Approved Event and Travel Grants

This page lists the event and travel grants that were approved by the Finance Committee this academic year. Feel free to read about them and maybe even attend the events if they interest you.

Events

1) MU Bash- approved $3007.50 of funding

MU Bash is a free, nonalcoholic event that serves to introduce freshman and transfer students to "the heart and soul of campus". The Bash serves to showcase the facilities, activities, groups, organizations, services and entertainment that the Wisconsin Union has to offer. It is a major member recruitment opportunity for generating interest in union programing. This year's theme is "Summer Lovin': Havin' a Blast at MU Bash" in an effort to try to make the bash more attractive to students, and get them to attend rather than engage in other potentially harmful activities.

2) Homegrown Hip-Hop Festival 2008- $4500

Back for its second year the Homegrown Hip-Hop Festival will once again be bringing to Madison three nights of the best hip-hop that the Midwest has to offer. Following last years success the WUD Music Committee and its co-sponsors for this event plan to explore the different artistic visions that form across the Midwest region as well as workshops, competitions, writing and organizing seminars. The entire time we plan to continue to meet our goals of truly diverse and dynamic programming that will reach out to all parts of the campus community and bring the campus together. Hip-Hop programming has been some of the most successful and community building on campus for the past 10 years and we only hope to further that tradition.

Following last years successful weekend with an attendance of over 1500, Homgrown will bring two nights of performances, one night of spoken word, films, art, and workshops during the three days.

On November 6th in the Great Hall we plan to bring the entire Doomtree Crew from Minneapolis that features some of the most dynamic artists in hip-hop. P.O.S, who has been featured at Soundset, Rock the Bells, Paid Dues, and the Vans Warped Tour is the best known emcee in the group, but the entire crew, including Cecil Otter, Dessa, Mike Mitclan, and Sims brings a new level of artistry and musical diversity to their art.

The Friday night, November 7th, will once again be devoted to the art of spoken word with OMAI¿s Just Bust Open Mic. We plan to bring several Midwest DJs to showcase their talents in a round robin competition. Early in the day we will also be showing one of two films during the weekend as well as a workshop.

The final date will feature the second film and two to three more workshops and the final performance in the Great Hall with Chicago emcee Kid Sister. Kid Sis has been on a whirlwind the past year releasing a song with Kanye West and appearing in many major music festivals such as SXSW, Lollapallooza, Coachella, and Bonaroo. She will also be releasing an album around the time of Homegrown, which will bring even more people to the concert.

Both concerts will feature numerous artists from all over the Midwest including Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Columbus, Des Moines, North Dakota, and beyond. In addition we will feature some non hip-hop acts only adding to the mix of the event. Bringing all these artists together is truly a major and unique experience. There are few festivals that can rival this magnitude in the nation and having it here at UW-Madison is absolutely amazing.

The audience attending the event will be mainly UW-Madison students, but also community members who enjoy the hip-hop experience. This diverse mix of attendance should only add to the theme of the event, which is meant to bring the community together around the music that lives in the Midwest. The mix of community and students would provide a chance for students to expose and connect themselves to the city and community of Madison and vice versa.

3) Madison World Music Festival 2008- $5999

The fourth annual Madison World Music Festival will bring together Madison's diverse campus and community for free performances by artists from all around the world. Taking place on the Memorial Union Terrace and Willy street fair September 12-20, the festival will create a culturally-welcoming atmosphere while providing a truly international educational experience for students and community members.

Through student involvement in the artistic selection process, the artistic selection committee has ensured that the musical performances will be both appealing and instructive to students. For example, musicians such as Reelroad, Little Cow, and 17 Hippies reflect diverse cultures and musical traditions while producing upbeat music that students will enjoy dancing to. The artistic selection committee has also taken care to choose artists that reflect the diversity of UW-Madison's student body. Two Indian artists have been selected to perform, in part because of Madison's own large Indian student population.

In addition to the headlining performances, MWMF will host a Student and Community showcase, supplementing the festival with dance, music, and other cultural performances by a wealth of diverse student and local groups. Students will not only get the chance to participate in the showcase, but to sample the variety of cultural groups on campus and in the surrounding area. 

The MWMF aims to promote cultural awareness and understanding in a fun and welcoming atmosphere that allows diverse audiences to celebrate their heritage and learn about other cultures. Following the success of the last four years, the MWMF is going to expand this year with more musical performances, more dates, and an expected participation of over 15,000 individuals from different cultural backgrounds and walks of life.

4) Music of India Series: Dance ballet, Kumar Sambav- $2825

Kathak is a dance form of india that is popular chiefly for the way it lends itself to storytelling making dance ballets done in the kathak style very popular in India. The Anila Sinha Foundation has put into production a dance ballet Kumar Sambav which tells the mythological story of the birth of Lord Kumaresha and the slaying of the demon Tarakasura at his hands. This is a classic dance ballet that talks about the victory of good over evil.The USP is that this is done through 2 hours of vibrant dance done to wonderfully composed music thus making it both a visual and aural treat.

5) M-One Week Vote Event- $1500

MCSC plans to use this event to both empower and register students to vote. Our events focus on bringing together students from all backgrounds and experiences, and with this one we plan to take that a step further and promote involvement in our country's elections. We will be making announcements and students will be walking around registering voters for November's election. Our expected audience is mostly undergraduate students from all different backgrounds.

6) Music of India Series - Bharathanatyam Recital- $1120

Bharathanatyam is India's oldest classical dance form. Its wide range of movements and postures and the balanced melange of the rhythmic and mimetic aspects lends itself well to experimental and fusion choreography.
Rama Vaidhiyanathan is considered as one of the best interpreters of this ancient art form. As a professional dancer for over two decades, Rama has given several acclaimed performances at both Indian and International platforms. She has performed in the USA, Brussels, Netherlands, Spain, France, Japan, Norway, Mexico, the UK and recently at Moscow, Russia to celebrate 60 years of friendship between India and Russia.
Rama has been described by critics as the "high priestess" of Bharathanatyam. Rama brings a rare sense of devotion and dedication to the art form, which leaves the audience with a sense of spiritual fulfillment.
This even is open to all students, faculty, and the staff of UW and to all music lovers of Madison, in general.

7) Music of India Series: Hindustani Vocal Concert by Mishras- $650

This event will feature Rajan and Sajan Mishra who are hindustani vocalists. This will be a first of its kind event where we have a duo of singers performing together.. They will be accompanied by subhen Chatterjee on tabla and Sanatan Goswami on Harmonium.These artists are amongst the top classical musicians in the hindustani stream and have recieved rave reviews.

Travel

1) ASAP Network Convention (Homecoming Committee)- $2490

The purpose of the ASAP conference is to provide an opportunity for student organizations to network and learn new programming techniques from other similar organizations, as well as provide an opportunity for attendees to broaden their horizons through leadership and career development. The Association of Student Advancement  Programs (ASAP) is an association of student organizations from more than 300 higher institution from across North America. All of these organizations have the common goal of enriching student advancement programming.

2) Association of Student Advancement Programs District 5 Conf. (WASB)- $1800.

The Association of Student Advancement Programs, or "ASAP", a program of The Council for Advancement and Support of Education, or "CASE", is an association of student organizations at more than 300 higher education institutions in North America, all with the common goal of enriching student advancement programming. ASAP is a unique program run by students, for students, with the help of district advisers and CASE staff. The ASAP program's audience consists of student leaders from student alumni and university support organizations across the United States.

3) Terra Madre- $1050

Terra Madre 2008 is the third meeting biennial meeting of Slow Food International, a network of cooks, farmers, scholars, and food activists around the world.  Delegates from food organizations from 150 different countries will be present at the conference, including a small group of university students.  Its purpose is to promote understanding and encourage dialog between these disparate food and agricultural groups around the world, as well as inspiring action and education locally.  The conference will include lectures, seminars, presentations, tastings, and workshops.

4) Lavender Law Conference- $2790

Lavender Law is a conference for Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender (LGBT) law students and professionals to connect and network. Hundreds of practicing attorneys, dozens of scholars, over 500 students and many leading members of the judiciary are expected to attend over the course of this year's events. Lavender Law offers educational workshops, individual career counseling, panel discussions, and a career fair.

5) Special Session of 93rd ESA Annual Meeting- $450

ESA (Ecological Society of America) has been founded since 1914, and its annual conference will bring together over 5000 people from more than 50 countries representing academia, government, industry, and also a large contingent of the professionals. The topic of this annual meeting is "Enhancing Ecological Thought by Linking Research and Education".
We (ENCSS) take the leader role in organizing a workshop in this annual conference. In our organized session, we will use comparative perspectives of the US and Chinese scholars to explore the relation between improving ecological practices and public education/awareness.