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Two teens punch Union employees
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by Pedro Oliveira Jr.
Monday, November 19, 2007
An innocent game may have turned violent at the Memorial
Union Saturday when a building manager was allegedly punched and kicked several
times by two young males.
University of Wisconsin junior Tony Uhl, who works at the
Memorial Union information desk, said he noticed an unusual disturbance in the
entrance of the Union involving a group of people probably in their late teens
or early 20s.
"After the event, there was a large group hanging out by the
Daily Scoop, where you get creamer for coffee," Uhl said. "They started
throwing sugar packs at each other. Building manager Brian Falkowski asked them
to stop — they didn't."
Uhl said Falkowski waited a few minutes and went back to ask
them to stop one more time.
"Those two guys got up in his
face, pressed him against the wall and started punching him. He fell on the
ground, and they started kicking him," Uhl said. "They hit him a few times, and
they tried to walk away. They walked past me and asked, 'You got a problem?'"
Uhl responded by saying he was
just "going to help his friend," when the attackers turned simultaneously and
punched him in the face.
"I never saw it happening," Uhl
said. "They caught me right below the ear on the cheekbone."
The men were allegedly attending an event at the Rathskeller
— a battle of producers called "Feel the Beat" — where DJs played for 60
seconds and were judged by a panel of three celebrity judges, according to UW
sophomore Claire-Elizabeth Van Fossen, part of the MultiCultural Student
Coalition administrative staff.
Van Fossen said the event was full, but did not hear
anything about the outside disruptions.
Union policy states people present in the building must
either be students or Union members, and they must present proper
identification in order to be in the building. But that night, students were
allowed to bring guests to the event, and it was unclear whether or not the
attackers were UW System students or Madison residents.
The two attackers were described as black males, about 5
feet 10 inches tall and no more than 18 or 19 years old, Uhl said.
UWPD arrived at the scene a few minutes after the two men
left and questioned a group of girls who were allegedly with the attackers
during the sugar-packet tossing. According to Uhl, the girls did not have IDs,
but said they were not UW students.
Union director of communications Marc Kennedy said Memorial
Union has no regular security officer on duty, and normally UWPD "sweeps
through in their regular route, unless there is a big event where they think
there's a lot of people going to be there."
A UWPD officer was not available for comment as of press
time.
Anonymous (November 19, 2007 @ 8:51am):
Well that was nice of the multicultural association to let the sheltered students experience a different culture: violent, black, urban thug culture. The rest of us out in the real world encounter it every day.
Anonymous (November 19, 2007 @ 11:11am):
Hmmm, now do we wonder why the UWPD is restrictive of hip-hop culture on campus. And do we wonder why the city of Madison is more restrictive on bars/clubs that have hip-hop nights? Case in point - they culture brings violence and disregard for public safety.
Anonymous (November 19, 2007 @ 11:40am):
I bet it was Jason Smathers!
Anonymous (November 19, 2007 @ 12:39pm):
how is this newsworthy? people get punched all over this campus. suck it up.
Anonymous (November 19, 2007 @ 1:01pm):
I love how those who make broad generalized comments are too scared to let people know who they are and mark it as Anonymous.
Anonymous (November 19, 2007 @ 1:01pm):
I heard about this event and know that the incident that took place happened almost an hour after the event was finished, around a quater past 1am. The union building is supposed to be closed by then anyway, I don't even know what those guys were doing there. I've noticed that these multicultural groups always get the blame for incidents not related to their events.
To respond to the "urban..black...violent" comment. I was present at that event where many people who would be deemed "urban, black, and violent" packed Der Rathskeller in support of a good event where no violence took place. Not to mention that there were others there who were "Urban" & non black. There had to be at least 300 people at that event throughout the night and there were no problems. The only problem I saw during the event was a drunken white man being carted away by security, during which he almost wrecked some lights, which were union property. It sucks that 2 idiots ruin it for everyone. Especially for unfairly targeted minority populations on and off campus.
Anonymous (November 19, 2007 @ 1:34pm):
in regards to "I heard about this event and know that the incident that took place happened almost an hour after the event was finished, around a quater past 1am. The union building is supposed to be closed by then anyway, I don't even know what those guys were doing there. I've noticed that these multicultural groups always get the blame for incidents not related to their events."... get your facts straight. The Union closes at 2am EVERY friday and saturday night.. not 1am.. this incident happened at midnight, right as the event was ending. While it is true that the event itself was very successful and overall there were few problems, this is a big isssue. noone should have to feel unsafe while at work. I am not saying that this doesnt happen every day in the "real world", it does. This is no reason for it not to be a big deal.
There have been problems with MCSC events in the past. This doesnt mean that we should get rid of these events. What needs to happen is the Union needs to figure out a better way to ensure the safety of all students who attend its events. Why are we allowing people from outside of our campus to ruin events for us students. I am greatly troubled by both the problems that are occuring as well as where the blame is getting placed.
Anonymous (November 19, 2007 @ 2:34pm):
the union does not close until 2am on saturday nights. so everyone had every right to be there.
to the comment about sucking it up- it's a big deal when student employees are attacked late at night. Especially when their attackers were unprovoked and there was no alcohol involved. that is the difference. one of the reasons that building stays open as late as it does is because its intended to shield students from a violent or hostile atmosphere that could be encountered on a drunk-filled state st. to provide a safe and warm place to students to congregate.
Anonymous (November 19, 2007 @ 3:03pm):
I have seen white people fight and do dumb things all the time....and no one says that white culture is violent! I am apart of the MCSC and the events on campus weren't at all related to the event. Funny how I have been at mostly white events and seen all sorts of violence but no ever blames the whites or put their race in the news paper...great job Badger Herald once again.. for being one sided!
Anonymous (November 19, 2007 @ 6:23pm):
How many times do you hear of people getting mugged or assaulted randomly by white people?
People here are simply stating that there is a trend of attacks by non-UW student blacks. Way to play the victim though, MCSC member.
Anonymous (November 19, 2007 @ 7:26pm):
You can really tell no one commenting works at the MU. Seriously though? No matter what race or age you are, punching somone in the middle of a public place OVER SUGAR PACKETS is ridiculous.
Anonymous (November 19, 2007 @ 8:12pm):
This should NOT be a race issue. I understand how people think that it is, and maybe some intend it to be seen as one, but in this case it is not.
the issue should be the safety of student workers, who work late at night to keep student areas open and running. They should not be attacked for doing their job. IT DOESNT MATTER WHO ATTACKED THEM. IT MATTERS THAT THEY WERE ATTACKED. it is a shame that this happend at an event that was co-hosted by the MCSC, but it still would be an issue if it was hosted by any student group.
I am not in any way denying the fact that we face huge amounts of racism every day.
What i mainly want to put forth is that in this incident, we should be focused on how to keep ALL student employees safe at night, in ALL situations.
Anonymous (November 19, 2007 @ 10:11pm):
How the fuck is the BH doing something wrong? lol. they just reported wtf happened.
Anonymous (November 19, 2007 @ 10:24pm):
In response to: November 19, 2007 @ 3:03pm
"Dumb white fighting" is the type of drunken behavior that all races on campus participate in. It's pretty standard fare for anyone who can't handle themselves while they drink. That is an alcohol issue that needs to be solved in various ways, but is unfortunately a part of the overall college culture here, regardless of ethnicity.
The difference is that with these random muggings and rapes there are no drugs involved. They've also become more and more frequent and are starting to occur in broad daylight. Some examples? The rash of muggings by the Open Pantry on Regent, the mugging at the South Transfer Point, and the rapes that were covered on the front page of the BH today.
In most of these cases that have come up in the past couple years, the suspects have always been described as being "black males in their 20's". Simply telling the truth isn't being one-sided.
If you really want to talk about one-sidedness, how about the incident at Ed's a couple years ago where a manager was accused of being racist and there was a gigantic protest. That went well, especially when the students doing the accusing changed their story when they found out there was camera footage of the incident.
Anonymous (November 20, 2007 @ 2:02pm):
If the students who protested the ED's incident were not right about the behavior of the employee, why does University Housing now have mandatory diversity training which was implemented specifically after the ED's incident as a way to remedy the problem?
At the end of the day, people are going to use whatever venue they can to say how they really feel about people of color. I think that the Union workers should not have been hit. I'd also like to see a copy of the police report to see when this incident really happened. If the incident happened 30-60 minutes after the event, then the event is not to blame, the KIDS that made the stupid decision to hit the workers are to blame. Also, no there haven't been problems with MCSC events in the past. There has never been any incidents with MCSC events so get your facts straight to Anonymous 1:34pm.
At the end of the day, our campus needs to have some real discussions about how internalized racism has become on this campus and in this community. Additionally, it's always a conversation about sides. The only side we need to take is a collective one about collaboration, communication and creating a community we all can live with.
Blake Comer (November 20, 2007 @ 2:39pm):
In response to the comment about Hip Hip Culture being violent and having a disregard for public safety, I think that the same thing could be said for the United States of America. The problem is since the dominant culture is white it becomes easier to look at the minority groups and make value judgements.
I work at the Union, I know one of individuals hurt, I consider him a good friend....oh and I am black too, who would have thought.
What we are face with is behavior patterns. You cannot stop an idiot from making stupid decisions, no matter what you think about race. Everyone has been on State street and have seen people of all "races" doing dumb sometimes violent things. I was a witness to the shooting on state street back in the summer involving two white males. The funny thing is, I never heard anyone say anything about, "Hey white culture is so violent", even though one white man shot and killed the other. Its sad that a few people are responsible for making an entire culture look bad, I guess one bad apple does spoil the bunch. Stop the fallacious thinking people!
I agree that the Union needs to do more to provide security. Cameras, a screening at the front door, or at least a full time toy cop would help in my opinion.
Anonymous (November 20, 2007 @ 9:58pm):
I appreciate the clarity of the last two comments! Thanks so much to you both. There is some level headed thinking amidst the muck. I also wish people would not hide behind anonymity when they want to spew hate. It really is a shame and cowardice. Also to the badger herald, please start reporting on all the incidents of violence that happen--including White crime. It would make for much more balanced reporting.
Katrina Flores
kbflore@wisc.edu
Anonymous (November 21, 2007 @ 12:12am):
First off, There has NEVER been a problem at MCSC events before, so get your facts straight. Second, this incident happened at least an hour after the MCSC event ended, I know because I was there. What happened was in no way, shape, or form, tied to MCSC.
Anonymous (November 25, 2007 @ 7:59pm):
As a member of the Madison hip hop community and as one of the producers who competed in the event that night, I am shocked that anyone who wasn't there would be so presumptuous as to try to analyze what happened. The majority of people who see hip hop as violent, anti-social, or even exclusively black for that matter are ignorant to the fact that since its beginning, hip hop was intended as a means of expression and mediation for those without a voice, of any age, gender, race or location. The fact that it has consistently attracted aggressive kids with something to prove is undeniable. However, the people who make up the Madison hip hop community are consistently talented, conscientious activists who not only create music but also create a space for racial and cultural dialogue in a state where people would just as soon stick to their inherited prejudices. So for those who see this as just another example of how hip hop breeds violence, you obviously weren't there on Saturday night to see why 300+ people of all different races and classes came together to have a good time. You aren't entitled to an opinion and you should educate yourself or shut the fuck up.
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