Capitol Chaos: UWM Students Rally Against Budget Proposal
MILWAUKEE - Students and others on the UWM campus have gone there to protest the budget proposal by Governor Scott Walker, while police investigate vandalism on campus and in the neighborhood that might be related.
Related content: Click here for more on how police are investigating a case of doors locked at UWM and a nearby Sendik's being glued.
Part of Walker's proposal includes a provision to separate UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee from the rest of the UW system, while the budget repair bill stripped much of collective bargaining from many university employees.
A group of students want to keep the system together.
UWM United, the organization that put together the Monday afternoon rally, said they had one message - to undo the Governor's budget.
"A lot of our faculty and staff members of the UWM community would be losing their rights in order to negotiate at the table," said Omer Farooque of UWM United.
"In order to negotiate at the table, it's not even about being able to get more pay or health care, but that right to ask for it would be gone, and that's something the students don't agree with."
Walker said the split of the schools would allow them to be more flexible and remain strong research leaders.
Kate Edwards is the chair with the school's College Republicans, and she says not everyone on campus agrees with the protesters.
Many believe that changes have to be made.
"Tuition is affected every year by various things, and we face a $3.6 billion deficit," Edwards explained.
"We've got to make some concessions somewhere."
Though the budget repair bill was signed into law, UWM United said they are not giving up, and they are focusing on recall efforts.
The rally was to happen until 2:00 p.m. Monday on the UWM campus.
Among those speaking there were Milwaukee Democratic Senator Chris Larson and Democratic Assemblyman Jon Richards.
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.