🎒 Will 3-year degrees be a thing at UW?

🎒 A 3-Year Degree? Not So Fast, Says UW-Madison.

• While the UW Board of Regents voted last week to allow its 13 public universities to develop three-year degrees, don’t expect to see them at UW-Madison anytime soon.
• Students could earn a bachelor’s degree with 90 credits rather than 120, which supporters say could make attending college less expensive and more appealing to those who don’t have time to go to school for four years.
• But UW-Madison faculty leaders said that while such degrees might be useful in limited instances, such as for nontraditional students, they don’t want to take away the traditional college experience. “That is surely partly about student development, broadly speaking, not just about a certain set of learning outcomes,” Interim Provost John Zumbrunnen said. [Cap Times]

⚖️ Madison Immigration Law Center Expands As Fears Grow

• With the Trump administration engaging in mass deportation efforts against immigrants in the United States, Madison’s Community Immigration Law Center is expanding its staff to help immigrants and insure that the government is following the law and the Constitution.
• CILC, which operates out of offices at Christ Presbyterian Church, is growing from eight lawyers and four paralegals to 10 lawyers and 16 paralegals to deal with the rising need for immigration attorneys in Wisconsin. The organization has also beefed up its rapid response capabilities to connect immigrants who have been arrested with legal help. [Wisconsin Examiner]

🚲 Residents on Regent Street Redesign: What About Bikes?

• Reaction was mixed from area residents at a Transportation Commission meeting last week to a major redesign of Regent Street. Some neighbors praised the ambitious plan, which includes reducing the street between Randall Avenue and South Park Street from four lanes to two, widening the sidewalks, and adding room for sidewalk cafes.
• But others questioned why the design doesn’t include bike lanes, forcing cyclists to share lanes with cars. “This will be a test of whether traffic engineering can just ignore clear, complete green streets guidance and exclude cyclists from a street altogether for arbitrary reasons,” one resident said.
• Another topic of concern was whether the street would have enough room for parking. The commission referred the public feedback to city staff. [WORT]

Did you know that Madison is home to the best college radio station in the country? Seriously. WSUM-FM 91.7, the student-run station at UW-Madison, was named the best collegiate radio station in the country at the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System Media Awards last month, beating out over 3,000 other submissions.

It’s a big deal for a 24-year-old station known for its eclectic, enthusiastic programming and professional sound quality. On the City Cast Madison podcast today, host Bianca Martin sat down with WSUM production director Johnny Raider and program director Paige-Elizabeth Kearney to talk about how their station got to the top of the heap.

In an age of increasing media conglomeration, we’re lucky in Madison to have so many cool community radio stations to listen to. Here’s a few stations that you should tune into, either on your car radio or on the internet, and how you can support them. Don’t touch that dial!

WSUM (91.7 FM)

UW-Madison students power this long-running community radio station on campus, learning broadcast skills as they provide a service to the student population and beyond. In addition to news, UW sports talk and a wide variety of music, WSUM sponsors the annual Snake on the Lake free music festival. They accept donations and any UW student can get involved.

WVMO (98.7 FM)

This low-power, volunteer-driven FM station owned by the City of Monona is both a way for city officials to get information out to its citizens and a chance for volunteer community members to get on the air. Their Americana music shows are their bread-and-butter, but other shows range from prog rock to jazz. They’re always looking for more volunteers to help out.

WORT (89.9 FM)

Madison’s own WORT recently celebrated 50 years as a listener-supported community radio station, with an eclectic mix of news, music, and local interest programming. Shows like Bill Malone’s “Back to the Country” and “Mel & Floyd” have become Madison institutions. They accept donations and volunteers.

THE SUN (103.5 FM)

Operating out of the Sun Prairie Media Center, this low-power station gives Sun Prairie residents the chance to learn broadcasting skills. In addition to music and local interest programming from volunteers, it’s the place to hear both sports and arts programming from Sun Prairie schools. The media center accepts donations and offers memberships.