TAKE ACTION:
Yolanda Garza, Assistant Dean of Students and the Investigating Officer in the complaint
(608) 263-5700
ygarza@bascom.wisc.edu
Lori Berquam, Interim Dean of Students
(608) 263-5702,
lmberquam@bascom.wisc.edu
John Wiley, Chancellor
(608) 262-9946
jdwiley@bascom.wisc.edu
Download and print petition (doc file) for local petition drives.
***Please cross-post/forward widely!***
Dear friends and family, allies and supporters, brothers and sisters of STW and the anti-war movement,
Stop The War!, as you know, is a UW-Madison campus organization dedicated to advocating for an immediate end to the war in Iraq. In the spirit of the anti-war movement and in concern for the campus community and the larger Madison community, we have sought the removal of the military from university property. In this struggle, we have remained steadfast in our goal of forcing the school administration to acknowledge its hypocrisy through peaceful action and community organizing.
However, in line with the continued repression of civil liberties within the United States, on 11/23, STW was directly and blatantly targeted by the school administration. Through an arbitrary attack on STW and member Paul Pryse, Assistant Dean Yolanda Garza sent an email to Paul informing him that the Dean of Students had received a report from a faculty member stating that on Nov. 2nd, “Paul and the leadership members of STW allegedly jeopardized the safety of several individuals”. Assistant Dean Garza continued to state that STW members were accused of attempting to forcibly gain entry into the Military Science Department and to destroy university property. Also listed were five specific Wisconsin Administrative Codes that STW broke. Assistant Dean Garza is waiting to determine if these allegations are accurate, and if so, is considering taking disciplinary action against supposed “leadership members”.
These accusations are completely baseless.
Stop The War is officially dedicated to nonviolence. Any allegations otherwise are both slanderous and a dangerous misrepresentation of the group. As members of the UW campus community, we have a vested interest in maintaining a safe environment and we act accordingly. Our actions are for the benefit of the Madison community and we care a great deal about our home when we take to the streets. We always do so with love and respect for our people. Members of STW certainly did not participate in or advocate for any action of property destruction or act to threaten the safety of anyone on November 2nd, nor have we done so in past demonstrations.
We realize that there is no evidence to support the accusations against STW. Furthermore, we realize that the individuals in the Military Science Department are attempting to repress our political actions and voice in the community. We realize that Paul has been singled out because he signed the paperwork for STW registration, not because there is any legitimate reason to suspect him of any misconduct. We realize that STW leadership is being singled out because we organized a successful rally and march, not because there were any Administrative codes broken by members of STW. We realize that the Administration is attempting to repress Stop The War because even in our heightened state of police repression, the University Police had no reason to intervene in actions of STW members during the successful protest on November 2nd.
And we recognize the necessity to dissent. We use our first amendment rights to free speech and assembly to act on issues of deep and urgent significance. We act to call attention to the military institution on campus which is engaging in conduct that constitutes a serious danger to the personal safety of members of the university community. They manipulate and deceive our peers to fill their quotas. They facilitate in the deployment our brothers and sisters to help wage an illegal and immoral war, and our brothers and sisters risk their lives for all this.
So we act peaceably, but insistently, to promote the lawful removal of this institution from the campus. To remove the military because their policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” violates UW anti-discrimination policy, which Chancellor Wiley himself has admitted the military ROTC violates. To remove the military because they act to repress our political dissent and those of all people and communities who have joined the ongoing demonstrations against the military in Madison. To remove the military because they engage in conduct that constitutes a serious danger to the personal safety of members of the university community, an accusation that faculty of the Military Science Department have charged Stop The War members with.
If the campus Administration is truly committed to opposing threats to UW community members’ safety, then they absolutely must consider these statements we pose. Furthermore, we expect the Administration to oppose threats to the safety of the broader world community in line with the demands of the Student group Al-Awda and their campaign for divestment of over 3 million dollars UW has invested in weapons manufacturers.
We are all deeply dismayed by the Administration’s decision to investigate our membership based on what we can only conclude to be a single, unsubstantiated allegation. We are further troubled that one of our members was apparently singled out, not because of any evidence of misconduct, but because he signed his name in order to file the group’s paperwork with the student government.
So join with us in solidarity in the defense of free speech and the right to assemble and organize. Join with us to demand that the Dean of Students Office drop the investigation into the membership of STW, and especially that of Paul Pryse, and to admit there is no cause for disciplinary action against any member of STW, and to issue an apology to Paul and STW for their unwarranted and intimidating behavior towards us. Voice your concerns with Assistant Dean Garza, Dean Berquam, and Chancellor Wiley (listed below) and then march with us on December 6.
In Peace and Solidarity,
Stop The War!
Yolanda Garza, Assistant Dean of Students and the Investigating Officer in the complaint
(608) 263-5700
ygarza@bascom.wisc.edu
Lori Berquam, Interim Dean of Students
(608) 263-5702,
lmberquam@bascom.wisc.edu
John Wiley, Chancellor
(608) 262-9946
jdwiley@bascom.wisc.edu