Feingold to hold listening session in Waukesha County

Sen. Russ Feingold will hold a listening session in Waukesha County on Friday, Jan. 27.

Feingold pledged to hold listening sessions in all of Wisconsin’s 72 counties each year of his six-year term. This is Feingold’s 14th year of holding listening sessions. This session will be the eleventh of 2006, and the 947th since 1993.

The listening session will be held at 3 p.m. at the Menomonee Falls Village Hall, W156-N8480 Pilgrim Road. The meeting will last up to an hour.

Condoms may be sold in dorms at Northwestern

Condoms may soon be sold in dorm vending machines at Northwestern University, allowing students to get protection at all hours without facing the uncomfortable prospect of asking for it.

Condoms in the vending machines would be available 24 hours a day. The estimated cost of the condoms is $2.25 for a pack of three.

The committee planning the condom sales will use the pilot program to determine the value of putting condoms in more dispensers, or if the condoms will expire before they are sold.

Condoms are currently available at Northwestern’s student health center and student union. Community Assistants (CAs) were previously given free condoms to give to residents, but that policy was ended because some CAs might have been uncomfortable distributing them or the CAs might not have been available when the student needed a condom.

Public feedback for UW System RAs

The University of Wisconsin System is encouraging members of the public and campus communities to comment on the role of resident assistants (RAs), who serve students living in residence halls on UW campuses.

A working group of residence-life professionals, student affairs officers and students has recommended a set of principles to UW System President Kevin P. Reilly, who sought the group’s expertise about the role of RAs, the relationship of RAs to the wider campus community, and the expectations of RAs as university employees. These principles will inform the university’s efforts to develop a system-wide policy on RA activities.

A forum for public feedback on the recommended principles is available on the Net at http://www.wisconsin.edu/RAfeedback.htm.

Bill requires fire sprinklers in student housing

Gov. Jim Doyle signed into law a landmark bill that will protect college students living in various types of campus housing from death and injury caused by fire.

Assembly Bill 544 requires automatic fire sprinkler systems installed in all new construction residence facilities on private campuses, all residence halls greater than 60 feet in height, all Greek housing in private and public colleges, and privately owned high-rise buildings that have a student population.

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), about 1,500 fires cause $9 million in damage to university residence halls and Greek housing each year.

Broadcasting Club provides live coverage of women’s basketball

The UWM Broadcasting Club is providing live, play-by-play Internet coverage of UWM women’s basketball home games.

The broadcasts are an effort to meet two of the club’s most important goals: to provide real-world experience to its members and to provide service to the university. The club will provide coverage for all women’s basketball home games for the remainder of their season.

The Internet broadcasts are available through the club’s Web site, www.pawstv3.com. Details and step-by-step instructions on how to access live broadcasts are available at the site on the day of the game. The Broadcasting Club’s “Panther Sports Live Pre-Game Show” begins 10 minutes prior to tip-off.

Sandburg overcrowding problem alleviated

Overcrowding in Sandburg Hall has been alleviated, a housing official said.

At the start of last semester, as many as seven students were housed in a suite meant for four or five students. The average capacity of Sandburg Hall is approximately 2,700 students; in August, about 3,000 moved in.

There are 160 vacant rooms now, said Kelly Johnson, assistant housing director of residential programs. Only 26 students decided to stay in their “overcrowded situation,” she said.

Out of the vacancies, 132 of those are female spots, leaving only 28 male rooms open.

Stephanie Warner, assistant housing director of business and contract services, said it is always harder to fill spots for second semester, because those students who were not able to get into Sandburg for the fall semester find a house or apartment, which normally requires them to sign a lease for an entire year.

Throughout the semester, students were able to terminate their contracts without a fee, an offer that was available through the end of last semester.

For information about University Housing’s room openings, call 229-4065.

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