The University of Whitewater experienced its third hate crime of the semester late Monday night.

Three cars owned by black students had their tires slashed and the letters “KKK” spray painted onto them, according to a statement from Chancellor Richard Telfer.

This incident comes after a female UW-Whitewater student was punched in the face by a man and called a “fag” for wearing a t-shirt which said “Legalize Gay” on Sept. 26. Another incident occurred on Nov. 7, where a female student was held up against a fence by a male student who made a derogatory statement about her sexual orientation.

“I am dismayed by this incident and the two other hate crimes that have occurred. These are senseless acts of violence perpetrated against our community and they must stop,” Telfer said in a statement. “This type of behavior cannot be tolerated on the UW-Whitewater campus.”

UW-Whitewater University Police Chief Matthew Kiederlen said they do not have any suspects for the three crimes.

Kiederlen said they are asking the public for help in identifying the suspects.

“Someone somewhere knows something about these incidents, it’s a part of the reason we are being very public about this,” Kiederlen said.

Kiederlen said they did not believe it was the same suspects in the three crimes because the descriptions of the assailants for the first two incidents did not match. He added the last crime also did not fit with the profile of the first two.

He stressed these incidents did not reflect the UW-Whitewater community, which he said is very open and embraces everyone. He added they did not want to be known for these incidents.

UW-Whitewater will be hosting several meetings between faculty, staff and student leaders to discuss the incidents on campus, according to the statement.

The university is also making sure its counseling services are available to the victims of these crimes and any students who feel they are in danger on campus should contact the university police.

“I know the majority of the UW-Whitewater community joins me in denouncing these acts and will take steps to end this destructive behavior,” Telfer said in the statement.