Over the past week, the University of Wisconsin has received 16 bias incident reports.
In comparison, there were 66 incidents reported in the entire first half of 2016.
A UW statement said many communities and college campuses have reported an increase in incidents of threatening behavior towards individuals based on race, ethnicity, national origin and political affiliation — and UW is not an exception.
One of the recent incidents, located off-campus, escalated to a physical attack. The report included the statement “go back to where you came from.”
The person reported anonymously to the university and did not want law enforcement to be contacted.
“We’re sharing this information to remind all Badgers that we need to treat one another with respect and decency,” the release said.
This is the process of reporting a hate, bias incident at UW
The university encourages members of the community to speak up when others are being mistreated.
To report a bias incident, students, faculty and staff can file a report at www.students.wisc.edu/reportbias.