It is time for Chancellor Rebecca Blank of UW-Madison to either step down or be removed.

Time and time again, Blank has shown she is incapable of listening, understanding, serving, and protecting students of color at UW-Madison. She has even shown the inability to learn from students of color that have engaged with her around issues of race, racism, and white supremacy. She pays nothing more than lip-service, and even at times her lip-service is inadequate (which is difficult to do). As her latest statement was.

For seven years I was employed at UW-Madison. I worked under the Division of Diversity Equity & Educational Achievement (DDEEA). I worked closely with students and staff of color, and was a staff person of color, at UW-Madison. Issues impacting the communities of color on campus come near and dear to my heart, and I care about the safety of all on campus, especially those I personally know and care for.

Let’s address her most recent message to students and staff, and then work out from there about why Blank should no longer be Chancellor.

Her most recent statement was issued to students and faculty in response to the revelation that a white supremacist who’s decided to start a white supremacist group on campus had served five years in federal prison for setting fire to two black churches.

In her letter, she mentions the “alt-right” in quotes, without mentioning that “alt-right” is just a new cute way to call yourself a white supremacist. If you’re in the “alt-right,” you dress up nice and get an updated Hitler youth haircut, and they just deny your a white supremacist or a neo-nazi, even though you fully believe everything they do. White supremacists who call themselves “alt-right” come from the eugenics line of pseudoscience white supremacists, so they fall right in line with Nazis.

This is important because in this day and age, with a rise of a white nationalist/supremacist President, we must state with clarity who these people are. Letting them cloak themselves as this “alt-right” does nothing but further their agenda and goal. They want you to label them something different, that was the point of calling themselves the “alt-right.” But make no mistake, these people are white supremacists, and are dangerous as any white supremacists. Maybe more so as they are now empowered and emboldened.

She then goes on to say that she wants to pressure the Board of Regents to review the policy that criminal record can not be used in admissions decisions. Her excuse is that the individual handing out white supremacist flyers had a criminal record.

If she recognized anything about institutional racism, she would see what a bad idea this is. The people impacted are much more likely to be students of color than anyone participating in active white supremacist behavior. This is because children of color are far more likely to be charged with a crime than white kids, even when they both commit the same offense. They are also more likely to have that crime be seen as a character flaw, than a youthful mistake, as might happen with their white counterparts.

If Blank has even learned rudimentary intellectual thinking on institutional racism she would know this. How can a Chancellor of a higher education institution have such a blatant blind spot, especially one where they have engaged with student activists on issues impacting them? This demonstrates she has not furthered or deepened her education on theories of race, racism, and white supremacy. Which makes her unfit to be chancellor.

Let’s now turn and focus on the last couple paragraphs in her statement:

“The safety of our campus community is my top priority. I recognize the mere presence of this activity is concerning. But handing out political information and expressing objectionable, even hateful, viewpoints is not illegal nor a violation of any campus policy.

At this point, we have no information to suggest a specific safety threat to individuals or campus. Any time we become aware of a potential safety concern, we work with law enforcement and other partners to gather information and determine whether laws or campus policies are being violated. We continue to track this situation closely given the student’s history.

We will not tolerate discrimination against any student. We also will not tolerate harassment, threats, hate crimes or violence against any student. We ask that any such action be reported to UWPD”

This specific student has a record of arson against Black churches, yet she dares to say that this person isn’t a threat?

People who spread white supremacist ideology are not just spreading hate speech, especially in our current political climate which has seen an increase in hate crimes. Where we are talking about federal level stop-and-frisk. Where we have known white nationalist and white supremacists in the White House, and holding the office of the President.

Part of their belief is inflicting violence upon people of color. Their very presence makes an unsafe learning environment for students.

Not to mention, one of her top employees wants to get rid of the term “safe space” because apparently it makes too many of these snowflake white faculty and staff feel uncomfortable. Meaning they don’t feel safe in their space, and need a safe space of their own. This is rich with irony. I wonder how many have said that students and staff of color that need a safe space are being ridiculous?

This is just one of a long list of hate events that have happened on campus that Rebecca Blank has shown complete incompetence in handling. I don’t believe there has been a hate incident that she has handled even moderately well.

If she can not or will not actually create a safe and vibrant learning environment for all students, especially those most in harms way, then she should no longer hold her position.

And let’s just say that whoever takes her place, should not be a white economist who can’t see students of color as more than numbers and data points, but someone that sees them for the full humans they are.