to bring people together in a cooperative effort to battle crime and make neighborhoods safe for residents.

Anyone curious about the ingenious ways in which classroom lessons can have practical applications can look to the annual Innovation Days competition held this past week at UW-Madison’s College of Engineering.

Five UW-Madison biomedical engineering students claimed $10,000 and the Schoofs Prize for Creativity with their ActiveCath creation, a catheterized system to sense bladder pressure and prevent incontinence.

Over the past four years, Sue Riseling has watched a disturbing trend surface on the University of Wisconsin campus: The number of students drinking themselves to incapacitation has nearly doubled.

But as alarming as the numbers are, Riseling is uncertain how serious the problem is, because no other campus can offer comparable statistics.

Ticket applications for the 2008 Jeopardy! College Championship at the Kohl Center will be available starting Monday at all Subway restaurants in the Madison area.

University of Wisconsin students and community members braved freezing waters and low temperatures to jump in Lake Monona Saturday to benefit Special Olympics Wisconsin.

There was a time when fraternity members might run at the sight of a police officer, but times have changed on Langdon Street.

Now, community police officers help sorority and fraternity members form night patrols and often patrol with them to keep the area where many Greek houses are located safe.

The Greek community credits Madison Police Sgt. Tony Fiore, who for the past two years was the neighborhood officer on Langdon. A reception to honor him will take place Wednesday at 4 p.m. in the On Wisconsin Room at the Red Gym.

But Fiore, who was promoted Feb. 3, very much credits the students he has come to know.

The Governor ‘s Task Force on Campus Safety filed its final report in November, detailing the best campus security practices from around the country. While there is no magic formula suited for every campus, all Wisconsin campuses have been encouraged to use the report to improve their own safety plans.

Until two weeks ago, Brian Jenks planned to vote for Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York in the Wisconsin presidential primary on Tuesday.

But now the 25-year-old UW-Madison law school student is leaning toward Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.

Former President Bill Clinton spoke to a crowd of UW-Madison students and community members Thursday, campaigning for his wife, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.

Students at the University of Wisconsin could see costly improvements to some facilities throughout campus next year.

Former President Bill Clinton stumped for his wife, presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., on campus to nearly 2,000 students Thursday, calling her a â??change-maker.â?

Former President Bill Clinton came to Madison Thursday to give an issues oriented, policy-heavy hourlong stump speech making the case for his wife’s bid to become president of the United States.

“This is a time of great promise, but also significant problems and peril for America,” Clinton told about 2,000 people, mostly student Hillary Clinton supporters, in the UW stock pavilion. “We have a huge economic problem at home and a significant set of challenges around the world that will affect your tomorrows.”

UW-Madison was named to the 2007 Presidentâ??s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll With Distinction earlier this week.

While still struggling to deal with Madisonâ??s snowiest winter on record, University of Wisconsin officials said Wednesday they are going to reevaluate how the institution deals with snow removal â?? and they said they need help.

A day after Sen. Barack Obama drew roughly 20,000 to the Kohl Center, Sen. Hillary Clintonâ??s campaign put all hands on deck, bringing former U.S. Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson to speak in support of the former first lady.

MOBILE, Ala. â?? New Era Cap Co., the exclusive cap supplier for Major League Baseball, and the Teamsters union have reached a contract deal with workers at its Mobile plant after a lengthy dispute that included allegations of racial discrimination.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison in protest ended its cap logo-license with New Era.

Wisconsin’s primary is just days away but the city clerks office is frantically looking for help staffing polling places. Once enough workers are found, they still need to be trained.

The city clerk says they still need about 50 more people in addition to the 1300 already signed up.

In comparison, last year they only had seven hundred people working, but because turnout for Tuesday’s election is expected to be high, the city clerk says having the polls fully staffed will help move voters through quickly.

Some thieves got caught in the act and two young women took action to protect themselves and get some stolen property back. North Frances Street fell victim to some burglars Saturday night. As they moved on to their next victims, chances are they didn’t know they would come up against a fight.

Stephanie Wexler and Melissa Smith were in their apartment bathroom Saturday night. “Just like doing our makeup and stuff we walked out of our bathroom and as we walking out two guys walked out of my roomates room,” explained Stephanie.

It was no accident that Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s first appearance in Wisconsin this week was at the Kohl Center in the heart of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

And even before Obama could get there, his rival, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, had already sent her daughter Chelsea on a two-day tour of college campuses around the state.

Both events drew big crowds of young people. More than 17,000 people, many of them students, filled the Kohl Center to hear Obama Tuesday night in the largest such pre-primary event in Wisconsin history.

Chelsea Clinton’s appearance, meanwhile, was a prelude to at least two more events focused on campus voters, including an appearance by Sen. Clinton herself on Monday and an event featuring former President Bill Clinton Thursday.

The Teamsters union and New Era Cap Co. have reached a deal at the company’s 118-worker Mobile distribution center, both sides confirmed, although they released no details.

New Era was also under fire from college students who push for better working conditions at plants making college-logo apparel. The University of Wisconsin-Madison cut off its license to the company, and other schools have moved in that direction.

One day seven or eight years ago in Bangkok, Joe Falcone began to feel an uncomfortable sensation of futility. The grandson of garment workers, he had been working in Asiaâ??s clothing factories for nearly a decade, making certain they complied with labor and environmental laws.

The idea was to assure American consumers their apparel and shoes were not made in sweatshops. But, as Mr. Falcone recalled in a recent interview, he had come to wonder if the laws were strong enough.

Quoted: Dawn Crim, a special assistant to the chancellor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, was one administrator persuaded by Mr. Falconeâ??s sales pitch.

â??Our chancellor has always said to find the best supplier who makes the best product in a fair way and give him a chance,â? said Ms. Crim, whose responsibilities include licensing. â??Weâ??re always on the lookout for a company that can operate in an ethical way.â?

It was a surprising choice of topic given the mostly student crowd stuffed into a lounge at the University of Wisconsin Memorial Union. But the first question posed to Chelsea Clinton, who was stumping in Madison this afternoon for her mother, concerned Social Security.

“It is important to me because the Baby Boomers are aging,” the young woman told Clinton.

Calling it â??unprecedented in Wisconsin political history,â? Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle announced a massive text messaging drive to be launched when Sen. Barack Obama visits Madison Tuesday.

Chelsea Clinton told a room packed with University of Wisconsin students at Memorial Union Monday afternoon that her mother would â??revolutionize the way we think about college affordability.â?

Coming into next week’s primary – Senators Clinton and Obama are neck and neck when it comes to delegate votes.

And they will certainly be fighting for every one of Wisconsin’s 92 democratic delegates, including the badger state’s 18 super delegates.

One of those super delegates is UW-Madison senior Awais Khaleel, 23, and it’s possible his vote at this summer’s Democratic National Convention in Denver could be critical.

MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Jim Doyle said that presidential contender Barack Obama’s rally on Tuesday at the Kohl Center will be talked about for years.

Obama, a U.S. senator for Illinois, is planning to appear at the 17,000-seat arena for a major rally before Wisconsin’s presidential primary next week. The event is open to the public, and organizers are expecting a packed house.

MADISON — Both Democratic candidates for president are targeting young voters in Wisconsin, with Chelsea Clinton making stops on college campuses Monday and Barack Obama planning a rally Tuesday at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton’s daughter made stops at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and near Marquette University before heading to UW-Madison to speak to an overflow crowd of hundreds of students at the union. She planned additional visits at university campuses in Eau Claire and La Crosse on Tuesday.

The atmosphere was anything but electric at the UW Memorial Union today, where for more than 90 minutes potential two-time First Daughter Chelsea Clinton exercised near-androidal command of Hillary Clinton’s policy details as she fielded questions from a largely female audience. Chelsea, who in December refused to answer a question posed by a nine-year-old reporter, has made a sudden about face, riding onto college campuses nationwide over the last few weeks trying to corral the elusive youth vote.

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., will hold a â??Stand For Change Rallyâ? at the Kohl Center in Madison Tuesday.

With Wisconsinâ??s presidential primary approaching and the Democratic contest still hotly contested, both candidates rolled out plans over the weekend to bring their messages to the state in person.

MADISON â?? A select group of college students bound for Madison may opt for a two-year detour via Green Bay through a program designed to keep academic scholars enrolled in Wisconsin colleges.

University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly announced Thursday that the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay has become the first four-year campus to join the UW-Madison Connections Program.

The program, which began in 2001, guarantees enrollment at UW-Madison for accepted students in their junior and senior years if they maintain certain academic requirements at participating two-year campuses and technical colleges in the state.

UW-Madison classes were canceled Wednesday afternoon due to severe weather and poor road conditions. This is only the third time in almost 20 years classes have been canceled.

UW System students with poor grade point averages may soon find reprieve via extracurricular transcripts.

According to the Associated Press, UW System President Kevin Reilly will introduce the second transcript proposal to the UW System Board of Regents Thursday.

On the two-year anniversary of the last time the University of Wisconsin cancelled late afternoon and evening classes, UW officials decided Wednesday to cancel late classes again.