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Regents vote to increase tuition, pg.2

Concerts return to Randall, pg. 6

Football recruiting update, pg. 8

Board of Regents unanimously approve 5% tuition hike

By Alaina Walsh ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents unanimously voted to raise undergraduate tuition by 4% for the 2025-26 academic year, with an optional 1% increase for individual campuses in Thursday’s regents meeting.

All campuses, except for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, plan to adopt the additional 1%.

The proposal, introduced Tuesday by UW System President Jay Rothman, marks the third consecutive tuition increase since the state lifted a decade-long freeze in 2021. Last year, the Board of Regents approved a 5% increase for the 2024–25 academic year.

Rothman said the additional revenue is needed to address years of stagnant tuition and declining state support. Over the past decade, instate tuition has increased by just 7.7%, compared to more significant hikes in neighboring Midwestern states. The total cost of attendance — including housing, fees and supplies — is projected to rise 3.8% on average across UW campuses next year.

The University of WisconsinMadison will increase in-state tuition

and fees by $562 to $12,166 next year. The total annual cost of attendance, including room, board and supplies, for an in-state student will exceed $30,000 at Madison. Out-of-state undergraduates at Madison would see a $1,396 increase, raising tuition and fees to $41,870 for the 2025–26 academic year.

In recent months, Rothman and university leaders have urged the state Legislature and Gov. Tony Evers to increase biennial funding — seeking up to $855 million in state support — as a long-term strategy to mitigate tuition dependency and stabilize budgets.

Evers and Republican lawmakers reached a bipartisan agreement in July to increase UW System funding by $256 million over the next two years — the largest state investment in the system in nearly two decades.

The increase is designed to protect the system’s “affordability advantage” while maintaining the quality of education across its 13 campuses, Rothman said in the statement.

The combination of frozen tuition rates and reduced state funding has strained finances and prompted the Board of Regents to consider reallocating resources. The proposed tuition

adjustment would help preserve student services and academic programs.

“If state support remains flat, tuition increases become necessary to meet rising costs,” Rothman said in the statement. While some campuses can opt into a 1% add-on to bolster local initiatives, all will adopt the 4% base increase.

The new state budget includes more than $100 million to stabilize campuses affected by enrollment declines and budget cuts, $94 million in staff wage increases, $54 million to support faculty in highdemand fields and $7 million to expand 24/7 virtual mental health

services for students.

The budget also dedicates nearly $840 million for capital projects across UW campuses, including renovations at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh and Science Hall at UW–Madison. However, the new state aid comes with conditions. The UW System must implement minimum faculty teaching loads and undergo annual audits by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau to ensure compliance. Campus news editor Annika Berenycontributedtothisarticle.

UW-Madison suspends SJP for alleged policy violations at April protest

By Ava Menkes MANAGING EDITOR EMERITUS

The University of WisconsinMadison suspended Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) for violating five university policies following an April protest at a campus event hosting a former U.S. Ambassador.

SJP and community members protested a La Follette School of Public Affairs event that hosted former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda ThomasGreenfield. Thomas-Greenfield vetoed four resolutions that called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during her tenure under President Joe Biden from 2021-2025.

“Such a flagrant display of support for genocidal complicity, and callous indifference to the suffering experienced by affected members in our community, was unacceptable to many of us and could only be met with clear opposition,” SJP’s Instagram post reads.

UW-Madison SJP has organized several protests on campus, including the 12-day encampment on Library Mall in spring of 2024 that called for university divestment from Israel and was grounds for their probation.

UW-Madison spokesperson John Lucus confirmed to the Cardinal Monday that SJP has been suspended.

The hearing committee found SJP violated the following guidelines:

• Unauthorized distribution of flyers inside Memorial Union and nearby lot 6

• Obstruction of entrances: crowding within 25 feet of Park Street doors to Shannon Hall

• Amplified sound: bullhorn

use near building entrances

• Disorderly conduct: pushing against Shannon Hall’s doors after UWPD directives to disperse

• Breach of Probation: violating the conditions of SJP’s existing disciplinary probation from a prior incident

In an Instagram post, SJP said they contested each claim before a committee, which voted against a suspension in favor of an “extended period of disciplinary probation” that would have been in effect until August 2026, however, the Dean of Students “unilaterally” overruled the committee’s decision and imposed a suspension of the student organization.

Adam, a member of SJP, told The Daily Cardinal SJP was informed of the suspension last week, though they somewhat expected it after the hearing and investigation process that had taken place since the April protest.

But SJP has fronted a flurry of

investigations before this one. In October 2024, the university placed SJP on a 10-month probation for violating five rules of conduct related to the encampment. And, this past December, the university launched an investigation into SJP for violating the university’s Expressive Activity Policy during a protest at a Board of Regents meeting.

The April protest of ThomasGreenfield’s speech at Shannon Hall saw multiple disruptions from protesters who were consequently escorted out by police. Outside of the event, multiple UW-Madison and Madison Police Department officers were present as protesters pounded on the doors.

In the Instagram post, SJP said the individuals removed by the police were detained indefinitely and without charge rather than being released with a warning. They claim the police “continued to be hostile” to those outside, even “removing an individual from the

building” while they were recording on their phone. Though apprehended community members were eventually released, SJP said they did not receive a clear explanation for their detention, with one protester dropped off at an “undisclosed location” without charge.

When asked for clarification on the claims presented above, UWPD’s spokesperson Marc Lovicott said “we stand by our enforcement actions.”

SJP views this suspension as just one of many, as multiple universities across the nation have opened disciplinary proceedings against students and student organizations who have protested Israel’s war in Palestine.

“This conforms with the pattern of other university administrations who have been suspending proPalestine student organizations, withholding degrees and barring students from campus and graduation events simply for speaking up about Palestine,” the post read.

If the proposed suspension of SJP is upheld, the organization will be prohibited from conducting any activity such as events or meetings apart from one executive board meeting per week until January 2026, after which the suspension will end and a probation period will follow.

Still, SJP rejects the violations and will appeal their suspension to the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs. Adam said they plan to continue fighting for university divestment from Israel and Palestinian liberation through other organizations such as World BEYOND War, Jewish Voice for Peace and Madison-Rafah Sister City Project.

JAKE WESSON/THE DAILY CARDINAL

LIAM BERAN/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Smaller UW campuses receive funding for virtual mental health services

By Joseph Panzer SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The 2025-27 Capitol Budget passed at the beginning of July includes $7 million for virtual mental health services to University of Wisconsin students at all campuses apart from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The inclusion of the funding follows a bill introduced by Sen. Jesse James, R-Thorp, and Senate Republicans on June 2 to address mental health issues among UW System students.

The bill requires campuses with less than 30,000 full-time undergraduates to partner with a private mental health care provider contracted by the UW Board of Regents. The provider must include “evidence-based clinical wellness content and behavioral health coaches” in their programming while employing licensed providers with experience serving university students.

“Near my district, UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stout utilize [tele-mental health] services at some of the highest rates in the state,” James said. “I see this as both an investment in our col-

lege kids and an investment in northcentral Wisconsin.”

James also cited a recent U.S. News and World Report survey finding 70% of students experienced mental health struggles since starting college, which experts believe is tied to the pandemic’s effect on education when current students were in high school or college. The same survey found only 77% of students who wanted mental health support successfully obtained it, and 7% had to wait more than three months for support.

The stipulation that these contracted services are only required for campuses with less than 30,000 undergraduates includes every school in the UW System except for UW-Madison because James believes the university “already has its own successful program and didn’t need the same state assistance.”

UW-Madison currently partners with private providers Uwill and Togetherall to offer virtual mental health care services to students.

The National Education Association reports students from

rural communities like Northern Wisconsin often let mental health issues go untreated due to a culture that does not talk about mental health and understaffed campus counseling centers.

University of WisconsinWhitewater student Kaylee Kramer — who is on the executive board of the Active Minds mental health advocacy group — remains cautiously optimistic about the effects of this change.

“I absolutely believe that the aims and provisions are feasible, but that is not to say that it will be an easy or overnight change,” Kramer told the Cardinal. “The most important thing would be to ensure that the students’ voices are heard throughout the transitional phase of service, especially if certain minority voices were to speak out and highlight mental health services that they feel are needed the most.”

According to the National Institutes of Health, Asian American, Latino and multiracial college students are more likely to have elevated depression symptoms than their

Here’s what UW-Madison will receive in new budget

By Annika Bereny CAMPUS NEWS EDITOR

Gov. Tony Evers signed Wisconsin’s 202527 bipartisan state budget into law Thursday morning, securing a $256 million increase to the University of Wisconsin System budget after months of negotiations with Republican lawmakers. It’s a far cry from the $856 million the system requested, but a welcome alternative to the $87 million cut Republican legislators floated just two weeks ago. Here’s what that money will mean for the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Alongside $27 million annually to “attract faculty in high-demand fields of study,” more than $160 million has been approved for “critical” renovations to Science Hall, which will “restore the building’s historic character while improving accessibility, addressing deferred maintenance issues and adding an atrium.”

UW-Madison will receive $10 million to renovate and add to Dejope Residence Hall and almost $19 million to renovate Rheta’s Market in Chadbourne Residence Hall. However, no funding was approved for the construction of a new residence hall on campus, set to meet the growing number of new students UW-Madison admits each year.

In a statement Tuesday, UW-Madison called a new residence hall “much-needed,” and said they were “disappointed” to not receive bonding approval, especially since it would have been funded “entirely with university resources.”

In the past few years, UW-Madison has struggled to house its students. The campus only has space for 8,800 students, with UW-Madison’s ever-growing freshman classes straining capacity. Trying to find housing after freshman year has been described by students as a “Hunger Games” scenario, and for those who wish to return to university housing after their first year, there are only about 1,000 spots available for the 2,000-2,400 students who want them.

In late 2024, the Wisconsin State Journal reported that a lobbyist group for Madison-based landlords pushed the UW Board of Regents to stall construction of a new residence hall until further research on its necessity could be completed. This request was ultimately not heeded and the Regents approved the building plan. UW-Madison also received $287 million less than they had requested to demolish the Mosse

Humanities building. The university requested $292 million to relocate academic programs within the School of Letters & Sciences and demolish the 56 year old building, but was awarded only $5 million.

In their Tuesday statement, the university suggested the $5 million would be put towards relocation of the departments that remain in Mosse, rather than demolition costs.

Construction has already begun on Irving & Dorothy Levy Hall — the new home of the College of Letters & Science — which is expected to open in 2026.

The budget deal also includes a 3% pay raise for all state employees in 2025 and 2% in 2026, including at UW-Madison.

While the budget deal came as a relief to UW-Madison amid threats of state funding cuts, further federal cuts still loom. Just last week, an email was sent to all faculty and staff informing them of 5-7% cuts to all departments effective July 1, when the 2026 fiscal year begins.

The UW System’s original request of $856 million would have halted further campus closures across the state, according to UW System President Jay Rothman. The Board of Regents voted to increase tuition on July 10.

peers of other ethnic groups, while those with mental health needs in all minority groups were receiving treatment at a rate significantly less than their white peers.

Racial disparities in access to mental health services present a challenge for campuses like UW-Milwaukee, which has 36% minority enrollment, according to U.S. News and World Report.

Kramer noted the bill “would make mental health services more accessible to many students” by requiring the contractors to provide services outside of standard business hours, which she believes is convenient for students trying to manage both academics and a job.

“Introducing new forms of mental health services would not take away from what the school currently provides — it will only build the program up,” Kramer said. “A new provider could encourage students who have previously sought mental health services to continue their journey while also provid-

ing others to take the step towards starting their journey.”

The University of Texas System partnered with private provider TimelyCare to expand access to 24/7 mental health services for students in 2023, creating precedent for this model. A wellness report from UT Austin during the program’s first year found that 1,443 students accessed TimelyCare services, marking an increase in overall health care provided.

James said his intention with this bill is to support young people during this “challenging” and “formative” time in their life, saying “providing access to these critical services ensures that college students across the state can get the resources they need to thrive both academically and personally.”

The funding was not a part of the system’s initial $856 million dollar request. Legislators and Gov. Tony Evers approved a $256 million increase in the UW System, the largest in over two decades, but a fraction of the $856 million request.

City greenlights zoning reforms to tackle housing shortage

By Elaina Russell STAFF WRITER

The Madison Common Council approved a trio of zoning ordinances intended to address the city’s housing crisis by legalizing more types of housing and streamlining development in an unanimous vote last Tuesday.

The passage of these “Housing Forward” proposals marks a step forward in the city’s effort to increase housing supply and accessibility across neighborhoods and a unique moment of unanimous agreement on housing, a topic that often stirs passionate debate.

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway applauded the council’s action in a statement following the vote.

“By simplifying our processes and enacting forward-thinking policies, we are ensuring that everyone in our city can live and thrive in the neighborhood of their choosing,” she said.

Changes promote development and reform downtown

The zoning code now permits duplexes and twin homes by right on all residentially zoned lots, an expansion from a 2023 ordinance that applied only to areas near public transit.

The Council has also relaxed dimensional requirements for splitting larger lots, reducing the minimum lot depth from 200 feet to 160 feet and the minimum frontage from 30 feet to 10 feet. This change allows homeowners to sell or build on newly created lots behind their existing homes.

In downtown zoning districts like Downtown Core (DC) and Urban Mixed-Use (UMX), the threshold for triggering conditional use review was raised. Now, buildings up to six stories can be approved by right, up from the previous four-story limit. The change aims to make development more predictable and consistent with other mixed-use corridors through Madison.

Community engagement leads to mixed reviews for changes

Public comments submitted in the weeks leading up to the Council meeting reflected a mix of enthusiastic support, cautious optimism and pointed concern.

Many residents expressed strong support for the proposals and urged the Council to go further.

“Please vote in favor of those policies so that more folks can call Madison their home,” wrote Jonathan Mertzig, a District 11 resident, who added he would have liked to see even more ambitious reforms like fourplexes allowed by right.

Others echoed a need for greater density and flexibility.

“Dense housing creates strong communities and supports a wide variety of local businesses,” near east side resident Nicholas Reichert wrote. “Every district in Madison should allow the types of housing that are prevalent on the isthmus.”

But not everyone was convinced. Sandra Ward, co-chair of the Capitol Neighborhoods Tree Preservation and Planting Committee, raised concerns about the potential loss of Madison’s mature tree canopies.

“Yes, support more density,” she wrote, “but do so with an eye to protecting the tree canopy.”

Other residents, like Lorne Hillier, questioned the assumption that more units would bring down costs. “More likely, it will just facilitate the demolition of older, modest homes so two, half-million dollar houses could be built,” he argued, suggesting the city consider alternative affordability strategies like incentivizing condos or starter homes.

Additional suggestions included removing minimum parking mandates, revisiting short-term rental regulations and protecting affordability through more aggressive rental policies.

Progress continues after Tuesday’s meeting

The Housing Forward initiative is expected to continue with additional proposals this fall. Council members and city staff have indicated that reforms under consideration may address topics like parking, design standards and rental affordability.

Whether the new ordinances will result in more affordable homes remains to be seen, but for now, the city has cleared the way for more small-scale housing options, one backyard lot and duplex at a time.

WPR to cancel ‘University of the Air’ show amid funding uncertainty news

By John Ernst FEATURES EDITOR

Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) announced plans in late June to cancel “University of the Air” along with three other legacy shows in part because of federal and state funding challenges.

Nationally, the Trump administration and congressional Republicans have sought to decrease funding for public radio across the country, most successfully with the passing of the Big Beautiful Bill earlier in June.

The bill canceled $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which upholds legacy media organizations such as PBS and NPR. More than two-thirds of that funding is distributed to 1,500 locally operated public television and radio stations such as WPR, according to PBS News.

During the FY 2023, WPR received 24% of their funding from state sources, and 4% directly from the CPB.

“I’m appalled when I read about federal cuts to NPR or to public broadcasting,” University of Wisconsin-Madison English professor, and co-host of “University of the Air” Emily Auerbach said. Auerbach has hosted “University of the Air” for 30 years alongside WPR host and producer Norman Gilliland, interviewing campus experts on a

wide range of topics spanning music, medicine, education and more.

“That sort of attack on the value of public broadcasting, whether it’s public TV or public radio, that disturbs me because it is one of the true sources of journalistic integrity, and it’s very democratic with a small D: It is broadcasting that it’s available to all and goes after the truth,” Auerbach said.

The origins of “University of the Air,” Auerbach said, are directly tied to the Wisconsin Idea the university was founded on.

“I think the title ‘University of the Air’ kind of speaks to the importance of the university reaching beyond its boundaries,” Auerbach said. “That was part of the initial concept of UW and what better way to make the university available to a whole state than have it able to tune in and hear programs on a variety of topics.”

Auerbach and Gilliland took the show, which had previously only recorded lectures and broadcast them across the state, to a question-and-answer interview format, where they explore a professor or experts niche interest for a onehour, one-take interview.

“It’s a great treat to be in the front row seat on a one on one interview with people who know a lot,” Gilliland told The Daily Cardinal. He

noted the significance of the show for him lay in the extended length of the interview, where he, Auerbach and the listener could spend time and connect with an expert. Gilliland said some “University of the Air” guests, like historian Stephen Ambrose and former U.S. Senator Herb Kohl from Wisconsin, told him they had never done such a lengthy interview before.

Both Auerbach and Gilliland noted the importance of “University of the Air” for both themselves and their listeners in learning about a new topic from an expert in that field.

“One of the things I always like to ask the faculty member that I’m interviewing is why did you choose that field? What in your own background in life led you to study [that subject]? How did you wind up doing that and what do you love about it?” Auerbach said. “I think the program has been just a chance for anyone to learn something they might not have known and think about topics in a new way.”

Auerbach also emphasized the importance of the show in sharing the diverse range of research existing on UW-Madison’s campus. She said she’s heard from listeners who look at other people differently after listening, or get screened for a medical issue that the

UW-Madison eliminates, consolidates diversity divison

By Annika Bereny CAMPUS NEWS EDITOR

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin announced the Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement (DDEEA) would close and its programs would largely be relocated to the Division for Teaching and Learning in a Wednesday afternoon email to the UW-Madison community.

DDEEA’s employee support functions will move to the Office of Human Resources, and their staff members focused on institutional data collection will join Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research. Scholarships and student support and cultural programs will continue to be supported by the university, Mnookin said.

Of the approximately 100 employees that comprised DDEEA at the beginning of the day, “fewer than 10” employees in the areas of administrative support, event support and communications have received a layoff notice as a result of this reconfiguration, a UW-Madison spokesperson told the Daily Cardinal. UW-Madison traditionally gives notices of layoff several months in advance.

“We will do all we can to support these valued colleagues as they seek their next role,” Mnookin wrote, “either at the university or elsewhere.”

These changes come at the recommendation of a late June report from a working group, originally created to provide a data-driven review on how the university could better support undergraduate students through resources and campus-level programs.

“Although it made excellent sense at the time of DDEEA’s creation [2009], we do not believe it makes sense any longer to have DDEEA’s holistic support programming separated from our broader engagements in student support,” the report reads. “Given the evolution of our support ecosystem, legal shifts in permissible focus, and

the resource-intensive nature of DDDEA programs, we strongly believe the time has come to consider reorganization.”

These changes also follow the demotion of UW-Madison’s former top diversity official, LaVar Charleston, in January after an internal review revealed financial mismanagement in the DDDEA, including approval of bonuses and excessive spending on travel and events.

Former ASM Chair Dominic Zappia said at the time that he thought it “likely” the division would undergo some change after the demotion.

Alongside DDEEA’s relocation, the chancellor announced that university-level academic support will also be housed in the Division for Teaching and Learning, and efforts focused on student well-being, involvement and belonging will be housed in Student Affairs.

A new office will also be created in Student Affairs dedicated to serving firstgeneration college students and those with financial need.

“I believe these changes will allow us to serve many more students with an even greater array of resources,” Mnookin said. “It will also set us up to be able to develop better flows of information to support success, to develop a strong student navigator system, and to report on our progress.”

Despite the end of DDEEA as its own division, though, Mnookin says diversity will continue to occupy its place as a cornerstone of UW-Madison.

“I also want to state clearly and unequivocally that diversity of all kinds, including diversity of viewpoint and diversity of identity and background, remains a core value of our university,” Mnookin wrote. “We must create the conditions here, including through programs and support services, that allow all of our students, faculty and staff to flourish and to reach their full potential.”

show investigates or even read a book to learn about a topic further.

“I think lifelong learning is always something of value,” Auerbach said.

“University of the Air” will air their last show in late September, but will continue recording new episodes throughout the summer. Auerbach hoped to dedicate a show in September to revisiting the history of their storied program, exploring some of the notable moments throughout their 30 years on the air and sampling some of the legendary interviews they’ve had over the years.

Although “University of the Air” will be taken off the air, Auerbach said she thinks WPR could possibly revitalize it in the future with younger hosts or students, if budgets permit. Other canceled WPR shows include

Experts

“To The Best Of Our Knowledge,” “Zorba Paster On Your Health” and “BETA.” During these show cuts, WPR laid off 15 staff members.

“I think there are many ways to keep the idea of ‘University of the Air’ alive, and I hope they revisit the show when the budget permits, because it is a show that has a very long history, and I think the relationship between WPR and the UW is epitomized with that show,” Auerbach said.

Interested listeners can tune in to hear the final “University of the Air” episodes when they run on WPR from 5-6 p.m. on Sundays. The WPR “University of the Air” archive also contains around 950 of Gilliland and Auerbach’s interviews and episodes over the past 20 years.

say food stamp cuts are likely to hurt Wisconsin families, farms

By Audrey Lopez-Stane SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Nearly 90,000 of the current 700,000 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients in Wisconsin could lose their benefits, as President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act creates more demographic and work eligibility requirements for the program.

In addition to new requirements on recipients, the law leaves states responsible for 75% of the administrative SNAP costs. While proponents of the law say it will cut down on waste and fraud, experts say Wisconsin’s supply chain could face negative impacts if the state can’t afford the cost increase.

SNAP assists low-income families and individuals with their food and nutrition needs by helping with grocery costs. Many recipients have school-aged children who are then eligible for free school meal programs, but the new work requirements could remove children’s eligibility as well, and schools may not be able to make up the difference.

“We don’t think of schools as having a lot of surplus resources that they could say, ‘hey, yeah, you don’t qualify for SNAP, our school lunch will cover you,’” Chuck Nicholson, an associate professor of Animal and Dairy Sciences and Agricultural and Applied Economics, told The Daily Cardinal.

If schools are unable to serve kids, it could impact the dairy industry, as around 10% of milk from dairy farms goes to schools, Nicholson said. If children aren’t receiving free milk at school and the school can’t afford to provide it from their own budget, then less milk will be bought from dairy farms.

“If we have 10% of beverage milk going through school meal programs, and we make substantive cuts to those programs, that’s a significant amount of less milk that is needed in schools,” Nicholson said. He projects these cuts to cause a 10-15% reduction in farm income in the next four years.

Iowa Food Hub General Manager Peter Kraus works extensively with Wisconsin farms and families, as the company operates within 150

miles of Decorah, Iowa. He told the Cardinal he understands the effect Wisconsin dairy farms have on the entire country and expects the industry to be severely impacted by SNAP cuts.

“It’s very destructive,” Kraus said in response to the law, adding he experienced “a lot of frustration” when it first passed. He largely works with Farm to School, a non-profit organization that provides healthy food and nutrition education to almost 75,000 schools, which also faces negative impact from the cuts to school meal programs.

Kraus said farms and agricultural companies require stability and long-term relationships for success. With less resources and money to change course, he said other food hubs who work with Farm to School are shrinking and cutting staff as a result, and he’s lucky his company hasn’t needed to do the same.

Kraus isn’t a stranger to politics affecting his work. He said climate change, tariffs, the war in Ukraine and the bird flu crisis have all had a negative impact on agriculture, and SNAP cuts are no different.

“These programs are really good for our local economies, for rural places,” Kraus said. “So if you really want to thrive the economy, support local food and agriculture.”

FINNEGAN RICCO/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Federal loan changes in Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ could squeeze students news

By Alaina Walsh ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

New federal loan restrictions passed as part of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act are expected to reshape how thousands of students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison pay for their education, potentially increasing reliance on private loans and reducing access for low-income families.

The reconciliation bill, signed into law on July 4, imposes limits on federal loan programs that previously offered more flexibility to parents, graduate students and professional students.

UW-Madison’s financial aid office warns the shift could disproportionately affect future borrowers, especially those in high-cost academic programs.

“Persons needing to borrow to fund their education will see an impact from the reconciliation bill,” said John Lucas, UW-Madison spokesperson.

“The overall reduction in availability of these federal loans will likely result in increased reliance on borrowing through private sources.”

Under the new law, Parent PLUS loans — federal loans issued to parents of dependent undergraduate students — will be capped at $20,000 per year and $65,000 in total over the course of a student’s academic career. Previously, the loan had no specific limit, other than the cost of attendance.

In addition, Graduate PLUS loans,

which have helped graduate and professional students cover costs beyond traditional federal loans, will be eliminated for new borrowers beginning in the 2026-27 academic year.

The majority of UW-Madison students graduate without debt, however, among those who do take out student loans the average amount of debt is $27,000.

To help offset the impact, the law raised the limit on unsubsidized loans, another kind of federal loan for

graduate and professional students, from $20,500 to $50,000 annually.

At a press conference in May, University of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman and other higher education leaders across the state warned the bill would restrict access to college for thousands of students.

“For generations, the federal government has helped ensure that students and families from all socioeconomic backgrounds are offered life-changing experiences,” Rothman said. “Those opportunities are now in jeopardy.”

One of those opportunities is the ability to receive a Pell Grant, a federal aid program for low-income students.

The law raises the full-time enrollment requirement for a full Pell Grant from 12 to 15 credit hours per semester and limits eligibility to students enrolled at least half-time.

More than 31,000 UW System stu-

dents currently receive Pell Grants, and system officials say changes to Pell Grant eligibility could limit access to higher education.

While current borrowers will be allowed to continue under the existing loan terms for up to three more years, incoming students in the fall of 2026 and beyond will face a dramatically different financial aid landscape.

As students and families prepare for the upcoming academic year, UW-Madison’s Office of Student Financial Aid is advising borrowers to start planning now and to explore all available funding options, including scholarships, work-study and responsible borrowing through private lenders.

“We expect an adjustment period,” Lucas said, “but our priority remains ensuring that students can access the education they’ve earned, regardless of how much they can pay upfront.”

UW-Madison creates entrepreneurship unit amid campus-wide budget cuts

The new position follows a working group’s recommendation to recruit and maintain a University of Wisconsin-Madison Entrepreneurship Hub.

By Sonia Bendre SCIENCE EDITOR

The University of WisconsinMadison plans to create a new administrative unit to collaborate with the business community amid campus-wide budget cuts, led by a new Associate Vice Chancellor for Entrepreneurship who will drive business growth at the university “beyond patents.”

The new Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub (WEH) comes as a result of a working group recommendation and will focus on uniting and galvanizing entrepreneurs across and outside of campus, according to a job description for the chancellor. It comes in the wake of budget cuts, but proponents say its dividends will pay off.

The entrepreneurship chancellor’s principal duties will be identifying “innovative opportunities,” creating and maintaining external governmental, non-profit and industry partnerships, managing employees and directing the Entrepreneurship Hub’s vision and funding strategies. The salary is not posted, but a job posting in 2024 for an associate vice chancellor-level position listed a minimum salary of $225,000.

Unlike most associate vice chancellor positions, who report to a vice chancellor, the entrepreneurship chancellor will report directly to Jon Eckhardt, a professor in the Wisconsin School of Business, who will also serve as special advisor to the entrepreneurship chancellor. Eckhardt will report progress on entrepreneurship initiatives to Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin.

Eckhardt is also the co-chair of the entrepreneurship-focused working group that recommended the school implement a university-wide entrepreneurial culture, including building an entrepreneurship hub and creating the entrepreneurship chancellor position.. He also chairs the search committee for the new chancellor.

Hiring continues amid funding uncertainty

The entrepreneurship chancellor position opened three days before UW-Madison announced 5% budget reductions for all schools and colleges and 7% reductions for administrative units on June 23.

In a letter to faculty and staff, UW-Madison leadership said the decision was motivated by state and national budgeting, financial aid and tariff uncertainty. They estimated future changes to federal reimbursement laws could cost the university between $65 and $130 million.

“In challenging times, we want to do all that is possible to protect our core missions of teaching, research, and service,” the FAQ page reads. “We are therefore expecting administrative units to bear a larger burden of these cuts, including the vice chancellor units.”

Though Mnookin suggested “leaving some vacancies unfilled,” Eckhardt said UW-Madison is continuing the search for an entrepreneurship chancellor.

“We are moving forward with this search despite the challenges facing higher education due to the centrality of entrepreneurship to the Wisconsin Idea and the potential long-term benefits to the university and the communities we serve in the State of Wisconsin, and beyond, of improving our approach towards entrepreneurship,” Eckhardt said in an email statement to The Daily Cardinal.

The Legislature’s Audit Committee recently released data indicating the number of limited-appointee administratives in the University of Wisconsin System rose by 39% — and their payroll expenses rose by 78.3% — from 2014 to 2024, while student enrollment decreased by 16,000.

In 2023, the Board of Regents passed a resolution freezing the total number of staff positions across the UW System funded by either general purpose or program revenue, but the current number of active staff is low enough that the addition of an entrepreneurship

chancellor does not require any other position eliminations.

“The university will continue to make staffing decisions that align with the terms of the agreement set forth in 2023, which does not require eliminating positions,” UW-Madison spokesperson Kelly Tyrrell said in an email to the Cardinal.

Calls for more entrepreneurship on campus

Wisconsin currently faces a decline in its workforce and a ‘brain drain’ of young professionals leaving the state. The state had an average of 93,099 vacant job openings monthly between January 2021 and February 2025, according to a report by UW-Madison Extension.

Eckhardt said the Entrepreneurship Initiative will make UW-Madison a more attractive location for future business leaders, creating interest in the state.

The Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub will also have a board of directors made up of deans, faculty entrepreneurs, students and local entrepreneurs, Eckhardt said.

“[The board] will basically have people from the entire campus… to help build this new world of entrepreneurship that fully embraces all forms of entrepreneurship that happen on our campus, including nonprofits,” Eckhardt told the Cardinal.

UW-Madison currently offers an entrepreneurship certificate and works in close partnership with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), which offers patent and commercialization services for student and faculty inventions.

Discovery to Product (D2P) is the result of a partnership between UW-Madison and WARF that offers free consulting services to student and faculty entrepreneurs. It has contributed to 142 startups, according to a 2024 impact report.

But gaps exist in UW-Madison’s entrepreneurship infrastructure, Eckhardt said. WARF primarily focuses on patented inventions, which favors discoveries from STEM disciplines. The Entrepreneurship Hub plans to provide services for an interdisciplinary range of entrepreneurs who may not already have patents on their products.

MORGAN WINSTON/THE DAILY CARDINAL

CAMERON LANE-FLEHINGER/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Concerts return to Camp Randall this summer after 30 years

Camp Randall hosted sold-out shows for Morgan Wallen and Coldplay.

By Oliver Gerharz ARTS EDITOR

Concerts returned to Camp Randall this summer for the first time in almost 30 years, with country pop singer Morgan Wallen and British pop rock group Coldplay headlining shows in June and July.

Between two shows on June 28 and 29, Wallen brought over 100,000 fans to Madison, selling out Camp Randall Stadium. Less than one month later on July 19, Coldplay performed to another sold-out Camp Randall crowd. These were the first concerts at the venue in almost 30 years, when the Rolling Stones rocked Camp Randall in 1997.

The first musician to play Camp Randall was Duke Ellington and his jazz orchestra in 1972, 55 years after the stadium was built in 1917. Throughout the day before the orchestra played, members of the orchestra led workshops, and Ellington himself taught master classes. This tied the performance to the educational purpose of the university, in addition to the entertainment and economic value the performance brought to campus.

The golden era of Camp Randall performances ranged from 1988-1997, featuring seven summer shows in 1988, 1992, 1994 and 1997 from some of the biggest names in music. Pink Floyd, U2 and the Rolling Stones all played multiple concerts at the venue during that time. Because it’s an outdoor stadium, concerts at Camp Randall only ever occurred during the summer months, never earlier than late May or later than early October.

However, the last few shows at the stadium in the nineties slowly waned in attendance and income. In particular, the U2 and Rolling Stones shows in 1997 brought in far fewer fans than expected. In 1997, the Rolling Stones earned the UW athletic department $150,000 from utility fees, which combined with their portion of ticket sales, netted $1.4 million dollars.

Following these performances, Camp Randall took a 28 year break from its role as a music venue.

Yet recently, the venue has been experimenting with new streams of revenue, including last year when they began permitting the sale of alcohol during football games. This is because of a new need since 2021 to allocate funding towards Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) payouts for college athletes.

This year, Camp Randall was paid $520,000 to host Coldplay’s only stop in the Midwest. Official attendance numbers have not been posted for this summer yet, but all dates were sold out.

This tourism filled seats at many local businesses, outside one of which Coldplay’s lead singer Chris Martin gave some fans tickets after bumping into them.

While in Madison, Coldplay and Wallen both embraced the state in their performances. “It was fun, they brought out four people in cheese hats. And then Chris Martin wore one,” said Elliot Novak, a concertgoer who recently graduated from UW-Madison.

Given the relative success of this year’s concerts for both Camp Randall and Madison, many are hoping that this summer’s concerts are more than a one-off, and that this might be the first glimpse of a new direction for the stadium.

COURTESY OF

New Superman movie so strong even non-superhero viewers will enjoy arts

Both casual and diehard fans will connect with James Gunn’s latest film.

By Gabriella Hartlaub SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

For me, there is no such thing as superhero fatigue. Put a man or woman in a suit with special powers on screen and I will be seated. However, superhero fatigue is in the air, the X-Men movie is in production and the rent was due for Supes.

As a long-tenured Superman superfan, I would say this is the best movie of all time. For the sake of this review, though, I’m taking that hat off and putting my casual viewer hat on.

If you want to spend two hours enjoying yourself and leave the theater with a sense of hope that’s hard to come by these days, then Superman is the movie for you.

The first thing this movie does right is throw the audience directly into the story. Superman’s origins are explained but not shown, a reversal of the “show, don’t tell” rule that other comic book movies should take note of. One of the main appeals of this approach is it clarifies for the audience that this is not a Superman origin movie — this is a Superman movie.

Character-driven superhero movies are rarely done, but it’s this film’s strongest aspect. If you’re a Superman fan, you’ll be excited to enter the universe that has been ripped from the pages of your favorite comic. If you’re a casual viewer, you can easily connect with characters that drive the story and keep you engaged. None of this would be possible without the outstanding performances of the entire cast, from

David Corenswet’s Clark Kent/ Superman to Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner/Green Lantern. Each actor did their homework and embodied their characters.

At the heart of the story are Corenswet’s Clark Kent/ Superman and Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane. Their chemistry is the backbone

of the film, and remains an anchor for the audience as we’re sucked into a geopolitical crisis, a pocket universe and the edge of the Arctic.

With all that being said, for better or worse, this is clearly a James Gunn film. Color, humor and insane needle drops abound, but so does fast pacing — at a detriment to the story. Gunn is no stranger to impactful moments, but in Superman, he doesn’t let us sit with them for very long. Save for one scene near the end, most of the emotional performances are quickly ended with a joke or cut to another scene. Not to say that these moments don’t pack a punch, but there are at least three scenes I can think of where I would’ve enjoyed a longer pause to take it in.

Despite the pacing, there’s no doubt that this movie has heart. Attribute it to Corenswet’s performance, Gunn’s writing or even the inclusion of Krypto the Superdog if you must, but I give all the credit to the source material. While complaints that Superman is a boring character have abounded in the past decade, there’s a reason why his comics continue to sell and resonate with audiences. The core values of Superman that have been lost in previous media adaptations shine through in comics such as ‘All Star Superman,’ which Gunn said was a heavy influence for this Superman film. When source material is followed and appreciated as Gunn has done, a product as good as this one is a given.

The “S” (well, not an S, but we won’t get into that) emblem stands for hope: hope for a better tomorrow, hope that more movies will abandon their dark color schemes and hope for the superhero genre.

By Yadiel Chavez SPORTS EDITOR

In an industry crammed with artists playing it safe, Alex Giannascoli, better known by his stage name of Alex G, differs from the pack.

Alex G evolves sonically with every new release, while simultaneously channeling the roots of his decade-spanning discography. From the independent environment of Bandcamp to signing a record deal with RCA Records, his 14-year solo career has been quite the journey.

Alex G’s 10th album “Headlights” was released on July 18th, 2025. His first under a major record label, many wondered how this release would compare to his previous work. Would it be a continuation of the Christian rock influences from his 2022 album “God Save the Animals”? Perhaps his newfound fatherhood would play a role in the themes of “Headlights”?

The album starts off with “June Guitar,” a track that would fit in seamlessly with his work from the mid-2010’s. The guitar chords in the introduction lure you into hazy scenery, a dreamscape of sorts. Alex G’s lyricism on this track is also reminiscent of his earlier

work, discussing a relationship between him and another person. An accordion fills the gap between lyrics, displaying his wide arrangement of instruments.

Transitioning into “Real Thing,” the artist mentions his record deal. In a move that seemingly breaks the fourth wall, he sings “Hopin’ I can make it through to April / On whatever’s left of all this label cash.” Alex G isn’t oblivious to the fact that people know he’s on a major record now. The achievement may come with unforeseen byproducts, ranging from raised expectations to accusations of selling out. He isn’t here to flaunt the deal however, insinuating that it isn’t worth as much as people may think.

On the fourth song on the album, “Beam Me Up,” Alex G continues to let his guard down with the listener. To begin the track, he plainly states “Some things I do for love / Some things I do for money / It ain’t like I don’t want it / It ain’t like I’m above it.”

When asked about these lyrics by Pitchfork, Alex G vaguely detailed an encounter he had when he was

approached to make a song. “I was like, I don’t know if I am jelling with this, but I could use the money,” he said. Through this, Alex G once again displays the realities that come with his newfound position at a record label.

However, this isn’t the album’s only theme. Tales of relationships and self-growth on tracks like “Spinning” and “Far and Wide” are reminders that Alex G’s storytelling ability hasn’t lost a step. The variations in his vocal melodies are as entertaining as they are brilliant. They resemble the distinct melodies that give songs like “Sarah” and “16 Mirrors” online popularity, despite both being released over a decade ago.

lyricism about love, sin and other usual Alex G subject matter.

It’s this that sets “Headlights” apart from Alex G’s previous work. The bluntness of his lyricism on certain tracks is a side of his personal life that has rarely been seen in his discography. On other songs, he switches back to

Coming in at a runtime of 40 minutes, “Headlights” is the culmination of years of work in the music industry. The album is the most personal Alex G has gotten while still maintaining the mystique that has followed him throughout his career. As he describes it on the closing track “Logan Hotel (Live),” “I’ve been on the road for a long time / I’m about to lose my mind / Once you get the feeling you got two lives / Well, now you gotta pick a side.”

ISABELLA BARAJAS/THE DAILY CARDINAL

COURTESY CHRIS MAGGIO

sports

Wisconsin’s hidden gem: The Badger Cricket Club Wisconsin Football: Where recruiting stands going into 2025, 2026

National champion cricket club looks to grow their game

By Tejas Rao STAFF WRITER

As summer break slowly comes to an end, so will the Wisconsin Badgers’ football program’s opportunity to maximize their recruitment period for 2026.

In the age of the transfer portal, Head Coach Luke Fickell said it’s still home grown players that create the team’s nucleus. Although the Badgers have found success with getting such players on the recruiting trail, it hasn’t translated into on the field results yet, highlighting how essential it is for Fickell and Wisconsin to up their game when recruiting season comes around.

“We’ve got a lot of things to continue to develop in these next 39 days, but the number one most important thing I am going to stress on is leadership,” Fickell said, speaking on how highly rated recruits could bring a sense of leadership to the team.

The past couple years under Luke Fickell have definitely been unsatisfactory, going 12-13 overall and struggling to make and win bowl games.

“That’s not the standard. That’s not the expectation. I was not brought here thinking that’s in any way what we expect at the University of Wisconsin,” Fickell said at a Big Ten media days press conference. “But I’m not here to dwell upon last year either.”

But while the Badgers have struggled so far on the field in Fickell’s first two years, their recruiting off the field has been a bright spot.

In 2024, the Badgers nabbed several four star recruits en route to the 25th ranked recruiting class in the country.

The Badgers made several notable additions to the squad in the 2025 class, including dual-threat four star quarterback Carter Smith, the nation’s fourth ranked quarterback in the class. Although he was pursued by multiple Power 5 programs — including Michigan, where he briefly committed — Smith picked the Badgers, bringing the fanbase hope for the future.

Wisconsin also landed four star linebacker and ESPN top 300

recruit Mason Posa, defensive end Nicolas Clayton and wide receiver Mason Kelley.

Overall, Wisconsin pulled in 23 commits in the 2025 cycle, good enough for the 26th ranked class in the country. They also landed the 14th ranked transfer class, featuring this fall’s starting quarterback Billy Edwards Jr.

But in the 2026 cycle, Fickell and company haven’t seen the same level of success.

The Badgers have set their sights set on a high number of blue-chip recruits, but successfully bagging most of them remains a challenge. However, some highly rated prospects, including four-star receiver Jayden Petit and running back Amari Latimer, have already committed to Wisconsin.

Picking up talents like these did not come easy. Adding Petit and Latimer to the squad was a result of heavy competition with other national programs — making Wisconsin’s job to close the deal with many of these top targets more difficult than ever.

“It’s really critical and important to me in all that we do, and the way that we continue to grow, that we focus upon the traditional things that have made the University of Wisconsin football program great. And it starts with high school recruiting and it comes down to trust and respect from within our program,” Fickell explained.

Despite these confident strides ahead, momentum has slowed in recent weeks.

The 2026 recruiting class broke into the national top-35 for just a moment but found itself back into the 50s and currently 58th overall, a sharp fall from its peak at 21st. This comes after a crucial decommitment from three-star defensive back Zachary Taylor, who flipped to TCU. This class sits at 15th in the Big Ten, one of the lowest positions in years for the Wisconsin Football program.

Uncertainty and turnover in 2026

Wisconsin’s recent struggles,

culminating in a bowl game absence for the first time in 22 years, have seen the program’s hard-headed reputation dip, making it tougher to beat other attractive schools in gaining elite players and staff.

Meanwhile, the departure of general manager Max Stienecker to USC is sure to create some unrest within the Wisconsin staff. Steinecker played a key role in past recruiting success and roster construction. His departure from Wisconsin to the Trojans is a considerable setback for the Badgers, who now rely on former North Texas Director of Player Personnel Ethan Russo to fill the gap.

Lastly, an NCAA recruiting violation led to recruiting suspensions for Fickell and key assistants this summer, limiting their contact with prospects. But despite all the distractions, Wisconsin still remains an attractive school to play for.

Fickell is still a big name coach with recruiting promise. And playing at Camp Randall and Wisconsin’s electric gameday atmosphere is an appealing factor on its own, with recent recruits voicing their excitement about this program’s traditions and community. The program will undoubtedly flaunt its home atmosphere to recruits on gamedays throughout the fall.

“We understand what being a part of the Big Ten, what being a part of this conference means,” Fickell added. “In order to be at the top and to be the best, you’ve got to compete and you’ve got to beat the best. So it gives us a challenge, but an unbelievable opportunity is in front of us as well.”

Wisconsin’s summer recruiting path has been choppy and seems to be heading towards a meek ending. A solid class has been collected, but the lack of top talent and a weak national rank leaves more to be desired. It seems to be a now-or-never situation for Fickell and Wisconsin to prove to their competitors, as well as their own fans and themselves, that they are a force to be reckoned with.

By Tejas Rao STAFF WRITER

International students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison founded the university’s first cricket team, the Badger Cricket Club, in 2024. Since then, they jumped onto the scene dominating the field, winning a national title in their first year and adding to the growing popularity of cricket in the United States.

The players, almost all international students, hail from cricket-playing countries and have experience playing at a high level before arriving at UW-Madison.

In 2024, they decided to form an official cricket team with funding from UW-Madison Recreation & Wellbeing as a way to compete against other schools and build a strong club and alumni network.

In their inaugural season, the BCC won the national championship of the National Club Cricket Association (NCCA), clearing their league matches and playoffs to win it all. UW-Madison cricket was officially on the map. By beating West Virginia, UCLA and Rutgers in the firstever NCCA tournament, they sought to continue their success into the qualifiers.

After handing ASU a crushing quarter-final defeat by 48 runs, the BCC rose through the tournament as a force to be reckoned with.

Playing UC-Berkeley in the Semifinals provided a more challenging task, but the BCC won the tightly contested match, winning within the last 12 balls of the game and by eight wickets — meaning eight batters still remaining — 88/2 to 87/5.

In the finals, the BCC was tasked with playing their toughest opponent yet: the University of Maryland. Defending this red-hot Cricket team against a mere score of 87 runs was proving to be difficult beyond comparison. In the end, a bowling masterclass late in the remaining two overs of the game gave them the win by just two runs, 86/7 to 84/9.

“If you see the clip of the final, you can see what it [the championship] meant to the team.” BCC President Ayush Mehta said. “I was sucked into the drama and emotions of winning a big tournament as well.”

The sport is growing rapidly in the United States and so is interest for it among teams representing their universities at the collegiate level. In 2009, American College Cricket (ACC) began with its inaugural national championship, featuring five newly formed teams, and more followed suit.

Cricket teams have become increasingly common at American universities, from Ivy League schools to large state institutions. “Cricket is a growing sport and poses a great opportunity for the sport to tap into the vast resources the US has to offer,” Mehta said.

The BCC recently took to a

friendly competition against the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities’ Cricket team in a threegame series in March of this year. Winning all three matches, the BCC left a statement and proof that almost a year later, this team has only gotten better.

The growing popularity and competition was also seen vividly in the NCCA’s 2025 college cricket tournament, where the BCC fell short of defending their national title. The BCC faced impressive and improved talent from other universities, struggling to make it out of the league stages and succumbing to persistent attacking lineups on both bowling and batting ends.

Building a future in Madison

Cricket finds its most passionate fans and players in the AsiaPacific region, where countries like India lead the crowd with major tournaments and leagues. Beyond India, cricket has sporting success across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. The United States has struggled to fully join the club, but the country has made a recent push in the sport. Last year, the U.S. joined the T-20 World Cup and cricket participation in the U.S. has increased by 40% since 2018, with over 200,000 active players now involved in local leagues and academies.

“The country is seeing a surge in demand for the sport from people in the United States,” Mehta said.

While UW-Madison has established itself as a premier athletic powerhouse for decades — with 15 different NCAA Division I programs and a long list of several national championships — the NCAA does not recognize cricket as a varsity sport, meaning the BCC is the highest level of cricket competition available to UW-Madison students.

In Madison, football, basketball and hockey will remain iconic university mainstays. But, as cricket continues to grow its presence on campus, it may someday find itself among the university’s most popular sports, especially if the cricketers maintain their rigorous mentality and championship-winning prowess.

“The future of any club is decided by its members,” Mehta said. “I strongly believe we will have a great involvement from UW-Madison students for the sport.”

As cricket continues to grow in the U.S. and the BCC strives to retain their championship pedigree, they will ensure that UW-Madison is a premier player in this developing game. The time to recognize the highs and lows of Wisconsin’s cricket club, just like any other UW-Madison sport, has arrived, and the BCC is up for the challenges that await them.

MEGHAN SPIRITO/THE DAILY CARDINAL

How to make a big school feel like home life & style

By Lydia Picotte ARTS EDITOR

For every freshman, college is a big change. At a school as big as the University of WisconsinMadison, the challenge can seem especially daunting. As someone who moved to Madison from out of state, I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t know anyone, and I had a lot of anxiety.

Initially, things didn’t go perfectly. I struggled to navigate campus, ate some questionable food and was left feeling defeated when I almost failed a class. But through trial and error, I eventually found my way.

When I return to campus this fall as a sophomore, I’ll be living in a house with my best friends, taking classes for my major that interest me and settling into my newfound home at The Daily Cardinal. There are a few things I learned during my freshman year that will help anyone make the most of the Badger experience.

First, do not get hung up on your dorm assignment. It’s easy to get sucked into opinions about walking distances, room sizes and dining halls. The list goes on. In reality, every single dorm building has its own set of pros and cons.

I lived in Lowell my freshmen year. It wasn’t one of my top choices. It’s a

long walk from almost everything on campus. On the flip side, my roommate and I had our own bathroom and Target was only two minutes away.

But what I learned is that nothing is entirely good or bad. Whether you think you won the lottery or not, your dorm will not make or break your entire year. Your ability to see campus, meet people and experience things is far more dependent on yourself, not where you’re living.

Second, build yourself a schedule. Having class for just a few hours of the day is a big switch from high school for most students. It can be easy to waste time or procrastinate when you have that much freedom. I found it incredibly helpful to be consistent and schedule time to study, go to the gym, clean or do whatever else. It’s certainly not a one-size-fits-all solution, but developing a schedule that works for you is an easy way to balance your time with fun and productivity.

My third tip is to watch your spending. Be aware that things add up fast. This is especially true with food; Doordash is your enemy. You certainly don’t have to stop buying things, but be aware that you have to get through an entire year. If you can, identify areas you might be willing to make sacrifices in, and make those adjustments early on.

Once you’ve braced yourself financially, your next step is to brace yourself for the weather. For me, coming to Wisconsin was a move south. The high levels of snow and ice that I was expecting ended up just being a lot of slush in my eyes. I was not prepared and ended up wishing I had a lighter coat and more waterproof shoes.

For a lot of students, a move to Wisconsin is a move north. They’re shocked by colder temperatures and increased precipitation. Different ways to prepare can include making sure you have the right clothes, learning how to use the bus system on campus and factoring in the extra time it takes to get around in the winter. Regardless of who you are, it’s important to recognize that the weather will impact your life, especially if you’re not used to winter at all.

My final and most important tip is to engage with others.

During my freshman year, the very first welcome week event was a pet plant activity. We were all told to stop by the Gordon Dining and Events Center and pick up our personal pet plants. Neither my roommate or I cared for plants, but because we chose to go anyway, it didn’t take long before “who can grow the bigger plant?”

became a competition with our next door neighbor.

It became a reason to check in and knock on each other’s doors. That neighbor is still my best friend today. Ask any upperclassman, and they will have similar stories about the strange, roundabout ways they made friends their freshman year.

UW-Madison is brimming with opportunities like these for every single person that wants them, but you must be willing to go find them.

Go to the welcome week events. Talk to your professors. Join clubs. Knock on doors. Sit next to people in class. We’re all nervous, embarrassed and afraid we’re the only ones who don’t know what’s going on. We’re all

eager to make the most of our time at UW-Madison.

One of the benefits of UW-Madison’s size is that when you come across something you don’t like — a club, a class or an individual — it’s easy to start again. Nothing has to be permanent. There are always more people to meet and more things to try. The key is to keep trying until you find your place and to try without fear.

No matter how you’re feeling, the best way to have a successful freshman year is to find ways to get involved and to find community on campus. I couldn’t be more grateful for the people and opportunities that brought so much love and excitement to my freshman year.

The ultimate guide to surviving (and thriving) in dorm life

How freshmen can embrace the best of college dorm life.

By Cadence Dugre STAFF WRITER

A sudden shift from the comfort and familiarity of home to living in a shoebox-sized room with someone you probably haven’t met before is a daunting experience. What’s supposed to be the best years of your life might not feel great right off the bat, but creating a homey environment in your dorm will put you on the right track. Here’s a few things you can do to change your dorm experience from surviving to thriving — from product hacks to tips for making unforgettable friendships.

Making your dorm room home

As a dorm life survivor — and thriver — I’ve accumulated a list of three products that will make your dorm life one to look back on with no regrets. These items will make your space inviting, comforting and the go-to hangout spot.

Warm lighting is necessary for achieving the perfect environment for movie nights, game nights or late night chats. String lights make for the perfect ambiance.

Secondly, having extra seating creates welcoming space for guests and is sure to bring in lots of new friends and memories. Whether it’s a futon or foldable chair, extra seating is essential.

Lastly, having a couple of games on hand will make your dorm experience fun and enjoyable. A deck of cards or silly games like Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza and Cards Against Humanity will make your dorm room the hotspot.

There’s no doubt that fitting everything will seem impossible. Optimizing space and remaining organized is a must. Lofting your bed to fit dressers, storage compartments, a desk or TV stand will be a game changer for creating more space. Closet space is

also limited, so purchasing items like a pants hanger or a hanging shelf organizer will help you store all of your favorite clothes and give you extra space for shopping!

To feel a little less homesick, bring home with you! Fill your room with pictures of the people you love, old birthday cards or handwritten notes to remind you of all the love you have in your life. There will undoubtedly be

productive study sessions and homey nights in.

Building a respectable roommate relationship

Although it is perfectly fine to just co-exist with your freshman year roommate, forming a strong relationship with them could be the greatest friendship of your life. After all,

times throughout college where you’ll need a warm reminder that everything will be okay.

Most importantly, make your space feel like you. Get posters of your favorite artists or movies, pick out bath towels in your favorite color, buy bedding that shows personality or hang up those summer arts and crafts projects. If your dorm room resembles your character and brings you comfort, you are set to have peaceful mornings,

you are spending most of your time together and going through the same traumatic college experiences most freshmen go through. Getting close with each other isn’t a terrible idea.

Roommates can be tricky. We’ve all heard horror stories about unwanted messes, lack of privacy or pushing boundaries, but there are ways around conflict. The biggest tip to becoming best friends with your roommate is to set expectations early on. Talking

about bed times, cleaning responsibilities or sharing rules will eliminate awkward conversations and passive aggressive behavior, allowing more time to enjoy each other’s presence. You and your roommate could be very different people, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be friends with them. Besides, you are sure to have one thing in common: being a college freshman living through a new chapter in life. Learn from each other’s differences and be open-minded and accepting of their characteristics.

Befriend the people in your dorm

The idea of making all new friends in college is scary. You went from hanging out with the same people for ten years to moving away and starting over. The cool thing about it is that everyone else is in the same boat. Everyone is looking for new friends and an amazing college experience.

The biggest piece of advice I have is to leave your door open on the first day you arrive and say “hi” to everyone. Take a moment to make yourself known with introductions, fun facts or sharable snacks. Bring your grandma’s famous cookies or microwaveable popcorn — anything to start a conversation with your floor-mates. You’ll be seeing the people in your dorm hall almost every day, so ask how they’re doing, what their plans are for the day and if they heard about the fun event happening on campus. Start inviting them to study sessions at the library or movie and game nights in your dorm. Having an open mind and positive attitude will lead you to some of the greatest people you’ve ever met.

Dorm life will come with challenges, but it also comes with the opportunity to gain independence, meet new people and create unforgettable memories. Embrace it all because you’ll miss it once it’s gone!

CORA SPYCHALLA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

TAYLOR WOLFRAM/THE DAILY CARDINAL

opinion

The summer slump no one talks about

Madison: Where students help lead the city

By Miranda Simpson STAFF WRITER

With a glittering lake at your doorstep, live music humming in the distance and the endless buzz of bars, coffee shops and restaurants to explore, the city of Madison is alive with summer. Yet, sometimes, it all feels just out of reach.

I spent the entire winter counting down to summer, ready for warm weather and stress-free days with my best friends. But after finals week and what felt like 400 failed internship applications, I found myself with almost no responsibilities, and instead of feeling liberated, I felt stuck.

My motivation dissipated as steeply as my bank account, and the lack of a consistent routine turned lofty dreams of summer into a harsher reality of “fomo”, stagnation and an infuriating lack of inspiration.

As days blended into each other, discernible only by 7 hour shifts at my minimum wage summer job, I began to feel restless, determined to find the cause of my growing apathy in the most beautiful months of the year.

Discussions with friends— and some frantic late night Googling—led me to realize the universality of my experience, the reasoning behind the “summer slump” and a few ways to break the unending cycle of nothingness.

Many articles attribute feelings of isolation or unproductivity in college students during the summer to the sudden switch from a packed schedule to a complete lack of struc-

ture and routine. The predictable nature of student life that anchors our day-to-day lives disappears, creating an overwhelming feeling of aimlessness that can be hard to pull yourself out of, especially when dealing with burnout from a grueling semester.

Then there’s the heat.

Madison humidity is no joke, and when you’re used to 40 degree “highs,” 85 degrees and sticky feels like stepping into an unwanted sauna.

Heat-driven fatigue is a real thing! As your body uses more energy to cool yourself down, it creates physical and emotional lethargy. I found myself lying on the couch for hours avoiding the heat and realized that doing nothing was kind of addictive. Science backs this up: lounging around releases dopamine, which can trick you into staying lazy.

It’s a feedback loop that feels impossible to break.

It’s easy to feel isolated in the summer. Even surrounded by friends in a beautiful city, the crushing lack of motivation leaves me staring at Instagram, scrolling through endless posts of what appear to be jampacked summers of adventures.

The first step to breaking the cycle is to offer yourself grace. Rest is productive! It’s a necessary reset after months of late night studying and constant deadlines. Reframing your downtime as a way to recover rather than as a failure can help shift your mindset and give you a fresh start to summer.

Give your days just enough

structure to stop them from melting into one endless nap. That doesn’t mean setting 6 a.m. alarms; it just means building a loose routine that keeps you moving. Start with the basics: wake up at a reasonable time, eat something that isn’t microwaved noodles and find one small thing each day that makes the day feel valuable.

Planning ahead with friends also saves you from the 5 p.m. couch paralysis, where every plan feels like too much effort. When there’s something on the calendar — a picnic, a concert or even just grabbing gyros on State Street — it’s harder to bail last minute. My friends and I decided to make a summer bucket list! It doesn’t have to be a grand list of impossible adventures. It can be as simple as trying that new food truck two streets over or watching the sunset at Picnic Point.

Madison’s summer isn’t just about concerts, crowded patios or proving you’re having the time of your life on Instagram. It’s about finding joy in the inbetween moments: late night ice cream at the Terrace, walking around Lake Monona with no real destination or just lying on the couch watching a movie with the people you love.

Maybe the real dream of Madison summer isn’t living every day like a highlight reel, but learning that a summer that’s quiet, slow and a little messy is still worth celebrating. Sometimes the most rejuvenating summer means doing less and feeling good about it.

By MGR Govindarajan City Council Representative for Campus & Downtown

To all the new Badgers just arriving on campus — welcome not just to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but to the City of Madison! I’m MGR Govindarajan, and I have the unique privilege of serving as your representative on the Madison City Council.

What does that mean?

It means that I work on the city policies that directly affect your day-to-day life as a Madison resident. From big-picture issues like building more affordable housing, improving downtown safety and strengthening public transportation, to the smaller things like making sure snow gets removed or that fallen branches get cleared after a storm. My goal is to uplift the student voice at every level of decision-making, and ensure you have a real seat at the table.

I first ran in 2023 for City Council while still a student because I saw how many of our city’s decisions were being made without student input. That’s still true far too often.

But now, you have a city council rep who understands the student experience firsthand and is committed to making sure your voice is heard and your needs get prioritized.

So as you make Madison your new home, here’s my call to you: get engaged.

City government may not be the first thing on your mind

right now. But the truth is, local policies impact your rent, your safety, your nightlife, your bus routes, your bike lanes, your parks and so much more. And they’re all shaped right here in City Hall. That’s why it matters for students to not only stay informed but get involved. Whether it’s showing up to public meetings, applying for a city board or commission or simply direct messaging me on instagram and saying what you care about, your engagement helps make this city better for everyone. Regardless of how long you might stay in Madison, you deserve a say in how this city operates.

If you’re interested in getting involved, I’d love to hear from you. There are city committees with student seats, internship opportunities and ways to testify or just stay in the loop. As you encounter issues during your time as a Badger, whether it’s with your landlord, an idea to improve campus life or something you saw on State Street, utilize me and the city council as a resource. Remember, if you’re having problems with your landlord, it’s not a dean who can help you — it’s me.

The easiest and quickest way to engage and stay in touch is by following me on Instagram at @mgrfordistrict8_.

Let’s make Madison work for students — because you’re not just residents of campus, you’re residents of this city.

COURTESY OF JEFF MILLER / UW-MADISON

UW-Madison professor publishes ‘Lab Culture Recipes’ cookbook

By Sabriel Murphy STAFF WRITER

Not many people would associate science with sharing food. But there’s a lot more to being a scientist than working alone in a lab, as University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Ahna Skop and her team try to explain through their new cookbook, “Lab Culture: A recipe for innovation in science.”

“Lab Culture”, self-published in April, aims to showcase both the social aspect of science and the diversity of those who contribute to it. It includes recipes from scientists from all over the world, inspired by Skop’s penchant for sharing meals with fellow scientists. The book includes scientist biographies and a map showing where each scientist is from and where they work now, demonstrating the journeys these professionals have taken to carry out their work.

Skop, a genetics professor, wished to use “Lab Culture” to “humanize the public’s view of scientists,” showcasing their diversity and lives behind the white lab coat.

Many of the scientists’ contributions are family recipes or trusted favorites, ranging from Haitian black rice to blueberry blintz souffle.

Hareem Rauf, a recent UW-Madison graduate, Crystal Xin Qing, a UW-Madison graduate student and Diana Chu, a professor at San Francisco State University, assisted Skop with creating the physical cookbook.

Rauf worked on the cookbook for years of her undergraduate career, communicating with the book’s contributors to collect recipes and put together their biogr+aphies. Qing worked extensively on the book’s graphic design and formatting. Together, the two UW-Madison students did much of the hands-on work required to create the cookbook.

Rauf said she grew up believing most scientists didn’t look like her.

Even in college, many of the scientists she was in contact with were white men. “When I was younger, in my science classes, the idea of a scientist was intimidating,” Rauf said, adding that working on the cookbook was a way to “change that idea of what a scientist looks like “for future generations.”

For the student authors, working on the book was a chance to connect with scientists and collaborate with the other authors.

“Some of [the contributors] are really renowned… one of them was a Nobel Prize winner,” Rauf said.

Stephanie Blaszczyk, a science communicator and medical writer, and Elif Kurt, a recent graduate in Genetics and Genomics, compiled some of the information before the physical cookbook project started. Their work also appears on the book’s website.

The widely accessible website version of “Lab Culture” has the same goal of outreach and education. Like the cookbook, the website contains information about the project’s creators, contributing scientists

and, of course, recipes.

A palatable presentation of science

Outreach efforts such as this cookbook and Skop’s earlier coloring book, which is about genetics, are likely to reach a wider audience than scientific papers. In the past, Skop visited schools to distribute free copies of the coloring book, hoping to spark a lasting interest in studying science. The cookbook continues Skop’s tradition of presenting science to the public in unconventional ways.

“What we do a lot in academics… might be very useful information for [the public], but it [is] too hard for them to understand,” Qing said. “I want to make it more understandable.”

The team is now focusing on marketing “Lab Culture,” mainly through social media posts designed by Qing. Qing said she is exploring new ways of presenting the cookbook, and the book’s authors are looking forward to widening their audience and spreading their message over time.

Robots that eat? UW researchers explore bio-inspired methods to increase robot endurance

By Sonia Bendre & Manushri Muthukumaran SCIENCE EDITOR & STAFF WRITER

Dynamic sensing robot-dog Spot astounded the public in a 2015 viral video with its mannerisms and agility, qualities allowing the quadruped to jump, fetch and, maybe most shockingly, twerk.

Starting as a research project, Spot has now developed into a commercially available product advertised on Boston Dynamics’ website as useful for “factory floors, construction sites, research labs and beyond.”

Although Boston Dynamics promises Spot will provide “day in and day out” service, the dog cannot keep up with the 8-hour shifts of typical factory workers, as its battery only lasts 1.5 hours. And Spot is no anomaly: most autonomous robots have similar runtimes, and flying robots like quadcopters last only around 30 minutes.

“There’s a disconnect between the operation time of these robots and the time that you actually want to use them,” James Pikul, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at UW-Madison, told The Daily Cardinal. “We have our world that we live in, which operates in these four — or eight — hour increments, and robots are pretty far from operating that long.”

In an interview, Pikul outlined his vision for bio-inspired robots with advanced battery technologies that can, in a sense, “eat” metal and “bleed.” He said his approach to storing energy could create robots operating with the same energy density and runtime as a greyhound dog in under 10 years.

What makes animal endurance so much better?

One of the reasons humans and other animals can survive for so long without nutrients is the high energy density of fat. The corresponding measure determining robot endurance is battery energy density. Increasing the amount of energy that can be stored in a battery of constant size would also increase robot runtime.

Based on Pikul’s calculations, creating an autonomous robot with energy density similar to a greyhound would require a battery with energy density of 1,000 to 2,000 watthours per kilogram. Currently, lithium-ion batteries are around 250 watt-hours per kilogram, meaning battery capacity would have to improve by four to eight times the current standard.

Battery energy density currently improves by about 7% per year.

Pikul’s background is in the subfield of soft robotics, which focuses on robots made of bendable materials like hydrogels, often emulating human skin or muscle, as opposed to the traditional hard robots with metallic outerwear. The field of soft robotics is especially influenced by biology, which inspired Pikul’s ideas for robots processing metal similar to animals processing food.

“It’s natural for us to think about what biology does well, and how we can implement that into our robotic systems, but people haven’t really done it for energy before,” Pikul said. “We can go for a week without eating… and that’s very, very different from the hour and a half of battery life for a robot.”

Metal diets and silver blood

A robot could eat solid metal “wafers” and discard metal oxides resembling dirt in a manner similar to the animal digestive and excretory systems, Pikul said, adding there are “chemical” differences to robot implementation of these systems but not “fundamental big changes.”

Though the specific mechanism for digestion is an “open spot” in research, Pikul envisioned that robots could pick up a credit-card sized piece of metal, its “snack,” insert it into a slot, and process it through a synthetic digestive system that oxidizes the metal, retains the energy, and discards the de-energized metal.

Like animal remains are composted and their materials recycled through the ecosystem, Pikul suggested the metal passing through robots could be processed in facili-

ties for reuse, mimicking natural cycles.

“Nitrogen cycles, water cycles, carbon cycles — these cycles are how we take energy from the sun and reuse it in a way that allows all life to prosper,” Pikul said.

He suggested energy from solar panels could produce metal chips from dirt or sand, which contains metal oxides. The chips could be consumed by robots and recycled back into metal oxides. Then, the solar panels could again re-energize those metal oxides into usable material, creating an infinite source of reusable energy.

Pikul’s paper proposed that robot designs utilize a single-electrolyte system similar to blood to transport energy throughout the robot. Currently, automotives like John Deere tractors and Caterpillar construction equipment drive mechanical movements with hydraulic fluids, essentially highly pressurized, hot fluids used to more efficiently transmit force.

In another of Pikul’s papers, he showed replacing a robot’s hydraulic fluids with liquid batteries — in other words, “robot blood” — led to a threefold increase in energy density over a robot with traditional lithium ion batteries.

“You gain energy for free, basically, because you need to put the fluid in the robot anyway,” Pikul said. “Now that fluid actually does something extra, stores energy.”

Besides transporting nutrients, like proteins or antibodies, to cells around the body, blood also reduces burn damage by absorbing heat from an affected area on the skin. Heat is also the most significant constraint on the scaling of processing chips. Actuators, which allow robots to move similar to human joints, are also hindered by overheating issues, according to Pikul. Robot blood, in the form of liquid batteries, could dissipate heat similar to human blood.

Future research

Batteries are composed of three main components: a negatively charged anode, a positively charged cathode and an electrolyte, which moves ions between the anode

and the cathode, maintaining their charges. When the battery is in use, electrons passing from anode to cathode generate energy used, for example, to power a car.

The way batteries currently function make solar-powered extragenic cycles impossible, Pikul said. Current batteries’ reactions could be corrupted if exposed to natural elements, like water and air, because the elements might contaminate the materials within the battery.

Metal-air batteries, with a lithium or aluminum anode and open-air cathode, could solve this problem, Pikul said. Human energy processing operates in a similar manner to these batteries, where fat stores energy akin to the metal anode, and the cathode, oxygen, is breathed in. But more research into metal-air viability is necessary.

While Pikul’s recent paper explored the effects of new battery topologies on robotic systems, the lab primarily conducts research into new batteries for electrified aircrafts or shipboards that could reduce carbon emissions.

“What we showed in the paper is the energy density of batteries that you need to get [a robotic system] equivalent to a greyhound or a human,” Pikul said. “That’s what you need to electrify aviation for passenger aircraft as well. If you can solve the problem for robots, that solves it for a lot of other things.”

Approaching the problem of energy density from a biological perspective gives Pikul’s lab a leg up compared to researchers “trying to take an electric vehicle battery and upgrade it,” he said.

Future research would work on developing fluids that have high energy density, which would require “different types of chemistry and a different way of designing the battery.”

Pikul said the “marriage of robots and energy storage” has wide-ranging applications for many types of electrified systems.

“It’s a big, big boon to society, and it changes the way that you design systems,” Pikul said. “And that’s our goal.”

ISABELLA BARAJAS/THE DAILY CARDINAL

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