Response From UWM
The night of the first day of protest, UWM sent out a second university-wide email. The “Statement on free speech and campus protests” stated that while “The vast majority of protests on UWM’s campus during the last several months have been peaceful and lawful, and UWM is steadfast in respecting the right to free speech” it is critical that a safe and welcoming environment is maintained.
The statement reiterates that the encampment is “unlawful” and violates Chapter 18 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code.
UWM also responded to the series of demands given by protesters, saying that many of these concerns have been previously addressed in meetings between UWM administration and students.
It was stated that they share the heartbreak felt by the community and the world. They called for an end to violence “by joining the White House and international leaders in calling for a release of the hostages and a ceasefire”.
The university clarified that, unlike private institutions, UWM doesn’t directly have investments. Instead, they are funded with a combination of state funding, tuition, program revenue and grants. While UWM receives grant funding from The UWM Foundation, it is a separate legal entity. The statement says that the university has no control over the foundation’s investments and that those investments [within The UWM Foundation] are through mutual funds in which you cannot disinvest from individual companies within those funds.
In response to the demand that the university has no future or current partnerships with institutions or entities in Israel, UWM stated that there are no active study-abroad programs within Israel. And that prohibiting faculty from engaging with any institution or country would infringe on their academic freedom.
The end of the statement asks that people “respect each other’s diverse viewpoints as well as the laws so that we can all feel safe and welcome here”.
While the statement refers to the encampment as unlawful there has been no legal action to break up the protest at this time.
Day Two at the Encampment
SDS posted a daily schedule for day two on their Instagram featuring teach-ins, speeches, a press conference, traditional Palestinian embroidery and henna.
A member of the teaching faculty in the JAMS program put on a teach-in on solidarity during protest.
At the same time a guided meditation was held on the opposite end of the encampment and yoga mats were passed out for people to sit on.
The camp has a system of “marshals” wearing green vests to maintain security of the area as well as medics in case of emergencies.
Press Conference
At 3:30 PM a press conference was held responding to the statement put out by the university.
“We have read the UWM statement on free speech and we continue to be dissapointed by the university’s inaction,” said Ameen Atta.
The protesters redirected their demands to disclose finances and divest accordingly to The UWM Foundation.
In a statement made on behalf of Representative Ryan Clancy, it was stated that the Chancellor was asked to use his rights to permit the encampment and that they are awaiting his reply. They also asked that the Chancellor’s office notify the encampment of any police action before it is taken and that they agreed to do so.
“We remain hopeful that the Chancellor’s statement on protecting students will remain consistent with his actions in the coming days,” said in the statement read on behalf of Clancy.
In response to the encampment being unlawful Atta said, “We’re going to be here until all of our demands are met.”
*For clarity: Speakers, protesters and counter-protesters will not be named unless The UWM Post is given express permission, due to violence that has occurred at other universities across the United States.