Protesters for Palestine remain on UWM campus Monday night as they fortify encampment

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – Dozens of pro-Palestine protesters built up their encampment Monday night, April 29, outside Mitchell Hall on the UW-Milwaukee campus.

For at least 10 hours Monday, they protested in support of Palestine and called on the university to sever all ties with Israel and any companies that do business with Israel, and to stop sending exchange students to Israel.

We asked a university spokesperson if the protesters would be asked to leave as night fell, if they would be forcibly removed, or if they would be allowed to stay. She said the university did not have an update.

For much of Monday afternoon and evening, the crowd of more than 100 protesters braced for conflict.

Samia Saed is a member of the UWM Popular University for Palestine Coalition. She told us, "We have funds enough for if we do get arrested. Which we're hoping doesn't happen."

UWM alum Carly Pavlik said, "I was wondering, seeing all these happening across the country, I was wondering and hoping to God it would come here."

For the majority of the day, about a dozen UWM police officers assembled a block away from the encampment, but they did not move in.

When we asked if they planned to move in on the encampment, officers told us off camera they were unaware of any plans to do so.

But protesters remained vigilant.

Saed said, "We are prepared but we know the risks. We're here for Palestine, we're here for the Palestinian students."

As Muslim protesters prepared for evening prayer at around 5 o'clock, other protesters formed a human chain around them.

But police did not move in.

As 6 p.m. approached -rumored throughout the day to be a tipping point time- protesters massed along Kenwood Boulevard, overturning tables to create a barricade around the encampment.

Again, police did not move in.

As the sun set and temperatures dropped, more food was ordered. But still, nothing happened.

Saed said, "We are prepared - days, weeks, months. Whatever it takes. Like I said, we've exhausted all the usual avenues of discussion."

The protests began at around 10:30 a.m. when dozens rallied outside the Golda Meir Library. They marched down the street to Mitchell Hall where they pitched tents with the intent of camping out until the university meets their demands.

"If they can look away at the genocide, they can look away at the occupation, they can look away at our encampment," student Audari Tamayo said.

Their demands include UW-Milwaukee publicly disclosing all financial assets made by the UW-Milwaukee Foundation, ceasing all business with Israeli companies, ceasing all collaboration with educational institutions in occupied Palestine, and releasing a statement condemning the conflict.

"This is what the Milwaukee community wants. This is what Milwaukee students want," UW-Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society member Samia Saeed said.

The encampment is part of the UW-Milwaukee Popular University of Palestine Coalition.

"It's a national coordinated mass movement of students, teachers, faculty, staff, and alumni dedicated to pressure our universities to divest and disclose all connections to the Zionist state of Israel," Tamayo explained.

UW-Milwaukee tells CBS 58 campus police are monitoring the encampment, which violates Chapter 18 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code.

Community supporters of the cause said they would go as far as bailing students out of jail if they got arrested at the encampment.

"We're going to form a human chain around them to make sure that if the cops try to arrest the students, they won't. We want to make sure the students are safe. We're also making sure that they're fed properly, that they have access to their needs," Alan Chavoya, with the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said.

They released the following statement through a university spokesperson:

"Supporters of both the Israeli and Palestinian causes have made their voices heard on our campus, as is their right guaranteed by the First Amendment. And UWM has been steadfast in respecting their right to free speech while also maintaining UWM’s core mission of providing a safe and welcoming environment for our students, employees, and visitors."

The university also sent a campus-wide message Monday morning, detailing safe and lawful protest guidelines. The chancellor's office released this additional message Monday evening. 

However, students are still demanding more from the university and said they will not give up until they get it.

"We're going to keep the movement going until Palestine is free," Tamayo said.