News - The Daily Cardinal

A jury found expelled UW-Madison student Nicholas Ralston, first arrested in 2015, not guilty of third-degree sexual assault Wednesday.

CITY NEWS

Former UW-Madison student found not guilty of third-degree sexual assault

By Gina Heeb | Jul. 26, 2017

A former UW-Madison student was found not guilty Wednesday of a felony sexual assault charge, though he seemingly admitted to sexually assaulting a sleeping peer in a campus residence hall in 2015. Following a two-day trial, a jury in the Dane County Circuit Court ruled 21-year-old Nicholas Ralston of Shellsburg, Iowa will be acquitted of third-degree sexual assault. Ralston, who was expelled months after the assault, reportedly initiated nonconsensual oral sex with his roommate’s girlfriend in their Ogg Hall dorm room in April 2015, according to the criminal complaint. The victim and her boyfriend fell asleep on a futon in the dorm room after returning from a party around 1 a.m., the complaint said.

The La Ville apartment complex was roped off after an incident Monday in which two people were injured.

CITY NEWS

Two injured in robbery at campus-area apartment

By Noah Habenstreit | Jul. 24, 2017

At least two people were injured in an incident at a campus-area apartment Monday that was initially reported by WKOW 27 News as a shooting.

A sexual assault — which reportedly occurred last Thursday — was reported to UW-Madison Monday.

CAMPUS NEWS

Sexual assault reported in UW-Madison residence hall

By Lawrence Andrea | Jul. 24, 2017

A sexual assault was reported to the UW-Madison Police Department early Monday morning.

CAMPUS NEWS

The trial for a UW student charged with sexual assault in 2015 begins tomorrow. Here's what you need to know.

By Peter Coutu | Jul. 24, 2017

More than two years after the alleged assault was first reported, former UW-Madison student Nicholas Ralston now heads to trial.

Former UW-Madison student Alec Shiva will be sentenced in September for sexually assaulting and suffocating another student in a dorm room last year.

CITY NEWS

Former UW student Alec Shiva pleads guilty in sexual assault case

By Gina Heeb | Jul. 20, 2017

Expelled UW-Madison student Alec Shiva, who was accused last November of sexually assaulting another student in a campus dorm room while high on LSD, pleaded guilty to three felonies and two misdemeanors Wednesday. The felonies, charged in the Dane County Circuit Court, include second-degree sexual assault, strangulation and suffocation and false imprisonment.

Students and activists will gather inside the Capitol rotunda to protest gun violence.

STATE NEWS

Bill to end agreement between UW, Planned Parenthood received committee hearing

By Sammy Gibbons | Jul. 18, 2017

State lawmakers heard testimony Tuesday on a bill which would bar UW medical students from receiving training on how to perform an abortion, a move which critics say could threaten the accreditation of some programs. The bill, sponsored by state Rep.

CAMPUS NEWS

Phone scam posing as campus police targets UW students

By Megan Provost | Jul. 18, 2017

A well-known phone scam has re-emerged and is targeting UW-Madison students, particularly international students, according to a release issued Tuesday by the UW-Madison Police Department. UWPD received multiple reports from students over the past few days of a caller posing as a campus police officer.

Larry Seidl, 18, was arrested twice in two consecutive weekends for incidents in Sellery and Ogg Halls.

CAMPUS NEWS

Gas leak in Sellery causes evacuation, road closures

By Sammy Gibbons | Jul. 17, 2017

A gas leak occurred at Sellery Residence Hall Monday, causing the building to be evacuated and the surrounding area to be closed off.

CITY NEWS

Woman assaulted on North Henry Street, suspect at large

By Lawrence Andrea | Jul. 15, 2017

Madison police are investigating a sexual assault reported on the 400 block of North Henry Street early Saturday morning.

After six years of inactivity, Hagenah Fountain on Library Mall started to flow again Monday.

CAMPUS NEWS

Hagenah Fountain on Library Mall reactivated after six years

By Ellen Krebs | Jul. 13, 2017

Many current UW-Madison students have never seen the Hagenah Fountain turned on, however, after a six-year dry spell, the fountain on Library Mall started to flow again Monday.

University Health Services recently announced the replacement of its current online violence prevention program, Tonight, with the U Got This! program, which debuts Aug. 1.

CAMPUS NEWS

UHS to replace Tonight program for first-year and transfer students

By Lawrence Andrea and Megan Provost | Jul. 9, 2017

In a continuation of UW-Madison’s efforts to combat sexual violence after a year in which three students were expelled for sexual misconduct, first-year and transfer students will complete a new program to learn about dating violence, sexual assault and violence prevention beginning this fall.

22-year-old Nathan Friar, a suspended UW-Madison student, will serve eight years of probation for a second-degree sexual assault he was convicted of in April.

CITY NEWS

Former UW-Madison student convicted of 2nd-degree sexual assault won’t serve jail time

By Gina Heeb | Jul. 7, 2017

Suspended UW-Madison student Nathan Friar—who was found guilty in April of second-degree sexual assault and use of force and accused of strangulation and suffocation—will not serve prison time, a county judge ruled Friday at a sentencing hearing.

CAMPUS NEWS

In-state students by the numbers

By Peter Coutu | Jul. 6, 2017

The map displays student representation at UW-Madison compared to each county’s share of the state population. A value of one would mean a county is proportionally represented at UW-Madison.

Infighting between top Republican leaders has caused the state’s two-year budget to miss its June 30 deadline.

STATE NEWS

State budget misses deadline, stalled over transportation

By Lilly Price | Jul. 1, 2017

Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled Legislature will not pass the state’s two-year budget on time due to disputes between leaders in the Assembly and Senate over how to fund road and highway projects. The state’s current budget ran out on June 30, a date that arrived without a consensus between the two chambers.

Dean of Students Lori Berquam issued a statement Friday thanking the campus community for its support as she begins the second half of her chemotherapy treatment.

CAMPUS NEWS

Berquam to continue chemotherapy, thanks campus community

By Sammy Gibbons | Jun. 30, 2017

Dean of Students Lori Berquam thanked the UW-Madison community for providing her with “energy and optimism” as she begins the second half of chemotherapy treatments in a statement this Friday.

UW System dollars could potentially be used to aid embattled UW-Oshkosh foundation

CAMPUS NEWS

UW-Oshkosh Foundation to pay off debts without assistance of state dollars

By Maggie Chandler | Jun. 27, 2017

No state money will be spent on paying off the real estate debts for the UW-Oshkosh Foundation, a private nonprofit organization, the Board of Regents Audit Committee Chair Michael Grebe said in a statement today.

In private hearings typically held in Bascom Hall, three-person panels hand down sanctions for students found responsible for sexual assault.

IN-DEPTH

UW-Madison expels three as sexual assault punishments grow more severe

By Peter Coutu | Jun. 24, 2017

UW-Madison handed down their harshest-ever sanctions for sexual assaults that occurred in 2016, expelling three students from the university. The number of new expulsions marks a departure from the previous years’ punishments, though policy surrounding the hearings and sanctions hasn’t changed.

Assembly Session, Right to work, Budget 2015

STATE NEWS

State representatives attempt to curb teen dating violence with bipartisan bill

By Noah Habenstreit | Jun. 23, 2017

Teen dating violence is defined by the Centers for Disease Control as “physical, sexual, psychological, or emotional violence within a dating relationship.”

The UW Food Shed, located in the SAC in East Campus Mall, provides fresh produce to campus for free.

CAMPUS NEWS

UW Food Shed hopes to bring fresh produce to campus

By Ellen Krebs | Jun. 16, 2017

Dozens of people crowded around a single refrigerator loaded with an assortment of vegetables on the third floor of the Student Activity Center Friday for the grand opening of the UW Food Shed.

Expelled UW-Madison student Alec Cook is facing another felony charge, in sexual assault cases now involving eleven women, after being accused of cornering a student in a dormitory laundry room in 2014.

CITY NEWS

Cook to face another felony charge in cases now involving 11 women

By Gina Heeb | Jun. 15, 2017

Expelled UW-Madison student Alec Cook, who is set to go to trial on nearly two dozen criminal counts including second-degree sexual assault, strangulation and stalking, will face another felony charge after an 11th woman reported he cornered her in a dormitory building. The newest charges, false imprisonment and disorderly conduct, were filed late last month and released to the public Wednesday, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Wisconsin State Journal.