UW System president Jay Rothman disappointed with UW-Milwaukee over deal with protesters

The University of Wisconsin System president is pushing back against a deal UW-Milwaukee struck with protesters to resolve a two-week encampment.

In an unusually critical statement toward a university, UW System President Jay Rothman said he was "disappointed by the course taken by UW-Milwaukee" and was reviewing the decision-making behind the deal.

UW System spokesperson Mark Pitsch declined to specify which part of the agreement Rothman objected to.

UWM's agreement with pro-Palestinian students called for a ceasefire in Gaza and cited a United Nations expert and the International Court of Justice, noting that both have called Israel's actions a “plausible genocide.” UWM also agreed not to ticket students for violating a state rule banning camping on campus property.

"We understand that the current situation is challenging, complex, and not subject to easy resolution," Rothman said in a statement Tuesday. "Our public universities have a responsibility to focus on the educational mission in support of all of our students and the state of Wisconsin. Maintaining viewpoint neutrality on challenging public issues is critically important, especially in situations where students and other university stakeholders on multiple sides of an issue are in vehement disagreement. We also need to ensure that there is accountability and responsibility for actions taken on our campuses."

Rothman's response came after local Jewish groups criticized the deal, arguing UWM Chancellor Mark Mone caved to student protesters' demands and failed to support Jewish students. They also called on the UW Board of Regents to negate the deal.

"Our universities must be committed to providing an environment where issues can be vigorously and passionately debated, but students must be free from harassment and intimidation," Rothman said.

In response to the Jewish groups, UWM said it was "deeply concerned by the statement made by Hillel Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, and UWM leaders are taking time to understand the concerns before responding comprehensively, which we plan to do soon.” UWM also said it would address its decision-making process behind the deal in a future statement.

UW-Madison also struck a deal with protesters in recent days, which Rothman appeared to support.

"Chancellor Mnookin made it clear to protesters that they broke the law, brought in law enforcement as needed, and worked through dialogue in a way that resulted in a satisfactory outcome," he said in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Clarifications issued on Water Council's ties to Israeli agencies

Also on Tuesday, the Water Council, a Milwaukee-based nonprofit referenced in the UWM agreement, said the university had mischaracterized the council's actions in the deal.

UWM said in the agreement Mone had successfully urged the Water Council to end its relationships with two Israeli-government-owned water companies, Mekorot and Israel Innovation Authority.

The Water Council disagreed with the characterization that it had recently ended relationships with Mekorot and Israel Innovation Authority because it said the only action it had taken after speaking with Mone last week was removing the companies from a directory on its website. The nonprofit said it hadn't engaged with either company since 2019 and it "has no formal ties, ongoing projects or financial interests with any company or organization in Israel."

"We felt this accurately reflected that they are not an active partner of ours," Water Council spokesperson Stacy Vogel Davis said of the companies' removal from the website.

UWM acknowledged the Water Council's clarification in a statement: "UWM appreciates the Water Council’s correction of the erroneous information that appeared in UWM’s agreement with the student protesters."

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 System president disappointed by UW-Milwaukee deal with protesters