The Lincoln statue at the UW Madison Campus (Fox 11 Online)
MADISON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Nearly two weeks after demonstrations over the Israel-Hamas war began at the University of Wisconsin, a resolution has been reached between campus leaders and protest organizers.
On Friday, the university announced details of the agreement that will end the encampment on Library Mall which began April 29. It was named the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” by the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at UW-Madison.
The agreement requires SJP to remove all tents, materials, signage and other items associated with the encampment by 6 p.m. Friday. SJP also agreed not to disrupt any commencement-related activities or re-establish an encampment on campus.
UW-Madison’s administrative leadership committed to “enhancing its engagement with and support for scholars and students impacted by war, violence, occupation and displacement, including in places such as Gaza and Ukraine.”
In a news release, the university stated that while students were breaking campus and state laws by forming an encampment on university grounds, leaders understood it was in an effort to condemn the war in Gaza. Officials also recognized the impact the protests had on the campus’s Jewish community.
This has been a difficult period for our campus, our nation and the world. We want to be clear that UW–Madison supports peaceful student protest, fully respects the First Amendment, and has done so throughout this year. We appreciate that the encampment, named by SJP the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, although in violation of Chapter 18, was motivated by understandably passionate feelings about the devastation in Gaza, and was a source of community for many participants.
We also understand that the encampment made others in our community, especially portions of our Jewish community, feel uncomfortable and unseen. We reiterate our strong condemnation of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and hate and bigotry in all its forms, and we recognize the costs of war and displacement on so many across the globe.
The agreement comes just days before UW-Madison’s graduation activities take place this weekend.
Similar protests have taken place in other parts of Wisconsin, including at UW-Milwaukee and UW-Oshkosh.
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