The Sconi

Marquette University Police (MUPD) are conducting an investigation after offensive stickers were found lining one of the busiest walkways near the university earlier this month.

The incidents have alarmed students, with a growing number expressing concerns about their safety, according to a Fox 6 Milwaukee report.

"Why, as a Black student here, do I have to be constantly reminded that I don’t belong?" asked Alauna Rupert.

As she walked down Wisconsin Avenue, Rupert, a pre-med student, saw an offensive poster.

“The first reaction I had was shock, like I gasped in the middle of class,” she told Fox 6. “I’m like, what disgusting human would put that poster up, of like the slave poster."

University police released a statement insisting that “racism and discrimination have no place on campus,” but Rupert, a member of the Black Student Council, said she wants more to be done, Fox 6 reported.

"I felt like it was like PR (public relations) control, instead of them actually caring,” she said. “I feel like the university should have put out a statement before we had to tag them in it and say, like, what is it?"

The Black Student Council shared the poster and the concern they had for it on social media and tagged the university in those posts.

Another email was sent to students after a similar sticker was found near the university that a Marquette Wire student journalist took a photo of and shared with Fox, which reports the picture shows a campus police officer taking a photo of the sticker before the officer took it down.

"I know a picture is a picture, but a picture means a thousand words, and that picture right there, that was a whole essay," Rupert told Fox 6.

In the second email, Marquette police said they have inspected all campus light poles and found no other stickers. Authorities added without a suspect, school officials cannot determine the meaning or intent behind the images or if the person responsible is a member of the university community, Fox 6 reported.

The full statement from MUPD reads: “Marquette University is aware that a racist poster was found displayed on a public light pole on campus along Wisconsin Avenue, and it has been removed. As a Catholic, Jesuit institution, we are called to build a nurturing, inclusive community where all people feel safe, supported, welcomed, and celebrated. Racism and discrimination have no place on our campus. The Marquette University Police Department has launched an investigation to determine the parties responsible. Although this poster was found on our campus, at this time we do not know who is responsible for posting it. Please contact MUPD at 414-288-6800 if you have information about this incident. Marquette pledges to continue to work together as a community to overcome injustice and help make our university anti-racist. We understand this incident may have made people feel unsafe. If you would like support, please seek the services of Campus Ministry, Marquette Counseling Center, the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, or residence hall staff,” according to Fox 6.