Student government representatives released a statement Thursday night attacking Chancellor Rebecca Blank’s response to the revelation that an “alt-right” campus leader committed two acts of racially motivated arson in 2005.
Daniel Dropik, a 33-year-old student and the founder of the Madison American Freedom Party, served prison time for setting two predominantly black churches on fire. After this news came to light, Blank released a statement denouncing Dropik’s crimes and called the Freedom Party a “recognized hate group.”
“I am appalled by attacks on churches and by organizations that express hatred of people of color, Jews, Muslims or any other identity,” Blank said. “I’ve been heartened to see many students state their strong disagreement with the views of [the American Freedom Party].”
Blank went on the explain that the UW System does not consider a student’s criminal history in the admissions process. Due to the outcry over this situation, however, Blank said she will discuss a review of this policy with the Board of Regents.
“We also will not tolerate harassment, threats, hate crimes or violence against any student,” Blank said.
Associated Students of Madison representatives Carmen Goséy, Katrina Morrison and Brooke Evans took issue with Blank’s statement, particularly the chancellor’s assertion that Dropik does not pose a safety threat to campus.
“We will not be silent about the safety concerns this student poses to our respective identities and the campus community,” the letter reads. “Chancellor Blank’s statement is a testament to how administrators outwardly show a lack of verbal and systematic support for students of color or minority identities.”
The students also rebuked Blank’s suggestion that criminal records may be considered in UW System admissions, a move they argued would harm students of color and would not alleviate racism.
“The practice of considering criminal history in admissions [is] unnecessary and discriminatory,” Evans said in the statement. “I’m not concerned about how he got here—I know how easy it is for majority students to get here. What I’m concerned about is why he’s still a student here?”
The letter concluded with a demand that Blank call the American Freedom Party a “white supremacy group” and create policies that will truly address racism on campus.
Friday afternoon, Blank sent a letter to UW System President Ray Cross addressing the drawbacks of considering criminal history in admissions.
"I am committed to expanding access to underrepresented students, including students of color, as well as low-income and first-generation students," Blank wrote. "I do not believe a felony conviction should be an automatic bar to admission."
Still, Blank said there are "risks to remaining entirely ignorant of an applicant's felony record."
"I believe it is appropriate now to engage in a broad discussion with stakeholders about how we balance campus safety ... with the rights of students who have committed violent crimes," she said.
Blank concluded the letter by saying she is "looking forward" to discussing the matter further.
Noah Habenstreit contributed to this report.
UPDATE Jan. 27 3:51 p.m.: This report was updated to include additional information.
