Students at University of Wisconsin call for expulsion of student in racist video

Administration at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are facing backlash and pressure from student organizations after the university appeared to take no action toward a white student who posted a racist video to social media.

One of the two white women featured in the video has been identified as student Audrey Godlewski. Godlewski begins the video by saying she wants to die before launching into an expletive-filled monologue saying she would haunt “every f–ing little N-word who f–ing did me wrong” and force them to “pick f–ing cotton” until their bodies “dry out because of how much cotton they’re picking for me.” Her friend, recording the video, can be heard laughing in response. 

Ndemazea Fonkem, class of 2024 at UW-Madison, said she saw the video on Monday and felt a range of emotions. 

“It was just like I can’t believe that this person goes here,” Fonkem told The Hill. “The video sort of escalates over the 30 seconds, so I sort of went through that, like ramped up stages of reactions.”

Fonkem has just finished her term as president of the student body government, and she said she immediately began to consider how widespread the video was and what steps the school would take. But there was also a personal element to seeing the video, particularly when it came to those not shown in the video. 

“This is a predominantly white institution, it’s just a given that you will know white people and probably have at least one white friend even casually,” said Fonkem. “No one really expects their friend behind closed doors to be comfortable with flagrant, disgusting racism, and comfortable enough to laugh at it. It sort of sparked this feeling of like, oh, it could be any one of my white friends behind that camera.”

University officials said in a statement they are aware of the video and that it does not reflect the campus’s values, adding that content posted on private social media accounts cannot be regulated by the university. 

“The university is aware of a video recently posted to social media that contains deeply harmful and offensive racist slurs and references,” the university said in a statement released Monday. “The Dean of Students Office is gathering additional information, collecting bias reports and offering support to affected students and employees.”

But some students say this is not nearly enough. 

Fonkem called the school’s response “distressing,” but unsurprising. The school’s “inaction” has led to questions around just how far something has to go in order for a proactive response to be taken. 

“What has to happen for Black students to be materially valued on this campus?” she said. “How bad does it have to get for there to be repercussions? How bad does it have to get for the university to take a hardline stance?”

Fonkem isn’t alone in her frustrations.

In a statement posted to Instagram, the Wisconsin Black Student Union (WBSU) said they are “infuriated with the recent actions and words spoken by Audrey Godlewski and her peers” and reminded the UW-Madison community that Black students make up a mere 2 percent of the school’s population. 

“It is hurtful and absolutely repulsive, though not uncommon, to hear a white student use such hateful language and racial slurs that are disrespectful and degrading to our community,” the statement said. 

“Furthermore, the actions taken by Audrey are in opposition to the principles of inclusivity, diversity, morals and respect in which UW-Madison has failed to uphold time and time again. This is not the first time white students have taken it upon themselves to use such offensive and racist slurs towards the Black community on this campus. There are rules that are in place to ensure that all students are welcomed. These rules should apply to all students regardless of their race. This isn’t over.”

A petition has begun to circulate online calling for Godlewski to be expelled from the university. 

“We will not stand for this nor condone this behavior and we need to take a stand,” the petition reads. “We need to set an example for the future students to come and for the students who have done the same, but have not been caught.”

The video has also garnered political attention. 

“My heart is with the UW-Madison Black community, especially the students, who have had to witness and experience yet again racial harm on their campus,” Wisconsin State Rep. Francesca Hong tweeted Monday. “The comments made in the video were vile, threatening and have no place at UW-Madison or anywhere.”

It’s not the first incident of on-campus racism that’s brought UW-Madison under scrutiny. 

In 2019, a sign that said “UW 4 Whites Only” was taped to the University of Wisconsin’s Science Hall. In 2020, the university had 81 reports of bias incidents filed, 47 of which involved Asian or international students, according to the Cap Times. And in 2021, the school’s Chamberlin Rock was removed from campus after years of student protest – including from the WBSU – of the racist symbolism tied to the monument. 

The university has encouraged members of the campus community to seek support if they need and added the response to incidents of bias or hate vary depending on circumstances. Repercussions can range from referrals to “restorative conversations.”