MILWAUKEE — Five students from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Thursday submitted varied pleas to charges of disorderly conduct Thursday after prosecutors say they refused to stop disrupting a Board of Regents committee meeting held in Milwaukee back in June.
The majority of them, including Kayla Patterson, pleaded not guilty and refused to pay the $300 fine for their disorderly conduct citation.
“We were doing that as an escalation of sorts, trying to make sure we get action on our demands following the agreement that we reached after the encampment,” Patterson said.
Patterson is in a group called "Students for a Democratic Society." UW-Milwaukee suspended it, along with with four other pro-Palestinian student organizations, after it had posted to Instagram, “Any organization or entity that supports Israel is not welcome at UWM. This includes local extremist groups such as Hillel, Jewish Federation, etc.”
In addition to Patterson's criminal charge, she said she currently can't register for classes while the university's investigation continues.
"It’s not the end of the struggle and regardless of if the charges get dropped or if we have to take that fine. It’s not going to deter us from keeping action up on campus in the community,” Patterson said.
While the Milwaukee Jewish Federation and Hillel declined on-camera interviews, the the Milwaukee Jewish Federation's president and CEO, Miryam Rosenzweig, did release the following statement:
"We’re glad that UWM and the UW System are taking the safety of students seriously and investigating all incidents of harassment or intimidation. While we wish the University would have taken these steps this Spring when community members pushed them to uphold campus policy, and before many more months of Jewish students enduring harassment and exclusion, we appreciate that they are now investigating this escalating intimidation by student groups. Making UWM a safe and welcoming environment for all students, including Jewish students, without exception must be the overarching priority of the largest urban university in Wisconsin."