Yes, Wisconsinites, this is what your taxes are for: so dozens of students and professors from the University of Wisconsin can attend a conference featuring seminars like “The Pitfalls of Working with White People.”

Dominic Lynch at the College Fix has the story:

Wisconsin Public Universities Fork Over $50,000 to Study ‘White Privilege’

Two Wisconsin watchdog groups report that taxpayers foot the bill for dozens of university students and faculty to attend a white privilege conference that included sessions on “The Pitfalls of Working with White People” and suggestions that President Bush took money away from New Orleans levees “because they protected black people.”

In sum, at least $50,000 from taxpayer-funded public universities in Wisconsin went to help fund the fifteenth annual White Privilege Conference held in Madison, Wis., in late March.

The data was obtained through public records act requests.

The MacIver Institute reports that the public University of Wisconsin-La Crosse spent $26,000 to send 23 faculty and 91 students to the event. Money was also used by University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, which spent more than $16,000 to send 13 staff members and 13 students, the institute uncovered.

Investigative reporter Adam Tobias of the watchdog Wisconsin Reporter reports other university support includes $5,000 from UW-Madison and $3,000 from Madison Area Technical College.

In its ongoing investigation into the conference, the MacIver Institute has calculated total taxpayer expenses at $85,899 – and counting. In addition to public universities, other funding sources include the city of Madison, K-12 school districts and the state’s education department.