MILWAUKEE — Student protesters at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee cleared a two-week encampment Tuesday morning in time for an 8:00 deadline.
In light of the agreement, people in the local Jewish community expressed outrage about the actions of UWM officials. Late Tuesday, the UW System president Jay Rothman stated he was disappointed in decisions made by UWM leadership.
"I am disappointed by the course taken by UW-Milwaukee, and I am continuing to assess the decision-making process that led to this result," Rothman wrote on the social media site X.
"All students, Jewish, Palestinian, Muslim, and otherwise deserve to be heard, deserve to feel safe and cared for on campus, and deserve to feel they're part of a university that has committed to the education and their well-being. Unfortunately, that is not the way that UW-Milwaukee has been acting in recent weeks," said Rabbi Joshua Herman with Hillel Milwaukee.
In a joint statement, Hillel Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, and the Anti-Defamation League Midwest strongly criticized UWM Chancellor Mark Mone's statement on the agreement with protesters and his stance on a complex issue.
They claim Mone has refused to meet with Jewish students over concerns of antisemitism and provided no meaningful support to those students.
"I think the reason you're struggling to hear from Jewish students is because they're scared. They do not want her face and names in the media because they're feeling targeted," Herman explained.
One professor at UWM sent TMJ4 a letter saying by allowing the illegal encampment and taking a controversial political stance UWM leaders abandoned the principle of remaining neutral as a public university.
Part of the school's agreement with protesters included a public statement on the conflict in Gaza.
"There's a lot of broken trust between the university and Jewish students and I think there's going to be a number of important steps that need to be taken including the fact that. I think there used to be some kind of independent review of what happened on campus," Rabbi Herman added.
UWM says it is deeply concerned about the message from Hillel Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
A spokesperson said the university is working to fully understand the statement and release a response.
Following a meeting with student protesters and the UWM Foundation on Tuesday, UWM officials say future encampments will not be tolerated and citations will be issued.
Read the joint statement from Hillel Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Jewish Foundation and Anti-Defamation League Midwest below.
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) Chancellor Mark Mone capitulated to protesters who violated UWM codes of conduct and state law, vandalized university property, and used harassment and intimidation to fuel antisemitism on campus. The agreement is among the most offensive and dangerous of any university agreement reached with encampment protesters over the last two weeks.
Chancellor Mone’s agreement with protesters comes after seven-plus months of him refusing to meet with Jewish students and failing to adequately respond to antisemitic incidents on campus since October 7. The chancellor’s statement provides no meaningful support to UWM’s Jewish community and fails to acknowledge the fear and pain Jewish community members have endured due to the actions of protesters during the encampment and before.
In contrast, Chancellor Mone gave protesters who fueled hate and violated school policies at UWM a seat at the table and even invited them to nominate individuals and faculty to serve on key university committees and working groups. Thechancellor’sdecisiontograntimmunityto individuals who mocked and broke school rules and the law sets a dangerous precedent for future incidents on campus. And, in another desperate attempt to appease the protesters, Chancellor Mone appears to have used his public university position to compel a private company to submit to demands of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.
Chancellor Mone has been negligent in his duty to ensure all students feel and are safe on campus. We call on the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System to immediately negate this agreement and take the aggressive steps necessary to ensure Jewish – and all –students are able to attend UWM and all UW campuses without the threats of harassment, intimidation and hate just because of their identity.
UW-Milwaukee's most recent statement following Tuesday's meeting with the UWM Foundation and student protesters can be seen below.
UWM Foundation President David Gilbert, Chancellor Mark Mone and UWM administrators met with student protest representatives Tuesday morning. Students were given the opportunity to share their concerns and demands regarding the UWM Foundation’s investments with the Foundation President. They requested a timeline of actions to be taken. The Foundation President did not offer a timeline but agreed to timely share the concerns with the full Board. The Foundation President also suggested that the Board could better understand and discuss their specific requests if the students submitted the details in writing, with an explanation.
UWM reiterates that no promises were made in the May 12 agreement beyond facilitating the meeting. UWM trusts that the protesters will abide by the details of the agreement so that all aspects of it remain in effect.
Future encampments will not be tolerated and, should they be erected, UWM will exercise citations and the student conduct process immediately. Protests need to abide by state law and university policy.
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