MADISON — A series of signs was posted outside UW-Madison a number of UW-Madison buildings on Thursday night stirred a controversy Friday.
The school took to Twitter on Friday morning to state it was aware of the message and planned to take it down.
According to the tweet from UW-Madison, "We are removing this message and any others and UW-Madison Police is investigating."
UW stands against hate and racism.
— UW-Madison (@UWMadison) October 18, 2019
We’re aware that, last night, a racist message was posted on a building sign outside Science Hall.
We are removing this message and any others and @UWMadisonPolice is investigating. We will provide more info later today.
After this tweet, UW-Madison posted an update stating that a series of posters have been placed around campus. "These appear to be a part of a protest calling attention to experiences of underrepresented students," said UW-Madison via Twitter.
Update: Multiple posters around campus appear to be part of a coordinated campaign calling attention to experiences of underrepresented students.
— UW-Madison (@UWMadison) October 18, 2019
Details: https://t.co/YHy5FO4ndl pic.twitter.com/Ms31Mf6WvO
Most recently, UW-Madison released a formal statement regarding the incident.
According to the statement, "We want to be clear that UW–Madison stands against racism and all other forms of hate and any messages of exclusion."
The school says they are investigating the incidents.
These posters appear now to be part of a coordinated campaign calling attention to experiences of underrepresented students. While we support the right to freedom of expression, we also have policies that prohibit the posting of
unauthorized material on campus property. As with any incident like this, we are gathering more information and will be following up as appropriate.
UW-Madison says, "We are here to support our students, faculty and staff and to foster a community that is welcoming for all."
Some signs read "UW 4 Whites Only," "I’m tired of having to teach my teach my teachers" and "UW does not care about trans people."
The university said they were made aware this morning. Some, but not all, students were shocked.
"I thought it was kind of weird seeing it when I saw it on social media," said Riquel Lollis, a student. "It made a lot of people upset. It’s not the right way to do that at all."
Campus police and UW’s student affairs teams are investigating.
