Chancellor Rebecca Blank and Athletic Director Barry Alvarez released a joint statement Tuesday in which they committed to keeping controversial costumes out of Camp Randall.
An individual was seen at the UW Badgers football game at Camp Randall Saturday wearing a President Barack Obama mask, which they later exchanged for one of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and a noose tied around their neck. In the statement, Blank and Alvarez said the noose symbolizes a distasteful form of racial hatred.
“A noose displayed in this fashion has no place on campus,” Blank and Alvarez said. “Together, the Athletics Department and the University’s Office of Legal Affairs are initiating a review of stadium policies with the goal of ensuring that symbols of this type are not displayed in our stadium again.”
UW Athletics released a statement shortly after the game Saturday ended that was criticized by members of the UW-Madison community. People argued that the individual should have been ejected from the game as opposed to being asked to remove their mask. The individual did leave the stadium on their own after switching to a Clinton mask.
The statement said that both the Athletics Department and university administration have listened to the responses. They noted they believe the incident has added to the issues UW-Madison has experienced regarding campus climate, but they will take precautions to ensure that offensives symbols such as the costume are not prohibited from the stadium.
“Together, we will continue to strive to make UW-Madison a place where all Badgers can thrive,” Blank and Alvarez said.
