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. In August 2024, the university announced that both groups had disaffiliated from the university but were found not responsible for any policy violations.