Against the Discrimination and Cyberbullying from the Math Department at UW-Madison

Sara Nagreen continued her attack on Wendy today through messages, specifically using either ‘Sara’ or mentioning that she had sent a message a couple of days ago to confirm her identity. We’ve taught Wendy to respond directly on the platform, but we felt it was important to document this here as well. We believe that Sara Nagreen, using her expertise, manages tons of fake, hacked and stolen accounts involved in cyber attack activities.

We initially aimed for transparency, but our Facebook Page (not this one) has been suspended again last night. Therefore, we will no longer display our followings or update screenshots.

Our Facebook page was suspended again this morning —this is the third time, due to interference from the Math department. We need to visit the school's page again. Whenever the Math department has hindered our promotion of this Facebook page and attempted to take away our freedom of speech, we feel the necessity to continue and expedite our progress. We might not be able to catch up in one day, but we’ll make time to do it, like yesterday. Furthermore, most people already know where to find us. And the more often we visit a platform, the more exposure our page gains from it.

Wendy is neither a celebrity nor a public figure; she is just a former graduate student at UW-Madison. We believe that most people would be much more concerned about the news regarding the Math department at UW-Madison and their actions toward a former graduate student. These actions include discrimination, threats, injustice, attacks, bullying, and harassment, a series of crimes, along with the invasion, theft and distortion of private information as acts of revenge aimed at threatening us into stopping our promotion of this page.

In addition to officially submitting the application in October 2023, Wendy has sent 11 emails to check on its status on the following dates: 11/3/2023, 11/20/2023, 12/3/2023, 1/30/2024, 2/5/2024, 8/5/2024, 8/8/2024, 9/10/2024, 9/13/2024 (twice), 9/24/2924. All of these inquiries have either gone unanswered, made her wait, or received negative responses. In typical situation, should an applicant reach out one more time? And why need any extra attempt?

On December 7, 1941, Japanese Navy Air Service attacked American naval base at Pearl Harbor, this sudden strike brought the United States officially into World War II. President Truman issued the Potsdam Declaration demanding the unconditional surrender of the Japanese government, but having received no response. On August 6 and 9, 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively. Both cities were leveled from the bombs and this forced Japan to surrender to the United States. The war was finally over.

On September 11, 2001, series of airline hijackings and suicide attacks by the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda against targets in the United States, left nearly 3,000 people dead in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. President Bush announced a comprehensive plan to seek out and stop terrorists around the world. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were part of the Global War on Terror. Ten years later, on May 2, 2011, Osama bin Laden was shot and killed at his compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad by United States Navy SEALs of SEAL Team Six.

The world appreciates and benefits from the efforts the United States has made during WWII and in the fight against terrorism. Even ten years after 9/11, the US Department of Justice maintained its commitment, stating, ‘The department remains fully committed to the fight against those who target Americans and our way of life.’ 23 years have passed, Americans continue to affirm that they "Never Forget" each September 11.

Regardless of race or nationality, justice and equity are what we, as human beings, strive to uphold in our lives. In May 2023, Audrey Godlewski, a UW-Madison student, was widely criticized after a video circulated on social media showing her using racial slurs and making violent remarks toward Black people, including expressing a desire to return them to slavery and abuse them. Following the video's release, over 65,000 people signed an online petition calling for her expulsion. Godlewski issued an apology later in June for her comments. Such movements are not uncommon, particularly within the context of the civilized community in the United States.

Far worse than racial slurs and insulting statements, which are already severe, Wendy faced severe discrimination, threats, intimidation, injustice, bullying, and harassment from faculty members since Summer 2019. These actions caused significant and tangible damage to her academic and professional life, as well as suffering to her mental and physical health, particularly during the period when she was grieving the loss of her mother.

Since the perpetrators were a group of faculty members, they have been using their power and authority to suppress the issue, threatening further action if it continued. They refused to reconcile or apologize. The only way they would consider offering a remedy is conditional upon Wendy agreeing to entertain a specific faculty member. They have even adopted a victim mentality, viewing their attack as a form of revenge for damage to their reputation. In their opinion, only their own loss matters, and others' losses are not their concern. Essentially, they just want their opponents to stop action while they remain unscathed in the situation.

However, the United States did not end the war after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Following 9/11, President Bush also declared, ‘Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.’ 

Does any American oppose the United States taking action after being attacked, especially if they were a family member of those who lost their life in the attack?

Additionally, we found it impossible to communicate with the Math department, as their communication appears limited to only math and aggression. Their intellect and reasoning seem limited to solving math problems, with little application beyond that. They don’t understand the concept of cutting the loss. You can't reason with them, much like you can't reason with terrorists. Moreover, they are unable to express themselves in their own words. They are hiding behind tons of profiles, spreading misleading information to try to make us stop, but their attacks continue relentlessly. There have been many times when people have witnessed their manipulation.

So should we stop? Probably not. As the U.S. Government stated during The Global War on Terrorism, ‘Terrorists try to operate in the shadows. They try to hide. But we're going to shine the light of justice on them. We list their names, we publicize their pictures. Terrorism has a face, and today we expose it for the world to see.’

Their irrationality makes them touchy, easily offended, and quick to react. They get upset when blamed but have difficulty understanding that the only way to avoid criticism is to do the right thing. It is like how Math professor won’t give credit to those who don’t fix their mistakes. Unfortunately, they are shortsighted, with their primary focus remaining on winning at any cost, as if their mistakes don’t exist and it’s always someone else’s fault. This is both unrealistic and untenable.

No one can win all the time; we often learn from our mistakes, much like in mathematics. We allowed the Math department to "win" by unfollowing all platforms on Friday, but they misled us by offering nothing in return. As a result, they have only further damaged their reputation, as everyone who witnessed this has learned once again that the Math department is not trustworthy. And we can easily re-add them in one day if desired. So, what exactly did they win?

We don’t have an unlimited amount of time. As mentioned earlier, we will focus only on promoting our own page going forward.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/finding-a-new-home/201806/what-is-the-difference-between-pride-and-arrogance

Regardless of culture and nationality, mathematicians often earn praise and respect for their ability to tackle difficult subjects, which can cause them to take pride in their intelligence and sometimes feel superior to others. However, intelligence encompasses much more than just mathematical skills. It’s fine to take pride in your accomplishments, but excessive pride can turn into arrogance. Arrogance refers to excessive and overbearing pride, and it often leads to disaster when individuals become overly confident. As Oscar-winning filmmaker James Cameron has noted, ‘arrogance and hubris’ led to disaster for both the RMS Titanic and the submersible heading to tour the wreckage of the doomed ocean liner.

Keep this in mind.

The Math department suggested that we contact them privately, but these messages were again misleading. We don’t understand why they wanted us to contact them when nothing has changed. Now, they are accusing us of being behind profiles that are against them. They claim that we have damaged their reputation, so they won’t make an offer. Additionally, if we’re not mistaken, they also seem to be complaining that we haven’t shown enough appreciation for their offer.

First, until we receive a positive resolution, we have every right to continue to advertise this page. We don’t want to waste time explaining why other profiles that damage your reputation are not ours.  In fact, our current approach is much more effective and efficient than creating multiple accounts to battle with those unknown profiles on the school's Facebook Page. We don’t even need to check the school’s page daily.

Secondly, we are not responsible for damaging your reputation. No one can damage your reputation except yourself. In Summer 2021, when Wendy sought public help to be readmitted into the program, a faculty said she had burned the bridge. What bridge? She had already been dismissed and had nothing to lose, just as we are doing now. If our actions damage your reputation, we still feel it is necessary, much like Wendy had to act to obtain her degree. Do you have any better suggestions for us if you were in our position?

Third, ‘appreciation’ typically follows receiving help or an offer from others,  or at the very least, is expected to be given afterward. It is unusual, especially in an academic setting, to be expected to show appreciation before anything is provided. Nonetheless, Wendy has consistently expressed her gratitude and even gave gifts when receiving assistance from faculty. She has also shown appreciation in almost every email when communicating with the Math department since submitting her application in November 2023. Despite this, none of her expressions of gratitude resulted in a positive outcome.

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Since the summer of 2019, the Math department have had over ten opportunities to address the issue and prevent further damage to their reputation. Yet, each time, they chose an action that only made things worse. They are good at recognizing patterns in mathematics but have difficulty seeing patterns in their own behavior.

Many Math professors have often heard their colleagues complain that students just can’t learn the material or feel that certain students cannot be helped. Unfortunately, it seems that some Mathematicians may also face challenges in other areas of their lives. They lack skills beyond math and confrontation, relying only on their authority and power. Their focus is primarily on competition and the desire to win; if they can't achieve this, they resort to attacking. When referring to animal behaviors—since they’ve labeled us as animals— how do we typically describe them? Even animals can evaluate their situation when facing threats, deciding whether to continue fighting or to yield.

They lack the ability to understand that sometimes resolving problems requires compromise, open dialogue, exchanging terms, and negotiating with others to achieve a mutually beneficial resolution. They don’t realize that most people value those who correct their mistakes rather than repeat them. Just as the Math professors appreciate students who can fix their errors on exams, rather than carrying them over from midterms to finals.

It's true that their reputation has been affected, but they haven’t suffered any substantial losses. They still have their job, tenure, and continue teaching, doing research and receive a salary. However, Wendy's life has been severely and negatively impacted over an extended period of time. Her loss encompasses academic, financial, and emotional hardships, among others. We doubt that any of you could endure even a fraction of what she has gone through. It’s unfair to consider only your own losses; especially given that Wendy has done nothing to deserve the suffering she has experienced.

While some damage may be irreversible for both parties, the focus now should be on preventing making things worse and finding a resolution that is fair to both sides. If you want us to stop promoting our page, we need a valid reason to do so. We currently spend 20 minutes a day on this activity, with different group members taking turns. Over time, the exposure could grow significantly, potentially increasing our viewership from thousands to hundreds of thousands or more, which could further damage your reputation. We have followed over 500 major platforms, but so far, we have only visited most platforms once.

Honestly, we don’t enjoy the interactions via internet, especially with unidentified profiles, as we have no idea who we’re dealing with. This approach has been proven to be unsuccessful since last year due to the lack of genuine, sincere, two-way dialogue. A job offer, if it exists, can only be properly extended through substantial communication, such as emails. What the Math department is doing is only harm their reputation further, as many people are now watching.

Since the school’s page does not provide valuable information. We may decide to focus on promoting our own page moving forward.

Many people on the internet often share other’s posts to represent their own views. However, our approach is different; we always express our opinions in our own words. We already shared our own opinions and intentions in posts from August 14, 29, and 30: since Wendy applied for a job position in October 2023, she experienced harassment and bully from a particular faculty member. She ultimately received a rejection letter on August 12, possibly because she did not engage with him online.

That means, not only did Wendy not receive any compensation or apology, but she was also subjected to mistreatment by another faculty member for over eight months after her application. In fact, the bullying has continued daily, with only a pause for a few hours a day. Did our actions provoke this attack? Of course not. This has been an ongoing issue for a long time. The individual has still consistently expressed his intent to harm Wendy further and has shown excitement when others (or maybe his other fake profiles) have bullied her on the internet. This individual appears to be misogynistic, showing animosity toward women he cannot control. Many people have already witnessed his behavior since last year.

When you say that ‘there are better ways of doing this’, could you tell us what ‘better way’ exactly is and ‘doing what’? Are you suggesting that Wendy should entertain him to receive this offer? Or do you think we are using those posts to apply for the position? But had Wendy not applied already? So we do not understand what that means honestly.

After receiving the rejection letter, we chose to protest this injustice by touring around on major platforms. Over time, we found that there were voices on this issue that resonate with us. Like many others online, we share their posts. We believe this is within our rights under freedom of speech and is not unlawful. However, we understand that some platforms might prefer not to take sides. And we did not plan to continue this action for long because it takes a lot more time than before. We just share some examples on our page.

From now on, we may simply give a thumb-up on whatever we see on each platform to advertise our Facebook page. This is more efficient for us because it is quick and easy. We could even speed up the process by not taking the screenshots of each post we visit. It is less interesting on our page but it allows us to visit more pages daily. We will only report the number of thumbs-ups given each day, such as 30 today, 32 tomorrow, and so on. Or we may switch between these methods as needed or if we have time. We have already followed hundreds of platforms. We will revisit those pages for new posts as well as exploring new platforms when time allows.

Please note that whether or not we share them, these opinions exist, and individuals are entitled to their own viewpoints, as long as they follow community rules. Half of us in the admin group are US citizens living in the United States, so, like many of you, we also enjoy freedom of speech. Similarly, others have the right to express their opinions and feelings, regardless of their professional status.

In addition, We have been reviewing U.S. laws on cyberbullying and have found that protections for victims, particularly against harassment and attack from fake profiles, remain quite limited. Therefore, this is the only action we can take at this moment. 

We do not have IAD (Internet Addiction Disorder), we only spend no more than half an hour each day on non-work related internet activities. We cannot imagine how someone can manage (purchase, rent or share) tons of profiles, sit in front of computer for probably up to 20 hours a day, make hundreds of posts daily for an extended period of time, many of them targeting a specific woman, to gain her attention and express anger by attacking her when his demands are not met.

Do they look like an educator at a prestigious university?

We meant to add this paragraph to our post yesterday, but it took us more time to finish. We need a break, we believe you do too. 

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3480687/ (Internet Addiction: A Brief Summary of Research and Practice)

‘Many researchers and clinicians have noted that a variety of mental disorders co-occur with IAD (Internet Addiction Disorder).’

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9091340/ (The relationship between internet addiction and aggressive behavior among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: Anxiety as a mediator)

‘there is a significant positive correlation between Internet addiction and aggressive behavior,’

‘those who with IAD were prone to aggressive behaviors.’

‘The behavior is characterized by many hours spent in non-work technology-related computer/Internet/video game activities, especially those who are heavy media users who spend more than 16 hours with media a day.’

https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/.../stalkers-and-their...

‘Stalking is defined as repeated and persistent unwanted communications and/or approaches that produce fear in the victim. Stalking intrudes on the victim's privacy and evokes a fear of violence.’

‘The stalker may use such means as telephone calls, letters, e-mail, graffiti and placing notices in the media.’

When we set up this Facebook Page on May 19, 2023, we had two main goals. The primary goal was to express our opposition against the discrimination from UW Madison during 2019 – 2021. Our second goal was to seek a potential resolution or compensation. While we have successfully achieved the first goal, the second objective has proven to be quite challenging. Most communication has come from unidentifiable online profiles, and our attempts to contact the Math department via email have either gone unanswered or received negative responses.

On October 31, 2023, Wendy reached out to the Math department about potential positions. She was advised to apply for a position and provided with an application link, which she submitted that same day. Since then, certain individual has been attempting to take advantage of the opportunity to become Wendy’s mentor in order to manipulate her and pressure her into engaging with him online.

On November 7, 2023, Wendy contacted the Math department regarding the issue with the potential mentor candidate, indicating that she was open to having a nominal mentor with no obligation to be involved in her research. She was informed that “Choice of mentor comes after a job offer has been made and accepted, should an offer be made.” Despite this, Wendy continued to receive harassing and urging messages via her phone and email. Although we lodged complaints on another Facebook page from November through mid-December 2023, the situation did not improve.

On November 20, Wendy inquired about her application status and was informed that ‘offers are made at the end of January’. She followed up on January 30 and was told on February 4 that ‘the hiring process is not done yet. I cannot comment on your particular status’. The pressure seemed to increase whenever we contacted the Math department about her application status. Meanwhile, the harassment from a certain individual had intensified.

Wendy does not owe anyone in the Math department anything. Her reason for applying for the position is clear and straightforward. Moreover, it is unusual for mentors or advisors to demand rewards for their assistance, especially before any formal engagement begins; such terms should be mutually agreed upon. Despite Wendy and us not responding to his demands, this individual has been excessively aggressive, pressuring, and attacking Wendy when his demands were not met. We are questioning what authority or power he holds over her to justify such behavior even before any formal engagement. Is he a right person to work with? 

As previously mentioned, most communications have come from unidentified online profiles, all of which have been misleading, ineffective and unsuccessful. Therefore, we decided to opt out of our online activities in mid-December 2023 while waiting for the outcome of the application directly from the Math department via email.

Unfortunately, after we stopped updating our website in mid-December 2023, Wendy experienced ongoing harassment and attacks via her phone and email for several months. If Wendy’s inquiries about her application status were the cause of these attacks, why they continued even after she stopped contacting the Math department? It seems that this individual is eager to take advantage of the situation for personal gain, persistently pressuring Wendy into actions she is uncomfortable with. What underlying issue does he have? Attacking others publicly on the internet is already unacceptable, but persistent harassment through private channels like email and phone goes beyond what most people can tolerate.

Especially, if he does not ask for a reward from others he has assisted, but only from Wendy, this constitutes discrimination. When Wendy did not comply, he responded with relentless aggression and attacks, which amounts to bullying. In March 2024, we had to involve the police, who advised Wendy to change her phone number at least twice and to stop using her original email, except for forwarding messages from @math.wisc.edu to her other accounts. The police also collaborated with Google to set up this email forwarding, and Google’s reports are available upon request.

We were also advised to contact the Chair of the Mathematics Department at UW Madison for further investigation. We did not reach out to the Math department earlier because we chose to focus on waiting for the application decision first. During this period, we requested the report once and found that her old email account continued receiving harassing, aggressive and even some disturbing messages. It seems that he may have faced public backlash at times, making him to resort to more covert attacks. Please refer to the attachments for the latest report. Wendy never had any of those spam emails in the past. Considering the volume and frequency of these messages, one might be questioning this individual's mental status. 

Based on the police recommendation and given that it is very late in the hiring season with no response yet, we reached out to the Math department on July 26 about Wendy being harassed via email and phone for more than 8 months by a faculty. We also requested a decision letter about her application, but received no reply. Wendy followed up with another inquiry on August 5, yet there was still no response. We had mentioned that our email system only accepts messages from @math.wisc.edu. After several attempts, Wendy finally received the decision letter from the Math department on August 12.

The decision letter states, “There were more than 600 qualified applicants for the position. We regret to inform you that you were not selected to move forward in the recruitment process for this position.“

What is the connection between Wendy’s situation and the 600 other applicants? If Wendy was not selected to move forward in the recruitment process due to high competition, why did she receive so many persistent and harassing messages to her email and phone for over 8 months? Furthermore, how does this situation relate to the Math department’s statement on November 7 that "the choice of mentor comes after a job offer has been made and accepted"?

The story began with our protest against the discrimination at UW-Madison and our request for compensation for Wendy’s losses related to her graduate studies. It then escalated into her being mistreated by another faculty member, who is eager to exploit the situation for his own benefit and has publicly displayed the worst aspects of his character without any remorse.

The Math department certainly has the right to make decisions about each applicant, just as we have the right to protest against any additional discrimination, attacks, or bullying from faculty beyond what was initially encountered. We are not the ones responsible for burning any bridges; as previously mentioned, there was never a bridge to begin with.