A disturbing trend is spreading across Wisconsin. Students in the UW system are acting out violently and targeting specific minorities. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, there have been nine reported hate crimes across six UW four-year universities this year compared to the one reported in 2008.
And these are just the reported ones. Some violent incidents are not even considered hate crimes, but rather non-criminal offensive acts, as deemed by university officials. For example, seven incidents at UW-Stout and 22 at UW-Platteville were reported as ""extraordinary"" incidents.
What is causing this increase in reported hate crimes? Some experts blame it on this year's heated elections and the poor economy. They think the nastiness of the past year has given students a reason to lash out violently.
I disagree with this completely. If it were the case we would have seen an increase in hate crimes nationally, but we don't. It's occurring mainly in the UW school system. This means that the violence is originating from a different source and I have some theories.
I'm thinking more about the concentration of small town, conservative students. Considering how many UW students come from small towns, it's likely the system has a lot of conservative students. And Wisconsin consists of many small towns, which tend to have conservative viewpoints. I think the non-diverse student population contributes to the increase of hate crimes. Some students may not understand other cultures due to a lack of exposure as a kid.
Another theory is the relative absence of diversity programs in these schools. Compared to the Madison campus, the diversity programs at the other UW schools fall short. This contributes to students violently acting out. That's not to say that the diversity programs are nonexistent, but rather they aren't as effective.
In response to the increase in hate crimes, UW schools have offered ideas to solve the problem. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, the schools have increased the presence of diversity events and rallies. Some students have even suggested mandatory diversity training for incoming freshmen. Clearly the schools recognize the issue and are working to fix it. I'm glad they have the humility to admit that they have a problem. For that, I say kudos.
I would also like to give our school a tip of my hat because UW-Madison hasn't had a single reported hate crime this year. Our required ethnic studies class and high numbers of out of state and international students are critical to campus diversity. I am glad to see that our extensive programs are working so effectively and I hope that they continue to work for years to come.
Nick Fritz is a sophomore majoring in marketing. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
