UW-Madison students and employees face a sweeping new process to report sexual misconduct on campus under rules that narrow the definition of harassment and bolster protections for the accused.
Category: Campus life
UW staff protest campus reopening plans
A group of UW-Madison staff members are demanding what they call “a moral restart” amid the pandemic.
UW-Madison starts early move-in
Starting Saturday, students living in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois can drop off their stuff in dorms ahead of move in, which is not until the end of August.
Protesters say safety demands UW rescind in-person instruction plans, go virtual
The Friday protest was organized by United Faculty and Academic Staff (UFAS), the Teaching Assistants Association (TAA), AFSCME Local 171, and AFSCME Local 2412.
How Wisconsin got the nickname ‘Badgers’
There’s only one “Badgers” nickname in NCAA Division I college athletics, and it belongs to the University of Wisconsin. The name has deep ties to the state, dating back roughly 200 years.
Here’s everything we know about Wisconsin’s mascot and nickname.
Here’s what we know and what we don’t about Wisconsin universities’ COVID-19 testing plans for fall
Over the past two weeks, Wisconsin universities have revealed more information about their plans for COVID-19 testing.
Wisconsin colleges’ fall plans hinge on testing thousands of students for COVID-19. Will it be enough to keep campuses open?
Colleges and universities across Wisconsin have developed a patchwork of plans to prepare for what at its core is an unknown: How to reopen campuses safely during a pandemic.
Quoted: Testing students every week or two will provide a gauge of whether the virus is taking hold on campuses. Many physicians stress this so-called surveillance testing is the only way to identify students and staff who are infected but don’t have symptoms.
“I don’t see how one can not do it,” said Nasia Safdar, an infectious disease physician at UW Health.
The mystery of the missing UW Sterling Hall bomber
It’s been called one of Madison’s greatest unfinished stories of the last half of the 20th century.
What happened to Leo Burt? Three of the four bombers of UW-Madison’s Sterling Hall in 1970, were caught and sent to federal prison. But Leo Burt, the fourth bomber, 22 years-old at the time, is still wanted by the FBI.
His whereabouts remain a mystery.
Coping with campus coronavirus: U.S. fraternities, sororities give it the old college try
Sixteen gallons of hand sanitizer sat in the foyer of the Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority house at the University of Wisconsin as house mother Karen Mullis reconfigured tables in the dining room to maintain social distancing.
UW-Madison plans testing for fall to track COVID spread on campus
The university is providing free COVID-19 testing for students, faculty and staff. It’s set up on Henry Mall, between University Avenue and Linden Drive.
UW-Madison Chancellor Blank on comprehensive plan to restart [WTMJ Roundtable]
Quoted: No plan for opening a university can be fool-proof, which leads to UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank being both confident in her campus plan and concerned about the things she – and any university’s chief executive – cannot control no matter how comprehensive a plan’s framework is.
“I admit I am both optimisitc and worried. I think we’ve done everything we need to do. We’ve got a lot of moving parts,” Blank told WTMJ’s John Mercure during Tuesday’s WTMJ Cares Special Roundtable.
UW rolls out first on-campus coronavirus testing site on Henry Mall
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s first on-campus COVID-19 testing location is now operating on an appointment basis, with at least two more sites expected to open for the fall semester.
Badgers fans weigh in on Big Ten’s decision to punt on fall sports amid ongoing COVID-19 concerns
Wisconsin State Journal reporter Jim Polzin asked Badgers fans on Twitter what they thought about the Big Ten Conference’s decision to cancel fall sports amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Graduate students advocate for online classes, more protections for teaching assistants
’I don’t want to have to choose between being safe and having no income, or a disease that has really long terrible health implications even if I survive it,’ graduate student says
Reports: Big Ten Expected To Cancel Fall Football Season
The Big Ten is likely to cancel fall sports, including football, over coronavirus concerns, according to several reports. A formal announcement is expected Tuesday.
Reported Big Ten football cancellation deals economic blow to Badger-reliant businesses
An already-battered Madison hospitality industry could take another hit worth tens of millions of dollars if the Big Ten Conference ultimately decides to cancel the fall football season because of the coronavirus pandemic.
University Labor Council lists demands in response to UW-Madison’s restart plans
First, the council demands moving all courses online until there are zero new cases of COVID-19 in Dane County for 14 consecutive days.
Some Wisconsin Universities Require Students, Staff To Sign COVID-19 Pledges
Aside from the campuses in Eau Claire, Green Bay and Platteville, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and University of Wisconsin-Madison have introduced required pledges for students too.
UW grad students, labor groups demand online learning, improved COVID policies
A newly formed coalition of University of Wisconsin-Madison worker unions released a statement Wednesday demanding COVID-19 policies that include fully online coursework, payment continuity and hourly student wages.
Wisconsin Badgers football schedule released
If the college football season is able to be played this fall, the University of Wisconsin football team now knows who it’ll face and when.
Metro Transit to boost service as COVID-19 pandemic continues
Service will increase by approximately 300 bus hours a day, from 700 to approximately 1,000, not including UW-Madison campus circulators or service for the Madison School District, Metro planning manager Drew Beck said. The pre-COVID-19 level was about 1,300 bus hours a day.
UW-Madison launches in-person absentee voting at four campus locations
Students who want to vote via an in-person absentee ballot can do so from noon until 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday at several sites on the UW-Madison campus.
In-person absentee voting begins on UW campus
Based on the advice of Public Health, voting will take place in tents on Engineering Mall, Library Mall, by the Kohl Center, and near the Natatorium.
Early voting available outdoors on UW campus
In-person absentee voting on campus began Monday at Engineering Mall, Library Mall, near the Kohl Center, and by the Natatorium.
In-person absentee voting begins at UW-Madison for fall elections
Voters in the city of Madison can complete their absentee ballots in person for the fall elections throughout UW-Madison’s campus as of Monday, according to the city clerk’s office.
The future of dining halls: reservations, delivery, and robots
Restaurant-reservation software company OpenTable is one vendor that’s seen increased demand, according to COO Andrea Johnston. Schools like Cornell University and University of Wisconsin-Madison have already signed on to use the service to handle dining hall capacity.
Plan Commission’s denies Langdon apartment project
Core Spaces, the development team behind a controversial Langdon Street apartment development, is “disappointed” following the Madison Plan Commission’s denial of its application for demolition and conditional use earlier this week.
Q&A: UW’s Jonathan Temte on status of a coronavirus vaccine and how it will be distributed
If anyone in Wisconsin was poised to play a part in the coronavirus pandemic, it was Jonathan Temte. A physician and associate dean with the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Temte is also an expert in vaccine and immunization policy who sat on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for eight years and is currently a member of the ACIP COVID-19 Vaccine Work Group, a panel that will help inform the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determine how a COVID-19 vaccine will be deployed.
Students applying to UW-Madison this fall will not need ACT or SAT score
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has joined all other UW colleges in waiving its test score requirements for fall 2021 admission as students nationwide struggle to access the ACT and SAT during the pandemic.
UW-Madison journalism student featured on Today show
Gracie Lund made her first Today show debut when she was just a child. She is now working remotely as an intern for the show.
UW-Madison students concerned about university’s reopening plan
A new survey, conducted by the United Faculty and Academic Staff and the Teaching Assistants Association, shows 86.4 percent of UW-Madison workers are uncomfortable with the university’s reopening plan. Most responses came from graduate student workers and faculty, but some undergraduate students feel the same
UW-Madison reserves isolation, quarantine rooms ahead of 2020-2021 school year
UW-Madison houses about 8,000 students on a typical year, but Director of Marketing and Communication for University Housing Brendon Dybdahl said they’re expecting between 7,300 and 7,500 students to live on campus for the 2020-2021 school year.
Survey: Majority of UW staff uncomfortable to return to campus
A survey of staff at UW-Madison shows an overwhelming majority are uncomfortable returning to work on campus this fall.
As Covid-19 Spikes, Incoming Freshmen Anticipate Uncertain Campus Reopenings
Seamus Rohrer, 17, will study journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, drawn to the prospect of writing for two student newspapers. He will drive northwest with one of his parents from his New York City home come fall, a plan he had made before the coronavirus outbreak.
Student’s experience prompts UHS to examine police hospital transport process
In response to an anonymous post on a student-run social media page, University of Wisconsin’s Health Services will explore alternative options to police hospital transportation.
UW students push voting during pandemic with masks, TikToks
Kathy Cramer, who leads the BadgersVote committee at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that group’s activities have shifted to virtual engagement and absentee voting education.
Quarantine spaces and routine testing: UW-Madison outlines plans to reopen all dorms next month
UW-Madison’s University Housing division plans to reopen all 21 of its residential halls next month. The dorms are set to hold between 7,300 and 7,500 undergraduate students and university leaders finalized a series of changes that aim to prevent the spread of COVID-19 between students and out into the community.
How to do delivery on a college campus
As part of its Back to School webinar series to help college and K-12 dining programs get ready for the fall, Food Management held a session titled “How to Start a Delivery Program on Your Campus” on July 21 featuring Peter Testory, director of dining & culinary services at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UWM), and Darin Schluep, director of Associated Students Dining Services at the University of California-Davis (UCD). It was moderated by FM Group Content Director Becky Schilling
UW students look forward to new school year cautiously
With a little over a month before classes start at UW-Madison, university leaders are working on plans to reopen with in person and online classes.
‘New Voter Project’ aims to register 1000 new youth voters in Madison area
Students from UW-Madison are teaming with non-profit group WISPIRG in an effort to register 1,000 new voters ahead of the fall election.
The ‘Half-Campus’ Model: Some colleges invite a fraction of their students to live on campus this fall. But is that approach truly safer? And who gets to be on campus?
Quoted: The effort to de-densify campus could have a public health benefit if the extra space is used to spread people out across classrooms and residence halls, said Craig Roberts, an epidemiologist emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a member of the American College Health Association’s COVID-19 task force.
“If the reduction is being done solely for budget reasons, however,” he said, such as to “keep class sizes the same but have fewer classes with fewer instructors, then I don’t think it’s going to make much difference.”
Contact tracers work to curb, keep up with growing COVID-19 outbreak
Equipped with a laptop, legal pad and smartphone, Merta Maaneb de Macedo this week called a UW-Madison student whose roommate recently tested positive for COVID-19.
Group of UW-Madison students protest fall reopening
Protesters gathered on Library Mall to say the plan does not take students’ safety into account enough.
National unrest sparks new efforts by UW-Madison to improve campus climate
UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank has unveiled a series of changes aimed at improving the racial climate on campus, including a mandatory cultural competency workshop for new undergraduate students and a $10 million fundraising campaign to recruit and hire more students and employees of color.
Trump administration rescinds rule on foreign students in face of firestorm of opposition
“Today’s announcement is encouraging news for all college students and for American universities,” UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank said in a statement. “Universities need flexibility to educate students in the most effective manner possible during the pandemic and international students deserve stability and support as they pursue their degrees here.”
Back to school: As UW plans to reopen, students and faculty have questions
UW-Madison remains committed to preserving elements of in-person teaching, with physical distancing requirements and widespread testing. However, as families and faculty continue to ask more specific questions about what school will look like, the university has about five weeks to hash out the details. “This is a big lift,” Blank said at a University Committee meeting Monday. “We’re going to be running the university in virtually every area differently than it’s ever been run before.”
Wisconsin joins multistate lawsuit over international student rule
The rule threatens to upend the legal status of thousands of international students in Wisconsin, including roughly 5,800 on the UW-Madison campus.
“I feel very unwelcome.” Effort to deport international students if classes go online has many worried
In the middle of a pandemic, international college students have needed more support and sympathy ever before, especially as many have been stranded in Madison for months. But in the United States the Trump administration added to their stress and anxiety by issuing an order to strip students of their US visas and deport them if their courses go entirely online.
UW System requests $110 million from the state, mandates masks on campuses
The University of Wisconsin System has asked the governor for $110 million to fund COVID-19 testing and personal protective equipment, as campuses look to open this fall and the number of coronavirus cases in Wisconsin continues to rise.
Masks mandatory inside all UW campus buildings this fall
The UW Board of Regents unanimously passed the mask mandate Thursday, a few weeks after UW System guidelines recommended masks but stopped short of requiring them.
‘I did all the right things:’ College students pivot in job market thrown off by coronavirus
For Hannah Arbuckle, a summer internship focused on helping people cultivate wild foods at the Bad River Reservation was an opportunity to help the tribe she belongs to.
It was also the University of Wisconsin-Madison senior’s chance to complete her last requirement for graduation.
But when she called her supervisor at the reservation to ask if her internship was still happening, Arbuckle learned the program had been canceled.
UW virtual panel discussion examines how racism impacts students on a predominantly white campus
Over 1,800 participants joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s virtual panel discussion dedicated to understanding how racism impacts students and alumni engagement in an event titled “Committed to Change: A Call to Action, Understanding How Racism Shows Up and Impacts Students and Alumni Engagement.”
UW-Madison international student describes challenges of leaving US due to online only classes
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Monday that international students who are enrolled in online only classes for the upcoming semester will have to leave the country or risk deportation.
UW-Madison reviewing new federal guidelines on international students
Those guidelines issued Monday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement say international students would have to leave the country or transfer to another college if their school goes entirely online this fall. Schools had to do that in the spring semester because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Facilities at UW-Madison reopening gradually
Everyone who visits these campus sites will need to wear a mask or face covering and abide by social distancing guidelines.
UW-Madison’s foreign students must transfer or leave U.S. if fall classes move online
Thousands of international students pursuing degrees at UW-Madison may be forced to leave the country, risk deportation or transfer to another institution if the university moves all of its classes online this fall in the interest of public health.
Colleges Brace for Sharp Drop in Foreign Students, Especially From China
Iris Zhou, an 18-year-old from Wuxi in eastern China, has been admitted to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the coming school year, but the earliest visa appointment she could get when she applied in May was in November.
Dr. Marcus Lewis named director of the Mercile J. Lee Scholars Program
Most recently, Lewis, who earned his doctorate of education from the University of Wisconsin–Stout, was the higher education director at the Ho-Chunk Nation Education Department where he designed a successful work-based learning internship program and increased the annual college graduation rate by 250 percent.
SOAR goes online to prepare incoming UW-Madison students for college life amid COVID-19 pandemic
Instead of picking a single day or two-day period to visit campus as in previous years, students set aside a week to complete the online content. During that week, students meet with an adviser over video conference to enroll in courses and engage in other online events about important resources and campus culture.
As COVID-19 cases increase, UW-Madison employee concerns about fall semester grow
UW-Madison spokesman John Lucas said Thursday the plan to offer in-person instruction Sept. 2 remains in place and he dismissed the notion of finances driving the decision to reopen. He also said the plan may help the city because regardless of how UW-Madison operates this fall, many students will return in August when their off-campus housing leases start.