Some More Videos

The People United, Will never be Defeated!

Student journalist being arrested, from his perspective

Students and Workers Stood Up for Education Rights!
Administration responded with police repression


Over 250 Students, Faculty, and Workers joined in on the largest Education Rights action in University of Wisconsin Milwaukee history on March 4th, 2010. After a rally bringing attention to massive tuition hikes and pay cuts facing the university, students chanted “Education is a Right!” and marched towards Chancellor Santiago’s office. This was part of a National Day of Action for Education Rights, where over 200 cities protested cuts to education.

University Students, Faculty, and Workers marched side by side towards Chapman Hall to demand a meeting with the Chancellor, where police had surrounded the building. The Chancellor has continuously refused to meet with the Education Rights Campaign, Students, or Teacher’s Unions to discuss the budget crisis. The rally, organized by the Education Rights Campaign at UWM, a coalition of over 20 groups, demanded the Chancellor take a significant pay cut from his $307,000 salary before cutting staff pay by 5%, and laying off workers.

About 200-250 people gathered at the Chancellor’s front office door, where 3 police officers refused to let anyone inside. Protestors chanted “Who’s school? Our school!” Police allowed one member of the Campaign to deliver almost 1000 signatures to the Chancellor’s secretary. The petition demanded the Chancellor take a pay cut, involve students in decision making, freeze tuition, notify the public of what is being cut, and allow groups to demonstrate for education rights.

Police told students that the Chancellor was “not around today” when some members at the back of the crowd saw the Chancellor sneaking in the back door. The rally quickly circled the building, picking up more interested students along the way. Having failed to enter the front door, students went to the back door chanting “Student rights are under attack! What are we gonna’ do, stand up fight back!” With no luck at the back door, the rally kept circling to the main entrance, growing increasingly frustrated that nobody from the administration would address the massive group.

As police stood in front of the door to the building, students continued chanting “Let us in!” for twenty minutes outside the Chancellor’s office. The crowd addressed the police, yelling “We’re on your side!” Several students moved to the front of the crowd and attempted to open the doors to the building, demanding a meeting with Chancellor Santiago. Police stood against the doors, and responded with kicks, punches, headlocks, and arm twisting. After those students were beat down, other protesters helped them out of the crowd. Protesters took turns addressing the crowd about the lack of democracy and student involvement in decision making at the university for another twenty minutes.

As students continued to speak out, and chant, police quickly snatched two protestors off the back of the crowd, hoping nobody would notice. The crowd turned around and followed the arrest yelling “Let them go!” Several police dragged two students 300 feet across the parking lot. Protesters were shocked and outraged, as a growing number of police became more aggressive with the two students. Protesters locked arms around the arrest scene and demanded that police stop brutalizing students.

solidarity forever, before the first attempt to enter Chapman Hall

The struggle continued all the way to the back door of the building, where police opened the door and threw the two students inside. As the door opened, police unleashed a barrage of pepper spray directly into the eyes and mouths of dozens of students and members of the press. Protesters screamed to the chancellor through the open door “Come meet with us, whoever you are,” hoping they could see, or speak to him. The chancellor did not respond. Members of the administration peered out the windows as police continued to attack students, throwing them to the ground, kicking, elbowing, punching, and arresting them. Some students threw snow balls at the building upon seeing the smug faces of the administration looking down from the towers of Chapman Hall.

Several Milwaukee Police Department vehicles swarmed the adjacent parking lot. Officers jumped out and pushed through students, threatening anyone around with arrest. Officers lined up and shook zip-tie handcuffs at students, grabbing at them, throwing them around, and tackling them. Police began chasing and tackling people randomly and arresting them. Police declared the protest an “unlawful assembly” and pushed the students across the parking lot, then across the street. Having scattered most of the protest, some students tried to reform in a picket line on the sidewalk, organizing students to march in circles. When one woman began leading chants, police crossed the street to arrest her, saying “you need to learn your lesson.”

Someone passed around an email list to provide legal support, when police attacked 3 students without warning for signing the list. 16 people were detained inside Chapman Hall including the Student Government President, members of the press, union representatives, and students. The administration released the Student Government President upon realizing the possibility for bad press. 15 others were charged with “unlawful assembly” and other ridiculous charges. The administration quickly held a press conference where they defended the disgusting actions of themselves and police. The media reported the administrations outright lie that students “thew ice chunks” and “punched police.”

Instead of meeting with students, and workers, the administration sent police to lock them out of the building. The Chancellor barricaded himself inside, and let police brutalize students at his own university. The Chancellor showed no respect for the already struggling students, in this time of economic and educational crisis. Students have a right to be heard by the administration.

Our own university administration will not allow students to speak freely to the people who make the decisions. Students and faculty have no decision making power in the university. Our only voice is through our organization, and through these struggles, we are stronger than ever! The administration WILL hear us!

We Demand:
1) A Public hearing with Chancellor Santiago about the economic crisis, its effects upon our university, and a discussion of our demands.
2) Drop all charges against the Milwaukee 16
3) Amnesty for the organizers of this event
4) An apology from the chief of the UW-Milwaukee police

Find videos and more at SDSMKE.com

Support the Education Rights 16!

Today, 16 people were arrested demanding Education Rights at UWM (see national news.) The Administration used the Police to block the message of students, faculty, and workers who were demanding education rights.

All those arrested have been contacted by SDS and are safe despite minor injuries from police harassment before and after they where in custody. We will continue to provide legal support for those involved.

Statement:
This protest came as a result of the Chancellor's refusal to meet with us. We organized a peaceful protest. We believe students should have access to public buildings, including Chapman Hall. We recognize this was a traumatic event for our many peaceful protesters and we condemn the police escalated this event into violence. The behavior of the police was unacceptable and their reputation has been deeply damaged, as we're only fighting for workers like themselves to afford education for their children. The real victims today are the students, workers, and community that are struggling in this time of economic crisis.

Demands:
1) Public hearing with Chancellor Santiago about the economic crisis, its effects upon our university, and a discussion of our demands.
2) Drop all charges against the Milwaukee 16
3) Amnesty for the organizers of this event
4) An apology from the chief of the UW-Milwaukee police



Please share videos of this event: http://www.youtube.com/user/thewaz

March 4th - National Day of Action for Education Rights at UWM

Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society Condemn Police Brutality, Demands Justice, Continues the Struggle for Education Rights

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society Condemn Police Brutality, Demands Justice, Continues the Struggle for Education Rights 

18 arrested, 250 rally for education rights at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for the March 4 National Day of Action for Education Rights

March 4, 2010 – Milwaukee, WI - Students for a Democratic Society is an organization that stands for social justice, peace, and equality.  In the face of massive budget cuts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, we helped form a campus-wide coalition for education rights, called the UWM Education Rights Campaign, consisting of dozens of organizations, including the professor and teacher assistant union.

The campaign organized a peaceful demonstration on March 4^th, part of a national day of action to defend education (www.defendeducation.com). The local campaign organized a speak-out to bring attention to our demands. The rally ended in a march to Chapman Hall, to deliver petition signatures to a Chancellor that has thus far refused to meet with us, instead choosing to introduce us to more campus police and locked doors.

250 students, workers, professors, teacher assistants, and concerned community members gathered today to show their support for the UWM Education Rights Campaign. SDS believes we had a great event, and are proud of the students and workers who rallied with us for education rights and stood their ground for over two hours as the police pepper sprayed, punched, and arrested over 18 people. 

"It is difficult to express how outraged we are of the use of police repression against a peaceful protest," commented student organizer Jacob Flom.  "We are outraged by the Chancellor’s unwillingness to come and meet with the peaceful assembly. Our thoughts and prayers go out tonight to the students who have been attacked, arrested, pepper sprayed, and injured. This campaign was about the tens of thousands of youth in our impoverished city who have absolutely no hope of attending this university due to a gutless university administration and politicians who instead give billions to war, occupation, and bank bail-outs."

Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society demands all the arrested be immediately released. We will not stand for charges against our fellow protesters. Despite the violence, repression, and however the Chancellor is trying to depict this situation, we will continue forth with our campaign for education rights with more energy and vigor than ever seen before.

Read more about Students for a Democratic Society here: www.sdsmke.com. The UWM Education Rights Campaign can be read more about at www.educationrightscampaign.com.

Contact:
Kas Schwedrtferger

Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society

262-893-2806

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UW-Milwaukee to Protest Budget Cuts as Part of the National Day of Action for Education Rights

The UWM Education Rights Campaign consists of two dozen professor, teacher assistant, and student organizations and expects a large turn out for a rally and march in protest of the budget cuts at UW-Milwaukee.

Milwaukee, WI, March 3, 2010 -- Outraged over the budget cuts at UW-Milwaukee, two dozen professor, teacher assistant, and student organizations have formed the UWM Education Rights Campaign and are putting together a large demonstration on March 4th at 12:00pm in the UW-Milwaukee Union Concourse (2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.) as part of a nation day of action to defend education.

While students and workers at university systems from California to New York will be on strike and holding all-day demonstrations, the UWM Education Rights Campaign will be hosting a speak-out at 12:00pm that will feature students who can no longer afford to go to school, professors and teacher assistants who are struggling to meet high educational standards, and workers who are facing lay-offs and furloughs. The speak-out will then turn into a march onto the Chancellor’s office to deliver a petition of over 1,000 signatures calling on the Chancellor to take a pay cut, to stop meddling in the affairs of the professor and teacher assistant unions, and to provide more transparency over the budget cuts taking place on campus.

“My fellow students did not create this economic crisis, yet we‘re asked to foot the bill with higher tuition and cuts to our education while the bankers get bailed out. I worked hard to make it to college and I am not getting pushed out without a fight,” stated Natasha Morgan, a native of Monroe, WI and student organizer at UW-Milwaukee.

The March 4th National Day of Action to Defend Education can be read more about at http://www.defendeducation.org. The ad hoc coalition consists of hundreds of endorsers, and states that:

As people throughout the country struggle under the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, public education from pre-K to higher and adult education is threatened by budget cuts, layoffs, privatization, tuition and fee increases, and other attacks. Budget cuts degrade the quality of public education by decreasing student services and increasing class size, while tuition hikes and layoffs force the cost of the recession onto students and teachers and off of the financial institutions that caused the recession in the first place.

The UWM Education Rights Campaign (www.educationrightscampaign.com) includes: Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Milwaukee Graduate Assistants Association (MGAA), The Association of University of Wisconsin Professionals (TAUWP), Students Equalizing Rights Forever (SERF), Students United for Immigrant Rights at UWM (SURFRIR), Progressive Students of Milwaukee (PSM), UWM Association of South American Students (ASAS), Black Student Union (BSU), Jews for Justice, Systematic Peace Project, Colombia Action Network at UWM, Latin America Solidarity Committee, Latino Student Union (LSU), Black Graduate Student Alliance, National Society of Black Engineers at UWM (NSBE), and UWM English Education Association.

Contact:
Michael Raspanti
UWM Education Rights Campaign
Milwaukee Students fro a Democratic Society
414-364-1660
mraspanti39 at yahoo dot com
http://www.educationrightscampaign.com

SDS Organizing for National Day of Action for Education Rights

SDS is part of the Education Rights Campaign at UWM.  The coalition of student groups, faculty, and workers are organizing a speak out to be held in the UWM Union on March 4th, in solidarity with the National Day of Action for Education Rights, and the massive actions that will be happening in California and across the country.  Here are our demands for the UWM administration:

Justice for Students and Workers at UWM!

Education First!
We demand a tuition freeze and increased money for need-based scholarships. This includes investing in the students before expanding infrastructure.  Students are continuing to pay a greater percentage of their educational costs. The university is raising tuition by 5% for 2 years. Thousands of students are struggling to figure out a way to remain in school. On average, students at UW-Milwaukee work more hours than all other students in the UW system. Education should be available to all young people, and our urban university must reflect the urban community. 

Chop from the Top!
We demand the Chancellor and high level administrators of the university take at least a 5% pay cut from their six-figure salaries before deciding to cut salaries of faculty and staff.  Currently, the Chancellor is making over $307,000, a 3% raise from last year.* The Chancellor is also accepting other benefits that include money to pay for his luxury condo, a car, and $20,000 a year from the UWM Foundation. The Chancellor accepts all this and more while cutting all faculty and staff pay by 3%, a net 5% loss after a 2% salary increase was canceled.  *According to the Chancellor’s office, The Journal-Sentinel, and The UWM Red Book.

Transparency Now!
We demand that staff, students and faculty be part of the decision making process.  The Chancellor called for all Deans to cut their departments by 5%. Students and faculty have the right to know exactly what is being cut and who is making these decisions.  We demand the Chancellor publicly lists all cuts by university email.


Academic Freedom!
We demand free, fair, and open discussion of issues on campus.  Students and employees have the right to organize unions and other associations at the university. The university administration must not try to influence or interfere with the rights of students and employees to organize on issues affecting us. 

Campaign Sponsors:
Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Milwaukee Graduate Assistants Association (MGAA), The Association of University of Wisconsin Professionals (TAUWP), Students Equalizing Rights Forever (SERF), Students United for Immigrant Rights at UWM (SUFIR), Progressive Students of Milwaukee (PSM), UWM Association of South American Students (ASAS), Black Student Union (BSU), Jews for Justice, Systematic Peace Project, Colombia Action Network at UWM, Latin America Solidarity Committee, Latino Student Union (LSU), Black Graduate Student Alliance, National Society of Black Engineers at UWM (NSBE), Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán  (MEChA MKE), Community Education Organization, English Education Association, Sierra Student Coalition, RSA.

www.EducationRightsCampaign.com