Category: Campus life

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.

UW-Madison Provost Patrick Farrell has just announced the cancellation of all afternoon and evening classes, effective at 3:30 p.m. Other campus operations — including recreational, sports, libraries and the student unions — may continue or remain open, but anyone “planning to attend evening events on campus is encouraged to call ahead to ensure programs are continuing,” according to the UW-Madison press release issued Wednesday afternoon.

The announcement also notes the early cessation of Madison Metro bus service, with the last buses scheduled to depart transfer points at about 7 p.m. Metro passengers are advised to expect delays of 15-20 minutes or more, due to hazardous weather and road conditions.

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Chancellor Bruce Shepard has embraced the issue of mental health on campus.

He has encouraged students to seek counseling if they are depressed or are having difficulty coping. Last year, he addressed the stigma associated with depression with an open letter to the campus community that talked about his son’s suicide.

MADISON, Wis. â?? University of Wisconsin System graduates might soon have two transcripts to show potential employers.

The traditional one would still list classes taken and grades earned. But a second would describe the studentâ??s personal development during college, such as whether they interned for a company, directed a play, or edited the student newspaper.

MADISON, Wis. — While authorities warned everyone to stay home and off the streets Wednesday, thousands of students and teachers struggled to make their way to the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

Despite Wednesday’s snowstorm, classes there were not called off until the middle of the afternoon. Due to “deteriorating conditions,” UW-Madison made the decision Wednesday afternoon to cancel all classes for the rest of the day starting at 3:30 p.m.

But some said the announcement was too little, too late. Many of those who braved the blizzard-like conditions Wednesday morning to attend and teach classes said they weren’t happy about it.

The Roman Catholic Foundation, a religious student organization at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is suing the school for refusing to fund evangelical training camps, religious retreats and Lenten booklets.

A judge in a U.S. District Court issued a preliminary ruling Jan. 17 in favor of the Foundation’s claim that refusing to fund these activities violated the group’s First Amendment right to free speech.

UW-Madison womenâ??s studies majors and certificate-seekers will soon receive their degrees from the Department of Gender and Womenâ??s Studies, not from the Womenâ??s Studies Program.

The University of Wisconsin Faculty Senate proposed to create a new department and released the annual report for the Campus Planning Committee Monday.

The Roman Catholic Foundation-UW-Madison will get another chance at securing university funding for the 2008-â??10 academic years, according to an Associated Students of Madison Student Judiciary decision Sunday.

The Associated Students of Madisonâ??s Student Judiciary decided Sunday to create a panel to review an appeal from a student group denied funding by the Student Services Finance Committee last summer.

Tech-savvy university students have also developed their own unique social networks around shared use of technology. Brian Hagen, a former UW-Madison student, was a coordinator at Madison ‘s Geek.Kon convention last fall and ran the Geek.Kon programs for the video games Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution. Hagen said that while the networking aspect of the convention was less structured than that at other conventions, “more than one friendship was helped along by the social atmosphere of the game. “

In a letter sent to the New Era Cap Company Friday, the University’s Advisory Committee on Labor Standards and Human Rights urged the hat maker to address allegations of racial discrimination against black workers at an Alabama facility or risk endangering its relationship with the University.

Having the contract to make caps for Major League Baseball means being under a spotlight that brings both positive and negative exposure.

The labor talks between Buffalobased New Era Cap Co. and 118 newly organized warehouse workers in Mobile, Ala., have been pushed into the national spotlight, with observers seeing first-hand how standard contract negotiations representing a handful of workers can become national news.

Jeopardy! College Championship is set to take place April 11 & 12, at the Kohl Center in Madison.

Ticket information will be announced on Friday, February 15.

Ten episodes (2 weeks of shows) will be recorded on April 11 & 12. These episodes will air in the middle of May, on NBC15.

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz spoke at Memorial Union Thursday to highlight concerns on global warming as part of 1,600 schools and organizations across the country for Focus the Nation.

The prime real estate on the 700 block of University Avenue will finally reach its potential when construction ends in December and its tallest tower looms just feet below the Capitol skyline.

The Madison fire department is taking a new approach to get the attention of UW students when it comes to fire safety.

The department teamed up with Ian’s pizza Wednesday to give out free pies to students who could prove their fire detectors worked.

MFD tells 27 News 3/4 of all fires destroy homes because people didn’t put batteries in their smoke alarms, or the alarms weren’t working at all.

About 3,000 people die each year because of fires. The National Fire Protection Association also says about 74% of those deaths are in homes without working smoke alarms. The Madison Fire Department is taking the smoke alarm message to college students in a unique way.

Lori Wirth works with the Madison Fire Department. However, Wednesday night she helped deliver pizzas. It was all part of a cooperative effort between Ian’s Pizza and the fire department. When callers ordered a pizza, they also had a chance of getting a visit from the fire department. “Hello, what’s up guys? Ian’s Pizza. You were randomly selected to have the fire department come with,” said Marty, a manager at Ian’s Pizza.

UW-Madison will celebrate its 159th birthday Feb. 5 with cake distribution at University Housing dining halls.

University of Wisconsin Alumni Student Board has agreed to terms securing rapper Talib Kweliâ??s performance at the All-Campus Party in April.

The University of Wisconsin at Madison has canceled its contract with an apparel company that refused to allow a labor inspection of one of its plants, according to The Daily Cardinal, the campusâ??s student newspaper.

The business, the New Era Cap Company, prevented a university-hired labor-monitoring group from entering its facility in Mobile, Ala. The universityâ??s code of conduct requires companies licensed to use its logo to have their working conditions observed by a monitoring agency, the Worker Rights Consortium.

A UNC committee recommended Tuesday that the chancellor give the New Era Cap company an ultimatum to allow labor rights monitoring organizations into its Mobile, Ala., factory.

The UW Madison has ended its contract with a New York-based sportswear manufacturer that made official UW knit-caps. As Brian Bull reports, administrators say reports of worker abuse and a violation of the universityâ??s code of conduct for licensees are behind the decision. (Audio.)