Recent racial tensions at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire will be the topic of conversation on “The West Side” at 10 a.m. on Monday (Nov. 25) on The Ideas Network Stations of Wisconsin Public Radio (88.3 WHWC-FM/ Menomonie-Eau Claire and 88.7 WRFW-FM/River Falls).
Host Dean Kallenbach and his guests will explore the fallout from a series of racist social media posts allegedly written by members of the UW-EC football team. The posts were targeted toward the campus organization Black Male Empowerment (BME), which seeks to offer social, academic and cultural support for black male students at the university.
The Snapchat posts resulted in the suspension of five players from the athletic program. Further action by the university is possible once the UW-EC administration finishes its investigation into the situation.
Guests on the Monday program will include Lewis Balom, current president of BME at UW-EC; Prof. Selika Ducksworth-Lawton, a UW-EC History faculty member who specializes in civil rights history and serves on the executive board of the Chippewa Valley Civil Liberties Union; and a member of the UWEC administration. Also joining the program will be Liz Dohms, WPR’s digital journalist, who has been covering the story from the network’s Eau Claire bureau.
“The West Side” is a call-in program focused on issues specific to western Wisconsin. The show is broadcast at 10 a.m. Mondays on the two Ideas Network stations and via an online live stream on 88.7 WRFW-FM via wrfw887.com/listen-live.html. Listeners may call in with questions and comments during the program at (800) 228-5615.
Archives of “The West Side” are available at wpr.org/programs/west-side.