MADISON — Following weeks of protests and recent negotiations, UW-Madison leadership and student representatives from Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) reached an agreement that will end the tent encampment by 6 p.m. on Friday evening on Liberty Mall in exchange for a variety of stipulations for the University.
Included in the commitments made by the University is limited access for SJP representatives to voice their concerns with decision-makers with the Wisconsin Foundation, Alumni Association and Universities of Wisconsin endowment leadership by July 1. There will also be widescale reassessments of University operations and how they would impact international affairs.
Student protestors also committed to removing any on-campus disruptions and acknowledged that their encampments were a violation of the University’s Chapter 18 policies.
For a complete breakdown of the commitments from both parties, click here.
The agreement comes just in time for this weekend’s graduation ceremony, ensuring there won’t be any existing or future encampments set up for commencement.
The following comments were released by University officials in the wake of this agreement:
This has been a difficult period for our campus, our nation and the world. We want to be clear that UW–Madison supports peaceful student protest, fully respects the First Amendment, and has done so throughout this year. We appreciate that the encampment, named by SJP the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, although in violation of Chapter 18, was motivated by understandably passionate feelings about the devastation in Gaza, and was a source of community for many participants.
We also understand that the encampment made others in our community, especially portions of our Jewish community, feel uncomfortable and unseen. We reiterate our strong condemnation of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and hate and bigotry in all its forms, and we recognize the costs of war and displacement on so many across the globe.
In the agreement below, campus leaders have committed to addressing concerns of encampment organizers: facilitation of access for SJP to meet with decision makers to discuss disclosure and investment principles and enhanced engagement with and support for scholars and students impacted by war, violence and displacement.
This is a breaking news story. An update and/or follow-up will be issued if further details are revealed.
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