The operations of Edgewood College were brought to a swift halt by a sticky note making fun of students traumatized by the election of Donald Trump.
The sticky note — which read, “Suck it up p——-s!” followed by a winking smiley face — coincided with a campaign to encourage students to express their feelings about the election by posting the 3-by-3-inch adhesive placards on a table in a common area.
The “targeted act of intimidation and cowardice” prompted a hyperbolic letter from Vice President for Student Development Tony Chambers. The school also reported the incident to the Madison, Wisconsin, Police Department as a “Hate Crime.”
“Last weekend our campus was visited by an act of cowardly hatred,” Mr. Chambers said in the letter, first reported by Campus Reform. “One of our students initiated a process by which students (… and others) could express their feelings about the election outcome by writing their feelings on the sticky notes and placing them on a table located in Wingra Commons. Many intense emotions were shared on the sticky notes representing various perspectives.”
“Unfortunately, in a targeted act of intimidation and cowardice this past weekend, someone chose to post a sticky note message on the inside window of the Office of Student Diversity and Inclusion (OSDI) in Predolin Hall,” he continued. “A great deal of fear, sadness, and anger among students, faculty, and staff resulted — especially for those that gather in the OSDI space. The message was hateful and harmful toward members of our community. It violated every value that this institution considers to be at its core.”
A picture of the sticky note was embedded in the campus-wide letter.
Edgewood assembled an all-star team of administrators to decide how to move forward.
“A group of cross-functional college staff representing campus security, student conduct, human resources, Title IX enforcement, and diversity and inclusion measures convened Tuesday morning to discuss how to address the hateful message,” the letter continued. “The group determined that the message constituted a Hate Crime, based on guidelines from the Jeanne Clery Act and state law. In accordance with the policies and procedures set forth in the Edgewood College Student Code of Conduct, this incident has been reported to the Madison Police Department and is currently being investigated as a Hate Crime.”
Mr. Chambers said the malevolent missive signals a “new era of intolerance” in America ushered in by Mr. Trump’s presidency.
“Covert micro-aggressions and overt macro-aggressions appear to have taken on a new fervor in higher education since our national election,” he warned. “The frequency, boldness, and severity with which hateful acts have been occurring has, for many, signaled a new era of intolerance, fear, and mistrust in higher education, as well as throughout our nation.”
