May is cap-and-gown season in Madison: alumni-to-be are prowling campus in flowing black dresses and funny hats, trying to find the perfect spot to create a graduation memory. They should just look at this list of classic graduation photo spots — we’ve got one for every mood.
- Traditional: Abe’s lap. Ever since its installation in 1909, grads have been boosting each other up into the lap of the Lincoln statue.
- Spirited: Well Red Bucky. This bookish Badger is a recent campus addition — it was installed in 2017. Sculptor Douwe Blumberg designed the stack of library books and Bucky’s posture to make an inviting space for picture-takers.
- Sentimental: on Bascom Hill. This is as close as the UW comes to having a “quad.” It’s both academic and nostalgic, even if it requires a hike to summit.
- Social: the big chair on the Memorial Union Terrace. Visiting the Terrace is a central experience for all Badgers, and the giant Sunburst chair is a good spot to snap a picture with a friend.
- Monumental: Camp Randall Memorial Arch. Start your journey to alumnihood at the site that commemorates tens of thousands of Badgers who left Wisconsin to join a cause.
- Academic: in front of your favorite building. The UW is a step in your education, and many grads commemorate their intellectual growth with the home of their favorite classroom right behind them.
