Open letter to UW-Madison leaders calls for action following attack on international student near campus

After the Madison Police Department concluded a recent attack on an international doctoral student was not racially motivated, an open letter from a group of Asian students, professors and teaching assistants is calling for the University of Wisconsin-Madison urge the department and the Dane County District Attorney’s office to investigate more thoroughly.

The student was attacked Tuesday by a group of people while walking near campus. A Madison Police Department report states the student was kicked and punched by a group of men who continued the attack after the student fell to the ground. The student told Madison police nothing was taken during the incident.

The report stated this was the “third battery of this type to occur in the downtown area within the past two weeks.”

On Saturday, police announced four people, including a 15-year-old, were arrested in connection with the Tuesday attack.

A UW-Madison statement posted two days after the incident stated administrators were “deeply concerned” about the recent acts of violence and aggression against students near campus.

“Initial reports came from members of our Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi American communities, and we are aware that in recent years these communities have faced increased threats to their safety, well-being, and sense of belonging,” said the statement.

The following day, another UW-Madison statement was issued that cited reports from city police indicating the attack did not appear racially motivated. It also stated that two prior assaults cited by police did not involve UW-Madison students and involved victims “from various backgrounds.”

“While we don’t have evidence these incidents were motivated by race, we know that each time incidents like these occur, it has an impact on the well-being of all our students, and particularly our Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi American students, faculty, and staff, and other communities of color,” said the statement. “We are committed to creating a safe community at UW–Madison where everyone feels they belong, and we know we have more work to do.”

The incident occurred at a time when hate crimes against Asian people have been increasing around the nation. A report from the Pew Research Center released last month showed about a third of Asian Americans were changing their daily routines because of concerns about racially-motivated harassment and attacks.

An open letter, shared by the Associated Students of Madison student government association, signaled frustration at the conclusion that the international student attack and other recent incidents were not racially motivated.

“Therefore, we call on the University to communicate with University Police, Madison Police, and Dane County District Attorney’s Office and urge them to investigate the case more thoroughly, fairly, and swiftly,” said the letter. “We demand immediate clarification, apologies from the responsible administrators regarding this judgment, and update this judgment.”

The letter continues by calling for misconduct investigations and sanctions if any of the attackers were students or affiliated with UW-Madison in any way.

Finally, the letter calls for “a systematic measure to prevent the occurrence of similar events” and development of a mandatory online course for students faculty and staff to learn more about diversity, equity and inclusion.

Meghan Savaglia is the press office director for the Associated Students of Madison student government association. She told Wisconsin Public Radio the campus student body is concerned about harassment and assaults against members of the Asian community on campus.

“And this recent violence against an Asian student is kind of what I see as a tipping point for a lot of people within the international community and within the Asian community on campus,” said Savaglia.

Savaglia said the Associated Students of Madison were holding an emergency meeting Monday evening to discuss the attack and response from police and administrators.

“Many students from this community were disappointed with the response from the university in regard to this, especially after multiple incidents that occurred since the COVID-19 pandemic had begun,” Savaglia said.

A UW-Madison spokesperson told WPR that he didn’t have enough information to address the letter at the moment but indicated members of the university’s senior leadership would attend the student government meeting.

Editor’s note: Wisconsin Public Radio is a service of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.