University of Wisconsin: Registered Student Organizations Suspended After Reports of Off-Campus Chalking

On May 6, 2024, the University of Wisconsin announced the interim suspensions of and investigations into two registered student organizations –  Mecha de UW Madison and Anticolonial Scientists – for alleged discriminatory harassment because of off-campus chalk messages that others described as endorsing violence, supporting terrorist organizations, and containing antisemitic comments. FIRE wrote UW-Madison on May 16 to inform the university that the organizations’ off-campus chalking constituted political speech protected by the First Amendment, which precludes the university from punishing organizations for disfavored expression.