University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee gives away the farm to protestors

Here’s the most egregious example yet of a college or university giving up institutional neutrality to capitulate to pro-Palestinian protesters and get them to dismantle their encampment.  The school is the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, (UWM), and a member of the campus community sent me the “agreement” the school made with its protesters. (Note that the system’s flagship campus is not in Milwaukee but Madison.)

The agreement is announced in the first letter below, from the Chancellor. The second document, the capitulation, is below that.

As usual, I have no way of assuring you that these are genuine, but the agreement itself appears on a UWM.edu website.  Given that and the local source, I’m about 99.99% satisfied that this craven capitulation is genuine. You can click on the first link of the Chancellor’s letter below or on the yellow bar at the bottom that says “read the full agreement” to see the capitulation. Read and weep.

Note how Chancellor Mone pats himself on the back for “prioritizing the safety of everyone involved,” but many schools have resolved such violations  in other ways (e.g. the campus or local cops) without anybody’s safety being compromised. In fact, I’m not aware of anybody in the U.S. being hurt during the takedown of an encampment by force. That was also the case in Chicago; it just takes careful planning.

Note too Mone’s claim that dismantling the encampment in no way infringes upon free speech. That’s true, but dismantling the encampment via cops or threat of expulsion doesn’t infringe on free speech, either, for speech that violates the “time, place, and manner” regulations of colleges isn’t protected free speech as well, or so the courts have ruled.

The protesters are always free to make their chants in ways permitted by UWM, but chose to protest to force the college to capitulate to their demands, not to persuade by rational argument. And the protesters won this one.

But let us look at UMW’s odious “compromise.” The letter is indented and I’ve made a few remarks (flush left).

May 12, 2024

Dear UWM Popular University for Palestine Coalition,

Thank you for meeting with us on May 6th, 8th, and 10th, in addition to our many discussions over the last weeks and months. Together, we have made meaningful progress toward a peaceful resolution of the encampment. We have summarized UWM’s final responses to your demands from your correspondence and our meetings below. If these responses and actions are acceptable, we ask that you communicate your agreement by replying all to this message by 4 p.m. Sunday, May 12, and meeting the remaining terms noted in the Conduct Process section at the end of this letter. We stress that meeting this final deadline and ensuring the encampment comes down by the deadline are essential to ensuring we can continue working together on the action items included in this letter.

Call for a Ceasefire and Condemn Genocide

We join the countless calls by national and international leaders for a ceasefire in Gaza. As of this letter, the UN had reported more than 34,000 innocent Palestinians, approximately 60% of whom were women, children and the elderly, had been killed, and nearly 80,000 more had been injured in the war on Gaza. The ongoing humanitarian crisis has led to dangerous water scarcity and starvation of thousands of civilians. A United Nations (UN) expert and the International Criminal Court have now called this war a “plausible genocide.”

Before we point out the many other mistakes in the first part of the letter, note first that the International Criminal Court did not call this a “plausible genocide”. That’s the wrong court, for one thing. Mone is referring to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which, unlike the ICC, judges nations, not individuals. And what the ICJ ruled is not that this is a “plausible genocide,” but that, as Joan Donogue, the former head of the ICJ, notes in this video,

“The court decided that the Palestinians had a plausible right to be protected from genocide and that South Africa had the right to present that claim in the court. It then looked at the facts as well. But it did not decide – and this is something where I’m correcting what’s often said in the media – it didn’t decide that the claim of genocide was plausible.”

Note too that even before this letter was written, the UN itself reduced the death toll of women and children to 13,000, or 34% (not 60%) of total deaths.   (See also here.) The proportion of women and children killed given by UWM are based on Hamas’s estimates, which everybody but Hamas admits are inflated.  One thing for sure, though, is that the “34,000 innocent Palestinians” are not all apparently “innocent”, as that figure includes many fighters for Hamas. And that moiety is not “innocent civilians,” but terrorist combatants.

But even the total figures can’t be trusted. First, the total figure given (34,000) is based on Hamas’s Ministry of Health (MOH), which has not disclosed how it estimates death tolls. Whether the true toll is close to 34,000 can’t be known yet.

Further, the ratio of civilians/combatants killed probably varies between 1.2 to 1.5, a figure that is an unprecedented low for modern urban warfare because of IDF’s policy of trying to avoid civilian deaths using a number of methods, including warning civilians in future fire zones. (Note: Netanyahu just claimed that ““Fourteen thousand have been killed, combatants, and, probably around sixteen thousand civilians have been killed,” he tells Dan Senor on the Call Me Back podcast.” But given world opinion, people won’t buy that, though it might be accurate. Again, wait and see—if we ever get an answer.)

The death of any truly innocent civilians, of course, is greatly to be mourned, as each is a noncombatant human being with friends and family. But remember that Hamas increases the number of true civilians killed by using them as human shields.  Still, taking the higher ratio of civilian/combatant deaths, we can estimate that about 40% of those killed were combatants. This figure will, of course, be revised later, but to imply that everyone killed was an “innocent civilian”, as Mone does, is hugely misleading. What was he thinking? He surely can’t think that Hamas fighters are “innocent civilians”!

The letter continues:

We also condemn the attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, resulting in the killing of 1,200 innocent Israeli civilians, military personnel and police.

Innocent civilians, especially children, must not be the targets of war. This is why we also call for the release of the remaining Israeli and international hostages held by Hamas and the release of Palestinian men, women and children held as hostages in military detention in Israel. We condemn all violence and call for it to end.

Note that Palestinians held in military detention are NOT hostages, or equivalent to them. They were arrested because they were suspected of terrorist activities. They are subject to court decisions—with regular court sessions to decide whether the detention should be prolonged or not. Both Palestinians and Jews are subject to detention (of course there are many more Palestinians than Jews because they engage in terrorist activities much more often, but some Jews are also detained). Many countries in the world (democratic nations as well) use detention when the threat of criminal/terrorist activity is high upon release but the authorities do not have enough evidence to put the suspect on trial. That is known as being held without bail.

Further, Palestinians in detention are NOT kept in underground bunkers, are adequately fed, have access to health care, and their families know where they are and the suspects and their lawyers can act on their own behalf. This is a huge a difference between Palestinians in detentions and Israelis held as hostages.

Denounce Scholasticide

We condemn the destruction of universities in Gaza, including the last remaining one during the military assault as reported by the United Nations in April 2024.

A press release from the United Nations in April 2024 states,

“After six months of military assault, more than 5,479 students, 261 teachers and 95 university professors have been killed in Gaza, and over 7,819 students and 756 teachers have been injured – with numbers growing each day. At least 60 percent of educational facilities, including 2 13 public libraries, have been damaged or destroyed and at least 625,000 students have no access to education. Another 195 heritage sites, 227 mosques and three churches have also been damaged or destroyed, including the Central Archives of Gaza, containing 150 years of history.”

The same press release cites an expert stating that 80% of all schools in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged.

As educators and education administrators, we believe protecting our schools is fundamental to society. We condemn the destruction of the education system and the killing of its students, teachers, faculty and staff.

Disclosure and Divestment

The UWM Foundation leadership has agreed to meet with up to four students identified by UWM Popular University for Palestine Coalition after the encampment comes down on Tuesday, May 14, to discuss your concerns and requests. UWM administrators will attend and ensure that students will be given the opportunity to express their requests for disclosure and divestment. This offer is in addition to the UWM Foundation financial statements provided to you, as well as our information about UWM’s request to the Foundation Board to review its investments in funds that include weapons manufacturers.

Whether this discussion is of any effect on divestment at all is questionable given the following statement:

Cut Ties with Private Companies

As noted in our previous conversations, UWM is prohibited by law from cutting ties with private companies and organizations that do business in Israel, which includes all the businesses you cite in your demands and most recent letter (Wis. Stat. sec. 20.931). UWM supports the civic engagement of students and encourages protestors to make their concerns heard with lawmakers, as it does with all student advocacy issues.

Cease Collaboration with Institutions & Organizations

1. Study Abroad: As we shared during our last meeting, UWM will review its study abroad policies and programs to ensure compliance with our Discriminatory Conduct Policy. Separate from the lack of recent activity in these programs, a current State Department travel advisory for Israel advises against travel for safety reasons. Over the next academic year, a working group will be formed to review all study abroad programs to ensure compliance with our Discriminatory Conduct Policy and develop a process for students to report discrimination experienced in these programs. Members of the working group include members of the International Committee (the IC will self-determine which of its members will participate), the Office of Equity/Diversity Services and the Office of the Dean of Students. We invite you to recommend three to five faculty or instructional academic staff members to be considered for participation in this working group.

Note that they are using the State Department’s travel advisory as a possible reason to avoid having a “study abroad in Israel” program. And they ask the protesters to nominate faculty to judge the study abroad programs. What are the chances that these faculty wouldn’t be pro-Palestinian? I’d say about zero, though they really should have no allegiance.

2. Third-Party Offerings: Hillel, which sponsors certain trips to Israel, is separate from UWM. These trips are not advertised on UWM.edu.

3. Water Council: As we confirmed while discussing your concerns in our May 8 meeting, it has been determined that the Water Council had relationships with two Israeli-government-owned water companies, Mekorot and Israel Innovation 3 Authority. These companies are accused by international aid organizations, including Amnesty International, of cutting off access to drinking water for thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, exacerbating water scarcity. These are serious concerns that Chancellor Mone addressed with the Water Council president. At the Chancellor’s urging, the Water Council no longer has relationships with these entities, and they have been removed from the global listing on the Water Council’s website.

Note that at best 10% of Gaza’s water comes from Israel, the rest being groundwater or desalination plants. As for Israel “cutting off drinking water to Gaza,” I’m pretty sure that water delivery has been largely restored, but can’t be certain as I can’t ascertain it at this moment.  But at most the loss of all Israel-supplied water would cut Gaza’s water supply only by 10%.

Conduct Processes

UWM has repeatedly noted that camping on university grounds is a violation of state law and the student code of conduct. Given that the encampment is a public demonstration in opposition to what the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia calls the “War on Gaza,” the Chancellor and the Provost have agreed to forgo relevant citations or conduct violations for the Coalition and the student groups copied on this message, if all conditions outlined below are met. This exemption only applies to camping activity and does not apply to activities such as, but not limited to, vandalism or property damage, and only applies if the following conditions are met:

1. The encampment must begin to come down on Sunday, May 12, and must be completely deconstructed no later than 8 a.m. Tuesday, May 14. If there is no meaningful progress, which should include the removal of tents and personal property, towards deconstructing the encampment by 11:59 p.m., Sunday, May 12, UWM will begin student conduct processes immediately. UWM staff will assist on Monday with the removal of larger items, such as pallets and plywood, and clean graffiti from Mitchell Hall (which is a historic building that facilities staff prefer to clean).

2. There must be no disruptions at either of UWM’s commencement ceremonies.

3. The coalition and all student groups copied on this message must agree to meet the terms of this agreement.

Here the University agrees not to punish any students (save those determined to be guilty of vandalism) for encamping, despite that they have violated both state law and the student code of conduct.

The agreement finishes with further some osculation of protesters:

We agree with you that removing the encampment should not be the end of our work together. After the encampment is removed, we propose a series of campus conversations and educational opportunities. We also agree to collaboratively schedule and hold meetings to discuss progress on that. A working group that will include representatives at your suggestion in these educational planning efforts will also be formed.

We join you in thanking the UWM Police Department for their respect for students, while still maintaining their concern for security. Because of the long-term relationships, bridge-building and communication between UWM administration and students, this encampment can end peacefully.

Sincerely,

Mark A. Mone, PhD
Chancellor

Andrew Daire, PhD
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Chia Vang, PhD
Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Adam Jussel
Dean of Students

CC: UWM Students for a Democratic Society
UWM Muslim Student Association
UWM Students for Justice in Palestine
UN-PAC (Political Action Committee) at UWM
Young Democratic Socialists of America at UWM

So you can add UWM to the three-school list of Craven, Compromising Colleges (along with Brown and Northwestern).

Although the agreement could have been worse, it couldn’t have been much worse. I suspect the only reason they didn’t allow the protesters to make divestment decisions is that the law prevented that from happening.

This “resolution” is bad in several ways. First of all, it shows the school as historically ignorant. While it does decry the October 7 attack on Israel, it doesn’t mention the ongoing firing of rockets at Israel from Gaza, which are rockets deliberately aimed at civilians, a war crime that Israel doesn’t commit (the same is happening from Lebanon). The “genocide” is clearly the genocide of Israel on Gaza, which is not a genocide at all. As anybody with neurons to spare knows, the real genocide—a stated determination to wipe out a people—is the philosophy held by Hamas, which in its very charter says its goal is to kill Jews.

The statement also seriously distorts what’s happening in Gaza, not only with respect to the genocide and efforts of the IDF to avoid killing civilians, but also in its use of casualty figures which even the UN doesn’t accept.

Worse, this is an arrant example of a university taking sides in a political conflict: the Palestinian side. It’s thus a violation of institutional neutrality, big time.

Finally, and I want to bring this long post to an end, by giving in to the encampers, merely so the protesters don’t mess up graduation and allow the situation to be resolved “peacefully”—and caving isn’t the only way to resolve this peacefully; there is also non-injurious force and, best of all, the threat of suspension and expulsion—UWM heartens the protesters to continue their disruption. With three schools having capitulated this way, in fact, protesters are heartened everywhere, as who knows if they’ll hit the divestment jackpot if they try?

I’ll close with a statement from the UWM community member who sent me the Chancellor’s letter and compromise statement, quoted with permission:

Our UW-Milwaukee administrators have, in their panic about tents and signs, become willing conduits of Hamas propaganda.

Amen.