Student Organizations
Student Organization Quick Jump:
From Romania | Madison Association of Turkish Students | Muslim Students Association
Post-Communist Politics Workshop | Russian Folk Orchestra | Russian Student Association
Central Asian Student Association (CASA)
A student organization created to bring together students interested in Central Asia to facilitate discussion and promote an appreciation for the cultures of Central Asia. CASA helps coordinate 
the annual Nawruz Festival (Central Asian New Year) that is held in the spring and also arranges for prominent speakers to give talks on campus and organize other cultural activities such as film festivals. CASA works to support Central Asia-related cultural events locally. The goal is to foster a cross-cultural learning experience for UW students and local public.
Contact: David Dettmann
E-mail: dwdettma@wisc.edu
Website: casa.rso.wisc.edu
Russian Student Association
The Russian Student Association coordinates Russian-related activities on campus, and promotes general interest and awareness of Russian studies at UW-Madison. Activities will include, but are not limited to, the following: discussion tables with Russian speakers, movie nights, group attendance at Russian-related speakers/campus activities, promotion of Russian as an undergraduate major, promotion of study abroad programs, an organized Russian tutoring program for lower-level language classes, organized themed events/parties/social gatherings for members, etc.
Contact:
Julia Vasylenko
E-mail: russianbadgers@hotmail.com
Russian Folk Orchestra
The Russian Folk Orchestra of the University of Wisconsin-Madison brings together students, faculty and staff, and community members who share a love of Russian and East European traditional music.
The orchestra largely consists of two groups of authentic Russian stringed instruments: domras and balalaikas. All of them have three strings but are tuned differently. Domras are oval shape instruments and come in 4 sizes: piccolo, prima, alto, and bass; balalaikas are triangular shape instruments and come in 5 sizes: prima, secunda, alto, bass, and contrabass. The orchestra also uses two accordions, a flute, an oboe, and various percussion instruments.
The repertoire consists mainly of Russian and other Slavic folk songs, dances, ballads, etc. The orchestra also plays music of Russian classical composers, such as Tchaikovsky. Occasionally, selections of Western music are introduced.
Currently, the orchestra rehearses once a week in room 1418 Van Hise Hall on the UW-Madison Campus. There are currently 23 members of the orchestra.
Contact: Victor Gorodinsky
E-mail: vfgorodi@wisc.edu
Web: russorch.wisc.edu
From Romania
From Romania intends to bring together Romanians living in Madison, while trying to conserve the rich culture, language, tradition and lively Romanian spirit. For the past three years, From Romania has co-sponsored Madison's Romanian Film Festival.
Contact:
Daniela Banu
E-mail:
banu@wisc.edu
Web: uwromania.rso.wisc.edu
Muslim Students Association
MSA seeks to enhance Muslim students' involvement and participation in Islamic activities on-campus or in the community and to increase awareness and better understanding of the Islamic faith at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Contact: Rashid Dar
E-mail: rdar@wisc.edu
Web: uw-msa.com
Armenian Students Association
ASA aims to bring together students of Armenian descent at UW-Madison, but is open to anyone with an interest in Armenian culture. The 
Armenian Students Association is meant to be a cultural and political group of Madison-area Armenians to involve each other with their culture and to stay informed about current political events.
Contact:
Alidz Oshagan
E-mail: oshagan@wisc.edu
Madison Association of Turkish Students
The Madison Association of Turkish Students (MATS) is a non- profit student organization aiming to create awareness about The Republic of Turkey and The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on the UW-Madison campus and in the Madison area. MATS exists to contribute to the cultural diversity of the UW-Madison campus, by introducing Turkish culture to UW students as well as fostering interaction between the members of the Turkish community at UW-Madison and their relations with students from all countries represented on campus. The association is fully committed to the principles of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and democratic ideals.
Contact:
Seymanur Celik
E-mail: scelik@wisc.edu
Web: mtsa.rso.wisc.edu
Advanced Russian Language Workshop
The Advanced Russian Language Workshop is organized by CREECA and the Department of Slavic Languages. This workshop is designed for graduate students who wish to maintain and improve their Russian language skills. The Advanced Russian Language Workshop is not a credit class, but it does offer weekly, regular instruction in Russian, with a special emphasis on using Russian in professional and academic settings. The workshop is open to graduate students in any department. For more information about the Advanced Russian Language Workshop, please contact Lisa Woodson at woodson@wisc.edu.
Post-Communist Politics Workshop (PCPW)
PCPW is intended to be a forum of and for graduate students and faculty in which they present, discuss and receive feedback on their work in progress and recently finished research. Participants in PCPW commit to reading the presented papers in advance. The Workshop meets monthly during the academic year. For more information, contact Evgeny Finkel, graduate student in Political Science at efinkel@wisc.edu.