UW-Madison students have the chance to crown their university America's top party school"" by voting on a Chicago-based newspaper website.
The Chicago Tribune's RedEye newspaper is sponsoring the online contest as an imitation of the Princeton Review's ""Top 20 Party Schools"" list.
The online competition involves a March Madness-like tournament bracket with colleges going head-to-head in subsequent rounds. For the first round, UW-Madison is matched up against Ohio State University.
""We've been having these online tournaments for sometime,"" said Jimmy Greenfield, RedEye web editor. ""We saw the Princeton Review list that came out a few weeks ago, and it just seemed natural for us to take this and let the students and alumni actually vote on it.""
Greenfield said RedEye used the Princeton Review's list to help compile its own and that it even including the top two ""stone-cold sober schools"" on Princeton Review's list - Brigham Young University and Wheaton College in Illinois.
According to Greenfield, RedEye acknowledged ""some credence"" in the Princeton Review list, but decided to add some of its favorite schools, including UW-Madison.
UW-Madison dropped from the top party school list in Princeton Review's ""2008 Best 366 Colleges,"" which is based from 120,000 student surveys.
""I think that's ridiculous,"" Greenfield said of Wisconsin not being considered a party school. He added he thought that was just ""not possible.""
""I visited Madison when I was in college in the '80s and I think [the campus] speaks for itself why [RedEye] picked Madison,"" he said.
Nicole Belisle, a UW-Madison junior, said she believes UW-Madison should be ranked as a top party school.
""It shows we know how to have a good time,"" she said. ""But we're also recognized for academics, so our student body has a good balance.""
Lexi Meleski, a UW-Madison sophomore, agreed.
""I'm really upset,"" Meleski said. ""We were in the top for so long - I don't know what happened.""
RedEye has added YouTube videos to the site, showcasing party scenes from each of the contenders.
""We'll let the first round go for a little while so people hear about it and they can vote,"" Greenfield said. ""We'll have a second round which will last a few days, then all the way to the final championship match.""
He said students can expect the top party school to be named some time in October. To vote for UW-Madison go to redeyechicago.com/partyschools.
