Four witnesses came forward with more information about the alleged assault involving 19-year-old, now former UW-Whitewater student, Will Schultz and a female bartender. Whitewater Police cited Schultz with disorderly conduct for assault last week. 

UW-Whitewater juniors Mackenzie Phelps, Ryan Santas, Juan Chavez and Dennison Cruz-Gonzalez say they were in the parking lot walking to their car in the early morning of March 5 around 1:55 a.m. outside Pumpers and Mitchell’s bar when they saw Schultz and the bartender quarreling. According to the witnesses, Schultz appeared intoxicated and was across the street shouting back and forth with the bartender. They heard Schultz repeating the words, “Say that again! Say it again!” before racing across the street and striking the woman in the face around 2 a.m. 

It was after he hit her, making her fall to the ground, when they say Schultz fled the scene. Santas and Chavez then chased after Schultz in hopes of catching him, while Phelps and Cruz-Gonzalez ran to the victim’s aid to see if she was ok. The witnesses say she too is a student at UW-Whitewater. 

“She was covering her face and not really saying anything. She wanted to go back into the bar, so we picked her up and took her back,” said Phelps. 

Santas and Chavez were unsuccessful in catching up to Schultz, but they were not the only one’s chasing him. They estimate about 10 to 15 other people witnessed the assault and, like them, chased after him. They say the bloody picture of Schultz that circulated through the media is from some others catching up to him. 

A Whitewater Police Department March 12 crime log confirms that Schultz was charged with underage presence in a place prohibited March 5 at 1:50 a.m. inside 158 W. Whitewater St. and for disorderly conduct – assault at 2:01 a.m. on the 200 block of S. Second St. 

A Change.org petition to remove Will Schultz from the UW-W campus and basketball team has now gathered nearly 15,000 signatures.

University Director of Marketing & Communications Jeff Angileri stated that Schultz is no longer a student at the university nor is he now affiliated with any university athletic teams. 

Vice Chancellor of student affairs Artanya Wesley sent out a message via email to all UW-Whitewater addressing safety concerns March 12. 

“Over the past week there have been several incidents that have caused our Warhawk community to have concern for their own personal safety. I understand these concerns, and I want to reassure you the Dean of Students Office staff, our campus CARE (Campus Assessment, Response and Evaluation) Team and University Housing in consultation with Chancellor Watson took immediate action to address the incidents, provided outreach and support to all students involved, and followed all university policies to end any potential threat to our campus community.”