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UWM library vandalized
Part of the Golda Meir Library on the UW-Milwaukee campus was vandalized on Saturday, March 16.
MILWAUKEE - Part of the Golda Meir Library on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus was vandalized on Saturday, March 16.
According to UW-Milwaukee, two people were involved in throwing an object through a first-floor window and defacing the exterior of the building with graffiti. Spray paint on the west wing of the library reads "free Palestine."
The university says it is taking this matter very seriously. UWM Police are conducting a thorough investigation of the crime and are also increasing their patrols in the area in response.
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Students calling for a "free Palestine" have held rallies and sit-in protests, urging the university to rename the library and cut ties with Israel.
To be clear, the university did not link the student groups with the vandalism.
Since November, UWM’s chapter of the Students for a Democratic Society has urged the school, and chancellor Mark Mone, to change the library's name.
Meir, a UWM alumna became the first and only woman to serve as Israel's prime minister in 1969.
SDS is demanding UWM also stop trips to Israel and cut all ties with the country, amid its war with Hamas.
The group joined a pro-Palestine protest during President Joe Biden's Milwaukee trip Wednesday, March 13.
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UWM declined to say whether it's blaming SDS for the vandalism, but in an email to campus on Sunday, March 17, the school says "while UWM respects the right of free speech, this is neither speech nor peaceful protest, and UWM will not tolerate vandalism or other illegal acts."
SDS later said they had no involvement in the vandalism.
"However, SDS or any other organization cannot control the people's reactions to having a building on campus dedicated to a racist, Zionist war criminal," the group said.
The university said the safety of everyone in the UWM community is its highest priority, and officials are taking "every possible measure to maintain a secure and supportive environment on campus."
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the UWM Police Department at 414-229-4627.