CO2 monitor lending library

WUU is excited to contribute towards a lending library of carbon dioxide monitors to assess air quality on campus.

With the elimination of the campus mask mandate last March, there are important concerns about air quality and ventilation in classrooms and other spaces at UW-Madison. Air quality is an important factor in the spread of airborne diseases such as COVID-19. Campus administration has not been forthcoming about efforts to assess or improve air quality. The Facilities HVAC FAQ is particularly disappointing as it discourages any efforts to assess air quality, improve air ventilation, or filter air in university spaces.

A group of campus workers and community members has designed a low-cost CO2 monitor and are seeking to lend them out to the campus community, to assess air ventilation in classrooms and other campus spaces. They have 18 CO2 monitors available for use; WUU has contributed funds for 10 of them.

Hand-made CO2 monitor built with a $40 CO2 sensor, a $10 microcontroller, a $5 LCD display, and a 50 cent plastic box.

If you are interested in borrowing one of these monitors, submit a request via this form: bit.ly/uwco2meterlibrary.

COVID-19 Posters

WUU is proud to announce its new COVID-19 posters, which have begun being placed on bulletin boards around the UW-Madison campus.

Vintage-styled poster with earth surrounded by people holding hands with the text "Let's protect our community", "Get tested", "Use sick days", "Get boosted", "Mask up", and "Strong unions make strong communities" http://www.info

Designed by local artist Meghan Griffin, the posters are intended to encourage communal action to fight back against the pandemic and help protect the vulnerable members of our community: Mask up, get boosted, stay home when sick, and get tested.

Help spread the word by posting an image of our poster on social media:

Support UW Health Nurses

WUU supports the UW Health nurses’ effort to form a union. UW Health claims that it cannot legally recognize their union, but Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul issued an opinion that UW Health can voluntarily recognize the union. On Wednesday, August 24, the nurses voted to hold a 3-day strike, Sept 13-15, 2002. (See the articles in the Wisconsin State Journal and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.)

Please join us in supporting the UW Health nurses:

Recent violence on and near campus

In response to recent attacks downtown and near campus, WUU denounces and calls for vigilance in investigating and prosecuting all hate crimes against our communities. Everyone in the community is diminished when crimes of hate occur, go unanswered, or are not prosecuted. It is the responsibility of all residents of Wisconsin to actively be, not just anti-racist, but anti-xenophobic, anti-misogynist, anti-agist, anti-homophobic, and anti-transphobic. We ask the Campus and Madison Police Departments, the justice system, and all public officials to be transparent and clear in their communication with the community during and after hate crime investigations. We further encourage all members of the community to actively look for ways to come together to stand against acts of hate and support organizations and community groups who are working to bring financial and mutual aid resources to those who have been most impacted.

(The 1968 federal hate crimes statute made it a crime to use, or threaten to use, force to willfully interfere with any person because of race, color, religion, or national origin and because the person is participating in a federally protected activity, such as public education. In 2009, Congress added new federal protections against crimes based on gender, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Wisconsin law defines a hate crime as intentionally targeting a person or property against whom a crime is committed in whole or in part because of the actor’s belief or perception regarding the race, religion, color, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, or ancestry of that person or the owner or occupant of that property, whether or not the actor’s belief or perception was correct.)

Annual Meeting

Friday December 10th 6pm CDT

From the WUU President:

We have set the WUU annual meeting for December 10, 6:00 pm. It’ll be remote (email us for Zoom link) and you’re invited to join us for an informal get-together. We’ve got some news and things to talk about, but it’s first and foremost a social gathering.

Looking forward to seeing you then.

wuu.madison@gmail.com