The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents approved a proposal to honor veterans on June 6.
The proposal includes adding a Veterans Plaza to the new Camp Randall Practice Facility showcasing the history of Camp Randall, hiring a University Veteran Services staff member that focuses on improving student veteran success and forming a task force on student veteran financial support. The proposal also examined possible relocations of the University Veteran Services offices.
“During breaks and over the summer, student veterans don’t have access to financial support, so having additional funding and a space to connect with other student veterans would be great,” said Abygail Boyle, president of UW-Madison Student Veterans of America.
In February, the regents authorized a $285 million replacement of the Camp Randall Sports Center, known as “the Shell,” with an indoor athletics training facility. The project includes plans for a driveway and structure on a section of Camp Randall Veterans Memorial Park.
Originally, Camp Randall Memorial Park was protected under a Wisconsin state statute from any construction or buildings, but a February amendment to Wisconsin Act 102, will allow overlap from the Shell reconstruction plan after approval of this proposal to honor veterans by the Wisconsin Board of Veteran Affairs (WBVA). The WDVA has no approval authority over the plan
Jim Gingras, a UW-Madison doctoral student and member of Student Veterans of America, said the regents originally approved the reconstruction proposal without consultation from the WBVA.
Gingras criticized the decision to go forward with the Shell reconstruction plan because it is already a dedicated veterans memorial park “not a block for the athletic department.”
The June proposal to support veterans also outlined support for removing tailgating and non-veteran tabling at the park and honoring veterans at Camp Randall during game days.
Boyle said removing tailgates from the veterans memorial park is a positive because tailgates already overcrowd the streets and diminish the historical significance of Camp Randall. During the Civil War, Camp Randall was a staging point for officers, and has continued to be a significant place for Wisconsin veterans.
The regents must submit their proposal to honor Wisconsin veterans to the WBVA by the end of June due to a recent amendment to a December 2023 deal between state Republican lawmakers and UW System leaders to cap diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) positions in exchange for state funding for pay raises and university construction projects.
Gingras said although the proposal offers support for student veterans, it could do more to allocate spaces on campus for student veterans.
“We need a space for a Joint Officer Education Facility and a UW-Madison military connected space, and that space needs to be Camp Randall,” Gingras said.
UW-Madison will explore spaces for a Joint Services Officer Education Facility as a part of the June proposal. This facility would be a space for members of different parts of the military to connect and serve as a shared community space.
“This is an opportunity to rectify seven decades of neglect and really the first time ever that the university can create a cohesive environment,” Gingras said.
Ultimately, Gingras hopes he and other members of the WBVA can come up with a plan on how to best utilize Camp Randall and present it to the state Legislature for support in the UW System 2025-27 biennial budget.
“The wider veterans community needs to come together and create a plan that helps all Wisconsin veterans,” Gingras said. “If we can collectively say we have done the greatest good for the greatest number of people and as a community this is the right thing to do, that will be a step in the right direction.”
The Shell reconstruction project is up for review by the city of Madison and is expected to go before the Common Council in August.
Editor's Note: This article was last updated on June 27 at 9:13 a.m. to clarify that the WBVA has no approval authority over the reconstruction project on Camp Randall Memorial Park.
