Two men were charged with disorderly conduct as a hate crime and bail jumping on the night of Friday, Sept. 24 in the campus area.
Jefrrey W. Scheidegger, 20, and Jeffrey M. Jalinski, 19, both of Madison, were at the corner of North Park Street adjacent to the Memorial Union bus stop a little after midnight. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, the two men had their faces painted green and one was holding a gruesome looking plastic skull covered in food debris and fruit seeds.
The two men allegedly confronted a young Asian couple and yelled at them to speak English.
University of Wisconsin Junior and Asian American Student Union member Amy Eng said Saturday’s hate crime concerns her.
“It is definitely one … example of things that do happen to Asian Americans,” Eng said. “And sometimes it isn’t recognized as a hate crime, but to the Asian American community, it scares us.”
Eng said assaults make the AASU want to take further action to help students stand up for their unalienable rights.
“Things like these do happen whether or not they are subtle or direct attacks and it’s something we need to stand up to,” Eng said.
The preliminary hearing for the Saturday night crime is scheduled for Thursday Sep 30.
Both of the accused have spent time in the Dane County Court system before.
Scheidegger has a previous list of accusations in the judicial system. In August 2003, the district attorney charged Scheidegger with resisting or obstructing an officer. Following the incident, in October 2003, Scheidegger was charged with unlawful entry onto lands of another.
Currently, Scheidegger is awaiting an Oct 18 court date for charges of disorderly conduct, resisting or obstructing an officer, and battery to law officers/fire fighters.
Jalinski was charged in May 2004 with bail jumping and disorderly conduct.
Eng suggested education might be the best prevention for hate crimes.
“Educating people on diversity issues and respect is important,” Eng said. “We need to be conscious about it and have a responsibility as a community and students.”
Scheidegger currently lives in Madison and Jalinski has no permanent address. Neither of the men are UW students.
