Guest column: Racist graffiti needs UW-P action

By • November 12, 2009 • Category: Uncategorized
I have been a student here at UW-Platteville since September of 2005. I consider myself a part of this campus and community, and I find it ridiculous and ignorant for someone to write racial slurs or comments throughout dorm rooms or anywhere else on campus. I am a student of color and I do not find this in any way acceptable or excusable. I am very angry and irritated that this type of nonsense is still going on today. Since I have been a student here on this campus for four years, I know for a fact that this is not the first time an incident like this has occurred. I also know that little has been done about it.

The administration needs to take this more seriously because the school as a whole can lose incoming students, as well as enrolled students. The person or persons who wrote the N-word throughout these dorms needs to face consequences because it is as if they are getting away with murder. I do not feel that these racist acts, both old and new, have been approached and dealt with in a manner that our student body feels appropriate.

I do not only blame the person(s) who did this, I blame the administration. They have not taken approaches to truly inform and emphasize to the people who are racist that they will face consequences for their behavior, and that this type of behavior is not tolerated at UW-P. I feel that if this continues and nothing is done, it can lead to other things that will make students of color feel as though no justice will ever come.

If our own administration cannot do anything about it, who will? Without consequences behind these racist acts, what will have to happen next before the administration really steps in? Someone being beaten? Killed? You tell me!

-Shaquita Smith