Posted 7:49 a.m. Monday, Aug. 31, 2020
UWL strongly condemns the use of police brutality in any of its forms
Last week, UWL leadership shared a message with the campus community regarding racial injustice, police brutality and recent events in Kenosha. You can read the full statement below.
Dear students and colleagues:
In yet another tragic and brutal act of violence against a Black person, the University of Wisconsin La Crosse is deeply concerned, and we are hopeful for Jacob Blake’s full recovery. To that end, we support and expect a full and through investigation of this incident. As we are still traumatized by the senseless killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others we are yet again reminded of the ways that violence against Black and brown bodies, impacts the very safety, security and in some ways the very existence of Blacks and other people of color. UWL strongly condemns the use of police brutality in any of its forms.
UWL is committed to continuing to work to gain the trust and support of our campus community as we prioritize initiatives to provide a safe and welcoming environment for our students, faculty, and staff. UWL’s University Police are actively engaged in training, working to make their policies and procedures more transparent and to be as responsive as possible when incidents occur. In addition, our University Police are working very closely with the La Crosse city police to jointly train and unite to make UWL and the city of La Crosse safe and welcoming for faculty, staff, and students of color.
In the days following all the tragic shooting throughout the country, you may be asking what can we as a predominately white campus do?
- We can recommit to making our campus as safe and welcoming as we can for underrepresented students.
- We can have honest, forthright conversations with one another about systemic racism, hate/bias, white supremacy, unnecessary police violence/force, and the ways that they are engrained in UWL’s history and the history of higher education.
To our Black and brown faculty, staff, and students, UWL stands with you. We are here to support you. Please feel free to reach out to the following offices:
- Counseling and Testing Center at 608.785.8073
- Student Life at studentlife@uwlax.edu
- Office of Multicultural Students Services (OMSS) at omss@uwlax.edu
- Campus Climate at campusclimate@uwlax.edu
- Student Support Services at sss@uwlax.edu
- Pride Center at pridecenter@uwlax.edu
- ACCESS Center at ACCESSCenter@uwlax.edu
- Upward Bound at upwardbound@uwlax.edu
- Faculty and staff who need support should use the Employee Assistance Program.
Together as a campus community we can and should come together to uplift and support one another. As we continue to strive to create change, have the difficult conversations, and confront racial injustice we can impact and mitigate the forces that seek to divide us.
Sincerely,
Joe Gow, Chancellor
Barbara Stewart, Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion
Betsy Morgan, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Bob Hetzel, Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance
Vitaliano Figueroa, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
Greg Reichert, Vice Chancellor for Advancement