Written by Frances Vavrus, the vice provost and dean of the International Division at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
50 students hoping to study at UW-Madison caught in limbo. We need answers.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Category: Campus life
UW celebrates Latine heritage with Annual March up Bascom
The Badger Herald
The Latine Heritage Month planning committee, Latine Cultural Center and the Program in Chicanx/e and Latinx/e Studies hosted their annual March Up Bascom event on Friday. Over 100 students came together to celebrate Latine heritage — walking up Bascom Hill and partaking in Mercadito festivities afterward.
UW-Madison earns gold-rating for sustainability progress
The Daily Cardinal
The University of Wisconsin-Madison achieved a Gold rating from the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), marking a major step forward in the university’s environmental initiatives after receiving Silver rating in 2021.
Competition to crown the most ‘performative male’ at UW-Madison
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison students are crowning their top “performative male” in a tongue-in-cheek contest at Library Mall at 6 p.m. Friday, building off of a popular internet trend that’s produced viral moments garnering millions of views on TikTok.
‘That Book is Dangerous’ takes on left-leaning censorship
The Capital Times
Szetela will discuss his book at a talk at the UW Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy on Monday, Sept. 22.
How Madison doctors are using cancer patients’ own bodies to cure them
The Capital Times
That was the topic of a Cap Times Idea Fest session Wednesday produced by UW Health | Carbone Cancer Center that featured three of their physicians. The discussion drew an audience of hundreds to the UW-Madison Memorial Union’s Shannon Hall.
“Immunotherapy is the concept that our own immune system can not only recognize and fight infections but it can recognize and fight cancer. It just needs a little help,” said Dr. Christian Capitini, who is leading the cancer center as acting director. “We’ve learned over the decades through many discoveries, including here at the University of Wisconsin, that immunotherapy in fact works in people and can translate into therapies that make a difference.”
‘Performative Men Wanted’: UW students face off in ‘Performative Male Contest’
The Daily Cardinal
The event was organized by freshmen Adrea Matulle and Beri Barton. The duo was inspired by other performative male contests across the country. “We were bored, I [had] fun with some graphics and posted it on YikYak,” Matulle said. Her post received 951 upvotes.
Students brace for library closures, changes amid UW budget cuts
The Badger Herald
Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin announced budget reductions June 23 across campus following changes in federal funding. As a result, the university’s libraries have received a 7% budget cut, according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Library’s website.
Major campus libraries reduce weekend hours, some smaller libraries to close after university-wide budget cuts
The Daily Cardinal
These changes are a part of larger university-wide budget cuts, announced earlier in the summer by Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin. All departments were directed to reduce their budgets by 5%, with administrative units reducing their budgets by 7%.
UW to renovate Science Hall
The Daily Cardinal
University of Wisconsin-Madison officials are planning to renovate one of the university’s oldest and most historic buildings in 2027. Science Hall — built in 1887 — will undergo a renovation to upgrade its interior and add a rear common space.
People of UW: Producers of Humorology speak on Greek life’s philanthropic effort
The Badger Herald
Editor’s note: People of UW is a human interest series produced by The Badger Herald staff members. The series aims to highlight a student or student group at the University of Wisconsin making an impact on the campus community.
Journalism in the age of AI
Isthmus
Within weeks of arriving in Madison, Tomas Dodds has already launched an exciting lab on campus: the Public Tech Media Lab. Dodds, a native of Buenos Aires, was happily working at Leiden University in the Netherlands, where he was a research fellow at the AI, Media & Democracy Lab and the Institute for Advanced Study, when he saw a job opening at UW-Madison’s J-school.
According to Dodds, a main goal of the Public Tech Media Lab, which already counts faculty associates from around the globe, will be to teach journalists how to use open source technologies to create their own AI systems that align with their values and needs. The idea is to make newsrooms less dependent on big tech companies that have their own private interests.
ASM committee lambasts changes to former diversity division, university budget cuts
The Daily Cardinal
The Associated Students of Madison (ASM)’s Justice, Equity & Belonging committee (JEB) released a statement Tuesday calling for students to support diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in response to university-wide budget cuts.
Amid Trump cuts, some UW students question their futures in science — and in America
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
When President Donald Trump started cutting billions in federal research dollars, American universities saw it as a threat to the country’s research enterprise.
Universities outside the U.S. saw it as something else entirely: an opportunity.
UW-Madison, other Big Ten campuses push back against Trump cuts with TV ad
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison is among the Big Ten campuses featured in a new ad that defends their research amid looming federal funding cuts and uncertainty.
The ad, “We Are Here,” aims to send a collective message to viewers about the impact of research happening on their campuses.
UW-Madison unveils new Morgridge Hall on the first day of classes
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Morgridge Hall, the new home of the School of Computer, Data and Information Science, at UW-Madison seen from University Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin, on the first morning of classes, Sept. 3, 2025.
UW-Madison unveils new computer sciences building to accommodate student demand
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Exploding interest in computer and data sciences over the last decade at the University of Wisconsin-Madison led to hundreds of students on course waitlists and a lack of lecture halls large enough to accommodate demand.
The growing pains will begin to ease with the opening of Morgridge Hall this semester. The gleaming seven-story building is the home of the School of Computer, Data and Information Sciences. It houses the two most popular majors on this 50,000-student campus.
‘Do you dabble in live lobsters?’: Behind UW-Madison’s $36,000 lobster feast
The Daily Cardinal
UW-Madison Housing & Dining hosted a “resident appreciation” dinner across campus on May 1, offering thousands of lobsters to students on meal plans. Staff even set up lobster-cracking stations to help students navigate the shells. At Liz Waters dining hall, salmon and steak were served instead.
Records obtained by The Cardinal show the university purchased about 2,354 pounds of lobster at $15.69 per pound, totaling more than $36,000 — excluding shipping and travel costs. The expense came from UW Dining’s $46 million annual operating budget, funded through housing contracts, meal plans and dining sales.
What students and the university can do to avoid syllabus shock
The Daily Cardinal
Switching from months of relaxation over the summer straight into heavy course loads and overwhelming numbers of due dates is stressful for anyone. Keeping track of a new schedule and planning for the weeks ahead can make adjusting to the new school year seem nearly impossible, and University of Wisconsin-Madison’s current first week setup might be to blame for this syllabus shock.
University of Wisconsin-Madison seniors offer advice, support to freshmen
WMTV - Channel 15
University of Wisconsin- Madison seniors offer advice and support to the incoming freshman class as the school year begins.
“Don’t lose yourself,” Jason Craft, a UW-Madison senior said. “Whatever you think you can do, you can do, and they’re going to be people supporting you from all corners of life.”
Doors open for UW-Madison’s new School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences
WKOW - Channel 27
The new building for the School of Computer, Data, and Information Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has opened its doors.
This facility, called Morgridge Hall, brings various departments together under one roof for the first time. It inspires collaboration, as students and colleagues can simply bump into each other in the hall and get ideas for projects they are working on.
UW-Madison opens new building to house computer and data sciences school
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison students Wednesday morning shuffled into their first day of classes in the university’s newest building — funded entirely by private donations — to house its growing School of Computer, Data and Information Sciences.
Morgridge Hall, a $267 million, 343,000-square-foot facility, is UW-Madison’s largest privately funded building and puts all the disciplines seeing the most growth at the university under one roof.
UW-Madison parents hire surrogate mom to care for students who at college
Wisconsin State Journal
New Jersey father Anthony Verdura received a homesick call from his daughter last fall when she was five weeks into her first semester at UW-Madison.
That’s when Mary Morgan came in.
Verdura hired Morgan through her concierge business, Miss Mary Delivery, which caters to the university’s students and families, to surprise his daughter with a care package.
UW-Madison welcomes first year and transfer students during convocation ceremony
WKOW - Channel 27
UW-Madison welcomed freshmen and transfer students to campus on Tuesday at a new student convocation.
Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin, campus leadership, faculty and staff all helped with the kickoff event at the Kohl Center.
How Madison students approach online fashion trends
The Cap Times
Pema Hutter-Rennilson and her friend, Lupine Wolf, sit together on a sidewalk bench on State Street on a sunny Tuesday afternoon. The two wear long army-green bottoms, tank tops and statement jewelry.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison students say they like to curate their own fashion sense.
“It helps me be more confident,” Hutter-Rennilson said about having their own style.
This former UW Badgers athlete says she encountered ‘toxic’ coaching. Now she’s speaking up.
Wisconsin Public Radio
Lexi Westley comes from a family of coaches and athletes. But it took what she calls a “terrifying” experience with a coach at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to motivate her to pursue coaching herself.
A little more than three years after coach Mackenzie Wartenberger resigned from her position as head coach of the UW-Madison women’s cross country team, Westley and four of her teammates are coming forward about what they call abusive behavior by Wartenberger.
Jon Audhya on impacts of federal funding cuts at UW-Madison
PBS Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health professor and dean Jon Audhya considers how deep cuts to federal research funding are affecting scientific work and training of students.
Madison says GPA determines who gets automatic admission to UW, regardless of number of students
Wisconsin State Journal
More Madison School District students could be eligible for automatic admission to the Universities of Wisconsin under a district policy that avoids having to break ties among top-ranked students.
The district says its approach the new Wisconsin Guarantee program complies with the law that created it, while the primary author of the law said neither her bill nor the law addresses Madison’s approach and it would take a court challenge to determine whether it is legal.
What it costs to buy a beer at Camp Randall Stadium in 2025
Wisconsin State Journal
Prices might be going up elsewhere but it costs the same to buy a beer at Camp Randall Stadium this season as it did in 2024.
Cans of Coors Light, Varsity Golden Ale, Modelo and other beers were priced at $11.99 when the University of Wisconsin football team opened the 2025 season Thursday night. Other alcoholic beverages like Blue Moon, Ninja Dust and Nutrl were listed at $12.49.
Longtime Wisconsin donors get family name on Badgers’ new indoor practice facility
Wisconsin State Journal
The University of Wisconsin’s new indoor practice facility has a name: the Kellner Family Athletic Center.
Wisconsin officially unveiled the moniker for the $285 million facility at an event before Thursday’s football season opener against Miami (Ohio) at Camp Randall Stadium.
First Wisconsin game day of the season brings crowds, tradition and community spirit
WMTV - Channel 15
Downtown Madison turned into a sea of red Thursday as fans celebrated the first Badger game day of the season. From early morning tailgates to downtown bars, thousands filled the streets to mark the return of Wisconsin football.
UW-Madison’s new Afghan Student Association launches this year
Wisconsin Public Radio
Hera Salehi’s adjustment to college life wasn’t easy. Salehi grew up in Afghanistan. Although she had been living in the United States for a while, she had trouble finding her place when she enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison two years ago.
But Salehi saw how student groups and organizations helped nurture community at the large Midwestern university. It inspired her to start the Afghan Student Association to help connect other Afghan students and the larger community.
Wisconsin men’s basketball sets date for annual Red-White scrimmage
Wisconsin State Journal
Wisconsin will host its annual Red-White Scrimmage on Oct. 19 at noon in the Kohl Center, it announced in a release Wednesday afternoon. The intra-squad scrimmage is ticketed, yet free, and fans can redeem their reserved seat tickets online in advance for a first look at this upcoming season’s Badgers team.
New Badgers learn UW–Madison traditions ahead of football season
WKOW - Channel 27
New UW–Madison students gathered at Camp Randall Stadium Wednesday evening to learn game day traditions and take the annual “W” photo on the field.
Wisconsin Democrats move to change state law to ban concealed carry of guns on college campuses
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Democrats announced legislation to amend Wisconsin law to prohibit the concealed carry of firearms on college and university campuses in Wisconsin.
The legislation, which has been introduced in previous sessions and failed to advance, would make it a misdemeanor to possess a gun on campus, making the penalty up to nine months in jail and a fine of up to $10,000. The new stipulations would not apply to law enforcement or military personnel, nor anyone who possesses a gun on campus with permission.
Wisconsin Democrats propose banning concealed carry of guns on college campuses
Spectrum News
Wisconsin Democrats introduced new gun safety reforms on Wednesday, focusing on colleges and universities. Lawmakers proposed extending gun-free zones, currently in place for K-12 schools, to all college campuses to protect students and staff.
Democratic lawmakers propose prohibiting concealed carry on college campuses in Wisconsin
Wisconsin Examiner
Democratic lawmakers want to align gun laws for Wisconsin colleges and universities with those in place for K-12 schools by prohibiting concealed carry on campuses.
Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) and Rep. Brienne Brown (D-Whitewater) said during a press conference Wednesday that the bill would help protect students at a time when schools continue to be targets of gun violence.
UW-Madison part of a wave of active shooter hoaxes across US
Wisconsin Public Radio
As students are returning to campus, authorities are investigating false reports of active shooters at more than a dozen universities across the country, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The home of UW–Madison’s game day hype committee
Madison Magazine
Sure, there are other marching band houses on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus: Tuba Haus, Clarinest, Pi Palace (for the saxophones), Bone Zone (trombones). Nine in all. But only Trumpet Haus — Thaus, for short — lays claim to being the unofficial game day hype committee. This is where a lucky few trumpet players in the UW Marching Band call home.
‘Every second counts’: Madison installs 2 AED SaveStations downtown to increase accessibility to cardiac arrest help
Spectrum News
Leaders with Cardiac on Campus, a student-run organization at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Madison Fire Department and the City of Madison gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the two AEDs on Tuesday.
Watch Camp Randall Stadium’s offseason addition light up the night
Wisconsin State Journal
Camp Randall Stadium will be aglow in red in a way never seen before for a University of Wisconsin football home game Thursday night.
Wisconsin on Tuesday gave a sneak peek at the stadium’s new LED lights and how they can be programmed to fill the venue with colors and not just light up the field.
First Badger Bash of 2025 season kicks off this week
WMTV - Channel 15
Badger Bash begins 2-and-a-half hours before every home football game at Union South.
With the game against Miami of Ohio kicking off at 8 p.m. Thursday, this week’s Badger Bash will start at 5:30 p.m.
Photos: Fall Move-In at UW-Madison
Wisconsin State Journal
While the fall semester of classes at UW-Madison officially commences on Sept. 3, this week offers the chance for nearly 9,000 students to transition into the campus’ 21 residence halls, explore their new surroundings and begin to enjoy university life.
UW-Madison police thwart a false active shooter alert
Channel 3000
Like so many campuses in the past week, UW-Madison police had a call about an active shooter threat on campus and thanks to preparation, they were able to determine it was false, before panic spread throughout campus.
Wisconsin students in limbo waiting for fellowship money from Department of Education
Wisconsin Public Radio
The fall semester for the Universities of Wisconsin campuses starts next week. But at least 50 students at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee still don’t know if they’ll be able to attend class.
Photos: Remembering the UW-Madison Sterling Hall bombing 55 years ago
Wisconsin State Journal
Early in the morning of Aug. 24, 1970, four anti-Vietnam War radicals — Karleton Armstrong, his brother Dwight Armstrong, David Fine and Leo Burt — used a van filled with almost a ton of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil to bomb UW-Madison’s Sterling Hall, killing researcher Robert Fassnacht and injuring three others.
2 Madison School Board members criticize administration on weighted grading
Wisconsin State Journal
The district announced Friday evening that it would not use weighted grading as part of its response to the Wisconsin Guarantee program. Approved by the state Legislature, the program guarantees admission to UW-Madison for students who rank in the top 5% of their class and guarantees admission to the 12 other four-year Universities of Wisconsin campuses for students who rank in the top 10%.
Hip-hop’s role in today’s classrooms
USA Today
“The reason why it resonated with students … is because it felt like an opportunity for them to be met on their own ground and to have a kind of shared ground with which to meet instructors or meet ideas,” says Nate Marshall, award-winning poet and assistant professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Ultimately, like, the role of an educator is to connect the students in order to serve the students. So, if that’s not your way to connect with them, that’s cool. You find other ways.”
Madison move-in week: Essential tips for UW students and families
WKOW - Channel 27
Move-in day at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is underway Monday and will continue through Wednesday.
Each student has a designated move-in date and time, which can be found in their “My UW Housing” account.
Nick Hillman on borrowing limits for federal student loans
PBS Wisconsin
UW-Madison School of Education professor Nick Hillman explains how provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act set lower borrowing limits for medical and law students while changing other loan rules.
UW–Madison ends long-running tutoring program, raising concerns about student support
WMTV - Channel 15
UW–Madison has eliminated a decades-old tutoring program, a move that some campus staff say will leave students without critical academic support.
The Academic Coaching to Thrive and Succeed (ACTS) program had operated for about 30 years, providing personalized tutoring to hundreds of students each year.
The keffiyeh and pro-Palestinian campus protests
The Cap Times
On the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, the keffiyeh — a checkered scarf with deep cultural significance for Palestinians — has become a focal point in the debate over free speech and overall student activism.
UW-Madison closes 2 libraries and limits hours amid budget cuts
Wisconsin State Journal
With a 7% budget cut, UW-Madison Libraries is closing the Astronomy, Mathematics and Physics Library at 4 p.m. Friday. The campus Social Work Library will shutter also at the end of the coming school year, and others will have reduced hours.
Retired UW-Madison Police K9 dies after brief illness
WMTV - Channel 15
UW-Madison Police Department is mourning the loss of a beloved former K9 on its police force.
UWPD announced Tuesday K9 Kobalt has reached the end of his watch.
What are the best colleges in Wisconsin? Niche ranked the state’s top schools for 2025
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has been named the best college in Wisconsin for 2025, according to a recent report from Niche.
The school rankings website analyzed more than 1,000 colleges and universities across the U.S. for its 2025 Best Colleges in America report and related state reports.
UW-Madison’s seven major challenges this fall
The Cap Times
University of Wisconsin-Madison students will soon move into their dorms and apartments. Classes will begin early next month. And as a new school year gets underway, a variety of pressing challenges on campus will linger.
Self-proclaimed ‘provocative’ billboards address antisemitism near UW-Madison
WMTV - Channel 15
JewBelong, a national nonprofit aiming to fight antisemitism, is launching a new billboard campaign near the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The campaign coincides with the August 28 football season opener against Miami of Ohio and targets antisemitism on campus.
UW-Madison’s food pantry ‘Open Seat’ prepares for increased demand this fall semester
WMTV - Channel 15
University of Wisconsin-Madison students are heading back to campus and getting ready for the upcoming fall semester. Meanwhile, the campus food pantry, Open Seat, is preparing for an increased demand this school year.
UW-Madison ends peer tutoring program targeted at underserved students
Wisconsin State Journal
Effective in July, UW-Madison ended ACTS, which included its direct coaching services to students, Raul Leon, UW-Madison assistant vice provost for student engagement and scholarship programs, said in an Aug. 1 email to employees that the Wisconsin State Journal obtained.
City officials prepare UW-Madison students for August Moving Days
WMTV - Channel 15
The clock is winding down to August Moving Days in Madison.
Around this time each year, thousands of college students’ leases end in the Madison area, which means many are moving out while others are moving in.