UWM Protesters Demand University Cut Ties With Israel in Closed-Door Meeting With Chancellor

Protests have erupted on UW-Milwaukee’s campus, as protesters met in a closed-door Monday meeting with university Chancellor Mark Mone.

Protesters are demanding the divesting of any UWM resources to Israel and Palestine’s ongoing war. They also called for the university to cut ties with companies that are supporting Israel, change the name of the Golda Meir Library, and end UWM’s Study Abroad trips to Israel.

The organizers of these protests, UWM’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, met with Mone, but what the chancellor said was kept from the media.

The university prevented campus and other media from attending the meeting, only allowing five students into the protesters’ meeting with the chancellor.

“We are hoping today that we can at least get a ball rolling in the direction of divesting from sending aid to Israel in this genocide,” said Nick Schiller, a member of SDS.

The university made a statement later the same day acknowledging they met with the students. The statement said the campus leaders listened to the students’ concerns but did not state if or when action would be taken.

SDS members were told they would be contacted by the university regarding their demands by March 1. SDS members said they will “take direct action” if this deadline isn’t met, though they refused to comment on what this action will look like.

Students for a Democratic Society, or SDS, is a UWM chapter of a national Organization with over 40 campuses. They are a self-described “national, multi-issue, progressive student organization” that co-chair Audari Tamayo described as “student-led, activism focused.” The organization was associated with leftist politics in the 1960s and 70s, but since its refounding in 2006, does not mention these politics. They do however say they are “inspired by” previous movements.

The 11 a.m. meeting began at 9:45 a.m. for members of SDS, with protests at Golda Meir Library. They marched to the Student Union and waited outside of the Fireside Lounge, where five members of the organization met with Mone.

Area police officers were stationed inside and around the Student Union, along with police escorts for Chancellor Mone.

The Fireside Lounge had curtains in front of the windows, so protesters anxiously waited outside for the 40 minutes the meeting lasted, and then marched back and continued protesting at Golda Meir Library.

This meeting was one of the demands of SDS’ Feb. 9 sit-in at Chapman Hall that was declared an unlawful assembly; four SDS members were arrested.

Leaders of SDS requested recurring meetings every month to update on the progress of these changes, though Mone did not comment on this.

In their discussion, SDS leaders said the university seemed to consider changing the name of the Golda Meir Library. It is currently named after the UWM alum, who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Israel, during the Yom Kippur War.

Though Meir was a renowned activist for people of Jewish descent, women, and laborers, SDS have pointed out her Zionist viewpoints and anti-Palestinian comments throughout her life.

“It’s kind of ridiculous that we have this school that champions accountability and integrity and responsibility and then we have a library named after Golda Meir,” said Sania Syed, a leader within SDS, and one of the students who spoke with Chancellor Mone.

Protesters also had concerns about the business relations of the university, including ones that support Israel. SDS’s Instagram page raised concerns about the Universities of Wisconsin receiving funding from the US-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund, which may benefit Israel.

Their page also raised concerns with other companies collaborating with the university that have been tied to Israel’s war effort, including Caterpillar Inc., Astronautics Corporation of America, Dell, and more.

“We’re trying to push Chancellor Mone and the university to help support Palestine because right now they have a bunch of ties to manufacturing companies and companies that are supporting the genocide in Palestine,” Syed said.

Lastly, they asked the university to cut ties with partner universities in Israel, where UWM students may study abroad, though UWM’s Study Abroad website does not list any active programs in Israel.

While the UWM ties to Israel represent a larger concern for the organization, many of the members find it deeply personal.

“What Palestine means to me is liberation,” said SDS leader Audari Tamayo. “Seeing how the Palestinian people have risen up despite facing 130 days of an escalated genocide, despite facing 75+ years of indescribable occupation and horrors all involved in that, they’ve risen up in defiance…and for me as a Chicano person, I see that as an inspiration because we’re gonna tear down walls over here too.”

“It’s a human struggle, and it’s something that if we don’t do anything about it now…when are we going to do anything about it,” said Marcus Godiali, a member of SDS. “People like to hypothesize ‘What would I have done during the Holocaust?’ What you’re doing now is probably what you would have been doing.”

SDS members hope to continue these talks with Chancellor Mone and the university but wait to see his response for further action.