Just three days after UW-Stevens Point students and community members painted a rainbow crosswalk on campus, university police are investigating reports of its vandalism.
The rainbow crosswalk, the first permanent one in the state outside of Milwaukee, was a collaboration between UW-Stevens Point Student Government Association, the City of Stevens Point and Mayor Mike Wiza, WAOW.com reported. The students and community leaders created the crosswalk to show support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Someone intentionally spun their tires on the crosswalk, doing burnouts, leaving black streaks over the rainbow stripes, the Stevens Point Journal reported. There were two incidents of vandalism Wednesday, one at 6:30 p.m. and one at 11:30 p.m.
UW-Stevens Point Police have video of both incidents and identified two suspects. The investigation is focusing on disorderly conduct with a motor vehicle charges.
UW-Stevens Point doesn’t currently have a camera specifically pointed at the intersection where the crosswalk is located, but it plans to set one up to prevent future incidents, the Stevens Point Journal reported.
The university and the city are discussing the best time to repaint the crosswalk, Wiza told the Stevens Point Journal.
Wiza said he appreciated the university police’s quick response to the vandalism and intends “to encourage them to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
“We will not tolerate this kind of behavior toward any citizen,” he said. “Any acts of hate, especially violence, will not be tolerated.”
Wiza also attended the painting of the pride crosswalk Monday, where he explained the significance of supporting the LGBTQ+ community with a public space.
“We have a Veteran’s Park, we have Cultural Commons, we have other items that recognize different segments of our community, so this is just another one of those symbols kind of bringing light — to let people know that everyone is welcome here in Stevens Point,” Wiza told WAOW.
UW-Stevens Point SGA Inclusivity Director Christopher Benny said Monday that the crosswalk isn’t the end of the group’s work for the LGBTQ+ community, but instead just a step.
“The goal for the crosswalk when we put it all together was not to say, ‘Hey, we are done doing all the work we need to make this place more inclusive,’” Benny told WZAW. “This is part of us showing public support and keep the conversation going.”
The crosswalk has eight colors, representing the Philadelphia pride flag, a road sign beside the crosswalk explains.
A black stripe honors the victims of the AIDS epidemic, and a brown stripe highlights the contributions and erasure of people of color in the pride movement. The meaning of the remaining six colors comes from pride flag creator Gilbert Baker’s original design: red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, blue for serenity and purple for spirit.
