On Oct. 27, 2024, The Muslim Student Association received alleged death threats, alongside anti-muslim and anti-palestine rhetoric from anonymous users through the university’s student organization portal named “Panther Presence.”
The uwm4palicoalition Instagram page made an post that indicated that the messages that were sent came after protests to the campus visit of Vice President Kamala Harris.
The post shows screenshots of messages towards the Muslim Students Association where the subject is “Death to Palestinians,” and the name titled, “I f***ing hate Palestinians.”
The organization claims UWM PD was “dismissive and antagonizing,” saying they were told that UWM Police doesn’t have the technology to track down those making the threats.
After being notified by the student organization, UW-Milwaukee released a statement through email addressing the alleged threatening messages sent to the student organization.
In the statement UW-Milwaukee stated the following:
“UWM takes hostile and intimidating messaging seriously. While hateful speech is often legally protected by the First Amendment, it conflicts with the respect and conduct we ask of each member of our community. Where hostile speech is not protected by the First Amendment, UWM will address it through appropriate processes, once any individuals responsible are identified.”
UWM further stated in the released statement that any student can contact UWM Police department regarding any concerning behavior.
The post from the uwm4palicoalition Instagram post can be found here:
The Chancellor’s full statement can be read here: