• COVID-19 Resources
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Promotions
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • May 28, 2025

Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper

"THE NEWSPAPER YOU CAN TRUST SINCE 1964"

  • News
  • Editorials
  • Education
  • Urban Business
  • Health
  • Religion
  • Upcoming Events
  • Classifieds
EXCEPT WHERE INDICATED, THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ON THIS PAGE ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE MILWAUKEE COURIER

Share:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

What’s Wrong with UW-Madison?

May 4, 2018

Capitol Report

By State Representative, Leon D. Young

Leon D. Young

I came across what I consider to be a disturbing article recently. It’s now being reported that the University of Wisconsin Madison will not remove from campus buildings the names of well-known student leaders who were members of a campus Ku Klux Klan society in the early 1900s.

According to the article, a Klan group formed as an interfraternity society in 1919 included student body leaders Porter Butts and Frederic March, whose names are prominently displayed in the Memorial Union. Names of other Klan members are on campus facilities and around Madison.

Butts, who died in 1991, was given the university’s highest honor, the Distinguished Alumni Award, for service and commitment to the university. He helped design the buildings and programs for more than 100 student unions in the U.S. and around the world.

March, who died in 1975, was a Hollywood star of the 1930s and ‘40s – the only actor to win both an Academy Award and Tony Award twice. His best actor Oscars were for roles in “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and “The Best Years of Our Lives.”

A report from a campus study group acknowledged the compelling argument in favor of removing segregationist names and replacing them with others who made major contributions but did not hold such views. Rather than removing their names from campus buildings, the university has vowed to make “amends” through education. More specifically, the university plans to commit more resources toward recruiting students of color, retaining and graduating them, and making the campus more welcoming to them.

On its face, this all sounds well and good, but let’s examine the track record of the university system’s premier campus. UW-Madison ranks dead last in the Big Ten for its percentage of African-American students. Although, African Americans constitutes 6.6% of the state’s residents, only 3% of the flagship university’s student body identifies as African American. Moreover, this is not a recent development. In truth, African American student have always been woefully under-represented on the UW campus, which suggests a systemic problem that needs to be addressed.

Furthermore, it’s no secret that Wisconsin has been, and continues to be, one of the worst places for people of color in the entire country. And, UW’s tepid commitment to diversity and inclusion is a mere microcosm of the repressive nature that besets the state.

It’s important to mention that not everyone has opted to look the other way regarding this contentious issue. One of the Big Ten’s more enlightened institutions has adopted a more proactive response in putting its segregated past to rest. The University of Michigan Board of Regents voted last month to rename two buildings whose names honor a former president and a former professor, both with racist legacies. In addition to renaming buildings, the governing board created a process to review names of individuals whose history might make them inappropriate to be honored.

In my view, UW’s unwillingness to remove and rename campus buildings that honor individuals that held racist views quite frankly is an insult. More importantly, it sends the wrong message to students of color, who the university (in one breath) alleges that it’s trying to promote a more welcoming school environment.

Here’s the bottom line. UW-Madison can’t have it both ways: purporting to be a welcoming place for students of color on the one hand, while publicly showcasing disturbing reminders of its segregated past on the other. This leads one to ask: What’s wrong with UW-Madison?

Share:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Popular Interests In This Article: CAPITOL REPORT, Leon D Young

Read More - Related Articles

  • What’s Your New Year’s Resolution for 2019?
  • It’s Totally Unbelievable
  • Are the Walls Finally Closing in on Trump?
  • It’s an Absolute and Utter DISGRACE!!!
  • Trump’s Continuing Border Madness
Become Our Fan On Facebook
Find Us On Facebook


Follow Us On X
Follow Us On X

Editorials

Lakeshia Myers
Michelle Bryant
Dr. Kweku Akyirefi Amoasi formerly known as Dr. Ramel Smith

Journalists

Karen Stokes

Topics

Health Care & Wellness
Climate Change
Upcoming Events
Obituaries
Milwaukee NAACP

Politicians

David Crowley
Cavalier Johnson
Marcelia Nicholson
Governor Tony Evers
President Joe Biden
Vice President Kamala Harris
Former President Barack Obama
Gwen Moore
Milele A. Coggs
Spencer Coggs

Classifieds

Job Openings
Bid Requests
Req Proposals
Req Quotations
Apts For Rent

Contact Us

Milwaukee Courier
2003 W. Capitol Dr.
Milwaukee, WI 53206
Ph: 414.449.4860
Fax: 414.906.5383

Copyright © 2025 · Courier Communications | View Privacy Policy | Site built and maintained by Farrell Marketing Technology LLC
We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.