Almanac

Ask Bucky

Actual questions from real people, answered by the friendly folks at the Campus Information and Visitor Center.

Are the numbered sites on Picnic Point available for camping?
Unfortunately, no camping is permitted. Campfires are allowed if you notify UW Police of the date and time you plan to use a fire pit. You must bring a fire suppression devise. An empty bucket works well for carrying lake water to the pit. Picnic Point closes at 10 p.m. daily.

When is fall color at its peak at UW–Madison?
Fall color in Madison generally peaks in mid to late October. Fall color forecasts and weekly updates are available from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, (800) 432-8747, http://www.travelwisconsin.com and the U.S. Forest Service, (800) 354-4595 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/fall.shtml.

Your questions for CIVC can be asked in person at its office on the first floor of the Red Gym, 716 Langdon St. Or call 263-2400 or e-mail askbucky@redgym.wisc.edu.

It’s trivia time again
To get students and alumni fired up for Homecoming, the Wisconsin Alumni Association is sponsoring an online football trivia contest on its Web site through Oct. 11.

To get involved, visit: http://www.uwalumni.com.

The grand prize is a football autographed by former UW running back Michael Bennett. WAA is posting a daily, multiple-choice trivia question on the Web site. Each week, two lucky players who answer the questions correctly will win prizes like tickets to WAA’s pre-game Homecoming Badger Huddle, Bucky flags, Homecoming apparel and a sweatshirt from the University Book Store. At the end of the contest, WAA will randomly pick a grand-prize winner. Questions and rules are posted at the site.

Gun safety promoted
The UW Police Department will be offering a limited number of free firearm safety kits to faculty and staff starting next month. Sgt. Kurt Feavel says 150 of the kits will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. They can be picked up at police headquarters, 1429 Monroe St., beginning Oct. 1. A university staff ID card must be shown to obtain one.

Each kit contains safety tips, instructions and a cable-style gun lock that will fit most types of handguns, rifles and shotguns. Feavel says the goal is to prevent a child or any other unauthorized person from accessing a firearm that is kept in the home.

“While firearms are prohibited on the campus,” says Feavel, “we understand that there are undoubtedly some members of the campus community who own them. Through this giveaway program, we hope to help prevent a tragic accident from occurring in one of their homes.”

Feavel says the department wants to keep faculty and staff and their families safe, and one of the ways it is working to do that is by teaming up with Project HomeSafe to provide the firearm safety kits.

Project HomeSafe is a national program sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which receives funding in part from a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Backward glance
From Wisconsin Week, Sept. 23, 1992: More than 63,000 fans attend the U2 concert at Camp Randall. … Presidential candidate Bill Clinton visits the Memorial Union Terrace for a student rally during a campaign swing through Madison. … A startling statistic: Nearly half of the university’s 15,000 employees are single. … Enrollment dropped 2.9 percent to 41,948 under an enrollment management program.