Blog
Pets in Costumes and 4 More Ways to Safely Celebrate Halloween
On Oct. 23, 2019, WUD Global Connections hosted its annual pumpkin carving event at Union South. Photo by Sam Scribner. Halloween centers around spooky stories, creative costumes, and confectionary delights, of course. Every year, children look forward to dressing up and going trick-or-treating around the neighborhood to get yummy treats to last for the cold months ahead and many of us look forward to celebrating with friends. While that may not be possible this year due to COVID-19, the spirit of Halloween can still be celebrated safely with...
read more‘I Can’t Breathe’
In his last conscious moments, George Floyd pleaded for the chance to breathe and called out for his mother as a Minneapolis police officer held a knee against his neck for seven minutes. Floyd, a Black man, died on May 25 at the age of 46 while in police custody. The world would soon hear his last words. Not in the moment he spoke them, but throughout the months to follow, his words echoed across the world, in news stories, in conversations, in courtrooms and in minds. Witnesses to his final moments filmed his arrest and uploaded the videos...
read moreOctober Wallpapers: Celebrating your You-Ness
We are celebrating you and all your you-ness with this month’s Wisconsin Union-designed wallpapers. Our graphic design team created these wallpapers in honor of October being “I’m Just Me Because Month.” It’s a month that’s all about celebrating what makes you YOU and how great you are. We hope you take some time this month to reflect on and to appreciate how wonderful you really are. Computer wallpaper Computer wallpaper Phone wallpaper
read moreWays to have a More Sustainable Wisconsin Union Experience
By Maddie Boulanger You can make a difference for our planet during your visits to our buildings, called Memorial Union and Union South, and our markets and cafes. We, at the Wisconsin Union, promise to do our part to think green, act green and challenge ourselves to incorporate new green practices into what we do. Some examples of how we aim to lessen our environmental footprint include composting food scraps in our kitchens, using compostable to-go boxes instead of Styrofoam, and providing bio-plastic and stainless steel cutlery instead of...
read moreHow to Union in Fall 2020
Welcome back students, staff, and faculty! We are so excited to have you back in Memorial Union and Union South with us or enjoying our programming virtually. The Union looks a little bit different this year, from ordering through Grubhub at most dining options to reserving meeting spaces, we will share all the ways campus community members can use our buildings, services and programming this fall semester. As you may know, only Wisconsin-Madison students, staff and faculty can visit Memorial Union and Union South. Patrons must present a...
read moreA Gift to Last a Lifetime from the Union Team
Our spring and summer grads missed out on timeless traditions. Pictures in the larger-than-life Terrace chair was just one moment our 2020 graduates deserved but couldn’t experience because of COVID-19. They worked tirelessly over the course of their college careers, conquering every challenge along the way, only to have their graduation plans upended by the sudden changes necessitated by the pandemic. We wanted to do something special for this group of students that overcame and missed so much. One small token of appreciation for the time...
read moreFor Kari Fischer, making a difference matters
In June, we introduced you to our three 2020-21 student officers. This month, we will share more about one of those officers: Kary May Fischer, the Wisconsin Union vice president of internal relations. Kari is pursuing a double major in political science and English, and she has a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certificate. Learn not only about her but also how Wisconsin Union student leaders are pivoting in light of COVID-19. We will also share a way you can support her work to make a difference and help another...
read moreThrough Union, We Gain Strength
This week marks the beginning of a new academic year together. While much has and will likely change, there’s still so much that hasn’t. We are still part of a campus community with incredible, dedicated students and campus colleagues with an unwavering commitment to the success of University of Wisconsin-Madison students. And we still have a wonderfully supportive family of members, whose kind words and understanding as we navigate uncertainty have meant so much to our team at the Wisconsin Union. No matter where each of us finds...
read moreStudent Committee Celebrates Community with Collaborative Summer Publication
Community has many definitions and is all of its definitions. It can be a geographic region, perhaps the place in which you were raised or the one that you choose for yourself. It can be a group with whom you share ideals. It can be many people sharing a mission or goal. The last is certainly true for the dedicated student leaders of the Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Publications Committee, which came together despite the miles between them to create a summer issue dedicated to the study and celebration of “community.” When COVID-19 hit,...
read moreWhile We Were Closed: How the Union Continued Supporting the Campus Community
Though our doors to Memorial Union and Union South were closed to ‘business as usual’ operations in March, the Wisconsin Union team continued to support our community in the midst of these unprecedented times. In keeping with our history, Union South continued to support voting efforts during the pandemic, serving as a polling location for the April and August primaries. On April 7, more than 700 ballots were processed, 441 people voted in-person, and 20 voter IDS were issued by our Wiscard Office team at Union South. On each election...
read more