As the United States nears another year of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Wisconsin reopens for a third semester impacted by the deadly virus. With over 6,000 dead in the State of Wisconsin since the start of the pandemic and two vaccines now available for select populations, eyes turn to the UW administration, its students and Dane County to see where this semester will go. To test or not to test For Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Lori Reesor, it’s all about testing. In the fall 2020 semester, after an outbreak hit Southeast dorms Sellery and Witte in late September, UW Housing students had to complete regular tests to continue living in the dorms. But for everyone else — the large proportion who don’t live in or work with Housing — UW didn’t mandate testing at all. And while the rate of positive tests started to decline throughout the semester, over 5,735 students and faculty have tested positive to date through UW testing.