MILWAUKEE — A state-wide vote by the UW Board of Regents Saturday is getting mixed reactions from local students here in Milwaukee.
In a meeting Saturday morning, the board overseeing Wisconsin's public universities voted 9-8 against a deal brokered between University of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman and legislative Republican leaders.
“Even sitting in the meeting this morning I felt the anxiety. I think everyone did. Students and the regents. There’s a lot at stake with the whole situation,” Bailee Jones, a student at UWM, said.
That meeting came after University of Wisconsin System officials announced a deal on Friday. The deal agreed to freeze hiring for diversity positions and restructure current diversity staff into positions serving all students.
The regent’s vote against the deal was something many on UWM’s campus were happy about.
“I feel like it’s good for the community and showing these people matter,” Asher Ozuzu, a first-year at UWM, explained. “As minorities, it has to do with our community. It’s ignorant to not pay attention to stuff like that.”
Students like Ozuzu added that they especially value the current Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion(DEI) services on UWM’s campus.
“I think DEI is getting reviewed at a system level, when each university benefits in a different way. DEI here is different than Stevens Point. Nevertheless, it’s important and vital to students success,” Jones explained.
The vote wasn’t one sided though. If the deal had been approved, lawmakers would have released money to fund a 6% pay raise for UW employees over the next two years.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos released this statement after Saturday’s vote:
“It’s a shame they’ve denied employees their raises and the almost $1 billion investment that would have been made across the UW system, all so they could continue their ideological campaign to force students to believe only one viewpoint is acceptable on campus.”
Governor Evers also released a statement in support of the board’s decision:
“It’s clear the regents are deeply divided over this proposal, have immense concerns about this process and the difficult position they were put in, and are all committed to their charge—doing what’s best for our past, present, and future students, faculty, and staff, and the institutions that have defined our state for generations.
I believe that’s what they did today in voting their values, and I understand and support their decision and vote.
I look forward to this discussion continuing in the weeks and months ahead. I urge legislative Republicans to remain in those conversations so we can work together and find common ground to do what’s best for the UW System, including investing in the UW-Madison engineering building.
In the meantime, I again urge legislative Republicans to release the already-approved UW System employee raises and investments included in the biennial budget that are well overdue.”
TMJ4 reached out to the UW Board of Regents Saturday for potential steps moving forward, but did not immediately hear back.
TMJ4's Kaylee Staral also reached out to several UWM student groups Saturday for reaction, including UWM Republicans and Black Student Union. They did not immediately respond.
UWM sent this statement to its students regarding the vote:
Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,
Saturday morning, the Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents voted against the proposed terms of an agreement between system President Jay Rothman and Republican legislators. Following an hour of thoughtful debate and discussion about the repercussions of the proposed resolution, the motion failed 8-9. You can read the full motion online or via the chancellor's message or to campus that was shared on Friday.
Although we do not yet have information about the consequences of this vote, we will continue to advocate for UWM students, staff and faculty, as well as the resources needed to fulfill our unique mission dedicated to student success and research that improves the lives of our communities, Wisconsin and the world. This includes advocating for the employee compensation plan approved by the Legislature and diversity, equity and inclusion positions and services that help our students succeed.
We will share additional updates with you as they are available.
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