A swastika was projected on the outside of University of Wisconsin-Whitewater dorm Sunday night by a group of people chanting racist remarks, according to Chancellor Corey King.
The group of four people were also lighting what appeared to be road flares.
Footage posted on Facebook showed four people dressed in red and black bellowing: “We are everywhere. There will be blood, blood, blood” and saying a comment about “white men.”
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UW-Whitewater police responded around 5:40 p.m. Sunday, King wrote in a letter to parents and students. King said there is no reason to believe there is a current threat on campus or that the group is affiliated with UW-Whitewater.
“In an abundance of caution, we have increased police patrol on campus,” King said. He said counseling services are available to students.
“The actions of the group last night are abhorrent and go against our core values. At UW-Whitewater, we strive to create a safe community where everyone feels a sense of belonging,” King wrote. “I know this incident is disturbing and has impacted members of our university community.
Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman said he shares King’s outrage over the incident at UW-Whitewater calling it “appalling and disturbing.”
Whitewater recently received national media attention after the local police chief called on President Joe Biden and other politicians to provide aid to the city because of a rapid increase in immigration to the community.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, condemned the UW-Whitewater incident and urged campus security to ensure it does not happen again.
“Local law enforcement should also investigate to determine whether this hateful incident violated any laws and take appropriate action,” CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said in a statement.
There have been a string of string of antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents reported on college campuses since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October.
The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights opened investigations into at least a half-dozen U.S. colleges and universities and a local school district.
The schools include Cornell University, Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, Lafayette College, Wellesley College, the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and the Maize Unified School District in Kansas.
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