Changes

The university's radio station, WHA, was an important pioneer in broadcast radio, and claims to be<ref>The rival claimant is Pittsburgh's KDKA. Randall Davidson, WHA announcer and author of a book on 9XM/WHA, was said in 2007 to be "pretty convinced that, if you're talking about a station broadcasting by radio, for the public, on some sort of regular schedule, Pittsburgh's KDKA wins the prize by going on the air on Nov. 2, 1920. The official record says 9XM didn't start its regular weather forecasts until about two months later." [http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=/tct/2007/02/28/0702280463.php Madison Capital Times, Feb. 28, 2007]: "History On The Air"</ref> "the oldest station in the nation"<ref>[http://www.library.wisc.edu/etext/WIReader/Images/WER0607.html "The Oldest Station in the Nation"], photograph of historical marker</ref><ref>[The Wisconsin Idea&mdash;In Broadcasting]. At the plaque dedication ceremony "When Mr. [C. M.] Jansky, Jr. was asked about the facts in the WHA 'oldest station' claim, he remarked, 'Not only do I think this is correct in respect to WHA; but since it is well recognized that regular broadcasting started in the United States, WHA may also be credited with being the oldest broadcasting station in the world.'</ref> The physics department began experimental transmissions in 1900, received experimental license 9XM in 1915, began voice transmissions in 1920, and received its current call letters, WHA, in 1922.

The university's radio station, WHA, was an important pioneer in broadcast radio, and claims to be<ref>The rival claimant is Pittsburgh's KDKA. Randall Davidson, WHA announcer and author of a book on 9XM/WHA, was said in 2007 to be "pretty convinced that, if you're talking about a station broadcasting by radio, for the public, on some sort of regular schedule, Pittsburgh's KDKA wins the prize by going on the air on Nov. 2, 1920. The official record says 9XM didn't start its regular weather forecasts until about two months later." [http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=/tct/2007/02/28/0702280463.php Madison Capital Times, Feb. 28, 2007]: "History On The Air"</ref> "the oldest station in the nation"<ref>[http://www.library.wisc.edu/etext/WIReader/Images/WER0607.html "The Oldest Station in the Nation"], photograph of historical marker</ref><ref>[The Wisconsin Idea&mdash;In Broadcasting]. At the plaque dedication ceremony "When Mr. [C. M.] Jansky, Jr. was asked about the facts in the WHA 'oldest station' claim, he remarked, 'Not only do I think this is correct in respect to WHA; but since it is well recognized that regular broadcasting started in the United States, WHA may also be credited with being the oldest broadcasting station in the world.'</ref> The physics department began experimental transmissions in 1900, received experimental license 9XM in 1915, began voice transmissions in 1920, and received its current call letters, WHA, in 1922.

During the late 1960s, students at the University of Wisconsin became radicalized by the Vietnam war, and the university was a center of campus unrest. One protest focussed on the presence of Dow Chemical Company job recruiters&mdash;Dow being singled out as a manufacturer of napalm, a weapon thought to be particularly cruel. Others centered on the military-funded Army Mathematics Research Center (AMRC) which performed a mixture of published and secret research; the university stressed AMRC's theoretical studies, while campus radicals pointed to evidence that some of its work had direct military applications. In 1970, Karleton Armstrong and three other students constructed what would now be called a "car bomb," filling a stolen van with a mixture of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil (a home-made explosive familiar to farmers). They exploded it outside the Sterling Hall building which housed the AMRC.<ref>[http://www.madison.com/library/LEE/sterlinghall.html Sterling Hall Bombing], Madison library website</ref> The explosion killed a graduate student. The ensuing shock and revulsion, and the winding down of the Vietnam war, brought a steep decline to the period of campus radicalism.{{fact}}

During the late 1960s, students at the University of Wisconsin became radicalized by the Vietnam war, and the university was a center of campus unrest. One protest focussed on the presence of Dow Chemical Company job recruiters&mdash;Dow being singled out as a manufacturer of napalm, a weapon thought to be particularly cruel. Others centered on the military-funded Army Mathematics Research Center (AMRC) which performed a mixture of published and secret research; the university stressed AMRC's theoretical studies, while campus radicals pointed to evidence that some of its work had direct military applications. In 1970, Karleton Armstrong and three other students constructed what would now be called a "car bomb," filling a stolen van with a mixture of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil (a home-made explosive familiar to farmers). They exploded it outside the Sterling Hall building which housed the AMRC.<ref>[http://www.madison.com/library/LEE/sterlinghall.html Sterling Hall Bombing], Madison library website</ref> The explosion killed a graduate student. The ensuing shock and revulsion, and the winding down of the Vietnam war, led to the decline and fall the period of Wisconsin campus radicalism.<ref>[http://www2.jsonline.com:80/news/state/aug00/sterling20081900a.asp 30 years ago, bomb shattered UW campus], Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Online, Aug 19, 2000: "The statement made by the Sterling Hall bombing was one that many anti-war activists opposed. They feared the attack discredited the peace movement and gave credence to people who viewed war protesters as dangerous.... Activists posted fliers and held meetings, but could no longer rally support.... Across the country, anti-war demonstrations declined dramatically. 'I've never seen anything change so quickly,' said Michael Zaleski, the prosecutor who eventually brought criminal charges against Karl Armstrong. 'Before the bombing, there used to be 10,000 to 15,000 kids rioting in this city every week. Everything stopped. I remember there being just one event after that, with a couple of hundred people - and half of them were FBI agents and undercover cops.' Activist professors at UW-Madison silenced themselves. Students who asked them to lecture were refused."</ref>

It has long been one of the most liberal institutions in the United States.{{fact}}  

It has long been one of the most liberal institutions in the United States.{{fact}}