Encampment continues at UW-Madison, protesters & campus leaders negotiate
MADISON Wis. (CBS 58) -- The University of Wisconsin-Madison campus was much quieter Thursday, May 2. just a day after pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police, leading to a series of arrests and injured officers.
The calmer atmosphere is in large part due to student protesters having on-going conversations with UW leaders. Around 11 a.m., protesters met with UW officials to discuss what's been the point of contention -- encampments, which are illegal on campus.
Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin also agreed to have police stand down until they meet again with demonstrations within the next 24 hours, according to university spokesperson Kelly Tyrrell.
It comes after UW-Madison police arrested 34 people Wednesday during a standoff with protesters. Of those, four were booked in the Dane County Jail with charges that include battery to police and resisting arrest.
UW System President Jay Rothman told reporters Wednesday there will be "accountability for actions” but didn't say whether students will be expelled.
A vast majority of the protests this week on UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee have been peaceful, which falls in the backdrop of more violent ones across the county.
How Protests Today Compared to the Past
Protests against the war in Gaza have spread to college campuses across the U.S in recent days since students at Columbia University were arrested last week.
It comes as these demonstrations echo college protest movements from the past, including those against the Vietnam war.
Paul Finkelman, Marquette's Law School Robert F. Boden Visiting Professor of Law, points out how there are key differences between the protests of 1968 and 2024.
"There are pictures from the 1960's and 70's protesting the Vietnam war with flowers in their hands," Finkelman said. "That's not what we're seeing today. We are not seeing people saying, we all have to get together and talk about a crisis…Instead it has devolved to name calling."
Finkelman believes civil discourse could help, but getting to that point is a challenge, he says.
"The debate is healthy; the discussion is healthy. What's not healthy is threats, violence and intimidation and needless destruction of property just to prove you can do it."
One similarity between the two are calls for divestment, as in the 60's students on college campuses attempted to have their institutions divest from anything connected to the war in Vietnam.
Today, students are calling for the same thing: cutting ties with companies linked to Israel.