University of Wisconsin-Madison
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13 UW-Madison visas terminated by U.S. government By Ella Hanley COLLEGE NEWS EDITOR
The United States government terminated six University of WisconsinMadison student visas and seven alumni visa employment extensions, the university announced in a statement Monday. A terminated visa status requires the individual to immediately leave the U.S. with no grace period. The university said it was not involved or aware of the terminations.
UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said during a Faculty Senate meeting Monday it is not “atypical” to see visa terminations every year, but the university and other institutions have seen an elevated amount of terminations within the past week. Mnookin said the university has “no reason to believe that the record terminations have had anything to do with political speech or protest activity.” At least 147 international students across the country have had their visas
terminated in recent days. UW-Madison said it cannot determine the exact rationale for these terminations but does not believe they are specific to participation in “free speech events.” Across the country, immigration officers have detained international students due to their involvement in pro-Palestine causes. Mnookin said the university has not seen any activity from the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement “here
Faculty Senate condemns violence against encampment
or in the immediate environments in an unusual way.” UW-Madison International Student Services has reached out to the individuals to provide resources and advise them about potential consequences, the university said. “I care deeply about each and every one of our students and our safety, and we will continue to explore this more,” UW-Madison Dean of Students Christina Olstad told The Daily Cardinal.
Nurses rally for safer work environments By Zoey Elwood COPY CHIEF
NICHOLAS SINN/THE DAILY CARDINAL
By Gavin Escott CAMPUS NEWS EDITOR
The University of WisconsinMadison Faculty Senate condemned the police violence against protesters at last May’s pro-Palestine encampment during a packed meeting Monday, with proponents arguing the demonstration was non-violent and the police disproportionately harmed students and faculty of color. In a resolution that passed 79 to 52 with 10 abstentions, the Faculty Senate condemned the police violence and called for the restoration of two advisory protest oversight bodies not included in UW-Madison’s current protest policy adopted after the encampment. During the encampment, which started April 29 and ended May 10, hundreds of UW-Madison students and community members pitched tents on Library Mall to call for UW-Madison’s complete “financial and social” divestment from Israel. Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin authorized law enforcement to raid the encampment on May 1, enforcing a state law against camping on university grounds. As officers attempted to take down tents, multiple demonstra-
tors and police members were injured. Police arrested 34 protesters, with four later charged with felonies. “Police violence is not appreciated, not warranted, horribly, it [puts] the whole institution in a different framework,” said UW-Madison professor Samer Alatout, who sustained a gash to his forehead during the takedown in May. Alatout said his support of the resolution was one against police violence, not a condemnation of Mnookin or other administrators. The resolution said the “disproportionate use of law enforcement in a peaceful protest” highlights the need for shared governance, specifically taking aim at the Expressive Activity Policy adopted in August, which drops previous mentions of shared governance and oversight groups. Under the previous protest policy in place during the encampment, UW-Madison required a Protest Decision-Making Team (PDT) to convene before responding to protests as well as a Protest Administrative Review Team (PART) to review university responses to protests. While the updated policy lacks
mention of PDT and PART, they remain “intact and operational,” Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs Nancy Lynch said. Lynch, who is a member of both, said the fact the groups aren’t referenced doesn’t diminish their role, and PDT actually met earlier Monday. However, multiple faculty members pointed out the groups weren’t consulted in the creation of the Expressive Protest Policy, which restricts “expressive activity” within 25 feet of university facility entrances, the constitutionality of which has been questioned by legal experts. “What was troubling about this to me is that it was crafted during the summer and then communicated to the entire campus community in the beginning of the faculty contract year so that the Faculty Senate did not have a chance to play even the advisory role that it is prescribed,” Professor Avril Laines said. “As a result, trust between many faculty members and campus leadership has eroded, so I offer this resolution as a path to begin rebuilding some of that trust.”
+ Faculty Senate page 2
Around 100 nurses, community members and labor allies rallied Tuesday at Brittingham Park to address safety concerns within the nurses’ contracts at Meriter Hospital, emphasizing that nurses are prepared to strike if their demands continue to go unmet. Meriter nurses have been working without a contract since March 23. They began negotiating their contract in January with Meriter management to improve safety for nurses and patients, according to Pat Raes, president of Service Employees International Union Wisconsin and a registered nurse at Meriter. “The whole community benefits when their unionized workers get higher wages and better benefits, as well as safer working conditions,” Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, told The Daily Cardinal. “That means safer hospitals for all of us when we’re patients.” Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Communications Workers of America Union and other union groups joined Meriter nurses in the rally. Participants carried signs showing support for nurses, chanted and marched around the park before speakers took to a podium, with cars honking from the street behind to show their support. Kevin Gundlach, president of South Central Federation-Labor, described a personal story about receiving care from nurses after an accident. He thanked them for their work and warned that without nurses advocating for safe conditions, patient care will suffer. Allison Sorg, an attendee and a nurse at Meriter for 20 years, emphasized the need for more security protocols, more representation on safety committees and concerns with staff availability, noting that less staff leads to more competitive salaries and benefits packages. “Every year, it seems that we come to bargain, and we don’t get management to listen very well to us, and that’s why we’re out here — to get some support and get the community to understand that we are working for safe staffing,” Sorg told the Cardinal. Continue reading at dailycardinal.com
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”