When Cindy Cheng first saw the TikTok video of a Badgers fan taunting Asian American students at Northwestern University with a slant eyes gesture, she hoped it would turn into a learning opportunity. UW Athletics has since barred the person, who is not a University of Wisconsin-Madison student, from purchasing tickets for athletics events on its platform. But Cheng, a history and Asian American studies professor at UW-Madison, said the racist act should additionally serve as a teaching moment on the gesture’s harm — not necessarily a personal condemnation of the person.
Office of Strategic Communication