In our final GridgeFridge episode of the semester, we are joined by Dr. Jessica Lee Stovall, an assistant professor in the Department of African American Studies at UW–Madison.

Dr. Stovall’s research explores how Black teachers create liberatory and sustaining spaces within schools, using Black Studies as a framework for reimagining education.

She has received recognition for her work through fellowships from the Ford Foundation, Spencer Foundation, and Fulbright Program.

At UW, she’s developing new courses that connect students with the legacy and ongoing impact of Black thought.

In this episode of GridgeFridge, we’re talking with Jordyn Czyzewski and Mae Moen, some of the student leaders behind Rewear It Wisconsin. Jordyn is the President of ReWear It, and Mae is the Community Outreach Director.

They work together as part of an executive team to reshape how UW–Madison students think about clothing, consumption, and sustainability.

In this special episode of GridgeFridge, we venture on a walking tour throughout campus, to learn about the spooks within Science Hall and the boos behind Bascom Hill. With notable stops including the “axe in the stacks” attack of graduate Susan Oldenburg in Memorial Library 1979, or the shocking former life of Bascom Hill and all the history buried beneath its soil.

These chilling stories discuss some of the most traumatic events occurring on the UW-Madison campus, turned hearsay amongst the student body. These stories allow for a time of reflection for the way disturbing stories shape campus history. They question how people’s memories are preserved through brick and mortar, and ask us to question why certain people’s legacies are remembered and whose are missing.

When shared with care, these tales connect us to the place, each other, and the long, complicated histories that haunt every community. Ghost stories remind us that remembering is a kind of haunting all its own and we are invited to share in memoriam of these spirits respectfully and responsibly.