RIVER FALLS, Wis. -- An act of vandalism done to divide the University of Wisconsin - River Falls campus has instead had the opposite effect.
It's pulled students and staff closer together.
Students organized a march and rally Monday, just more than a week after the discovery of a threatening message in a library bathroom.
It read: "The time of destruction is near.. Blacks and Asians November 2nd, 2009."
The campus quickly rallied around those targeted, insisting that hate and bigotry would not be tolerated.
"I'm scared myself, but I chose to come to class today," says Haiya Chang, with the International Students Association. "I chose to wear red and I chose to stand here and speak up."
"The response of the students, faculty and staff have been overwhelming, inspiring is the right word," says UW-River Falls Chancellor Dean VanGalen. "A strong reaction to denounce the act and just remind ourselves that this is against everything we stand for as a university."
Police and security presence was stepped up on campus Monday, in the wake of the threat.
(Copyright 2009 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)
