At UW-Milwaukee, administration takes hands-off approach to pro-Palestinian encampment

At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, two worlds co-exist.

In the southeast corner of campus, a couple hundred pro-Palestinian protesters over the past week have pitched dozens of tents and set up a barrier of plastic tables. They have slept through rain and vowed to stay until UWM divests from companies with ties to Israel.

Elsewhere on the 104-acre campus, the normal rhythms of university life continue. In classrooms, dining halls and dorm rooms, thousands of students race to finish end-of-semester assignments and cram for looming final exams.

"They're doing their thing, and we're doing our thing," said UWM senior Michael Kraetz with a shrug. "From all I've seen, campus is business as usual."

At some other colleges across the country, including at UW-Madison, it's a different story. Police pushing protesters and making arrests. Students occupying academic buildings. Administrators threatening disciplinary action.

Republican lawmakers have fixated much more on the encampment at UW-Madison. Within hours of the tents appearing on Library Mall, lawmakers demanded action.

UWM typically receives far less attention so administrators are under much less pressure to find a fast fix. They took a hands-off approach in the first week of the encampment, which began April 29.

Some UW-Milwaukee students supportive, others feel trepidation over tents

How well the campus and encampment are co-existing — and how much longer the co-existence can continue — is the subject of much debate.

Some students interviewed on campus Friday said the tents were no trouble to them. UWM Dean of Students Adam Jussel, in an email to the campus community, said he has heard from people who feel unsafe walking near the tents or want campers arrested.

Jewish students expressed a range of perspectives on the encampment: gratitude it’s been peaceful so far, hesitancy about walking past it, and a feeling that the protesters have conflated Jewish students’ opinions on the war with the Israeli government’s policies. They wanted demonstrators to be more open to having discussions about the issue.

"Though we understand the encampment is unsettling for many in our community, the encampment has not disrupted daily campus operations," the university said in a statement. "UWM has consistently been clear with protesters that we want to work toward a peaceful resolution."

The encampment hasn't come up in Kraetz's classes, which he found surprising as a student minoring in history. He said the nationwide campus protests feel historic, but day-to-day life at UWM hasn't felt all that different.

"Just because we're not getting beat on the head doesn't mean history's not still being made," said Audari Tamayo, UWM junior and co-chair of the Students for a Democratic Society, one of the student groups organizing the encampment.

Protest leaders have tried making the experience educational and inclusive. On Friday evening, for example, they hosted a Shabbat gathering for the Jewish community to attend. Tamayo dismissed any suggestion of the encampment disrupting students.

"We're here to disrupt the administration," he said.

UWM students weigh administrative response

The tents are set up on the grass outside Mitchell Hall, which mostly houses offices for the Graduate School, some academic departments, communications and marketing, and the university's research enterprise.

If protesters removed the tents, they wouldn't send as loud of a message, said education major Alice Whelan.

"We're still learning, and it's normal in the buildings," she said. "As long as they're not hurting anyone, I think it's OK."

UWM senior Eli Drews said the tents have caused minor disruptions to his life. The music major spends significant time in the Peck School of the Arts and the Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts, both of which are near the encampment. Protesters' chants have punctuated his rehearsals, as have horns honked by passing cars.

LETTER TO EDITOR: Don't compare today's Gaza protests at colleges with Vietnam-era demonstrations

"They're not really hurting anything, but you do hear them," Drew said.

Police intervention would likely backfire, Kraetz said.

"It seems like most students are indifferent right now, but bringing in police would make them more sympathetic (to protesters)," he said.

UWM junior Michael Burrows hadn't even realized the tents had remained up all of last week until an email went out Friday addressing the matter. He praised Chancellor Mark Mone's handling of the matter.

"I think the chancellor's being really smart by not trying to escalate it," Burrows said. "He's trying to negotiate a peaceful end."

Journal Sentinel reporter Sophie Carson contributed reporting.

Contact Kelly Meyerhofer at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @KellyMeyerhofer.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: At UW-Milwaukee, administrators take hands-off approach to encampment