UW-La Crosse Planning Conversation On Sexual Violence After Suggestive Banner Targets Freshmen

Students and community members continue to voice their concerns about an inappropriate banner hung near the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse campus last week.

During move-in week at UW-La Crosse, a group displayed a sexually suggestive message targeting the university’s freshmen at an off-campus apartment. Pictures of the banner have since gone viral on social media.

UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow called the banner inappropriate and problematic, but said the students involved did not break any laws or policies.

“Our police went over and investigated and made sure there were no genuine safety issues, and by that point, the banner had been taken down,” Gow said. “It’s off campus, and it’s the students right to put that up if they want to.”

But Gow said he is glad so many people have spoken out against the banner’s message.

“That’s what we’re here to educate our students to do is, when they see something that is not appropriate, that they express their views on it too and have a counter conversation,” Gow said.

Student Association President Jacob Schimmel described most UW-La Crosse students as angry and embarrassed by the incident.

“They want something out of this, they want a conclusion to this,” Schimmel said.

Schimmel said the student association and campus administration are working to host a campus conversation on sexual violence.

And he says La Crosse’s campus is not the only campus struggling to address sexual violence.

“It’s always going to be a problem, and so it always needs to be addressed, and it needs to be addressed not just in reaction to events like this, but addressed proactively,” Schimmel said.