NEWS
News Briefs for the week of June 26
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Also by :
- Groups rally to prevent cyanide use in mines (October 14, 2001)
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- U.S. conducts 9th night of Afghan air raids (October 15, 2001)
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- Rotunda to exhibit student event (April 25, 2006)
- Society of Women Engineers throws a party (February 20, 2002)
- Following national trend, UW graduate school sees more applicants (February 26, 2002)
- Weekend sees halfhearted Halloween celebration (October 28, 2002)
Thursday, June 26, 2003
UW-Madison grad wins Miss Wisconsin
At only 22 years old, recent UW medical school graduate Tina
Sauerhammer beat out 26 women, including five UW-Madison
students/alums, to be crowned Miss Wisconsin last weekend.
“I’m still in shock. The past few days have been crazy,” said
Sauerhammer in a telephone interview.
She will now represent Wisconsin at the annual Miss America pageant
in Atlantic City, N.J., on Sept. 20, 2003.
According to Sauerhammer, this was one of the deepest crops of
women at the Wisconsin pageant in recent years.
“This was a unique year because there were nine returnees. All the
girls had strong qualities. It was a real honor just to be there
and to [be given the chance to] represent them [at Miss
America].”
UW graduate Julia Kraschnewski also placed, finishing as the
competition’s third runner-up.
UW engineering students win National Concrete Canoe Competition
A 10-person UW-Madison undergraduate engineering team won the 16th annual National Concrete Canoe Competition in Philadelphia, over the weekend.
The Badgers finished first in five races, appearance and structural integrity, a written portion of the competition, as well as an oral presentation. Approximately 30 undergrads worked on the project, but only 10 team members were permitted to officially register for the national competition.
Previously, UW had never finished better than fifth in the national competition.
UW to require writing test for admissions
Applicants to UW-Madison will need to submit standardized writing test scores, beginning with the freshman class of 2006.
This new admissions policy coincides with plans to add writing segments to both the SAT I and the ACT Assessment during the next few years. The SAT I will feature a mandatory writing section beginning in March 2005, while the
ACT Assessment will offer an optional writing test beginning in the 2004-2005 school year.
According to UW admissions director Rob Seltzer, writing-test scores will not replace or supersede existing admissions criteria but will be instead be incorporated into the current admissions process.
“Requiring a written assessment will give us an additional factor to consider in our review of prospective students,” he said. “Ultimately, we will be able to select better-qualified students.”
The UW Faculty Senate approved the change May 5.
French Wine Producers Feel Squeeze of U.S. Boycott
BORDEAUX, France (Reuters) - Calls to boycott French products during the trans-Atlantic spat over Iraq contributed to a slump in U.S. sales of French wines, which were down by about a quarter from last year, wine merchants said.
“There’s been a drop of 14 percent in March and 22 percent in April in sales of French wine,” said New York wine importer Timothy Enos at the 12th biennial Vinexpo salon, describing the U.S. backlash against French products as “ridiculous and excessive.”
“The big wines still have their place. The drama is for the smaller wines, like generic wines. I’m afraid that for them the competition is much more difficult,” he said.
France’s opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, which prevented Washington getting United Nations approval for its military campaign to oust Saddam Hussein, sparked U.S. calls for consumers to boycott French products like wine and cheese.
Other merchants at the wine fair muttered off the record that their sales were down as much as 40 percent, and an online survey concluded that sales of French wine to the United States fell 26 percent in volume terms in the month to mid-May, compared to the same period a year ago.
While the United States accounts for less than 10 percent of overall French exports, the U.S. market is the biggest buyer of Bordeaux wines which include favorites like Saint-Emilion.
France’s wine producers are also suffering, along with other traditional producers like Italy and Spain, from increased production and tough competition from New World vineyards in California, Australia and Chile.
Nicolas Gailly, chief executive of wine firm Barton et Guestier told the French daily Les Echos this week that his sales were down 25 percent in early 2003 “because of the weak dollar and the boycott.”
Overall U.S. imports of French goods fell 9.6 percent in the first quarter.
-compiled from staff reports
