Evening update, May 5
At around 5:40 p.m., over 80 community members gathered on the green space of Library Mall to collectively come up with the next steps for moving pro-Palestinian organizers’ demands for the university forward.
The meeting began with announcements on the general movement of negotiations between student organizers and UW administration. As of right now, administration officials maintain that the “door is still open for disclosure,” and have listened to student organizers’ proposed principles for investment, which expand on their first demand of divestment from occupation.
Additional updates included changes in the onboarding process for those looking to camp overnight and an introduction to the safety marshall team. A community member who has played an instrumental role in organizing the encampment thanked students for their efforts and passed along messages of gratitude from his grandmother, who is currently in Palestine.
Two academic staff and faculty members also alerted protesters to tomorrow’s 2:15 p.m. faculty and academic staff rally at Library Mall, which will be followed by a march up to Bascom Hill at 3 p.m.
Members of this group plan to join the final faculty senate meeting of the semester. They are attempting to get another special senate meeting this semester in order to introduce resolutions regarding the past week’s events and students’ demands.
The meeting then shifted into a discussion on next steps as the school year comes to a close. Organizers emphasized that planning will go into the summer, fall, and “as long as it takes to free Palestine.”
Community members broke out into small groups to discuss their ideas for forward movement. They then came together to share out their brainstorms, which were broken down into the following categories: graduation, community outreach, further plans for the encampment, engagement with academic departments, and research.
Update, May 5, noon
Negotiations between UW-Madison administration and pro-Palestinian protesters continue as their Library Mall encampment reaches its seventh day, marking a week of continuous protest. Today marks the first day of final exams for the university.
The number of tents has grown and is at its biggest since the encampment was first established, with approximately 50 tents erected across the lawn. An installation of red dresses has been hung on trees closer to State St., meant to commemorate the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirit, which is also today.
At 7 p.m. yesterday, May 4, UW administration released a statement about their fourth meeting with protesters, which took place earlier that day.
According to the statement:
Students proposed bringing a set of suggested guidelines related to Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA) investments to the next meeting. Campus officials made no commitments about disclosure of investments or divestment during the meeting because WFAA is a separate, independent 501c3 non-profit organization.
The statement further said that “campus leaders indicated it is not an option to remove UWPD from campus,” which was one of the student organizers’ six demands.
At about 11:15 a.m., representatives from Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) provided the first round of general announcements. In addition to the day’s schedule, they encouraged folks to call the DA’s office and demand that charges be dropped from the four people arrested and charged for their involvement in the protests, directing folks to a call script.
A second round of announcements from the encampment is scheduled for 4 p.m. today.
Organizers added an additional 5:30 p.m. meeting to the day’s schedule, which they want as many people as possible to attend. The meeting is intended to “strategize and build collective consensus on escalation tactics to move forward [their] demands with the university.” Students and faculty members are especially encouraged to attend.
The morning announcements closed by reiterating the encampment’s purpose, emphasizing that “we are a group of people here in solidarity with the people of Palestine, the people of Gaza in this ongoing genocide.”
“[This] is a space for people of all backgrounds, of all cultures, of all faiths, and we are really here to center the ongoing genocide and the university’s complicity in it,” they said. Immediately after the meeting, organizers invited folks to join them in front of the Wisconsin Historical Society to answer any questions about the movement’s “messaging strategy.”
Teach-ins for the day include discussions on collective care and liberation movements and Palestinian resistance. From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., there will also be drop-in therapy available in the encampment wellness space.
Evening programming will include intentional music and poetry meant to center Palestinian voices.
