Audrey Godlewski is the student at the center of the controversial video showing a racial slur and other offensive language widely circulated among the student body.
And Heavy got some facts about Audrey Godlewski’s racial accusations.
The Hill identified Godlewski, accusing her of being the student in the video, which has been shared widely on social media.
“One of the two white women featured in the video has been identified as student Audrey Godlewski,” The Hill reported, before accusing Godlewski of saying in the video that she would haunt “every f****** little n***** who f****** did me wrong” and force them to “pick f****** cotton” until their bodies “dry out because of how much cotton they’re picking for me.”
The Badger Herald student newspaper also printed Godlewski’s name, writing, “Community members have identified the individual in the video as Audrey Godlewski, a sophomore at UW.” But the newspaper wrote that it could not verify the information.
UW-Madison has not named Godlewski as the student in the video. The video can be found in many places online, including here. Godlewski has not made any public statements about the video and she could not be reached for comment by Heavy.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison released a statement on May 1, 2023, condemning the language used in the video but also indicating the university can not “limit what students and employees post to their personal social media accounts,” nor take action unless a post is “unlawful.”
“The university is aware of a video recently posted to social media that contains deeply harmful and offensive racist slurs and references,” the statement says.
The Black Student Union issued a statement declaring the group “infuriated with the recent actions and words spoken by Audrey Godlewki and her peers. It is hurtful and absolutely repulsive, though not uncommon, to hear a white student use such hateful language and racial slurs that are disrespectful and degrading to our community.”
The group added in the statement posted to its Instagram page, “The actions taken by Audrey are in opposition to the principles of inclusivity, diversity, morals and respect in which UW-Madison has failed to uphold time and time again. This is not the first time white students have taken it upon themselves to use such offensive and racist slurs towards the Black community on this campus. Black students only take up 2% of University of Wisconsin-Madison’s population. There are rules that are in place to ensure that all students are welcomed. These rules should apply to all students regardless of their race. This isn’t over.”
Makayla Hughes wrote on Facebook, “As a member of the Wisconsin Black Student Union Exec. Board, we are working tirelessly with other black organizations on campus such as the National Panhellenic Council and the Black Student Law Association and many others to stand up against this overt racism that is far too common on our campus and campuses across the nation.”
Hughes continued: “Our administration has already stated they will not do anything, but it is our job as Black and minority students to see that they do. We have worked extremely hard to have the safe spaces on campus that we deserve as UW System students. The change that we create now at UW will serve as a catalyst for change across the state and hopefully the nation. We are tired of fighting the same fight that our ancestors fought decades ago!”
Protests were held on the campus over the video on May 3, 2023.
According to Channel 3000, UW junior Daijahnique Lloyd said that protesters tried demanding an audience with Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin “with a sit-in at Bascom Hall to demand an audience,” but they waited for over an hour.
“It went absolutely nowhere,” Lloyd said to Channel 3000. “She’s like, ‘I hear you guys. I hear you guys,’ and it’s just like there’s no action’s being taken. Why is there no zero tolerance policy for hate speech?”
The television station reported that 250 people then “marched across campus chanting ‘No justice, no peace’ and ‘I believe that we will win.’”
When the students gave the school a list of demands to feel safe on campus, the school responded by saying they won’t reply to threats. That is all you need to know about his situation.
Flip to the next page for the video and photos of Audrey Godlewski..
