About two dozen University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee students staged a sit-in outside the chancellor’s office Friday, escalating their demands for the Golda Meir library to be renamed and study abroad trips to Israel to end.
In response, UWM Police closed the building, escorted staff out and arrested one student for urinating in a stairwell, university spokeswoman Angelica Duria said.
The occupation was the latest flashpoint amid a tense time for college campuses since the Israel-Hamas war broke out last October.
Meir, who grew up in Milwaukee and is one of UWM’s most notable alumna, was Israeli prime minister from 1969-74. A university library is named in her honor.
Campus supporters of Palestinians don’t believe Meir deserves prominent recognition on campus.
UWM student Nada Mobarak was among the group who began occupying Chapman Hall shortly before noon Friday. She said she went to the bathroom on the first floor, and police prevented her from returning to the second floor, where Chancellor Mark Mone’s office is located.