Hate crimes on University of Wisconsin campuses grabbed headlines late in 2010, most notably at Whitewater and Platteville. Madison media paid most attention to the three hate crimes reported this past semester at the Whitewater campus, but students at Platteville reported more than two dozen similar incidents in the fall semester.
The occurrences at the two campuses included verbal threats, vandalism, graffiti and physical violence directed at students because of their ethnic and sexual backgrounds.
A hate crime is defined as “the violence of intolerance and bigotry intended to hurt and intimidate someone because of their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or disability,” according to the National Justice Service.
Numbers indicate that this is a problem that has been going on for quite some time and is only getting worse. As recently as 2007, Platteville had four reports of hate related crimes, three of which were racially motivated, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
In 2005, three different UW campuses reported hate crimes. La Crosse reported one ethnicity-based hate crime, while Parkside reported two hate crimes (race and religion). UW-Madison made the list as well, with one sexual orientation-related hate crime.
With these occurrences, there is an enormous impact, not just on individuals, but society as well. There are students who are emotionally affected by them, even on campuses where such incidents haven’t been reported.
“It definitely happens. We’ve had more bias-related incidents,” said Serena Knowles, a student at UW-Oshkosh.
Knowles is in her fourth year as a student at Oshkosh. At Oshkosh, she is the president of the Rainbow Alliance for Helping Others Perceive Equality (HOPE).
Incidents relating to bias toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community happen more often than people realize, according to Knowles. Without detailing the exact events, Knowles recalls an incident she refers to as a “biased incident” from the 2009-2010 school year that left her “uncomfortable.”
“It was hard to have an immediate reaction,” Knowles said. “But, then there was a feeling that there are more people who are supportive.”
While the incidents have a profoundly negative effect on the people involved, Knowles said the attention such incidents receive serves to educate others.
“It’s positive because it builds awareness. (The incidents) at Whitewater make people more aware,” Knowles said. “It can happen on our campus if we don’t stop it from happening.”
Hate crimes on campus may be a reflection of what’s happening in society as a whole.
In 2009, six hate crimes were reported in Dane County, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Three of those incidents were in result of the victim’s sexual orientation and two were because of race (one was related to religion). In Wisconsin’s largest metropolitan area, Milwaukee, there were 16 recorded hate crimes.
Awareness may help the matter to a certain extent, but the consequences of anti-gay or anti-bisexual behavior are severe. One out of every three homosexual students is physically harassed about their sexual orientation, according to the National Mental Health Association. Those who are harassed are two- to three-times more likely to commit suicide. Due to harassment, 28 percent drop out of school.
In statement released in November, the UW System committed itself to “a shared sense of civility” and pulling together against atrocities like the ones that have arisen recently.
“Everyone has a right to his or her own opinion, and everyone else has a right to challenge that opinion-with evidence and respect,” the statement said. “Nobody has a right to engage in abusive behavior, and we each have an obligation to challenge that kind of conduct whenever it occurs on our campus or in our communities.”