Campus News

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CAMPUS NEWS

Wisconsin PEOPLE Program revamps its services

By Lexi Schweinert | Feb. 28, 2019

The Pre-college Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence is revamping their program and opening a new office at Milwaukee’s Rufus King Middle School this week. The program started in 1999 and is designed to assist minority and low-income students on their path from high school into college. Services they offer include ACT prep sessions, tutoring and other after-school programs. 

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CAMPUS NEWS

UHS hires new executive director

By Jenna Walters | Feb. 27, 2019

Jacob Baggott will bring 30 years of experience in college administration and health oversight to UW-Madison as University Health Service’s newly named Executive Director.  Baggott was one of three finalists up for the lead position of UHS, being selected after a year-long process. He succeeds Sarah Van Orman, who left the position in 2017 for another job. 

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CAMPUS NEWS

National teacher of the year encourages social justice in classrooms

By Morgan Lock | Feb. 26, 2019

National Teacher of the Year Mandy Manning spoke about how her experience in the Peace Corps lead her to become a social justice activist both in and out of the classroom Tuesday.  As a math and English teacher in the Newcomer Center at Ferris High School, Manning teaches immigrants and refugees. The Peace Corps was the first stepping stone in Manning’s twenty-year teaching career. She said it taught her a plethora of lessons that she carried with her. 

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CAMPUS NEWS

New nonprofit at UW seeks to unite rescue animals with survivors of assault

By Molly Davis | Feb. 26, 2019

Survivor’s Best Friend, a nonprofit organization brought to the UW-Madison by student Sammy Michaels, aims to sponsor survivors of sexual assault and domestic abuse who are interested in adopting a support animal. The organization was originally founded by Sophie Capshaw-Mack, a survivor of sexual assault and student at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

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CAMPUS NEWS

UW-Madison cuts ties with John Cabot University

By Jenna Walters | Feb. 26, 2019

UW-Madison plans to end its affiliation with a study abroad program in Rome after a reaching a settlement in a lawsuit Monday.

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CAMPUS NEWS

Peace Corps week to be headlined by teacher of the year

By Will Husted | Feb. 24, 2019

2018 National Teacher of the Year and returned Peace Corps volunteer Mandy Manning will headline UW-Madison’s upcoming Peace Corps week. 

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CAMPUS NEWS

Guest speaker explores the connection between white nationalists and Norse mythology

By Grady Gibson | Feb. 24, 2019

Merrill Kaplan, a scholar at Ohio State University, came to UW-Madison on Friday to give a lecture on how white nationalists leverage Norse symbology in their favor. Kaplan began by citing the casting of Idris Elba, a black actor, as Heimdall in the recent Marvel movie Thor: Ragnarok as a case of inauthenticity. She also elaborated that authenticity is not actually a real concept.

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CAMPUS NEWS

Alpha Sigma Phi suspended following hazing allegations

By Robyn Cawley | Feb. 22, 2019

Alpha Sigma Phi received their suspension for hazing allegations by UW-Madison Friday. 

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CAMPUS NEWS

Madison community celebrates Black History Month with keynote lecturer, Angela Rye

By Alyssa Hui | Feb. 22, 2019

UW-Madison students and community members gathered at Union South Wednesday evening to hear Angela Rye talk about taking responsibility of next generation activism.  Rye is a Haitian-American attorney, a liberal political commentator on CNN and an NPR political analyst. She is the CEO of IMPACT Strategies, which is a political advocacy firm in Washington, DC. 

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CAMPUS NEWS

UW-Madison student, internationally-renowned poet wins award

By Lexi Schweinert | Feb. 22, 2019

Few college students can boast publishing world-renowned poetry. UW-Madison junior Hajjar Baban, though, recently won yet another international award. Baban submitted her work entitled What I Know of the Mountains, a manuscript of her poems, to win the 2018 Rick Campbell Chapbook Award last week. The piece highlights themes of belonging, her father and nationalism. 

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CAMPUS NEWS

UW-Madison awards former student, faculty member with honorary degrees

By Max Gietzen | Feb. 21, 2019

Musician Steve Miller and former UW-Madison faculty member Thomas Brock received this year’s honorary degrees for excellence in their careers.  Recipients of the honorary degrees award are often known for a single achievement in their career. However, the award is not meant to celebrate one achievement but rather a career-long dedication to values that coincide with the university’s beliefs. Recipients are often affiliated with the university as well. 

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CAMPUS NEWS

Dining program sees $500,000 increase in sales as result of meal plan

By Lawrence Andrea | Feb. 21, 2019

Students last semester spent approximately half a million dollars more in dining halls than they did in Fall 2017 as a result of the new mandatory meal plan for incoming students, according to UW-Madison officials. University Housing Director Jeff Novak said the meal plan, which requires first-year students living in residence halls to make a $1,400 minimum deposit onto their Wiscards for on-campus dining, “rebounded” the dining program from where it was “a few years ago.”

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CAMPUS NEWS

Over 60 years later, women’s co-op faces closure at the hand of university

By Jenna Walters | Feb. 21, 2019

After decades of providing affordable housing to women at UW-Madison, the Zoe Bayliss Women’s Cooperative could lose control of their organization as the university proposes a merger that could place all control of finances and hired personnel in the hands of University Housing.   Zoe Bayliss has been home to women on the UW-Madison campus since 1955. The co-op is made up of an elected board of officers and resident members. The board oversees the function of the house and ensures that each member helps maintain the living space through cleaning and administration. 

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CAMPUS NEWS

Wisconsin Black Student Union marches in honor of Black Student Strike anniversary

By Morgan Lock | Feb. 19, 2019

50 years after black UW-Madison students demanded several changes to campus during a strike, the Wisconsin Black Student Union recreated the movement. In 1969, BSU President Rashid Rashad led the strike aimed at calling on the university to make 13 changes to be made to the campus. Some of their most notable demands were the creation of a Black Student Center and an African American Studies Department. The strike lasted for two weeks as over 10,000 students protested in support of their Black peers. 

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CAMPUS NEWS

‘I came to listen’: Beto O’Rourke speaks to students and faculty about the direction of the country

By Will Husted | Feb. 15, 2019

Students got the chance to ask the former senate candidate about a variety of policy issues. 

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CAMPUS NEWS

UW-Madison ranked top in producing Fulbright scholars

By Tiffany Huang | Feb. 14, 2019

UW-Madison produced a high number of Fulbright students in the 2018-’19 academic year, being ranked highly compared to other research universities.  The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs recognizes the top-producing institutions of Fulbright Students each year. This year, 18 UW-Madison students accepted Fulbright scholarships, landing the university the 15th spot. 

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CAMPUS NEWS

UWPD promotes safety app amid concerns from students

By Molly Davis | Feb. 14, 2019

University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department promoted a free safety app on their website Wednesday in response to an increase in concern from students about safety both on and off campus.  The app, called WiscGuardian, was originally launched by UWPD in August of 2017. The article on the UWPD website describes that the app has a feature which lets the user build up a system of “guardians” consisting of friends and family who are automatically sent information about the user’s location in an emergency.

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IN-DEPTH

‘We are not for sale:' Students say activism could save the Wisconsin Idea from Foxconn

By Sydney Widell | Feb. 14, 2019

Less than a minute after student protesters draped their hand-painted banners over the second floor railing at Union South, campus security forced the small group to roll up their flags and issued some of them warnings. 

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CAMPUS NEWS

Petition calls for improved campus safety

By Molly Davis | Feb. 12, 2019

A petition gathered over 1,000 signatures after it was created by a student late Monday night to advocate for blue light emergency phones on UW-Madison’s campus. “Blue lights” are a system of emergency stations that feature alarm buttons which connect the user directly to authorities or campus safety personnel.  The petition calls for a “network of buttons on campus, with no more than a 30-second walk between each, that calls the police when pressed,” and points out that many universities use this system to improve campus safety. 

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CAMPUS NEWS

50 years later, participants of 1969 Black Student Strike return to campus

By Alyssa Hui | Feb. 12, 2019

Four panelists recounted their lived experiences from the Black Student Strike in 1969 with a crowd of students and community members on Monday evening, making their story a reality for all who attended the Black History Month event at Memorial Union.  Over 60 people walked into the Play Circle Theater and were welcomed by dancing and lively students from the Black History Month Planning Committee.