Education

Should colleges allow ‘pro white student clubs’ on campus

A student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison wants to start a club for white students to combat what he calls racism against them. The student served time in a federal prison for setting two black churches on fire. (Photo by Jeff Miller/UW-Madison)
A student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison wants to start a club for white students to combat what he calls racism against them. The student served time in a federal prison for setting two black churches on fire. (Photo by Jeff Miller/UW-Madison)
By Maureen Downey
Jan 27, 2017

The presidential election saw the coalescence of a new political group, the “alt-right,” described most often as an offshoot of conservatism mixing racism, white nationalism and populism.

Now, college campuses are seeing the alt-right as well.

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a student is seeking to start an alt-right group on the campus. The student is a 33-year-old man who served time in a federal prison for the racially motivated arson of two African-American churches in 2005. In a video pitch to fellow students, he explains he wants to start a “pro white student club” to combat “anti-white racism.”

Concerned over the student’s past and his plan to launch an alt-white group at the school, UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank sent out a message to the campus Thursday, sparking a discussion about the appropriate response to such a request.

To read more, go to the AJC Get Schooled blog.

About the Author

Maureen Downey has written editorials and opinion pieces about local, state and federal education policy since the 1990s.

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