UW campus vandalized prior to conservative commentator’s visit

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - UW-Madison students and staff awoke Monday morning to find Memorial Union and other locations around campus vandalized with spraypainted graffiti as well as messages opposing the impending visit by conservative commentator Matt Walsh.

Some of the messages, such as “Dude, Go Away” and “Hey, UW, the community is watching,” were seen around campus, as well as directed comments at Walsh, who was invited by the Young Americans Foundation to participate in a screening of his movie Monday night.

In addition to the directed attacks, the vandalism consisted of general obscenities, anti-police slogans, and nondescript spraypainting to obscure logos and signs.

Dozens of people gathered outside of Memorial Union Monday afternoon, protesting the campus hosting Walsh.

Walsh, who hosts an eponymous podcast, is scheduled to speak Monday night at UW’s Great Hall following a free screening of his film, “What is a Woman?” According to the YAF’s calendar he will be participating in a question-and-answer session with them.

UW-Madison was listed as one of six initial stops on a YAF-backed tour by Walsh.

A tweet Sunday night by YAF proclaimed “campus unrest about (Walsh) is ramping up,” and accused UW of trying to vilify him.

The tweet included four images shared by Dean of Students Christina Olstad and Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs – Identity and Inclusion Gabe Javier citing the upcoming event and expressing the university’s commitment to inclusion.

A UW Police Department spokesperson confirmed the incident is under investigation and had no further comment.

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