By: Fiona Hatch, Sarah Kirsch and Lexi Spevacek

Students gathered at the Associated Students of Madison (ASM)'s open forum meeting on May 3 to make their voices heard amid discussion about a recent video of a UW-Madison student making disturbing racist comments.

The student government, composed of 33 members, listened to UW students take turns giving their remarks for three minutes each. The room filled to capacity, with some attendees watching over Zoom outside the hearing room. 

The meeting was held the evening after a silent demonstration that occurred at 9 a.m. the same day outside of Chancellor Mnookin's office in Bascom Hall. Chancellor Mnookin arrived around 11 a.m., received a copy of the students' demands and left shortly after. 

The protesting followed a video that surfaced on May 1 of Audrey Godlewski, a sophomore at UW, saying racist slurs and threatening remarks toward Black people while others laughed in the background. Since the video went viral, a petition was started calling for her expulsion from UW, which has since received over 40,000 signatures. 

LaVar Charleston, the deputy vice chancellor for diversity & inclusion, released a statement on Tuesday saying that Godlewski's words are protected by the First Amendment, meaning UW cannot legally expel her. 

Student organizations and individuals took to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the university's response as well as ASM's. 

“I cannot say enough how enraged I am. I have not been to class all week because I am here fighting for not just myself but my other Black peers on this campus as well,” a student said. 

The Dean of Students Christina Olstad was in attendance at the ASM open forum before leaving the room to individually speak with students. During the forum, many students addressed Olstad specifically, calling out her inaction. They also expressed frustration with her handing out free ice cream coupons at the Black Student Union after the video surfaced as well as her silence during the morning protest.

“Are you listening? Are you internalizing this, or are you here to look good?” A student asked Olstad. 

An overwhelming sentiment from students in the room was frustration with the lack of action to make students of color feel safe on campus. 

“We've been receiving death threats in our DMs. We no longer feel safe, nor have we ever felt safe, walking on this campus,” a student said.

Students of color in attendance shared personal stories about experiencing racism on campus and the measures they have taken to stay safe. 

The topic of accountability also dominated the discussion. A common theme shared among the floor's speakers was the school's decision not to address the consequences that the participants in the viral video would face — and how this decision would actively contribute to UW's systemic issues with racism on its campus.

“I wanted to address a few of the points made in the AI-generated message that has circulated across campus,” a student at the forum said. “Firstly is the claim that we are all entitled to the right to learn from our mistakes. That would imply that the speech in question was an error of judgment and that the way that speech was uttered. It would be wrong to claim such a thing.” 

Claims have been made from students that LaVar Charleston's statement was AI-generated after running the message through AI detectors. The reliability of AI detection sites is unclear, and Charleston verbally denied the claims Wednesday morning.

Students also expressed disappointment for ASM's history of funding problematic speakers, denying grants to Black organizations and failing to post about the video entirely on their social media. ASM released a press release that was only sent to larger news outlets, which those in attendance responded to with skepticism over the decision to inform external news sources before the student body. 

Additionally, a student at the forum called out an ASM member for doing math homework during the meeting. 

ASM Chair Kevin Jacobson said that the student government is taking comments into consideration and will formulate a response after the meeting. He stressed that there were some demands that ASM could not meet that needed to be addressed at a higher administrative level. 

The university's response emphasized that because the school is publicly funded, it cannot legally take action against Godlewski because her statements are protected by the First Amendment. Many students argued that the words said in the video were threatening and inciting violence and are therefore not protected by the Constitution. 

“The First Amendment may protect the right to hate speech, but it does not protect against physical attacks. [Hate speech] contributes to the overall culture of violence and hate on this campus,” a student said.

Near the end of the forum, a student highlighted how collaboration between ASM and the students would be more productive than fighting. Another student mentioned that being anti-racist is taking action and speaking up for students that the university won't listen to. 

The message highlighted by students throughout the meeting was a need for action. Suggestions for change varied from the construction of more physical spaces for students of color on campus to a strengthened ethnic studies requirement.

After the forum ended, ASM began an open caucus for an open conversation about racism on campus. The caucus allowed students to speak without a time limit and have a discussion with ASM. 

UW's student body demanded that ASM and the school's administration take real and decisive action, not only to ensure consequences for racist actions or verbiage, but to promote voices of color on campus.