MILWAUKEE, WI – UW-Milwaukee students planted tents on Falasteen lawn in front of Mitchell Hall late Monday morning to protest the Israel-Palestine war and UWM’s alleged financial ties to it. As the day went on, students and community members protested, prayed, did homework, and had food delivered.
The encampment followed a protest Monday morning that was put on by six student-led organizations: The UWM Chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, The Muslim Student Association, Students for Justice in Palestine, the UWM chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America, UN-PAC UWM and the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine. The protest started at the library and made its way through campus with protesters then marching along Downer Ave.
A livestream video on the SDS UWM Instagram account around noon Monday titled “encampment” shows these protesters marching towards Falasteen lawn with others rushing from cars onto the lawn to raise their tents.
This protest comes after months of attempted communication and meetings with the university from SDS UWM about their demands and a February sit-in that resulted in the arrest of five students.
“This specific encampment, we are in solidarity with the National Students for Justice in Palestine Coalition,” said Ameen Atta, a leader in the Muslim Students Association. “If they’re not going to cooperate with our emails and meetings, fine we’re gonna show up here until our demands are met, there’s no other way.”
Prior protests demanding UWM divest resources from the conflict, led to multiple meetings with Chancellor Mark Mone, bringing him these concerns.
Atta said, “UWM claims that they have no investments, fine but they have a direct affiliated entity, it’s called the UWM Foundation and they have investments, so we need them to disclose what those investments are and divest accordingly from anything that profits from or supports the genocide of our people, our family, our relatives.”
Disclosure of financials and divestment is one of four demands. The protester’s list of demands is painted on a prominently placed sign within the encampment and has been posted on social media and reiterated in speeches. It was also stated during a press conference on Tuesday that within the first hour of the encampment being set up a letter stating the demands was given to Dean of Students Adam Jussel to share with the university.
The list of demands [from the now-suspended uwm4pali Instagram account] reads:
1. Disclose all financials and divest accordingly
2. Cut all ties with weapons manufacturers
3. No future educational partnerships with the occupation [Israel]
4. Release a statement condemning the actions of the apartheid state [Israel]
UWM’s Chancellor’s Office sent out a university-wide email about protests early Monday morning. The email said they are “equally committed to ensuring the health, safety and welfare of our campus community and to making sure that people or groups exercising their right to speech don’t interfere with the free expression rights of others.” The email also pointed students to Chapter 18 the Wisconsin Administrative Code which prohibits “pickinicking and camping” on campus or occupying buildings.
While students are now utilizing encampments for protest nationwide, the movement began at Columbia University in New York, where protesters have been camped out since April 17th. Students at the University of Texas, USC, Havard, and many others began their encampments after Columbia and have sparked nationwide attention and controversy.
Sania Syed, a leader in UWM’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society said, “I think just seeing Columbia students have that bravery to put everything on the line because it’s the end of the semester, I’m stressed, everyone’s stressed, there’s finals going on, but it’s nothing compared to what’s going on in Gaza.”
“I feel like often times the actual news coverage of Palestine just cuts off when they’re too busy focusing on students in the movement, but the reason we are here is to bring attention to that,” Syed said.
The current conflict of the Palestine-Israel war refers to the attacks that started on October 7, 2023, lasting now 206 days. These attacks have resulted in the deaths of over 35,000 Palestinians and over 77,000 injuries. The number of Israelis killed are just over 1,000, with an estimated 8,730 injured.
“I’m Palestinian, and there are hundreds of Palestinians on this campus, and we haven’t been able to sleep, haven’t been able to think, we haven’t been able to study because this is constantly on our minds, and this is not about us, the focus is on them,” Atta said.
Within the encampment or “liberated zone” [as declared on multiple signs throughout the area] on Falasteen Lawn Monday, students gathered first to protest but also to come together as a community. Students did yoga, homework, learned Palestinian dance and provided support for Muslim students to pray.
The prayer typically lasts about five minutes and is guided by local leaders in the Milwaukee Muslim community.
“When we pray, our focus is supposed to be in one place, it’s supposed to be on our prayer…when people are praying and somebody is grabbed by the police, other people can’t break their prayer to go help them…the point of the ring around is so we had some protection,” Syed said.
Members of the Milwaukee community have rallied around the protesters, bringing food, water, and tents. Chubby’s Cheesesteaks arrived just four hours after the encampment was set up Monday to deliver meals for protesters.
UWM Police have been keeping an eye on the protest, but police have taken no action to break up the protest as of now.
At the time of publishing, protesters have spent both Monday and Tuesday nights camped out, they plan to continue until their demands are met.
