Police pause action at UW-Madison for a day: Updates

Despite a violent clash with police in Madison on Wednesday, pro-Palestinian encampments continued Thursday at both the University of Wisconsin-Madison and at UW-Milwaukee.

Hundreds of people, mostly students, are calling for the universities to divest from companies with ties to Israel. The standoff between student protesters and college administrators over tents mirrors a national conflict that is growing increasingly confrontational.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have vowed to remain for as long as it takes until schools meet their demands. University leaders are balancing students’ right to protest with a desire to minimize disruptions to their campuses and enforce a state rule banning encampments.

Follow our live coverage on the fourth day of protests at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee. See our coverage from days one and two and day three.

8:45 p.m.: Marquette student spotlights Catholic beliefs in her protest

Marquette University student Leen Mortada said protesting was important to her as her college days wind down.

“I’m a senior. So I’m hoping this is my last wish going out,” Mortada said.

“We’re a Catholic Jesuit institution and if it’s claiming to believe in the Catholic beliefs to uphold the dignity of others and stand with the margins, who’s on the margins? It’s Palestinians.”

8:30 p.m.: Marquette spokesperson stresses dialogue, empathy

Marquette University spokesperson Monica MacKay released a statement Thursday night on the heels of the protest, saying that the university "actively promotes and respects freedom of expression and the exchange of diverse viewpoints."

"The 2022 Marquette University Student Government resolution supporting boycott and divestment of Israel, which was mentioned by demonstration organizers, is a non-binding resolution," MacKay said. "The university will continue to work with students from all backgrounds and faith traditions to foster dialogue and empathy for what people are feeling and experiencing due to the Israel-Hamas War. When there is conflict, death and grief in the world that we as an institution cannot fix, we can lean on what we do well: discussion, community, prayer and support services.”

5:50 p.m.: More than 100 people protest at Marquette University campus

More than a hundred Marquette students and community members protested on the university’s campus Thursday evening demanding it divest from any businesses associated with Israel.

Protesters walked down Wisconsin Avenue from the Milwaukee Central Library, located at 814 W. Wisconsin Ave., to Raynor Library, located at 1355 W. Wisconsin Ave., while they chanted, “Gaza, Gaza, don’t you cry, Palestine will never die.”

As of 5:45 p.m., protesters are continuing to make their way along Wisconsin Avenue, where they will then continue via car caravan to UWM.

1 p.m.: Marquette University students set to join protest

Marquette University students are joining the protest Thursday evening to call for their university to divest from Israel.

Protesters will gather at 5 p.m. at the Milwaukee Central Library, located at 814 W. Wisconsin Ave. and then will take part in a car caravan to the UWM encampment.

Students are demanding Marquette divest from vendors like Naf Naf Grill on campus, and to end the sale of Sabra Hummus.

12 p.m.: Shorewood High School students join the protests

Shorewood High School students walked out of the school at noon to march to the UWM encampment.The students made speeches on the front lawn but media were not allowed on the campus.The group of about 75 then marched toward UWM, escorted by volunteer marshals from UWM’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society.“Palestine is our fight,” they shouted. “Students of the world unite.”One of the students, Robert Gronert, said he’s seen a lot of young people want to mobilize against the “horrors that the Israeli military and occupying force has inflicted on the people of Palestine.”He also said he was upset by the police response to student protests on college campuses.“The way we've seen students being brutalized on campus, we’ve seen teachers being attacked and arrested, it really is just distressing to see that, and we also know that if there are high schoolers there, the police will be less likely to attack them,” he said.

11:30 a.m.: Jewish woman worries of violence if encampment is allowed to continue

Sophia Lieberman, a sophomore at UW-Madison, watched the ongoing encampment at the university with a wary eye Thursday morning. She said that as a Jewish woman, she believes in peace, and that innocent civilians shouldn't be hurt in Gaza, but some of the things the protesters have said seem anti-semitic.

"These encampments, and these protests, I don't agree with it because I do believe the meaning behind them is anti-semitic," she said. "It is supporting Hamas. Saying free Palestine to get rid of Israel...we're the only Jewish country in the entire world."

As the rain started to fall, Lieberman said she didn't think the university should be allowing the encampment to continue, and that she's worried about violence.

"It's terrifying to me," she said.

11:10 a.m.: UW-Madison pledges pause on police, protester says

Student protesters met with UW-Madison leaders Thursday morning to discuss negotiations over unlawful tents set up on Library Mall.

Administrators agreed to another meeting sometime within the next 24 hours and Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin guaranteed no police action would be taken before then, an organizer who goes by the pseudonym "Jules" told reporters.

University spokesperson Kelly Tyrrell confirmed campus leaders agreed to meet with organizers again within 24 hours and guaranteed no police action would take place before then.

UW-Madison said earlier in the week that leaders wouldn't talk until the tents came down.

About 20 tents remained despite heavy rain.

11 a.m.: Grad student calls encampment a 'beautiful' community

Abbie Klein, a first-year graduate student, has been camping on Library Mall for the past four days. Decked out in a sweatshirt and sweatpants Thursday morning, Klein said the community of students, faculty and locals gathered in the encampment is "one of the most beautiful communities" she's ever been a part of.

"Everybody here cares about each other," she said.

But, the threat of another encounter with police is hanging over the heads of those camped out, if University leadership and leaders of the encampment can't reach an agreement in the next 24 hours.

The meeting with the chancellor isn't being considered a win, Klein said.

"It's the bare minimum that we're guaranteed no police brutality for the next 24 hours," she said. "There should never be police brutality against students."

10:45 a.m.: Protests spread to other UW campuses

Students at two other UW schools have joined the call for universities to divest from Israel through their own protests for Palestinians.

UW-Stevens Point students held a “peace movement” from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday asking the university to disclose its investments with Israel and cut ties with Israeli businesses, WSAW-TV reported. The protesters did not set up tents and their chancellor shared a statement supporting free speech, according to the reporting.

Students at UW-Whitewater also joined with their own “Day of Action for Palestine” that started around 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning and will last through the day, according to social media posts. The event was organized by the Muslim Student Association of Whitewater, UWW College Democrats, UWW’s Black Student Union, Latinos Unidos, the Alpha Delta Phi Society Lavender Chapter, and UWW Impact, a LGBTQ+ and allies student organization.

10:30 a.m.: President Biden weighs in on campus protests across the country

Before traveling to North Carolina Thursday morning, President Joe Biden delivered brief, unscheduled remarks on the nationwide protests.

Biden said peaceful protests are protected in America, but violent protests are not. He said destroying property, trespassing, vandalism and forcing the cancelation of classes and graduations are not peaceful protests.

"Threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not peaceful protest," Biden said. "Dissent is essential to democracy. But dissent must never lead to disorder, or to denying the rights of others so our students can finish the semester and their college education."

Biden added there should be no place in America for antisemitism against Jewish students or hate speech or violence against Palestinian Americans and Arab Americans.

He answered two questions at the end, saying he would not reconsider his policy in the region because of the protests and did not think the National Guard should intervene in the protests.

Former President Donald Trump weighed in on the protests at a rally in Waukesha yesterday, praising the police response at Columbia University and urging college presidents to shut down encampments.

8 a.m.: Encampments at both UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee are quiet this morning

For UWM, it was a continuation of the past three days since pro-Palestinian protesters pitched tents.

For UW-Madison, it was in stark contrast to the scene 24 hours ago when police broke up the unlawful but peaceful encampment.

The Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at UW-Madison posted a full schedule for the day on social media. Activities include a breakfast rally, teach-ins on various topics throughout the day and dabke, a traditional Palestinian folk dance.

Scattered showers and potential storms are in the forecast for Thursday afternoon and evening.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Protests at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee go to fourth day: Updates