1. Spotlight on a Community Member
Spotlight on a
Community Member
Let’s get to know other members of our
community! This new section of the
assembly newsletter will feature one
resident or staff member and will be
printed monthly or as often as an inter-
view is received. The questions are num-
bered in the article and are applicable to
both residents and staff, so if you would
like to fill it out and be featured in this
section, you are definitely welcome! Send-
ing a picture to go along with the inter-
view would be great, but it is optional.
Email your responses to:
assemblynews@yahoo.com. Or, get
creative and submit a longer piece of
writing, a cartoon, puzzle, or a fun
activity. I can’t wait to see what you
come up with!
—Shannon Kisa, Newsletter Editor
M A R C H 2 0 1 5
The official publication of the University
Apartments Assembly, serving the University
Houses, Eagle Heights, and Harvey Street
Eagle Heights Newsletter
1. Name: Jessica Krewson
2. Position: Assembly Secretary
3. Where are you originally from? Central
California
4. How long have you been
affiliated with our commu-
nity? almost 2 years
5. Hobbies and other inter-
esting personal information
that will help residents
know you better:
I am the oldest of 6 chil-
dren and have 2 little boys
of my own. My husband is
here getting a PhD in Politi-
cal Science, and we have loved our time
here in Madison. We enjoy playing sports
(soccer and volleyball). I play the flute and
piano, and I love to read.
6. What is your role in the community?
How do you assist residents, staff and/or
students/families?
Technically as secretary I keep minutes
and notes for the board and community
meetings. My reason for taking the posi-
tion was to feel more connected to the
community and help make positive chang-
es. I’ve served in similar capacities at other
universities and enjoyed planning big and
small events that encourage friendships to
be forged. My hope is to help others feel
connected and find greater
purpose while living in this
great place.
7. What do you most appreci-
ate about your co-workers, the
residents and/or the UA com-
munity? Opportunities! For
being so frigidly cold most of
the year, I have been pleasantly
surprised at how many things there are to
do all year round with often very little cost
and because of the bus system, relatively
easy transport.
8. UA pet peeves: What do you wish resi-
dents knew or would do differently? Or, is
here something you would like to see done
differently? The staff and University cares!
We have funds as an assembly, and we are
just itching to make dreams come true. If
you want to see something happen, bring it
up!
In This Issue:
Community News and 2
Announcements
Simple Science: Rainbow
Ice Sculptures 3
Bird Nature Walks 4
Parent Page 5
Eagle Heights Sights
Join Community Car 8
By: Shannon Kisa, editor
It is a generally accepted fact to
renters that their lease rate will increase on
a yearly basis. Compared to other renters
in Madison, those who live in University
Apartments have usually been very lucky
having low yearly rental increase rates of
less than 3.0% in years previous to 2014-
2015. The rental rates meeting that was
held on February 18th at the Community
Center revealed that residents can expect
another rate increase of 3% for the 2015-
2016 year. Reasons for this increase were
thoroughly explained, and many residents
joined in the discussion, suggesting ways
for University Apartments to save money
in the future.
The Director for the Division of Univer-
sity Housing cited several predominant
reasons for the larger rate increase than
residents have been accustomed to in the
past. He pointed out that University
Apartments gets its revenue mainly from
(Continued on page 3)
Lease Rate Increase: 2015-2016
2. EAGLE HEIGHTS NEWSLETTERPAGE 2 MARCH 2015
E a g l e H e i g h t s N e w s l e t t e r & U n i v e r s i t y A p a r t m e n t s A s s e m b l y
Unless otherwise noted, all events meet at the Eagle
Heights Community Center.
FOOD DRIVE
When: through March 13
Drop off new, unopened, non-perishable
goods to the community center for the Sec-
ond Harvest Food Bank. Questions? Contact
Maggie at Maggie.Higgins@housing.wisc.edu
WOMEN’S EXERCISE CLASS
When: Thursdays and Fridays, 5-5:45 pm,
room 139
On Thursdays and Fridays, a group of wom-
en are getting together to enjoy a low impact
exercise workout. This is not guided by a
coach but a workout DVD. There’s plenty
of room to exercise in the room, so come
join your friends and neighbors for this drop
-in program.
FAMILY YOGA
When: Saturdays, April 4th & May 2nd, 11
am, room 139
The first Saturdays of March, April, and May,
Exceptional Kids Yoga Project is offering
yoga classes for the whole family at the
Community Center in room 139. These clas-
ses are designed to be great "whole family"
yoga experiences and will be specifically fo-
cused on children ages 3 and up and their
parents/caregivers. The classes will last
about 45 minutes each. Advance registration
is required, and class capacity is 10-12 fami-
lies (depending on the size of each family).
No previous yoga experience is needed. Each
participating family must have at least one
adult attending and participating in each
class. The UA Assembly is paying for these
classes, so there is no cost for you to partici-
C o m m u n i ty Ne w s a n d A n n o u n c e m e n t s
pate. Please contact
ekypmadison@gmail.com with any ques-
tions, and register at:
http://bit.ly/eagleheightsfamilyyoga
ASSEMBLY MEETING
When: Wednesday, March 18st, 6-7:30 pm,
gym
The Assembly is a University Apartment
Resident run organization that would like
your input and participation. They have a
board of directors made up of your neigh-
bors and host a meeting every other month
at the Community Center. They edit and
deliver the monthly Assembly Newsletter
and manage a budget that can be used for a
variety of things, such as events, class sup-
plies and programs. The Assembly repre-
sents and advocates for the residents of
University Apartments and is open to your
ideas on all topics. Please attend the up-
coming March meeting. Pizza and light
snacks are provided, plus child care for chil-
dren 2 to 10 years old.
CASCADE MOUNTAIN
Ski, Snow Boarding, Tubing Trip
When: Saturday, March 21st, 3-11:30 pm
Calling All Spring Skiers! Hit the slopes, and
enjoy the end of the season for skiing,
snowboarding and tubing fun on the sensa-
tional hills of Cascade Mountain. Lessons
are available for skiers ages 10 and above for
an additional fee. Take a break by the fire to
enjoy dinner, hot chocolate/coffee, and
return to the hills for your snow time fun!
Residents are also allowed to bring food and
drinks from home or purchase one of the
many meal items onsite. Fees vary by age
and activities. The deadline to sign-up for
this trip is Monday, March 16th. Seating is
limited and will fill very quickly. Request
your form today at:
recreation.assistant@housing.wisc.edu
BIRD AND NATURE WALK: SPRING
EQUINOX
When: Sunday, March 22 (Every 4th Sun-
day), 1:30-3pm
Where: Lakeshore Nature Preserve. Meet at
the Eagle Heights Community Gardens en-
trance (3016 Lake Mendota Drive).
Celebrate the Spring Equinox with a stroll
through the gardens, woods and prairie to
enjoy the sights and sounds of early spring
migratory birds. Is that a loon calling on the
lake? Are bluebirds staking claims to their
boxes? Students, families, and children wel-
come! No dogs please. Co-sponsored by
Madison Bird City Partners and Friends of
UW Lakeshore Preserve (http://
friendslakeshorepreserve.org) and Madison
Audubon (http://madisonaudubon.org).
Contact: Paul Noeldner 608-698-0104. Mad-
ison Audubon collaborates with other parks
on the 1st -3rd Sunday of every month.
SAVE THE DATE!
CHICAGO TRIP
When: Saturday, March 28th
Discover the Navy Pier Amusement Park,
shop downtown, check out the view atop the
Willis Tower (commonly referred to as Sears
Tower), a 108-story skyscraper in Chicago,
or explore the many museums! For trip in-
formation email:
recreation.assistant@housing.wisc.edu
editor at assemblynews@yahoo.com by the
25th of the month.
U N I V E R S I T Y A P A R T M E N T S
A S S E M B L Y :
General Membership: All residents of Univer-
sity Apartments communities.
C O N T A C T T H E A S S E M B L Y :
If you need to contact the assembly, email
assemblychair@gmail.com
N E W S L E T T E R S T A F F :
Shannon Kisa, Editor
assemblynews@yahoo.com
Shannon Kisa, Ad Manager
assemblyadmanager@gmail.com
This newsletter is published monthly
by the University Apartments Assem-
bly. 1250 copies are delivered free to
University Apartments residents.
E-mail newsletter submissions to the
A S S E M B L Y B O A R D :
Chairperson: Zhizhou (Leo) Wang
Vice-Chair/ Treasurer: Anna Ferrari
Secretary: Jessica Krewson
Grants Coordinator: Renata Verdelli
Newsletter Editor/ Ad manager:
Shannon Kisa
Newsletter Distributor:
Jonathan Cabezas-Olcoz
3. MARCH 2015 PAGE 3EAGLE HEIGHTS NEWSLETTER
save money. Some of these include: dish-
washers (which can save money over the
long term), solar panels, flow valves on
sinks to control water pressure, renting
space to vending machines, applying for
state-funded energy grants, and working
together as a community to find out where
we are wasting money and make changes.
Some of these long-term investments are
impossible right now due to the deficit of
funds, but we can always work together as
residents with the UA staff to improve our
community. One issue that also came out
during this discussion is that our almost all
of our recycling is no longer accepted be-
cause of cross contamination. Let’s work
to provide more education within the com-
munity about how to prepare and sort re-
cyclables, especially with Earth Day com-
ing up in April.
Rainbow Ice Sculptures
Karen Beck,
University Houses Preschool
Supplies:
Water
Food Coloring
Containers to freeze water in. I use a vari-
ety of sizes and shapes from kid sized ap-
plesauce containers to ice cream pails to 5
gallon buckets.
Directions:
1. On a cold night, fill containers with water.
2. Add a few drops of food coloring.
3. Put outside to freeze.
(Continued from page 1)
rent, and with University Houses un-
der construction, this revenue has
dropped. The completion of the Uni-
versity Houses renovation is also de-
layed until at least August and has
incurred a higher cost than was origi-
nally predicted because adjustments
on a case-by-case basis had to be
made to the original plans.
University Apartments is also respon-
sible for at least several other large
costs that provide service to its resi-
dents. Funding for the UW police is
one example, and the cost has been
increased by $200,000 this year. Uni-
versity Apartments also pays 1/3 of
the cost for bus 80. Taking these and
all other things into account, it is per-
haps lucky that residents are only ex-
periencing a 3% rental increase con-
sidering University Apartments cur-
rently has a $1.3 million deficit. As
University Houses re-opens and be-
gins to provide revenue, UA will work
to pay off the deficit and rebuild its
savings, so it is projected that resi-
dents can possibly expect a 3% lease
rate increase for at least the next sev-
eral years.
Upon hearing this news, many resi-
dents not only voiced concerns over
the increase and what this means for
student families who are already bare-
ly getting by on low salaries, they also
had many suggestions for ways that
University Apartments can possibly
4. When frozen, bring inside for a few
minutes to thaw the edges for easy re-
moval.
5. When ice is loose on the edges, take
outside and tip the ice sculpture out.
6. Enjoy!
Sculpture Tips:
1. You can make a gem or rainbow gar-
den in the snow.
2. You can build a larger sculpture by
piling them high and adding water to
freeze them together.
3. You can freeze marbles/tissue paper/
plastic animals in the ice.
4. Inside Ice Sculptures –You can make
colored ice cubes in the freezer and
build ice cube sculptures. A sprinkle of
salt helps the cubes stick together. Use
a waterproof, flat-bottomed container to
build the sculpture in for easy clean-up.
Sculpture Questions:
1. What happened to the water we put
in the container? It froze into ice.
Why? Water freezes at 32 degrees F.
2. Touch it - What does it feel like?
3. Did your finger get wet when you
touched it? Why? Ice melted.
4. Look at it (Observe it) - What does it
look like? It forms into the shape of the
container.
5. In the spring you can ask: Where did
the ice go?
Additional Information:
You can talk about the 3 states of water:
solid, liquid, and gas.
8. EAGLE HEIGHTS NEWSLETTERPAGE 8 MARCH 2015
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Join Community Car for FREE!
Need to get to the lab to check on a key experiment or go shopping for
supplies to celebrate your accepted first-time author publication? Do you
wish you had a car but don’t want the hassle or extra cost of owning one?
There is an easy solution nearby. Community Car is a Madison-based
hourly rental car company. We have two new Prius located in the Eagle
Heights Community Center parking lot just for you. Eagle Heights and
University Housing residents can join for free (a $35 savings), and it only
costs $4-$7.25/hr. plus tax. This is a reduced hourly rate only for Eagle
Heights and University Housing residents. Gas and insurance are included
in the hourly rate. Community Car members enjoy convenient, affordable
transportation. Join today at www.communitycar.com or call us at (608)
204-0000. We‘d be happy to answer any of your questions and look for-
ward to you driving with us. International drivers with foreign licenses are
welcome.
Eagle Heights Sights
Check out these pictures of a red-
tailed hawk seen perched on the mail-
box of building 206 last year! It sat
there for a long time and seemed to
have no fear of people. What interest-
ing things have you seen in Eagle
Heights, other university apartments,
on campus, or even in greater Madi-
son? The weather is changing fast
now, so get outside and take some
pics. Share them with the University
Apartments community by sending the
image and caption to:
assemblynews@yahoo.com
