MILWAUKEE — **Update: Friday, July 10 9:57 p.m.**
Our Shannon Sims sat down with UWM Lecturer Betsy Schoeller for an exclusive interview regarding her Facebook comment about U.S. Army soldier Vanessa Guillen. Watch the exclusive interview above.
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A UWM lecturer issued a statement Sunday after students discovered her Facebook comment about a soldier who was recently murdered.
U.S. Army soldier Vanessa Guillen was found bludgeoned to death, shortly after going missing from Fort Hood in Texas. Following her death, UWM lecturer Betsy Schoeller left a Facebook comment that lead students to start a petition against her.
The comment read, "You guys are kidding right? Sexual harassment is the price of admission for women into the good ole boy club. If you're gonna cry like a snowflake about it, you're gonna pay the price."
The petition to have Schoelle fired had nearly 70,000 signatures as of Saturday evening.
Now, however, that lecturer is apologizing and saying her words were misinterpreted.
"I did not mean to imply that this is how I feel. I was giving voice to the messaging that women hear in the culture of sexual harassment," wrote Schoeller in a statement. "I am shocked and saddened that my original post was interpreted out of context."
Within her statement, Schoeller offered her condolences to the family of Guillen and said, "I do not believe in or support sexual harassment. Quite the opposite. I’ve seen the toll it takes on individuals and entire units. But I know it’s still here. Because SPC Guillen is not here."
Prior to the statement, however, UWM and the Wisconsin National Guard made their own comment regarding Schoeller's post.
UWM said Schoeller's comments are "repugnant and terribly at odds with UWM’s values. UWM in no way condones Ms. Schoeller's comments, and we understand and empathize with the outrage and concerns we are hearing."
The Wisconsin National Guard weighed in on the situation because Schoeller is a retired member of the National Guard.
They said, "We were made aware of tasteless and insensitive comments made on social media regarding this situation by a former member of the Wisconsin National Guard who retired in 2017. That individual’s comments and conduct are inconsistent with our values as an organization, and we do not condone them in any way."
UWM has not yet issued any further comment on Schoeller or her statement.
