Live: UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee students organize pro-Palestinian rallies Monday

As pro-Palestinian encampments pop up at colleges across the country, student groups have scheduled Monday morning rallies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and UW-Milwaukee.

Since the Israel-Hamas war began Oct. 7, protests on Wisconsin campuses have been largely peaceful. The Monday rallies are among the first scheduled in the state since New York police arrested more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia University, which set off protests at other colleges nationally.

Check back for updates as the day progresses.

What’s driving students to protest?

The rallies come as the semester winds down and commencement nears. The past school year has left both Palestinian and Jewish students on edge, with many feeling misunderstood, anxious and isolated.

The organizing groups, which include Students for Justice in Palestine chapters and the Students for Democratic Society at UW-Milwaukee, have pushed for their schools to cut ties with Israel.

The groups did not make clear whether their rally plans included setting up encampments. A UW-Milwaukee organizer said the rally would last two hours, while UW-Madison organizers didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Will students be arrested?

The UW-Madison dean of students and interim police chief warned in a Friday email to the 50,000-student campus that disobeying university protest policies and rules “can and will have consequences, both within our code of student conduct and more broadly under Wisconsin law.”

State rules ban people from camping on university land.

At UWM, five students were arrested earlier this semester following a sit-in outside the chancellor’s office that university officials said was unauthorized.

“In the extremely rare instances when UWM Police have made arrests at the site of prior demonstrations, not one person has been arrested because they were protesting,” university spokesperson Angelica Duria said. “Rather, they were arrested and subsequently cited for violations of the laws by which we must all abide.”

More: As pro-Palestinian protests sweep U.S. campuses, here’s what’s happening at Wisconsin universities

Why are pro-Palestinian students protesting at UW-Milwaukee?

The students’ demands include:

• Renaming Golda Meir Library. Meir, who grew up in Milwaukee and is one of UWM’s most notable alumna, was Israeli prime minister from 1969-74. UWM says the UW Board of Regents is in charge of campus building names.
• Ending study abroad trips to Israel. UWM said it has no study-abroad activity in Israel and no jurisdiction over Hillel, an international organization through which local Jewish college students can join and take birthright trips to Israel.
• Divesting from weapon manufacturersinvolved in the war. UWM said its foundation supports the university by investing in mutual funds but it cannot divert money from individual companies within its funds.

About two dozen student protesters staged a six-hour sit-in outside the office of UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone in February. Police arrested five students for assembly blocking, obstructing, unauthorized occupation, prohibited signs and prohibited noise.

The students pleaded not guilty to the citations, which carry fines but no jail time.

More recently, protesters have picketed outside Mone’s home.