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Category: Campus life

‘Something out of communist Russia’: Sen. Chris Kapenga fights raises of less than 2% for state unions

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Noted: The union represents trade workers at University of Wisconsin campuses, prisons and other state facilities. In many cases, they make about $41 an hour, according to state records.

As with trade workers around the country, they are paid a lower wage as apprentices. They all make the same wage once they complete their apprenticeships and become journeymen.

Kathy Thompson worked for 20 years as a steamfitter for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She recently started working for the private sector because the pay was much better, she said.

Republican bill would punish universities, technical colleges for free speech violations

Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: Jeff Buhrandt, UW System vice president for the Office of University Relations, pointed out to the committee that state universities have always strived to promote free speech and diversity of thought on campus.

“Our current policy recognizes that each institution has a solemn responsibility not only to promote lively and fearless exploration, deliberation and debate of ideas, but also to protect those freedoms when others attempt to restrict them,” said Buhrandt.

UW-Madison recognizes World AIDS Day

WKOW-TV 27

“All those years of research and all the funding, that it’s gone towards an HIV vaccine that set up the infrastructure and some of the things that they tried for an HIV vaccine, but didn’t work, they use those for the COVID vaccine,” said Chris Chapman, UW Infectious Disease Outreach.

As Turkeys Take Over Campus, Some Colleges Are More Thankful Than Others

New York Times

Noted: “College campuses are just ideal habitat,” said David Drake, a professor and extension wildlife specialist at the University of Wisconsin, where a sizable flock likes to hang out near apartments for graduate students. “You’ve got that intermixing of forested patches with open grassy areas and things like that. Nobody’s hunting.”

Coexisting with collegiate poultry is not always easy. At California Polytechnic State University, the campus Police Department is occasionally called about turkeys chasing people. At the University of Michigan, a state wildlife officer killed a well-known turkey two years ago that was said to be harassing bikers and joggers. And at Wisconsin, Dr. Drake said at least a couple of aggressive toms were culled after repeatedly frightening students.

Even for fans of the turkeys, getting chased can be fearsome.

“There’s an element of humor, because, oh, it’s a turkey,” said Audrey Evans, a doctoral student at Wisconsin who runs @turkeys_of_uw_madison on Instagram. “But your fight-or-flight instinct kicks in.”

UW-Platteville’s student vaccination rate is the lowest in the UW System. Why?

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

This month, most University of Wisconsin campuses celebrated hitting a threshold of having 70% of students fully-vaccinated against COVID-19 with full pomp and circumstance.

They doled out nearly $500,000 in scholarships through a UW System lottery, with 70 lucky students taking home $7,000 each. Other students won t-shirts, iPads, campus swag and scholarships through campus-sponsored programs aimed at encouraging vaccinations.

But one campus in southwestern Wisconsin — UW-Platteville — fell far short of the 70% goal, illustrating the challenges officials face trying to encourage vaccination in some rural areas.

UW-Madison’s history of housing shortages and displacement

Daily Cardinal

The search for housing prompted by growing student populations is not a new issue at UW-Madison, according to Kacie Lucchini Butcher, director of the UW-Madison Public History Project. “Housing became a very serious problem for the university after World War II,” Lucchini Butcher said.

Roadrunner by van, monkeypox: News from around our 50 states

USA Today

Two top state Republicans are criticizing mandatory University of Wisconsin-Madison sexual violence prevention training that includes references to privilege, identity and critical race theory. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos on Tuesday wrote a letter to the school chancellor demanding answers on why graduate students are required to watch the two-hour webinar that university spokesperson John Lucas said includes “a brief reference” to critical race theory, which he said is supported by academic research and noted in the citations.

‘A toxic environment’: The other costs of Greek life housing

Daily Cardinal

Participating in Greek life is typically known to be a sizable expenditure — choosing to live in a fraternity house can cost anywhere from $4,200 to $18,000 a year, according to the Interfraternity Council. According to the Panhellenic Association, living in a sorority house can range from $7,700 to $11,980 a year. In addition to live-in costs, semesterly membership dues, which also range in price, are required of all members.

What happens when a fraternity dies?

Daily Cardinal

Senior Cal Floyd opened up about Psi Upsilon at UW-Madison, and its challenges this semester with finding incoming freshmen to rush at the beginning of the year. He also explained why the fraternity’s decision to rush online ultimately made this semester Psi Upsilon’s last.

UW Vice Provost of Academic Affairs set to retire at end of 2021-22 academic year

Badger Herald

“Vice Provost Jocelyn Milner’s legacy can be seen almost everywhere on campus, especially in the durable framework that supports our curricular and academic planning,” Scholz said. “Her leadership contributed to some of our most recent good news — our graduation rates and the average time it takes to earn a degree have never been better, and we’ve made significant progress in closing equity gaps in these areas.”

Two candidates make it as finalists for Chief Information Security Officer position at UW

Badger Herald

Two finalists, Jeffrey Savoy and Damon Armour, have been selected for final on-campus interviews for the chief information security officer position. Savoy previously served as the interim chief information security officer at the University of Wisconsin Office of Cybersecurity, and Armour was the director of information security and risk and assurance at North Carolina State University.

Veterans honored at UW-Madison

WKOW-TV 27

A Marine Corps veteran and current student Lorence Ayag said joining the Student Veterans of America chapter made his experience on campus better. “I believe there is something special about the veteran community and the way we care about each other on and off the battlefield,” said Ayag.