UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN QUITS KINDLES

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s daily newspaper The Badger Herald is reporting that after just a couple of months, the school will drop its support of the Kindle device in replacing textbooks.

The move comes from widespread complaints that the device is less-than-accessible to blind students, offering a text-to-speech program but still requiring a user with sight to navigate the menus. Ken Frazier, the University of Wisconsin director of libraries and the person who instituted the program in the first place, is responsible for the pull-out, saying he hopes to push Amazon to make the device more friendly to the sightless.

“The university is a leader and innovator in the education field,” said Gregg Vanderheiden, a professor at University of Wisconsin. “For it to say we are not going to proceed with the Kindle if the Kindle is not designed for all students — that is significant.”

The Kindles had been used only by a small group of 20 students in one particular professor’s upper-level history seminar, as part of a small experiment that cost the school $10,000.

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE FOOTBALL PLAYERS ARRESTED FOR ROBBERY

Last week, three freshmen from the University of Tennessee (UT) football team, Nu’Keese Richardson, Janzen Jackson and Mike Edwards, were charged with armed robbery after victims positively identified them and their car.

The UT athletic department, their coach and recruiter Lane Kiffin all initially refused to comment on the matter, saying they would wait to release a statement until they were done “evaluating the circumstances” of the arrests. Meanwhile, Richardson and Edwards have been dismissed from team activities.

Jenzen’s fate is still unknown. He was the first to be let out of prison after the arrests — $15,000 bail reduced to recognizance — and has been left off Kiffin’s chopping block, despite having a history of disciplinary problems at the school.

The three were arrested along with their driver, non-student Marie Montmarquet, Thursday night. The police report states Richardson and Jackson initiated the robbery, holding up three people in a car outside a convenience store while Jenzen and Montmarquet waited in the car.

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND OBTAINS LIQUOR LICENSE

The Good 5¢ Cigar is reporting that the University of Rhode Island obtained a Class P liquor license last week, which will allow caterers to serve alcohol at campus events as well as in the school’s Ryan Center, a massive multipurpose for-rent facility.

“The immediate goal of this license is to generate more food and beverage sales,” Associate Commissioner for Finance and Management Susan LaPanne said, “but the larger objective is to increase participation of alumni in special events on campus.”

The university has already sent several of its caterers to the training mandated by the Class P license, and more will be trained in the coming months.

Reach columnist Morgan Gard at news@dailyuw.com.