Wisconsin Students Demand Free Tuition For Black Students

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The University of Wisconsin-Madison's student government is demanding free tuition for black students.

The Associated Students Of Madison adopted a resolution Wednesday saying blacks were legally barred from education during slavery and that the flagship school remains out of reach for students of color. The resolution demands free access, tuition and housing for all black people, including former inmates.

UW-Madison spokesman John Lucas says university officials are reviewing the resolution. The proportion of black students at the school has grown from 11 percent to 15 percent over the last decade.

State lawmakers set tuition rates. Representatives of the Legislature's budget-writing committee didn't immediately comment.

A series of racially tinged incidents have marred campus life in recent months, including a fan wearing an offensive costume to a football game and the arrest of a black student for anti-racist graffiti.