University of Wisconsin News and Media Relations Director Meredith McGlone sent The Badger Herald a statement from students involved in the posting of signs last Thursday.
According to the statement, signs posted at various locations on campus were not meant to spread hate or fear. They were created to bring attention to issues experienced by students of color and other marginalized communities at UW.
‘UW 4 Whites Only’ poster taped to Science Hall sign overnight
The statement said the students apologize for anyone negatively affected by the signs. They said they did not mean to cause any pain to people of color.
At the end of the statement the students said UW needs to make changes in order to make the campus more welcoming.
Unidentified students posted six signs around campus last week in an effort to raise awareness to racial disparities on campus.
A copy of the statement can be found below.
“A statement to the campus community
First, we would like to start by apologizing to all of the people that were negatively affected by the sign posted on Science Hall. We want to assure you that the sign ‘UW 4 Whites Only’ was not a hateful message. It was a critical statement in a series of other messages critiquing university spaces. We never meant to cause fear or any additional pain for people of color. When creating these posters, we simply wanted to defy the constant silencing and harm being done to Black students, students of color, and those most marginalized by this university and society. We feel you and we are truly sorry for any hurt that we have caused.
We posted six signs – one in College Library, one on the Science Hall sign, one at the 80 bus stop, two at Memorial Union, and one outside of the McBurney Center. The messages were as follows: ‘I’m Tired of Teaching my Teachers,’ ‘UW 4 Whites Only,’ ‘Complete Hysteria,’ ‘UW Doesn’t Care About Black People,’ ‘UW Doesn’t Care About Trans People,’ and ‘UW Doesn’t Care About Disabled People.’
UW keeps talking about what home is and how they have built a campus for students to love. Until UW makes the changes that need to be made, this campus will continue to be less welcoming for underrepresented students and students of color.”
