MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Student leaders are accusing the University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor of showing a lack of support for minority students after a man convicted of setting fires to predominantly black churches started recruiting for a pro-white party on campus.

Representatives of UW-Madison's student government sent a letter Friday to Chancellor Rebecca Blank, urging her to denounce the group as racist.

The students also want Blank to participate in a cultural competency program so she can create policies that directly address racism on campus.

Daniel Dropik, a 33-year-old student, says frustration over the university's efforts to improve the experiences of minority students led him to start a local chapter of the American Freedom Party, a group with deep ties to white supremacism.

Blank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.