The University of Wisconsin is under fire for creating and displaying a controversial poster ad of a Black criminal justice student with crime scene tape wrapped around her neck, for the school’s criminal justice program.
UWM has since apologized and has taken down the poster ads, after pushback from alumni, students and others online. Some called the campaign ad racially offensive and called for the university to take it down it immediately.
One person tweeted in response to the ad, saying, “It’s just stunning how these stupid ideas get past bright minds. How did anyone with a bright mind enough to be associated with that law school think this was a good idea?”
And another person tweeted, “Not a very wise thing for a college to do. Not with the rise of extreme-right white nationalism.”
In a statement, the university apologized, saying in part, “the series includes different races and ethnicities,” and that the “police tape was used as a prop in an effort to add interest to the photos.”
The school added, “We recognize now that the approach was inappropriate, and we sincerely apologize. We are removing the ads from circulation and will not use them again.”
The University Of Wisconsin Milwaukee also said the students it worked with on the ad, agreed with the approach.
