UPDATE 5/1/24 at 11:50AM — UW Police report a total of 34 people were arrested this morning, most of which were released with no citation issued. Of those arrested, four were booked into the Dane County Jail on the following offenses:
-Attempted disarming a police officer, resisting arrest (x2), and attempted escape
-Battery to a police officer
-Battery to a police officer and resisting arrest
-Battery to a police officer
Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman issued this statement today regarding the enforcement action at UW-Madison:
“The free exchange of ideas through open dialogue and debate is a hallmark of the Universities of Wisconsin. We support the First Amendment and the right to free expression – including through legal protest – and we continue to uphold these ideals, even in the face of difficult and competing demands. We commit to upholding free speech rights while simultaneously upholding the law and our mission to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of our community. UW-Madison took action to ensure compliance with applicable law and in fulfillment of its commitment to all students and the campus community. I commend Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin for her reasonableness and resolve, as well as her commitment to free expression and the safety and security of her students.”
UPDATE 5/1/24 at 11:10AM — Four law enforcement officers suffered injuries when clashing with protestors on Wednesday morning, UW Police reported. Three Dane County sheriff’s deputies were injured. A State Trooper was also hut when a protester hit their head with a skateboard.
“”It’s not always pleasant (removing protestors),” former UW Police Chief Sue Riseling told WTMJ’s The Political Power Hour. “It’s not pleasant to stand there and have (protestors) scream at you, throw bodily waste at you, spit at you, and throw rocks at you.”
UPDATE 5/1/24 at 9:22AM — UWPD Spokesman Mark Lovicott confirmed that the vast majority of tents at UW-Madison’s Library Mall have been removed. At least a dozen people were arrested while police were removing the encampment as part of the enforcement of Chapter 18 that prevent camping on campus. UWPD was the lead agency in the arrests and enforcement efforts.
UWPD says they will maintain a presence while the protestors continue, and that they can continue their constitutional right to protest peacefully.
UPDATE 5/1/24 AT 7:30AM — Police have reportedly begun tearing down the encampment on UW-Madison’s Library Mall.
Dozens of law enforcement officers have started moving in on UW protesters on Library Mall. Officers were banding up and holding their shields as of 7:13 a.m. The State Patrol, the Dane County Sheriff’s Office and UWPD is on the scene.
As of 7:15, officers began taking tents down.
In the 6:00 a.m. hour of Wednesday, law enforcement officials told protesters on the UW pro-divestment encampment they needed to pack up.
Over a speaker, officers told protesters this was their “final warning,” and played that message on a loop.
Meanwhile, WTMJ’s Jack Graue reports the UW-Milwaukee encampment remains standing. While demonstrators are aware of the police movement in Madison, they have said they have no plans to disperse.
UPDATE 4/30/24 at 6:00pm — WTMJ’s Julien Johnson visited the UW-Milwaukee campus Tuesday evening. There were hundreds of UW-Milwaukee students and Pro-Palestinian supporters still protesting in hopes to have their demands met by the university.
The scene on UW-Milwaukee’s campus where students and other Pro-Palestine supporters gathered to protest the war in Gaza along with UWM’s investment into the war.
— Julien Johnson (@jujuelz_is) April 30, 2024
They don’t plan to stop their protest until the demands they’ve sent to the university are met.@620wtmj pic.twitter.com/L1e37cJMy7
The UWM Popular University for Palestine Coalition published a list of their demands to the school. On the second day of protesting Tuesday, participants said they will not stop until their demands for UW-Milwaukee to end ties with Israel are met.
Although students are only in second day of their encampment protest, student Samia Saeed, who’s on the Media Committee for the UWM for Palestine Coalition, told WTMJ this situation with the university spans way beyond these two days.
Student Samia Saeed from
— Julien Johnson (@jujuelz_is) May 1, 2024
UWM for Palestine on why they are protesting at UWM@620wtmj pic.twitter.com/XXWdR6UoSS
“We’ve been having conversations with admin for months… all of our usual avenues for conversations have been exhausted, and so this is what we’re here to do,” she said. “This is the final straw.”
Saeed said they can’t sit idly by as people are dying in Gaza.
“It’s a whole genocide that’s going on there, and it’s not just a genocide of people… it’s an erasure of entire cultures, entire buildings, and entire education systems.” she said. “So us, as students and as student activists, feel the need to represent and help in whatever way we can and support our fellow Palestinian students… and our fellow siblings in Gaza and in any of the occupied lands.”
There were more than just Palestinians on campus protesting. Many students, faculty, and community members from many different backgrounds gathered to join their cause. Saeed is also one of the students who are not Palestinian, but has gathered support from Palestinians outside of the UWM campus.
Student Samia Saeed on the support they've gotten worldwide for their Pro-Palestine protests about the war in Gaza@620wtmj pic.twitter.com/tDpJRbhuZE
— Julien Johnson (@jujuelz_is) May 1, 2024
“We have also had a lot of support from people in Palestine… There was a comment that we received on one of our posts where someone was like, ‘…I’m from Gaza, and I’m very proud of what you are doing,'” she said. “There were refugee camps that had said that they were proud at Columbia and proud of the students taking back their campuses and trying to help Palestine in whatever way they can.”
They’ve also received support from people in the community who have provided them with resources to stay healthy during the potential days or weeks-long protest ahead.
“A lot of people have been coming here hanging around or just bringing food, bringing supplies,” she said. “There have been professors who came around and said, ‘Oh, I support this cause.’ There have been union members [and] other organizers, seasoned organizers, who have come here to support our cause.”
Palestinian student Jamilah from the UWM for Palestine Coalition told WTMJ even though the students are protesting, they’re still completing their daily tasks as college students.
Student Jamilah from UWM for Palestine on still being students and sticking with their regular schedules even though they're protesting@620wtmj pic.twitter.com/esACFayAiT
— Julien Johnson (@jujuelz_is) May 1, 2024
“Our schedules are still the same. We’re still maintaining our prayers on time… we’re just doing it here instead of at the mosque or anywhere else,” she said. “We’re doing communal prayers. We’re doing homework together… We’re still attending classes, and then just coming back [to the protest area]. This is still very much a hangout spot but still making it known that we physically are here to support… and that we’re all here for the same cause: to end the genocide in Gaza.”
Jamilah said they plan to stay peaceful throughout the entirety of their protest.
“We are nonviolent. We are very peaceful. We are here to raise awareness of what’s going on in Gaza,” she said. “We’re here for Palestine. We’re here [to protest] the genocide in Gaza, and the university is complicit [in the war in Gaza], and we’ve got to make sure that that’s known… We want to make sure that they cut ties with the apartheid regime.”
Student Samia Saeed agreed with Jamilah and Saeed told WTMJ they want to draw attention to the war in Gaza and not themselves.
“Mostly people look at us and they think, ‘oh, there’s student, and they have a lot of energy. They want to do something. They want attention on [themselves],'” she said. “To that I say: do not keep your eyes on us. Keep your eyes on the genocide happening in Palestine. Keep your eyes on the Palestinian students who no longer have universities to go to… the Palestinian students who are in refugee camps. Keep your eyes there.”
Saeed continues: “You do not need to keep your eyes on us. We have a cause that we’re working toward. We condemn the genocide… the Israeli genocide of Palestinian people that is U.S. backed. We condemn it,” she said. “We’re just trying to show our disgust at the genocide.”
Saeed said students know they could face potential suspension or expulsion from the school within these last few weeks of classes, but they don’t plan on stopping their protests until their demands are met.
“Yes, we’re nervous, but also we are feeding off of the strength and resilience of the Palestinian people, of the Palestinian students,” she said. “It only makes sense for us to not be afraid of whatever consequences that we face because [we know about the bombings and the attacks on Palestinians]. So, the worst that can happen to us is not that we can get expelled or suspended.”
UPDATE 4/30/24 at 5:00am – WTMJ’s Adam Roberts visited the UW-Milwaukee encampment Tuesday morning, where around two dozen tents remain on the lawn outside Mitchell Hall:
It’s unclear if students are inside of the tents. Organizers could be seen in high-visibility vests patrolling the area on foot; two UWM Campus Police vehicles were parked a block down from the corner of Kenwood and Downer, but no officers were on foot near the encampment.
UPDATE: A university spokesperson for UW-Milwaukee has provided the following statement to WTMJ:
“UWM Police are monitoring the encampments being established outside of Mitchell Hall. These encampments violate Chapter 18 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code: UWS 18.07(4).
Supporters of both the Israeli and Palestinian causes have made their voices heard on our campus, as is their right guaranteed by the First Amendment. And UWM has been steadfast in respecting their right to free speech while also maintaining UWM’s core mission of providing a safe and welcoming environment for our students, employees and visitors. UWM sent a campuswide message Monday morning detailing safe and lawful protest guidelines.“
MILWAUKEE – Roughly 300 students gathered on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s campus on Monday to protest the war in Gaza. The demonstrations began in front of the Golda Meir Library and proceeded south on Downer Avenue.
UWM student Samia Saeed helped organize the protest, and says this is not an issue of religion: “This is political. This is related to money. This is not related to religion at all.”
Among the multiple demands from students participating in the protests is UWM divesting from any Israeli affiliated organizations and weapons manufacturers. Students plan to keep tents on campus until all their demands are met.
This movement comes as students prepare for their final exams of the 2024 Spring Semester. Saeed says she feels protesting the war is more important than academics.
“We need to make them uncomfortable,” Saeed said. “They need to be made uncomfortable at the fact that our university is aiding a genocide.”
UW-Milwaukee has not yet released a statement responding to the demonstrations, but they do have a list of guidelines they expect protestors to follow.
The wave of pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses across the country has arrived at two Universities of Wisconsin schools.
In Madison, around 300 students have formed a makeshift encampment at the university’s Library Mall:
TMJ4 News reports at least twelve tents have been erected on the Library Mall, state rules and campus policy prohibit camping on school property:
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: “Failing to abide by these limitations can and will have consequences” UW-Madison sends email regarding nationwide protests
WTMJ’s Jack Graue reports protestors have set up their own tent encampment near UWM’s Mitchell Hall:
