The Badger Herald: News: Wiley hosts parents Q&A

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Wiley hosts parents Q&A

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By Lizzy Lowrey
Monday, November 12, 2007 12:00 a.m.

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University of Wisconsin Chancellor John Wiley and Dean of Students Lori Berquam led a question-and-answer session, kicking off first-year parents' weekend at the Pyle Center Friday.

The weekend-long event is held at UW every year, and this informational session allowed parents to ask the chancellor and the dean of students directly about their students' experiences at UW.

"[Parents] are, in many cases, the students' No. 1 adviser," Wiley said. "One of the purposes of a session like this is to make sure they have accurate information and accurate answers to any questions they have."

Parents expressed concern about students' behavior at UW football games, specifically students' actions toward visiting fans.

"We tell students we expect them to be leaders and not followers, and we think it is utterly inappropriate to engage in pack behavior, which is what this is," Wiley said. "The students are doing the same things in the safety of a group that they would never consider doing if they were by themselves or if they knew [parents] could hear them."

The chancellor asked parents for input and suggested they take the message home to their students, saying this behavior is not appropriate.

"I'm embarrassed about it — we all are," Wiley said.

Parents also had questions about students' living situations next year, with many expressing concern that students were already signing leases for the following year.

Paul Evans, director of University Housing, told parents to be aware of their students' future living conditions.

"Students are bombarded almost from the day they first get here about where they should live next year," Evans said. "We think they are unfairly pressured to sign a lease early."

About 23 to 27 percent of first-year students remain in dorms their second year, Evans said, urging parents to look into all the choices for second-year housing.

According to Bob and Chris Maslonkowski, parents from Chippewa Falls, Wis., the question-and-answer session was a nice follow-up to Student Orientation, Advising and Registration sessions held during the summer, along with the Badger Parent Newsletter many of the parents receive on a regular basis.

"You have different experiences now that you didn't have when you asked questions at SOAR — like that they are already thinking about housing for next year," Bob Maslonkowski said. "That's something you weren't thinking about before school started."

The Maslonkowskis came to Parents' Weekend to see the campus and their son, UW freshman Sam Maslonkowski.

"It will be nice to see my son here in his new environment," Chris Maslonkowski said.

The event, sponsored by the Wisconsin Alumni Association, gives a unique chance to parents visiting their students, WAA spokesperson Kate Dixon said.

"The Q-and-A is really one of the only chances the parents might get to ask the chancellor or the dean of students questions directly," Dixon said. "And once they're here, they've attended lectures and have had the chance to walk around on campus, it's a great time to ask questions that might come up that they otherwise wouldn't get to ask."

2 Comments | Leave a comment

Anonymous | November 12, 2007 7:42 PM | Reply
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Very good article.

Anonymous | November 12, 2007 8:51 PM | Reply
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This “Parents’ Weekend” costs parents a large chunk of change. The fee is unwarranted. Chancellor Wiley, can you say “Cash Cow”? There is no reason that parents should have to pay such a large amount of money to acquire this kind of access to campus administrators. That the Badger Herald failed to include the cost of this “opportunity” is a disappointment.

As to the key issue mentioned in this article: There is an obvious analysis to the campus drinking problem: the deterrent is insufficient, and the incentives to socialize in other ways are non-existent. This problem should be addressed in ways that go beyond a confession of embarrassment. That “response” itself is an embarrassment to the University of Wisconsin. Get rid of the “Animal House” image and this university will skyrocket to #1 ranking of public universities. Stronger leadership means better results. Please, get to work.