🗳️ Wikler stepping down as Dem party leader

🏫 UW Faculty Condemns Crackdown on Pro-Palestinian Camp

• UW-Madison’s Faculty Senate narrowly approved a resolution condemning how police handled the pro-Palestinian protests on campus last spring, and called on university administration to reinstall former protest guidelines.
• The vote was 79-52 with 10 abstentions. Supporters saw the vote as a statement for free speech and against police violence, while opponents said it excused student behavior, and might make UW-Madison more of a target for the Trump administration as it punishes universities for allegedly supporting antisemitism.
• 🎧 Dig deeper: On the Friday news roundup on the City Cast Madison podcast, we talk about how more than two dozen current and former UW international students had their visas abruptly revoked this week. We also talk about last weekend’s massive protest at the Capitol and what it means going forward. Listen in! ( 🔒 WSJ, UW-Madison, 🎧 City Cast Madison]

👋 Wisconsin’s Democratic Party Chair Is Stepping Down

• Ben Wikler won’t seek another term as the leader of the state’s Democratic party. In an interview with WPR, he said he would finish out his term and officially step down once a replacement has been named at the state party convention in June.
• Why it matters: Wikler has headed the state’s Democratic party since 2019. He’s credited with turning the party into a fundraising powerhouse and has been recognized by national leaders for his work on supporting Joe Biden’s Wisconsin win in 2020, Gov. Evers’ 2022 re-election, and more recently Judge Susan Crawford’s election to the state’s Supreme Court. [WPR]

👕 Raygun Bringing Snarky Shirts To State Street

• Raygun, a popular Midwest-based T-shirt band known for clever apparel that riffs on current events and pop culture, will open a store on State Street in September to greet returning UW-Madison students.
• The store will sell its “Elon Musk is a Wiener” and “I Put The ‘Sin’ In Wisconsin” shirts in the former location of Paul’s Bookstore at 502 State St. It will be the brand’s first Wisconsin location. The store’s clients include the Madison Teachers Union and Minocqua Brewing Company. [Raygun, Daily Cardinal]

Usually on Friday Floof, people wax poetic about how cute and adorable and smart their floof is. But the entire description that Lisa F. sent us was just three words: “He’s a punk.” Actually, six words, since she entered Buster twice. Buster, we think you look like an absolute sweetie. Even if you are a punk.