Laptop Loan
Spilled some water on your laptop? It happens. Check out UWM’s emergency Laptop Loan Program. This resource is designed to be a short-term solution for students.
To be eligible, you must be enrolled at least half-time, enrolled in the same term in which the laptop is requested, in a degree-seeking or certificate program, enrolled in good standing with the university and demonstrate financial need.
Students are only able to borrow a university laptop for one semester throughout the entirety of their enrollment. Priority is given to those who have demonstrated financial need and have not previously borrowed a laptop.
Apply online at uwm.edu/deanofstudents/student-resources/laptop-loan-program/.
Food Center & Pantry
UWM’s food pantry is located on the ground floor of the UWM Student Union. Students, faculty and staff are welcome to come in and grab some groceries up to three times every month. When you come in, provide your UWM email address or show your student ID. All visitors are allowed up to one bag of food per visit.
The food pantry also offers diapers and wipes to UWM student parents the first Monday of every month. Visitors must present a UWM email or UWM student ID. If this conflicts with your work or school schedule, contact foodassist@uwm.edu to set up an alternate time for pickup.
For more information, visit https://uwm.edu/deanofstudents/student-resources/food-center-pantry/.
SET’s Career Studio
The Center for Student Experience & Talent Center’s Career Studio offers a free career closet and free headshots for all students.
Stop by the front desk in Vogel Hall and ask to see the career closet during building hours. There, you can browse through dresses, belts, shoes, blazers, suits and other professional clothing for your next interview or conference.
Next door is the Iris photobooth, a self-service photobooth for professional headshots. The machine allows you to retake your photos as many times as needed, allows you to crop and edit your photos and instantly emails you the final images.
Multicultural Collective of Centers
UWM has eight resource and cultural centers to support students that belong to each group. On the ground floor of Bolton Hall is the Black Student Cultural Center (@uwm_bscc), Roberto Hernández Center (@uwmrhc) and the Southeast Asian American Student Center (@uwmseaasc).
On the ground floor of the UWM Student Union is the First-Generation+ Resource Center (@uwmfgrc), LGBTQ+ Resource Center (@uwmlgbtqrc), Military and Veterans Resource Center (@uwmmavrc), Off-Campus Resource Center (@uwmocrc) and the Women’s Resource Center (@uwmwrc).
Each space is designed so community members can walk in anytime during office hours, hang out with friends, study, talk with staff and receive any help when needed. Each center has its own support services and events. For more information, check out each center’s Instagram page (as seen above) or visit https://uwm.edu/community-empowerment-institutional-inclusivity/services/.
Accessibility Resource Center (ARC)
The UWM Accessibility Resource Center is located in Mitchel Hall in room 115. It offers welcoming spaces for disabled students to unwind, decompress, study or take a break during the school day.
“We promote and facilitate awareness and access through training, partnerships, innovative programs, and accommodations to ensure disabled students experience every avenue of college life,” according to the ARC webpage.
The ARC offers a variety of rooms to meet different needs, such as the energize room with physical activities to organize the nervous system, a one-to-one meeting room for gatherings or tutoring, two study rooms, a light sensory room with a swinging chair, a dark sensory room with star lights and a book nook.
Did you have an IEP/504 plan in high school? Do you have a service animal but need to get the paperwork for housing? Are you new to asking for services? Accessibility Resource Center (ARC) is the office you need. ARC, located in Mitchell Hall room 115, is the place to go to if you need any accommodations for academic and/or housing. This office is great to continue OR start services.
If you need help on where to start or seeing how you may be able to get services, fill out the contact form and they will answer any questions you have and help guide you through the process. This office is here to help you be successful in this college journey, so it’s better to talk to them now instead of when you are in trouble.
Students looking for support for their disabilities should visit the ARC to learn more about housing, educational and dual enrollment accommodations or visit https://uwm.edu/accessibility-resource-center/.
Wag More Wednesdays
Every other Wednesday, sometimes every Wednesday, the library gets taken over by some cute dogs who are here to help us de-stress from the everyday load of school and life in general.
Pet Partners and Alliance of Therapy Dogs come and hang out by the Grind lobby from 11 a.m.- 7 p.m., bringing different types of dogs every hour. Wag More Wednesdays allows students to unwind, enjoy some puppy time and maybe talk to a person or two.
For those who want to see them but might be allergic, keep an eye out for Tucker, who is a golden doodle and hypoallergenic. They tend to be the first one in the morning but might be later in schedule conflicts.
If you don’t like big dogs, come see Itsy or Maple. Check the website for dates for the coming fall OR keep a lookout for the sign outside the library on Wednesdays.
Shuttle Stops
Getting to and around the area of campus can be kind of tricky to figure out, especially being new to the area. UWM has taken care of some of that, but finding it can be quite difficult. We have done the work for you, so you can get moving on the first day.
Prowl Line
The Prowl Line is the campus main bus(shuttle) system. There are two lines: Commuters and Residents.
Commuter Route
Commuters take you to the UPARK lot at Capitol and Humboldt. If you are a commuter student, have paid your segregated fee, and don’t want to pay for parking on campus, this is a great alternative. This line stops in front of Cunningham and the Library, then heads back to the lot.
Do keep in mind that this line stops running at 9 p.m. Mon-Thurs and till 6 p.m. on Friday, with no service on the weekends and breaks. You still need to get a permit for this lot, so make sure you get that done before the first day. If you don’t get the permit, you must pay for the parking, which is $2 a day.
Residents Route
The Residents route is the housing route. It starts at Cambridge, where they will sit for a bit before starting the route. From there, they will do the following: Riverview, Kenilworth, Student Union, Sandburg (again, they might sit here for a bit depending on time of day), Kenwood Interdisciplinary Research Center (KIRC), Kenilworth and then end at Cambridge again.
This route is great if you are in Sandburg and need to come down to Kenilworth for class or a late-night pizza run at Ian’s. The bus runs till 1 a.m. Mon-Wed and Sun, Thu-Sat till 2 a.m.
On the first day of classes, make sure you have your ID ready, as you will need it to scan onto the bus, and no, the digital version WILL NOT work. Also, don’t punch a hole in your ID. That will deactivate your ID, and you will have to get a new one (A new one costs $20 per time; you already got the free one at orientation).
Know which stop you need to get off at; the drivers will announce each stop at first, then some will still say them throughout the semester. Plan an extra 20-30 minutes, and between the hours of 8-10 a.m. and 4-6 p.m., plan for 40, especially if you don’t live in Cambridge.
You can check the status of the bus on the Passio Go app. This is a great way to check on the status of the bus, especially on those late-night study nights at the library or pizza/ice cream run.
If you are on campus during the winter or summer break, the shuttle becomes on-demand. You will get an email about this, so watch your UWM email for those updates and any other updates about the shuttle.
Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS)
Another option besides the shuttle is public transit, mostly the 21 and 30 lines. As a student at UWM, you get a free bus pass each semester you come to campus for class if you pay your segregated fees (so yes, summer is covered IF you have to come to campus), online gets a reduced rate.
The 21 is great to catch if you are coming from Cambridge or Riverview and drops you off in front of Mitchell Hall; the 30 is great for Kenilworth and drops you off in front of the Union. Just a warning for the summer months: The 21 line does not come to campus, only the 30 line, so plan accordingly.
When you sign up for an account, even if you already have one, use your UWM email. This makes the process just a bit easier, especially if you have issues and yes, you will have issues the first time, but it goes smoothly after that. Also, download the UMO app! Physical passes are no longer offered unless you have an accommodation for it.
B.O.S.S.
Last option for transportation is BOSS (better on the safe side). This service is like Uber or Lyft but only for UWM. The hours for BOSS are 6 p.m.- 2 a.m. daily; keep in mind that the service is not available on breaks and on legal holidays.
The service operates within a 6-mile radius of campus, which UPARK does land within this radius. To request a ride, you can either visit the website, call the desk or download the TransLoc app.
A perk of being at UWM, there are many different options for getting around, especially if you don’t have your own transportation.
All these options, it will take time to figure out, so make sure you give yourself some grace the first few weeks of class. Yes, some of the upperclassmen will be annoyed, but just ignore them. Nine times out of ten, they are just annoyed because we waited till the last minute to get to campus.
Student Health and Wellness Center (SHAW):
Navigating college life can be overwhelming, but students do not have to carry the weight of stress, anxiety or personal challenges alone. UWM is committed to making sure no student feels isolated or left behind. Whether you need someone to talk to, help managing stress, or ongoing mental health care, help is always available.
Health and Wellness
UWM has a student health and wellness center that offers resources, strategies and techniques to help. There are also wellness wisdom posts that are made bi-weekly on topics in health and wellness. Visit the Student Health and Wellness Center page on the UWM website for more information.
SHAW is in the Northwest Quad D Building. The Northwest Quad is that tall building across the street from Sandburg Hall. You may become very familiar with this building if you are a nursing student or if you are in the social worker path for school.
It is located on the 7th and 8th floors; you take the green elevators to get to these floors. The 7th floor is home to the medical services, while the 8th floor has counseling and health promotions. Before breaking down what each section offers, please keep in mind that if you pay your segregations fees, SHAW is free for you to use.
Medical services:
Think of them as a normal doctor’s office OR urgent care. You can use the offices to help take care of the flu or to help maintain your health if you are away from home. They offer labs at a discounted rate and a dispensary to get cheap, normal over-the-counter medications. You can also swing by and get some free items as well. To learn more about the medical side of SHAW, click here.
Counseling:
Up the stairs from the medical, you will find the counseling offices. Here they offer individual, couple and group and psychiatry. The services are set up for a short-term model of care and are able to help find the appropriate resources that you would need at the time. If you are a new patient, you will have to call the office to make your first appointment. To learn more, click here.
Health Promotion and Victim Advocacy:
Yes, on the website, they are two separate tabs, but these two tend to work together in many aspects. Both are located on the same floor as counseling but on the other side of the floor.
Health promotion is the offices that, as the name says, promote students’ health through education, empowerment and advocacy. They offer different types of programming on subjects like sexual and mental health, how to form healthy relationships, how to have a safe night out and how to eat a bit healthier on a budget.
Be on the lookout for the Peer Health Educators on campus this semester. While at events, you may even see the condom fairy while out and about.
Victim Advocacy is what it is. If you find yourself in need of support as a victim of sexual harassment/assault or domestic violence, this office is here to help you navigate the legal side of everything.
From its website, “Survivor Support & Victim Advocacy Services provides free, confidential advocacy and support to UWM student victim/survivors of sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, domestic violence and/or stalking.”
Come take a look at SHAW and make it a home while you are here. The staff is friendly and is truly here to help you live a healthy life.
UWM Libraries: An All-Stop Shop
I’m sure everyone is used to going to a library for books; however, libraries at UWM provide so much more for a first-year student.
The library is a place to hang out with friends and an ideal study space. Due to its central location on campus, it’s quite easy to get to a class quickly. Inside Golda Meir Library is a Grind location, which means caffeine fuel to allow for non-stop productivity. As well as vending machines for those quick snacking needs.
There is an almost never-ending list of materials that you can check out from the library. This includes research, laptops, cameras, sound recorders, HDMI cords and more, as listed on its website. There is even a sound recording room available to students.
Students can even rent study rooms in the library when they wish to get a study group together. And for those technology issues, the in-person UWM IT help desk is next to the library’s general info desk.
No matter your preferred study environment, there is a nook or cranny available to you. Each floor of the library signifies a certain level of volume, with the top floor being totally silent. Students can find comfortable seating throughout the whole building with a variety of spacing setups. Do be prepared that you are at risk of hearing other students snoring in the basement level, even though we aren’t in kindergarten and the library isn’t for naptime.
There is so much more to this library that can’t be contained within this word count, so just go exploring and asking questions. Most importantly, make sure to keep checking out their map collection and special archive collections.
The Interlibrary Loan (ILL) department allows students to get their hands on all sorts of rare physical media (books, articles, book chapters, DVDs, microfilm, sheet music, etc.) not owned by the UWM Libraries.
Student Involvement: Above All, Get Involved
UWM Student Involvement is the office that handles organizing activities and student organizations on campus. It is the place to go when you need ideas on how to find your community or get involved in any aspect of campus life.
Within Student Involvement, located on the third floor of the Student Union, there is the Campus Activities Board (CAB), Greek Life, Student Leadership Programs, Student Organizations and Sociocultural Programs. As well as spaces such as the Union Art Gallery, Cinema, Rec Center and Studio Arts & Craft Centre. Find out more about these resources by searching them on the UWM website.
If one of the several student organizations isn’t for you, then all you need to start a new one is four student officers and an advisor. This is also a great office offering student employment opportunities to help work at getting other students involved.
Most importantly, no matter what aspect of student involvement you interact with, make sure that above all you get involved.
UWM Club Football
Milwaukee Club Football is officially back! Summer practices kicked off in August, running every Monday and Tuesday from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Gun Club Rugby Field. The program is actively welcoming new players of all experience levels.
These August practices are all about establishing strong team chemistry, building lasting relationships, and growing. Alongside dedicated teammates and coaches. For more information, visit @milwaukee.football on instagram for more information.
EDITOR’S NOTE 8/16:
The above information is no longer accurate. The UWM Club Football program has been terminated by the university, and as it stands, will not be having a season.
Read more about this story here: https://uwmpost.com/featured-sports/uwm-club-football-team-faces-abrupt-termination
This was included in MKZine!
“MKZine: Student Lifestyle Guide” – Volume 1, Issue 1 – September 2026
“MKZine: Student Lifestyle Guide” is available for viewing online here: https://uwmpost.com/special-projects/mkzine-uwm-student-lifestyle-guide
