Sunsetting DEI, switching sports & saving schools

This week on 365 Amplified, Stephanie rejoins the team for a packed episode featuring tough conversations about education, equity, and opportunity.

🎓 Sunsetting Diversity at UW?
The team breaks down the University of Wisconsin’s controversial decision to “sunset” the Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement (DDEEA). What does that mean for scholarship programs like Posse and PEOPLE? And what’s behind the language choices?

⚖️ Disability Rights Under Scrutiny
Rob provides an update on the case of Kitty Trivedi, a visually impaired student who was denied enrollment in a UW precollege program last summer. Now, the university’s Office of Compliance has launched a formal investigation into possible disability discrimination.

🏀 Future D1 Star
Nick introduces us to La Follette sophomore Nyajuacni Riak, who nearly made the U16 Team USA basketball squad. She’s already dominating on the local courts — and calling out the competition.

🚣‍♀️ From Soccer to Rowing
Charlotte Barrett, daughter of Dane County Sheriff Calvin Barrett, thought she was done with competitive sports — until Eastern Michigan offered her a Division I rowing scholarship. She’s never rowed a boat, but that’s not stopping her.

💰 MMSD Faces Funding Crisis
Rob sits down with Superintendent Dr. Joe Gothard to talk about the growing funding gap in Madison’s public schools, the effects of frozen federal dollars, and the looming possibility of another referendum.

“We’ve never been made whole,” Gothard says. “We’re having to make decisions based on the amount that goes unfunded.”

💭 Roundtable Question:
Would you rather be able to pause, rewind, or fast forward through your life — and why?