UW-Milwaukee strikes deal with pro-Palestinian protesters to take down encampment

The encampment is ending at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

UWM and pro-Palestinian protesters reached an agreement Sunday afternoon, two weeks after tents went up on the lawn outside Mitchell Hall, in defiance of a state rule banning camping on campus property.

Protesters said the encampment was a "vital tool in pressuring UWM to cut any and all ties" with Israel after more diplomatic attempts to negotiate with administrators went nowhere.

"After hard fought edits and careful consideration by the coalition, we determined that we had obtained all possible benefits from our encampment," multiple student groups said in a joint statement. "This does not mean that we have ended our struggle."

Similar to the deal UW-Madison struck Friday, UWM protesters will meet with university foundation leaders to discuss divesting from companies connected with Israel.

"We recognized divestment is not an overnight process," the student groups said, adding they expect a divestment timeline will come out of the first meeting.

Unlike UW-Madison, UWM did not send in police to try clearing the encampment. Instead, the university took a hands-off approach in the first week and met with protest leaders three times over the past week.

For some students on campus, the lack of action from administrators was upsetting. Others said that, as long as the campers were peaceful, they didn't see it as a problem worth involving police.

"The most common question asked of us involved when police would be sent in to break up the encampment," UWM Chancellor Mark Mone said in a campus message. "Our consistent answer: UWM leadership prioritized the safety of everyone involved, which meant seeking resolution through dialogue with our students."

Details of the deal between protesters and UWM

At certain points, the encampment included more than 40 tents. Students have until Tuesday morning to take them down under the terms of the deal.

Protesters also agreed not to disrupt commencement, which will be held May 19 at UWM Panther Arena.

In exchange, UWM agreed to review study abroad programming to ensure it aligns with the university's discriminatory conduct policy. Protesters said they were confident the review process would "effectively end" all future study abroad trips to Israel.

UWM also agreed to forgo citations or conduct violations related to the camping ban. The university called for a ceasefire in Gaza and condemned the destruction of universities.

The deal also outlines a plan for UWM leaders to continue discussing protesters’ concerns while acknowledging the university, as a state agency, cannot cut ties with private companies and organizations doing business with Israel under a state law passed several years ago.

In one of the more notable concessions, UWM said it had successfully urged the Water Council, a Milwaukee-based nonprofit focused on water issues, to end its relationships with two Israeli-government-owned water companies. International aid organizations have accused both companies, Mekorot and Israel Innovation Authority, of cutting off access to drinking water for thousands of Palestinians in Gaza.

In a statement provided before the deal was reached 4 p.m. Sunday, the Water Council told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel it supports the United Nations’ call for access to water and sanitation as a human right available to all people.

"We will continue to work toward our mission of solving critical water challenges by driving freshwater technology innovation and advancing water stewardship so that all people can have access to clean, abundant freshwater," council spokesperson Stacy Vogel Davis said.

Protesters previously called for Mone to step down from his position as treasurer of the Water Council.

Student groups included in the deal were the campus' Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, Students for a Democratic Society, the Muslim Student Association, UN-PAC at UWM and the Young Democratic Socialists of America.

Contact Kelly Meyerhofer at [email protected] or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @KellyMeyerhofer.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW-Milwaukee strikes deal with protesters to take down encampment