Wisconsin's state university system is spread out over the state. The 'crown jewel' is the UW-Madison, aka the home of the Badgers. This campus is the school America knows as "Wisconsin" in the Big Ten. But every major region or population center has a large UW campus within a moderate distance.
The University of Wisconsin-Parkside is Kenosha's local university. It is located between the cities of Racine and Kenosha. It does have many local, older, non-degree students. (I am auditing a class there myself.) But its backbone is the typical full-time younger student.
There are several on-campus school-owned dorms. Starting Weds, Feb 1st, a string of racial intimidation incidents have occurred in these dorms. These incidents involve a pair of hand-made nooses and written death threats, all found in student housing. The incidents were considered serious enough to limit access to the dorms.
Do these rise to the level of 'hate crimes'? A short time is likely to tell. A police investigation is underway. To quote an email from the Office of the chancellor sent to all WUP students:
The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a full criminal investigation to apprehend the individual or individuals responsible for these acts. University of Wisconsin-Parkside Police, in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Police, and the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office, have increased patrols across campus and the residence halls.
This was picked up in today's issue of my local paper, The Kenosha News. The KN operates under a subscriber wall, so this post will have only a few limited excerpts. One of those must be used to show some of the local reaction to this story.
Making "fun"? A noose made of rubber bands is not funny? ROFL
By th
Now, this "th" fool is just this website's Alpha Troll. "Thé" (French for "Tea") is not to be taken seriously. On the other hand, these incidents prove Thé is not alone in taking joy in their racism.
Details unraveled below the ravel.
During the afternoon of Feb 1st Aubriana Banks, 22, a UWP student, found a noose hanging from a doorknob inside the Pike River Residence Hall. The noose was made from rubber bands. (No indication of its size has been given.) She reported it to the hall director and to a responding police officer. Neither took the incident seriously and/or felt the object was being taken out of context.
The student then made an appointment for Thursday morning with a UWP student services official. But when she opened her dormroom door that morning, she found a second "makeshift" noose. This one had an attached note. “Run and tell this nigger.”
There was no longer any room for doubts over interpretation or context. From this point on, the official response has been proactive. The UWP Chancellor, Debbie Ford, issued a campus-wide email.
Dear Campus Community:
At noon today I and several of my staff met with a group of concerned students about the Hate incidents that occurred in Pike River Suites last night and this morning. The discussion centered around concerns for students of color on campus. One immediate suggestion that came out of the meeting was to have an earlier meeting of the campus community in addition to the 10:00 p.m. meeting.
We are asking that you join us at 3:30 p.m. in the Cinema for an all-campus meeting or plan to attend the 10 p.m. meeting in the Cinema that was previously scheduled. I will be attending both meetings.
Additionally, the Black Student Union is holding a meeting at 5 p.m. in the Student Center Spruce Room and has opened the meeting to the campus community.
Please join us in this important dialogue.
(I was at class when this meeting was held. I did not learn of these incidents until I accessed my UW email on Thursday evening. So I did not attend either meeting myself.)
The Kenosha News fills us in on the important parts.
Ford told students she directed campus police to make investigation of the incidents their number one priority.
“Your safety, your health and well being are my highest priority,” Ford said, adding the perpetrator or perpetrators, if identified, will face “appropriate sanctions,” including possible suspension and expulsion from the university if they are students.
But the most important part of the article covers what happened after the Thursday night meeting.
Less than 45 minutes after the meeting ended, several African-American students returned to Pike River Residence Hall only to find numerous flyers posted inside the building reading, “Niggers will die in two days” and including a list naming numerous students, many of them holding leadership positions on athletic teams, in the Black Student Union and other campus organizations.
What are the local reactions? If you said "mixed", you get the kewpie doll. From a companion article in TKN:
Banks was overwhelmed with emotion at the meeting by the outpouring support from the students who stood by her. “People stepping up and supporting me, it renewed my security, and I felt safe again on this campus,” she said in an interview after the meeting.
Ms Banks was also critical of the early UWP reaction, and who can blame her? But she is hardly defeated.
“Their [UWP officials] main concern was, did I want to move because they were concerned about my safety, which I felt was irrelevant. I’m not going anywhere because that’s what they want, whoever did this. Clearly, this was a death threat, and they want me gone,” Banks, 22, told the Kenosha News in an interview shortly before the third racial incident took place.
The comments section in the electronic version of TKN tells us who has been defeated.
Throw gasoline on the fire, K-Wrap!
By they
2/3 12:38 p.m.
Nice to see three articles in your fine publication on this fart in the wind of a story. Golly, you hardly devoted this much coverage to the death of his majesty, Howard Brown. I'm guessing the 'victims' in these stories are left-wingers; those of your own ilk subjected to the horrible attrocities of life in the real world.
That is where things stand as of now.
(Personal notes:
As a Wisconsin resident of "only" 20 years, I hesitate to comment on racism throughout the state. But it seems to me Wisconsin is lagging in this area compared to much of the US.
Wisconsin has about half the national average of both African-Americans and Latin-Americans. Wisconsin's minorities are very concentrated in her few large cities. White flight has resulted in things like Waukesha. The problem, if you ask me, lies largely with the fact most white Wisconsinites never interact with minority Wisconsinites. They say famliarity breeds contempt. But separation breeds fear and racism, I reckon.
As you follow the Wisconsin union-busting/governor-recalling saga unfold, remember this. Much of the fuel which fires this knock-down political contest is burning old-fashioned nigger-hating racism.
This fight in Wisconsin must not be lost. If you still have doubts, ask Aubriana Banks.)