May 8 update on Library Mall encampment

3:45 p.m. Campus statement on ongoing discussions to end illegal encampment

After numerous meetings over the past week between campus leaders and student protest organizers and their faculty liaisons connected to the illegal encampment, discussions broke down when students and their faculty liaisons walked out of today’s meeting. Campus leaders are disappointed by this decision, especially as they have engaged in a good faith effort to find a resolution to this situation.

Notwithstanding today’s walkout, campus leaders understand that student protest organizers may be interested in meeting tomorrow, Thursday. Campus leaders remain open to a meeting tomorrow.

Today’s impasse appears to be partially based on an important misunderstanding of the chancellor’s role and authority. As the chancellor shared at Monday’s faculty senate meeting: “The simple reality is that we do not control how the great bulk of our endowment is managed and invested. These decisions are quite literally not at all under my control.”

The administration has offered to facilitate access to decision makers for student protest leaders as next steps for them to advocate for their positions.

Student protest leaders today released a document which describes some hoped-for investment principles for the institution. They presented the document late Monday evening to campus leaders with the apparent goal of securing the chancellor’s endorsement of investment principles for the institution. This again is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the chancellor’s appropriate role. The university’s shared governance mechanism may offer an appropriate setting for taking up the issue of whether the university wishes to create investment principles for the consideration of the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association or the Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents. The chancellor’s pre-endorsement of any content on such questions – regardless of her personal or institutional views – would be an inappropriate end run around important shared governance internal processes which she, and her team, take very seriously. This is not something up for negotiation.

Finally, campus leaders have tried to discuss elements of student protesters’ demands related to creating a campus environment where everyone feels a true sense of belonging and are prepared to engage on these matters should discussions resume.

It remains campus administration’s goal to end the illegal encampment. Some have taken the administration proposal shared on social media as indicating plans for imminent police action. That draft proposal was shared yesterday in the course of discussions with student protest leaders. While no such police action will occur at 4 p.m. today, it remains an urgent campus priority to end the encampment, which is illegal, a violation of student and registered student organization conduct rules, and an increasing safety concern.

2:20 p.m.

The University of Wisconsin Police Department issued the following Crime Warning as part of UW–Madison’s commitment to providing campus-area crime information, in compliance with the federal Clery Act (Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act).

2 p.m.

Below is the proposal that was shared with student protest leaders on Tuesday, May 7. The version that first began circulating publicly is inaccurate.

Response Agreement in Development

As shared at noon today, students and faculty members tied to an illegal campus encampment have elected to end talks with campus leaders, walking out of a meeting this morning. For the moment, campus leaders remain open to further discussions, but are deeply disappointed at this outcome.

There are no plans at this time to have law enforcement take action to remove the encampment.

12 p.m.

Students and faculty members tied to an illegal campus encampment have elected to end talks with campus leaders, walking out of a meeting this morning. For the moment, campus leaders remain open to further discussions, but are deeply disappointed at this outcome.