Campus Alert Archive
UW-Madison

UW-Madison Reached Every One of Its 12 Paris Students Individually After Coordinated Attacks

WIcivil unrestadvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

When coordinated terrorist attacks killed 130 people across Paris on the night of November 13, 2015, the University of Wisconsin-Madison had 12 students studying abroad in the city. UW administration reached out to each student individually to confirm safety, according to UW spokesperson John Lucas. All 12 were confirmed safe, including two who were in a bar near one of the attack sites.

Alerts
2
Response
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Killed
—
Injured
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Institution
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Public R1 · WI
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstruction471 chars
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is reaching out to all students currently studying abroad in Paris following the attacks that occurred in the city tonight. We are working to confirm the safety of each of our 12 students individually. If you are a UW-Madison student in Paris and have not yet been contacted, please reach out to your program coordinator or the Office of International Academic Programs immediately. We will provide updates as we have more information.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from Badger Herald reporting; UW spokesperson John Lucas confirmed that administration reached out to each student individually -- a labor-intensive approach that differs from mass notification systems.
One UW-Madison student, Ben Winding, had been at a restaurant and then a bar that was near one of the attack sites on November 13; he and another UW student had earlier in the evening chosen not to go to one of the restaurants that was attacked.
The attacks killed 130 people across six sites including the Bataclan theater; France declared a state of emergency and closed its borders overnight.
ALL CLEAREmail
Approximate reconstruction397 chars
We are pleased to confirm that all 12 University of Wisconsin-Madison students studying abroad in Paris are safe and have been individually contacted by university officials. We extend our deepest sympathies to all those affected by these horrific attacks. Students who are distressed by these events are encouraged to contact University Health Services or the Dean of Students Office for support.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The Badger Herald article updated its headline to 'All UW students abroad in Paris are safe' confirming full accountability of the 12-person cohort.
UW-Madison's approach of individual outreach to each of the 12 students, rather than relying solely on students to self-report, reflects a proactive welfare-check model for study-abroad emergencies.
Ben Winding told Fox6 Milwaukee he was 'so glad we didn't' go to the restaurant that was attacked, illustrating how close some UW students came to the sites of violence.
Context

Background

The November 2015 Paris attacks killed 130 people in coordinated strikes across six sites in Paris, including at the Bataclan concert hall. The University of Wisconsin-Madison had 12 students studying abroad in the city. The Badger Herald reported that UW administration reached out to each student individually to confirm safety -- a more personal approach than the mass notification systems used for domestic alerts. All 12 were confirmed safe, though at least one student was in a bar that was near one of the attack sites. One student, Ben Winding, told Fox6 Milwaukee that he and another UW student had considered visiting a restaurant that was attacked before choosing another venue that evening. UW-Madison's response illustrated a standard protocol among US universities following overseas attacks: individual welfare checks on the full abroad cohort, followed by a public confirmation of safety, often via the student newspaper channel.
Outcome
All 12 UW-Madison students studying abroad in Paris confirmed safe by individual contact from UW administration.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Student Paper
    Update: All UW students abroad in Paris are safe, university officials say - The Badger Herald
    badgerherald.com
  2. News
    UW student studying in Paris says he nearly visited restaurant that was attacked - FOX6 Milwaukee
    fox6now.com
  3. Source
    November 2015 Paris attacks - Wikipedia
    en.wikipedia.org
Tags
study-abroadfranceterrorisminternationaladvisoryparis2015
Added June 2026Updated June 2026Via ingestion