University of Wisconsin--Madison

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Hallmarks and Quirks

Playing football and cheering on football players. My rowdy student football fans all sit in one section and tend to chant some racy phrases during games. But it's all in good fun. Really.
Making scientific breakthroughs through sometimes-controversial research. Scientists isolated the first human embryonic stem cells in my very own labs. Amazing, creepy, or both? You decide.
Partying. Yes, I'm often cited as one of the top party schools in the nation. My students do enjoy their beer…sometimes too much. Make good choices, guys.
Going beyond the borders of campus. My philosophy is encapsulated in the "Wisconsin Idea," which basically says that I should improve people's lives beyond the classroom and throughout the state of Wisconsin. Kind of makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it?

Warm clothing for surviving Wisconsin winters. If you have classes at the top of Bascom Hill, it might not be a bad idea to invest in crampons so you don't wind up like one of the helpless souls slipping and sliding their way up (or down—ouch) the hill.
A bike or scooter. My vast, sprawling campus can mean long walks to early classes.
Hiking boots for hikes through one of the many nature preserves on campus. These include the Arboretum and the Lakeshore Path, which leads to Picnic Point, a small peninsula jutting out onto Lake Mendota. Outdoorsy = sexy.
Football season tickets. Whether you like football or not, you can't miss the experience of sitting in Camp Randall Stadium's utterly crazy student section. And hey, if you go once and decide it's not your thing, you can sell the tickets and make a nice stash of pocket money.
Willpower. There's a lot going on in Madison and on campus, and it's pretty easy to get so busy that you forget about…well, school. Which is kind of the whole reason you're here in the first place, right? Right?

I'm one of the top public universities in the country. Maybe even the world. My guess is that more people have heard of me than of the state of Wisconsin.
I'm the home of the Badgers, which not only means some of the top sports teams in the Big Ten, but also means hearing the song "Jump Around" play pretty much everywhere, all the time. It's infectious.

If it's forty-five degrees or higher, I'm out on the Memorial Union Terrace, listening to music, playing cards, and pretending that I'm not freezing cold.
If it's too cold even for the Terrace, I might choose to hang out inside the Memorial Union, in the Rathskellar. I'll be enjoying some delicious Babcock ice cream and listening to upperclassmen complain about how the Rat was way cooler before it was renovated.
Barhopping down State Street, starting at the Kollege Klub (affectionately referred to as the KK), then up to State Street Brats and maybe a stop off at the Plaza before heading to the Red Shed. State Street: where every night is a bar crawl.
At a house party with a few of my friends, who are the only people at the party that I've ever seen before…but hey, there's a keg, so no worries. Soon, everyone there's going to be my new best friend.

Memorial Union Terrace. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the best patio of the absolute best student union in the country. Sit on one of the famous Terrace chairs, share a pitcher of beer with some friends, look out at the lake, and laugh at the amateur sailors when they fall into the water.
Union South. This used to be the poor man's Memorial Union (and it was ugly as sin), but the second student union recently got a serious makeover and offers more activities than one person could ever actually need or want, like a bowling alley and movie theater.
Library Mall, otherwise known as the pedestrian walkway at the end of State Street. This is where food carts from all over town converge in the warm weather to offer up their excellent international cuisine at student-friendly prices. I like to grab a plate of injera and misir wot from the local East African cart and have a picnic on the grass.
State Street Brats. This is one of the most popular bars on the campus-end of State Street, Madison's downtown hub that stretches from campus all the way to the Capital. It may have the word "brats" in the name, but it's mostly beer and Bloody Marys being consumed here. And on game days? Prepare for total madness.

I have majors, but no minors. Well, technically I do have minors, but I call them "emphases" because that sounds a lot fancier, don't you think?
Better stock up on your red and white striped overalls—or, as I like to call them, game bibs. They're every football season's must-have.
Keep an eye out for Piccolo Guy, a.k.a. Tom Ryan. He looks kind of like Santa in a bright orange jumpsuit and plays his piccolo on State Street, rain or shine. Unfortunately, not everyone is a fan of the piccolo, and Piccolo Guy was charged with a noise complaint back in 2003. He mounted an aggressive defense, which you can learn all about in this sixteen-minute documentary on the man, the legend: Piccolo Guy.
It's tradition to sit on Abe Lincoln's lap after graduation. Don't worry—he's just a statue.