MILWAUKEE — UW-Milwaukee student protestors were granted a meeting with UWM administration Monday afternoon. Four student representatives met with three members of the UWM administration at Mitchell Hall, the UWM building where the students have their tent encampments.
The UWM for Palestine Coalition student protestors held a press conference hours after the meeting in the area they’ve deemed as the “Falasteen Lawn.” Student protestor Ameen Atta read the UWM for Palestine Coaltion’s statement regarding their meeting. They said they had a productive dialogue with the UWM administration, and the administration began the meeting by saying they wanted the encampments to end.
“We [the student protestors] agreed that the encampments must end,” Atta said. “And that the only way it will end is when the reasonable demands to cut ties with the Israeli genocide and slaughter are met.”
Atta said both sides began to have conversations to agree on a path toward stopping the protests on campus.
“Regarding the UWM foundation, we have been given a verbal agreement that UWM administration will be formally reaching out to the [UW] foundation immediately regarding the reasonable demands of disclosure and divestments,” he said.
They also had a request regarding UWM Chancellor Mark Mone’s ties to Israel.
“We also addressed the direct tie of Chancellor Mone to the water council… The chancellor must meet with us directly and voluntarily step down as treasurer of the water council,” Atta said. “This is a council that engages in racist and discriminatory practices by depriving the Palestinian population’s access to water… This was effectively communicated to the university representatives.”
Several other points and demands were given, including the university ceasing to have any more study abroad trips in Israel. Atta said they have received confirmation from the administration that they will have a follow-up meeting, regarding their demands, within the next 48 hours. The students expect to have “concrete solutions” to their demands.
“We remain firm on our demands, and we hope that we can continue to work with the university on meaningful resolution,” he said.
Anti-Semitism Concerns
During the press conference, the UWM for Palestine coalition also addressed anti-semitism concerns on campus. UWM Master’s student Jess Annabelle, who identified as Jewish, spoke at the presser and said she is in “strong and absolute support of the encampments here and around the country.”
“As Jewish people, our faith teaches us that saving a single life is more important than every other Jewish law,” Annabelle said. “I am one of many thousands of Jewish people supporting this call for peace, a ceasefire, and an immediate and total liberation for all Palestinians.”
She also expressed how as a student and Jewish person, she has not experienced any form of anti-semitic behavior from the protestors on campus.
“I am not being bullied here,” she said. “I am entirely safe right now.”
However, she said she does recall a time when her family did experience danger.
“In the 1940s, the 1930s, in Nazi Germany… my family was displaced from our home. We were starved in concentration camps, and three of my great aunts were murdered in Auschwitz,” she said. “Today, we are watching families, just like my family, in Gaza, displaced, starved, and murdered by the tens of thousands.”
She said the goal of these protests is to stop the war in Gaza, so that as many lives as possible can be saved.
“As a Jewish person, I cannot be more proud of the encampment movement and all other efforts of Jews, Palestinians, and all people worldwide to call for an immediate and permanent peace with equal rights for all.”
Day 7 of the UWM Pro-Palestinian Protest
Monday was day seven of the UWM Pro-Palestinian protests on campus, and students continued to stay committed to their cause despite a rainy weekend. Co-Chair of Students for Democratic Society Audari Tamayo told WTMJ they don’t plan to stop regardless of the conditions.
“We have multiple hands on deck. We have plenty of tarps to go around,” he said. “Any weather conditions… any slight un-comfortability we may experience is not even a fraction of what the Palestinian people have to go through over the last 75 years.”
Over the weekend, Tamayo said they had 24-hour monitoring, by their security and medics, of the “Falasteen Lawn” area, where they hold their encampments, and they’ve been able to deter any potential violence that may occur during their stay on campus.
“There hasn’t been any violence from our side in the past week,” he said. “The only harassment has come from the outside.”
Tamayo also expressed that they will celebrate the week anniversary of their stay on campus throughout the week, but they are also dissatisfied with their stay.
“It feels great that we were able to establish ourselves for a full week and continue on with our programming… and pushing on for our demands,” he said. “However, it is extremely disappointing that it’s had to last a week to elicit a response from the university.”
Even as UWM enters its final week of school, Tamayo said they are prepared to stay on campus and protest beyond classes ending.
“Just because school ends, doesn’t mean the genocide has ended,” he said. “We’re going to be here until we do our part to end genocide of which our government is arming and funding.”
